The opening track, “The Great Pan Is Dead” acts as the loud, churning announcement of what we are to expect for the rest of the album. It immediately gets in your face, and its assault sets high expectations for what is to come. The album continues moving forward with “Pacing Around The Church,” “Confetti” and “Catacombs” in which the New Order-esque sonic texture is complemented by Wesley Esold’s vocals that remind one of Robert Smith. “Underworld USA” begins with a darker, Nine Inch Nails industrial-like thump that eventually builds up to an arena anthem chorus and guitar riff.

The album’s highlight, “Icons of Summer,” bolts out like the sound Cut Copy were to achieve if they ever took a more gothic approach to songwriting. The one weakness of the album is in “Alchemy and You,” where the use of trumpets that comes with Cold Cave’s more experimental style doesn’t really pay off.

Overall, this album is memorable, and simply good. Definitely one of the best albums I have heard this year. Highly recommended for anyone who feels nostalgic for the days in which synth-pop ruled the world. If you like New Order, Duran Duran, Cut Copy, Depeche Mode or The Cure, I think there is a high change you will enjoy this album.

Grade: 9.1

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am

Without saying a word, Julieta and her band walked on stage, and Julieta began our night by skillfully playing the first notes to “Amores Platonicos” on her piano. What differentiates the Tijuana, Mexico pop-star from most mainstream acts is her ability to play a wide variety of instruments during her performance. The guitar, piano and accordion in her hands complemented her soft voice throughout her set, which included many of her new songs interwoven with the plethora of crowd pleasers she has written throughout her career.  I usually say that a show consists of two crucial parts: the performer and the audience. Regardless of how amazing a musical act may be, a bad crowd can undermine everything that happens on stage. Julieta Venegas’ fans made it an unforgettable night, turning it into a two-hour sing-along session. Classic songs such as “Limon Y Sal” immediately sent a buzz through the crowd, while her beautiful voice charmed the crowd as she played a piano-ballad version of her hit song “Lento.” The song that stole the night was Julieta and the crowd’s rendition of “Me Voy.” The singer focused on the accordion and left the singing to the audience that filled up the State Theatre with their voices and energy. To put it straight and simple: I got the chills. Julieta Venegas came back for an encore and ended the night with the song that brought her into the spotlight “Andar Conmigo.” The concert ended to one of the loudest ovations I have ever been a part of. I am glad my resulted in an unforgettable night. Even if you cannot understand a word she is saying, her talent and catchy music will have you entertained the entire concert. Trust me when I say that if you ever pass on a chance to see Julieta Venegas live, you will be missing out on an unbelievable performance. Not to mention she’s adorable and I would marry her in a heartbeat.

Score: ∞+1/10.0

Setlist Amores Platonicos/Limon Y Sal/Algo Esta Cambiando/Bien o Mal/Lo Que Pidas/Otra Cosa/Algun Dia/Seria Feliz/Cancions De Amor/Duda/Lento/Despedida/Debajo De Mi Lengua/Amores Perros/De Mis Pasos/Ya Conoceran/Eterno/La Jaula de Oro/Me Voy/Original/Eres para Mi/Revolucion/El Presente

Encore

Sin Docuents (Los Rodriguez Cover)/Andar Conmigo

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am

Mogwai’s new approach is evident in “White Noise,” a surprisingly cheery and upbeat opening track. “Mexican Grand Prix” shows the band is exploring into a more punk-like style than their past efforts. Just when I started wondering if I was listening to a completely different band, the distorted guitars on “Rano Pano” and “Death Rays” created that epic distorted fuzz that is associated with Mogwai’s most majestically explosive moments and reintroduces the band that we have grown to love. “San Pedro” is the perfect example of a new approach in which Mogwai rocks out for three and half minutes instead of creating a eight-minute track that gets progressively louder. Both “Letters To The Metro” which lacks a climax, and the more energetic “Too Raging to Cheers,” remind me of Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s style for some reason. The album’s closer, “You’re Lionel Richie,” is the one track that surpasses the eight minute mark. Just like typical Mogwai, they managed to give it an epic feel, with a soundwave that comes into being with a crash about four minutes into the song. It has an effect on the listener that persists even after the song drones out.

