Tweedy - Sukierae (Anti / dBpm, 2014)

Tweedy
Sukierae
Anti / dBpm
2014

Rating: 7.5 dreamy anglers out of 10

We can pretend this debut Tweedy album "Sukierae" isn't just another Wilco album if we really want to...but when Jeff Tweedy, the driving force, voice and main songwriter of Wilco puts out a solo (or in this case almost solo, with his son playing drums) release, and it sounds just like his main band, it's a little silly to pretend otherwise.  How does this differ from Wilco?  Well, the songs are mostly shorter, and there are a lot of them on this record.  There are no annoying masturbatory Nels Cline guitar solos.  And...that's about it.  In fact if you told me this had been recorded around the same time as Wilco's best record, "Summerteeth," and was lost until now, I would totally believe you.  The dude is a damn fine songwriter, but he writes a very specific type of song, so let's not kid ourselves. 

Jason Lytle - Dept. of Disappearance (Anti, 2012)

Jason Lytle
Dept. of Disappearance
Anti
2012

Rating: 8 firestarters out of 10

The differences between those final Grandaddy albums and the pair of solo albums Jason Lytle has released are really in name only.  I mean no slight to the rest of the members of Grandaddy, but Lytle seemed to be such a decisive force over their sound and direction that only the superest of super Grandaddy fans could probably tell a difference here.  Lots of synths and keyboards make up the bulk of the music here as in all Lytle-related recordings, with a simple drum backbone, a week but of guitar strumming and Lytle's easily-identifiable vocals.  I read somewhere that this album (and really, any of his albums) sounds like a late night by yourself - introspective and maybe a little lonely.  Being an only child, I like and am very comfortable with being by yourself, and maybe that's why his music speaks so well to me.  

Islands - A Sleep & A Forgetting (Anti, 2012)

Islands

A Sleep & A Forgetting

Anti

2012

Rating: 7 lonely crabs out of 10

I quite enjoyed the previous group Islands founders Nicholas Thorburn and Jaime Thompson played in called Unicorns, but after they broke up I sorta forget about all things involved with that band.  Here it is four albums later and I'm just now getting around to listening to their "new band" Islands.  Too much good music in the world, too little time I guess.

I almost need to give two scores for this record - there's the second track "This Is Not A Song," and there is the rest of the album.  The album as a whole is very enjoyable - if you thought Unicorns were pretty much ripping off the pop sound and revelry of the Elephant 6 collective, Islands sounds like a band who grew up on those same sounds but have grown into a more mature pop sound.  You might even describe it as "slick," similar to the hooks and sheen of a Nada Surf record or a band of that ilk.  

But "This Is Not A Song" - well, it's a fabulous song.  It might sound like a polished rip-off of Sparklehorse, but I don't even care.  It worms into your head in the best possible way, and without a doubt will be one of my favorite songs of the year.  Every time I hear it I'm singing it for the next couple of days.  It's this song that is going to keep me coming back to this record, and luckily the rest of the album pairs nicely.