Discovery LP Review

This album, the side project band of Rostam Batmanglij and Wes Miles from Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot respectively, is probably the most unexpected turn to come from the two in my opinion. Just so different to what they have done in the past. But it’s also possibly the best thing they could of done, both challenging and confounding critics of the techniques used here, especially the dreaded auto-tune. It is used so well that it is hard to imagine the songs with out them. Carby for example, auto-tunes Vampire Weekend singer Ezra Koenig’s guest appearance and makes the song so fantastic, purely addictive in a bizarre way.

This is neo-r’n'b, alt.hop, whatever you want to call it. It is just so, so unique, building upon the techniques and practices of most modern r’n'b records and applying them to the indie core songwriting. The overlapping vocals, the drum machine beats, the auto-tune, yes they all come to the core of this audio experience. It is ingenious thinking for this to be made, it fully exposes the great talent in Batmanglij’s producing work, to even come up with the concept, the technique of it’s production, how it is conceived and made. Purely fantastic.

Songs like Osaka Loop Line and it’s great hooking, repeating, beating intro contrast with the vocals and make me jump in delight. This is proper dancing music, for the indie-minded, I’ve already busted-a-move to it in private but I fully expect the great, brilliant songs and their beats to take off popularly. It’s perfect summer-y music too, its just euphoric and well mellow. It’s charting something, something huge. But like this emotional journey, almost stereotypical lyrics of r’n'b songs. But that’s good. Discovery pays homage to the genre and those fore-fathers of auto-tune with this album and it’s heavy reliance upon said tool. And that just accredits it even more, makes it an even more impressive record.

I don’t know how else to describe and big up this album anymore. It’s so different and just one of the best LPs released in 2009, perhaps even the decade. Just get it, seriously. Fingers crossed for auto-tune in the next Vampire Weekend album!

So Insane
[audio http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/6/1/2462689/05%20So%20Insane.mp3]