Customer Reviews

Smoke

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I couldn't let this album stay on Amazon with one misleading (maybe even slightly misguided) review and only two stars to its name. White Williams debut is an outstanding collection of neon-colored neo psych pop songs that brings to mind not so much Beck and Girl Talk (whose main connections to White Williams are their shared interests in sound pastiche and, in Girl Talk's, case a tour with White Williams and Dan Deacon) but instead vintage glam and new wave, especially Roxy Music, Marc Bolan, and Berlin-era Bowie. While the lyrics remain artfully abstract and largely unimportant (a quality which may also be responsible for Beck comparisons), the production here is fantastic. While this is far from music that will appeal to people looking for emotional resonance and a clear-cut message, Smoke is an album that will make forward-thinking music fans think, "This is exactly what today's pop music should sound like."

Smoke is a fun album composed of catchy electronic pop songs and interesting guitar sounds. Any comparisons to Girl Talk are completely unfounded. Tortoise and Hot Chip toured together, but any attempt at comparing these two bands would be completely nonsensical (Hot Chip totally outplays Tortoise, j/k).

When discussing White Williams' album, I have found it most helpful to reference Blur. White Williams has the British rock sound from the seventies and eighties. His sound experiments have the same feel as many moments on 13 (by Blur). Williams tends to be more danceable all around.

Same here, couldn't let this album sit here with bad reviews. I keep hoping this guy puts something out soon! This album may sound like it's from the 80's, but that doesn't mean it's not ahead of it's time.

The album is somewhat catchy, though poorly produced. The textures dont really flow togather and the lyrical content is stupid. At best this album is trendy and ultimately forgetable.

I was turned onto this album by the good folks at The Onion A.V. Club, but I'd have to say that I was generally disappointed with this album.

There are some interesting experiments here (the 'Candy' remake is pure tweaked-out ambition) but, overall, I thought the album was little more than a pastiche of mismatched sounds, lyrics, and Casiotone drum loops. Plus 'Headlines' features the kind of needlessly-repetitive chorus that you can't shake hours after listening, no matter how hard you try.

Props to White Williams for a reach that exceeds his grasp, but any comparisons to Gregg Gillis from Girl Talk or, worse, Sir Beck Hanson, are entirely w/o merit.