REVIEW: Chaos and the Calm//James Bay - This Could Be the One

4.5/5 Stars

Waves to Watch: If You Ever Want To Be In Love, When We Were On Fire

Genre: Indie rock, folk

Goes great with: George Ezra, Ella Henderson, Jake Bugg

In an era where any artist can slap the singer-songwriter label on their chest, James Bay has managed to escape the snare that holds the hoards of "starving" musicians. A slick portrait straight off a 70's folk-rock vinyl release, Bay scrapes at the sound of the aforementioned decade with his 21st century claws. His Chaos and the Calm (Republic) tells his story up until now - as any debut will do - with an honest, yet sentimental smile on its face.

Each of the twelve songs - a blend of new and EP's past - sounds as if it should be predictable, but none are in the slightest. Sure, it is obvious what aim Bay has image-wise, but he plays it all out more shrewdly than his fellow British counterparts. Bay has a knack for one-liners that you can't believe no one has pulled out of their six string before, as he nearly speaks in the minimalistic "Scars", "I need an hour just to say hello."

The most empathetic of these thoughts, "So alone I can taste it", falls within "When We Were On Fire", the moody track tinged with Carly Simon-esque crooning. It's almost impossible to believe that this is Bay's full-length debut, as a budding artist is almost never this in touch with himself.

Bay gave a taste of the promise land he had in store for both listeners and himself on four EPs, released throughout 2013 and 2014, particularly with November's "Hold Back the River". The track sounds like a river in itself, a more gospel brushstroke on a Jeff Buckley release. He asks for the chance to wander, while "Move Together" is an empty bed's cry for a lover while looking at the black night sky.

"Best Fake Smile" and "Craving" are the upbeat movers of the album, the former showcasing Bay's raspy vocal control, along with his dichotomy of bouncy sentimentality. "Get Out While You Can" sets him apart from his fellow up-and-coming peers, brandishing his ability to formulate a Brit-rock  - or even Springsteen - anthem in an unformulated way.

The album's strongest, "If You Ever Want To Be In Love", is perhaps the biggest ode to the 70's. It captures the thought everyone has, but no one ever says out loud, except for Bay in his raw whine, of course. The bridge, in all of its howling earnestness, is the best moment on the entire album.

It is nearly unfeasible to pinpoint the worst song out of the twelve, but "Collide" is the weakest. It's good, with all of it's edgy electric guitar flicks, but not good by this album's standards.

Bay still can do what indie singer-songwriters can do best: throw in a few dreamy ballads. "Need the Sun To Break" is simply one of the album's highest highs, as well as a beginning of an end realization. He speaks much of "you" on Chaos, but in "Let It Go", he promises that "I'll be me", on top of a sweet guitar drowning in a few minor chords. The closer, "Incomplete", is a final imperfectly perfect need for a connection. But, for Bay, there's still time.

Chaos is never hectic or thrown together; it is contrived with such a keen eye that Bay cannot be ignored. If he can continue to string eras along in his sound, he is a slick force that will keep answering his own questions on each release. In the chaotically calm Bay, the night may have finally found the voice it has been looking for.

//Angelia//

MIXTAPE MONDAY: there's a story in that

there's a story in that

there's a story somewhere in these lyrics that I'd like to know

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ohio moon by blake skidmore // you by the 1975 // casimir pulaski day by sufjan stevens // everything you are by ed sheeran // what sarah said by death cab for cutie // the girl by city and colour // riding to new york by passenger // when i go by slow club // sloom by of monsters and men // things we lost in the fire by bastille // saviour (acoustic version) by lights // above the clouds of pompeii by bear's den // first day of my life by bright eyes

xx. Sheridan

MIXTAPE MONDAY: I'd Fight this Weird World

i'd fight this weird world
for the degenerates who aren't even the ones degenerating // 

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buzzcut season by lorde // overrated by the eeries // america's suitehearts by fall out boy // loser by beck // heirplanes by japanese cartoon // no shows by gerard way // lights out by mindless self indulgence // heroes by all time low // fake tales of san francisco by arctic monkeys // kill all your friends by my chemical romance

//Angelia//

MIXTAPE MONDAY: Reckless Serenades

reckless serenades
songs that are best to listen to when you've had a little too much to drink //

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backfire at the disco by the wombats // better than me by the brobecks // american pie by don mclean // semi-charmed life by third eye blind // star by david bowie // henrietta by the fratellis // alright by supergrass // ribs by lorde // suck it and see by arctic monkeys // xo by fall out boy

//Angelia//

REVIEW: Our Own House//MisterWives - Do NOT Put This On A Shelf

3.5/5 Stars

Waves to Watch: Our Own House, Hurricane

Genre: Indie Pop

Goes great with: LIGHTS, Bleachers, Vinyl Theatre

Few indie bands can manufacture a hit song that seeps so poignantly into the mainstream, to the likes of MTV and Top 40 radio. However, New York City-based MisterWives managed to do just that with "Reflections", off of their 2014 debut EP of the same name. Bringing back the aforementioned track, the five-piece strongly pop through their first LP, Our Own House (Photo Finish Records), building their own house in the industry. MisterWives find themselves presented with a task of finding themselves only a few years removed from their formation, yet they do it with so much flair, that it seems almost effortless.

