Three Albums I'm Listening To

I have three albums in heavy rotation at the moment. That doesn't mean they're all great, but they are all interesting. What links the three releases is an affection by the artists for a variety of musical genres. These are three adventurous albums. In no particular order:

Vampire Weekend

One of the strongest releases of the year thus far. Preppy pop and Indie College Radio meet World Music. The sound is bright, the lyrics are the most creative and inventive in months, supported by hot afro-influenced rhythms. I really like this album.

Vampire Weekend definitely have a college sensibility. The four lads from Columbia incorporate campus experience across their songs. Instrumentally, they enhance traditional indie guitar riffs and percussion with strings, African percussion and a world sensibility that rocks.

The Shanghai Restoration Project

SRP promotes the marriage of traditional chinese sounds and instrumentation with dance, hip hop and, unfortunately, adult contemporary (producer Dave Liang says it's jazz, but I'm not there). Musically the album is strong, though there are many points where mundane lyrics overpower excellent instrumental. This is definitely an East meets West album and the results are often wonderful. The album, Story of a City, brings together a diverse array of artists. "Preface" is getting a fair amount of airplay, and deserves it! There is much to recommend about the album, but banal lyrics and perhaps too wide a range of musical sounds hold it back from greatness.

MGMT

Oracular Spectacular is the appropriately named first outing from MGMT, the Brooklyn-based duo hitting the charts with "Time to Pretend" and "Electric Feel." MGMT mixes dance with a rock inflection and a 60's psychedelic groove. Of the three albums discussed here, it's taken the longest to grow on me as a package. The lyrics are trippy and engaging, but the music impressed me a little as just grand enough for weddings. If you get passed the "Where have I heard this before" impact of "Electric Feel," there really is an excellent, diverse and compelling album.