King of Prussia
Save the Scene**
This album is a predictable foray into the chasm of indie-rock that’s listenable and little more. Nothing about this album breaks new ground nor grabs a listener’s ear. Save the Scene is a fine soundtrack for nights spent cruising Hawthorne with your pals who sport Sufjan Stevens or Coconut Records T-shirts as you smoke hand-rolled Bali Shags. If you don’t care about your hipster image or an indie sound, don’t waste your time on King of Prussia.
September’s Shadow
Hobson’s Journey***
September’s Shadow sound is a glorious lovechild of New Order and David Bowie. Their concept album, Hobson’s Journey, is actually two albums in one, with a lyric-driven first half that romps and stomps through a style of 1980s power-pop that you’ll either love or hate. But the second half is when the album shines: There are no lyrics and that reduced attention to crafty phrase and surreal imagery is beneficial to the listener’s experience. It lets your mind wander, painting landscapes of synth-soundtracked galaxies, sans vocalist interruption.
It should be noted that if you don’t like synth-pop or anything anywhere near the genre, you’ll hate these guys. But if you are at all into electronic rock, September’s Shadow will bring you plenty of delight.
Enter Shikari
Take to the Skies****
Why is it that British rockers need scarcely to try and succeed at the musical form Americans just can’t get right? Enter Shikari is a group hailing from Hertfordshire that blends flashes of brilliance shone by several American bands, and they blend them well. There are hints of Jimmy Eat World’s beautiful song craft to compliment the gorgeous, atmospheric synthwork similar to that of Mute Math and the explosions of brutal intensity a la Saosin.
Each of these elements seamlessly mesh together for a transcendent album. Take to the Skies incorporates elements of melodic hardcore, doom synth, epic metal and industrial thrash, and the album rarely stays in one genre for longer than two minutes, and its ballsy mash-up of styles merits stellar results.
Damn the red coats for making this look easy.
-Robert Seitzinger