This is undoubtedly one of the best releases of 2006. Midlake have been garnering lots of comparisons to RADIOHEAD, FLAMING LIPS and GRANDADDY in the British press as of late and while the influence of all three of these acts is quite strong (especially GRANDADDY’s customized ‘70s synth bleeps and singer TIM SMITH’s subtle but very noticable nods to THOM YORKE, though without the bombast and much of the melodrama), I’m also reminded of STEELY DAN and mid ‘70s FLEETWOOD MAC as well. Lyrically, this album is like an extension of one of RAY DAVIES’ primary themes, which is that things were better in the past. Although this won’t knock you out on first listen, if you let this wonderful record sink in, it’ll get underneath your skin to the point where you wanna hear it at least once a day. Trust me on this one. In an era of disposable and overblown NME hype, Midlake have made a record that people will be sure to be talking about for years to come. And furthermore, its long-overdue American release (especially considering that they’re from Denton, TX) will be on July 25th.
On their third full-length album, Camera Obscura beat their Glasgow compatriots, friends and obvious influence BELLE AND SEBASTIAN at their own game, releasing a better record than The Life Pursuit. This is a twee pop record through and through, but with more than a few hints of “there’s a tear in my bear”, country-tinged melancholia and ‘60s Motown and beat-group influences throughout on songs like the bitter romantic lament of “The False Contender” and “Dory Previn”. Plus, you have to love any band that writes an answer song to LLOYD COLE’s 1984 Rattlesnakes classic “Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?” It also doesn’t hurt if the song in question is one of the best singles of the year.
The first Radio Birdman album in twenty five years (really twenty eight if you consider that 1981’s Living Eyes, which wasn’t even released in the U.S., was recorded in 1978 as a follow-up to their classic debut album Radios Appear) is a mixed bag. On the first few listens, aside from PIP HOYLE’s trademark keyboards, it doesn’t really sound like a Birdman album. Instead, it sounds a bit more like THE NEW CHRISTS, singer ROB YOUNGER’s more recent project. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as Younger’s voice is understandably a different thing from what it was in the late ‘70s. Regardless, the energy and the enthusiasm, not to mention DENIZ TEK’s absolutely smothering guitar leads, are all there, but time will tell if the songs will grow on me.
On the first few listens, FIERY FURNACES mainstay Matthew Friedberger’s soon-to-be-released simultaneously dual solo albums (ala OUTKAST ’s The Love Below/Speakerboxx set except that they’re by the same person) are two sides of the same familiar coin that Fiery Furnaces fans have come to expect at this point. Winter Women is by far the poppier and more accessible of the two records and sonically reminds me a lot of Bitter Tea, the last Fiery Furnaces record which came out earlier this year. Holy Ghost Language School, on the other hand, boasts not only a more difficult title, but fittingly more difficult music as well. It’s not quite as “out there” as last year’s Rehearsing My Choir since like on Winter Women Matthew handles all the vocals instead of his grandmother OLGA SARANTOS nor is it a story/concept album. However, it’s a bit inpenetrable at first. Only time and further listens will tell if I enjoy it as much as Winter Women. In any event, Friedberger should be commended for his incredibly prolific nature in a time when the average wait between full-length records is at least several years. His creative energy is off-the-charts!
The follow-up to No Cities Left, which was one of my favorite albums of 2004 (though it was first released in Canada with a slightly different tracklisting in 2003), is a bit more straight forward and straight-up rocking than its predecessor.
I recently give this a spin after not listening to it for years. It reminded me once again of what an utterly amazing songwriter, vocalist and melodicist Marshall Crenshaw is. Recorded live at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ back in 2001 with only Marshall in tow on acoustic guitar, this features re-imagined versions of classics like “Cynical Girl” and “Whenever I’m On My Mind”. The real highlights, however, are lesser-known gems like “Television Light” and his startling cover of THE LEFT BANKE’s “Walk Away Renee”.
This is my favorite Sleater-Kinney album. While it lacks the outright aggression and rawness of Call the Doctor and Dig Me Out or the experimental elements of their subsequent albums One Beat and last year’s The Woods, this fantastic album combines all of their best elements with their most memorable and power-pop oriented set of songs. When they play one of their final concerts in a few weeks at Starlight Ballroom, I hope they include some songs from this album in their set.
This is lovely, pleasant and instantly catchy indie-pop from Stockholm, Sweden that’s at times reminscent of THE CARDIGANS before they discovered dance beats and orchestration.
Although this came out several months ago, I’m finally listening to it now. I will say that it’s very different from their previous two albums and while it takes them in an entirely different direction, more listens will be required before I can decide if it’s one that I’d like to head to with them. Regardless, I’m looking forward to their free show here on Sunday.
An Inconvenient Truth (PG)
By now you’ve surely heard about it, so all I’ll say is this. Every American must see this film. It’ll scare the pants off of you but enlighten you as well, even if you thought you knew everything about the global warming issue. I like it so much that I now almost regret voting for Nader in 2000, though I was living in New Jersey at the time, so it didn’t affect the election results.
