Oval / Liturgy
Split
Thrill Jockey
2011
Rating: 5 cheerleader competitions out of 10
This was one of those "Record Store Day" releases that I didn't actually buy but instead "found online" because that shit was (a) not available at my local store or all copies had already been bought when I got there and (b) is sold out now so I'm not feeling guilty for "finding" it.
So, this is five songs total, and the first four belong to Oval. I can't say that I've ever cared for Oval's experimental electronic bleep blop bloop music. I honestly don't know enough about this sort of music to know if it's good or bad in the grand scheme of things, but I know it brings me no joy to listen to.
Liturgy ends the release with a nearly twenty minute long untitled song that walks this fine line between metal, math rock and experimental wankery. At their best they sound like the love child of Don Caballero and Mogwai. I know they are a polarizing band because supposedly they play black metal without really being black metal, but in my personal opinion they are kinda off on their own trip musically, and I don't really give a shit if they don't look the part of black metallers anyways. Those people need to stop taking themselves so serious. And on the off chance any of those overly serious folks read this, please don't murder me or my family.
DJ Shadow
I Gotta Rokk
Island
2011
Rating: 7 friendly ghosts out of 10
FUCK YES NEW DJ SHADOW MUSIC. And more to the point, new DJ Shadow music that sounds like "old" DJ Shadow music aka it don't sound like "The Outsider". Not that I hated that record, it was decent, but not the sort of music by Shadow that gets me excited. But this EP is, oh boy is it ever.
So he has a new record coming out in September, and the first three songs are all going to be on that record - call this a preview if you will, something to tide the die-hard fans over for a few months. In addition, there is a remix of each of these songs, giving you six songs total (I'm a math major, so please trust my addition), and over 35 minutes of new Shadow. He ain't getting hyphy here, there are no guest hip-hop vocals, this is straight diggin'-in-the-crates electro-rock, and it delights me so.
The Flaming Lips with Neon Indian
The Flaming Lips with Neon Indian
Warner Bros
2011
Rating: 6 packages of wax lips out of 10
I don't know dick all about Neon Indian, but when the Flaming Lips put out something new I listen to it no matter what. I don't care if they're collaborating with Kenny Rogers, I'm down. Actually, an Lips/Kenny Rogers collabo would be awesome...maybe a spaced out cover of "Coward of the County" would kill.
So I did a little reading, and apparently Neon Indian are some sort of electronic pop duo out of NYC and Texas. Is it still a duo if one of them just does visuals? I personally would lean towards "no" on that one, but I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority there. Not that I don't like visuals, it's just pretty secondary to the music when we're talking about a musical group. Granted, as I've said I've never seen the band so maybe the visual person also plays music. Or maybe the audio from the visuals has a place in their music or some such shit. I clearly don't know what I'm talking about here.
Anyways, what you've got here is an EP of four songs that sounds like remixes of Flaming Lips songs you've never heard. This is exactly what I expected the record to sound like, and I was neither disappointed or pleasantly surprised. None of the songs are particularly catchy or what I'd call "top shelf" Flaming Lips' product, but it's all decent enough and certainly very listenable. I'm not a druggin' sort, but it seems like the sort of record that it would be good to listen to while stoned. But maybe not on speed.
TV Ghost
Mass Dream
In The Red
2011
Rating: 6 episodes of "Viva Laughlin" out of 10
If I read a description of a band as being a mix of Pere Ubu, Rites of Spring and the Doors, I don't know whether I'd run and hide or shriek with excitement like a small child. But that's pretty much the best description I've come up with for TV Ghost, a quartet of musicians out of Lafayette, Indiana who may or may not need psychological help. Perhaps a more modern comparison would be a more damaged version of the A Frames, a person favorite of mine. Nearly all of the songs have a very nervous, anxious feeling to them...you're not putting this on and taking a little nap on the couch. It's the sort of music that sounds great if you're in the right mood, but catch you off guard and you might be cursing it's very existence.
I'm not sure I love this record, but I'm very intrigued by it. And I'm not sure this is an album that opens itself up after just a few listens...it might take a while.
Telekinesis
12 Desperate Straight Lines
Merge
2011
Rating: 7.5 late night television psychics out of 10
There's no substitute for a great pop song, and god knows this Telekinesis record is awash with them. It's only fitting that Merge has released both of their records, because if a band could give birth this is what the offspring of Superchunk would & should sound like. Especially Superchunk at their most power pop - the late nineties with "Indoor Living" and "Come Pick Me Up". "12 Desperate Straight Lines" just hits you over the head with one catchy song after another, barely letting you come up for air - just hook after hook for nearly 33 minutes. The album hits it's high point with "Car Crash", as catchy a song as I've heard in years and one that will certainly be stuck in my head for the foreseeable future.
This album is going to go two directions for me, and it's way too early to know which direction that is. It's so sugary-saccharine sweet and addictive that it's entirely possible I burn myself out on it quickly, like eating too much cake*. Or it could be something I visit often for years to come, like a good chocolate milkshake from your favorite ice cream parlor. Because there is nothing better in this world than a good chocolate milkshake**.
