Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

While We Were Away: 5 Albums of Summer

LCD Soundystem's "This is Happening." Courtesy DFA, Virgin.
LCD Soundystem's "This is Happening." Courtesy DFA, Virgin.

While State Press Magazine was away over the summer, Lady GaGa and Katy Perry continued to rule the airwaves while some of the finest albums of the year surfaced from below the radio's radar. That's not to say SPM's five favorite summer albums didn't make the charts or strike a chord with fans. From hip-hop veterans the Roots to Arcade Fire's newest release, we proudly present a list of this summer's top five best albums:

LCD Soundsystem — This is Happening Singer and multi-instrumentalist James Murphy and friends returned May 18 with their third-straight success story. The band brings back more of the hip, introspective dance tunes that made them great on their first two discs (2005's "LCD Soundsystem" and 2007's "Sound of Silver"). "This is Happening" also scores classic-rock points by morphing the chord progression from the Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat" into the party jam "Drunk Girls," which features a wild music video directed by Spike Jonze. The group takes a swing at the David Bowie classic "Heroes" on "All I Want" too, but the best moments come when Murphy just acts like himself, such as on the standout track "I Can Change."

The Black Keys — Brothers The garage-rock twosome of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have come a long way since their debut, 2002's uncompromising "The Big Come Up." The group's latest release is packed with enough psychedelia, soul and whistling to end the White Stripes comparisons once and for all. "Everlasting Light" pounds through with fuzz guitar as Auerbach begs to heaven with a gruff falsetto, and "Howlin' For You" is an adventurous take on classic blues. Arcade Fire — The Suburbs Arcade Fire deservedly scored a number one album with their third disc by turning the eyes of their mournful indie-rock onto suburban life. The album's eponymous opening track is singer Win Butler's critique on the damage caused by living in safety, as he pleads for a different fate for his child. But by the time the third track, "Modern Man," kicks in, we learn the damage is already done. "In line for a number but you don't understand," Butler moans, "like a modern man."

The Roots — How I Got Over Nine albums in and now working as the house band on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," The Roots haven't lost their edge. "How I Got Over," at its heart, is a 1970s soul record. Strained vocals coursing through the album set the stage for Black Thought to spit his street-philosophy on tracks like "Dear God 2.0," which samples from a track by the supergroup Monsters of Folk. The big man upstairs is a prevalent theme in the album, as on the title track, where the chorus preaches, "The only thing you got is God," over a truly funky beat.

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse — Dark Night of the Soul Following a long legal dispute, "Dark Night of the Soul" was officially released in July, giving fans the most winter-sounding album of the summer. It wasn't enough for these guys to churn out an album with some of the darkest voices in popular music history (Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop and Julian Casablancas, among others, contribute). The collaboration also brings David Lynch, of nightmare-inspired film fame, to the project. The results are unsurprisingly eerie, but beautiful in equal doses. "Stars Eyes (I Can't Catch It)" twinkles with electronic flourishes and haunting strings, while "Daddy's Gone" sounds like a folky sing-along written by Tim Burton. To top off the bizarre, Sparklehorse leader Mark Linkous committed suicide in March, after completing the project but before it could be released.

Contact the reporter at clecher@asu.edu.


Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.

Subscribe to Pressing Matters



×

Notice

This website uses cookies to make your experience better and easier. By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.