CD Reviews

Hindsight release shows strong production value

By Mick Reed

My World, Hindsight, self- released

Bar friendly pop rock is always a hit. If your band is capable of churning out a couple of ’90s, alternative country-inspired hits to make peoples’ experience of intoxication just a little bit more jubilant then you’ve probably already accomplished more in one set then most bands do in an entire career. Congratulations.

Hindsight is a band that knows its demographic and would love nothing more than to play their hearts out to them. On their debut album My World, Hindsight collects 12 crowd-pleasing pop songs, sprinkles them with a little hard rock there, and a little country here, and then serves them to a public hungry for a portable version of their show to which all those lovely Fox Valley folks had such a rowdy good time at last Friday night.

On Hindsight’s debut, there no surprises, no inspiring moments, and nothing we haven’t heard the makings of on the last Matchbox Twenty album, but what this release lacks in ingenuity it makes up for in the album’s tight recording and production, as well as perfectly composed song structure. Every track has been expertly cleaned and polished to near perfection, giving you the fullest experience of the band’s sound possible, barring a personal performance in your own living room. Actually, I highly doubt the acoustics in your living room are as good as the production quality on this album so you’re probably getting the better deal by buying this album.

The most noteworthy song on the album is the title track “My World” which builds the listener up with a soft bass kick, hi-fi guitar combo that quickly transitions into a 3 Doors Down-esque throw down which twists and spirals, rocking out loud, but yet remains surprisingly easy on the ears. A real testament to the band’s technical skills and the impressive production value of the album as a whole. Kudos.

E is for Everyone, Awesome Car Funmaker, self-released

Madison’s Awesome Car Funmaker has developed a very different and distinct sound that separates them from just about every other group currently residing in Wisconsin. Their new album, E is for Everyone, is an accomplished release which should put the group smack dab in the middle of every rock magazines’ top “50 Artists to Watch” list.

Combining whimsical, high-pitched vocal hooks, poppy guitar riff and keyboard combo-driven tunes, and an insatiable appetite for obscure subject matter, with the grandeur of crowd-pleasing arena rock and the tenacious urgency of punk rock, Awesome Car has all the makings of a major contender in the indie rock scene. They are very much an awe-inspiring poster children of this generations’ delightful obsession with weirdness and balls to the wall rock and roll. Designations they wear with pride.

E is for Everyone is a funny mix of musical elements that could easily excite a crowd of fans to form a professionally choreographed stage production as it could incite a raging mosh. There is really a sense of epic storytelling and rock opera, theatrical greatness to their music that makes the realization that the band is singing about picking pickles out of the garbage, birthday cakes, and Adderal all the more intriguing and amusing.

Stand out tracks include the keyboard- and drum-driven ballad “Don’t Try,” the poppy and winding “Sloppy Girl,” and the jazzy depiction of Costa Rica’s national history on (what else) “Costa Rica.” The band keeps things fresh and coming fast throughout the course of the full album, making it clear that they are more than capable of living up to the title of “Awesome.”

Awesome Car’s styleis good for earning scene points and praise from snooty music critics *cough, cough*, but unfortunately does little to appeal to a wider audience outside of the indie market. While not exactly for everyone, E is for the listener with a real appreciation of original music, who is more then a little willing to take a walk on the wild side.

MGMT, Oracular Spectacular, Columbia

Formerly known as The Management, MGMT is an art school extracurricular project of band mates Andrew Van Wyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, which has traversed the barrier from performance art and punk meltdown to a calculated and intricate pop/rock infusion, creating one of the seminal sounds of 2008.

On their debut album, Oracular Spectacular, Wyngarden and Goldwasser demonstrate remarkably creativity in their use of a pop-heavy, ambient, indie-electronic style and song structure which distinguishing them in the field of pop musicianry, while incorporating characteristic qualities of the “Indie” sound, that has become popular with the introduction of Modest Mouse, The Shins, and other similar bands into the flow of mainstream consciousness. The “Indie” factor of their music is important in that it gives the band’s work a thoroughly modern orientation and sound, making it immediately accessible to contemporary music lovers.

Oracular Spectacular, opens with the tranquil and distortion heavy “Time to Pretend,” a reflective number where the boys recall past life experiences before declaring that “Life can always start up anew”; this transitions smoothly into the lamentful “Weekend Wars,” a winding piano driven indie rock serenade, which then plunges head first into the slow tempo and indulgent synthesizers of “The Youth,” setting the pace for the rest of the album with its silky transitions and invigorating composition.

Oracular Spectacular has a very layered sound which suits them without seeming cliché or overproduced. Despite MGMT’s modernistic tendencies, they demonstrate no small amount of confidence in their embrace of rock ‘n roll’s heritage. The track “Eclectic Feel” is a bass and rhythm guitar based slow jam disco beat, that could easily give the Bee Gees a run for their money, and the beginning of “Pieces of What” sounds like an unreleased track from the Rolling Stones’ salad days. Tracks like these pay homage to numerous creative influences with out stumbling into full blown nostalgia, a feature of the band’s artistic merit which speaking volumes to the overall quality of their work.

MGMT shares in the wildly imaginative and innovative pop sensibility of proto-punk greats like Lou Reed and David Bowie, but with a taste for experimental noise, distorted drums, and exuberant vocal harmonies that stake their claim firmly within this generation’s musical interests. If you remember listening to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and loving every minute of it, or have ever heard a band like Polyphonic Spree and thought, “Wow,” then I highly recommend MGMT’s debut album.