Nobunny - First Blood (Goner, 2010)

Nobunny

First Blood

Goner

2010

Rating: 7.5 investigative leads out of 10

Nobunny has come a long way from when I literally saw him play in a friend's basement a few years ago, but the music is still just a joyfully stupid.  Songs like "(Do the) Fuck Yourself," "Blow Dumb," and "I Was On (the Bozo Show)" tell you all you need to know.  Musically, his previous releases were more a pastiche of the garage pop underworld, this time around really obvious influences like T. Rex, Velvet Underground and Mott & the Hoople shine through on a number of tracks.  It's a damn catchy record, inviting singing along after only a couple of listens.  Muy bueno.

Lovers - Dark Light (Badman Recording Co, 2010)

Lovers
Dark Light
Badman Recording Co.
2010

Rating: 9 paper sailor hats out of 10

This might have been my favorite record of 2010, or at least top 3, had I gotten around to listening to it in 2010. Instead, I've spent the first few months of 2011 obsessively soaking in these songs like a teenager seeing his first pair of boobs.

First and foremost, this entire record is one of the best collections of catchy, stuck-in-your-head-for-days songs that I've heard in ages. Considering that the music would best be described as dark electro-pop with female singers, a genre I usually avoid, it' all the more surprising that I took to this like I did. In recommending this record to my friends I've referred to them as "the new Berlin" on more than one occasion...it's unclear how this comparison was received. Confusion mostly, I think.

Second and not foremost, this band is from Portland, despite the fact that I had convinced myself they were from England. What does this have to do with anything? Nothing. But I really really thought they were from England.

Anyways, just buy this record if you like catchy music. It's goddamn fantastic.