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The Horrors: Skying- Once in awhile a British band comes along that makes every great American band seem useless in comparison and keeps them scrambling to stop the Anglo-invasion on American musical soil. The Beatles were that band, held at bay by Brian Wilson and his Beach Boys. A collective of modern romantics and new wave artists in the 80's like The Cure, New Order, Duran Duran, and Depeche mode were that band, held at bay oddly enough by hair metal. Oasis in the 90's were that band, held at bay by pop artists like No Doubt. Radiohead were that band in the 2000's and only slightly held at bay by Wilco. Now in the 2010's The Horrors should be that band but its a different world now. American radio is saturated by pop teen idols like Justin Beiber and fake plastic Bjork rip offs with delusions of Madonnahood like Lady Gaga. There is nothing worth conquering on the American musical landscape for a band of this caliber and promise. Oasis back in the day had a national pride and desire to conquer the world on a mass scale but just as American music has changed for the worse so has the English band mission. America no longer means you have made it and no longer holds any kind of artistic badge of honor. Who in America could or would appreciate an album that sounds like New Order and Simple Minds date raping My Bloody Valentine. The soaring vocals and emotional sweep of the music recalls those awesome 80's synth acts while the shoegazey guitar returns us to the glory of the heady and hazey days of the early 90s. So I'm not passing judgement on my own homeland but how many people know or care this kind of album exists. Just ask the "alternative" kid in high school I'm sure he'll let you borrow some Animal Collective instead. Oh the horror.







Red Hot Chili Peppers: I'm With You- So in the same month that R.E.M., one of the greatest alternative bands ever, call it quits, we have one of the worst albums from what has recently become one of the most despicable alt bands ever. The Chili Peppers could've ended an amazing career with their masterpiece By The Way but they didn't. Then they released Stadium Arcadium, a double album of some decent songs and some god awful mind numbingly dumb ass shit (ie: Hump de Bump) that made me cringe chronically for weeks. The thing that made that album even half decent was the genius of a guitarist Frusicante. Guess what happens when hes gone....One Hot Minute.....no worse....I'm With You. The new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer might as well not even be credited as I can barely hear any kind of contribution or any guitar work on the album at all. The album is chock full of bad disco mock ups and songs even worse than "Hump de Bump". Think that's not possible? Listen to the hokey preschool funk of "Ethopia". As if that's not bad enough listen to Kiedis' robotic dial them in vocal turns on....EVERY SONG! So a great band breaks up and a once great band stays together to go through the motions. In its middle age Alt-rock seems to be taking a turn for the worst this year. But hey it all ends on a good note, Guided By Voices will ride again. Lets hope the Chili Peppers one day can.