The Less You Know the Better<\/em><\/p>\n (Island\/Verve\/A&M)<\/p>\n 4.5\/5<\/p>\n The first thing I thought when listening to DJ Shadow\u2019s new album is, \u201cWhy don\u2019t I own this already?\u201d And then I remembered it hadn\u2019t been released yet. Right.<\/p>\n DJ Shadow holds a Guinness world record for creating an album entirely of samples and is said to possess more than 60,000 records. It\u2019s no surprise, then, that his latest album, The Less You Know The Better,<\/em> features a massive range of musical styles, which blend together seamlessly.<\/p>\n I picked up on Motown, hip-hop, a piano intro worthy of a Radiohead song, the country twang of a banjo, and many more. One personal favourite is \u201cSad and Lonely,\u201d which samples the riff and hook from a 1972 Offenbach album, as well as haunting vocals from a 1947 Susan Reed record.<\/p>\n \u201cScale It Back,\u201d featuring Swedish pop singer Little Dragon, sounds like TLC circa CrazySexyCool,<\/em> but better. Need I say more?<\/p>\n -Ali Hackett<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Modeselektor<\/strong><\/p>\n Monkeytown<\/em><\/p>\n (Monkeytown)<\/p>\n 4.5\/5<\/p>\n Already on their third full-length (fourth if you include the Moderat <\/em>12\u201d they made with Apparat), it\u2019s still tough to pin a genre on Modeselektor.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve turned out nothing but quality so far, and their latest record is hip-hop-techno-bass with nods to Daft Punk, Jamie XX, and Flying Lotus and his Los Angeles trip-step minions. But it\u2019s pop, too, and R&B, sometimes.<\/p>\n In any case, this much can be agreed upon: Modeselektor is making some reasonably avant-garde shit. The new record is called Monkeytown,<\/em> and while it\u2019s not far and away their best work after a half-dozen listens, it already sounds just as good as anything they\u2019ve ever made and it\u2019s sure to grow on me even more.<\/p>\n Tom Yorke even shows up, doing his Yorke-step thing twice, killing it just like on 2007\u2019s Happy Birthday<\/em> standout track \u201cThe White Flash.\u201d I like this record\u2019s chances for 2011\u2019s top-10 list, for real.<\/p>\n -Tyler Rowe<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Answer<\/strong><\/p>\n Revival<\/em><\/p>\n (Spinefarm)<\/p>\n 2\/5<\/p>\n They say that the third time\u2019s a charm; this isn\u2019t the truth when it comes to The Answer\u2019s third album, Revival.<\/em><\/p>\n This group of four Northern Irish rockers take the listener back to a time of bad perms and tight leather pants, something I know I\u2019m happy to have moved on from. And, disappointingly, they don\u2019t even do a good job at it. Strewn with power chords and repetitive lyrics, Revival<\/em> fails to grab my attention in a positive manner, and makes me think of what Nickleback might have sounded like had they come out 25 years earlier.<\/p>\n That being said, the boys do manage to sneak in a solid riff here and there, so if you\u2019re looking for some \u201980s-inspired hard rock, Revival<\/em> might just be the album for you.<\/p>\n But, really, overall, Revival<\/em> stays to true to the mediocre music that The Answer has been producing for the past 11 years.<\/p>\n -Lucas Milroy<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/1315336949_dj-shadow-the-less-you-know-the-better.jpg\" "\\"1315336949_dj-shadow-the-less-you-know-the-better\\"")
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