Album Review: Harlem - Hippies

       I was truly considering a review of Deerhoof's "Deerhoof vs. Evil" today, but upon a visit to theneedledrop.com, I decided not too.  I found nothing outwardly discouraging on the website, if anything, what I found was quite the opposite.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with The Needle Drop, it is a website run by the great Anthony Fantano, where he reviews rock, pop, electronic and metal music of the independent persuasion.  In short, Anthony Fantano is the man! 
       Anyway, it was on this website that I find Mr. Fantano's review of the new Deerhoof album.  Anthony did such a thorough review of the album, that I've decided, in lieu of posting my own review, give you all a link to his, just in case you haven't yet seen it. 

Click Here for theneedledrop's Review of "Deerhoof vs. Evil"

On top of that, I've decided to review the new Harlem album, "Hippies".

                                                    ^That's Harlem^

       Now, in case you're not familiar with Harlem, they are a three piece garage rock band comprised of two guitarist/vocalist/drummer triple threats in Michael Coomers and Curtis O'Mara, and their equally formidable bassist, Jose Boyer.  Harlem is signed to Matador Records, and guess where they hail from? Tuscon, Arizona...

So... ALBUM TIME!

       "Hippies" is, at its core, an relatively well-executed garage rock album.  Harlem seems to have created a careful synthesis of the "garage rock" idea.  The sound created on this album is equal parts energy, nostalgia and lo-fi aesthetic. Harlem takes these three simple concepts, and adds in some incredibly catchy hooks, and a few wonderfully funky bass lines.  A standout, to me, is the album's third track, "Spray Paint".  "Spray Paint" sounds like it could definitely fare well as the B-Side to the Dead Kennedys' "Police Truck" (I do, of course, understand that "Police Truck" was, in turn, the B-Side to "Holiday in Cambodia", but I digress), what with its steady, grooving bass and aggressive nature.  The aggressiveness heard on this track is an early break in an album otherwise completely filled with summery, sunshiny pop rock.  "Faces", another favorite of mine, comes across as an insanely catchy Apples in Stereo-like tune.  My major gripe with this album is that, about midway through, the songs begin to blend together.  Don't get me wrong, while I was still engaged in listening to the album, the songs were all very likable. However, as soon as I took off the ol' headphones, I realized that, although I had enjoyed them all, not too many of these songs were incredibly memorable.  It seems as though Harlem created a batch of very immediate, very "ready-to-go" pop songs, but, unfortunately, save a few key favorites of mine, I found a lot of the songs on this album to be rather indistinguishable from the next.