A
“Codes and Keys” is easily Deathcab for Cutie‘s best album since “Transatlanticism.” “Transatlanticism” featured up-tempo music with melancholy lyrics (The New Year, The Sound of Settling). The followup (and major label debuts) “Plans” and “Narrow Stairs” retained the sadness of the lyrics and combined it with even sadder music. “Codes and Keys” retains none of the downers found in the last two albums. Instead, it’s a return to the catchy music of “Transatlanticism” with something new: upbeat lyrics. This could be contributed to singer/songwriter/guitarist Ben Gibbard‘s 2009 marriage to and one-half of the duo She and Him’s Zooey Deschanel and bassist Nick Harmer‘s 2010 marriage. The title track Codes And Keys is one of the catchiest songs on the album and will draw you in. You Are A Tourist leaves you humming the melody long after the song ends. Part of what helps this album maintain its bright and dreamy quality is the addition of strings and synth loops. Deathcab for Cutie’s strength has always been in it’s guitar driven alt-rock, which is certainly the foundation of this album. “Codes and Keys” likely will be among the top ten albums of 2010.

B-

Danger Mouse is clearly a fan of spaghetti westerns. Listening to the two Broken Bells albums, Broken Bells and Meyrin Fields, one can almost visual a Sergio Leone film. Indeed, Rome uses musicians who performed on Ennio Morricone‘s scores (notably The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), a prominent spaghetti western composer. Thus, it’s not surprising how Rome plays out like a western, with Jack White playing the hero (or villian?) and omnipresent guest artist Norah Jones as the temptress. There are many instrumental tracks as well, further lending to the feeling that Rome is the soundtrack for a film. However, the soundtrack quality of the album may actually detract from the experience. Typically when listening to a soundtrack, the listener has a connection to the film and can recall the images, plot, and characters. With Rome, the listener doesn’t have that luxury, so the instrumental interludes can be easily overlooked. The lyrical “story” is also a bit thin, so it’s difficult to parse if there is an overarching theme (aside from the obvious spaghetti western). Still, Danger Mouse is a brilliant producer, so the music holds up well. My hope is that Danger Mouse will collaborate with James Mercer of the Shins again for a proper rock-opera Broken Bells album.

A-

Amazing to think, but 17 years after Dave Grohl formed Foo Fighters, they’re rocking harder than ever despite the band members being well into their 40s. Wasting Light finds Grohl and his bandmates reuniting with producer Butch Vig (who previously produced their Greatest Hits album [as well as Nirvana's Nevermind]). Everyone is talking about how the band recorded the entire album using analog equipment. That quality can be heard but I’m not sure that it added anything to the album. That is to say, the songwriting is incredibly strong. While the album In Your Honor may have been more experimental in terms of one disc of rock/one disc of acoustic, Wasting Light finds the band focused solely on rock. White Limo is probably the hardest on the album and may even turn some off. However, the video is quite humorous so be sure to watch it. Rope is the lead single from the album and with good reason: it shows the versatility of the group in being able to straddle the line between radio rock and hard rock. Dear Rosemary features Husker Du vocalist Bob Mould on guitar/backing vocals. This is easily one of the best songs on the album. Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic contributes bass and accordion on I Should Have Known, a semi-prog rock track. All-in-all, Wasting Light is easy to recommend. Foo Fighters have carved out a niche as an important group of the last decade and a half. Wasting Light further cements their reign over the realm of radio friendly hard rock.