Softlightes - "Say No! To Being Cool. Say Yes! To Being Happy." (2007)

73%

Say No! To Being Cool. Say Yes! To Being Happy. is the debut album of Southern California-based quartet Softlightes. Barely 34 minutes long, Say No!... is soft, cute, and doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, a nice counter to the seriousness of some indie musicians nowadays. The album primarily features a folky indie-pop sound woven with electronic elements and lovely, sweet vocals (Ron Fountenberry). The sound on the album remains fairly consistent throughout, which, depending on your tastes may or may not appeal to you. (Personally, I liked it). All in all, it's a pleasant listen, though the sugary sound might not be for everyone.

tl;dr: Solid indie folk-pop, with electronic influences.
Best tracks: Heart Made of Sound, Town Named Blue, The Robots In My Bedroom Were Playing Arena Rock, The Ballad Of Theo & June

#1. The Ballad of Theo & June
#2. Heart Made of Sound
#3. Girlkillsbear
#4. The Robots in My Bedroom were Playing Arena Rock
#5. A Town Named Blue
#6. Leanor & Me
#7. Untitled Duet #3
#8. The Microwave Song
#9. Heart Made of Sound (Reprise)
#10. If the World had Cookies
#11. Black Skinheads in White Pants
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You Love Her Coz She's Dead - "Inner City Angst EP" (2008)

69%

Hyperactive is one of the words that come to mind when listening to Inner City Angst. That, and fun. That’s what this album really is: pure fun. It’s not very serious, and the pace doesn’t slow down at all in all of its fourteen minutes. And, like most bitpop, it’s not very complicated or musically intricate. To those who don’t like it, it’s annoying and obnoxious; personally, I enjoy it. I’ve always enjoyed old videogame music, and I wholeheartedly approve of the lyrical content. It has a very energetic feel to it (as mentioned before), which I always appreciate. It’s nice when it sounds like the band members are enjoying themselves. Still, it can cause headaches, and it’s only nice to listen to when I’m in the right mood. But if you like 8-bit and/or electropop it’s worth a listen.

tl;dr: Fun, bright, bubbly 8-bit/electropop. Not astounding, but enjoyable. Grows on you with each listen.
Best Songs: “Blood Lust” and “Dead End”

~Probey

1. Blood Lust
2. Dead End
3. Superheroes
4. Wizards
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SUNBEARS! - "Dream Happy Dreams" (2009)

90%

Dream Happy Dreams by SUNBEARS! is easily one of the best albums of 2009, and yet, it doesn’t even get half the recognition it deserves. This skillful duo masterfully pulls off a combination of an experimental and psychedelic sound with bubbly, electric indie pop. The melding of these two sounds results in an album that is very accessible, and delightful to listen to. Throughout the album, there are moments reminiscent of Of Montreal, Beirut, Animal Collective, and other such bands (to name a few).

The album begins and ends with two pleasant instrumental tracks, “Le Penné Pageant” and “Sunshine At 9 P.M.”, and in between those two are five epic, happy yet melancholy, unique, beautiful songs. The lyrical content is cute and poetic, and invokes the urge to smile and cry—AT THE SAME TIME. There is not a single dead spot in all thirty-one minutes of this gem of an album. Their sound is unique and interesting, and yet, it’s not difficult to listen to, as some bands of this ilk can be. It’s an album to listen to when you’re happy or sad, alone or with friends, etc. I can’t say anything else except for: LISTEN TO IT!

tl;dr: An experimental psychedelic indie electro pop rock orgasm that’s easy to listen to and adore. Highly recommended.
Best Tracks: “All You Need Is Sleep”, “I’m Alive!”, “Dream Happy Dreams” and “Little Baby Pines” (The album is very short; it’s worth it to just get the whole thing.)

