REVIEWS: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Post 30 Album Reviews At Once
Posted: November 2, 2010 Filed under: Album Reviews, Lists | Tags: Abe Vigoda, album reviews, avey tare, belle & sebastian, carnivores, Cloud Nothings, Deerhunter, devo, emeralds, fuck ton of reviews, how to dress well, Les Savy Fav, medications, Miniature Tigers, Nite Jewel, Salem, School of Seven Bells, Sufjan Stevens, the bitters, The Books, the mp3 is by The Vaccines :D, The War On Drugs, The Young, Thee Oh Sees, Twin Shadow, walkmen, Warpaint, we are scientists, Wild Nothing, women, woven bones, young man, Zach Hill Leave a commentI’ve been listening to a lot of new things lately. I paid a visit to the new Zach Hill record, Face Tat, had a little fun there (7/10); listened to the new We Are Scientists record–really dug that one (8/10)–hell, I’ll just post a list of the albums I’ve listened to recently and my ‘rating’ for them. Take this list as you will; it saves time for everyone. By the way, anything with a 6 and up is worth picking up. ;)
Abe Vigoda – Crush 4/10
Avey Tare – Down There 7/10
Belle & Sebastian – Write About Love 5/10
The Bitters – East General 8/10
The Books – The Way Out 9/10
Carnivores – If I’m Ancient 5/10
SALEM – King Night 5/10
Cloud Nothings – Turning On 7/10
Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest 9/10
Devo – Something For Everybody 7/10
Emeralds – Does It Look Like I’m Here? 9/10
How To Dress Well – Love Remains 6/10
Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin 8/10
Medications – Completely Removed 9/10
Miniature Tigers – FORTRESS 7/10
Nite Jewel – Am I Real? 7/10
Thee Oh Sees – Warm Slime 7/10
School of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire 6/10
Sufjan Stevens – Age of Adz 7/10
Twin Shadow – Forget 8/10
The Walkmen – Lisbon 8/10
The War On Drugs – Future Weather 8/10
Warpaint – The Fool 8/10
We Are Scientists – Barbara 8/10
Wild Nothing – Gemini 7/10
Women – Public Strain 8/10
Woven Bones – In and Out and Back Again 8/10
The Young – Voyagers of Legend 6/10
Young Man – Boy EP 9/10
Zach Hill – Face Tat 7/10
There you have it. 30 albums. 30 seconds (probably). Now I can concentrate on all of this awesome new stuff I want to tell you all about. Expect some great music coming your way very soon. :D
Just a sample of what’s to come:(thanks to town full of losers for the mp3)
The Photon God: Best Songs of 2009
Posted: December 19, 2009 Filed under: Lists, Posts | Tags: awesome, best songs of the year, holidays, mix, playlist, year-end lists 2 CommentsI’ve listened to a lot of songs this year. A crapload of them were played more than once. Honestly, these songs have claimed their own place in my heart where they will now reside forever. I’ve a feeling that if I were to die tomorrow and an autopsy would be done, you would find my arteries clogged with lyrics, drum beats, and guitar strums…maybe a couple synths.
Figuratively speaking, these songs will be the death of me.
Instead of a short list, which is impossible, I’ve prepared three playlists out of the year’s best songs.
