More new stuff
Last week I listed ten of my favorite new releases, most of which have come out recently or are set to come out soon. This week, I’m leaving a few of them on my list (with new commentary in some cases) and adding some more new stuff that I didn’t have a chance to list last week.
On their fourth album and major-label debut, The Decemberists continue their winning streak with this album coming only a year and a half after last year’s brilliant Picaresque. Unlike Picaresque and more like their first two albums and especially “The Tain” EP, this album is more prog-rock and folk-influenced and less weighted towards their R.E.M., SMITHS and ROBYN HITCHCOCK influence. It’s so good, in fact, that it made me rethink my view of the band. Before this album, I thought their strengths were more geared towards COLIN MELOY’s poppier songwriting sensibilities, but this album shows that they can do it all, from the catchy “O Valencia” and “Shankill Butcher” to the three-part saga of the title track.
This is just great modern day indie power-pop not too far removed from NADA SURF’s last couple of records, but with JOHN RODERICK’s completely unique vocals and fantastic melodies. Highly recommended!
The excellently funny title aside, this is one of my favorite new records of the year so far. Forgoing the “quiet is the new loud” approach of their last two long-players, Hoboken’s finest return with a disc that’s truly all over the place, ranging from a CAN meets “Sister Ray” ish noise-freakout on the opening “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” to “Mr. Tough”, an ‘60s r’n’b-flavored song sung by bassist JAMES MCNEW in his pretty falsetto. Also included are two garage-rock rave-ups and the closing, perhaps autobiographical “The Story of Yo La Tango”, but in between we also get several beautiful instrumentals (including the eight-minute plus “Daphnia”) and several ‘60s psych -influenced numbers as well. For such a diverse and sprawling record, though, it flows amazingly well. I listened to it three times in a row on the first day that I got it and I’ve been listening to it at least once a day since. I can’t recommend it enough.
While I anxiously await the release of their new EP “Your Biggest Fan”, which is set to come out next month (I pre-ordered it the first day I had a chance from Insound), for now I have to content myself with this track from said EP, their first release for XL subsidiary PlayLouder. It’s fabulous, much like just about everything else Voxtrot has committed to tape. I can’t wait for them to make an album! You can listen to it here.
My favorite (virtually) unknown (outside of Chicago) band, their new album is just as good as their previously released EP. “When I Wake” and “Her, You and I” (still their two best songs) are reprised here for the album, but the rest of it is comparable. At their best, this band reminds me a lot of mid ‘80s UK bands like AZTEC CAMERA, NEW ORDER and especially PREFAB SPROUT’s early work. I found out about them on a TRASHCAN SINATRAS mailing list and while I don’t hear the comparisons between them and my beloved Trashies, I see them as continuing that UK pop tradition (they’re from Chicago but I would never, ever guess that if I don’t know that already) and since there aren’t a whole lot of bands doing this stuff now, I appreciate it that much more when it’s done well. Oh and as for the part about them being unknown? I don’t know how much longer that’ll last as they’re doing a session for World Cafe Live here in Philadelphia next month, so hopefully that’ll increase their profile somewhat.
I liked her first album The Milk-Eyed Mender, but I didn’t love it. Part of the problem was her voice. Once I got past the fact that she can sound a bit like a chipmunk, it was obvious that she had listened to a lot of KAREN DALTON records (though to her credit, she admits the influence). Still, the record showed poise as well as a knowledge and command of the folk tradition that’s unusual for such a young artist and I include many of her fellow “freak-folk” compatriots in that description. It’s obvious that she had the talent to do something really astounding and here it is. At only five tracks and with several of them hovering around the twelve and sixteen-minute mark (and several others almost approaching ten minutes; this is truly “progressive folk”), this disc will turn off a lot of impatient people. That’s unfortunate, though, because this is one of the most accomplished folk records I’ve heard in years. Even more than that, Newsom is in a league of her own here. Not only is she a virtuoso on the harp, but she has a natural flair for theatrics, melodrama and storytelling. What’s more, her voice isn’t quite as affected as it was on her first full-length. As she comes into her own, I detect non-folk influences like TORI AMOS (especially in the inflections in her voice) popping up into the mix as well. Ultimately, though, this is a unique, challenging work by one of the most promising young musicians today. I absolutely can’t wait to see her live next month and in the sanctuary of a church no less!
Upon further listening, I may actually like this one a bit more than their last album, the terrific Separation Sunday. The songs are more direct and less riff-based and I suspect that hiring an outside producer helped them out somewhat in that department. Nevertheless, the unbelievable backing vocals on “Chips Ahoy” are indicative of their new, focused approach. While in some ways this album owes more to BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN than previous efforts, it’s more direct and well, more rocking. Highly recommended.
More music to take drugs to make music to take drugs to. This has been a truly terrific year for shoegazer revivalists with FILM SCHOOL, SERENA MANEESH and now this band making sensational debut records. In actuality, though, this is Silversun Pickups’ first national release and as such, my first time hearing them and this EP is a beauty. Alternating between fuzzed-out noise-pop and spacey-drone rock, this will thrill anyone longing for the halcyon days of RIDE, CHAPTERHOUSE, MY BLOODY VALENTINE and especially SPACEMEN 3 and early SPIRITUALIZED. And yes, there’s also a detectable SMASHING PUMPKINS influence here, but fortunately the vocals are nowhere near as annoying as BILLY CORGAN’s nasal whine and the sound is more reminscent of Gish and Siamese Dream than their later work.
Well it’s about time! After four terrific singles, The Long Blondes will finally release a full-length album. Wisely, three of their four single A-sides (“Giddy Stratospheres,” “Weekend Without Makeup” and “Separated by Motorways”) appear here in what sounds like re-recorded fashion. Oddly, the single “Appropriation (By Any Other Means)” isn’t on here, however. Also included is the single B-side “Lust in the Movies” (the album opener) and the jaw-dropping “Once and Never Again”, the best song that they’ve written so far. The rest of the songs are previously unfamiliar to me, but they’re all good and fit in nicely with the rest of the more familiar material. Needless, to say, I love this band, so I’ll be listening to this one a lot.
While I don’t agree with the general consensus that this is their best record since The World Won’t End (their masterpiece), after spending more time with it I definitely think that it’s a stronger record than last year’s Discover a Lovelier You. It’s not that I disliked that record. In fact, it was one of my favorite releases of the year and I don’t really understand why so many fans seemed down on it. However, if it had one weakness, it’s that it was a bit too long and could’ve been stronger if a few of the weaker songs were taken off or released as B-sides or downloads or what not. Live a Little corrects that problem, dwindling down the number of songs to twelve and thus making it a more concise album. All of the songs are terrific on this. I dare you get “Somerville” out of your head and the reference to JOE STRUMMER in another song is a nice touch as well. Oh and the new version of “Grudge F***” is so good that it must be heard to be believed.
