Album ReviewJuly 27th, 2010 by Foxopoly Collisions and CastawaysThis comes out TODAY so go out and purchase. It’s really good, really heavy and you’d be supporting the home team. Win Win.
June 6th, 2010 by Shopping Bag Screaming Lights is your new favorite bandThe album “Like Angels” took two years to complete, but it was worth the wait. The sound is 100% classic dark Brit rock (these boys hail from Liverpool) in the vein of Idlewild and White Lies and Editors, with obvious influences from the originators of British gloom indie rock Joy Division and the Comsat Angels. Their debut album “Like Angels” features organs, dirty guitars, solid tempos and a singer whose voice carries beautiful melodies and the scratchy weariness of person who has been through the ringer a few times. Listening to the lyrics for “Hello Tomorrow” gives listeners a glimpse of the cynicism and anger that pervades their music in what is a choleric condemnation of the notion that every new day brings new opportunities: “You’re a butt face lie, a monster in disguise! I shook your hand, the purple veins, you’ve got shit for brains.” Check them out on MySpace.com or Facebook. April 15th, 2010 by Foxopoly New UNKLE.UNKLE – Where Did the Night Fall (Review from Urb.com) Being that it is one of the pioneering groups in trip-hop, UNKLE has the right to bend – and break – the rules. It trail-blazed one scene and now appears to be working on yet another. Let’s call it psych-hop. The British DJs are back to work with their latest full-length, Where Did The Night Fall, an album that is sure to win over new fans just as it will likely alienate others. Do note: for fans who wish to hear another Psyence Fiction, don’t get your hopes up; it’s not happening. Like it or not, UNKLE is moving on and progressing just as the majority of musicians inevitably do. Where Did The Night Fall takes a definite step towards the indie and psychedelic genres, while remaining grounded in electronic roots. The production is finely polished, even when the tracks melt into mushy abstractions. Furthermore, the vibe from track to track varies due to the wide range of influences. Everything from acoustic to punk to experimental electronica pops up along the way, giving the listener a sampling of UNKLE’s talent in each realm. Oh by the way, the DJs get some help throughout the album from notable musicians and instrumentalists. Los Angeles space rockers Autolux drop by on the ironically titled “Joy Factory,” which is actually rather melancholy (yet delightful nonetheless). Clayhill singer Gavin Clark returns to lend his vocals to two tracks, “Falling Stars” and “The Healing.” Other guests include Sleepy Sun, The Black Angels, Joel Cadbury and Mark Lanegan. With such a large number of features, UNKLE ties together the album rather well, ensuring that the entire hour is full of trippy, psychedelic music. It may indeed, be fitting to call this psych-hop. For the most part the album holds up rather well. At times the vocals merely hide among the instrumentation, becoming an added instrumental layer rather than substantive lyrics. However, that may very well be by design, adding to the exotic nature of the record. There are no absolute standouts as on past albums, but that is okay. Where Did The Night Falls is less concerned with purity of individual songs, and more focused on the audible aesthetics produced by its eerie experiments in sound. And for that, UNKLE has another winner on its hands. Tracklist 1. Nowhere – UNKLE March 22nd, 2010 by Foxopoly Diamond Eyes.
