Nineteen songs; varying shades of Haloweenness. You will find a range of styles here (yes, including Salem), but you will not find “Monster Mash”, sorry. Nor will there will be any Kanye West (sorry “Monster” fans), but there is one rap verse.

Enjoy, if you dare.

Similar to his Found Songs LP from 2009, Ólafur Arnalds has released Living Room Songs, a project recorded over the course of one week from the bedroom of his Reykjavík apartment, and released for free as each song was finished.

This time, however, he included videos of each recording to accompany the music. The album will be packaged and released in high-quality form later this year. You can pre-order it here, and receive a free postcard.

Enjoy the album on his website, and have a look at the genesis of these beautiful compositions below…

Day 1 “Fyrsta”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Day 2 “Near Light”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Day 3 “Film Credits”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Day 4 “Tomorrow’s Song”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Day 5 “Ágúst”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Day 6 “Lag Fyrir Ömmu”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Day 7 “This Place is a Shelter”

Click here to view the embedded video.

On October 10, 2011, Matthew Herbert will release his latest LP entitled “One Pig.” According to his label’s website, it is an album “made entirely from recordings of a modern pig’s life cycle from birth to plate.”

I was intrigued with the concept on a number of levels, so decided to give a listen to the meaning behind the project.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I left the video not wholly convinced of his motives. I think Matthew is purposefully standing in the gray area of the matter, and it’s a win/win for him in this case.

One one hand, he has an easy out as an artist to say he is simply observing and presenting his emotional reaction to a realism he has no control over. Editorially he gets to present the life cycle of a food product typically very distant from its consumers.

On the other hand, however, he is also sensationalizing the process to a degree. Even if his money is going to charity (not sure whether it is), having an EP of Micachu remixes crop up as a PR strategy suddenly turns an austere, introspective set of field recordings into a flavor of the month musical romp through the inevitable pipeline of hipsterdom.

Still, as I said, I am intrigued. Here is one of the Micachu remixes:

And here is an iTunes link where you can preview the album and preorder if you can unearth the beauty beneath its grating tone:

Preview Album.

Cass McCombs’ album “Wit’s End,” came out back in April, and it’s been a slow burn for me. My apathy had nothing to do with how laid back, quiet, reserved and melancholic it was, because I rather like all of those qualities in an album. I think it may have been the general coating of malaise spread over top of everything, a suffocating feeling like sleeping with a garbage bag for a blanket.

However, in returning to the album a couple of months later—and a couple of months wiser—I now find beauty in the despondence, comfort in its distance. And the above video for lead track and single, “County Line,” expresses that tone perfectly. What I first construed as depressed alienation I now embrace as the echo of a comforting voice across a windless field.

I intend to wrap myself up in this album for a little while, and see how it fits. The good news is that it’s not a garbage bag for a blanket after all, more like a coarse but cozy wool. Hard to sell that to you as Summer breathes down our neck, but the nights can get chilly.

Timber Timbre are back on April 5, 2011. I was a big fan of their self-titled debut, and hope the trend of macabre folk creations continues.

It also look like they’re coming to a town near you, so if you haven’t heard them live, or at all for that matter, get out from under your dusty blankets and go!

Valentina Lisitsa plays Rachmaninoff Etude Op. 39 No. 6 “Little Red Riding Hood”

I’m sure some of you will agree with certain letters, disagree with others, and hopefully have not heard of a few of these bands. It was a great year for music, and unexpected letters ran deep, making the selection hard in places (the letter “W” for example).

So, Merry Christmas, and enjoy the list!

Arcade Fire – Mp3

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Beach House – Mp3

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Clogs – Mp3

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Deerhunter – Mp3

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Karen Elson – Mp3

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Fang Island – Mp3

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Gayngs – Mp3

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Hot Chip – Mp3

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Interpol – Mp3

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Jónsi – Mp3

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Klaxons – Mp3

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Local Natives – Mp3

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Memoryhouse – Mp3

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The National – Mp3

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Oneohtrix Point Never – Mp3

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Owen Pallett – Mp3

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Qua – Mp3

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Real Estate – Mp3

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Sufjan Stevens – Mp3

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Twin Shadow – Mp3

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Underworld – Mp3

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Sharon Van Etten – Mp3

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Kanye West – Mp3

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Xiu Xiu – Mp3

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Yeasayer – Mp3

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Zola Jesus – Mp3

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Complete Alphabet. Download

“The truth is that I haven’t shook my shadow, and every day it’s trying to trick me into doing battle.”

“Truth,” feels like a folksy Spaghetti Western track with soul and funk. It’s down-tempo but bad-ass at the same time, is that possible? I can’t stop listening, and I especially love the change-up right around the 2:30 mark of the track. Enjoy!

“All my enemies are turning into my teachers.”

Rating: 82%

“I did one flub, but I don’t remember where.”

So speaks Sharon Van Etten at the end of “One Day,” the second to last song on her sophomore LP, “epic”. This quote captures the essence of Sharon’s music perfectly, because I heard no such flub, and I’m betting neither did the producer who recorded that track. The thing is, Van Etten is not so much self-depreciating as she is self-critical. Her music may not possess the obsessive perfectionism of, say, a Grizzly Bear or The National album, but she is her own worst/best critic, and we feel the restraint even though it does nothing to harm her songwriting.

After experiencing, and reviewing her first album, I wondered what an unrestrained, heart-healed Van Etten might sound like. On her second effort, I see flashes of that future, but you can rescue a person from heartache, but you can’t take the heartache out of a person. I paraphrase, but that’s the long and short of it, here. How’s about I try to actually speak about the album itself, and not my own metaphysical whatever-you-call-them…

Like sleeping-in beneath an electric blanket on a chilly afternoon, Sharon Van Etten once again blesses us with seven stripped down tracks of varying shades of blue. In fairness, we are given two more spirited tracks up front before Van Etten retreats back under the sheets.

This is comfort food for the soul, what some may call beautifully hopeless music making, though never random. And in Van Etten’s own words: “I’ll be fine with that.” Most of the runtime on “epic”, is spent ruminating on past heartbreak and laying plans for future prosperity. If we follow this chronology, we should look forward to her third album involving a new love, new hope, with occasional flashbacks to sadder times.

As of right now, I’m just happy to be under the covers of more Van Etten music. I may be blissfully married with two beautiful baby girls, but that doesn’t stop me from escaping to the land of melancholic melody whenever I get the chance. If the music is soothing, unpretentious, and well-written, why should it make me sad?

Vocally, I sensed an undercurrent of Ricky Lee Jones, but can’t pinpoint exactly why. Perhaps it’s the emotion of her delivery, the embrace of her quirky but voluminous voice. When “Don’t Do It,” began to play, I felt for a moment my iTunes had skipped to an old Songs:Ohia track, but then her whispering croon came in and I had to smile. It turned out to be my favorite track on the entire album, not surprisingly. The crescendo of this song and its bridges (and repeat climaxes) are true things of beauty. It is a pitch perfect journey through a more fully arranged Sharon Van Etten creation, and all I can say is: “We want more!”

Sharon has brought her vocal prowess more to the foreground by creating a selection of songs that push her range a little further. I am beginning to think she is an even better vocalist than she demonstrates, here, however. That is not to say she sings poorly, but that there are moments on “epic” where you wonder how far she can soar if she unlatched the restraints of heartache and let go. I am no therapist, but this did feel like a “healing” album in a way.

My second favorite track on the album has to be the lead song, “Crimes”. She is setting the compass for where she’s at in life. The song is about investing in a relationship that didn’t pay off, and how it would be a crime to ever be in love like that again. This album seems to depict that sentiment.

Mp3. “Don’t Do It”
Mp3. “A Crime”

Rating: 70%

Sara Magenheimer and Eben Portnoy holed up in a barn in Massachusetts in the dead of winter for two months, in what ended up being a bit of a musical cleanse. They went into the barn as Fertile Crescent and came out (re/unborn?) as Woom. The album I am reviewing is a product of this retreat. It is called “Muu’s Way.”

How to describe Woom in a way that actually means anything? I’m so (un)happy you asked me that question. It’s scarcely worth doing a comprehensive sounds-like study here (though Deerhoof, The Acorn, and Cocorosie spring to mind), so in the spirit of the band and their style of songwriting, I’ll do it with a bit of poetic hyperbole:

Imagine, if you will, a beautiful girl beckoning you to come closer. She has a secret, and she is so sweet looking you want to squeeze her. Your ear is close to her lips, you can feel her breath (it smells like mint leaves and sea breeze) and just as she’s about to coo something meaningful into your ear, a car horn blares, and the girl is gone.

Okay here’s a simpler one: “Someone spiked my Shirley Temple,” I cried, “but I can’t stop drinking it. I don’t even drink!”

Woom is a band who does a lot with negative space. So much so that I was surprised to discover the ten track album barely crossing the thirty minute mark. They have the clickety-clack thing down pat. They’ll tap a pencil on a plastic cup to create a percussion bed, no problemo. Sara and Eben run this show with their voices more often than not, after all. Leads and harmonies linger longer than the bleeps.

The staccato nature of the songs also linger, for better or for worse. It is a bit of an anti-momentum LP which doesn’t allow you to let it fade into the background. Which is great if you don’t aren’t seeking full contentment. I personally like holistic experiences, however, and Woom certainly show their under-feathers more than once, giving me hope that this album is the beginning of a continued refinement.

That’s not to say this is a train wreck by any means. But it’s a slippery slope. Cocorosie, for example, haven’t repeated their debut success to date. But with Woom, whenever the train is about to derail into an art college dorm room jam session, they bring us back. “OK… OK… OK…” we hear at one point, as if they knew they were misbehaving.

As we meander through the album (and meander is the best word for it), we hear stories both poetic (“Circle on the surface, black blood on the white snow. It’s coming and coming and coming down, a strange style of voices.”) and literate (“Rafael, pull off the black balaclava. Put your ass down on the sofa. We’ll have some coffee and talk.”). It’s a mix I like, and this from a guy who doesn’t like mixed drinks (see above).

Standout tracks include “Quetzalcoatl’s Hip,” a quirky, seaside hymn about bottled ships and burials including a steel cameo near the end. I can’t help but think the title has a bit of wordplay in and of itself.

“Back In,” plays like an unplugged song The XX might have written if they stopped flirting with one another for more than two seconds.

Lead track “Backwards Beach,” beaches us onto the sandy shore of Woom Island in a wash of electro-sea swells, only to land on a beach haunted by sunny, strummy jangles and palm trees swaying to a sing-song breeze.

“Under Muu,” is a wonderful instrumental worth noting. It really reminded me of something The Acorn might have written and played, and I wouldn’t complain about an all-instrumental album from WOOM in this very tone; it’s excellence incarnate.

“Judith,” ends the album on an experimental note, with bleeps and glass breaks held together by the vocals like a piece of perfume-scented scotch tape. With this closing track, Woom appropriately remind us (and themselves?) who they are, and most importantly who they are not.

Personally, I do like them for who they are. But I want to love them for who they might become. We’ve reached a cruising altitude together, but are you equipped to take us out into space on our next expedition? Until then, I’ll sway and twitch to Woom’s sweet, strange take on music-making, and wander their melodic madness, one clickety-clack at a time.

Mp3. “Back In”
Mp3. “Quetzalcoatl’s Hip”

“Sun-Up/Sun-Down” Mix

It’s late in the Summer, I know, but if your hometown is anything like mine, it seems we’ll never see the Fall. So I put together a late-Summer mix, sequenced in such a way as to evoke a time of day evolution, from the dust motes swimming in the early morning shafts of sunlight, to the evening headlights commingling with a sky full of stars, and everything in-between.