Volume 1: Tracklist
1. “1, 2, 3 Partyy!” – Mission of Burma
2. “Meet Me In The City” – The Babies
3. “Lust For Life” – Girls
4. “Cone of Light” – The Almighty Defenders
5. “Young Hearts Spark Fire” – Japandroids
6. “Wounded” – Jay Reatard
7. “Alcoholics Unanimous” – Art Brut
8. “Come Saturday” – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
9. “God Knows I Had Plans” – The Mary Onettes
10. “Sweet Disposition” – The Temper Trap
11. “Looking For Shelter” – Good Old War
12. “Two Steps” – Dignan
13. “I’ve Got Friends” – Manchester Orchestra
14. “Stillness Is The Move” – Dirty Projectors
15. “The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid” – The Decemberists
16. “Angry Charlie” – Generationals
17. “Just Me” – Music Go Music
18. “Blood on the Sand” – Ganglians
19. “Don’t Lie” – The Mantles
20. “You’re A Target” – No Age
Download
Volume 2: Tracklist
1. “Less Unless” – CIVIL CIVIC
2. “The Reeling” – Passion Pit
3. “Die Slow” – HEALTH
4. “Dominos” – The Big Pink
5. “Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise” – Black Moth Super Rainbow
6. “Feel It All Around” – Washed Out
7. “Pa Pa Power” – Dead Man’s Bones
8. “Ultimate Satisfaction” – Bear In Heaven
9. “Deadbeat Summer” – Neon Indian
10. “Marrow” – St. Vincent
11. “Ambling Alp” – Yeasayer
12. “Summertime Clothes” – Animal Collective
13. “Two Weeks” – Grizzly Bear
14. “Heads Will Roll” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
15. “Cool Jumper” – WAVVES
Download
Volume 3: Tracklist
1. “River” – Akron/Family
2. “Home” – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
3. “I Am Young” – Coconut Records
4. “My Sister, My Spouse” – Cass McCombs
5. “Ghosts” – Fanfarlo
6. “Northern Lights” – Bowerbirds
7. “You Can have What You Want” – Papercuts
8. “Hands” – The Dutchess and The Duke
9. “Too Young To Burn” – Sonny & The Sunsets
10. “The Sparrow And The Medicine” – The Tallest Man On Earth
11. “Killing For Love” – José González
12. “Please, Baby, Please” – David Bazan
13. “Oh No” – Andrew Bird
14. “Happiness” – Jónsi & Alex
Download
Enjoy!
The Photon God, 2009.
10 of the Greatest Albums of 2009
Posted: December 18, 2009 Filed under: Lists, Posts | Tags: Animal Collective, Cass McCombs, cymbals eat guitars, David Bazan, Dirty Projectors, Girls, greatest albums of 2009, Japandroids, Mission of Burma, Phoenix, the pains of being pure at heart, year-end lists 1 CommentThis has been said by everyone(probably because it’s fucking true), so I’ll get it out of the way before anything else: 2009 was a fucking great year for music. Great bands have resurfaced, new bands are taking up space on people’s iPods–hell, even shitty bands have had a good year. With all of the wonderful music that was released this year, many an album was donned ‘favorite’. However, for the sake of the blog and simplicity, I have whittled down my list to 10 albums. These 10 bands have written songs that won’t get out of my head. Each of these 10 albums’ artwork has been burned into my brain. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you…
10 of the Greatest Albums of 2009!
10. Japandroids – Post-Nothing (Polyvinyl)“Young Hearts Spark Fire”With powerful guitars and relentless energy, Japandroids have undoubtedly made a great first impression on the world’s collective eardrum with one of the strongest debuts of the year.
9. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – Self-Titled (Slumberland)“Young Adult Friction”Definitely one of the most engaging records of the year, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart’s debut full-length speaks volumes on the immortal spirit of youth. To put it quite simply, this album is full of unfiltered, unabridged, and unprotected love.
8. Cass McCombs – Catacombs (Domino)“Dreams Come True Girl”This album pretty much flew under my radar for a while which is a shame because it’s absolutely incredible. Undoubtedly, Catacombs is McCombs’ strongest effort to date as well as one of the year’s most memorable releases.
7. David Bazan – Curse Your Branches (Barsuk)“Please, Baby, Please”Curse Your Branches is one of the more cathartic records to get released this year. It is a window into the inner struggle of a man questioning the religious foundations of his very own life. This album is Bazan’s pink slip to God.
6. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (V2)“1901”Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix’s fourth full-length, is an absolutely wonderful album. I would go on and on about how each guitar stroke means the world to me but I think it will suffice for me to say that this album is just full of good songs. Listen to it if you don’t believe me. Your ears will thank you.
5. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains (Self-Released)“And The Hazy Sea”My first words after listening to this for the first time were “Holy fucking hell!”. For starters, it’s incredibly cohesive. Absolutely everything on this album fits. Every single fill and crescendo. Every bassline, every keystroke, and every brass and string instrument heard on this album plays a key part in this grand ensemble of sounds. Secondly, it’s a remarkable achievement alone that this album was self-released. And lastly, this album has set the bar pretty high for future indie bands that wish to blow people’s minds.
