If you, like me, heard Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix in 2009 and thought this was as good as indie rock gets, you would not want to miss any of the follow-ups. I have not missed them and, sadly, they have all been disappointing. Alpha Zulu (★★★) is slick synthpop whose melodic substance is, while catchy and stylish, a little too sterile. The title song will be coming to me in nightmares.
As for Neil Young's latest, World Record (★★★½) is another fine addition to the ragged and charming catalogue of Crazy Horse albums. Some lovely accordion reminiscent of Harvest Moon ("This Old Planet"), wild waves of distortion (you can definitely imagine how "Break The Chain" goes before you actually listen to it) and a fascinating 15-minute closer called "Chevrolet" (not exactly "Cortez The Killer" but nothing is).
Finally, everybody keeps worshipping Weyes Blood, and I still, for the love of me, cannot hear it. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow (★★★) is lovely and everything - but what makes this special, exactly? Hollow, vaguely majestic compositions with beautiful singing and little substance. "God Turn Me Into A Flower" is a little more majestic than others, I will give her that, but otherwise I will go back to my Judee Sill records thank you very much.