Overall, you will find the same Mogwai from the past, but Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, offers more surprises than their usual album, and I mean that in the best of ways. It is an enjoyable record that is to be played loud. It would be a pleasure to have my eardrums crushed by this bad boy.

Grade: 8.5

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am

Smoke beer, get fucked.

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am

There is evidence of their roots as punk rockers throughout the album’s lyrics with their apathy towards everyone and everything. “Underwater 2,” one of the poppier, more accessible songs on the album, captures this careless attitude with the lyrics: “It’s alright, just do what you want, yeah do what you feel.” “Pricks in Cars” tells those they don’t like to “fuck off.” The album’s overall tone is summed up by the closing track, “Blocks,” with the lyrics “Fuck the bullshit, I don’t care.”

Tyvek made an album where they simply rock out, without caring for anyone’s opinion. However, this carelessness comes with sacrifices. The outcome is an album I could listen to with no complaints, but nothing is particularly exciting or refreshing. There is nothing new, and it lacks innovation. Even though my opinion of this album is overall positive, I have a feeling it is going to be as forgettable as all the facts I crammed the night before my history exam. If you have nothing else to listen to, check this out, and turn the volume up. If not, don’t worry, you are not missing out. This album will be forgotten soon. I liked the album art though.

Grade: 6.0

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am

What I love about this album is the lack of fillers. Every track was written in such a calculated, precise manner, that you could easily picture them pulling song names out of a hat just to pick the next single. Each song was given respect and carefully treated to be something special, with memorable choruses and groovy Motown beats found throughout the album that give you a nostalgic feeling.

Even though that is the general mood of the album, each song carries something unique. “Bright Lights Bigger City” is a disco-infected anthem, “Satisfied” keeps the album upbeat and “F*** You” is a miserable, yet cheerful track, which celebrates cursing those to blame for his broken heart. However, not every track is as jubilant. There are some darker songs, such as “Bodies,” where Cee Lo seems to have taken the album title literally; “I Want You” is a melancholic slow jam and “Cry Baby” somehow makes him the victim after dumping his girl. All of the songs carry a trace of their more old-fashioned influences, but are turned modern and refreshing.

Even though we are familiar with Cee Lo’s appreciation for covering songs that go beyond his usual genre, I was surprised he included a cover of  “No One’s Gonna Love You.” It is my favorite song by Band of Horses, and I was excited to see what Cee Lo had done with it. The song turned into a beautiful ballad and I can truly say he made it into deserving equal praise to the original.

This album is infectious and entertaining from start to finish. I highly recommend it for anyone who isn’t feeling very experimental and just wants high quality, catchy pop songs. Even though you should not expect the same production on The Lady Killer as a Gnarls Barkley album, the songs are catchier and Cee Lo’s incredible vocals are still present. Overall, you won’t find anything groundbreaking that pushes the limits of musical creativity, but it is an extremely refreshing album for its almost perfect mastery of creating pop songs.

Grade: 8.5

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am

The album begins with the bouncy “Rat Trap,” which gives us an immediate insight to the complexity of these seemingly simple songs, with the catchy bassline, various guitar riffs, keyboards and other noises you can catch if you are attentive. The third track and highlight of the album, “Three Dresses,” provides a refreshing change to the indie-pop genre that has becoming too comfortable and unexciting. The album remains consistent in its quality and in its style. “You Really Must Accept” allows us to appreciate the vocals, especially the dynamic created by the male and female voices singing in unison. “Middle of the Road” and “Echos Diminished” further support the argument that this band can use a wide variety of instruments to create an interesting and fun experience that remains engaging to the listener.

You have to give One Hundred Flowers credit for taking the approach we usually hear in simple indie-pop, but resisting the comforts of the genre by using layers of sound that any careful listener will be able to appreciate. The one thing that I am hesitant about is that I fear they may be a bit too overproduced. Even though good production can help highlight the layers of their music, which is one of the album’s strengths, there are some sacrifices made. For example, the version of “The Night, The Day, The Night” that we find on Mechanical Bride loses some of the charm that it had on their debut EP, The Taiga in Spring. However, this album serves as proof that this band is capable of making good indie-pop. Their songs are charming and simple without falling into the simple formula of the genre. This is not the last you will hear of these guys. Mark my word.

