This is a continuation of my best of 2009 list. Scroll down to the previous entry to see the first six. If you're interested in hearing any of the albums on this list (which are mostly work-friendly), you can listen to anything once on Lala. Just create a free account, search for the artist, select the album, and click queue album. It's even easier to do than it sounds. Tracy and I have also created a Pandora station with many of these artists.
12. Passion Pit - Manners
This is a pop nightmare. Take one part lovestruck loner and one part Fruity Loops, mix in a shit-ton of falsetto, and you have this sublime (read: "terrifyingly beautiful") mess of unlistenable, masturbatory rock. The guy uses what I'm guessing is a harmonizer vocal effect and maybe some other vocoder thingies, and then he belts out an unabashed love song. I feel a bit guilty whenever I hear this guy, as though I've stumbled across a hidden stash of high school love letters, gleefully flipping from page to page with hilarity and nostalgia. The first time you hear Passion Pit, you will likely hate it, but it grows on you like mildew in a dorm bathroom.
11. M Ward - Hold Time
I nearly forgot this record, not because it was sub-par, but because I kept thinking it came out in 2008. This February 2009 album marks the first M Ward album I found myself enjoying beginning to end. A nice pairing to his collaboration with Zooey Deschanel in 2008 (She & Him - Volume One), this one is worth looking into if you enjoyed that record. There's not much more to say about this except that it's a southern pop gem, and hell, I even bought it for my Dad.
10. Dan Deacon - Bromst
Spastic to the point of annoying, this is the followup to the... similar 2007 release Spiderman of the Rings. Having been a fan of other bands that sound like kids' music on speed (DAT Politics, Blectum from Blectum, Secret Mommy), this is nothing new per se. However, if you check out any of his videos, you'll see he has made the style his own. I frequently find myself dancing like an idiot (okay, maybe that's the only way I dance, but you get the idea). There's not much to talk about musically here... he uses plenty of complicated equipment and fine-tuned loops, but the rhythmic simplicity is part of the charm. Dance, bitches!
9. Atlas Sound - Logos
His 2008 release started showing up on Pandora frequently, I think on the station that included Department of Eagles. Having found myself saying, "ooh, what is this?" for those songs, I picked up his first album last year. It's relative obscurity led me to believe he wasn't due for another release any time soon, but Logos released to some fanfare a short time later (probably because of the success of his other band, Deerhunter). His first, elaborately titled record, was decidedly more ambient, and several people I talked to found it uninteresting. Logos features more vocals and rhythm but is still layered over a complex background. This makes for a pleasant, if somewhat sedate (in a more listenable way vs Volcano Choir), experience for both passive and involved listening.
8. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
It's easy to hate these guys - Brooklyn hipsters with chips on their shoulders. Much of their earlier material is deliberately obscure, and I'd found myself saying, "Who the fuck do you guys think you are?" However, I would recommend Rise Above for the amusing fact that it's an indie pop retelling of a Black Flag album. Bitte Orca does not uh... rise above the pretentious obscurity of their other titles, but it's still fun to listen to. Warbly melodies and vocal precision dominate this record. You'll also find some genuine pop rhythms and cringe-worthy lyrics ("Isn't life under the Sun just a crazy, crazy dream?"). Putting this on for someone who is unfamiliar with their... quirks... will likely result in a shoe hitting you in the ear. Still, give it a spin or two & try to ignore the critics (read: most of the internet).
7. tUnE-yArDs - BiRd-BrAiNs
It's fitting that this odd bird falls right below Dirty Projectors, with whom she apparently toured last year. Merrill Garbus (yeah, I had to look that up) of the band Sister Suvi (which I've never heard of) has spectacular vocal control. The instrumentation tends towards what you might call math rock, at least in as far as the more poppy groups like Fiery Furnaces have imagined it. This leads to the occasional difficult section, and her voice keeps up with the zaniness. The lyrics are vacillate between angry and self-deprecating, lending the songs peculiar (but contagious) energy. "Why'd you think I'd put out your fire? ... What if my own skin makes my skin crawl?"
