When electronic music is the topic of discussion, I always find myself wanting to mention Tim Exile and share thoughts and opinions about his mark on the genre…But then I realize that nobody in the tri-state area has probably heard of him. I came upon Mr. Exile by chance when visiting a record store in Orleans, MA a few years ago and have found great pleasure in sharing his music with others since. Tim Exile’s album The Listening Tree is a rare find in the electronic canon; though it never breaks the confines of what might be called pop song structure, the last thing this album could be called is predictable. That seems to be the pirate’s brand amongst electronic musicians. Anybody with a sampler and a few rack modules is either “too Daft Punk” or “too Justice”…even if the comparison bears no resemblance to the artist at hand. The beauty of The Listening Tree is that it’s not “too” anything but itself. It is a technical beauty and seemingly as empty as it is full. The Listening Tree is a terrifying album; we are reminded of how heartless even the most beautiful of things can be.

One From the Vaults.
“Silent Air” by The Sound.

From their 1981 album From the Lion’s Mouth.

      From the Lion’s Mouth is, in my opinion, one of the most overlooked albums in the history of music. It is also (in my opinion, of course) one of the greatest albums ever recorded. Immediately the album unleashes The album was largely ignored by critics and listeners alike, and to this day has remained a sort of buried relic in the realm of post-punk. While Joy Division and The Cure are household names, that seems to be the extent of casual listeners’ endeavors into the post-punk genre.
     

“Machu Picchu” by The Strokes.
From their upcoming album Angles.

    The Strokes new album Angles is set to be released March 18th, 2011.
A handful of tracks have been leaked thus far including “Under Cover of Darkness” and “You’re So Right”. The former immediately recalls the bright & muffled sounds The Strokes introduced themselves with on  2001’s Is This It while the latter recalls…well nothing. “You’re So Right” is like nothing you’ve heard from The Strokes before. Its overdriven sound and minimalist drum track are vaguely reminiscent of early Minus the Bear.
    The song featured here, “Machu Picchu”, seems to be channeling influence from The Police while maintaining The Strokes signature neo-retro sound. “Machu Picchu” hits like something that might have been on The Cars’ Shake It Up LP with its laid back feel and bouncy bass line. Thus far, with Angles, it seems The Strokes are back to doing what they do best. That is not to say that Angles treads water in a stagnant sea; though there are hints of Is This It throughout the album, there is clearly a route that Angles is geared for, and this route seems to have been in mind through every stage of the album’s construction.