Andrew Cedarmark - Moon Deluxe

I have once again returned to this medium of communication. My life has changed severely over the past few weeks, which is my excuse for not working out. My workout environment is now completely different. I now workout in a public fitness center on campus. I've decided the only way I'm going to motivate myself to workout is by doing it early in the morning, before class.

Unfortunately, with this comes a change in the way I listen to the music. Before, I could just blast my tunes on my studio monitors in privacy. Now that I'm in public, this is obviously not socially acceptable. As working out with my expensive headphones would cause more harm than good, I'm using to mid-to-low tier headphones that are lightweight and non-obtrusive. This means my critiques of the sonic aspect have to be shifted down as well, because I'm not getting that full effect of the track. So, still take my reviews with a grain of salt, and see them as more personal experiences than anything. So, where do I begin?

Moon Deluxe is an indie rock album with some very well executed, and sometimes heavy, sequences of lo-fi. It bears quite a resemblance to the more rock-oriented tracks Phil Elverum has put out under The Microphones, but this is certainly not a bad thing. Eleverum is really the only other person occupying that same type of folky lo-fi. It jams harder than than Elverum ever really has as well, which lead me to enjoy this album quite a bit. It keeps up it's more uptempo rhythms throughout, but never becomes overly noisy or too abrasive. Provided a enjoyable return to workouts. Definitely check it out.

Calories: 315.0
Distance: 2.64mi

Clinic - Internal Wrangler

It's not often an album gets to me like Internal Wrangler does. This album is one of the few albums that I can confidently say that the vocals were just not doing it in the slightest and were the anchor that sunk the ship. It's sort of an odd thing that the vocals angered me like they did because there is nothing inherently bad about them. I felt like the mumbling but also chirping quality of them just did not mesh at all with the instrumentation. The real problem is that when the instrumentation quiets down, its hard to overlook the vocals. And how much I don't enjoy them.

I feel the album is at it's best when it loudens up to the point where it drowns out the vocalist, but that hardly happens enough and the points where it's quiet drag so much that it impedes my drive to give it my all. I didn't really expect to go on a diatribe about the vocals, but they were just that bad to me. I cannot recommend this album because of them.

Calories: 261.2
Distance: 2.02mi

Guided By Voices - Propeller

This being the predecessor to Guided By Voices' smash-hit Bee Thousand, I was left wondering what this could possibly sound like by comparison. Considering how lo-fi and in some ways destroyed Bee Thousand was, it's sort of odd to hear them play sweeter and catchier songs, but still have that low fidelity sound that Guided By Voices is known for. I really enjoyed what I heard on this album. The short songs allow for the album to slide in and out of sounds quickly, which keeps you on your toes. It never drags which is exactly what I want from a workout album. I feel this album is perfect for a jog and sometimes jams hard enough for me to sprint. Loved it.

Calories: 328.1
Distance: 2.55mi

Happy Birthday - Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday's self-titled provides nice garage rock tunes that have varying degrees of success with workouts. Songs like "I Want To Stay (I Run Away)" and "Zit" jam out with me as I go, while songs like the closer "Fun" leave more to be desired than the slow jams they provide. I liked the album, but it really didn't bring anything new to the table, leaving me grasping at what to write about it. Give it a try, but don't expect your mind to be blown away.

Calories: 287.3
Distance: 2.23mi

jj - jj n° 2

The word that first comes to my mind with jj n° 2 is summer. Yes, this album sounds like it comes right off the cruise ship, steel drums and all. Sounds that previously stopped me from working out before (I got a minute into it back in March before I switched it for another album) are now a welcomed change of pace. I really enjoyed the airy and bright feel this album displays. Occasionally the album becomes a lot more beat heavy than one would expect, like the track "Ecstasy"which samples Lil Wayne.

Despite how short the album is, clocking in at just over 26 minutes, it still motivated me to put a good effort in. And on a cool summer night like tonight, that's all I really ask for.

Calories: 232.7
Distance: 1.81mi

PS I Love You - Meet Me At The Muster Station

What surprised me about Meet Me At The Muster Station was while it was very loud and noisy, it was still a blast to work out to. The garage rock feel is very strong on this one, but it comes off more poppy than most. The distorted guitars are almost always drowning out the lead singer, which honestly works a lot better than one would think.

I don't have much else to say about this album. In short, it's fun garage rock that stays under thirty minutes and doesn't overstay its welcome.

Calories: 264.9
Distance: 2.06mi

The Sea And Cake - Oui

Oui is a beautiful album. A beautiful album that doesn't translate very well to working out. The mix of jazz and indie rock is an interesting combination that I absolutely love on this album. The instrumentation is top-notch with it's mix of guitars, woodwinds, and sometimes jazz fusion-esque  drumming. I can't say there is much I don't like about the album sonically.

Athletically, though, is a bit different. I find that the downtempo songs really slow down my pace and don't motivate me in the way I want it to. There are three songs that definitely work though, and for that I can give this album a pass.

Calories: 347.9
Distance: 2.70mi

Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary

Musically, Apologies To The Queen Mary is not all too dissimilar to something you'd hear from an earlier Modest Mouse. This is not surprising, due to the fact Isaac Brock produced this album. The vocal delivery is reminiscent of him as well, but not to the point where I'd feel like I'd rather be listening to a Modest Mouse album. The album's strength comes down to its instrumentation. The guitars are fast and heavy, making for an album that never drags and never really restrains itself.

I think this album is a perfect workout album. Its perfection comes down to the fact that it gives me exactly what I wanted. When I wanted a fast song, it delivered. When I wanted a cool down song, it delivered. It left me yearning for more even at its fairly long length.

