The Boxer Rebellion have released only four albums across the span of their twelve year career but Promises, the most recent release by the London-based alternative rock band, is by far their most accessible release. With a new found expansive, arena rock  sound that is reminiscent of U2 or Coldplay, the Boxer Rebellion show remarkable restraint when it is called for and yet manage to reach the crescendoing peaks they aspire to several times throughout the album. “Diamonds”, the album opening track is a glossy, well polished and depressing pop tune that is indisputably one of the standouts for the album. Following tracks have difficulty reaching the same level of pop catchiness as “Diamonds” but show distinct strength and the majority are at the very least, listenable.

For fans of vast ethereal rock like Jonsi, Sigur Ros, or the first six tracks of Promises, the album takes a distinctly jarring turn on the seventh track and arguably the standout track on the album, “New York”. Pounding tribal drums assault listeners over a delicately understated keyboard part, swelling to a huge climactic finish that serves as the bridge to the back half of the album. Undeniably different from tracks one through six, the second half of Promises holds tracks that could deceive more than a nary listener that the two sides were in fact different bands.

“Safe House” is a blast of concentrated rock, clashing cymbals, bombastic guitars and wailing singer and all. When the four members fall into sync in an amplified bliss that carries listeners along a wild ride and it is extremely evident that the band paid great attention to even the most minute detail on Promises. Where the album especially excels is in it’s role as a studio album that tries its damnedest to capture the feel of a live show, fireworks exploding above the stage and the arena echoing with the last chorus. Comparisons to U2 are inevitable considering the ample prowess that the band demonstrates at controlling an explosion of sound and emotion. “Dreams”, the second to last track on the album carries a feel that can only be described as epic. Through the combination of the polished English rhythm section of bassist Adam Harrison and drummer Piers Hewitt, an indisputably atmospheric feel is created that seems to carry the reverberating guitar of Australian Todd Howe and the yearning voice of Tennessee native and lead singer Nathan Nicholson across some vast, imperceptible gap to comfort listeners.

As a whole the album is strong and although it may take a few listens, it is absolutely worth the experience. The Boxer Rebellion have created yet another album with great commercial and artistic merit. Don’t be surprised if the currently independent band is soon a name you become familiar with.

With every summer comes the promise of barbecues, sun tanning, swimming pools, and maybe most exciting of all, music festivals. For each and every fan, there is a festival no matter what your musical tastes from Electric Forest (primarily electronica music) to Rock The Bells (a multi city hip hop bonanza). One festival in particular offers an eclectic variety of acts in addition to a rabid almost cultish fan base that return again and again to rural Tennessee to experience Bonnaroo. This year’s ‘Roo runs from June 13th to June 16th and promises a great time for any and all. As the festival runs, each day we will be previewing a few of the acts that are playing that day so let’s open with Thursday’s line up.

For those who are fans of guitar and indie rock, Thursday promises to be a great time. Canadian duo Japandroids bring their guitar and drum assault to “This Tent” at 10:00 and the show promises to be raucous. Look for them to play cuts from last year’s awesome Celebration Rock (seriously, if you haven’t heard this album, you’re missing out) and hopefully we will be treated to some new material. Following them in “This Tent” is the English foursome calling themselves ? (pronounced “Alt-J”, named after the keyboard shortcut) are bringing their unique brand of indie rock, heavily influenced by electronic bass and drum sensibilities, and fans will likely be treated to cuts from last year’s freshman album An Awesome Wave. A few of my friends caught the band at a Williamsburg club show earlier this year and said that it was one of the most varied rock shows they had ever been to so needless to say I will be making every effort to catch them. Bonnaroo organizers were kind enough to give us a 30 minute break before they bring out the big guns for “This Tent”, another English foursome, The Vaccines. After two fantastic albums and innumerable comparisons to acts like The Strokes, Interpol, even The Ramones, The Vaccines have big expectations to meet. Expect this show, one of the last of the night, to draw a huge crowd and be especially energetic.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Bonnaroo if there was only one stage or genre. In “That Tent”, the last show of the night is being played by ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra), a funky jam band that recalls summer vibes and beach cookouts. They are preceded on stage by indie buzz band Django Django, and sister act Haim who will play their unique updated take on 70’s soft rock with token urban influences. Also playing on the stage in “The Other Tent” is a favorite of hip hop connoisseurs, Killer Mike and Pretty Lights Label signee, Paper Diamond. Also on the electro heavy stage of “The Other Tent” is Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring and beat pad savant AraabMuzik. For me at least though, the most exciting act of the day are Bonnaroo veterans Walk The Moon who bring their pop-influenced, easily danceable indie rock to “the Other Tent” midway through the day.

Bonnaroo looks to be a great time for all and regardless of your tastes, you will find something you like and that’s only Day One. Remember to stay hydrated and fed and have fun! We’ll catch you tomorrow with the preview for Day 2.

Phoenix, Phoenix has been relatively silent, not touring at all since their last show at Madison Square Garden. While I caught them recently at an extremely intimate Williamsburg club tune-up before playing Saturday Night Live, it wasn’t until recently that I had the chance to sit down and give the full album a listen. Opening with their lead single “Entertainment” shows Phoenix back in stride with an uptempo electronic pop nugget that sounds as if Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix grew up a bit in the four years since the last album. The whole album in fact takes all the sounds and themes of their previous effort and adds variety from the high Eastern influenced strings of “Entertainment” to the drop out of all instruments aside while Thomas Mars sings to “Put my name on your list/ S.O.S. in Bel Air”, a move that sounds all too Phoenix if you catch my drift.