Grade: 7.0

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am

Shad is extremely transparent in this album. He gives us an insight into his faith and morality, without being preachy or condescending. As I stated before, this album is very honest and we can admire Shad for not hopping on the bandwagon of filling his verses with references to “money and bitches.” However, I started feeling the album’s sincerity a bit too much. No matter how interesting your thoughts and feelings may be, there is only so much of it I want to hear. Shad has opened himself up so much that the listening experience is similar to sitting down with a person who is just rambling. During the first eight tracks, I could appreciate the flow and the lyrics, but it was getting old.

However, the album takes a sharp turn with “Yaa I Get It.” The song caught my attention renewing my interest in what Shad had in store. Thankfully, Shad didn’t fall into the same monotony of the first eight tracks. The next song, “Listen,”is a reflection of the meaning of music and an examination of his sources of inspiration. This is followed by what I considered the most powerful track on the album. In fact, it is one of the most powerful songs I have heard all year. In “At The Same Time,” Shad speaks of many instances the world has left him with mixed feelings of sadness and happiness, as he reflects on the current state of the world and America. He confesses: “I never laughed and cried at the same time/Til I heard a church pray for the death of Obama.” The tempo is then picked up by “We, Myself and I” and alas, he says “Well there’s no I in team but there’s a I in win.” Finally, some of the good old attitude that has characterized all varieties of hip-hop artists.  However, the song does not turn into a generic rap song. Instead, he maintains a deep message, reflecting on music being a medium for him to get away from himself and as an outlet to release all of his bottled up thoughts and feelings.

Overall, Shad seems like a pretty nice dude. He’s just some guy who needs to express a lot of suppressed emotion but finds keeping a diary or journal too boring. If you want to get to the more interesting parts of his thoughts, start the album at track 9. For the first half of the album I kept waiting for something to happen. The music and rapping wasn’t bad. I could appreciate the talent, but I was bored. I wasn’t asking for much, just some sort of climax or change of pace. The last four tracks offered just that. They are unbelievable and definitely worth listening to. I officially endorse them.

Grade: 6.0

Grade for the tracks 9-12: 10.0

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am

I was wrong.

This album demonstrates a clear departure from his previous efforts. Williams finally decided to record a real album. King of the Beach has direction and a noticeably more mature approach to songwriting. Wavves has been able to achieve this without overcomplicating his songs by keeping them short, catchy and charming. Even though this is an overall cleaner album when compared to his previous efforts, there are still traces of the lo-fi sound that brought Wavves onto the scene, allowing them to retain their unique sound. This record is a collection of songs that have an identity that allows them to not only sound good as a part of the greater whole, but each one takes on a life of their own. In every track there is potential for any listener to find something that can become special to them–it is hard for me to recommend only a few. King of the Beach is one of those records you have to listen to in its entirety. Any track may end up your favorite.

The album kicks off with the title track, immediately setting the mood for the cleaner, better-adjusted sound that Wavves has adopted. “Post Acid” quickly became one of my personal favorites. The guitars are raw, it remains upbeat from start to finish, and it is one of the catchiest songs I have heard all year. The album continues the “feel-good vibe” with “Take on the World.” This is followed by three of the most charming songs on the album, “Baseball Cards,” “Convertible Balloon” and “Green Eyes.” They are simple songs that make you want to go to a beach with your buddies and enjoy a good summer day.

Later comes “Mickey Mouse,” which sounds like something that could belong in an Animal Collective album. It is a clear demonstration that Wavves is not scared to explore and experiment with different sounds and styles. These new musical directions are working for him, and Wavves has all of a sudden become much more unpredictable and exciting. The album ends with “Baby Say Goodbye,” which embodies everything Wavves has done correctly on King of the Beach. The album captures your attention from the start and keeps you captivated throughout all twelve songs.

I was never carried away by the hype that had surrounded Wavves in the past. However, I can officially declare myself a convert. This has been one of my favorite albums of the year.

Grade: 9.2

–Enrique Lemus, host of Moose Trax, Monday 10pm-12am