Fresh Out The Deli

Transatlanticism – Death Cab for Cutie ★★★★★

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2003	Transatlanticism	Death Cab For Cutie	★★★★★	98	Rock	Indie Rock	Emo

It’s probably obvious for me to say that the goal of a song, typically, is for the lyrics, vocals and instruments to all line up in perfect harmony. If that’s the case, the goal of a record, typically, is to produce a collection of those songs and arrange them in such a way that creates a single, streamlined package where each song compliments the next.

Transatlanticism — released in 2003 as Death Cab For Cutie’s fourth album — is one of the best examples of a band achieving both of those goals.

Where many attempts at concept albums by other bands fall flat or feel forced — with shoehorned metaphors, individual moments that lack context on their own or rogue songs that stick out and just don’t fit — every moment and lyric on Transatlanticism feels like it was made precisely for the album.

Overarching themes about longing for old connections and the mental impacts of emotional and physical separation are present from the opening moments of “New Year” to the closing lines of “Lack of Color.” Musically, songs hint at isolation and intimacy with moments of sparse production, while occasional fits of noise can overwhelm the senses with emotion. But, even though the album’s ambiance is sometimes cold and the themes are frequently dark or sad, the album isn’t bleak. There’s a lot of warmth and comfort to be found.

Ben Gibbard draws you in with his friendly voice, while his words create vivid images. The guitar and piano melodies are simple but colorful and affecting. Other elements like echoing reverb, well-placed distortion, clapping, stomping and bells help fill in details and bring both depressing and playful moments to life.

I once listened to an interview with Ben Gibbard in which he said people get upset when they learn that the stories in his lyrics aren’t actual experiences that he’s had. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that songwriters create stories and images that aren’t always based on truths (we do call musicians artists, afterall).

Yet, with Transatlantisim, the way Gibbard delivers the lines, the vulnerability in his voice and the emotions that come out of him, you can’t help but believe that he’s retelling stories from the past. It’s a master class in storytelling and songwriting. Nothing he says is overly complex or pretentiously poetic. Instead, it feels conversational, personal and, most importantly, human.

Take the opening lines of “Passenger seat”: “I roll the window down, and then begin to breathe in the darkest country road and the strong scent of evergreen from the passenger seat as you are driving me home. Then looking upwards, I strain my eyes and try to tell the difference between shooting stars and satellites from the passenger seat as you are driving me home. ” It’s two sentences, but even outside of the context of the music or the sung cadence, you form a perfect image in your head.

In contexts with the rest of Death Cab For Cutie’s catalog, Transatlanticism is the clear pinnacle of the band creatively and musically, with song structures are surprisingly unconventional and nuanced production elements. And it — as well as The Postal Service’s 2003 release Give Up — serve as a bridge from the raw, indie rock sounds on the band’s previous three albums and the more commercial, accessible pop-rock style they’ll adopt later on.

Album highlights — “Title and Registration,” “Tiny Vessels” “Transatlanticism,” “Passenger Seat” and “A Lack of Color” — are the most evocative and emotionally affecting on the record, but each of the 11 songs here works to elevate the others. The quicker, more upbeat tracks (“New Year” “Sound of Settling” and “We Looked Like Giants”) add energy while contrasting nicely with the most tender moments (“Lack of Color,” “Lightness,” “Passenger Seat”). And those soft moments make the payoffs of the epic, soaring instrumental builds and choruses that much more worthwhile.

Dear Science – TV on the Radio ★★★★

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2008	Dear Science	TV on the Radio	★★★★	84	Rock	Alternative Rock	Indie Rock

While 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain is TV on the Radio’s biggest critical success and the peak of their creative vision, their follow up record in 2008 is usually my go-to when I’m listening to the band.

Compared to the sinister vibes and layered distortion that make Cookie Mountain captivating, Dear Science has more variety in tone and style. Songs are more traditionally built, sure, but feel warmer and a bit more alive, while still having some emotional, artsy moments.

“Halfway Home” is an energetic rock opener with pounding drums that builds to an epic, wall of a chorus that resolves into a headbanging outro and guitar solo. “Shout Me Out” starts slow with electronic glitches, but really gets going with some fierce guitar parts and drum runs.

Quick, dancy rhythms, funky guitar riffs and soulful vocals are frequently alongside horns and synths on “Crying,” “Dancing Choose,” “Golden Age” and “Red Dress.”