~Probey

1. La Penné Pageant
2. All You Need Is Sleep
3. I'm Alive!
4. Dream Happy Dreams
5. Little Baby Pines
6. A Lovely Tuesday Afternoon In June
7. Sunshine At 9 P.M.
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Metric - "Fantasies" (2009)

77%

One of the nice things about Metric is that each of their albums has a slightly different sound. Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? was a catchy dance-punk album; Live It Out was more experimental, and had a louder, more rock-like sound; Grow Up And Blow Away was a simpler, sultry, more mellow album.

Fantasies is no different, in that it is different. It is, for lack of a better word, their most “mainstream” sounding album yet. Not that that’s a bad thing; the album is incredibly accessible, and a very easy listen. While their past albums have mostly been centered around Emily Haines’ talented synth playing, this album has a more guitar centric sound, and they forgo the biting political lyrics seen on Old World… and Live It Out for more intimate, personal lyrics. But, like every one of their other albums, everything is executed with a very high level of skill.

Still, when I first listened to it, I was not impressed. I had downloaded “Help, I’m Alive”, the lead single from the album, the moment it came out (what devoted fangirl wouldn’t?) and I was blown away. It’s an unarguably beautiful song—the sort you only have to hear once to fall head over heels in love with. The lyrics and melody are simple and repetitive, and the song has the same powerful drive from beginning to end. It pretty much only served to make me even more impatient for the release of the new album, and raised my expectations to what, in retrospect, was probably an unattainable level.

I have to repeat: this is not a bad album. However, for Metric, it is a bit of a disappointment. It seems like they took their unique energy and drowned it in a shiny commercial gloss. Not that I have anything against that sort of sound, nor do I think that it’s a direction that Metric shouldn’t pursue, but with Fantasies, it’s almost like they let the gloss overwhelm some of the heart and soul of the album. This could be attributed to their choice in John O'Mahony for mixing (O’Mahony is most notable for mixing for Coldplay). Or perhaps it is simply where their evolution took them. Their previous albums do seem to get progressively more polished.

Many of the songs on the album are quite good, in and of themselves: “Help, I’m Alive”, as previously mentioned; “Sick Muse”, a catchy, solid pop-rock song (I was particularly taken by the opening lines: “Watch out Cupid / stuck me with a sickness / pull your little arrows out / let me live my life”); “Twilight Galaxy”, a more mellow, lush song of the Grow Up And Blow Away variety (again, Haines’ lyrics tug at the heart, with lines such as: “Did I ask you for attention, when affection is what I need?”); “Gold Guns Girls”, a another superb, dancey, pop-rock song; “Gimme Sympathy”, a song of the “Sick Muse” and “Gold Guns Girls” sort, though it’s beautiful, poetic lyrics, and the way it flows effortlessly from beginning to end make it possibly the best of the three; “Front Row”, a seductive and harder song than the others on the album, making it reminiscent of Live It Out, in a way, though it still has the same sheen as all of the others on the album.

I believe the error was in putting them all together on the album. It’s difficult for each of these songs to shine when placed side by side. It took me a few listens to truly appreciate this album. Though it may not have all of the personality of their former albums, it is still a worthy piece. However, I don’t think it is a good place for people to start listening to them; it doesn’t give a full view of everything the band is capable of, and by only listening to this, you couldn’t truly appreciate everything that makes Metric the amazing band it is.

(Note: Acoustic versions of the songs “Gimme Sympathy”, “Front Row” and “Twilight Galaxy” came with the limited edition bundle of Fantasies, and they are a very interesting listen if you can find them. They also do a nice cover of Pink Floyd’s “Nobody Home”, and the B-Side “Waves” is pretty good.)

tl;dr: A well done, solid album that makes for a good listen, with many very good songs on it. However, it is not the recommended starting point for those who are new to Metric. Go listen to some of their earlier stuff first.
Best Songs: "Help, I'm Alive", "Sick Muse", "Twilight Galaxy", "Gold Guns Girls", "Gimme Sympathy", and "Front Row"

~Probey

1. Help, I'm Alive
2. Sick Muse
3. Satellite Mind
4. Twilight Galaxy
5. Gold Guns Girls
6. Gimme Sympathy
7. Collect Call
8. Front Row
9. Blindness
10. Stadium Love
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