Reviews

The Last Shadow Puppets triumphantly returned this year with a follow up to their 2008 debut, The Age Of Understatement with the infectiously groovy and old-fashioned Everything You’ve Come To Expect.

What separates this album from every other indie rock record out there this year is this album’s voice. The old-fashioned vibes resonating from the twangy guitars of ‘Used To Be My Girl’ and the brilliant orchestras adding so much color to songs like ‘Dracula Teeth’ say enough on their own. They ooze funk and groove, in increasing fashion to craft something cohesively strong yet undeniably lacking seriousness; it’s fun, but at the same time emotional. Beginning with the melodic and old-timey guitar of ‘Aviation’ with the giant brass ending, this album immediately has a sense of uniqueness. ‘Miracle Aligner’ follows up with the bluesy guitars, and sweet piano arpeggios to conclude it. You can just taste the citrus of the flanger in ‘Pattern’, too. As already mentioned, the string sections play a huge role in every track of the album. ‘Bad Habits’ even has strings that may sound similar to that of Björk! The orchestras also add a strong ominous vibe to many songs, including the title track ‘Everything You’ve Come To Expect’ and ‘She Does The Woods’. The album does, of course, also have sweeter moments: ‘Sweet Dreams, TN’ is very sincere and emotional, and ‘The Bourne Identity’ ending the album on a sweet note, being oddly nostalgic. Unrelated to the instrumentals is the deep meaning behind ‘The Dream Synopsis’, a tale about being rejected in a relationship. The theme of love is a recurring one throughout the record, sometimes sweet and at other times, sour. That only adds to the diversity of this record, though.

Unlike the title may suggest, this album is everything you wouldn’t expect. Symphonies on top of slow moving, chugging indie rock twang. It’s hard to put into words the personality the album has. It’s one you won’t want to miss out on, though. It’s everything you need for a good blast to the past.

Favorite Tracks: Aviation, Sweet Dreams, TN; The Dream Synopsis

Least Favorite Track: The Element Of Surprise

Rating: 8.5/10

Debut albums should be triumphant and forever a standard to live up to and progress from. Hyped up underground singer/songwriter Jack Garratt’s debut album, Phase, is exactly that. Channeling The Weeknd and a soulful blues sound, Garratt’s debut is an explosion of color and sexuality that’s bound to blow up.

The most notable part of the record is Garratt’s vocals. There’s something haunting in his disposition, with a hint of sensuality deep within each meaning. The closure track, ‘My House Is Your Home’ is raw and unprocessed, featuring only his vocals and a piano. The track is unpolished and very much raw, but there was possibly no other way to end an album all about the sentiments of all things relationship. Other songs with notable vocals include ‘Weathered’ with a huge gospel, making Garratt’s soul sound even bigger, and ‘Worry’ which has some lovely R&B-esque harmonies. ‘Chemical’ has some folk chanting in its intro making it feel like Gaelic traditional song before becoming a disjointed electronic ballad. ‘The Love You’re Given’ has a chilling background vocal that serves as more of a sampled instrument than anything else. The hauntingness of the sample compliments Garratt’s pure vocals in the song, too. This album’s lyrics are perhaps some of the best this year has seen so far; songs like ‘Water’ on the deluxe edition and ‘I Know All What I Do’ have some particularly visual lyrics, and are pure poetry.

The album is largely composed of waves of synths, and when raw instruments are used, it’s more often than not piano, while some guitars are used from time to time. The intro track, ‘Coalesce’, has pulsating synths and a certain glitchiness to it in the outro that is reminiscent of Clarence Clarity. ‘Surprise Yourself’ also has a big pulsating synth, though this one has potential to be a ballad rather than a glitchy electronic wall. The album’s most popular song, ‘Fire’, starts off quiet and sensual, but explodes into a massive track by its conclusion.

Jack Garratt’s debut isn’t a revolution by any means, but it is a confident recollection of being in love. He sings with the disposition of a tortured lover, begging for more but fearing it all at the same time. His powerful lyrics soar over epic electronic instrumentals, which makes Phase one of the strongest electronic albums of the year. There is so much emotion resonating from this album that its hard not to feel it. Garratt’s hype didn’t die down, and for good reason. He’s 2016′s iteration of The Weeknd.