Soundbytes

The Weeknd
Echoes of Silence
XO
12/21/2011

Hypersexual, self-loathing, narcissistic, and mysterious are qualities enveloping 2011’s enchanting yet dark R&B artist, The Weeknd. With a late December release, Echoes of Silence lost recognition in end of the year lists, but it cannot be overlooked as the final installment of The Weeknd’s quickly but intricately produced trilogy. At first listen, Echoes of Silence seems to be excess material from The Weeknd’s previous two mixtapes from 2011, but the album offers much more than regurgitated production and themes. Abel Tesfaye makes a stylistic point of referencing his previous work, emphasizing that each mixtape this year has been part of a greater trilogy. Building on past albums, Echoes of Silence bluntly addresses sexuality and tumultuous relationships, delving into Tesfaye’s chaotic inner being. While Tesfaye references, and almost boasts, about his sex drive and multiple opportunities, he also manages to mention tragedy with his accomplishments. The album progresses from an expected sexual compilation to a nearly pitiful finish with “Echoes of Silence.” Tesfaye’s vocals weakly cry, “Baby please/Would you end your night with me/Don’t you leave me all behind/Don’t you leave my little life.” House of Balloons provided a bold debut for The Weeknd, easily earning its spot in top albums of 2011, while the second installment of the trilogy, Thursday, provided an experimentally produced interlude, and Echoes of Silence rests as a grim finale.

-Lauralee Yeary is a first year.

Rodrigo y Gabriela
Area 52
ATO
1/23/2012

The highly anticpated January 23rd release of Rodrigo y Gabriela’s forthcoming album, Area 52, is sure to reinvigorate the reputation that has cemented the Mexican-born duo as relentlessly innovative guitar heroes of the world music scene. The Dubliners’ third studio album is a bigger, bolder, brassier incarnation of exactly what their longtime fans have been aching to hear: more of Rodrigo’s relentless finger picking and Gabriela’s hypnotically percussive strum. Recorded in Havana with the Collective Universal Band Association (C.U.B.A.), the album showcases five reiterations of the songs that made previous album 11:11 a success: a steelier “Hanuman” featuring Santana-inspired riffs; an orchestral cut of “Logos;” a tighter “Santo Domingo” with a symphonic tango-funk; and a bolder, jazzier “Master Maqui.” While an electrified “11:11” proves less harmonically exciting than the original, the album’s real gem lies in “Ixtapa,” a complex, yet tightly sifted composition featuring everything from twinkling, jazz-inspired scales, metronomic finger tapping and liquidy sitar infusions. Here, as throughout the entire album, the orchestra inserts itself where it can and ultimately succeeds in highlighting the string brigades that shine from the album’s first notes until the last song’s (regrettable) end. Not to be missed: the revival of the ever-popular “Tamacun,” polished, dusted off and frosted with a bold orchestral accompaniment. This stuff is sure to excite.

-Molly Beauchemin is a fourth year.

The Orwells
Remember When
Dope
10/28/2011

I relish twee indie pop/folk rock just as much as the next girl, but sometimes all the songs about failed relationships paired with an acoustic guitar are inadequate tunes. The Orwells, who describe themselves as, “Sounding real raunchy n shit,” however, fill the aforementioned void. The Illinois-based band, consisting of five teenage musical virtuosos, performs thunderous memorable rock and roll with undeniable punk influence. Their sound is radically vintage, reminiscent of psychedelic-punk ensembles of the 1960s and 70s, such as The Stooges, with their resonating guitar, vigorous drumbeats, and rough vocals. The quintet’s latest album, Remember When, which debuted discreetly in October, is more refined than their previous LP, Head, released in May 2010 . Lyrics comprising “Hallway Homicide” and “Suspended,” as well as the majority of songs on the album, are examples of teenage angst at its finest when paired with choleric guitar chords and Mario Cuomos’ layered vocal tracks. The powerful drumming will induce toe tapping, dancing, fist pumping, or a combination of the three. The most refreshing and intriguing aspect of the band is their unabashed, adolescent convictions, which will the listener to look ack upon, and perhaps experience again, their days of feeling like a J.D. Salinger character: angst-ridden, contentious, and misunderstood by the adult world. (Bonus: All of The Orwells’ albums are free for the taking via their Bandcamp site.)

-Emily Masterson is a second year.