01. Cults Go Outside
02. Marina and the Diamonds I Am Not a Robot
03. School of Seven Bells Windstorm
04. Soft Landing Baptism
05. Ratatat Bare Feet
06. The Books Beautiful People
07. Wild Nothing Summer Holiday
08. Mumford & Sons The Cave
09. Local Natives World News
10. Arcade Fire The Suburbs
11. Active Child Weight of the World
12. Phantogram As Far As I Can See

Download Mixtape.

For those wondering when new Beirut material might bless your ears, fret not. Paul Collins, Beirut’s bassist has started a new project called Soft Landing. While on a break from touring with Beirut in Brazil, he stole fellow bandmate, accordionist Perrin Cloutier and a friend from college. They spent every waking moment while on break to write and practice.

When all was said and done, they had enough material for an LP, which they recorded in Chicago with Griffin Rodriguez (frontman of Icy Demons). The album is due out this Fall on BaDaBing Records (Beirut, Shearwater, Sharon Von Etten, Damon & Naomi, WOOM, etc.).

I’m happy to share a track from that album with you here. It’s called “Baptism,” and it’s good.

“Baptism” – Mp3

In just one song, we discover a sound very distinct from Condon’s, though not a world apart by any means. There is still an infatuation with international sounds, wide influences, infectious songwriting. They enjoy their instruments and play them well. The music, the writing, it is for real, not extra-cirricular. The music swells and simmers, drums roll forward fervently, guitars wash over us, and everything just feels easy breezy.

Collins holds his own as frontman here, too, though his vim and conviction as bassist for Beirut makes this no surprise. Vocally, I’m reminded a touch of Goeff Farina of Karate fame, which is a good thing. Slightly flat notes (on purpose!) and a quasi-croon floating with an injured wing over the compositional gaps are welcome and distinctive. I like it. Do you?

If this first song is any indication, their self-titled debut should stand on its own in the way Daniel Rossen’s Department of Eagles project succeeded a couple years back. The question will be whether Soft Landing can keep up this prolificness while double dipping in two active bands. I’m sure several multi-act independent artists wish cloning were commonplace, then they could tour in two places at the same time. Imagine that!

Tour Dates:

July 14th – The Rock Shop, Brooklyn

July 23rd – Denver Biennial, Denver

July 30th – Bruar Falls, Brooklyn

Memoryhouse
“The Years”
Mp3. “Lately”

If Zooey Deschanel made morning music with Stars of the Lid before she had her first cup of coffee, and she sang without that subtle-but-evident hipster irony I have come to associate with She & Him, you’d have a rough idea of what Memoryhouse sounds like. Of course, they are also totally better than that cheesy metaphor. Wait. What?

Mumford & Sons
“Sigh No More”
Mp3. “The Cave”

It’s as though Fanfarlo hired Ricky Skaggs to run back up, and Amy Grant helped with some of the writing (to get the “Faith” bits just right). Of course, this melange sounds awesome, and if you can tolerate (and appreciate) the bluegrass undercurrents, then you’ll enjoy this band. Oh, and they’re not from America! Is that a bonus? I don’t know.

JBM
“Not Even In July”
Mp3. “Cleo’s Song”

Imagine Jose Gonzales and Jim James had a baby (it can happen, ask Devito and Schwarzenegger), and this child was raised on Great Lake Swimmers (before they left the silo). The haunting melodies and tragic undercurrent somehow makes this even better than that.

Local Natives
“Gorilla Manor”
Mp3. “World News”

A new kind of anthem band. This one eschews instrumentation in favor of barbershop harmonies and mixes mundane lyricism (“The lane next over’s always faster”) with profound delivery (see “Who Knows Who Cares”) to create one of my favorite albums this year.

Josh Ritter
“So Runs the World Away”
Mp3. “The Curse”

If Joanna Newsom leased out her patent on wordy songwriting, you’d have two of the tracks from Josh Ritter’s latest album figured out. If you made one of them about a mummy who falls in love with a female paleontologist (“The Curse”), and the other about a Christopher Columbus type searching for a paradise in Antarctica, well then you’d have discovered two of the best songs this year.

The National
“High Violet”
Mp3. “Conversation 16″

Pretend you combined all of the previous albums by The National, set the blender to low, then poured your concoction into a drinking glass that was shinier than the one you drank your morning milk in. Oh, and if a close listen to “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” doesn’t make you a wee bit weepy, you’re inhuman (subhuman?).

A note about this list, for those who weren’t around last year to read the first one. This is not (cannot) be the top 26 bands of the year. No, rather, consider this a collection of twenty-six Top 2 lists (I’ve added a Runner-Ups this year as a bonus), one for each letter.

My alphabet would like to give a special thanks to DJ Quik, who put out a decent album with a couple very standout tracks. And also to The XX, who swooped down like an angel from the sky when I discovered that xiu xiu would not, in fact, be putting out an LP this year. And of course a warm thank you to Zaza, who made a short but great album to close out the list.

I personally would like to thank Leo Reynolds, who has allowed me to use his vast collection of found letters from his Flickr page. I recommend checking out his collections when you have a chance.

One final note, at the bottom of the alphabet you will find links to all of the songs from the list in two handy volumes.

So without further ado, here is the list…

Animal Collective – Mp3

Not putting Animal Collective on my list would be like betting against the Chicago Bulls to win the championship in the 90′s. “Merriweather Post Pavilion,” was one of the best albums of the year. Period. And their follow-up EP, “Fall Be Kind,” was better than 90% of the LP’s put out this year to boot. Animal Collective are in this bizarre situation where, instead of over-thinking how they are going to outdo themselves, they simply continue to polish and refine the sound which put them on the map to begin with.

Runner-Up: The Antlers – Mp3

Bat For Lashes – Mp3

“Two Suns,” Bat for Lashes’ sophomore album, is in many ways just as good as her debut, “Fur and Gold,” and in a few ways even better. As I loved 4AD at their apex, and 25% of Björk’s music, I love Bat for Lashes. Her music transports me to a damp, misty jungle where an evil temptress prowls beneath the  unseen. There is a confidence this time around which suits her style of music well. You can hear it on the first notes of the first track, where she gives Lisa Gerrard and Kate Bush a run for their money as music’s most hauntingly angelic vocalist.

Runner-Up: Beirut – Mp3

Neko Case – Mp3

Why not keep it rolling with another great female vocalist? Neko Case, who you might know from the New Pornographers. Or maybe not. In any case, she has released “Middle Cyclone,” this year, a great follow-up to what I consider her strongest album, “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.” She keeps pace with the latter, invoking the same effortless melodies, the same signature nasally croon over top well-composed music. Her songs are confessionals, as evidenced in the opening track “This Tornado Loves You,” which includes lines like: “I have waited with a glacier’s patience, smashed every transformer with every trailer ’til nothing was standing… sixty-five miles wide.”

Runner-Up: Bill Callahan – Mp3

Alela Diane – Mp3

Alela Diane doesn’t do anything fancy; she just does what she does, and she does it well. Unlike other singer/songwriters who are usually stronger at the one or the other, Diane puts the two together in perfect accord. On “To Be Still,” Diane delivers her crystalline vocals in their most haunted capacity — like an off-key harp in an empty ballroom — and sings lines like: “The sea beneath the cliff is the blue in my mother’s eyes that came from the blue in her mother’s eyes,” effortlessly. I’m also a sucker for acoustic guitar, violin, and yodeling coming together to form a spooky set of murder-folk laments.

Runner-Up: Dan Deacon – Mp3

Espers – Mp3

With “III,” their fourth LP, Espers takes us to a forgotten time, when magistrates would bring thieves before the king to receive their punishment, when bards and court jesters danced merrily about, when queens wrought devious plans to overthrow their own husbands. But I digress. Somehow, Espers manage to do this almost entirely through the vocal stylings of Meg Baird and Greg Weeks. I remember The Decemberists trying to evoke a medieval epic feeling on their “Tain,” EP, but when compared to Espers that album was but a Renaissance Faire to Espers’ War of the Roses.

Runner-Up: El Goodo – Mp3

Fanfarlo – Mp3

I fell in love with Fanfarlo earlier this year (see previous post), and haven’t grown tired of their album ever since. It took most of this year for their debut LP, “Reservoir,” to “catch on” (they were a big hit at SXSW this year, so I hear), but they are finally starting to get the credit they deserve. On first blush, you can cite a dozen or more influences (Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Beirut, etc.) but these similarities are a product of zeitgeist rather than derivation. When you put together their sweeping movements, vivid storytelling, and minor-key harmonies, they become something more sincere than secondary.

Runner-Up: Fever Ray – Mp3

Grizzly Bear – Mp3

Perhaps the most anticipated and subsequently acclaimed album of 2009, Grizzly Bear’s, “Veckatimest” (I lost count of how many people I have heard correcting others on the pronunciation of this word) is an amazing piece of song craftsmanship. I use that word because every note, every syllable is right where it needs to be, the harmonies refined to the point of androgyny, each instrument chosen and tuned with the precision of a scientist at CERN. But no matter how spit-shined their songs end up, the magic of the song’s original intent is never lost, only enhanced. That’s a rare gift, and it’s why Ed, Daniel, Chris and Chris have made one of the best albums of the year.

Runner-Up: Girls – Mp3

Richard Hawley – Mp3

Of all the male singers actively recording music, Richard Hawley has the best croon of them all. Jonathan Meiburg may win out in the upper register, Thom Yorke might emote more angelically, but Hawley is quite simply the deserving heir to Sinatra and Bacharach, no question. The difference between Hawley and his contemporaries, however, is that Hawley used to play guitar for Pulp, and is also an amazing composer. If you don’t believe me, check out the slow build and epic sweep of “Soldier On,” from his latest LP, “Truelove’s Gutter.”

Runner-Up: Holopaw – Mp3

Islands – Mp3

Islands manage to take everything I like about Of Montreal and refine it into something less esoteric yet more memorable. Listening to Islands is like eating a Jolly Rancher, no matter how long you turn it over in your mouth, the flavor never dies. Their follow-up LP, “Vapours,” is chock full of catchy tunes and worth-while hooks and melodies. While a little more pop/dance than their former band, Unicorns, Islands are no less diverse and catchy.

Runner-Up: Iron & Wine – Mp3

jj – Mp3

Vampire Weekend, eat your heart out. Alaska in Winter, take note. jj burst on the scene this year with little-to-no introduction, and at this point, other music investigators have gleaned little more than their record label and their alleged names. In a strange way, I almost prefer it this way. Their debut LP, “jj n° 2,” is only 26 minutes long, but they manage to take us from the African savannah to the Caribbean shoreline without ever leaving the keyboards in their bedroom.

Runner-Up: Jóhann Jóhannsson – Mp3

Kronos Quartet – Mp3

This string quartet have been recording music since 1973. Most readers will probably recognize them most recently by their contribution to the“Dark Was the Night,” compilation this year. Their brand of orchestration traverses genres like international flight attendants, but their latest album, “Floodplain,” is something a bit different. “Floodplains,” was created as an homage the cultures who dwell in “areas surrounded by water and prone to catastrophic flooding,” in collaboration with different musicians from around the world. From Serbia to Egypt, from Lebanon to Ethiopia, the songs are as diverse as they are marvelous to experience.

Runner-Up: Knight School – Mp3

Land of Talk – Mp3

Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) produced “Some Are Lakes,” Land of Talk’s debut LP. Whether or not we owe this to Vernon alone is unlikely, but I certainly don’t think his presence could have hurt. You can certainly hear some of his balladry skills on slower songs like “It’s Okay.” Before this LP, I didn’t really know much about Land of Talk. But after “Some Are Lakes,” I have to mention them in the same breath as bands like Rosebuds, Rilo Kiley, Stars, even a little Delgados in there.

