REVIEWS [ALBUMS]

debut, Carnavas, which recalled vintage Smashing Pumpkins more than the Pumpkins’ own Zeitgeist did. But the Pickups also pile on the sophomore-album enhancements here, deepening a sound that scarcely wanted for depth beforehand; check out the shuddering string jabs on “The Royal We” (recalling Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”) and the outer-space synth flutters coursing through “Catch and Release.” A trip best made with headphones. MIKAEL WOOD

(“Paper Lace”), Carey Mercer’s hyper-allusiveness (“Peace”), and Dan Bejar’s self-referential observations (“Battle of Swan Lake”). The distinctiveness of these three weirdos and their democratic approach gives this unexpecedly harrowing album a remarkable cohesion. JESSICA SUAREZ

THE WHIP

Swan Lake Enemy Mine

••••••••••
MYSPACE AMAZON
Songwriting trio pass the
mic with deft abandon
This Canadian indie
supergroup presumably
came together over its
members’ common traits
of workaholism and quirky
vocals. Though Swan
Lake count Wolf Parade,
Frog Eyes, and the New
Pornographers among
their many other projects,
Enemy Mine doesn’t get
the songwriting dregs.
Crafting sparse, noisy rock
that’s both controlled and
dangerously unbalanced,
each songwriter holds onto
his idiosyncrasies: Spencer
Krug’s dark romanticism

Richard Swift The Atlantic Ocean

••••••••••
MYSPACE AMAZON
West Coast piano man
ready for the spotlight?
One track on Richard
Swift’s fourth album is
coproduced by Mark
Ronson (of Amy Wine-
house and Lily Allen
renown), raising some
suspicions that this singer-
songwriter craves a larger
audience. And why not?
His peppy keyboard pop,
combining melodies that
Elton John would envy
with a gently sardonic
voice that oozes regret,
is tailor-made for mass
consumption; yet he’s
so smart that you never
regret loving every note.
In any case, the sad sacks
who populate such bitterly
funny songs as “Already
Gone” and “R.I.P.” linger
in the mind long after the
toe-tapping grooves have
faded. JON YOUNG

The Thermals Now We Can See

•••••••••• MYSPACE AMAZON Punk’s peppiest diehards scream from the grave Call it Songs in the Key of Death. Written from a corpse’s perspective, these Portland, Oregon punks’ fourth album celebrates the joys of being young and alive: drinking, snogging, and writing three-chord odes to drinking and snogging. After ranting against Christian extremism on their last outing, they’re back to mindless fun, and with new drummer Westin Glass, they’ve resurrected the savage, speed-strummed fervor that once made Kill Rock Stars matter. When Hutch Harris shrieks, “You shoulda seen us in our prime!” he’s got the timing wrong: No doubt we’ll see them there soon. MELISSA MAERZ

diva (“Nothing 2 Step 2”) to coke-snorting hussy (“Freddie”) to seductive jailbait (“Sweet 16”). Yeah, Thunderheist is all about the quick dance-floor fix, but Isis imbues her characters with quick-witted wickedness, and producer Graham Zilla churns out Spartan synth tracks that have an undeniably funky buzz. MOSI REEVES

in cuts like “Get Out” and “He’s a Rocker” prove that Nicholls’ talent isn’t entirely wrapped up in his ability to wreck a stage. MIKAEL WOOD

The Whip X Marks Destination

••••••••••
MYSPACE AMAZON
The next Happy Mondays?
Um, we’ll keep looking.
X Marks Destination
charges out of the gate
with “Trash,” a snotty, exhil-
arating dance-rock rave-up
with surly frontman Bruce
Carter repeatedly snarling,
“I wanna be trash” like he’s
threatening world devasta-
tion. Sadly, nothing else on
the Whip’s debut matches
that electrifying outburst,
as the Manchester, England
quartet downshift into a
less savage, more sensi-
tive sound often verging
on generic synth pop. If
they want to rise above
adequate, the band should
study the four remixes
appended to the U.S.
edition of the album, which
add excitement by jacking
up the chaos. JON YOUNG

