Young Widows: In and Out of Youth and Lightness

Young Widows isn't a band who stays in the same place for too long and this is clearly evident on In and Out of Youth and Lightness, its third proper full length and second with Temporary Residence. The band has hinted at dark mellowness in the past, for example 2008's "The Guitar" from Old Wounds, but now the dark doom is here to stay for an entire album's worth. Almost every Young Widows review of the past mentioned The Jesus Lizard and the influence is still there, maybe just a little bit. Check the sway of chords and twang of "In and Out of Lightness" for proof.

While analyzing Youth and Lightness, I found myself going back to Old Wounds, just to make sure that Young Widows is the same band. Well, they are and they aren't. Same individuals, but many things have changed; Evan Patterson has a Nick Cave like drawl, no more metal bashing, and only a few rousing moments ("Future Heart, "White Golden Rings). The rest is steady mood and intricate guitar work from Patterson, who has now solidified himself as the master of his own eerie domain. That's one thing that hasn't changed: Patterson's progression and range as a guitarist –– it's hair raising stuff. On "Right In the End," Patterson throws in some friendly acoustic Americana for the album's shortest track at three minutes. This band is from Louisville and recorded with Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket) in an old funeral home.

At nine tracks and 48 minutes, Youth and Lightness is by far the longest Young Widows record to date. Six tracks go past five minutes, but this hypnotic music never gets boring in length. Patterson may get the most attention for his precise axe work, but Nick Thieneman (bass, backing vocals) and Jeremy McMonigle (drum kit, tambourine, sleigh bells, piano, anvil, triangle) provide a very steady and chunky rhythm section, coming through with perfect fills. "White Golden Rings" lets loose for a thunderous chorus, but still not up to older standards for the band. McMonigle starts final track "In and Out of Youth" with a piano, setting up for an atmospheric climax.

Patterson ends the album by saying, "These wild dreams are done." Maybe Young Widows left its spiraling wildness behind, growing into a more mature self. The dark, swaying mood proves that much. Past Young Widows fans, like myself, will find themselves waiting for that huge metallic explosion on Youth and Lightness, but it'll never come. When the band almost seems to loose its shit, the music plateaus, burning into a dark haze. Don't sleep on this one.

Pissed Jeans: Hope for Men

Oh man, my roommate loved Pissed Jeans. He kind of gave this ugly stare, disgusted. “It’s just a lot of noise,” he says. But that's why this band is so awesome. Now, on their second album, Hope for Men, the band has found its sound. The separation is superior, with most of Matt Korvette’s vocal, while moaned, sounding audible. The lyrics are worth picking up, like “Bad Wind”, a song about wind blowing through a town, wiping everything away. All the frenzied noise stops for “Scrapbooking,” giving Korvette time to struggle through old pictures. It’s quite haunting, piano and all.

Pissed Jeans is an ugly, hostile band and they throw drunk mêlées for shows (witnessed) that will leave you deaf for two days. Not in a bad way. “I’ve Still Got You (Ice Cream)” is a song about ice cream and how it makes problems seem easier. The band locks into grooves at many points, but none better than “Fantasy World,” rolling through hills of smog to get to this huge party room filled with booze and grape juice. The wall is completely torn down. I love the live sound of the record and also the added experimenting of “Scrapbooking” and “The Jogger,” which is all feedback while Korvette lists off stereotypes of people that make the “not so rich majority” of the world feel smaller.

Hope for Men is brilliant because the common working person can relate. I know I do. I like ice cream, beer, wind, pizza, and kicking the shit out of my drum set. Pissed Jeans makes taking out some stress a part-time job. I wonder how far they can take this.

M.I.A. "Kala"

There are a lot of questions about who M.I.A. is as a person (real name Mathangi), but no questions about her music. It just depends on how Maya would like to move you. Particularly, on her second album, Kala, those moves are all going in different directions. Take “20 Dollar,” which begins with the most atmospheric opening heard in a few years on record, only to keep the song lurching until crazy synths come through and wipe the floor clean. Maya samples “Where Is My Mind?” from the Pixies and I’m wondering, where the fuck is my mind? That’s the peak of the album.

It only takes a few tracks of Kala to make a clear point. This is some serious instrumentation; forget her political views. The real sparks glow on “Paper Planes,” a song featured in stoner-dude flick Pineapple Express. All Maya wants to do is get high and “take your money”, but being high does make this album a little better than it already is. Props to The Clash for letting her sample “Straight to Hell” –– wonder what they think about it.

“XR2” is a horn contest gone right, where everyone is a true winner. Half-baked agit-pop for sure –– like this magnificent album. Kala goes out with a cool burn with Timbland helping on the knobs for “Come Around.” Maya reminds us that “the beat goes on,” but you’ll wish that it never had to stop. M.I.A. has dealt with a lot of scrutiny, but she’s building some sort of musical revolution. We should all spin this record at once and, strangely march in circles.