Band Wars--Lotus Plaza vs. Perfume Genius

Lotus Plaza's Spooky Action at a Distance

Perfume Genius, Put Your Back N 2 It

Lotus Plaza is the work of Lockett Pundt, guitarist for Deerhunter, a band that totally destroys.  He creates such a strong atmosphere on the songs in Spooky Action at a Distance that you feel obligated to listen to this album from start to finish every time you hit play.  Rather than hunting for singles, you find yourself enjoying how the looping guitars and echo-y vocals of each song improves upon the mood of the others.  As with many other indie bands these days, Lotus Plaza owes a debt to My Bloody Valentine.  You can also hear the influence of The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Here's "Strangers"

If you've ever heard the fragile, confessional work of Xiu Xiu, then you'll think of that band when you play Put Your Back N 2 It by Perfume Genius.  Interestingly enough, allmusic.com lists Youth Lagoon, which also happens to be in this competition, as a similar artist.  Piano takes the forefront on this one, which is always a nice change of pace.  The subject matter, however, including domestic abuse, homemade porn, and drug addiction, is the darkest of any of these 16 albums.  When I saw Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, I was luckily not depressed when I bought my ticket.  Just as that flick is one that you need to be in the right mood to view, I recommend highly that you not listen to Perfume Genius when you're feeling depressed.

Here's "Dark Parts"

I ended up choosing Lotus Plaza over Perfume Genius based on one question: Which album do I want to hear again in the second round?  

Both albums were good ones.  Put Your Back N 2 It is one of those albums that I'll only be able to handle once a month or so, at best--just as I can only watch Leaving Las Vegas once every two or three years.

Here's the udpated bracket:

My weekend has officially started out here, so I'll probably be doing a speed round soon to finish the first round.  Weekends are for playing albums back to back to back.  Fun times.