"LP"- Discovery

7.9

Sideprojects these days rarely create something worth lasting. "LP" is no different. Just like you've heard from countless other reviews and blogs, this album's songs pick up for 2 and a half minutes and then dissipate into nothing without ever creating any kind of omnipresent force or motif. This is not necessarily a weakness though. This album is good, but it is (obviously) not as good as V dub or Ra Ra Riot. "LP" gives a nod to everything that any other electronica band has, the Daft Punk reference, Japan, discotheques, etc., but despite these cliches, some things do stick out.

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The first faux-pas is that the album's arguably strongest two songs are first. So basically once you hit through the Japanophile synths and beats of "Orange Shirt" and the fuzziness of "Osaka Loopline", there's not really a lot to look forward to. The songs on this album all fall into each other, which is nice when you're driving or cleaning your room or something. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to dog this album or make it not seem worthwhile, there are a couple of really good tracks on "LP". The next song, "Can You Discover" is a version of Ra Ra Riot's "Can You Tell" that has been beaten to death by auto-tune (which is used on almost all of the vocals) and synths. "So Insane" is a nice obvervation of a crazy disco club where everyone is hitting on each other doing the electric slide ("I'm gonna teach you, teach you"). Not too bad. The production quality of these songs is notable as well. Rostam's touches are audible everywhere on this album's sleek, air tight quality. "Swing Tree" is an unexpected jaw dropper about a day-dreaming of sea-going boy, with the same synth patch as "Blake's Got a New Face". The rest of the album is otherwise alright, with tracks receiving visits from Angel Deradoorian, Ezra Koenig (Rostam's bandmate), a Jackson 5 cover, and a hint at African influence with "Slang Tang".

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Key tracks: "Swing Tree", "Orange Shirt"

Listen if you like: Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot, Daft Punk