Runner-Up: Jason Lytle – Mp3

The Middle East – Mp3

The only bad thing about The Middle East’s self-titled LP is how long it took me to discover it. When I had heard “Blood,” on the radio one afternoon, I realized at once that I was discovering one of the most promising bands of 2009. This Australian foursome sing their bedroom lullabies from the cliffs of an angry sea. At times quiet singer/songwriter, other times soaring ambience like Sigur Rós, and yet other times capable of Explosions in the Sky type intensity. But those characteristics — along with a falsetto that would make Jeremy Enigk shed a prideful tear — are the things which set The Middle East apart from 90% of their peers.

Runner-Up: Cass McCombs – Mp3

Marissa Nadler – Mp3

Marissa Nadler has returned in 2009 with ten more songs of unforgettable melancholy on her fourth album, “Little Hells.” The gothic, snowy cemetary stylings are still there, in all their murderous wonder. While she hasn’t strayed far from what gained her notoriety, Nadler still manages to embellish her voice and guitar with organs, adding weight to her otherworldly elegies. I can always listen to Marissa Nadler, regardless of time of day, mood, or shirt color.

Runner-Up: Neil On Impression – Mp3

Other Lives – Mp3

Any time you can fuse the allure of Brit Pop with the best instrument ever made: the piano, you know you have a recipe for success. Other Lives self-titled LP sounds like what might happen if Rufus Wainwright and Danny McNamara of Embrace came together and made an album. Every song is woven together with the grace and beauty of the former, and the minor-key earnestness of the latter. “Black Tables,” might be the most beautifully somber song I’ve heard all year: Right up there with The Middle East.

Runner-Up: Old Jerusalem – Mp3

Phantogram – Mp3

I really had Portugal. The Man, as my pick for “P” going into the end of the year, but then I was introduced to Phantogram by a friend. This album is the perfect answer to my affinity for “sad bastard music,” as others have so eloquently put it. The reason it’s perfect is that the hint of melancholy persists under the funky basslines, angelic vocals, and crispy break beats. This is a rock album by definition, but plays like more of a melange in practice. The whole album exists within its own microcosm, and when you play it from beginning to end, it feels you’ve been taken inside the band’s psyche and spit out on the side of the road on a rainy night.

Runner-Up: Portugal. The Man – Mp3

DJ Quik and Kurupt – Mp3

One of the best West Coast “Rap” songs ever made was DJ Quik’s “Tonite.” I think he was something like 19 at the time. Kurupt, when he emerged on Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic,” in 1992 as part of Snoop’s Dogg Pound, was the West Coast’s answer to Inspectah Deck. These two coming together trumps Muggs and Gza from a couple years back, and while I haven’t found a West Coast rap album I’ve liked from start to finish since… well… “The Chronic,” there are indeed enough solid tracks on “BlaQKout,” to warrant a “Q” slot.

Runner-Up: Quiet Village – Mp3

Raekwon – Mp3

I remember that first video from Wu Tang Clan in 1993 (“Protect Ya Neck”) like it was yesterday. More than a dozen of the baddest looking rappers I’d ever seen were mugging the camera, some hooded, some masked, some with a mouthful of gold teeth. The music was “hard” in the sense that you felt like a bad-ass just rapping along, trying to guess who was who. Wu Tang have since become musical legends, and Raekwon is one of the few members who has had a critically acclaimed solo career with any consistency. Which is a shame, because my favorite member, Inspectah Deck, cannot claim the same accomplishment. Never fear, for the song I’ve chosen from “Only Built for Cuban Linx II” includes a memorable verse from the Rebel INS himself, taking us back to the grimy streets of Staten Island.

Runner-Up: Real Estate – Mp3

Sunset Rubdown – Mp3

The grandmaster of melodrama is at it again; Spencer Krug (who released albums with Sunset Rubdown and Swan Lake this year) continues adding to his repertoire of one-of-a-kind Shakesperean Anthems. His voice isn’t for everybody, but for me it really adds to the baroque and off-kilter presence his songs tend to have. You never know where his music is going to take you. You may start out under the impression you are listening to an 8-bit laptop folk song and wind up in the middle of a palatial indie opera complete with crashing cymbals, chaotic keyoards, lavish harmonies and soaring guitars. That’s just the charm of Krug, and with Sunset Rubdown he remains the central figure from start to finish, just the way I like it.

Runner-Up: Surfer Blood – Mp3

The Twilight Sad – Mp3

God, this album is good. I’ve never been to Scotland, but after a good listen to The Twilight Sad’s sophomore LP, “Forget the Night Ahead,” I feel like I’ve walked beneath its overcast skies, crossed its rocky hillocks, wended my way through its gnarled forests. What is most impressive about these guys is that—regardless of how messy and distorted the electric guitars get—there is an underlying cohesion which holds up against the very best rock anthems. This is a compliment of the highest order, and if anybody writes The Twilight Sad off as post-rockers with funny accents, you’ll know they haven’t actually listened to their albums.

Runner-Up: Tiny Vipers – Mp3

Uninhabitable Mansions – Mp3

Here was a case where I discovered the band on my quest for a viable “U” candidate. U.N.K.L.E. hadn’t put out any material (and frankly, I haven’t enjoyed an U.N.K.L.E. record in some time), and the Unicorns are still broken up (but at least we have Islands, see above). Fortunately, Uninhabitable Mansions appeared just in time. Their album, “Nature is a Taker,” is chock full of jangle pop of the sunniest disposition, enough to make The Magic Numbers proud. Their sound falls somewhere betwen Beach Boys, Pavement and Buddy Holly; but you be the judge.

Runner-Up: UUVVWWX – Mp3

Volcano Choir – Mp3

There’s that pesky Justin Vernon again. He shows up in the strangest of places, always wearing that amicable Midwestern smile, always making unique and beautiful music. This time he’s partnered with fellow Wisconsinites, Collection of Colonies of Bees, under their collective moniker Volcano Choir, and the results are unexpectedly astounding. After “For Emma, Forever Ago,” it may have seemed a stretch to pair Vernon’s songwriting and song-playing with experimental electronica. But what he hinted at on his “Blood Bank,” was only but a snippet of the success to be discovered on Volcano Choir’s debut album, “Unmap.”

Runner-Up: Sharon Van Etten – Mp3

Wild Beasts – Mp3

I had heard a song from Wild Beasts earlier this year, before getting my hands on their full-length release, “Two Dancers.” And while I thought the song itself was pretty cool, I was not prepared for the baroque, flamboyant, intense, melodramatic, and confident display of this LP. Just about every song on this album is a full-on experience to be remembered. Like some of my favorite bands (see Sunset Rubdown, above), Wild Beasts put many of their songs together as multi-part movements. We soar and we dive, we hoot and we howl, and we love every twist and turn. Hayden Thorpe’s voice is unlike any I have heard before. Highly recommended stuff.

Runner-Up: Women – Mp3

The XX – Mp3

You don’t need me to say it, but for a someone who has taken on the challenge of putting together an Indie Alphabet for the second straight year, having a band with the letter X in its name is as sought after as a Park Place sticker at McDonald’s during Monopoly month. But for that band to have two X’s in a row—and to also be one of the best bands on the entire list—well that’s just divine intervention. This male/female duo sing lazy verses over tightly produced tracks with the care-free confidence of Massive Attack in their hey-day. Like two star-crossed lovers breaking up then falling in love all over again, XX keep us transfixed at the spectacle of themselves. And it hurts so good.

Runner-Up: Xylos – Mp3

YACHT – Mp3

On paper this album shouldn’t appeal to me: off-key singing over strange 80′s post-industrial synth pop; tried and tired vocal distortions and samples; and the occasional techno beat for good measure. But what you don’t get in words you can certainly hear on their album, “See Mystery Lights.” The very quirks and oddities which shouldn’t go together somehow work. And to bluntly summarize: this album is damn good!

Runner-Up: Yo La Tengo – Mp3

Zaza – Mp3

We’ve made it to the letter “Z” at last. And a fine note to end our journey on. Zaza have only just begun putting out material, but already you can feel their knack for rich orchestrations and opium den atmosphere. Their album, “Cameo,” emits a lush ambience from start to finish; drums, vocals, organs and guitars melt into one, and everything seeps into your skin like a local anesthetic. In short: achingly hypnotic music to send you into a trancelike state until the next Indie Alphabet comes along.

Runner-Up: Zola Jesus – Mp3

Volume I. Download
Volume II. Download

Rating: 74%

If there was such a thing as post-hardcore shoegaze, Twilight City Fracture certainly would fit the bill. Their latest EP, “Exist,” is drowned in nostalgia yet works at carving out a relevance all its own. To grossly oversimplify their sound, think somewhere between Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield,” and Jawbreaker’s “Oh Dear.” “Dear You.”

Regardless of whether that comparison frightened or excited you, I recommend giving these guys a good listen, because they have me convinced that I should rise up and fight against the daily oppression of my relatively sheltered life.

I used Benatar because somehow Twilight’s sound manages to transport me to those fake late-80′s Hollywood city sets, where hipsters (before they were called hipsters) would dance around the lead singer at night, for no apparent reason, celebrating their suburban liberation around flaming trash cans and abandoned shopping carts. After the first couple of listens, I immediately wanted to go and watch Lost Boys and Toy Soldiers back-to-back, but I decided to write this review instead.

As far as I can tell, Twilight City Fracture are a local band from Lacey Township, New Jersey, who are gaining some notoriety. “Exist,” was put together with veteran producer Jesse Cannon (Saves the Day, The Cure, Tiger Mountain), and I have to say, the sound is tight and consistent across each of these five tracks. Special props go out to the clever use of guitar, sometimes eliciting a punk rock vibe, while other times transporting me into the cosmos where I watch down upon a post-apocalyptic Earth in ruins.

If I dig beneath the fuzzy electric guitars and crashy percussion, I can glimpse other influences as well. The way they put harmonies together seem to break that post-hardcore mold enough to earn a shoegaze or dream pop subtitle. More Twilight Sad than Grizzly Bear, though; more Mogwai than Sigur Rós.

The lead off track, “Edward”, plays like an anthem for the thirty-something broken-hearted. A rally cry intended to soothe the inner gen-exer in us all. Before the guitar kicks in in the first few seconds, I thought I had accidentally hit play on the latest Arms & Sleepers album. “Legend on Louisiana,” rises and falls like a stormy sea, and has a spacey undercurrent running through its veins to allure the non Jets to Brazil regime.

Wrestling the proverbial inner-demon while channeling those feelings in the form of borderline over-emotive music seems to be Twilight’s mainstay on this album. They tread a thin wire, however, and flashes of the trite slip in here and there. Lines like “maybe wonder why the media has your mind turned upside down,” feel more like Fall Out Boy excerpts than something substantial. Others, such as “I’ve seen through the devil’s eyes and I’m going blind,” are too literal to be taken seriously. If they can forego some of this blatancy in favor of something a little more abstract and poetic, I can see these guys gaining even more of a following.

There is a collective “WE” spanning these songs which only reinforces that collective angst I was mentioning earlier. But instead of “we belong to the night,” here you have “we look out for the signs,” and “we’ve been in this world with only red’s and blue’s,” and “we’ve been lost in the catacombs in our heads.”

To get a better idea of the band’s evolution, I snuck around the Information Superhighway™ and found a couple of older demos from these guys… and I have to say, I’m really glad they eschewed that conformist, proto-screamo sound in favor of this post-hardcore shoegaze genre I’ve invented for them. There might not be something for everyone, but their reach definitely seems wide enough now to garner the interest of a larger nucleus, myself included.

Mp3. “Edward”
Mp3. “Legend on Louisiana”

Thanks to KA-POW! for pointing this out.

Tindersticks + Devendra Banhart + M. Ward + Better =
Timber Timbre.

I love this band. They are seriously contending with The Twilight Sad for letter “T” in my 2009 Indie Rock Alphabet. It’s getting vicious already; if you don’t believe me, just ask St. Vincent and Sunset Rubdown.