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A new decade cometh
Okay, I don't tend to place much weight in the concept of calendar years being a new start or a fresh, stinky baby or whatever. I mean I've never made resolutions (that I intended to keep), and I don't start on my taxes until well into the first quarter of the year. That being said, New Year's Eve remains a fantastic opportunity to start the year with a hangover. There's also the top 10 list. It's long been the tool of Late Night TM to amuse us with topical humor, as well as the list fetishist for masturbatory material. Being neither of those and having written absolutely nothing in the past year, it is my feeble opportunity to tell a bunch of people (or like, 3) what I thought done good. So without further ado (except this one: ado), here is my first
BEST OF 2009 REGULAR OL' MUSIC EDITION (Part One)
In which I find stuff (18 stuffs) I liked that can also be played in a public setting
18. Why? - Eskimo Snow
At the show in 2009 at Cat's Cradle, marking the third time I've seen Why?, the place was packed. Possibly not sold out but... I have no idea how they went from opening at 8:00 to (the horrible) Islands to headlining a show in Carrboro. Anyway, being the super awesome fan that I am, I sang along like a total tool bag (that is, a bag full of tools). This is some poppy, whiny stuff, friends. Eskimo Snow is actually far from being my favorite. It seems each album adds another dude to their band, and the sound is beginning to get crowded in my opinion. See, in the beginning, during his CloudDead days, Yoni Wolf was known as Why? by himself. It was a... rapper name? But while the ranks grow, Yoni continues to grace us with his occasionally shocking, often hilarious lyrics with a distinctive hip-hop delivery. Give 'em a chance, but I'd say start with Elephant Eyelash.
17. Bon Iver - Blood Bank
Another male vocalist who keeps it up there in the falsetto steps into the scene. Along the lines Jens Lekman, Beirut... and hell, I'll even throw in Antony (of Antony & the Johnstons). Delicate melodies and heartbreaking vocals dominate his works, & you'll see he made my list again a couple spots further up. Maybe if he weren't so busy doing side projects (like the Twilight soundtrack for god's sake), he could put out a proper full length.
16. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
The past couple of years have been dominated by heavy doses of jarring electronica. From the now super popular Girl Talk to the web prominence of mash-ups (Best of Bootie anyone?), I've seen stuff rise to the surface that I wouldn't have imagined could... 5 years ago even. It's a stretch to call this playable (even the name is tough to say in a crowd), and that's probably why it's not higher up on the list. There's certainly more accessible stuff out there that won't, you know, make your head want to explode, but there's plenty of bang here. I'd like to say more, but I truthfully haven't listened to the record enough times. Give me a couple of weeks!
15. Volcano Choir - Unmap
Another one I've regrettably given too few listens. The subtlety on this record makes it difficult to enjoy with the casual listen a coffee shop (or even the car) would afford. If you weren't aware, this record is pretty much a side project of a side project. Collections of Colonies of Bees, who are also members of the post-rock group Pele, team up with Justin Vernon, also known as Bon Iver. Both sides of the equation balance each other out with competitive minimalism. You won't find much here that's... disagreeable though.
14. Girls - Album
This variety of... I'll call it "garage pop," is typically not my style. Several recommendations and critical acclaim forced my hand, and I bought it. Part of my intrigue lay in reports of unusual origins for the band's lead, and his troubled past is reflected in the music. The lyrics, well, they tend to be your standard fare & occasionally trite, but I mean the music. Maybe it's just because I'm aware of his history that I sense a challenge in the simple and often repetitive melodies. Still, I find myself singing along in the car, particularly to the nearly seven minute long "Hellhole Ratrace." "I don't wanna cry / my whole life through, / I wanna do some laughin' too / so come on, come on, come on, come on and laugh with me. / And I don't wanna die / without shakin' up a leg or two, / yeah I wanna do some dancin' too / so come on, come on, come on, come on and dance with me."
13. Woods - Songs of Shame
This will not be the only lo-fi folk item on this list, surely. It probably would have ranked higher were it not for the psych-out right in the middle of the album. There is so much poppy, delicate goodness in there that this rambling section has me skipping it more often than not. Anyway, you'll find some fine nuggets on this record. I found the group gives me a feeling of intimacy not found in the other new editions of the lo-fi genre like Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (with his oddly forced conceit) or even Neon Indian, whom I rate higher on this list. That's not to say the songs are sappy or that they have a narrative strain (like the critical favorite Girls Album), but something about their sound gives the impression of being in the same room with them.
