Kevin Bronson on September 23rd, 2008

0

[Quick takes on three albums released today — no, I haven’t heard the new TV on the Radio (astute review here), but everybody I know with an iPhone says it’s great:]

Cold War Kids, “Loyalty to Loyalty” (Downtown) — While not as immediately infectious as “Robbers & Cowards” (save the single “Something Is Not Right With Me”), the sophomore effort by the Long Beach quartet is as much art project as album, with its beat-poet worldview, cinematic characters and Nathan Willett’s harrowing blues yowl. The band’s minimalist arrangements still demand that the listener’s ear fill in the blanks, but the Cold War Kids remain a band well worth meeting halfway. Deluxe edition (with DVD) highly recommended.

||| Downloads (including nifty Richard Swift remixes) at RCRDLBL.

Jenny Lewis, “Acid Tongue” (Warner) — Someday, Lewis or her band, Rilo Kiley, might make an album that erases graffiti and unclogs freeways. This raw-boned, retro collection of confessionals isn’t quite it, but it’s a nice addition to the L.A. darling’s canon, owing in no small part to the abundance of boldface names who guest. Elvis Costello, Chris Robinson, Johnathan Rice and Benji Hughes are among those who lend their voices; “Acid Tongue’s” organic glow was incubated by producer Farmer Dave Scher (Beachwood Sparks) in the Van Nuys studio where a host of Hall of Famers recorded. It oozes charisma, and while I stop short of the glassy-eyed idolatry affected by Lewis devotees, I always tell them: Now you know how I felt about Linda Ronstadt.

||| Download “Acid Tongue.”

Friendly Fires, “Friendly Fires” (XL) — With apologies to Cut Copy, CSS, Hot Chip and Does It Offend You, Yeah? — all of whom set my weary legs in motion — this is my favorite dance album of the year. The young English trio piles Bloc Party choruses on top of mountainous guitars and disco beats, and their L.A. shows earlier this year make me suspect they will be rockin’ one of the Coachella tents in April.

||| Download: “Jump Into the Pool.”