Here are a few Timber Timbre videos for your aural enjoyment…

Timber Timbre – “We’ll Find Out”

Timber Timbre – “Demon Host”

Timber Timbre – “Oh Messiah”

A very cool album cover, if I do say so myself. One of the coolest, I imagine.

Oryan are a self-proclaimed four piece folk/rock band from upstate New York. As a “Ryan” myself, I thought it worth sharing this band with you, a band which is helmed by Ryan Megan and Ryan Schoonmaker (there is a third Ryan in the mix, Ryan McCann, which makes one feel almost sorry for Adam Gosney, the fourth and only non “Ryan” in the band).

The lead singer Ryan Megan has a lazy, three-beers type of baritone with just enough gravel in his voice to keep things interesting. As a guy from New York (unless I have this wrong), I wondered where this heavy drawl came from. He slurs his scenes between staccato drums and fuzzy guitars, and the hints of Tom Waits are undeniable. But the songs themselves (while at times benign and others down-right offensive) benefit from an interesting bar-room country meets traditional folk blend.

I caught some faint yet pleasant Mark Eitzel undertones in lead-off track “The Ride,” and liked the partly sunny tones of “Goodbye,” as much as I disliked the disturbing “If Milbrook Got a Taco Bell.” ”Helvetica,” is another nice track which starts out like something you might hear on any old decent country rock album but quickly evolves into something else once Ryan Megan’s vocals kick in.

There are some nice guitar and drum solos throughout, and you can see how the first two Ryan’s got their start just jamming together. Not sure I would put them in league with Deer Tick or Kings of Leon, but one could see where they may fit as the evil, outlandish step-brothers perhaps.

But with occasional, unforgivable lyrics such as: “If Millbrook got a Taco Bell / all the Arabs and Jews would make out / White folks would stop being scared of the blacks / And all the queers would feel free to come out,” I can’t help but wonder if there’s a joke here and I’m just missing it.

Stream album (at your own risk).

Ryan Gosling and cohort Zach Shields have formed a band. It is called Dead Man’s Bones and their self-titled debut sounds something like Patrick Wolf on quaaludes. Or like Black Heart Procession on speed. Or both.

However, there is something interesting about a prim and proper (see The Notebook) and talented (see Fracture) actor joining forces with his long-time friend to make such a macabre, off-kilter album like this. Although I suppose he was the star in the twisted Lars and the Real Girl, so perhaps this shouldn’t be so suprising.

Much of the LP consists of sloppily played instruments arranged in catchy yet morose ways. There are the occasional up-tempo moments, but it is the eerily-choral murder ballad which serves as the album’s mantlepiece time and again.

It is the omnipresence of a zombie-like children’s choir, however, singing lines like: “Like a lamb to the slaughter, buried in water,” and “My body’s a zombie for you,” that raised my eyebrows with intrigue. It only helps to see press materials of this children’s choir dressed like an army of Charles Manson’s children going out to accost the neighborhood in their Halloween costumes (see above).

Perhaps this album represents the way Gosling remembers his time spent at the Mickey Mouse Club as a child? I would completely get it if that was the case.

Enjoy this Youtube clip, and check out their Myspace page to get a tasty preview of what should be a fairly successful debut offering.

But this is a different kind of one-man band. This one is a classically trained, obscure lyricist, premiere whistler and a helluva composer it seems.

Enjoy!

P.S. Apologies in advance for the advertisements. Not my doing.

Rating: 61%

Josephine, the latest offering from Magnolia Electric Co., a band who – when all pistons are firing – are quite hard to criticize, sounds more like an album they might play in the background while writing a Magnolia Electric Co. album. Jason Molina has thrown away more songs than most of his contemporaries have recorded, and may quite possibly be one of the most prolific artists making music today. But is that enough to hold this album together?

At fourteen tracks nearly identical in tempo, structure, meaning and arrangement, Josephine simply goes on for too long. We roll slowly toward the fourth track (“Shenandoah”) and can’t help but wonder whether this will be the slow and painful death it appears it might be. Our fears are realized six songs later, when “Little Sad Eyes,” uses a brush kit and a forgettable melody one too many times; even the funky organ can’t save this one from the mundane. The reimagined, previously released track, “Shiloh,” rolls by, but by this point I fear the album has already slipped between our fingers like a plume of beach sand.

Long gone are the maps of old horizons. Gone are the ghosts they used to ride around with. There are no arrows to pierce our chestnut hearts. And the black rams? All but extinct. John Henry? Nowhere in sight. This whole place used to be dark, now it’s just a dimly lit elevator to purgatory, and the elevator’s just broken down. I want my slide guitar back, Molina. I want the guest vocals, the country swagger. I want the timeless, classic, tragically perfect songs to resurface from the dust and rubble. I want to sing in the shower to a new Magnolia Electric Co. song.

The album is not without its moments, I guess. The opening track, “O! Grace,” not only scores points for including the namesake of my daughter, it’s a promising opener to the album as well; a false prophecy as it turns out, but you get the feeling there is a band at work here, even if for a fleeting moment. “Rock of Ages,” the very next track, takes us to another place and time, harkening back to the sock hops and doo-wops of yesteryear. But at 2:43, one almost wonders if this band is intentionally trying to keep their charms up their sleeves. There is a pleasant roll and drive to “The Handing Down,” where an electric guitar is allowed to come out and play alongside Molina’s crooning, pleading warble. We can feel it, and it works. Why can’t we feel things more frequently?

Molina has mentioned the importance of recording this album. It is an implied album of healing, a chance to confront the unexpected death of original bassist Evan Farrell. I only wish that import transcended the personal meaning, so that we could all lament and heal and rejoice as one. Instead, the album seems more interested in apathy and self-depreciation than with paying triumphant tribute.

While describing a bit of the album’s inspiration, Molina also promised more output in the coming months, and as he is one of my favorite artists currently making music, I will only hope the future delivers on his band’s promise to create more great tunes. Until then, I have about 150 other Molina tracks to keep on repeat. Life isn’t all that uninspired after all.

Mp3. “O! Grace”
Mp3. “The Handing Down”
Mp3. “Rock of Ages”

Caveat: It is well established that he does his guitar slides backwards, and it’s well commented on as well. Just a heads up.

As we all sit on pins and needles now that Robin Pecknold has cut his hair, trimmed his beard and abandoned his Twitter account, signs that he may have made a wise decision begin to emerge, as demonstrated by this brand new—unaccompanied—Fleet Foxes studio performance for the BBC6.

The song is tentatively called “Blue Spotted Tail,” and even on his own—without the Josh, Casey, Skylar or Christian to wash it with harmonies and echoed instrumentation—the band looks poised to deliver on last year’s promise of continued greatness.

The song itself is a calm, introspective affair, tasked more with asking questions than sharing wisdom. See “Why is life made only for to end?” or “Why in the night sky are the lights on?” as exhibit’s A and B. The way Robin moves from major to minor notes—both with his guitar and with his voice—harkens to the great folk of yesteryear, going back to Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, and Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger before them.

This is timeless music, the hardest kind to make, the best kind to hear.

Mp3. “Blue Spotted Tail”

]]> http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/new-fleet-foxes-blue-spotted-tail/feed/ 0 http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/best-album-title-of-2009/ http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/best-album-title-of-2009/#comments Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:44:12 +0000 Ryan Dunn http://www.liftingfaces.com/?p=2037

“No Need to Light a Night Light on a Night Like Tonight”
by Snowglobe.

Mp3. “Nothing I Can Do”
Mp3. “Ms. June”

]]> http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/best-album-title-of-2009/feed/ 0 http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/review-sharon-van-etten-because-i-was-in-love/ http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/review-sharon-van-etten-because-i-was-in-love/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:21:10 +0000 Ryan Dunn http://www.liftingfaces.com/?p=2021

Rating: 75%

When Sharon Van Etten sings “I do,” on the second track, “For You,” from her debut LP, “Because I Was In Love,” we do not imagine altars or fresh flowers, no bridesmaids or groomsmen, no priests or witnesses. Rather, the words slip from somber lips to fill her empty bedroom. Pictures of her beloved lay spread across her sheets, spilling from an up-ended shoebox, tattered from the months spent inside her closet. A pressed rose falls from the diary she’s reading, blood red and bone dry. Mascara runs down her cheeks and the ashtray is full. Empty wine glasses line her side table to the point of falling off.

Whoever he is, he is gone, that much is clear, and we spend eleven tracks tragically learning this fact, listening to her confessions and questions over minimally forlorn arrangements. And we are somehow transfixed, because in one way or another, we have all been there. We have lost someone, whether it be a lover, a friend, a family member. We know the tragedy she issues forth song after song.

But enough hyperbole and metaphor; onto the album.

Recorded in a small studio by Greg Weeks (of the band Espers), “Because I was In Love,” is a melancholy selection of songs, comprised mostly of lazily plucked acoustic guitar with the occasional tambourine, organ, or bass as an accompaniment (never all at once, mind you), the music never truly soars.

I think what kept me hooked on this album after a few listens was her transfixing vocal delivery. I am a sucker for haunting and non-girly female singers (see Marissa Nadler, Alela Diane, Neko Case, Meg Baird), and Van Etten reaches deep inside our rib cage to tug on our heart strings in the most delicate of ways. Using words like melancholy, bittersweet, somber or forlorn to describe her, you may suspect this to be an optimist’s worst nightmare; and you would be partially right. But her melodies and sincerely emotional delivery are just so beautifully heartbreaking to hastily write off in such a fashion.

If you have the patience, Sharon Van Etten will let you glimpse inside her breaking heart, and you will feel an oneness to listen. “I’m a tornado. You are the dust you’re all around,” she sings about halfway into the album; a piece of insight that maybe it wasn’t all her lover’s fault after all.

But her blessing is her curse, as there is no sense of healing or evolution here, just an even set of songs all aimed at the same lonely mantra: “I messed up, I’m lost, and I don’t know how to fix it.” A few rays of sun, even if taunting, may go a long way to round out Van Etten’s repertoire on her sophomore offering. Time will tell.

Mp3. “For You”
Mp3. “Tornado”
Mp3. “I Wish I Knew”

Average Rating: 71.5%

(Side 1: 88%; Side 2: 55%)

Listening to Rhode Island’s own Deer Tick is like trying to eat a walnut. You have to crack through an impenetrable outer shell before enjoying the tasty part inside. Case in point: To experience the textured songwriting, the dusty melodies and earnest instrumentation, you have to get past the fact that John McCauley sounds like he’s doing a constant impersonation of Popeye the Sailor Man. This single fact may be the central reason many a listener won’t give Deer Tick a chance.

And it’s a cryin’ shame.

Because Deer Tick are — alongside bands like Bright Eyes, Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, Okkervil River and even Arcade Fire — a band defined more by their collective spirit than by the tonal quality of their lead singer. These East Coasters move effortlessly from the back porches of the Mississippi Delta complete with screen porches and  moonshine to the Texarkana saloons complete with tumbleweeds and spur-clad cowboy boots. They’re as authentic a country rock’n'roll band (with a penchant for the blues) as any you’re like to hear, which is at once the best and worst thing about their sophomore album.

Because for all its promise and potential, there’s a problem with Born On Flag Day which can’t be overlooked. A problem best described by taking you through the album, track by track. Let’s get started…

Side 1 (The Pain of Stayin’ Sober)

1. “Easy,” kicks off the album like an anthem for love-torn souls plagued with silver-lined heartbreak juxtaposed against murderous thoughts of revenge. Vintage Deer Tick, right? Dark, moody, up-tempo and unkempt. Full of spirit. I can feel McCauley’s pain, I share it with him. And I’m hooked. A good start to what could be a great album, and the song you’re most likely going to hear on the radio.

2. “Little White Lies,” follows next and starts off slow. I begin to worry whether we may have lost the tightly tuned songwriting and earnest delivery of yore. In the end I’d say this is one of the lesser songs of the front five tracks, but the change-up just past the two-minute mark grabs me by my flannel collar and throws me into the next track with a smile.