Calories: 427.9
Distance: 3.34mi

Women - Public Strain

The first thing that came to me about Public Strain is that it reminded me heavily of Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest, but that is the closest comparison I can make for Women. Women seem to tend to have quite a bit less vocals then Deerhunter, and when there are they are getting drowned out by the woozy guitars. The album's second half is more melodic than the first half, and it sort of saved the album for me. It was an admirable workout, but not exactly what I was looking for.

Calories: 317.9
Distance: 2.56mi

Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity

Friend Opportunity is a really weird album. With elements post-rock, indie rock, psychedelic, and sometimes chiptune combining together, it's uncanny to hear it all combine almost seamlessly. This album is also packed to the brim with a wide variety of just plain strange sounds, with the last track being completely composed of them. Even though the last track does drag quite a bit, the rest of the album far makes up for it.

Calories: 324.0
Distance: 2.50mi

St. Vincent - Marry Me

Marry Me is definitely St. Vincent's most reserved album. It's understandable though, because this was her debut solo album. You can see the the beginnings of the more experimental rock of her later albums with this album. Clark's voice is very powerful and emotive, allowing her to gracefully swing from octave to octave. Although the last few tracks close the album out on a quieter note, it still ends up being a very pleasurable experience both sonically and physically.

Calories: 365.2
Distance: 2.85mi

Max Tundra - Parallax Error Beheads You

If I were to have describe Max Tundra's music in one word, it would definitely be 'quirky'. The eccentricities of Max Tundra come from break-neck tempos, falsetto vocals, chiptune-esque styling, and the ability to have very hyper electronic music that doesn't come off as feeling corny in the slightest. The music often gives me an almost nostalgic feeling, which may be because it sounds like a video game that may or may not be glitching out furiously. Even in it's sprawling eleven minute finale, Parallax Error Beheads You never drags because new sounds are constantly being introduced, fleshed out, and iterated upon in inventive ways. Lightning has struck twice this week, and perfection is the result.

Calories: 361.2
Distance: 2.80mi

Wild Beasts - Two Dancers

Two Dancers is probably the most fun I've had with an album since Thunder, Lightning, Strike and I was pretty much dancing to it while running. The jangly percussion provides a nice momentum throughout and provides a fun environment that will often have you chanting along. The dramatic vocals combined with the superbly clean production provide for an album that has an air of class but still kicks ass. It's another perfect workout album for me.

Calories: 323.8
Distance: 2.50mi

The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

This album is my second experience with The Shins, the first being Chutes Too Narrow. The first thing I noticed about this album was its more poppy style and subdued nature. The guitar rifts are peppered with a pretty wide array of instrumentation, including even the xylophone. While this may not have been what I expected from Oh, Inverted World, it still ended up providing a very pleasurable and easy going workout experience.

Calories: 276.7
Distance: 2.15mi

Best Coast - Crazy For You

Crazy For You sits in a weird place stylistically for me personally. That weirdness is a positive though, because the mix of surf pop and indie rock works surprisingly well together. It's short and sweet, but not sugary in the slightest. Even though I wasn't feeling good at all today, this album gave a little bit of pep to the end of my day.

Calories: 224.6
Distance: 1.87mi

Dirty Projectors - Rise Above

Rise Above is the third album I've heard by Dirty Projectors, and it definitely sounds like the precursor to Bitte Orca. With its multilayer guitar strumming, Longstreth's idiosyncratic vocals, the occasional lulls into a false sense of security followed by walls of noise, and the abundance of female backing vocals all point it to Dirty Projectors definite forte. The often very abrupt changes in time signatures and the beat focused song structures keep the album fresh and exciting while running.

Calories: 369.3
Distance: 2.91mi

Destroyer - Streethawk: A Seduction

Destroyer never ceases to amaze me. Every album sounds different, but oddly united in a sense. I went into Streethawk knowing very little other than a rough album length and a liking of Dan Bejar's previous work, but came out with poorly-scrawled barely legible notes of what I felt I needed to say about the album. Here is what I ended up writing:

• Lack of knowledge is better
• Piano
• Effortlessly Complex
• Vibrant
• Intricate
• Lush
• Rise / Fall
• Actor (In regards to Dan's vocal delivery)
• Drum Line
• Thought Provoking
• Spacious
• Chant
• Perfection

Calories: 386.7
Distance: 3.00mi

Deerhunter - Microcastle

Microcastle is my second album experience with Deerhunter, a sort of indie rock and shoegaze band. This album leans back to their more shoegazey roots and provides a lot of beautifully arranged songs that are for the most part very mellow. This doesn't particularly lend itself too well to exercise as I had hoped it would. One song though really stands out as a great workout song. "Nothing Ever Happened" is almost a preview for what you would hear on their next album, Halcyon Digest. It was really the only song I would recommend for such a setting.

I would suggest Halcyon Digest to anyone wanting to get into Deerhunter, as I think it is a brilliant album.

Calories: 290.0
Distance: 2.54mi

The National - Boxer

Boxer blasts out of the gate with some really great post-punk songs that really got me to run consistently fast and has so far provided me with my best one mile run time. Unfortunately after the first 4 songs, the album ended up falling back on The National's indie rock roots. Even though the later songs are very well orchestrated, I couldn't help but feel disappointed with the slow down. I was hoping Boxer might at least go out with a bang like on their previous album, Alligator, but sadly it did not.

Though I was left disappointed, the album still gave me a good workout.

Calories: 342.3
Distance: 2.78mi

The Strokes - Room On Fire

Room On Fire does what I expected it to do. Having already listened to their previous album, Is This It, I knew pretty much what I was getting myself into. What I did not expect was that it would do a really good job at providing both a sonically pleasing album and an album I could easily workout to. Even if it isn't the flawless gem its predecessor is, it's still a great album.

Calories: 275.0
Distance: 2.15mi