Indietronica accents like strings, programed beats and pianos and featured heavily on the slow, soft tracks including “Stork & Owl,” “Family Tree” — which sounds very similar to Coldplay’s hit single “Viva La Vida,” released only a few month prior — and “Love Dog,” a tender, contemplative lullaby that works as an emotional and musical counter to the band’s hit “Wolf Like Me.”

“DLZ” is a lone cold moment on the record, and a clear highlight. TV on the Radio gets us closer to the band’s earlier sound, with eerie backing vocals, trip hop-style drums and pointed, almost rapped vocals.

The album concludes with “Lover Day,” a triumphant march that represents the culmination of everything before it and ties a nice bow on the record.

Laugh Track – The National ★★★

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2023	Laugh Track	The National	★★★	60	Rock	Indie Rock	Chamber Pop

Laugh Track — The National’s 10th studio album and second release of 2023 — is a slight turn back to the band’s indie rock roots, but still, like its predecessor, comes off as a collection of songs that are pretty and pleasant but that could use a bit more energy.

I was optimistic listening to “Alphabet City” and “Deep End” to open the record. They had some movement and noise that I felt was severely lacking on the First Two Pages of Frankenstein. The back half of “Turn off the House” takes off in a really nice way, and the drums and guitar on “Smoke Detector” captures those old feelings as well.

Overall, the tender moments here also are more effective than they were on the prior record, and songs are better developed.

However, they band does at times feel lethargic, and too often are mellow instead of lively and warm. The record isn’t bad, and there’s nothing to hate or even dislike here. But it is still frustrating compared to how consistent the band had been in their heyday from 2004 to about 2017.

The band’s current, softer approach started on 2019’s I Am Easy To Find, which relied heavily on chamber music and collaborations with outside vocalists.

While I Am Easy To Find was maybe a little too artsy at times and definitely had a few too many tracks for anyone to really love the entire record, the standout moments and overall songwriting were stellar, and the massive undertaking required to stitch all the elements together was admirable. The songs moved with energy and emotion. The different women who popped in and out added new personality and variety.

Most importantly, the record still featured songs that really rocked. “You Had Your Soul With You,” “The Pull of You” “Where Is Her Head” and “Rylan” all had some real power to them thanks to driving drums and guitar riffs. And they contrasted well with piano-based ballads like “Quiet Light,” the title track and “Light Years,” which are three of the best tracks Matt Berninger’s ever written.

The band’s two efforts since have felt watered down and simplified, with the big issues being a lack of energy and what feels like a dumbing down of Berninger’s songwriting.

One of the best lyricists in the indie rock world through the band’s first two decades, Berninger’s words no longer capture my attention or paint pictures as well as they once did. Take this refrain as an example. “It’s a calculator I made a mistake on. I never should have said it like I said it. It’ll come to me later, like a Space Invader.” That last line is repeated a few times on the track, but doesn’t actually mean anything and doesn’t invoke any specific images, serving only as a middle-school level poetic rhyme or nostalgia bait for those with an affinity towards arcade games and UFOs.

He still sings with emotion, and there are bits and pieces of greatness, where you can feel his personality come through. There are still throughlines of themes across the album and standard bits of reflective storytelling that exists, which elevates The National above the gibberish songwriting of so many other bands. But the drop off in quality and consistency is noticeable compared to Berninger’s best work.

Most of the songs are fine and get the job done. “Dreaming”, the aforementioned “Space Invader” and “Turn off the House” all build in classic National fashion from start to finish. “Hornets” sounds like a typical National ballad with light guitar and piano melodies that fans have heard and loved countless times before.

However, outside of “Deep End,” the album’s real standout song, none on here are likely to beat out your favorite tracks on Trouble Will Find Me or Boxer or High Violet or even Sleep Well Beast. They’re not bad, but aren’t able to reach those heights I’ve come to expect and hope for since Alligator.

“Weird Goodbyes” featuring Bon Iver is a fine single that feels out of place as an album cut, and I haven’t been a big fan of any of their slow, indie pop tracks with programmed drum beats or timid instrumentals. The two others here — “Laugh Track” featuring Phoebe Bridgers and “Crumble” featuring Rosanne Cash — similarly fall short of the mark, and feel included just to have collaborators listed in the album credits instead of breaking new ground.