3. “Smith Hill,” is a heart-wrenching, soaring ballad which demonstrates a band coming into their own with important, memorable songs. Everything just comes together here. The peaks and valleys, the chill emotion in every word “I can drink myself to death tonight. I can stand and give a toast. To those who made it out alive, but it’s you I miss the most.”. This song might define the evolution of Deer Tick most succinctly. It’s also the song I want to listen to over and over again.

4. Hollow and barren, yet resonant for all its vacancy, “Song About a Man,” crescendos with a harmonica before retreating back into the creaky saloon where it came from. McCauley’s viewpoint comes through in the songwriting yet again: “How can a man feel anything, when all he’s ever got was sympathy?” A question I’ve never asked myself, yet it makes you wonder…

5. The guitar riff on “Houston, TX,” cascades beautifully, like a finely wrought Iron & Wine song, yet doesn’t resemble Sam Beam in any substantive way. We roll along a dirt road in a muddy pick-up and the sun’s just about to set. Everything’s all right as we ride off into the distance, with McCauley singin’ “Oh move on, oh move on.” And so we keep on moving.

Side 2 (The Joy of Gettin’ Shitcanned)

But wait, there’s still another five tracks, right? So what am I doing driving off into the sunset you ask? Damn, you caught me. It’s just that… well I wish I could stop right now, because the rest of this until-now potential-filled album doesn’t hold a bottle rocket to the first five songs. Side 2 finds a different, lesser iteration of Deer Tick in just about every fathomable way.

This is the side of Deer Tick I hoped had been purged on War Elephant. The gravely emotion is replaced by lackluster honkey tonk homage, with John McCauley vying to open for Marty Stewart and George Strait on the next big Country & Western festival circuit. Summerfest here we come!

6. “Straight Into a Storm,” is something you might dance to at your local tavern, sawdust on the dancefloor, quarter in the jukebox. The only problem is that when you finally touch boot to hardwood floor you’re surrounded by your grandparents and all their friends. They love this song, and so you start to hate it.

7. On “Friday XIII,” McCauley makes a valiant effort to add some dimension with, dare I say it, a duet? I remember when Songs:Ohia made their Magnolia Electric Co. album. Three new vocalists joined the fray, including Jenny Benford, bringing something new to Molina’s music we hadn’t heard before. The only problem here is, this song is more a demonstration in getting drunk and fooling around with your girlfriend in her mom’s bedroom than it is a song of any true note. “So let’s get back to what, all that was fair and just, oh won’t you please love me again?” they croon during the chorus, and I feel like somehow they’re pleading directly to me.

8. “The Ghost,” had me yawning from the start, and nodding off by the end. I don’t mind a sleepy ballad, but when the songwriting devolves to lines like: “Oh you don’t have to say anything. But you have got to mean everything,” you have to wonder where the McCauley of old (just a few tracks old, specifically) ran off to? He sings off key in many places here, but not in the forgiving way borne of emotional delivery. Here I’m reminded of “What Kind of Fool Am I?” and I can’t help but wince.

9. “Hell On Earth,” is easily the strongest of this batch of songs, and for me the only bright spot on the back five. They took a down-trodden narrative and pushed it somewhere noteworthy, the way “Smith Hill,” proved they could do earlier on. Despite a slightly predictable and flat structure, I liked this melody enough to stick it out a little longer.

10. Deer Tick still don’t know how to end an album it seems, as “Stung,” tries desperately to take us out with a drunken doo wop flare. McCauley almost gets me to care through the first verse, even though it’s all a bit bad karaoke and too many Zimas to my ears. When the chorus finally kicks in I realize this is the last song of the album, the last song! and I’m fighting the nagging urge to skip back to the beginning and try to forget it ended like this.

Conclusion

But there’s not enough Coors Light in all of Rhode Island to drown out the memory of four of the last five tracks. They will live on in our iTunes this Flag Day and the next one and the one after that. Things started off so well Deer Tick, but something went wrong. Can I forgive you? Of course, but not until you release your second LP later this year. Maybe you can call it Born On Labor Day, and work a little harder on crafting ten songs to match the promise of the first five here?

11. Oh, there’s also a bonus song at the end of the last track, a cover of “Goodnight Irene,” sung in what sounds to be a friend’s kitchen complete with PBR’s cracking open and laughter and screaming in the din. It’s as warm and fuzzy as it is forgettable, though it might still have been a better choice to end the album than “Stung,” was. I’m just sayin’.

Mp3. “Easier”
Mp3. “Smith Hill”

]]> http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/review-deer-tick-born-on-flag-day/feed/ 2 http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/review-arms-and-sleepers-the-motorist/ http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/review-arms-and-sleepers-the-motorist/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:16:41 +0000 Ryan Dunn http://www.liftingfaces.com/?p=1906

Cinematic. Somber. Tragic. Desperate. Beautiful. So ebbs this stunning track “The Motorist,” off the newest EP of the same name, from the band Arms and Sleepers.

Opening with glitchy samples, a distant screeching, and bittersweet keyboard work, we discover in layers what darkness and beauty together was always supposed to sound like. The forlorn piano emerges near the end, escaping the hectic, crashy percussion for a moment before washing away from shore, and thus washing the song’s narrative sample away with it, lost in the whispery echoes of our memory.

“Sometimes, I feel, like a motherless child.”

Listen to the Mp3.
Visit their Myspace.

]]> http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/06/review-arms-and-sleepers-the-motorist/feed/ 1 http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/05/review-portugal-the-man-the-satanic-satanist/ http://www.liftingfaces.com/2009/05/review-portugal-the-man-the-satanic-satanist/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 19:58:08 +0000 Ryan Dunn http://www.liftingfaces.com/?p=1873

Album Rating: 96.666%

First off, you should never judge a book by its cover. Unless that cover is for Portugal. The Man’s upcoming album, The Satanic Satanist (See the artwork below if you don’t believe me).

The band’s fourth proper LP drops on July 21, and boy oh boy is it a doozie. Its eleven tracks play like a collection of distilled moments of clarity for a band who continue to evolve and perfect and experiment with their sound. Well, after several hearty listens, I have to say I hope this album becomes not just another mile marker along their musical journey, but rather a beacon off shore, a light source as they sail ahead into the deeper, darker waters of notoriety. Because, if my suspicions are correct about the eminent reception of this album, they will need that beacon in the same way Modest Mouse needed it after Moon & Antarctica. (At this point, however, Modest Mouse need a life-boat to get back on board, but I digress.)

So what does The Satanic Satanist sound like, you ask? Well, if you have followed Portugal. The Man’s previous albums, starting with Waiter: “You Vultures!”, you will have seen an evolution from post-emo spazz rock to more of an art-folk indie vibe (is that even a vibe?). This album, however, is something different entirely. It’s actually deceptively hard to define, but if you will indulge an analogy for a moment: Imagine The Pixies calling up 311 (don’t ask) and inviting them over to Frank Black’s manse to throw a Sly and the Family Stone appreciation party. But half-way through the gala, evil cousins Ween crash in and send the whole night flying off course. And yet, somehow, impossibly, it all works, like a good magic trick.

There are hints of Yeasayer here, though not in a direct way; I think it has something to do with the fluctuating falsettos and experimental nature of both bands. There is also a spacey, pulpy, Jack Vance sci-fi undertone to several of the songs, but I’ll get to that later. You could do worse than to throw Phoenix into the mix as a point of loose comparison as well, for its laser-precise production and sheer pop appeal.

Reputed producer Paul Q. Kolderie, who has produced / mixed / engineered for such bands as Radiohead, Pixies, Uncle Tupelo, Lemonheads and Dinosaur Jr., produced The Satanic Satanist, which, when you listen to the fluidity and refinement of each track, I’d say it shows. It all flows so smoothly; the songs wash over you like the tide, slipping into your subconscious before you ever know what hit you. But by then, it’s far too late.

No song is too long (unlike this review), and if there is a guitar solo, it’s sixteen-bars, maximum. In fact, a few of the tracks are probably too short, based solely on the fact that I wanted more! Working, for the most part, within the confines of straight-ahead verse/chorus/verse structures along with the predictable refrains, bridges, reprises, and breakdowns of pop albums near and far, I found myself wondering how this album continued to surprise me turn after turn.

The lead vocals courtesy frontman John Gourley transform tightly wound, simple productions into all-out anthems. Crooning falsetto melds into quasi-rapping only to be proceded by the ooh’s and ahh’s we’ve come to know and love within the indie über-genre. He’s no Josh Groban, but I’ll take Gourley’s earnest brand of vocal delivery over the former any day of the week.

On the album opener, “People Say,” a very Ween a la “Your Party,” bass line kicks things off, until the chorus steals the show, reminding us why we loved bands like Blur and Oasis once upon a time. “What a lovely day, yeah we won the war / May have lost a million men but we’ve got a million more.” Look for your local college radio stations (XMU if you listen to satellite like I do) to play the hell out of this song (pun intended). This track reeks of song of the year potential.

The very next track, “Work All Day,” defies you not to bob your head along to its chain-gang style beat. It’s the proverbial summer bounce track, pivoting off a sick break beat and an infectious sing-in-the-shower chorus. I put it up there next to Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks,” as another easy contender for song of the year.

“The Sun,” reminds us why we wanted to love Magic Numbers when they first came out, but just didn’t have it in us. This is how you do it, fellas. It’s not about indulgent vocals or over-the-top production. Instead, “The Sun,” pulls it off with distant hand claps, a quirky yet convincing falsetto, and a true appreciation for the R&B greats of an almost forgotten era. “If you’re talking to the moon, the moon might sing about: / the universe shouting out: ‘I don’t need, I don’t need time.” Epic grooviness.

Other standout moments include the fuzzy, layered loveliness of “Do You,” in all of its Pixies-circa-”Where Is My Mind?” wonder; the ’64 Impala flavored badassedness of “Guns and Dogs;” and the soaring, angelic sweep of “Lovers in Love,” a song the Rosebuds wished they would have recorded when they still had the chance.

As the album unwinds, and its final three tracks lull us into a beautiful sense of quiet (dis)comfort, and the final words of the last track usher us away (“We’ll be just fine, We’ll be just fine, I don’t believe…”), you really have no choice but to circle back and play the whole thing again from the beginning, just to see if there was anything you missed, just to take the ride again.

I later discovered the entire LP is, in fact, a concept album designed to parallel a sci-fi story (written by Gourley himself, I believe) about a man who builds a rocket, is banished by his king, then flies into space in said rocket, and crash lands back onto Earth later on (but the planet is completely void of any signs of life now). Ummm, ok… I’m not saying you will discover this hidden story on your own, but it does explain the undeniable sense of narrative structure to the song cycle.

Where other acts have failed in their attempt at manufacturing a successful concept album (ahem, Decemberists), Portugal. The Man succeed in the best way possible: each song maintains its own distinct identity, while an undercurrents of cohesion flows through their collective veins. It’s also worth noting that this is a gapless album, meaning many of the songs run together without any pause in the instrumentation. I usually loathe this cheese ball tactic (especially on hip-hop albums), but here it truly works to build a seamlessness and connective tissue from one chapter to the next.

As I reflect upon The Satanic Satanist, I realize there is nothing satanic about the album at all. Rather, it is nothing if not a sunny, groovy, summer soirée with hooks and riffs and anthems sent down from a troupe of bearded angels donning unkempt wings. Not a jam album per se (not quite), but a work no doubt destined to turn heads (concert and blog-heads alike) later this season. I guess that means I’ll be turning my head twice, sort of like I was possessed…

My second favorite active songwriter in the known world is back with his band Magnolia Electric Co., set to release their fourth proper LP, Josephine, on July 21.