THUNDERHEIST

Thunderheist
Thunderheist

••••••••••
MYSPACE AMAZON
Cock-swingin’ dance-rap
duo inject shifty smarts
Club rap, with its leg-
humping sexuality and
boorish booty beats,
seems fairly passé at this
point. But the electro-
fueled Toronto duo
Thunderheist manage
to pump life into the
exhausted subgenre. On
their debut, Isis sings and
rhymes with equal verve,
transforming from disco

The Vines
Melodia

••••••••••
MYSPACE AMAZON
Aussie rockers revived,
no more highly evolved
Back from the brink of a
long-promised implosion,
the Vines sound like a band
renewed on their first
album since being booted
from Capitol following
dismal sales of 2006’s
muddled Vision Valley. Not
that Asperger’s-afflicted
frontman Craig Nicholls
has changed up his game;
he’s still churning out
fuzz-drenched guitar pop
like it’s going out of style
(again). But the sticky
melodies and taut grooves

Wavves Wavvves

••••••••••
MYSPACE AMAZON
Beach blanket blast-off
from garage-punk geek
Theoretically, this sopho-
more album from San Diego
one-man band Nathan
Williams shouldn’t be hard
to replicate. For song titles:
Pick a sunny descriptor
such as “beach” or “sum-
mer” and affix it to “demon”
or “goth.” For music: Use
a Yak Bak to record some
catchy doo-wop crooning,
schwasted punk drumming,
and shitgaze guitar fuzz.
For lyrics: Remember your
burned-out, bored teenage
years, and then exaggerate
how much fun you had.
The result: an album exud-
ing wall-punching energy,
ugly noise, and raging
nostalgia for stale bong
water and sunburn.
SPENCER KORNHABER

White Lies To Lose My Life…

••••••••••
MYSPACE AMAZON
Depressive synth rock
with boy-band acumen
It used to be that young
hopefuls would copy old
bluesmen to confer some
secondhand authenticity
and depth upon their
efforts. This strikingly
handsome London trio
applies a similarly studious
sense of imitation to sad
post-punk icons like Joy
Division by way of the
Killers. Their debut begins
with a rousing arena-rock
anthem called “Death” and
then delivers detached
variations on the same
subject for the next nine
tracks with a professional-
ism that’s simultaneously
compelling and creepy.
Should “Death” be this
catchy? Maybe so, but
certainly not this imper-
sonal. BARRY WALTERS

SPIN (ISSN 0886-3032), Volume 25, Number 4. Copyright © 2009 by SPIN Media LLC. All rights reserved. Published monthly in the United States by SPIN Media LLC, 408 Broadway, New York, N Y 10013. For questions about new or current subscriptions, call 800-274-7597 or e-mail magcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com. To change your address, send both old and new addresses to SPIN, PO Box 5686, Harlan, IA 51593-1186. Allow six to eight weeks for processing. Subscription costs U. S. and its possessions: one-year basic rate, $14.95; t wo years, $24.00. Canada: one year, $24.00 (U. S.). Foreign: one year, $50.00 (U. S.). Periodical postage paid at New York, N Y, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to SPIN, PO Box 5686, Harlan, IA 51593-1186. Editorial offices: 408 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, N Y 10013; tel. 212-231-7400. Publisher disclaims all responsibility to return unsolicited editorial matter, and all rights in portions published vest in publisher. Letters to SPIN magazine or its editors are assumed intended for publication in whole or in part without permission from the writer. Any similarity between persons or places mentioned in the fiction or semifiction and real places or persons living or dead is coincidental. Single copies: $3.99 in U. S. and AFO, $5.50 in Canada, £2.25 in U. K.

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84 APRIL 2009 / SPIN.COM IS WHY YOU LEARNED TO READ