Four and a half years after their polarizing project Relaxer, British indie-rock titans alt-J have finally returned to sway opinions back in the opposite direction – essentially, by going full The 1975 and crafting a compilation of some of their craziest instrumental palates and songwriting concepts yet. With influences ranging from barbershop to opera and … Continue reading alt-J – The Dream
Art Rock
Weezer – OK Human
Much like my discovery of The Strokes’ excellent The New Abnormal album last year, an extremely quiet week in terms of sales numbers likely catapults another album I typically would have avoided a formal review of onto my end of year list. I’ll admit to not following legendary rock outfit Weezer’s entire career as closely … Continue reading Weezer – OK Human
Florence + The Machine – High As Hope
Indie-pop band Florence + The Machine return after 3 years with their 4th studio album, their most minimal and personal yet. Standing at a concise 10 tracks, Florence Welch’s immediately distinctive vocals take the spotlight once again, especially as the instrumentals behind her calm down for the most part. The band draw on some gospel … Continue reading Florence + The Machine – High As Hope
Rostam – Half-Light
All-star producer and former Vampire Weekend guitarist Rostam Batmanglij's debut album Half-Light sees him venture closer to the melodic art-rock of his past than his more recent pop exploits, making the kind of off-kilter and unique artistic statement that we only could have expected from him. After contributing to recent masterpieces from Frank Ocean, Solange and Carly … Continue reading Rostam – Half-Light
Ben's Beat - Music Reviews 