The best album of 2010 already?!? RIYL: Epicness, 8-stringers, voices as instruments, sonic bliss, audio brutality, rocket skates, white animals, butchers. Favorite track so far? Link January 26th, 2010 by Shopping Bag Shopping Bag’s Albums of 2009
The Twilight Sad is awesome. A band that lists Phil Spector, Arab Strap and Leonard Cohen as influences has to be, right? They continue to grow and mature as a band, and their 2009 release Forget The Night Ahead is the pinnacle of their blossoming career. Imagine Sonic Youth dissonance (see “I Became A Prostitute”) layered with My Bloody Valentine’s sonic mastery (see “Interrupted”) and buttered with Ian Curtis (see “That Room”) and sprinkled with that Scottish accent that I can’t seem to get enough of, and that’s Forget The Night Ahead. Plus they have absolutely killer album covers. This is probably my favorite new band of the past few years and a serious contender for album of the year 2009. What can be said about We Were Promised Jetpacks and their debut album These Four Walls that hasn’t already been said? At once frenetic (see “Roll Up Your Sleeves”) crashing (see “It’s Thunder and Lightning”) tender (see “This Is My House, This Is My Home”) and FUN! (see “Short Bursts”), this is a contender for album of the year. Musically it’s amazing: lyrically it makes me smile with its adorable accents. Along with Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad, The Swell Season and other member of the recent Scottish invasion, WWPJ is here to stay. I never saw the movie, though it is on my “to see” list, but I am a huge fan of the Once soundtrack. The Swell Season is the latest collaboration between Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Their 2009 album Strict Joy is exactly that. From whispered ballads (see “In These Arms) to desperate pleas (see “Low Rising”) to acoustic travel songs (see “Feeling the Pull”), the album has it all. Strict Joy covers tremendous lyrical ground from realizing our own shortcomings (see “The Rain”) to the unavoidable end of relationships (see “High Horses” — maybe one of my favorite songs of the year and featuring one of the best bridges in recent musical history.) Oh Minnows released a three song EP called Might EP and somehow made it on to this list of top albums. How? Simple: beautiful synths (see “Might”) impeccable shoegazing (see “Might”) and hints of the Cure (see “Might”). Yes, I just referenced one song three separate times. It’s that good: probably my favorite song of 2009. And that’s all. This description is as short as the album. Rick Froberg, of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes fame, says “I think innovation is an overestimated quality.” I don’t know about overestimated, but sometimes a familiar thing is a good thing. Take the his newest endeavor Obits: their 2009 album I Blame You is far from innovative. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it sounds like it could be b-sides from one of his other bands. But that doesn’t matter when you have high octane (see “Pine On”) greased lighting (see “Window of my Dreams”) truckin’ down the expressway of your ears at full speed! Surf rock influences (see “I Blame You”) and the minimal production that made Hot Snakes sound so bold make this a favorite 5-miler soundtrack. From the opening keyboard lines of the 2009 album A Balloon Called Moaning, it’s obvious that The Joy Formidable is both beautiful and bold. Reminiscent of the great female-led indie rock bands of the past – from the Breeders to the Sounds and beyond – this Welsh three-piece has nailed everything about indie rock that I enjoy: layers of sound, killer riffs on both guitar and keyboard (see “While The Flies”), and strong energy (see “The Last Drop” and “Whirring”). Get hooked from the opening track (“The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade”) and enjoy the rest of the ride. Nashville, Tennessee indie band Paper Route released the sprawling pop masterpiece Absence in April of 2009. It’s still in rotation on my iPod. And no wonder: any band that tours with the likes of Paramore, Phantom Planet, Jack’s Mannequin, Copeland, Passion Pit, or She Wants Revenge has to be good, right? Think well-produced synth pop (see “Enemy Among Us”) with anthem-like epics (see “Are We All Forgotten?”) and familiar, comforting melodies (see “Lovers’ Anthem”). The band is quickly becoming a guilty pleasure of sorts: in addition to having songs on One Tree Hill, they are currently touring with band-of-the-minute Owl City. However, don’t let that detract from this true pop masterpiece. I have to admit: I wrote you off long ago. Sorry Richard Melville Hall, you just got kinda boring and predictable. I have since