Modern Love and Death

admin — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 03:20:00 +0000

Philadelphia-based Hail Social has tried, yet again, to capitalize on the dance-rock craze that has made bands like Hot Chip and Franz Ferdinand pop stars and indie rock heroes. Unfortunately, the band’s attempts at hot beats fizzle before they fail to heat up, and Modern Love and Death is a painful trip back to the 1980s.

Beginning with first track “Annabelle,” there’s a Bee Gees sensibility where the ‘70s disco and the singer’s (Dayve Hawke) falsetto seem like it might be impressive. The song is about Annabelle, the bad girl in town who stirs up trouble: “You will never know all the trouble you caused/After you the neighborhood drew up a book of laws.” He’s in love with the girl, and the song comes off cheeky and sentimental — the best of the album, which means it can only go downhill from there.

From track 2 (“Heaven”) on, it’s a bizarre mix of Hall and Oates synth rhythms and lyrics that don’t exactly convey one singular thought throughout. But on tracks like “Heaven,” some self-righteousness slips out: “I’ll bet every night I’m on your mind.”

The cheese factor really kicks in on “All Night,” when Hawk croons: “All night we can listen to the radio!” Even the lyrics are a throwback to a long time ago, when the singer was most likely a kid without an iPod, which is why the album’s title track seems so bizarre in following.

“I am a modern man and I need a modern girl who will understand,” goes “Modern Love and Death.” But if he’s anything like the songs he writes, it will certainly be a challenge to pin down if Hawk has any originality or anything contemporary about him. It’s an ironic title for a song and album that is a rehashing of the 1980s in a way more akin to Olivia Newton John than The Cure.

Written by: Trish Bendix, September 2nd 2007

The Con

admin — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:45:00 +0000

By Tegan and Sara

Vapor Records

The biggest key to deconstructing Tegan and Sara’s The Con can be found in the line “I won't go my whole life telling you I don't need.” It’s a break-up album: a tale of love lost, and clearly one of the twins is blaming herself. In interviews with the duo, Tegan admits it was the dissolution of a five year relationship that is the basis of the lyrical fodder, and that she’s not afraid to make her heartache poetically public.

The Con is an album about lies and confessions. The instrumental manages to be upbeat while at the same time being the perfect indie-pop accompaniment for the melancholy admitting of wrongdoings. And while Tegan and her sister sing about the demise of something that once was so good (“Nineteen"), they turn the self-sufficient suffering into a blissful break-up album that any ex-girlfriend can only find heartbreakingly honest.

It’s quite obvious that the writing of The Con was a therapeutic experience for Tegan, and fans are only better off for it. It’s the most captivating and best written album Tegan and Sara have released, and their maturity is emerging with lines like, “The pressure of this life is so/You can't be held accountable.”

Written by: Trish Bendix, August 2nd 2007