*This is clearly a theoretical proposition, as I've yet to reach the point of "too much cake". I'll keep trying though.
**And when I say "chocolate milkshake", I mean a proper one made with chocolate ice cream; none of that black-and-white bullshit with the vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.
U.S. Christmas
The Valley Path
Neurot
2011
Rating: 9 piles of deer scat out of 10
To put it simply, USX have outdone themselves. Fully. Right now this is the easy frontrunner for album of the year in my mind, and some folks are really going to have to step their game up if they hope to top it.
For starters, the album is just one song, around 38 minutes long. That's no "Dopesmoker" by Sleep, but it's a damn long song. The song ebbs and flows like the tide, with multiple discernible sections held together by an overall ascetic of...doom maybe? Or depression? I dunno, I've never been much for meaning, but this record would make a perfect soundtrack for the most bleak post-apocalyptic movies...certainly the recently released "The Road" would be a good fit. So if you're starving, wandering a barren land, and being chased by cannibals, I'm pretty sure something similar to this could, would or should be playing.
Another point, maybe the main point that makes this record stand out - it's not metal. Not in the typical sense certainly. USX are generally considered a metal band, but this record is so much more than that. As a non-metal person, most of my comparisons for this would draw from a non-metal world - the first portion reminds me a lot of Black Mountain; just after the twenty minute mark, there is a heavy Dirty Three vibe; and I'd have to think most any Mogwai fan would enjoy their more upbeat sections. There are also moments that make me think of Black Heart Procession, Hawkwind (you can't have a USX release without mentioning Hawkwind), and maybe more than anything, mid-to-late seventies Neil Young & Crazy Horse.
At this point this review is a jumbled fuckin' mess and I'm not sure what else to say. This is an absolutely stunner of an album. It's barely left my car CD player for the last two weeks. As much as I've loved USX's previous work, this is now their gold standard.
Obits
Moody, Standard and Poor
Sub Pop
2011
Rating: 7 stock markets out of 10
Music is a strange thing. Some bands remain the same and they get old quickly, while other groups keep basically putting out the same record and it is celebrated with each and every release. Obits are of that second group. I've complained about many bands pigeon-holing themselves, never growing their sound, but that criticism has never landed on a band where Rick Froberg is leading the way. He has a style of music he is very, very good at, and I never tire hearing him perform it.
That said, I think the songs might be stronger this time around than with the first full-length batch of Obit's songs on 2009's "I Blame You". The songs feel more focused and the album a bit more cohesive. The punk-garage-with-a-tinge-of-surf aesthetic is still there in spades, the exact sound you expect to hear when this record hits the turntable. If you were expecting more (or less) you're looking in the wrong direction. This album is exactly as it should be, always was, and will be.
Trans Am Sex Change Thrill Jockey 2007 Rating: 6 pontiacs on blocks out of 10
It's not you Trans Am, it's me. We've grown apart. The joy I felt over your first three records, that joy isn't there anymore. You're still the same you, but I think I've changed. It's not that the music isn't any good - both "Conspiracy of the Gods" and "Tesco v. Sainsbury's" are as good as anything you've recorded, but it's just not the sort of music that gets me all that excited like it did in my early twenties. It's still perfectly good music, and I'm sure you'll meet someone else, but I'm afraid we've just grown too far apart.
JEFF the Brotherhood
We Are the Champions
Infinity Cat
2011
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
JEFF the Brotherhood is all over the map..and it really works for them. Their sound is all over the map - Pavement-style nineties slacker rock, early Weezer, clean garage rock like the first couple of Black Keys records, a little Trans Am/Fuckin' Champs when they decide to get spacey, the occasional Sebadoh moment, and god knows what else. But under all this decoration, "We Are the Champions" is just a really good, extremely catchy pop record. I would have absolutely loved this release in high school when all I listened to was Dinosaur Jr. and Superchunk. I would have gone nuts for it in college, because it sounds like every one of my favorite bands. In my twenties, when I was on a heavy punk kick - this would have been perfect. And now, as an old(ish) man...still really, really damn good.
Nearly every song is a hit but I am especially partial to "Ripper" and "Diamond Way". This is music for your inner child, no matter how old you are. I really can't wait to see these guys live.
High Tension Wires
Welcome New Machine
Dirtnap
2011
Rating: 6.5 third rails out of 10
Dirtnap records and catchy-as-shit pop punk go together like my dog and something stinky and dead for him to wallow in. High Tension Wires couldn't be any more a poster band for this label if they tried. Within the group you've got folks associated with the Riverboat Gamblers, the Marked Men, and god knows what other groups. It sounds exactly how you'd expect a Dirtnap release to sound - upbeat, full of hooks, lots of "woahs", a slight garage tinge, the sort of music that is pretty easy to sing along to. With twelve songs clocking in at around twenty six minutes, it's clear they aren't fucking around - they waste even less time than I'm wasting writing this review. Seriously, it's fuckin' Dirtnap, you know what you're getting into here.
