February 2010
52 posts
“Houseclouds” from Liars’ 2007...
Record #220: Liars' s/t
New York’s experimental post-rock trio Liars released their self-titled full-length in 2007, and it features mostly dissonance-infused, high-energy, tangentially electronic garage rock. The tracks that are less indie rock and more mid-tempo experimental bring to mind turn-of-the-century Beck and Radiohead in their ratio of electronic to live instrumentation. These songs are pretty rhythmically...
January 2010
59 posts
Record #219: Bruce Springsteen's 'Darkness on the...
Scold me if you like. I’ve just never been an enormous Bruce fan. Having said that, I’ll also admit that he puts on perhaps the most epic live show I’ve ever seen. Springsteen is the consummate performer, and this record is packed with emotive, dramatic, grand rock songs that can really strike a chord if you’re not too cynical about the whole heartland rock thing. I...
Record #218: The Aislers Set's 'The Last Match'
The cheery, psychedelically informed chamber pop/indie pop of The Aislers Set is in full form on 2000’s The Last Match. Though vocals are a bit pitchy, sweet and overly breathy on some tracks, the cordially coasting instrumentation — there’s a Britpop vibe by way of Elephant 6 on songs like “One Half Laughing” — is melodically enticing. And with New York punk-rock leanings on tracks like “Been...
Record #217: Unbunny's 'Black Strawberries'
I’m afraid I don’t currently have the brainpower or energy to muse lengthily on this one. And that’s a shame for two reasons: My friend and coworker Steve Haruch was in this band, and this also happens to be a pretty damn cool record. I will say that there are obvious vocal parallels here with Neil Young, but that’s lazy. I can also say it’s an extremely intimate, thoughtful, emotional, lo-fi...
“Sheena’s Back” from Nick Curran...
Record #216: Nick Curran and the Lowlifes' 'Reform...
I received an email from Nick Curran and the Lowlifes’ publicity people today. The email included a zip file of Curran’s forthcoming record, Reform School Girl, but when I opened it and began to listen, I was certain there had been some mistake. This record — full of gritty, retro-electric blues — doesn’t sound like it could have possibly been made after 1960. I don’t want to say it’s derivative;...
Record #215: Optiganally Yours' 'Exclusively...
Optiganally Yours is the side project from Pea Hix (Tit Wrench, Lucas & Friend) and Rob Crow (Pinback), and the vast majority of their material is constructed using a toy keyboard manufactured in the ’70s known as the Optigan. I was, at one point, a pretty big fan of Pinback, but I eventually grew weary of their somewhat melodically manic bedroom music. While 2000’s Exclusively Talentmaker is...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-24) →
“Lonely Is a Town” from...
Record #214: Glossary's 'Feral Fire'
Feral Fire is the brand-new release from local indie alt-country outfit Glossary, and, before I go any further, I’d like to point you in the direction of the article written on these guys for this week’s paper by my colleague Sean Maloney. While I’d generally say that I’ve moved well past my gritty Southern rock/alt-country phase and it typically doesn’t appeal to me anymore, Glossary is one of...
Record #213: Pseudosix's s/t
Pseudosix is the solo project of Portland’s Tim Perry, and “their” self-titled sophomore record was released in 2007 by Sonic Boom. This is an intimate, wintry, ginger indie-rock release with loads of well-balanced, delicately played instrumentation and compelling, diverse melodies. Stewart Mason’s Allmusic review of Pseudosix rather severely criticizes Perry’s fragile, somewhat incoherent vocals,...
Record #212: Tristeza's 'Dream Signals in Full...
Dream Signals in Full Circles is the 2000 release from San Diego’s instrumental indie rockers Tristeza. This record is full of slow- to mid-tempo, twinkly post-rock numbers that are mildly hypnotic in their waxing and waning guitar melodies. Tristeza’s material is certainly not as grand or heartstrings-tuggy as, say, Explosions in the Sky or Godspeed — probably due to Tristeza’s conventional...
