New music review: Discovery - LP

LP, the first album from Discovery, may initially seem like experimental electronica from members of Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, but it soon becomes obvious that the songs on LP share an odd similarity to songs on your local hip-hop and top 40 radio stations. Seems weird at first, but it sort of makes sense; both bands are known for their poppy, melodic tendencies, and with Discovery these tendencies are fully embraced. Songs like "Orange Shirt" and "Osaka Loop Line" would not seem out of place at a club, with huge synth lines, exaggerated beats on each quarter note, and lyrics like "And me, I got a crush," which ranks up there with "Shawty, you a ten" and "Kiss me through the phone" on the cheese scale.

There are, of course, some great, stranger moments that keep the listener on their toes, notably the tempo changes of "So Insane," the fuzzed out cover of "I Want You Back", and various mentions of going to the disco and/or discotheque as opposed the club. However, there are some problems with the album as well. The front half is much stronger than the back, and guests Angel Deradoorian of Dirty Projectors and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend are, for the most part, wasted (the former sings the line "I Want to Be Your Boyfriend," chopped up in various ways, over and over, and the latter's voice is so obscured it's nearly undifferentiable from main Discovery singer Wes Miles). Despite these shortcomings, the album is certainly interesting and, at times, ridiculously fun. Use it to jump start your next party or shock anti-top 40 radio proponents.

The album comes out July 7th courtesy of XL Recordings. You can currently stream it all on Discovery's website.