The album as a whole is extremely strong. Listeners who expect the same Phoenix will be pleasantly surprised by the next step in the band’s evolution. While “S.O.S. in Bel Air” and “The Real Thing” are obvious spiritual successors to earlier songs like “Long Distance Call” and “If I Ever Feel Better”, the band manages to spice things up enough to make the tracks feel fresh and exciting. “Trying to Be Cool” brings a new almost Cure-esque ethereality to Mars’ typical high nasal crooning. Title track “Bankrupt!” brings an instrumental electronic build up to a more introspective portion of the album which we snap out of almost instantly with “Drakkar Noir” and “Don’t” following shortly after as more evidence of Phoenix’s mastery of catchy electronic pop shines through on the two tracks. Even closing track “Oblique City”, although at times sounds cluttered, is a strong showing for the band that sees the French boys pushing the envelope of what they have collectively produced up until this point.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the album is the inclusion of 71 bonus takes of songs that are included on the deluxe edition which truly show the process that went into the making of this album and all the various ideas and stages each song went through. With their creative process on such brazen display, it is even easier to relate to and subsequently appreciate the songs that did make the cut. The new album is available now on Glassnote Records and the band is going to be touring the US this summer, hitting most major festivals. You can find out when they are coming to a stage near you at their website, www.wearephoenix.com/tour

Drawing heavily from his trip hop and jazz influences present on his previous four albums, Simon Green who records and performs under the name Bonobo, stays basically true to form with his latest studio release titled The North Borders, available now on Ninja Tune Records. The music begs to be played late at night, preferably after heavy drinking and exhausting shenanigans. Heavy syncopated drums loop over ambient synths and assorted other instruments to create down tempo electronica that depresses listeners at the same time as it relaxes. Green also employs a tide like effect in many of his songs, with instruments coming in and falling out in a wave like pattern, at times swelling to almost indiscernible cacophonies and then fading to something legitimately lovely such as the strings that bring together the opening track on the album “First Fires”.

Where Green predominantly stumbles however is on such tracks as “Cirrus” and “Heaven For The Sinner” where Green seems to have such big ideas that they stumble over each other and collectively get lost in the noise. If it wasn’t for the track listing, listeners would have next to no idea that Erykah Badu is even featured on the song. Other songs such as “Jets” sound primed to be sampled but rather than cutting the catchy parts to make a full beat, Green seems to lose focus and become distracted by the vast array of sounds and effects available at his disposal.

The entire album was recorded in New York in the past year after what can only be described as extensive touring behind his previous (extremely popular, highly recommended by me) Black Sands and the time that was spent on the road can be heard on The North Borders. Many songs seem to blend together with the only discernible divide being the three or four seconds of silence between chiming instruments and low end rumbling bass.

This is not to say however that the album doesn’t have extremely strong tracks. “Ten Tigers” communicates the vision of what could have been if Green had managed his myriad of instruments balances better throughout the album and tracks “Towers” and “Transits” both show the full promise of what could have been. The orchestral width present on both tracks promises listeners who are intrigued enough to buy tickets to a live show that they will have an unforgettable experience seeing how Green attempts to re-create and if he follows his past blueprint, expand upon and improvise further for the audience’s benefit. In all, the album is by no means a failure but at the same time it is not a success. By staying in his comfort zone and producing more of what listeners are accustomed to, Green not only disappoints fans but also fails to live up to previous potential.

Keaton Henson’s brand of guitar folk is in full swing on his latest release, the first on Anti- Records, titled Birthdays. Yet another folky singer-songwriter imported from across the pond, Henson’s album is a clear evolution from his previous album Dear which had a tendency to become bogged down in it’s own depression. On Birthdays Henson takes an extremely melodic approach and brings back his narrator -esque lyrics, opening the album with the request to “Teach me how to love you like I wrote” in slow moving ballad “Teach Me”. Comparisons to Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and  other similar folksy fire side wood cabin singers are inevitable but Henson deftly avoids these by keeping his songs under control and never actually crescendo’ing to a crest. The variance between tracks is subtle but after a few spins, listeners are able to pick up on the intricacies that initially go by unnoticed such as the high ethereal choir on “Lying To You” or the almost tide like ebb and flow of “The Best Today”.

On other stand out tracks throughout the album, Henson demonstrates an acute ear for balancing melody and atmosphere. In a huge departure from the rest of the album he opens “Kronos” with a blast of thundering guitar rock that wouldn’t be out of place on a Strokes album while at the same time carrying his melodies and lyrics over a distinctly un-Keaton Henson groove. In fact, almost all of the rest of the album past “Kronos” carries a very sharp departure from the earlier half of the album with “Beekeeper” having an unmistakable buzzing guitar and pounding drums to force the chorus to march. “Milk Teeth” and “In The Morning” are more traditional modern folk songs, with Henson lending his signature wavering breathy voice to slowly building guitar picking and quasi-biographical stories. “If I Don’t Have To” comes throws listeners off guard as a tottering rhythm that rushes forward, almost tripping over itself as listeners wait for the inevitable peak that feels as if it will never come. When Henson does elect to grow his songs past his comfortable guitar picking however, it works extremely well. The low end rumble and Mumford and Sons-esque crescendo of “If I Don’t Have To” makes listeners wish that there had been more songs like it rather than the repetitive early guitar picking present across the first few tracks.

All in all the album is extremely solid and Henson fully takes advantage of the often exploratory nature of sophomore albums. Standout tracks like “On The News”, “If I Don’t Have To”, and “Beekeeper” show that Henson has the potential to move beyond the Bon Iver and other folksy comparisons if given the chance. You can hear his entire album here you can follow his tour at http://www.keatonhenson.com