Record #211: Broken Bells' s/t
Broken Bells is the forthcoming debut from the two-man operation of the same name. Broken Bells features Brian Burton (a.k.a. Danger Mouse) and The Shins’ James Mercer, and — though you could certainly say I’m taking the easy route here — it’s melodically similar to The Shins and instrumentally similar to Danger Mouse. With catchy, mid-tempo, lilting, indie-pop melodies and mildly...
Record #210: Terry Reid's 'River'
Does the name Terry Reid ring a bell? It might, but it probably doesn’t. This British rocker was asked to join the New Yardbirds in 1968, the band that — as most of us know — became Led Zeppelin. Reid turned the gig down, instead recommending some limey young chap by the name of Plant. Reid’s solo career obviously never garnered anywhere near the type of attention LZ received, but 1973’s River...
“Take It Easy” from Surfer...
Record #209: Surfer Blood's 'Astro Coast'
Astro Coast is the 2009 debut from Florida’s vaguely surfy (imagine that!) indie-rock quartet Surfer Blood, and it’s a damn fine record. This album is packed with contagious guitar hooks and lithe, playful vocal melodies, and it somehow blends the indie-rock sensibility of The Shins with surf-rock’s penchant for reverb-heavy, melodious guitars and the vocal novelty and boldness of Animal...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-17) →
“Lalita” from The Love...
Record #208: The Love Language's s/t
The Love Language’s self-titled 2009 debut consists of a stirring, catchy brand of lo-fi indie pop constructed by principal member Stuart McLamb. Like Dr. Dog’s early recordings, this lo-fi, bedroom-pop approach to production doesn’t hinder the album’s power; rather, it lends warm, approachable character and makes The Love Language sound like the sort of lucky find you might have discovered at the...
Record #207: The Big Sleep's 'Son of the Tiger'
Son of the Tiger is the 2006 release from post-rock trio The Big Sleep. The friend who sent me this one characterized it as “rawk,” which I certainly agree with regarding the more upbeat, distortion-coated and riff-heavy interludes that grace the record pretty frequently. The arrangements and straightforward-rock instrumentation of these songs remind me quite a bit of bands like The Duke Spirit...
Record #206: Archers of Loaf's 'Vs. the Greatest...
Vs. the Greatest of All Time is the 1994 EP from North Carolina’s acerbic indie-rock troupe Archers of Loaf. Full of jagged, raw guitars and incendiary energy, the Archers occupy the same early- to mid-’90s plane of guitar-centric, caustic rock as Brainiac, Polvo, The Jesus Lizard and Sebadoh. The production is imperfect, but the sounds are big and full — flaws in this type of production just give...
“Beach Comber” from Real...
Record #205: Real Estate's s/t
Real Estate’s self-titled LP was released in November, and it features nothing but wistful, psychedelic, laid-back, surf-influenced indie rock. Reverb-heavy, picked guitars carry the vast majority of Real Estate’s melodic weight, and vocals thus remain minimal and unobtrusive. There are definitely a handful of tracks that vastly outshine the rest, but overall this takes a familiar parent genre...
“Mouthful of Diamonds” from...
Record #204: Phantogram's 'Eyelid Movies'
Eyelid Movies is the brand-new LP from New York’s electro-pop duo Phantogram, and you can get it via Barsuk Records right now. This is an incredibly diverse collection of songs that runs the electronic gamut from hip-hop-leaning electro beats to expansive dream-pop and instrumentally varied psych-pop. The arrangements and vocal melodies are huge and catchy, but most of these songs retain a dark...
Donny Hathaway’s cover of John...
Record #203: Donny Hathaway's 'Live'
Live was released in 1972 and consists of songs performed by R&B/soul phenom Donny Hathaway at two separate shows: one in Hollywood, one in Manhattan. All but one of these tunes are covers (Marvin Gaye, Carole King, John Lennon and more are in the mix), and they’re all performed with a smooth, beautifully tasteful Chicago-soul approach. Hathaway is very much from the Stevie Wonder school of...
jay reatard's death being investigated as a...
guitarsexxxviolence:
holy fucking hell.
