Yeasayer
Amen&GoodbyeCreate/Control
★★★½
Brooklyn art rock guys slow
down, return to formBrooklyn hipsters Yeasayer got
hot transforming their wacko
indie-folk into spazzy synth-
pop on 2010’sOdd Blood.But
2012’s super electroFragrant
Worldwastoohecticandfiz-
zled. They retreated to upstate
NewYorktomakeAmen &
Goodbyeover a two-and-a-half
year period, and the result is a
more spacious, tempered, and
human experience. The back-
to-backpairof“IAmChemis-
try” and “Silly Me” show they’ve
notlostanyoftheirdense-pop
nous, while “Gerson’s Whistle”
and the sitar-celebrating “Half
Asleep” play like trapdoors of
sound, each section reveal-
ing some new strange passage
or sample going on. There’s a
kaleidoscope of ideas here to
swim through, making a record
that rewards over time. M.T.The Dandy Warhols
Distortland
Dine Alone/Cooking Vinyl★★½
The Portland band apes itself
with a noncommittal shrug“I’ve got to admit I’m too old
forthisshit,”croaksCourtney
Taylor on the final track of the
Dandys’ ninth album. Maybe.
ApparentlyDistortlandwas
recorded on an Eighties cas-
sette recorder before being
finished in the studio. What-
everthecreationstory,it’s
Dandys-by-numbers, with the
psych-rock droney one that’s a
bit like “Boys Better” (“Search
Party”), the deep-voiced beaty
one that’s a bit like “Get Of”
(“Pope Reverend Jim”) and
theslipperyEightiesone
that’sabitlike“WeUsedTo
BeFriends”(“CatcherInthe
Rye”). Perhaps we should be
thankful they’re palely imitat-
ing their better years rather
thanEarth To the Dandy War-
hols. BARRY DIVOLAExplosions in the Sky
The WildernessSpunk
★★★½
Instrumental Texan four-piece
refine their mastery of noise
Smarterthanyouraverage
post-rock band, Explosions in
the Sky have found their own
voiceamidtimehonoured
genre tropes. Yes, they have big
crescendos – and they’re not
afraid to use them – but in the
past few years they’ve stretched
outfurtherviasomehigh-pro-
fileindiefilms.Ontheirfirst
non-soundtrack album since
2011’sTake Care, Take Care,
Take Care, they’re less reliant
on their trademark slow-build,
crafting tracks like “Logic of a
Dream”, which packs an entire
album’s worth of moods into
sixminutes.It’snotjustabout
the pay-of anymore either. The
implosion comes early on “Log-
ic of a Dream”, setting them of
on a sublime and unexpected
path. DARREN LEVIN
Kim Salmon
My ScriptInd.
★★★★½
TheopenmindofanAussie
art-rock OGMy Scriptis inefably Salmo-
nesque, recalling many of the
artist’s key incarnations from
seminalworkwiththeSur-
realists to date, and boasting
typically whip-smart dialecti-
cal wordiness punctuated by a
recurring six-track modulated
drone cycle (“It’s Not Forget-
ting”etal).Therearestrangled
guitars and glam posturing
(“Gorgeous & Messed Up”),
post-punk angst (“Sign Apps”),
dyspepticpop-rock(“Making
Me Better”), and anarchic de-
ployment of rhyming triplets
(“Fucking Shit Up”). “Client
JGT683” is a meditation on
prevailing immigration policies
co-written with pundit Waleed
Aly,and“AnimalMan”araw
reflectionontheprimitivismof
the artist. GARETH HIPWELLEdward Sharpe & the
Magnetic Zeros
PersonACreate/Control
★★½
Freaky psych-folk collective
continue to mystifyAlex Ebert has ducked further
down the rabbit hole on the
fourth album under his Ed-
ward Sharpe nom-du-psych. “I
believewe’regoingsomewhere,”
he trills on “Somewhere” in his
crackedfalsettooveratinkling
acoustic guitar line on loan
from “Here Comes the Sun”.
Exactly where they’re going is
not clear. Ebert handed over
the creative reins to his band
of 10 onPersonA,butsome-
times democracy doesn’t work
sowell.Thisgrab-bagoffreak-
folk, jazz-rock and a smatter-
ingofschmaltzcomesacross
aspatchyratherthaneclectic,
whilehislyricsaboutagirlwith
“abellyfullofbaby”andbeing
tired of Krishna and Buddha
areasflakyasever. B.D.Few bands can bottle the
anxieties of big city living
quite like Parquet Courts.
On “Dust”, the opening track
oftheirfifthalbum,youcan
just imagine co-vocalists Andrew Savage
andAustinBrownobsessivelycleaninga
shoeboxapartment.“Sweep,”theydeadpan
in unison, before the track gives way to the
maddeningtracsoundsoftheirnative
New York.
Later on, Savage is roaming the streets of Ber-
lin, feeling like he doesn’t belong. “Feeling foreign
issuchalonelyhabit,”hesings
overoneofthebestpost-punk
rifsthey’veeversmashedout.
After getting their noise
rock predilections out of their
systemonlastyear’sMonastic LivingEP, Parquet
Courts are back to the business of writing edgy,
anxious songs that mirror the kind of cluttered
jumble of modern life.
Amoredemocraticapproachtosongwriting
makesfortheirmostdiversecollectionyet–from
the Beck-like vocals on “Captive of the Sun” (com-
plete with vibes) to the bongos on “One Man, No
City”, which draws a solid line to fellow New York
agitators the Feelies.
“Mymind’swornout,”SavageandBrown
speak-sing on “I Was Just Here”, casting them as
literalparanoidandroidsoverajitteryrhythm
reminiscent of Wire. As technology redefines
whatitmeanstobehuman,ParquetCourtsmight
just be the band for our times. DARREN LEVINLivin’ In the City
Parquet Courts
Human PerformanceRough Trade★★★★
Brooklyn indie worriers are as
anxiousaseveronalbumfive
KEY TRACKS:
“Berlin Got
Blurry”, “Captive
Of the Sun”May, 2016 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 97