Coja

its baker's dozen

good review though.

I'm still actually looking forward to hearing the album, but your summary of the context in which it arrives is spot on. The analysis read very well.
Sorry to be such a nit-picking nancy boy, but:
"speed of which" would read better as "speed at which"
"of whom ... part of" - doesn't need the second 'of'.
Again, sorry.

I must give this album another listen...

or it's "living for the weekend and working for the cash machine" - something like that.

Deciding that an album is 'cool but the lyrics are indiscernible', isn't the most interesting or insightful of conclusions. I would also say that your touchstones are a bit off the mark: 'classic Americana country rock' and 'math-pop' don't really figure here at all. Oddly (and stupidly), what most annoyed me was probably the fact that the members of Crystal Stilts don't have 'Haircuts' at all:

http://new.assets.thequietus.com/images/articles/5493/Crystal_Stilts_1293130162_crop_550x500.jpg

I think your writing could benefit from taking more than just a cursory look and a cursory listen.

Living where I do, I don't have a local record store. I absolutely feel all the poorer for it.

This has saved me the job of starting an embarrassing thread about how much I love the album. I genuinely think it's an excellent record.

EP3 was their most consistent. I'm sure I shan't be disappointed.

They managed to sneak a number into the album title I see.
Also: way to hype up the album by saying it's better than anything they've ever done.

...is it?

Thrilled that this song was included. Definitely one of my favs of 2010.

Interesting...
well it is to me, anyway.

but judging from his answer, he misinterpreted your question about the 'lukewarm' response. Or he just heard 'warm' or something.

into two tracks in the tracklisting. There's only 6 tracks in total.

Only listened to the full album once, but 'Home' was the obvious highlight. The rest of the album fails to live up to the standard it sets, unfortunately.

'Rapey' is a pretty apt way of describing it though.

The song is called 'The Life' not 'My Life' (despite the lyrics) - this is why you can't find any of its three (yes, three) different incarnations on Spotify.
It's also 'Pharoahe' Monch as opposed to the Egyptian 'Pharaoh'.

I'll most likley never feel compelled to listen to this album. I just have to say that this isn't just a terrible review, it's a terrible piece of writing. Really awful. Congratulations on butchering the written word.

I can understand why you're not a big fan of the EP, but I do feel 4/10 is a bit harsh and I think you could have articulated your thoughts on the record a bit better.
On 'puzzling': I would say it's a bit of an imponderable situation to try and imagine all the decisions that could have been made, and re: 'average indie rock record' - I would contest that the track lengths alone qualify it as anything but average.
Self indulgence: I would disagree to the extent that self-indulgence isn't conditionally based on the listeners' non-enjoyment - but rather a disregard for their enjoyment on the artist's part.

I wouldn't have a problem if you justified several of your thoughts:
Why does it strike you as a mid-life crisis? Why is it the musical equivalent of a Ferrari/leather jacket? (perhaps this is related to the next paragraph on returning to a previous aesthetic, but the writing doesn't feel very cohesive if that's the case).
Why does the record strike you as puzzling?
Why do you consider this album, and not any of his previous work, self-indulgent? (surely the 50 state project was more self-indulgent!). Have you just used the word self-indulgent because it's a term people all to often connect with long songs with guitar solos?
These are questions I'd like answered, please.

'Rill Rill' is excellent (this is almost exclusively down to the Funkadelic sample)
'Tell 'em' is good.
All in all, I'm a bit perplexed as to why everybody is hailing the album as a triumph. Not necessarily a bad record, just not a great one.
Album artwork is undeniably cool, though.

A portmanteau of 'jack' and 'acquire', obvs. - "Jacquire" v. to take something (esp. a car) illicitly, to steal.

He's also desirous for you to acknowledge the irony.

my career's in retrograde' lol.

13th Floor Elevators are great, but never heard any of Roky's solo stuff. I'll have to check this one out.

But after a bit of research, I found out that they singed a short term publishing contract with EMI to distribute Funeral, though were never signed to the label. The parent company of their label Sonovox is also Mercury/Universal I think, but I can't find much information on it. Still on Merge in the US, though.

I may be wrong, but I thought their stuff was released under either Merge or their own label Sonovox. As far as I'm aware, neither is a major label imprint.

I like it. More so than Attack & Release at least, which I found rather disappointing. Need a few more listens before I make a proper assessment.

it was probably a one-day moustache that he didn't have chance to shave.

Massive loss for Interpol.

Really liking it. Sounds to me as though they were quite an influence on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

sounds interesting.

Looks quality whatever it is. I'm a real sucker for interesting packaging.

She's a complete idiot. Your various descriptions of her are spot on.

Apostrophe typo: "the newest straight to DVD one's"

no?

Apart from that I thought this was a really good review. I reckon I'll probably like it a bit more than a 7 judging from what I've heard, but it's a fair score.

I've listened to it through a couple of times (never bought it unfortunately), and it is certainly more deserving of a place than some albums I could mention (Muse - The Resistance). The title track never fails to make my hairs stand on end.

but a lot of people think it's a piece of crap that wasn't worth the fuss.

But I'd disagree with the idea that dividing the tracks over three discs is simply a 'nice tribute'. Wasn't the idea that, with the original vinyl on three different records, the tracklisting was more malleable? By replicating this on the CD it reintroduces the notion that there's no certain sequence to the songs (except, of course, the inter-record sequencing) to a different format; there is no given beginning or end to the album, which is in tune with the deconstructive ethos of post-punk.

I think you changed Chris Keating's initials half way through; unless there was someone else called SK there.

The more I listen to this album, the more incorrect and unfair your review seems; appropriately, one could quote 'Out Of The Blue''s lyrical chain of events ("somewhere along the way [your] hopefulness turned to... vengeance") to explain the ridiculously low scores this album has received critically.
I actually think it's a really well crafted record now and even the production job doesn't bother me so much anymore. If I was feeling generous I'd give it an 8/10, but it's a solid 7/10 regardless.

Couldn't agree more. It feels so self-indulgent and shows absolutely no signs of craft in terms of the albums dynamics. It plays like a sledgehammer in the face. It's a shame since when I first heard 'New Fang' I thought it was going to be excellent.

I think you're spot on about the loud mastering. Like you said, it's pretty busy too, which is due in part to the loudness of the album.
However, I am happy to kid myself and I think I will end up enjoying the record (I'd have at least given it a 6/10 on the first spin), as it exhibited flashes of genius in a few places.
Nevertheless, I will readily welcome his return to guitar music with The Strokes, if and when that happens.

the Shins are still going, they changed their line-up; ousted Jesse Sandoval and Marty Crandall, and got the Fruit Bats' bassist and Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse on drums. But they're in the middle of making a new album. Pitchfork had the scoop: http://pitchfork.com/news/35257-shins-james-mercer-spills-about-lineup-changes-new-album-other-projects/

James Mercer said that "[the] album is still in its very early stages" (as of May 6) and he's "aiming for a release early next year"

speaking of redolence, do the brass-embellishments remind anyone else of Metallica's S&M. Particularly during 'Skeleton''s crescendo... probably just me.

The version of 'Lakeside' pales in comparison to the take from the Mystery EP. The exultant feel of the chorus has been utterly destroyed by the woozy atmospherics dominating the mix on After Robots. On the whole, this was a pretty large disappointment for me.
The review is pretty sound though; I agree that it's 'never particularly redolent', but that's a bit of a hindrance here in my opinion. I guess I fall into the camp for whom this album tries their patience, BLK JKS seem to spend ages trying to find their groove in half of the songs on the record, not always successfully.

"I know people download music now but I never do. I buy CDs."