This week’s top-10 (in no particular order) from Chris C. Davis.
Voxtrot – “Berlin, Without Return” (self-released single)
After loving the early EPs by Voxtrot, I found their first (and only) s/t LP to be quite a letdown. Not that it was bad. It just came nowhere close to matching the potential of the early stuff. Then, last year they released this single and all was well with the world. I thought this was a sign of things to come and proof that they were more than back on track. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Voxtrot broke up earlier this year leaving us with this, one of the better swan songs on record.
Catherine Wheel – Ferment (Fontana Distribution)
Did you ever have one of those bands where you own all of their albums, you’ve bought everything that they put out, you know that there’s something there for you, but you realize that you never really listen to them, they’ve never really clicked for you the way that they should? That has been the Catherine Wheel for me for years. And then I was riding the train one day, kind of zoning out, with my iPod on shuffle and “Black Metallic” came on and it was like I was listening to it for the first time ever because it knocked me so flat on my ass. That song was the key to this album for me and since that day I haven’t been able to get over it. Maybe I’ll try one of their other albums out soon. But, for now, I’m just enjoying finally being able to hear what most of the Big Takeover community has been raving about for all of these years!
The Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt (Dead Oceans Records)
When I first listened to the music of Sweden’s Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man On Earth, on 2008’s Shallow Grave, I wanted to hate it. I’d never heard somebody so blatantly imitate Bob Dylan in my life. The resemblance was so uncanny at times, it was as if Matsson was an impersonator. However, much like folkies forgave Dylan for his thefts from such greats as Woody Guthrie and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, I forgave Matsson. His songs were just too good to ignore. His newest, The Wild Hunt, is cut from the same cloth as his first, the only difference is that I didn’t even try to hate this one. Wonderful.
ceo – White Magic (Modular/Sincerely Yours)
This new release from The Tough Alliance’s Eric Berglund, going by ceo here, is brimming with danceable, electro-pop of the recently hip Balearic style. At under 30 minutes running time, White Magic eschews the typical tendency of electronically-inclined artists to make long, drawn out songs that slowly build layer upon layer en route to a dramatic climax. No, Berglund gets straight to the good stuff here, making for one of the better party albums of this summer.
The Rolling Stones – December’s Children (ABKCO Records)
For years my Rolling Stones listening was more limited to the Stones’ most well known late-60’s/early-70’s albums. Lately though, I’ve been digging further back in the catalog to the early-60’s stuff. All of the albums released during these years featured a mix of originals and covers betraying their r&b roots. While the songs here might not be as distinct as later offerings, they are admirable and enjoyable for their looseness and for the way they shine a light on a band in the process of finding themselves. “Get Off My Cloud” and “Tears Go By” are the obvious go-to tracks here, but by no means are they the only reason to dip into December’s Children.
Chromatics – Night Drive (Italians Do It Better)
I’m not sure what Chromatics are up to right now or if they’ll ever release another album that sounds anything like 2007’s Night Drive (this is their third full-length, each one sounding like an entirely different group). All I know is that this album has not gone more than a month without me listening to it since its arrival. Like much else that has been released on the Italians Do It Better label, of which I could recommend just about everything, this album is done in the italo-disco style initially popularized by Giorgio Moroder. Dark, sparse, minimal beats and washes of lush synths make for a moody, while not inaccessible, listen. The highlight here is the detached, icy vocal of Ruth Radelet on a cover of the Kate Bush classic “Running Up That Hill”.
Robert Pollard – We All Got Out of the Army (Guided By Voices)
With the release of We All Got Out of the Army, Pollard made me perk up for the first time in awhile. I like everything the man does (Relaxation of the Asshole aside), but I’m a diehard who’s willing to sift through the so-so to find the spectacular. Anybody with good taste in music would find it hard to argue with this one though. I think this is the most well-written, well-produced, consistent album that Pollard has had anything to do with since Guided By Voices’ Isolation Drills. And man does it fire me up for this Fall’s coming GBV reunion!
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More (Glassnote Entertainment Group)
In my opinion, nothing here matches the heights Mumford & Sons reached on their early rougher-around-the-edges track, “The Banjolin Song”. The harmonies there were just so perfect, the sentiment so sincere. That said, it is hard to find anything to not like about Sigh No More, the first long-player from this rootsy London foursome, arguably THE breakout act from a newly revived and energized British folk scene that features much to be excited about.
Richard Hawley – Coles Corner (Mute)
Hard to believe that Richard Hawley, with his haunting Scott Walker croon, ever played second fiddle to anyone. But that was clearly the case while he was a guitarist in Pulp, inarguably Jarvis Cocker’s band. I love Pulp but thankfully, Hawley has put out a string of solid solo albums as well, including 2005’s majestic Coles Corner. This is one of those albums that is so bittersweet that you find yourself playing it when you are overjoyed and when you couldn’t get any lower and getting exactly what you need out of it in both cases. The opening track, and the album’s namesake, is my song of the year, and I don’t care if it didn’t come out this year. A lot has happened to me over the last twelve months, good and bad, and this song more than any other, has helped me get through it all.
Neil Young – American Stars ‘n Bars (Reprise)
The critics have never seemed to like this one, one of a few forays into country music for Young. Despite my not caring too much for country music, American Stars ‘n Bars has always been one of my favorites. Go figure. I don’t have a whole lot more to say about this, except that if you’ve never listened to it just because of what you’ve read, do yourself a favor and at least give it a spin.