It’s a shame, because I like Aaron Dessner’s production, I really like Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers has some really good records. It’s all elements that I like and that should work together flawlessly, but having that style as a primary driver doesn’t work for The National in the same way it worked for Taylor Swift when she put out Folklore and Evermore with Dessner in 2020.

If there are swaths of new fans discovering The National and loving the new style, then that’s good for the band. Bands should evolve as they go and it’s common for groups entering their third decade of making music together to sound different from their early days. In fact, the band still sounding as good as they do and having their creative drive this deep into their careers is pretty outstanding.

Those old songs still exist in the catalog for folks who do enjoy the old days. As someone who’s been a huge fan of the band for over a decade, these recent albums haven’t done it for me, and I crave a little more guitar and drum, and a little less indie pop.

This review sounds overly critical for an album I didn’t mind, but The National are a band I hold to a high standard because of how good they can be.

Pure Heroine – Lorde ★★★★

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2013	Pure Heroine	Lorde	★★★★	80	Pop	Indie Pop

Pure Heroine offers everything you could possibly want from an indie pop record. Written and recorded when Lorde was 15 and 16 years old, the album displays the expertise a young musician would have growing up through the social media age and mixtape era.

The album offers a murderer’s row of hit-quality songs that make you feel happy, youthful, carefree and, at times, reflective. I always felt “Royals” and “Tennis Court” got a little more popular than they deserved, but when paired with “Team”, “White Teeth Teens” “A World Alone” and “Ribs” — one of the decade’s best pop songs — it’s hard to find another pop record with a lineup that strong.

The instrumentals throughout are fun but simple, with Lorde and producer Joel Little opting for MIDI instruments, pianos, subtle synths and rudimentary programmed drum beats that give the album a DIY feeling while allowing her voice and lyrics to always be the star of the show.

Lorde’s lyrics rely on basic but effective imagery and abstractly relatable themes that authentically tap into the slight awkwardness and edginess of a typical teenager. The song’s hooks are catchy and memorable, but without being over the top or too dramatic.

Nothing Lorde does on Pure Heroine sounds particularly extraordinary or groundbreaking. And compared to some of her more artsy peers in 2013 like Jessie Ware, Sky Ferreira and St. Vincent, songs can feel straight-forward at times.

But, thanks to the combination of her relatability and a little bit of mystique, she masterfully straddles the line of being a standard radio pop musician and an indie artist with a distinct voice and delivery, working to express herself.

She’s just personal and interesting enough to capture the attention of the indie and hipster crowds — and to inspire a future generation of young musicians — while being accessible enough to be marketed to a wide audience, a key characteristic that propelled her future releases to huge commercial success.

Psyence Fiction – UNKLE ★★½

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
1998	Psyence Fiction	UNKLE	★★½	58	Electronic	Alternative Rock	Trip-Hop

It might not be as pioneering or captivating as DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing… in 1996, but Psyence Fiction is a natural progression point for the DJ and producer as he teamed up with James Lavelle to form UNKLE in 1998.

Psyence Fiction still has similar cold, industrial production, but comes much more from the electronic and rock sides of trip-hop, leaving a lot of the instrumental hip-hop and jazz influences on Endtroducing… behind.

The inclusion of live vocals here — by British rock vocalists like Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Richard Ashcroft of The Verve, Ian Brown of The Stone Roses and Badly Drawn Boy, as well as rap verses by Mike D of Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap and Latyrx — makes the album feel commercially accessible compared to the sample-dependent melodies and vocal clippings used on Endtroducing… If you could make an electronic trip-hop hit, this is what it would likely sound like.

The result is that the best of the best tracks here really do shine and end up being conventionally memorable.

“Lonely Souls” has a cool drum beat with swelling strings and a grand chorus. Thom Yorke’s melody on “Rabbit In Your Headlights” and the haunting piano part create the darkest song on the record and something that’s up there with the best of Radiohead’s 1990s tracks. “Be There” — the vocal remix of “Unreal” featuring Ian Brown — is technically a bonus track and single that came out after the original release of the record, but it brings the original album cut up another level and helps give the record another boost.

Cool is a keyword here. The whole album is cool. Cool sounds, cool beats and cool feature performances. Beyond those three tracks mentioned above, some of Psyence Fiction is repetitive and tracks fall flat at times because they, for the most part, all tonally do the same things.