Here’s to hoping the new album shines as brightly as the Songs:Ohia final LP (Named Magnolia Electric Co.), and not as much like Trials & Errors, which was good not great.

This album is loosely dedicated to late band member, bassist, and key contributor Even Farrell, who died in a tragic apartment fire early in 2008. Molina is very proud of this album (“When I walked out of the studio, I knew that we had done something important.” -via Pitchfork). He feels it is so raw and naked he may never even listen to it.

We will do him that honor, with honor.

Mp3. “Farewell Transmission”
Mp3. “Just Be Simple”
Mp3. “It’s Made Me Cry”

Bat For Lashes and St. Vincent give credence to the phrase similar but different. Or is it different but similar? Either way, I want to take a moment to contrast and compare the two, and see if we can’t get to the bottom of who is better, if that is possible.

The Set-Up

Both of these bands are actually pseudonyms for two women singer/songwriters; Bat For Lashes is Natasha Khan, and St. Vincent is Annie Clark. Each have two LP’s under their belt, with each of their second respective LP’s having been released in 2009. Both women are under 30 years of age; Natasha is the older of the two at 29 (Annie is 26).

Both attended music school, with Natasha graduating from Brighton University and Annie dropping out of the Berklee College of Music after three years. Natasha won the Vanguard award in 2007. Annie won PLUG’s Female Artist of the year in 2008.

Annie’s experience in the industry began as a member of Sufjan Steven’s touring band. Natasha began recording music on her own while working as a nursery school teacher.

Annie is a Libra from Dallas, Natasha a Scorpio from Brighton. Both are brunette? Okay I’m reaching now…

The Critics

Their albums have been met with mostly critical acclaim. It’s hard to say who has made a larger impression upon the industry. St. Vincent made it to 90th on the Billboard 200 Chart, while Bat For lashes made it all the way to number 2 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart. Pitchfork gave Two Suns, Bat For Lashes latest LP, an 8.5, and put her on their “Best New Music” list. St. Vincent received an eerily identical 8.5 by Pitchfork for her Actor LP, and coincidentally also made the “Best New Music” list.

The plot thickens.

The Sound

Bat For Lashes makes moody electronic music, no question about it. Her husky voice reminds us of Kate Bush and Björk at times. She conjures images of creepy dolls and lush forests and Smith’s t-shirts. Her arrangements are dense and dark, and her voice echoes against dank, damp, mossy walls. The sun shines through a swaying canopy in dusty, golden shafts.

St. Vincent sings in an also husky though more throwback style, in the spirit of mid-century acts like, I dunno, Lesley Gore maybe?Instead of gothic voo-doo dolls, Annie conjures up hallucinogenic angels flitting about heaven with neon halos. There’s a Lynchian-cum-Blue Velvet quality to her music. It is beautiful, but just a little bit off, like a porcelain patina over a rusted iron figurine.

The Verdict

It’s hard to say which of these bands are to be preferred. I think it depends on what mood you are in, and what type of a person you are. What is likely true, however, is that you would be hard-pressed to find a St. Vincent fan who doesn’t like Bat For Lashes, or vice versa.

What I find interesting is how rarely the two names come up in reviews and conversation. I’ve always noticed strong parallels between their accomplishments, even if the music itself is as different as The Stepford Wives and Lost Highway.

The Winner

Why, the listener, of course. But you saw that one coming, didn’t you?

Bat For Lashes “Daniel”

St. Vincent “Actor”

Video Rating: 78%

Patrick Daughters directed this promo for Grizzly Bear, the first of several I’m sure from their new album Veckatimest, due out May 26. In this clip, the four band members play the part of peculiar sunday school churchgoers singing their twisted hymn while seated in pews backed by stained glass panels. Shot after shot they ooh and they aah and they sing and they glow. You’ll notice fairly quickly that the band look a bit, um, different than you may have remembered. As they sing with independently blinking bug eyes and creepily rosy cheeks, we begin to suspect they have a secret they really want to share with us, and by the end we realize they most certainly do.

On paper, this promo could definitely work well and be interesting/disturbing. The problem, however, is that it requires a certain level of realism in order to succeed. I’m reminded of Chris Cunningham’s early videos and adverts, where he would distort faces to invoke a creepy, unsettling effect. He did it by convincing us that these alien humanoids really existed, and Cunningham shot them in a way where we felt he was just showing us the mutation on film.

I commend Daughters for taking a risk with this clip. The slow-motion camera work kept me engaged until the end, but I have to say it all looks a bit too Steve Madden in execution, seeming gimmicky where it could have been unnerving. The effect works better on Chris Bear and Chris Taylor than it does on Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, though while trying to foreshadow the glowing climax of the promo, several shots come off like a Photoshop tutorial gone awry. And what was with those Sapphire Sparks filters at the end? Geez. Another nit pick, there’s a low angle quarter view shot at the end, where the band don’t have the eye effect on them; just sort of bugged me (pun intended).

In summary, amazing song, great album, mediocre launch video. Now let’s see what While You Wait for the Others and Cheerleader come out looking like when their videos arrive….

I still think they should have just used shots of my daughter dancing around to their song. Maybe I’m just a poor, jaded director after all.

So the performers have performed, the judges cast their judgement, voters phoned in their votes. Without a doubt, this was one of the best finales we’ve seen in all eight seasons of the show. And what are we left with? Two artists who have the relevance, talent and ability to sell millions of albums, that’s what.

In the red corner we have Adam Lambert, a Steven Tyler meets Steve Perry meets Nathan Lane type of stage character, and perhaps the first finalist who can really tap into the rock genre and have an impact in the way Carrie Underwood did in country music (I’m not sure if I should count the Nickelback-niched band Daughtry or not). He can definitely sing and perform, and has legions of fans ready to fight for him. His cover of Gary Jules’ cover of Tears for Fears was perhaps the highlight of the season when he first performed it a few weeks back.

And in the blue corner, the proverbial underdog Kris Allen. We’d barely heard a peep about this laid back singer in the auditions portion of the season, and he’s only gotten stronger as the weeks have gone by. I appreciate his ability to perform with an instrument, and feel his presence every time he plays. He fills that John Mayer, Jack Johnson, 311, Starbucks café niche perfectly. His connection to the audience and fans alike is different from Lambert in many ways, though he is just as willing to reinterpret a song, take risks, and make the performances his own. He doesn’t have the vocal prowess of Lambert, but he does possess more of that everyman, ordinary Joe quality which may take viewers by surprise tonight.

Their songs in the finale were for the most part excellent. Round 3 didn’t a prayer, as it was the Idol songwriter’s song round (ugh). But Allen’s “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and Lambert’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” left it all on the table for the viewers to decide. Allen had the misfortune of ending with an overreaching rendition of the crappy Round 3 song.

I predict Adam Lambert wins, narrowly. I wouldn’t be shocked if Allen pulls one out of the hat however, and I’d be happy either way. We have to remember that Danny Gokey fans had to cast their votes for someone last night, after all. Who do you think they are more likely to latch onto?

But I also predict both of these artists will produce more hits than all previous artists (with the exception of Carrie Underwood, who entered a very anemic country genre when she left the show). I would choose Kris Allen if the decision were in my hands, but with Gokey out of the competition due to a lack of taste and risk-taking, both of these guys would have been my second and third choices for the finals.

It’s worth noting that neither of these contestants have ever visited the bottom three until the final four week. It seems America has gotten it right this season, in my humble opinion.

“Your way of life is getting in the way of your life.” – Dave Doughman (Swearing At Motorists)

I’ve been sworn to secrecy and can’t say too much, but just let me say this: I think you are all in for a very special treat come July 21, 2009.

(Album review forthcoming)

Brighton’s own British Sea Power, perhaps better known for their sweeping, sometimes raucous indie pop, have joined the ranks of other indie artists (Sigur Ros, Karen O, Jonny Greenwood, Arcade Fire, etc.) and scored a film.

So what makes this soundtrack different and original and worth a damn (or at least a serious listen)? Well, for one, the film in question is not a new film at all, but the 1934 mockumentary Man of Aran, directed by documentary pioneer Robert J. Flaherty.

Second, the album is stunningly beautiful, and one of the great surprises of 2009 as I have not formerly been a religious fan of British Sea Power.

The band were asked to create a score for the film’s 2009 DVD re-release, which isn’t a surprise considering their infatuation with chamber orchestral sonicscapes in many of their songs. I have had the pleasure of listening to the score in full (albeit not against picture, that will have to wait until this fall, when the DVD drops), and I have to say it is one of the most dark, murky, and gorgeous soundtracks of recent memory.

When listening to the album, I feel like I am lost at sea in a haunted dreamscape of ice and fog (created by my own breath) while giant sharks circle my frozen, yawing dinghy. This album has nothing in common with Neil Young’s work on Dead Man, but I have to say there are similarities in the way both have used space and emptiness to create unease and subsequent tension and release. There is also a post-rock quality to some of the later tracks which conjure up the arrangements of Explosions in the Sky and Grails.

I wish I could witness British Sea Power performing their score to the film itself next Thursday at the London screening of the film. If anybody has the good fortune to experience it, pray share afterward.

I will leave you with a track I’ve fallen in love with ever since Koen Mortier reprised it in his RVS insurance spot a couple of years back. The ‘Power have reimagined “Come Wander With Me”, a song originally from an episode of The Twilight Zone (written by Jeff Alexander, performed by Bonnie Beecher), but also has appeared in Vincent Gallo’s Brown Bunny, as well as having been covered by our second favorite Frenchies Air).

The ‘Power’s version include hauntingly beautiful use of cello and distant brass, funereal brush kit rhythms, and dirge-like layered vocals. What’s not to love? Oh, and is that Victoria Legrand of Beach House singing? I wonder…

Wander With Me

Last night I also had the privilege of seeing Aderbat play at Piano’s. I had the pleasure of drinks with some of the band after the show as well, thanks to their friend and associate Quang (who runs the Philly Deli site).

Aderbat played a short set on behalf of Asha for Education, an annual fundraiser held each year (at this venue I think, though don’t quote me on that). Four bands played, I watched two and a half (had to get to Efterklang after all). I have to say, I was impressed with what Aderbat pulled off in this less-than-small venue.

First of all I get to say I played the roadie, kind of. Well, I helped the keyboardist/drummer Craig Hendrix plug in some of his gear, and handed him his New Castle which was on the bar where I was sitting (apparently the high point of his evening, yuk yuk). Okay, onto the actual show, which was a good mix of brand new jams from a rumored summer release, alongside some of their older material. I think the set was about eight or nine songs in total. Just enough to whet your appetite, and leave you wanting more.

I’ve remarked in the past that lead singer Matt Taylor reminds me a bit of Jeremy Enigk and Josh Rouse. A strange combo, but if you listen to their respective music, I bet you’ll agree. I failed to mention Davey von Bohlen (The Promise Ring, Maritime), another vocal and sonic comparison I would say is valid. All that aside, Taylor has his own thing going on, and you notice it mostly in the songwriting. He is more immediate than Enigk, less sunny than Maritime, and a little less pastoral than Rouse (even before those random European-themed and generally crappy albums).

I can’t say enough about the drumming either. Todd Shied (who visually reminds me a bit of Jason Molina) played so incessantly that I worried he may at some point press the eject button on his chair and launch headlong into the crowd. You could feel the pent up energy channeling through his playing. Band newcomer Craig Hendrix (of Bon Savants quasi-fame) had a mini-kit of his own, along with his guitar and keyboard, and I particularly loved it when both he and Todd attacked the drums together.

For such a small stage, with such a mixed crowd (most were there to see Eighty East, an Indian rock/folk band), I must reiterate my delight at how good the set sounded. I’m also excited (as I was with Efterklang) about Aderbat’s new material. The songs sound very good, and Matt Taylor knows how to write “hits”.

Whether he really wants to or not, well we’ll see, and I’ll be fine either way.

