"Everybody, Come Outside"- Pomegranates

8.7

You can tell a lot about this album just from it's cover. Odds are the impression you get from a couple seconds of glancing at it are accurate: fun, colourful, innocent, bright, etc. All very good things, which this album happens to have a lot of. Let's take a short look back...

Last year, Poms released their first LP, "Everything is Alive", and almost a year to the day later, they have a second one out. This alone is amazing. Their first album had the potential, but none of the songs really stuck out (with the exception of a few). However, on this album, they took the potential and really honed it and found their niche.

The album starts out fun, in a jolt of indie rock with a nice beat and group vocals that make you want to groove along. Sonic is a word I would describe the soundscapes on this album. They define their sound as "art-pop" and I like this name for them. The songs have a nice gliding, easy-going feel to them. I feel like there are a number of high points in this album, and it definitely has more of a direction than their first. Their guitar lines are sweet; each song usually has a driving bassline with slick guitar phrases left and right with some atmospheric keyboards. "Beachcomber" is a nice song to bring in the summer with. The band's two singers comliment the songs really well. One singer has a higher, almost falsetto, that's very child-like and whimsical but definitely has gusto; where the other singer has the gusto and gives it a deeper feel. As far as motifs throughout the album, stars, dreams, the sky, space, land, and water. "The Southern Ocean" talks about a (girl?) swimmer with big dreams, and a peppy sound. This track really kicks off the album for me. "Sail (Away with Me)" is a cute indie love song that your ears will surely sail away on. The mellotron flutes give way to a very transe-like state, I like it. "Corriander" dabbles in progressive and art rock (hence 'art pop') with the sonic delay-filled guitar lines and talks about when "I was young/a few lightyears ago". "384 BC" is slow and dreamy. Dreamy, another point I'd like to bring up. The songs on "Everybody" are very innocent, dreamy, child-like, etc, but not unfocused or stupid. Rather their songs are child-like and fun, with psychedelic passages and a whimsy comparable to Syd Barret led Pink Floyd.

Another great thing about Poms is t

hat the songs aren't too long and they don't drag on too long. With the exception of "Jerusalem has a Bad Day" and "I feel like I'm a Million Years Old", which clock in at nearly 7 minutes and 13 minutes respectively. Their songs are easy to listen to, fun, psychedelic at times, playful, and very solid.

Highlight: "Everybody, Come Outside", "Tesseract", "The Southern Ocean"

Listen if you like: The Shins, early Pink Floyd, Arctic Monkeys

"Places Like This"- Architecture in Helsinki

8.5

Architecture in Helsinki, in a time where odd names seem to fit right in, so does this peppy, happy, upbeat, wonderful record. AIH has got more spunk than any other band around today. Lead singer Cameron Bird takes up most of the vocal duties on this album. His vocals fit somewhere between David Byrne and Isaac Brock. That comparison comes up a lot in my mind, Talking Heads and AIH are very similar in dynamic. AIH created a very fun record on "Places Like This", and you'll be grooving from the first synthed out track all the way to the end.

"Red Turned White" gives you the notion of the album and sets the scene really well. If you haven't already, check out the music video for "Heart It Races", it's pretty trippy. One of the strongest points of this record is that it's always fun, but it doesn't become "Skeletal Lamping" and get too un-serious. You can tell the musicians took their parts very seriously. "Hold Music" is straight groovy. Also, their background (Australia) comes to their advantage; it fits them very well. For example, "Let me tell you about Christmas time when it's hot", a line from "Like it Or Not". "Feather in a Baseball Cap" and "Underwater" take the album down a notch. "Underwater" is ghostly and wonderful, it kind of slides through your headphones. "Like it or Not" brings back the funk (and the weird). Their drummer, James Cecil, plays the trombone. Singing about somebody's mom being in love with you, don't think too much of the lyrics, but that's not a problem; there's plenty to tickle your ear's fancy. "Debbie" is their nightclub dance tune. "Lazy" shines through the odd and strikes beauty. "In the galaxy stars/with nothing in the middle 'cept the planet that we're on and it's playing 2nd fiddle": I love it. "Lazy" starts out quiet, but by the end the sweet guitar lines groove into each other and your feet will be tapping like hell. This song just sounds Australian, if that were to be a genre. "Nothing's Wrong" is another song that strikes gold. It pushes this album back into Talking Heads territory. The last song, "Same Old Innocence", takes it back up and back down, with a pumping tune.

Like I said, every song on this album is dance worthy. Some of the songs are weirder, but some of them (as I mentioned) are very respectable songs. There is a lot to listen to in this album, and I'm sure you'll be listening to it for a long time. Also, see them live if you can, they're incredible. I am excited for their (hopeful) 2009 release, but "Places" is a great place to start for exploring the AIH catalogue. Happy dancing...

Highlights: "Lazy", "Nothing's Wrong".
Listen if you like: Modest Mouse, Talking Heads

"The End of History"- Fionn Regan

9.5

It's been almost 2 years since I stumbled across this folk album, and almost 3 years since its initial release. What Fionn Regan created on his debut album was truly classic. First off, he plays guitar incredibly well, has a great Irish-accented singing voice, and is a talented songwriter. His songs evoke scenes in Ireland during the summer, long coasts, the gold old days, things undone, words unsaid, rain, sun, happiness, sadness, this is one of the greatest albums of the decade and I have no doubt that this album will get a spot in your memory as such.

From the first seconds on "Be Good or Be Gone", Regan's finger picked guitar, and matter-of-fact vocals are reassuring. I can't quite say enough how soothing this song is. "The Underwood Typewriter" takes you to rural Ireland on a nice summer day. His guitar is once again beautiful and flawless, and his storytelling is heartwarming. "Hunters Map", "Snowy Atlas Mountains" represent the darker side of Regan, but no less staggering. "Hey Rabbit" is a nice analysis of the world these days. "The Cowshed" talks about suicide, and is definitely a darker but nostalgic tune. "I still see you as a baby/I do/Climbing onto the stage in front of the school", I think anyone can relate to the feeling of this song. "Abacus" is another heartwarming tune. Something about it will shut me up instantly. There's something in the words that have a sort of let's leave now and run away together feeling to it. "Bunker of Basement" is an amazing way to end an album. The first half is occupied by the bright piano paired with his plucked guitar led by his vocals, where the second half lets the piano lead and invokes the scene of driving away.

I really think that anyone can relate to this album. It's a nice folk gem, but it's not boring like most folk records get. There's something very nostalgic, summery, melancholic, but still very happy about it. Listen to it, and you'll love it.

Highlights: "The Underwood Typewriter", "Snow Atlas Mountains"
Listen if you like: Bob Dylan, Fleet Foxes, The Cave Singers