JANUARY
Last year started off hot & heavy with some pretty crazy music. This year, not so much. Not that the music was bad. It was just quieter. I fell in love with Laura Viers (left) and Owen Pallet's new albums. Quality songwriting on the latters Heartland without resorting to the bells & whistles, literally. Viers' July Flame is this years go-to album if I want to be put into a nice relaxing mood, maybe after a long day or an even earlier morning. Definitely a great record to be kept close by, just in case.
Spoon (right) did something cool. They demoed an album, then released the demos and called it Transference, and while it's not their most amazing work, it still beats the hell out of 10 or 20 other albums I heard in January. Something about these guys, they can do no wrong. And I was so stoked by hearing These New Puritans were releasing a new album, but on first listen was actually really disappointed. Hidden has grown on me and shown itself to be a more in depth take than I originally had decided upon, but I don't think it will surpass the last one.
I am so hot and cold with this Eels band. We all remember Novacaine For The Soul back in like what 1996? But since then it's been a love/hate thing. Mostly hate. Mostly indifferent. But this new collection of songs on End Times had me coming back time and time again. I've never wanted to hear an Eels song as many times as I did Little Bird. Great heartbreaking stuff. And in late January Beach House (left) completed my sully mood music with Teen Dream, a sad and lovely electropop record the likes of I've not heard in some time. Still hearing these tunes once a week. Is 2010 gonna chipper up a little?
Yeah it is. I cheated on this one, since it leaked back in late November last year and for some reason I took to it like a fish. Surfer Blood (right) presents Astro Coast. C'mon, doesn't that sound delicious? And it is. Laura & I listened to this one together and by the second track we were both like, "When are these guys coming to town?". Utilizing unexpected effects with outstanding results, and killer melodies to back them up had they faltered. Expect to be shouting lyrics and air drumming your ass off. And then from Yamon Yamon came a strange litte album called This Wilderlessness that had on it songs I had to hear a few times. A quirky little tracklist, with hardly any discerning between tracks, a constant ebb & flow of all that is right in the underground world of guitar & drum that renewed my faith in the irreverent.
Let's talk about Jaga Jazzist, the band that may have written the perfect song in Swedenborgske Rom, but that was then. This is now. And tho they can never live up to the brilliance of that song, they can still release albums like One-Armed Bandit that reminds me that not everybody writing instrumental music has fallen into the same trap of building around the swell. Jaga Jazzist still has something to say. And Pit Er Pat (left) has always been another one of those bands falling into the background, maybe I'll listen to a track or two, maybe I'll check them out. I'm glad I finally did because so far this year The Flexible Entertainer wins wackiest, wildest and most interesting release.
I'm not gonna lie, when I heard the first single off the new Vampire Weekend album Contra, I was massively underwhelmed. But after repeated listens, some forced, this album has really grown on me, even that Cousins song, and tho naturally it can't have the same affect as their debut, it's still a good album. I'd even go as far as to say it's great. Lotsa radio friendly tunes on there, which c'mon, they gotta make money, plus they may have written their catchiest chorus yet on White Sky. Well done boys.Great tracks came off albums by Skybox, Infinite Body, Magnetic Fields, Scout Niblett, Citay, Pony The Pirate, Get Well Soon, Summer People, Folded Light, Dante & The Lobsters, OK Go, Hawksley Workman, Emancipator and Slow Six in January. Good way to kick off the decade.
FEBRUARY
February got right down to business, knowing it had too many big albums to fit into the shortest month (what a cruel joke Gregorians). I barely know where to start myself so let's begin with the disappointments and work our way up, shall we? Midlake! Oh my dear, ambitious Midlake (left). How you thrilled me in the fall of 2006 and even now your older work makes me smile and appreciate my yard and my books, but I feel like you've treaded ground with The Courage of Others, and while it will undoubtedly end up somewhere on my best-of list come year's end, it won't be high and it will be with a sigh.
That said, everyone of the veterans delivered in February. Xiu Xiu (right), holy cow how much do I love Dear God, I Hate Myself. The title alone, but then how you've mastered to turn the ugly into such amazing music. Bravo. I wish I could've seen you nowadays. The kids from Los Campesinos seem to have become bittered by their road-weary lives on Romance Is Boring, and it works for them. They don't seem as whiny and more "here it is, like it or not". I like it. Shearwater put out the Golden Archipelago which seems a little lofty at times, but it's still Shearwater, so they got that going for them. Hot Chip put out a decent album called One Life Stand with their best song ever on it. That stuff is anthemic.
I finally got into Clem Snide and wondered what I've been waiting for. The Meat Of Life is quite the collection of storytelling that both inspires and dampens spirits with the best of them. Thee Silver Mt. Zion did the do that they and only they do these days, but honestly there wasn't enough there for me to justify repeat listens. That stuff on Kollaps Tradixionales takes a very specific, perhaps semi-apocalyptic mindset. Field Music (left)took on the massive feat of releasing a double album, and tho it doesn't span the sonic horizon that Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness did, it's the only other album of such bulk that I've had such ease navigating. Bravo Field Music. Measure is a major success.Also of note, Peter Gabriel put together some covers of his favorite tunes, removed all the percussion elements and recorded them with full on orchestra and the result is actually quite breathtaking. Scratch My Back covers such stalwarts as David Bowie, Neil Young & Paul Simon, he also nails tunes by indie darlings like Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Magnetic Fields and even takes on Radiohead. Worth it folks. One day you'll thank me.