eaten those words with the release of Wait For Me. Helped in small part by Ken Thomas (of Sigur Rós fame) handling the mixing boards, Moby seems to have found both his inner melancholy and his knack for nailing simple, yet elegant melodies. Everything about this record is beautiful (see “Shot In The Back of the Head”) and depressing (see “Mistake”) and uplifting (see “Walk With Me”), sometimes within the same song (see “Wait For Me”). I’m not entirely sure about the pseudonym Loney, Dear. Frankly, it doesn’t matter, Mr. Emil Svanängen – weird name or not, you make lovely (see “I Was Only Going Out”), soothing-yet-melancholy (see “I Got Lost “) pop-infused electronic music (see “Everything Turns to You”). Your soft and delicate voice is like a breeze before a nap. Dear John is a somber electro pop masterpiece. Music is sometimes soundtrack to our lives, while other times our lives seem to be following the script of our favorite records: this record fulfilled both of those roles for me. You look like an accountant, Matthew Stephen Ward. But you seem to be best buds with Zooey Deschanel, and for that I am envious. And you make wicked roots rock music (see “One Hundred Million Years”), smothered in blues and classic rock influences (see “Never Had Nobody Like You” featuring Deschanel) that, because of the amazing production on your 2009 album Hold Time, sound fresh and new and awesome. Your voice is both soft and raspy (see “For Beginners”), your melodies velvety. I caught your performance on Conan and was sold. Awesome collaborations ( see “Oh, Lonesome Me” featuring Lucinda Williams) abound on this album. Before you say to yourself, “My God – Shopping Bag’s gone all soft” let me introduce you to a new band and 2009 album that are nipping at the heels of The Twilight Sad for top honors: The Tupolev Ghost. Their 2009 album (with the imaginative title of The Tupolev Ghost) has resurrected the ghosts of Drive-Ins past, or any other aggressive indie rock of the past two decades – from Fugazi on. It’s a shame it’s only six short songs: the driving guitars and screaming vocals leave you with your pumped fist still in the air and wanting more. See, um, ALL of the songs. Yes, it’s total girl music. Yes the girl I was seeing was a huge fan. Yes she played it fucking ten million times a day. And, yes, it actually grew on me. Florence + the Machine is one part Tori Amos, one part Neko Case and a little bit of Fiona. Hear them all on Lungs. The energy of the album comes from both the music itself (see “Dog Days Are Over”) and the lyrical content (see “Kiss With A Fist”) and from Florence’s idiosyncratic vocal stylings (see “Cosmic Love” and “Rabbit Heart”). Honorable mentions: The posthumous ODB album A Son Unique | The Engineers album Three Fact Finder | The Haymarket Riot album Endless Bummer | The Metric album Fantasies | The Yeah Yeah Yeahs album It’s Blitz! | The Western Civ album Shower The People You Love With Gold | The Veils album Sun Gangs December 14th, 2009 by Phantasmo Phantasmo Top 11 Albums of 2009
Trashcan Sinatras “In The Music” – Anyone who knows me will know why this is my favorite album of the year, and possibly of all time. It’s a crime that this hasn’t been released domestically yet. My favorite band EVER. Portugal. The Man “The Satanic Satanist” – Proud to see some local boys make it big in the global scene. Silversun Pickups “Swoon” – If I’m not playing this, my wife is. My second-most listened to album of the year. The Hours “See The Light” – An underrated UK band akin to Doves…and that’s not a bad thing (see further down this list!) The Prodigy “Invaders Must Die” – After the mediocre “Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned”, Liam Howlett returns with an album of classic, banging Prodigy tracks. This album takes me back to my days of working at Mammoth Music in the summer of ‘95 and cranking “The Fat of the Land.” Neko Case “Middle Cyclone” – An incredible album, and easily the best album artwork of the year. Dredg “The Parrot, The Pariah, The Delusion” – I didn’t think Dredg could ever top the beauty of “Catch Without Arms” which made my Top 11 several years ago, but luckily they proved me wrong. Doves “Kingdom of Rust” – A band that is sadly still on my concert ‘bucket list’, Doves never disappoint. Brookville “Broken Lights” – I had never heard of this band until they opened up for Trashcan Sinatras this past summer. They blew me away and this is the perfect melancholy album to enjoy with a bottle of wine. Baroness “Blue Record” – Heavy. Heavy. Heavy. National Skyline “Bliss & Death” – A digital-only release from one of the best unknown bands of all time. Honorable Mentions:
30 Seconds to Mars “This Is War” |