Mp3 – Blog – Myspace

Last night I saw a ghost.

His name was Casper and he had six friends with him. Gaunt, pale, wide eyed and otherworldly, Casper sang to me. He sang to all of us. Last night.

I’m talking, of course, about Casper Clausen, frontman of the band Efterklang. They played the Mercury Lounge in NYC and if I only had one word, the show was EPIC.

I remember the cavernous venue and the rim-lit players cast in red and green lights (odd, it did feel a bit like a Christmas present, but whether belated or early who can say?). I remember the TOP GUN t-shirt and the mustaches. I remember the girl, over there in the corner, the only one not moving around the stage like a doubled-over Greek waiter.

And I remember the music. The swelling, soaring, air tight music. Some old songs, and some new ones, but it didn’t really matter (although the new ones gave me that tingly, prophetic “album-of-the-year” feeling, seriously).

I remember the violin and the flute, and the harmonies of an angel. I remember Casper’s liberal use of drumsticks and kazoo, his persistently piercing vocal delivery and clever banter. On paper, this should have been a hodgepodge of instruments and sounds, all messy and experimental. And yet, in person it was harmonious and composed, and striving for perfection. It was more ambitious and yet more cohesive than, say, an Arcade Fire concert. How unexpected, and blissful for us all.

I remember the encore. Oh, the encore. The one where they asked us (very Danishly, ie. kindly) to sing a melody for them, which we all did. They flipped the script on us, and began layering their music over OUR collective singing (which sounded eerie and beautiful, actually). They brought the drums in, and played alongside our choral wonder.

And I mean that literally: they took the snare, the kick, the high hat, and walked right off stage and into the crowd, only to set up camp right next to yours truly. We formed a circle around them as their drumming got faster and faster. We tried to keep up our singing, and did a fair job of it. But Casper helped us out, wailing his heart out in a slick sheen of serendipitous sweat.

And then… it was over. We were all left breathless, in awe of the ghost who had possibly touched our very souls (I can prove it, my jeans were even vibrating. Wait. What?). I’m still a little breathless, if truth be told.

This was Efterklang as I never remember hearing them. These songs swelled and washed over us like waves crashing against a rocky shore. One song after the other utilized the same recipe of layering and building until we couldn’t hear ourselves thinking how amazing it all was. Only after it was all over could we make sense of that thought clearly enough to analyze it.

I have to go re-listen to Efterklang now, because the band I remember seemed much more carnival than funeral. More experimental than cinematic; but not tonight. After tonight, I feel like they deserve their very own orchestra.

And yet… maybe they don’t need one at all. Ghosts can be tricky that way.

Mp3 – Site – Myspace

This Saturday, March 28, Matt Taylor and the guys from Aderbat will be playing a short set in support of Asha for Education at Piano’s in NYC on the LES (for some reason they aren’t listing the event on their site yet). The venue website doesn’t have it listed, but it’s $15/person with 100% of the proceeds going to Asha.

A band I can’t find anything about called Come Together will open the show at 8:00p, followed by Cold Spring’s own Dana Edelman at 9:30p. Aderbat play at 10:30p, and Eighty East (think CSN&Y meets Slumdog) close the show at 11:30p. It should be a fun night, a good mix of bands.

Their Myspace page has the concert listed, and you can check out some of their songs in Mp3 form on their Blog.

Let’s all go! I’ll be the guy in the corner avoiding people and listening to the lyrics the whole time.

It’s not like St. Vincent’s previous album Marry Me lacked in the area of chillingly poison-sweet awesomeness, but if her latest single (released on Annie’s website this afternoon) is an indication of things to come, we are all in for some tasty treats.

This track is titled “The Strangers” and is somewhat of a magical romp through clouds both angelic and stormy, with a recurring line evoking the paradox of Annie Clark’s music. After hearing “paint the black hole blacker,” throughout the song, it’s hard to fathom the heavenly journey she is taking us through (note the Sistine Chapelesque choral bookends contrasted against the apocalyptic cavalry of fuzzed out guitars around the 2:30 mark).

Okay enough of my ramblings, just enjoy the song for St. Vincent’s sake. And get ready for May 5, when Actors is unveiled (or later this week in its low-quality glory, if the plight of Grizzly Bear is any indicator).

Listen to “The Strangers”

It was an accident, I tell you. A grizzly affair, truly. The dory just crept to the foreground, forced me to pull it from the black waters. If it didn’t sound so beautiful, I would have thrown it back, done an about face. I promise.

It might not be the best quality meat, but… I… just… can’t… let… go. Not ready, nor able. I’ll digest this one while I wait for the others.

Oh, and about the opera, dory. I was wrong.

In other news.

I went to see Grizzly Bear perform with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM in Brooklyn, at the Howard Gilman Opera House. Guess where Grizzly Bear are from? You guessed it. This was sort of a homecoming for them, and I believe it was their first performance since finishing their forthcoming album, VECKATIMEST. Their last performance was in October.

So how was the show?

Well, I really wanted to see the opening act, Final Fantasy, which is fronted by Owen Pallett, the guy who writes arrangements for the likes of Arcade Fire, Beirut, Patrick Wolf and so on. Unfortunately, I mismanaged the evening and was eating dinner through most of his set; I only got to hear the end of his last song, and it sounded spectacular. He would know what to do with that orchestra.

All that aside, I have to say I left the show wanting a little more. Grizzly Bear definitely performed well, and the venue must have been their best venue they’ve ever performed in (this was my first time seeing them, tragically), and a perhaps bit daunting at that. And for that reason, the night came off a little bit lackluster. With the full force of the Brooklyn Philharmonic behind them, they seemed a bit like timid high-schoolers. They said themselves during their encore, after the orchestra left, how it was terrifying to have the orchestra behind them.

The set-list did include most of the strong tracks off of Yellow House (they opened with easier, which was lovely, but no knife which makes sense, but it was my first GB concert, but oh well). They played several new songs (Two Weeks , and a couple older songs they were performing for the first time, like Campfire). Several of the songs, however, had me losing my focus (Foreground, is that ironic?). They didn’t carry the distinctness of some of their stronger material, and I’m just hoping that is a product of being in their infancy live, and not a reflection of the new album’s potential. I liked their rendition of She Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss) a lot. Droste changed the “She” to a “He”, however, but I believe he is gay, so that would make sense? I also really liked one of the new songs where the orchestra swelled with the band at the song’s climax (Ready, Able).

Daniel Rossen stole the show for me, with his kermit banjo moment and otherwise sharp, hautning vocals. Ed Droste was on point vocally, but there was so much much reverb on his mic I wondered if I was hearing flashes of Morten Harket. Meanwhile, Chris Taylor was channeling his best Jonny Greenwood impression, going so far as to play his pan flute from a crouched position for some unknown reason. Chris Bear was busy flailing his bangs to and fro, frolicking with his tambourine-adorned high hat, and generally driving the ladies wild with his boyish good looks.

I attended the show with my friend Patrick, who was marveling on the subway at how much better Lykke Li was to him in concert than on her album. I have to say the opposite was true tonight for me. I didn’t get the same magic that drew me to Grizzly Bear in the first place. Maybe it was my mood, being lost in Manhattan with family so far away. I don’t know.

For the most part, I found the set to be overly quiet, bordering on lethargic, and everything just felt a touch bland to my ears. Several of their classic tracks (little brother) sounded slightly elevator music-ish in the hands of Michael Christie and his orchestra.

At any rate, I can’t say I want my money back (there was defnitely plenty to enjoy), but I can’t put it on any Top 10′s either. Let’s just hope the new album makes up for what I missed out on tonight.

One of the better songs of the night, most recently appearing on the Dark was the Night compilation:

“Deep Blue Sea” @ lofi.tv.

Yeah, I suppose there are elements of Midlake and Arcade Fire and Devotchka here (and a track that really reminded me of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s, “The Skin of my Yellow Country Teeth”), but lead singer Simon Balthazar’s London indie pop band seem to embrace the grandiose and lush sound with guilt-free arms.

Trumpets, violins, mandolins, timpani and harmonies galore adorn their latest LP, Reservoir, and I have to say, even with Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast, Alela Diane’s To Be Still and Fever Ray’s self-titled debut all heavily on my radar, Fanfarlo’s album is currently sitting at the top of my list for year’s best.

Please check them out, here’s are some samples…

Listen to I’m a Pilot,
The Walls are Coming Down,
and Comets.

RULES:

1. Put your iPod, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Have Fun!

If someone says ‘are you okay’ you say….?

How would you describe yourself?

What do you look for in a guy/girl?

How do you feel today?

What is your life’s purpose?

What’s your motto?

What do your friends think of you?

What do your parents think of you?

What do you think about very often?

What do you think about your first kiss?

What do you think of your best friend?

What is your life story?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you think when you see the person you like?

What will you dance to at your wedding?

What will they play at your funeral?

What is your hobby/interest?

What is your biggest fear?

What is your biggest secret?

What do you want right now?

What do you think of your friends?

What will you post this as?

If you haven’t heard of Alela Diane, now is the time. Imagine Marissa Nadler and Dido throwing a going away party for Meg Baird of The Espers, and they all sat around the table holding hands in a seance and accidentally conjured up the spectral visage of Alela Diane. (Cat Power was invited, but she never showed up.)

If that isn’t obtuse enough, try listening to her songs only once. It’s not possible; they are far too pleasant and far too unsettling. Banjos light up the room beneath her minor key, and as she slips in and out of falsetto, layered acoustic guitars line the entrance to keep you stuck under her folk-laden witchcraftian spell.

“White As Diamonds”
“The Ocean”
“Tatted Lace”

Aderbat – Mp3

This band crept up on me recently (thanks in part to the music blog i guess i’m floating). Regardless of when I found them, I really like Aderbat a lot. They remind me a bit of Sunny Day Real Estate, with hints of Josh Rouse circa Home. Their LP, We Belong to the Sea, starts with a very Figurines-ish ballad, and keeps us in their grips with tinny percussion, intentionally feeble vocals, and bittersweet melodies.

Bon Iver – Mp3

My most listened to album this year has easily been For Emma, Forever Ago, by Bon Iver aka Justin Vernon. I normally frown upon the falsetto except on rare occasions, and this would be one of them. His voice trembles without warbling, it slips octaves with an R&B flare rather than the adolescent cracking common to crappy emo, and it just makes you feel good about being an introvert. Plus, he’s a Wisconsonite, like me.

Coldplay – Mp3

I give Coldplay a lot of credit for putting out their Viva la Vida… album this year. Plagiarism lawsuit notwithstanding, they found a way to keep their anthemic U2-scale pop prowess and still make a somewhat “artsy” record. I’m not sure if we have album’s producer Brian Eno to thank solely, or if it was as collaborative as the band has indicated, but either way, a pleasant surprise from a band I was ready to write off to Britney Spears land.

Department of Eagles – Mp3

Don’t worry, this isn’t a Don Henley cover band. In fact, one half of this duo is comprised of Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen, which explains a lot. I don’t want to say this out loud, so I’ll just whisper it: “I like Department of Eagles more than Grizzly Bear.” Just keep that between you and me, and check out their album In Ear Park. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Elbow – Mp3

Sort of like Coldplay on qualudes, Elbow manage to slip something into the brit pop fruit punch with every album they put out. Their latest, The Seldom Seen Kid, benefits from Elbow having lost their chance at being the next Coldplay, and it seems this one flew under the radar. This is a good thing for those who wanted to like this band, but felt they were catering to A&R’s rather than their fans.

Fleet Foxes – Mp3

While Bon Iver wins for most-listened-to, Fleet Foxes takes the “Best Band of 2008″ award handedly. Their self-titled LP is a likely contender album of the year on many lists. Fleet Foxes are the perfect distillation of what I loved about My Morning Jacket once upon a time. But where Jim James conjures images of Kermit the Frog, Robin Pecknold (of Fleet Foxes) keeps the connotations at bay, and sweeps us up in his Baroque, Appalachian-by-way-of-Beach-Boys mythology.