BEST OF 2009 REGULAR OL' MUSIC EDITION (Part One)
In which I find stuff (18 stuffs) I liked that can also be played in a public setting
18. Why? - Eskimo Snow
At the show in 2009 at Cat's Cradle, marking the third time I've seen Why?, the place was packed. Possibly not sold out but... I have no idea how they went from opening at 8:00 to (the horrible) Islands to headlining a show in Carrboro. Anyway, being the super awesome fan that I am, I sang along like a total tool bag (that is, a bag full of tools). This is some poppy, whiny stuff, friends. Eskimo Snow is actually far from being my favorite. It seems each album adds another dude to their band, and the sound is beginning to get crowded in my opinion. See, in the beginning, during his CloudDead days, Yoni Wolf was known as Why? by himself. It was a... rapper name? But while the ranks grow, Yoni continues to grace us with his occasionally shocking, often hilarious lyrics with a distinctive hip-hop delivery. Give 'em a chance, but I'd say start with Elephant Eyelash.
17. Bon Iver - Blood Bank
Another male vocalist who keeps it up there in the falsetto steps into the scene. Along the lines Jens Lekman, Beirut... and hell, I'll even throw in Antony (of Antony & the Johnstons). Delicate melodies and heartbreaking vocals dominate his works, & you'll see he made my list again a couple spots further up. Maybe if he weren't so busy doing side projects (like the Twilight soundtrack for god's sake), he could put out a proper full length.
16. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
The past couple of years have been dominated by heavy doses of jarring electronica. From the now super popular Girl Talk to the web prominence of mash-ups (Best of Bootie anyone?), I've seen stuff rise to the surface that I wouldn't have imagined could... 5 years ago even. It's a stretch to call this playable (even the name is tough to say in a crowd), and that's probably why it's not higher up on the list. There's certainly more accessible stuff out there that won't, you know, make your head want to explode, but there's plenty of bang here. I'd like to say more, but I truthfully haven't listened to the record enough times. Give me a couple of weeks!
15. Volcano Choir - Unmap
Another one I've regrettably given too few listens. The subtlety on this record makes it difficult to enjoy with the casual listen a coffee shop (or even the car) would afford. If you weren't aware, this record is pretty much a side project of a side project. Collections of Colonies of Bees, who are also members of the post-rock group Pele, team up with Justin Vernon, also known as Bon Iver. Both sides of the equation balance each other out with competitive minimalism. You won't find much here that's... disagreeable though.
14. Girls - Album
This variety of... I'll call it "garage pop," is typically not my style. Several recommendations and critical acclaim forced my hand, and I bought it. Part of my intrigue lay in reports of unusual origins for the band's lead, and his troubled past is reflected in the music. The lyrics, well, they tend to be your standard fare & occasionally trite, but I mean the music. Maybe it's just because I'm aware of his history that I sense a challenge in the simple and often repetitive melodies. Still, I find myself singing along in the car, particularly to the nearly seven minute long "Hellhole Ratrace." "I don't wanna cry / my whole life through, / I wanna do some laughin' too / so come on, come on, come on, come on and laugh with me. / And I don't wanna die / without shakin' up a leg or two, / yeah I wanna do some dancin' too / so come on, come on, come on, come on and dance with me."
13. Woods - Songs of Shame
This will not be the only lo-fi folk item on this list, surely. It probably would have ranked higher were it not for the psych-out right in the middle of the album. There is so much poppy, delicate goodness in there that this rambling section has me skipping it more often than not. Anyway, you'll find some fine nuggets on this record. I found the group gives me a feeling of intimacy not found in the other new editions of the lo-fi genre like Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (with his oddly forced conceit) or even Neon Indian, whom I rate higher on this list. That's not to say the songs are sappy or that they have a narrative strain (like the critical favorite Girls Album), but something about their sound gives the impression of being in the same room with them.
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