There were a handful or two handfuls of newbies jumping onboard the February release race. Yeasayer (right)took a big step towards becoming a powerhouse releasing Odd Blood and album best described by them as "Enya with bounce". Not being a fan of Enya myself all I can say is that this album transcends a scene, and manages to take the best of the last 30 years of experimental pop music and smash it into one finely packaged record. Serious stuff. A band called The Muslims changed their name (timing?) to the Soft Pack and then Soft Pack went on a self-titled endeavor playing their lo-fi rock to vapid acclaim.
The computerized landscape had it's share of newcomers too. Pantha Du Prince (left)takes the genre of shimmery ambient techno to new more melodic states of elation and actually makes me thank goodness for the ibook on Black Noise. And Madlib, under one of his many guises, this time releases a jazz-funk-fusion stunner full of dedications with Miles Away by The Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble.
I was highly anticipating the first release of Fang Island (right), a band described as making the sound of "everyone high-fiving everyone else". And as weird as that may sound, the second you hear their eponymous debut, you'll say "Oh yeah!". With a strong sense of standard songwriting, Bluebrain put out a catchy-but-not-too-catchy album called Soft Power that rises and falls at all the right times. Pleasant straight thru. Strange Boys put out a garage rock record that gives new meaning to garage. This garage has no oil stains on cracked concrete, or clanky metal automatic door, or Mom interrupting to change the wash to dry. Be Brave was made in a garage that had a herd of giraffes, a trunk full of Civil War pistols and a French chef flambéing quail.
And not to be outdone by Field Music's attempt at double vinyl madness, Joanna Newsom (left)released a triple disc set and man, this thing is a beast. Her last album was a scant five tracks in under a hour. Have One On Me is a full 18 ridiculous songs that takes over 2 hours to get thru. And in the end you'll be exhausted and impressed and touched and you'll be wondering when you can put aside the time to hear it all again, only better.The honorable mentions this month came from We Are Wolves, Yukon Blonde, Lightspeed Champion, Errors, Marina & The Diamonds, Zeus & Wolf People.
MARCH
This is the month where I really lost track of things. I managed to get a bunch of listens in but there's still a handful of things I know I'd be clamoring about that I just never got around to. That's the way I think it'll go from here on out. Quality versus quantity. Let's see what we got tho.
Liars (right) are a band like no other, what with their own little brand of dark-yet-dancy art smash rock. Making themed records that seem to have no theme at all, and rollicking around a studio banging on instruments and churning out gem after eccentric gem. Sisterworld is no exception. And Frightened Rabbit is a band from Scotland that I've read quite a bit about but never actually heard. Finally, on their 4th release, The Winter Of Mixed Drinks, I cave, and so far it's my favorite straight forward rock album of the year. Great melodies & lyrics, favorite Scottish band since Idlewild.
When I heard Beulah broke up I, like so many others, was pretty crushed, because three albums was just not enough. Many years later, Beulah frontman Miles Kurosky goes solo and releases The Desert Of Shallows Effects, and tho it is obvious it's not full-on Beulah, Miles has enough tricks up his sleeve to make up for the missing parts. This is a very smart, entangled record that warrants repeat listens. Also going solo was frontman of Sigur Rós, which c'mon, Jónsi Birgisson (left) has never written a bad song. Not even close. But he does manage to stretch his arms and his legs on this and get a little crazy on Go, but there were signs of this on the last Sigur Rós album. Rollicking & beautiful & introspective & all those other things you'd use to describe something that's completely out of your understanding.
There was a suspicious release last year by someone calling themselves jj. No one really knew much about them/him/her but the music was adorable enough to keep the buzz a-buzzing. This March she, it turns out, released a full album called jj nº 3, and tho the songs are decent, I think I liked it better when there was that bit of mystery. Tresspassers, a fairly unassuming album by Kashmir got under my skin with a few of it's tracks, no matter how I resisted. Standard Fare did their whiny garage pop tales of woe well enough to for me to give The Noyelle Beat the honor of waking me up on a few early morning drives. And Besnard Lakes made a dark and disturbing slow rock record called The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night that I think I liked, but I'm a little nervous to admit to it just yet. An album that I've only partially digested is People Songs by Power Animal (right). I've given it a few spins, starts off strong, meanders a bit in the middle, decides on a landing spot, misses it, circles round again, takes a moment to reflect upon itself, and finally crashes in a glorious explosion in a field full of poppies. And all that from only a few listens.
Now on to the top dogs. Free Energy. This album has no right being played as much as it has been, but the ears know what the ears want, and the ears want Stuck On Nothing. And out of left field came a little group better known as Dinosaur Feathers. Like the Dodos, but better songwriting. Like Mountain Goats but less dismay. Like dinosaurs with feathers is this Fantasy Memorial. And even tho the idea of James Mercer, the brains behind The Shins, and genius beatmaker Danger Mouse coming together to make one band seems like it may make the world implode, it didn't. Broken Bells (left)is a good record, but considering the ingredients, it comes off as the lowest common denominator.
Heros of March are The Morning Benders. Completely changing their sound on Big Echo from to a more cosmic cave filler, some of these songs are bigger than their britches, so you better buy new britches. And trying not to seem like one of those one-off glory hound actress trying to segue into music, Zooey Deschanel teamed back up with Matt Ward to make Volume Two of She & Him (right), and boy it's a good little album. A couple of the my favorites songs of the year so far on there, so well done. Maybe She should stay in Portland and out of Hollywood.Falling into also-ran category is Ruby Suns, Dum Dum Girls, A Weather, Freelance Whales & Aloha.
Alright so... any questions?
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