Because of "Reflections", crowds have fallen in love with vocalist Mandy Lee Duffy's odd, Kate Bush reaching voice. Somehow, it is nothing like some of the molded powerhouses of today, yet still as compelling, maybe even more. The track is an example of what MisterWives have found themselves: summoning haunting verses that take a funkier form in the chorus. A listener cannot fully realize what the song will be until their brains have stammered through the separate styles, divided by two equally important visions.

The other three songs that have been transported from EP to LP, "Hurricane", "Imagination Infatuation", and the penultimate "Vagabond", are a look back into lesser known times for the band, as well as a foundation for the sound that they are bringing. The latter is accompanied by a simple, jarring piano, while the "Imagination Infatuation" reflects on "Reflections"' structure and reveals Duffy's sassier, cabaret-style potential. "Hurricane", the strongest of the twelve tracks, lends itself to the era of 80's power ballad percussion and a hollowness within Campbell's guitar. MisterWives assures themselves by saying, "We will not care if we're the only people swimming in the sea."

Sometimes, however, some songs do happen to get lost at sea, as with "Not Your Way" and the fitting beach jam, "Oceans". Both are less cohesive as the others, following a cliche suit of "Not going to obey, obey/This is my party, party" and "You are my everything", respectively. Sometimes the phrasing is so off its track that even the most elementary listener must squirm in their seats. 

"Coffins" hangs on by a thread, humming through the voice of a cathedral's organ. It shows off Duffy's peculiar way with words, especially when writing of the heartbreak that sails throughout the whole album, chiming "Your ego swallowed you and from there you fled." It can be easily forgotten by the wrong - or right - listener, however.

The track that shares its name with the album title's fills the listener's ears with first ethereal wisps and snaps, then a sharper horn-driven chorus. This song brings the funk that is often forgotten nowadays, while the fivesome reminisces, "And we swore on that day that it will never fall apart."

Both "Best I Can Do", while pleading for a change of heart, and "No Need for Dreaming", a seemingly synthed-up 50's high school favorite, are the party jams of the album. The latter plays as if the protagonists are spinning each other around at the school dance as the silver screen fades to black. Duffy twirls around the notion that "I will follow you til there's no beat left within me." "Box Around the Sun" sounds as if it could have been written by the great modern sonicman, Jack Antonoff, himself. 

Sometimes, the phrasing can be thrown off, making even the most elementary listener squirm in their seat. It falls back into place eventually, but it dilutes the pure magic that the band is trying to conjure.

The finale, "Queens," both an homage to the NYC borough or a crowning of sorts, exhibits the mastery that MisterWives have created for an echoing closing song. Perhaps the most autobiographical - and fully realized - of the album, as Duffy dreams of her past doubts of finding a place to let her voice be heard. On Our Own House, it is evident that she has now found such a place.

MisterWives have built a house made of stone, still malleable only to themselves, yet a firm stake in the ground they pace upon. It is an impressive first effort of a full-length album, and these dozen songs are sure to tempt crowds to their live shows, as the band embarks on a spring tour. Frankly, MisterWives have built what their album set out to do, and their own house will not fall apart any time soon. 

//Angelia//

MIXTAPE MONDAY: february air

february air
winter acoustics to fight the cold

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your head and your heart by the saint johns // february air (acoustic version) by lights // white winter hymnal by fleet foxes // let her go (acoustic) by passenger // hello, i'm in deleware by city and colour // above the clouds of pompeii by bear's den // candles by daughter // stay with me // every little thing by louisa wendorff // january hymn by the decemberists // winter song by the head and the heart // the longer i run by peter bradley adams

xx. Sheridan

MIXTAPE MONDAY: Right Back At It Again

right back at it again

bands who are putting out new music this year//

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ode to sleep by twenty one pilots // go go go by sleeping with sirens // bulls in the bronx by pierce the veil // if i could change your mind by haim // english girls by the maine // bedroom talk by the starting line // drown by bring me the horizon // something's gotta give by all time low // just a girl by no doubt // failure by design by brand new 

//Angelia//