Arms is on tour with Vampire Weekend. That's as interesting at it gets.
Sounds Like: A band who has found their sound . . . wait, they just lost it . . . no--there it is . . . nope, gone; it's gone . . .
RIYL: The Strokes, Kings of Leon, Silver Jews
Personal Response: I went to college with a guy who didn't know he was funny. Yet some of the quips and observations that came out of his mouth were sometimes so side-splitting hilarious, it was sublime. The problem was that when he realized he's said something amusing, and that we were all laughing, he would try to continue the joke; only he didn't know what the joke was. He was simultaneously the funniest and most drole human I've ever known. I thought of him while listening to Arms because they approach music in much the same way.
You will hear key changes inspired and passionate followed by hackneyed riffs that are downright boring. It's as if they trip accidentally over brilliance, but like my friend from college, they spend most of their time going down the wrong path. The worst parts come when Arms relies too heavily on the singer and his lyrics (Construction, Kids Aflame--actually, Kids Aflame is just annoying). However, there are moments, brief passages that were so close to genius I got chills. Unfortunately, they were too scattered, and the album is left hopelessly trying to impress its friends.
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