Grizzly Bear - Yellow House

Grizzly Bear might sound like the name of a metal band, but they're really folksy acoustic indie rock. If you ever watch Adult Swim, you'd probably recognize a few moments from some of their commercials, and that's sometimes a decent encapsulation of their sound - catchy songs that are friendly but often with a slightly strange atmosphere. They can sound very simple and at the same time have complex arrangements, with normal rock instruments, traditional sounds like flutes, and electronic additions. It's a little hard to describe what's appealing about Yellow House, but whatever it is, it's there.

"Easier" starts with some simple atmospherics, adds some piano, and then works its way into a plucked guitar melody and high pitched vocalization accompanying. Drums and other elements are thrown on top, and the sound rounds out into a fully developed, well-chosen first track. Subsequent songs develop in a similar fashion, all sounding cohesive and yet having enough of their own flavor to sustain themselves without ever dragging. There's often a lot of shifts in tempo and sound within single tracks, and the surplus of ideas is quite evident. The closer, "Colorado" lurches into the distance with a resonating, slow drum beat and piano part which segue into and a collection of different instruments and styles with a simple, repeated melancholy chorus of "What now?" Hopefully, the creation of another solid album.

This Will Destroy You

This is instrumental post-rock, which means long songs that take a while to develop and no attention-grabbing choruses. Some would probably find it boring, but I enjoy it quite a bit. I often like to read while listening to music, and some bands work better for this than others. This Will Destroy You's self-titled first full length album is great for it. Nearly every track is a slow burn, either building a melody to a chilling, hard crescendo or just letting it linger for several minutes. The band knows how to play their instruments, and there is great artistry and subtle beauty in the textures they weave. There has to be something that lets them hold a tune so simple for so long without boring me.

Besides the normal rock standards of guitar, drum, and bass, they also include some simple electronic elements in a few of the songs. Not much, maybe just a drum loop or something to add a little twist to the sound. I'm not too well versed in post-rock, but they've been compared favorably to elements of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, two bands I know to be favorites of the genre. It's not exactly something to throw on at parties, but as a personal experience, it can be quite interesting. I won't point out favorite tracks, because they're all pretty consistent and entertaining. The real difference is whether they build to an epic climax or not, and I enjoy it when they do.

Battlestar Galactica - Season 2

The second season of Battlestar Galactica falls right into stride with the first season, providing entertaining and often exciting space-based drama and action. The show's greatest success might be how convincingly it pulls of the setting without it ever seeming cheesy. It's just a matter of fact. They strike a good balance between the battles against Cylon and the other troubles the fleet faces like resource troubles and political backstabbing, and romance is a much bigger part this season, and it's handled with a little less awkwardness than a lot of shows seem to end up with.

The special effects are always great, but the show's most interesting aspect is the plot, which always manages to add some new wrinkles when you don't expect it. I always seem to prefer shows that allow the status quo to change wildly without trying to keep everything the same all the time, and the show isn't afraid to skip forward in time or kill off some characters. The discovery of another Battlestar makes tides through the fleet, and the shift as we realize humans don't always see eye to eye is very nice. The political workings near the end lead to the show being turned on its ear unexpectedly in the finale, and I greatly look forward to jumping right into season three and seeing how this will turn out.

Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Spoon is a pretty stylish band that gets things done without that much effort. They're like a hipster easily coasting through life, knowing they don't have to try that hard to be good at what they do. The singer doesn't belt it out so much as he lets the words fall out of his mouth. Simple, catchy songs aren't exactly what I love, but it's an effective and enjoyable style. This isn't to say that it's lazy or anything, there's quite a bit of emotion and thought in some of these tracks, it just never sounds overproduced. While other bands like to add layers and layers of sound and texture, Spoon presents everything just about how they probably would at a live show.

I'm not sure it's my favorite, but definitely the most gripping song is "The Ghost of You Lingers." The music is just a simple jamming of piano keys, but there's a melody there, and the overlapping vocals create a mood unlike everything else on the record. It definitely sticks out. The first track, "Don't Make Me a Target" is the epitome of effortless cool, perfect for a movie that may or not be extremely pretentious. There's a bit fuller of a sound to "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" and almost a retro feel with a nice beat. "Rhythm and Soul" has a good twinge to the guitar part and "The Underdog" has a good orchestration to it. The album's pretty consistent in sound, and fairly good casual listening.