The Gaslight Anthem – Mp3

Bruce Springsteen called, and he actually doesn’t want his songwriting skills back. You can keep ‘em Gaslight Anthem, and thank heavens. The songs on their latest LP, The ’59 Sound move steadily, like staring at the farms passing by from the back of a pick-up truck while driving down the interstate between industrial cities. Once in a while the band pulls over at a truck stop to fuel up, but only long enough to let you straighten your windblown hair. Then it’s back to the pavement again, and don’t you dare buckle up!

Horse Feathers – Mp3

Horse Feathers could be a really boring band if you forced them to. But they would never listen, and for that we should all give them a synchronized “thank you.” I consider their sophomore album, House with No Home, an improvement over their debut, Words are Dead, which was also a great album, as it happens. I just like the stripped down, barnyard vocals melding with banjo and violin-laden folk arrangements. The songs ebb and flow, sometimes sparse (just a violin and Justin Ringle’s vocals) and other times soaring, a full orchestral sweep, flooding over verse and lyric alike. And that’s just how I like it.

The Instruments – Mp3

Think of this band as the Velvet Revolver for psychadelic chamber music. With the latest album, Dark Småland, frontwoman Heather McKintosh (of Japancakes quasi-fame) recruited members of Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Elf Power, with results as obscure as they are engaging. A down-trodden, murky journey through a forest of guitars, violins, brush kits and cellos, this band makes you want to sink in quicksand, if only to feel like your melting for a little while.

Jacaszek – Mp3

I’m reminded of Amon Tobin and Susumu Yokota when I play Jacaszek’s LP, Treny. Only this album is less rhythmically constructed than Amon Tobin’s work, and less occasionally shrill/grating than Yokota’s. Personally, I think this album rivals anything either of the aforementioned artists has ever put out. It feels like a Film Noir funeral dirge, as viewed through the refractions of a glass of whiskey in an empty, smokey bar-room… in slow motion.

Mark Kozelek – Mp3

You’ll learn by the time you reach the letter “S” that my choice to put Mark Kozelek on my list is most biased of me. But guess what, that’s why you choose to read my list, right? Well, it so happens that he’s one of the foremost singer/songwriters of the past decade, a cavalier champion of the sleepy and the somber. His live album, 7 Songs in Belfast, is as good as a studio session, for Kozelek in a hushed room, on his stool, 12-string in hand, suits him just perfectly. And his most recent LP, Finally, returns us to Kozelek’s infatuation with deconstructed covers, turning even the most raucous of metal tunes into a lullaby for ailing souls.

Leila – Mp3

As the former Iranian keyboardist for Björk, it’s no wonder her album, Blood Looms and Blooms, sounds something like a Mad Max carnivale gone awry. It’s an instrumental album for the most part, with dirty break beats, samples of water dropping, and haunting drones seeping in from every crack of the ramshackle ceiling. It’s dark, dank, musty and creepy fare, and I love it for all of those reasons.

m83 – Mp3

None of us were sure whether we liked the idea of Air-style vocals carrying an m83 album. And after one listen, maybe some of us were still unsure. But with time, like all good things, Saturdays=Youth became a vintage too important not to swallow. I’m not sure if I like this album more than Dead Cities… yet, but it’s damn close.

The Notwist – Mp3

For all the critics who wrote off The Devil, You + Me, shame on you. Who really wanted The Notwist to reinvent themselves anyway? So what if this album took six years to drop, they didn’t miss a step in my opinion. As the pioneers of the folktronica movement (or whatever pet name your favorite music critic has dubbed it), these laptop rockers gave us another great album full of German-tinged English loveliness. I especially appreciate the tracks with grander arrangements, and how they felt borne more from an orchestra hall than the proverbial bedroom-in-the-basement sound we have come to know them for.

Okkervil River – Mp3

It seems with every new album they put out, I like Okkervil River a little bit more. At first I kept them at arm’s reach, favoring the spin-off band Shearwater more (I still do) and it was likely due to frontman Will Sheff’s tendency to come off like a coffee shop a-hole who loves to quote Dostoyevksy just to feel smarter than you. And his trembly warble was always second fiddle to Conor Oberst’s back when Bright Eyes was putting out albums like Lifted. All that aside, The Stand Ins is an undeniably solid record. The smart songwriting carries each track, and the songs themselves stay stuck in your head like anecdotes from the a-hole at the coffee shop who actually is smarter than you.

Benoit Pioulard – Mp3

I appreciate Pioulard’s infatuation with field recordings, and the tapestry of these found sounds layered in with instrumentation is what (for me) define this ambient brand of spacey folk songs. Often times haunting, other times heartbreaking, and once in a while inspiring, his LP Temper takes you on a cosmic journey past stars and galaxies still searching for their soulmates. And what could be more bittersweet than that? (Portishead was a close second, btw.)

Quiet Village – Mp3

I often need some respite from the melancholy dredgery that has so typified my musical tastes. And when that time comes, I like to get my groove on. Quiet Village allow me to stray from home, without ever leaving the comfort of my front porch. This must be what “cool” sounds like in Europe. Or maybe India? Either way, I rather enjoy the exotic mix of musical faux pas. At times it’s deranged elevator music for psychopaths, and other times a pump your fist ghetto anthem. No matter what the case, Quiet Village manage to keep you on edge, always unsure what the next track is going to bring.

Ra Ra Riot – Mp3

Whether you admit it or not, you like anthem songs. Sure, some may be to poppy for you to admit loving (Destiny Child’s “Survivor”) while others are perhaps too engrained in our culture to even know we love them (“Eye of the Tiger” well frequented in weight rooms the world over). But in the indie world, we eat anthems up for breakfast; Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Modest Mouse, m83, Sunset Rubdown, the list goes on. They make them and we love them. Ra Ra Riot knows this formula well, and their Rumb Line album is nothing if not chock full of anthems. So inhale a chest full of fresh mountain air and exhale with a mighty ra-ra-roar.

Sun Kil Moon – Mp3

I could listen to Kozelek sing for hours on end (and I have, if you add up the iTunes plays and all the times I’ve seen him in concert). His work with bandmates Sun Kil Moon comprise some of my favorite Kozelek moments, and it’s probably because I revel in the juxtaposition of his songwriting talents and frail voice with the slide guitars and guitar work of the others, who seem to enjoy those things as much as we the listener. Their latest album, April, is nothing short of beautiful (and melancholy, of course). Listen close for Bonnie “Prince” Billy singing backup.

The Tallest Man on Earth – Mp3

Bob Dylan comparisons are as common as fart jokes in Shrek these days, and usually wildly unfounded. But The Tallest Man on Earth, aka Kristian Matsson… man, I dunno. “The Gardner”, from his Shallow Graves LP is something to behold. It’s a story about a man killing other men and burying them in his garden, so that he can remain the tallest man in the eyes of the woman he loves. At the end of the song he dances with her in the garden, on top of the dead bodies, while flowers grow all around them. You don’t know whether to shiver in terror or smile at the most hopeless of romantics. Brilliant.

The Uglysuit – Mp3

Beautifully melancholic sweeping pop symphonic ballads. Is that a sentence? Who cares. The Uglysuit are great. Their self-titled LP is hypnotic, entrancing, and moves like a ship riding a giant wave into rocky shallows; you know the boat is going down, but you don’t care because you’re full of resolve, you can do anything, be anyone. It’s a bittersweet notion, naive and short-sighted, but you stay in that moment for as long as it lasts. Yeah, something like that.

Chad VanGaalen – Mp3

I saw this Canadian one-man-band open for Band of Horses last year, and his songs were as wry as was his banter, yet both were inescapably addictive. He told a story about how he’d missed one of his gigs because he was swimming in a lake in Minnesota with his girlfriend and forgot about the show. Thank goodness he made it to the one I attended, or I might not have known enough about him to check out his stuff. His latest, Soft Airplanes, is an even more refined batch of fuzzy, earnest songs. It’s still bedroom folk, but maybe now it’s sort of a master bedroom with a walk-in closet and nice bathroom (no jacuzzi tub yet, Guns’n'Roses stole the jacuzzi tub this year).

Wolf Parade – Mp3

I don’t care what you say, Spencer Krug is the man. And to all those chattering about of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes being the next Bowie I ask… have you listened to Sunset Rubdown? Wolf Parade? Swan Lake? Get back to me on that, in the meantime, I’ll be listening to “Language City”, off the At Mount Zoomer LP.

xiu xiu – Mp3

Jamie Stewart, aka xiu xiu, was pretty much a shoe-in for this list, let’s be honest. Fortunately for me the all-too-serious vocal delivery we all know and (some of us) love has produced another deranged yet picturesque album in Women as Lovers (see proof in his cover of Bowie’s “Under Pressure”). Depending on my mood, I can sometimes let the whole album roll, but usually xiu xiu is best served as a cold dish between larger meals, you know to cleanse the palette. Nonetheless, thank you xiu xiu, I worried I might have only 25 letters this year.

Yeasayer – Mp3

If you haven’t already, check out their Take Away Show. I know these dudes look like your typical hippie-bearded, no-deodorant-wearing indie band. Nothing new there. But the songs are funky, somewhat Bowie-esque in their eclecticness, mixed up with a down-home barbershop quartet vernacular. I don’t know how it works, but it works. I’m excited to hear more from these guys, as are you I’m sure.

The Thalia Zedek Band – Mp3

At 47, Thalia Zedek is still bringing her singer/songwriter-meets-murder-ballad-rocker-chick vibe to her albums. She’s got a band this time around, and while I’m not usually a fan of masculine sounding women singing to me brusquely, somehow this time it works. I’m reminded of a female version of Nick Cave, with the melodrama and violins and that subtle snarl you can hear even if you can’t see. She sings as if the pack of cigarettes rolled into her sleeve is digging into her skin, and she’s pissed.

This is my favorite Radiohead cover, from a band called Calico Horse, including several members of the now-defunct band The Clock Work Army. It’s a cover of Idioteque, one of the few electro-synth tracks I really like by them.

Lead singer Emily Neveu casts Thom’s lyrics in a new light without mucking up the melodies whatsoever. The hallucinogenic bent suits the original material well, and the sparse presentation of the music is right up my alley.

I particularly like the simple use of a tambourine to keep tempo. I can picture the lead singer lazily crashing it against her hip over and over. Sure beats a drum machine.

Listen to “Idioteque”
by Calico Horse.

This b-side on Bon Iver’s 4AD-released EP “For Emma, Forever Ago,” evokes whispers of a haunted winter. It’s just beginning to be autumn, but I still enjoy the chill in this recording. I also appreciate any song giving props to my home state. Listen for the chorus, when his voice rises above its confiding murmur.

“Wisconsin” – Mp3

Stick with this through the first chorus at least. True power pop. Recorded in 1995. This one’s for those who thought Amy Grant was too “edgy”.

It took them 30 years to get back together and make an album, and here it is: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is available to stream on their site (the entire album), there’s a free download, and the album is about ten bucks. I’m more of an Eno man than a Byrne fanatic, but this album sounds lovely.

I like Antony and the Johnsons. I like Tindersticks. I like Mark Eitzel. And yes, I do like Morrissey, too. So I guess I’m guilty by association, because I also like Wild Beasts, whose frontman Tom Fleming Hayden Hayden Thorpe is a curious blend of all of those singers (to me anyways).

Check out one of their songs, “The Devil’s Crayon,” and if you dig it, go buy their album on their site.

Skee-Lo

“Skinny Love” by Bon Iver.

This is my least favorite song by The Acorn, though the video fares better than the track (a rarity in the indie world, trust me). For a better example of Rolf Klausener’s frail, shifty voice, check out “Blankets” and “Glory“.