I believe this to be inaccurate. As it was relayed to me by one of our reporters, all death investigations in Memphis are handled by homicide detectives. Also, I was told that his autopsy yielded no results. This is all merely hearsay, but I don’t believe it’s officially being considered a homicide. Please correct me if you have a reliable...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-1-10) →
Record #202: Autolux's 'Future Perfect'
Future Perfect is the 2004 release from Los Angeles noise-pop three-piece Autolux. This was apparently one of those flash-in-the-pan sorts of buzzed-about releases that utilized the talents of three performers who had seen mild previous success (with Failure and Ednaswap)—there have been no full-length releases from Autolux since this one, though their forthcoming Transit Transit will allegedly be...
Listen to Me on the Radio. Now.
As I mentioned, I was on WRVU’s Out the Other Monday night. See my playlist here, and stream the show here. Best two hours of radio you’ll hear all week.
Record #201: Spoon's 'Transference'
Transference is the forthcoming record from prolific indie conquistadors Spoon. It will be released on Jan. 19, but you can stream it right now, as I did, over at NPR’s website. I suppose I’m something of a Spoon completist, so it’s safe to say that I’m extremely familiar with their material. Transference is a bit more minimalist and sparse than most of the material on their past few releases, and...
Record #200: Sebadoh's 'Bake Sale'
Bake Sale is the 1994 release from crucial ’90s indie-rock troupe/Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr.) side project Sebadoh, and it’s exactly what I expected it to be. It’s aggressive, riff-heavy, introspective and mostly up-tempo, though Barlow takes the obligatory dip into down-tempo, grungy fare here and there. I can’t say that it has the superlative songwriting and shredding that J Mascis brings to Dino...
“Friendly Ghost” from Eels’...
Record #199: The Eels' 'Souljacker'
Extremely exhausted, and will thus compose the following review in mostly sentence fragments and vague observations. I generally like The Eels; find them inconsistent, however. This one is from 2001. Lead singer E is a musical chameleon. Songs shift from punky post-grunge to shit that sounds like it was lifted from Beck’s catalog. As with most Eels records, it’s quirky and interspersed with damn...
Record #198: David Cross's 'Shut Up, You Fucking...
Cheating? Nah. A record’s a record. Plus, I took a bit of a road trip this weekend, and Cross is one of very few comedians I can stomach for over an hour. I’d already listened to 2004’s It’s Not Funny in its entirety, as well as a couple of the bits from this record. Though a lot of the material on this album stems directly from Cross’s frustration over the Bush Administration’s post-9/11 dealings...
“The Greatest Denier” from...
Record #197: Doves' 'Kingdom of Rust'
Kingdom of Rust is last year’s release from UK’s alt-rock three-piece Doves. This one has a handful of gloomy, cavernous tunes with reverbed-out guitars and dance beats that bring to mind U2, Joy Division, New Order and others of that era/ilk. Kingdom of Rust certainly isn’t as Britpop as I anticipated—it does, however, sound like a slightly more substantial option for fans of Coldplay, Keane,...
Record #196: Quasi's 'American Gong'
American Gong is the forthcoming record from legendary Portland indie-rockers Quasi. I recently waged a little campaign on the blog to get Quasi to play in Nashville, and it looks as though they’ll be doing so in a few months (Hurrah!). I was sent a streaming promo copy of this record—which means I won’t be able to post a track, unfortunately—but I can tell you it features all the mean, urgent...
“Oro Towo Baseti” from King Sunny...
Record #195: King Sunny Ade's 'Best of the Classic...
I think hearing yesterday’s Westernized ode to Afro-pop (i.e. Vampire Weekend) got me in the mood to listen to a little bit of the genuine article. Best of the Classic Years, a collection from Juju/Afro-beat/Afro-pop master King Sunny Ade, was released in 2007 and features familiar sounds like the clean noodling of tastefully played electric guitars and exotic but intuitive percussion.
Obviously...