4. Girls – Album (True Panther/Matador)“Lust For Life”This album, simply-yet-aptly-named Album, is a perfect example of what happens when a band does absolutely everything right. The songs are solid, the vocals aren’t clear but they’re not indiscernible which sparks intrigue in the listener, the album isn’t so consistent that it’s boring and it’s not so erratic that it throws you off. In fact, it’s pretty perfect if you count out the fact that it’s almost devoid of new and innovative ideas, although that isn’t as detrimental as it sounds. By using the past to their advantage, the guys in Girls have written one of the most popular albums of the present.
3. Mission of Burma – The Sound, The Speed, The Light (Matador)“1, 2, 3 Partyy!!”This album is a pulsating work of post-punk art. From start to finish, this record has enough attitude to make you squirm in your shoes. It’s the album that makes other albums take a step back and walk in the opposite direction with one glance. I hate to mention it because it shouldn’t be an issue but these guys are in their fucking 40s! One in their 50s! And they’re packing more intensity in this record than people half their age? Fuck the hell off. It’s shameful to see younger bands burn out after an album or two while these guys are kicking even harder than they did when they first formed in the late 70s. Young people! Get your goddamn act together! These wrinkly, old men are putting you to shame!
2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)“My Girls”Before I begin, allow me to inform you that I really, really, really like this record and the only reason it isn’t slated one slot lower is because creativity and innovation pretty much flow through these men’s bloodstreams which results in their being stripped of their rare value. Now, the album. Of this entire list, Merriweather Post Pavilion was released the earliest. While people have rightfully pointed out that it’s the band’s most accessible album to date, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an easy listen. By expanding on the electronic elements they used on their previous album, Animal Collective has created a new and magical world of mind-bending soundscapes and infectious beats in which you can’t help but be cautious…right before you absolutely immerse yourself.
1. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (Domino)“Useful Chamber”At last, the number one album on the list, Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca. There are many things I can say about this album and if I had no restraint, I would try my absolute best to type them all out. However, for the sake of organization, I will compile my thoughts as best as I can. To begin with, this album is, for lack of a better word, unique. One could say that this band appeared out of nowhere but they would be dead wrong. This is actually their seventh full-length album but the first with such a refined sound. To the average ear, a majority of the music on here wouldn’t sound like music at all. But if you pay attention and absorb this album for what it is, you’ll find that this is what modern music has been lacking. These songs don’t need traditional songwriting elements to make an impact. They’ve bent and eaten the rules of conventional songwriting and established a higher level of appreciation for music that the world has been asking for. Bitte Orca could easily be the flagship record for the future of modern music. In short, change is not only good but overdue, and this album is the kind of different we need.
FYI: To purchase any album on this list, click on the label links ;)
The Photon God, 2009.
Consider this catching up.
Posted: December 14, 2009 Filed under: Lists, Posts | Tags: Citay, Sleigh Bells, Small Black, Summer Camp, Wild Nothing, Yeasayer, Yellow Fever Leave a commentWith all that has been going on lately with school among other things, I haven’t been able to cover as many artists as I would have liked to over the past couple of weeks.
To make up for this, I’ve decided to make one big post highlighting some artists I’ve come across and found appealing but haven’t had the time to write about in detail.
Citay: some cosmically-dwelling rock n’ roll for a change :D
(“Careful With That Hat“, Dream Get Together, Dead Oceans 2010)
Wild Nothing: Glam-pop solo project of Jack Tatum out of Virginia.
(“Summer Holiday“, Summer Holiday 7″, Captured Tracks 2010?)
Summer Camp: mysterious dreamy pop band from the UK that no one knows ANYTHING about! Note: not them in the photo
(“Ghost Train“, Demo 2009)
Yeasayer: epic electro-pop from Brooklyn
(“Ambling Alp“, Odd Blood, Secretly Canadian 2010)
Sleigh Bells: epic fuzzy pop
(“Crown On The Ground“, Demo 2009)
Woodsman: experimental instrumental quartet
(“Dikembe Mutombo“, Collages, Mexican Summer 2009)
Small Black: interesting lo-fi pop
(“Despicable Dogs“, Despicable Dogs, Transparent 2009)
Yellow Fever: simple and catchy indie rock
(“Hellfire“, self-titled, Wild World 2009)