But it is a cool listen that really is of its time, with the consistent vibe start to finish, even if the music isn’t always the most dynamic or energetic.

Hyperspace – Beck ★½

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2019	Hyperspace	Beck	★½	37	Rock	Alternative Rock	Synthpop

I really like Beck, and I really, really like Pharrell. So understand when I say I really, really, really don’t like Hyperspace — Beck’s 2019, Pharrell produced record — I don’t say it from a place of negative bias or hate.

Hyperspace just is not a good record of music. Apparently pairing two quirky veteran artists together — both with very distinct styles — might not always be a good idea.

Instead of complementing one another, the two musicians feel like they’re trying too hard to make the Beckisms and Pharrellisms stand out. It sounds like they’re having fun on the record, but the result is mostly flat, synthetic vocals from Beck and watered-down electronic, vaporwave-mimicking production by Pharrell.

“Saw Lightnight” is the only song where the fusion of both artists feels natural. Unfortunately it isn’t a very good song, and comes across like a knock-off Ed Sheeran beat from 2014.

Almost everything else sounds like a corny, high school sci-fi stage production. Throughout, Beck sings as if he’s performing showy feature vocals — which he’s done successfully on indie and electronic albums from time to time in the past with Flume, M83, The Chemical Brothers, Gorillaz and Air. But that presence doesn’t really work the same way on his own albums.

Similarly, Pharrell leans much more into soundboards influenced by his time with N.E.R.D. and Daft Punk, leaving most of his hip-hop background behind. For a lot of the album, ambient computer elements are hidden under these epic, anthemic synths and vocals.

The music itself honestly sounds fine, professional and complete, but the total package is off, and the pairing doesn’t stir any excitement or joy. Even if the elements aren’t all that bad, it’s often times worse to be boring or disappointing.

It’s a weird choice, considering Beck usually loves pretending to rap over drums and bass. Why recruit Pharrell to begin with if you aren’t going to use him right? If Beck wanted to make a pop or electronic-influencer album, he could have used any number of better-equipped producers.

Colors – Beck ★★★½

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2017	Colors	Beck	★★★½	70	Rock	Alternative Rock

Beck’s 13th album, Colors, gets unfairly dismissed and criticized, because it lacks some of the hallmarks of Beck’s more acclaimed records. Beck typically bounces between records that are either kooky and experimental, or stripped down and serious; both styles have been successful in the past.

Colors, in comparison, sounds …ordinary. It’s the closest thing to a pop record Beck had made to that point, filled with upbeat, single-quality, radio-friendly tracks that use popular production techniques of the mid 2010s.

You still get weird moments like “Wow,” strange sounds and Beck-isms sprinkled in here and there. Most of those elements are synthetic though: harmonized, sometimes robotic, vocal effects; midi instruments like flutes and strings; drum machines and clapping. Every sound layer sounds very individualized and obvious, instead of a blended mix. Some of it is pretty corny or childish, with sing-song choruses, dance imagery and syncopated funk riffs.

But even if “Up All Night” kind of feels like a rock version of The Weeknd’s 2015 hit “Can’t Feel My Face,” it, and most of the rest on Colors, are fun, good songs. “Wow” is catchy and makes you laugh for all the right reasons. The computerized sounds on the title track open the record with a cool groove. “Dreams” and “I’m So Free” both have solid rock guitar parts, and you can’t help but dance or sing along to “Seventh Heaven.”

Obviously, there are some misses here. The one slower song, “Fix Me” is tacked on at the very end of the album and doesn’t quite feel like it belongs with the rest. The dancy “Square One” feels a little redundant and was executed better a few times earlier on the record. Driven by a goofy piano part (that’s a compliment) “Dear Life” is a fine change of pace but has a pretty lame guitar solo (not a compliment).

Also, “Dreams” and “Wow,” both very good songs that I like listening to, were singles that had been out for more than a year — released June 2015 and 2016, respectively— when Colors finally came out in October 2017. Hearing them in the context of the album felt a little jarring after hearing both so many times prior on their own. They’re the same kind of song that would work on the album, but I did feel a little let down when I saw they were added to Colors.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill ★★★★½

Years	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
1998	The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill	Lauryn Hill	★★★★½	93	Hip-Hop	R&B	Soul

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill really checks off all the boxes of what makes a record work. Strong vocals. Smart and personal lyrics. High quality, captivating production. Musical continuity from beginning to end and a clear, creative vision. It’s hard to find an album that does all of that. Lauryn Hill made it feel effortless in 1998.

