Posted on: November 4, 2008 Posted by: Kristopher Shepard Comments: 4

So the first thing I see on Modern Skirts – All of Us in Our Night is some big name producers in the indie rock game, big fucking deal that won’t sway me and sadly neither did Modern Skirts. I remember when Shins fever took over shortly after Garden State came out and totally rocked skinny pale kids everywhere to their very score.

Honestly, I’m totally over it, but when I have to sit for forty minutes making my head thump to something just seems taken from someone else it makes me feel slimy like I need a shower. Every single song sounds like the one previous to it, I don’t know if this is purposefully but the one and only part about The Shins that I appreciated was the fact that every once in awhile they’d put the fucking hammer down and kill it, Modern Skirts maybe you should take some pointers.

But if you aren’t swayed yet that’s fine you’re probably a huge fan of The Shins and bands like that anyway so go get Modern Skirts and be bored with life for a little while because honestly that’s what you’re gonna get. And let it be known just because you have great producers to produce your music doesn’t mean you’re gonna capable of ever rocking as hard as them and I’m talking to you Mike Mills (R.E.M),I still love you but you gotta stop this!

www.modernskirts.com
www.myspace.com/modernskirts

-I give it a 4/10

4 People reacted on this

  1. i caught this review in passing and could not disagree with it more. after a few listens, the cuts on this record offer more versatility than any indie record i’ve heard this year. dynamically, there are some really sharp and thoughtful variations in the music, but the real trick lies in the wealth of original melodies present from song to song. if ever there was a band whose melodies COULD be transposed from one song to the next, it’s the shins. and did i mention how striking this band’s lyrics are? their clever and sometimes unsettling use of diction easily surpass those of bands like the shins. do yourself a favor- disregard this review and the fact that some clout-heavy names worked on this record and just listen.

  2. I think this review misses a deeper level in this album. The horns and sweet melodies mask an extremely morose world view. The album really captures the banality of modern life from the perspective of a late-20’s dissatisfied college graduate. There are sparks of scenarios that should result in cherished memories, but instead just result in a boredom that can’t be overcome. In particular “conversational” and “face down” really illustrate the felling of desperately plugging away at what seems like it might end up being rewarding, but just ends up being disappointing.

    I think this album is really clever in the way that it highlights the need of young people to create meaning out the bland and boring lives that we are slowing realizing are inescapable.

    I can’t make any impact on anything, so I’ll just shift my perspective and make getting the hippest skinny jeans and most obscure old-school sneakers my reason for waking up….in hindsight I should have just been a farmer or a factory worker.

  3. Making an album boring on purpose is not OK, not matter what kind of social statement you are trying to make with it.

  4. Regardless of what i personally think about this album, this reviewer needs to drink a glass of whiskey, relax, and learn to do his job better. In other words, review the music! Give your readers some examples to back up your opinions. I have to say that the issue is not the possible banality of the music, but the absolute hack job this guy did reviewing it. All i know from reading this is that he is a jaded human being that hates his job and needs to find a new one.

Leave a Comment