Explosions in the Sky
Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Temporary Residence
2011
Rating: 7 get well cards out of 10
Explosions in the Sky have a good thing going on, and they've clearly decided not to fuck with it. My desire to dock them points for drawing water from the same well time and time again is stunted by the fact that it's some really cold, tasty water.
This is what you expect it to be - beautiful, effects heavy guitars over a driving rhythm section, the tracks meandering in and out of focus, up and down in tempo and volume, and sounding quite beautiful. Like a film score really, maybe a work by Terrence Mallick, certainly something you'd want to see on opening weekend. It sounds more or less like every other EitS album, and yet I never grow tired of their formula. Probably because it's so well crafted and pleasant to the ears - these Texas lads may non-vocally wear their heart on their sleeves, but we're all better for it.
You like Explosions in the Sky? You won't be disappointed here. But I suspect you already knew that.
Tyvek
Time Change 7"
Les Disques Steak
2011
Rating: 7 pallets of building material out of 10
Anxious music. That's how Tyvek always make me feel - anxious. And I hate feeling anxious, yet I really like Tyvek, so all in all I'm not making a whole helluva lot of sense. Seems like they often get tagged with the "art punk" label, and that's because you're not sure where exactly to stack them. Their music has the ferocity of punk, but a much more primitive song structure...it reminds me a lot of a more rough-n-tumble A-Frames, a vastly underrated band that more folks should get hip to. As the group is from Detroit I feel like I should make some parallel to the Detroit sound, but the closest you're going to get these guys to anything Detroit related is maybe Jack White's first band the Upholsterers.
Anyways - Tyvek has released a ton of material, and like most of it this is worth your time.
Low
C'mon
Sub Pop
2011
Rating: 8.5 kicked chairs out of 10
Low has released their ninth album, and I'm not entirely sure what to say about other than...it's good. Really, really good. But I say that about all of their albums, because I am very much a fan of anything this band does. This band is now very much a touchstone for describing many other acts, their name now an easily identifiable descriptor meaning "sparse, mellow, haunting folk rock with very strong vocals", or something along those lines. I guess the kids call it "slowcore".
So you really only describe Low in terms of Low - and this a fantastic Low record. I'm not sure where exactly I'd rank it, but definitely in the top half, maybe even top third of the their albums. The only ones I'd rank over for sure right now is "The Curtain Hits the Cast" and "Things We Lost in the Fire", which says a lot in my book. "C'mon" features two songs that were instant favorites upon the very first listen - "Witches" and "Especially Me", and there isn't a clunker in the entire bunch. Even letting Nels Cline (the man largely responsible for nearly destroying Wilco) play on the album didn't turn it to a steaming pile, thankfully.
There is no doubt in my mind this will be one of my top five favorite records at the end of the year. In the even you are keeping track of such things.
Animal Collective
Keep Cassette
Keep
2011
Rating: 6 Kiss parodies out of 10
Apparently this short Animal Collective release was a cassette associated with some sort of shoes from Keep. This is what the internet tells me, cause I just downloaded the damn thing and definitely don't need any more shoes...I'm entering Imelda Marcos territory with the number of pairs I've got. I'd never even heard of this company to be honest, but they have a few cool looking pairs and the prices aren't terrible.
Despite the name, this isn't an Animal Collective release - it's a compilation of solo tracks from each of the four members of the band. So, a mini mix tape. I've honestly got no use for the first two songs by Geologist and Avey Tare, but it wraps up nicely with Deakin and Panda Bear. The Deakin track sounds a lot like early seventies Brian Eno, and ain't nothing wrong with that. And the Panda Bear track is downright pop for him, or at least what I've heard of him, which has mostly been loud noise with just a hint of song underneath it. But his work here - big thumbs up.
This thing is already out of print so don't feel bad ganking it online...or at least I didn't.
Danielson
Best Of Gloucester County
Sounds Familyre
2011
Rating: 7 nurse uniforms out of 10
There are two camps - those who love Danielson and those who can't stand him (and this usually stems from his vocals). Well, I guess there is a third camp, the largest one - those who have no idea who this is, but those are not the sorts of people I choose to concern myself with.
So, a new Danielson record...it's pretty much like every Danielson record. He has a sound, ya know, and this album sticks pretty closely to that formula. Nothing wrong with that, it's true of many artists, it's just that his sound is a lot more quirky than most - and it's a quirky sound that I love, haters be damned. Five years might have passed since his last record "Ships", but musically this might have well come out the next day. It's still very Pixies-meets-orchestral pop, with horns and strings and contributions from a bunch of other artists including Sufjan Stevens, Jens Lekman, Cryptacize, and god knows who else.
Actually, maybe god does now, after all this is music to sing his praises. And if it makes you feel weird listening to christian music, just know the lyrics are often so weird and obtuse that you'd never know. I've never been one to pay a lot of attention to lyrics anyways, so as long as he ain't singing "praise jesus" over and over and keeps the catchy, weird music coming, then I'm going to keep on listening.