The record really plays to her strengths. Sonically, the production draws from soul and R&B records, giving Hill a chance to show off her vocal range in a subtle, laid-back setting. But it also feels more like an underground conscious rap album at times, drawing from her Fugees’ roots. That combination allows her to deliver smart lines with some punch, while her performance carries melodic lines and emotion, making the product more accessible for a wide audience than a traditional 1990s hip-hop record.

Miseducation starts with a great run of songs. Having her first track away from the Fugees as a diss track to her former group could have really backfired if not done well, but “Lost Ones” has everything you’d want in an opening track. She takes a familiar Fugees kind of beat, raps in a strong, aggressive style that shows off her lyricism through the verses, and a great harmonized vocal hook.

“Ex-factor,” “To Zion” and “Doo Wop (That Thing)” back-to-back-to-back then warm things up and introduce the other sounds that’ll be found throughout the album. Simple, clean and memorable drum, piano and guitar soul tracks color in the space while Hill’s perfect vocals either soar above the instruments or energizes the track.

She juggles soul with hip-hop elements — like the quick sample of Raekwon’s “Ice Cream” on “I Used To Love Him” — with ease, creating an hour’s worth of songs that are smooth, warm, reflective, confident and laidback.

Because of this, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill feel almost timeless. A few elements — like the Carlos Santana guitar part, some of the straightforward percussion and bass lines, and the overdone skits — date it as a late 1990s record, sure. But overall, the themes and sounds here have been tapped into by other artists time and time again in the years since, and nothing compares to the original.

AM – Arctic Monkeys ★★★½

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2013	AM	Arctic Monkeys	★★★½	73	Rock	Alternative Rock

Sometimes there are albums that make a big impression when they come out, with a lingering impact and high level of nostalgia it can generate that goes beyond the actual quality of the record itself.

AM, the Arctic Monkeys’ 2013 record — which brought the band out of a small two-record funk by perfecting the edgy sounds they had been experimenting with but without reverting back to their early sound — is one of these records.

Maybe it just came out at the perfect time, or maybe it was exactly the album indie rock fans needed in that moment to go all in on a band they were hoping to love again. But despite some of its inconsistencies and flaws, it really has become an iconic record of its time.

The mid tempo songs are my favorite on AM. Of course “Do I Wanna Know” steals the show right from the jump, and out of nowhere became the band’s biggest hit when it was released. If the stomp-clap drum beat doesn’t get you hooked, the repetitive, bluesy guitar riffs or Alex Turner’s storytelling certainly will and the song builds over four minutes.

“Fireside,” one of my favorite of the band’s tracks, has that artist, cool guy vibe the band goes for typically on their softer songs, but with a bit more energy and some interesting backing elements like syncopated vocals and synth melody that really makes it memorable.

“Snap Out of It,” and “Knee Socks” are fun and catchy, with the latter bringing back Josh Homme to add some of the most effective Queens of the Stone Age production elements he brought to Humbug and Suck It and See.

But everything else on the record I’ve always felt falls a little flat for me, even though they’re good songs and all sonically and lyrically fit together nicely. I’ve always preferred the band’s more punky and alt-rock based tracks compared to when they’re trying to be more classically artistic or to spotlight Alex Turner’s vocals.

“R U Mine?” and “I Want It All” are the most punk-influenced tracks here, but don’t hit nearly as hard as the band’s raucous rock moments of the past.

The album has some redundancies too. “One for the Road,” “Arabella” and “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High” all kind of serve the same purpose (although “Arabella” does get going with a killer guitar part near the end).

“Mad Sounds” is a charming ballad, but the other ballads are weak. I appreciate the humor and good writing on “No. One Party Anthem,” and get that the point is that it’s sarcastic, but the cleverness and intended irony does make for a kind of boring song overall.

“I Wanna Be Yours” gives a glimpse of what the band will become in the future, with a focus on lyrics and smooth vibes that feel almost like music for a fancy hotel dining room instead of traditional rock songs.

That’s a lot of criticism for an album I do genuinely like revisiting and that I appreciate. But, even though there aren’t any truly bad songs on here, I don’t think it’s the band’s most exciting record from start to finish, and I prefer to pick and choose my spots instead of riding the wave to completion.

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