9/10ths Matt is better than nothing.
Sleeper Agent! with The Gerunds and Dot Dash – Sidebar Tavern (Baltimore) – September 11, 2010
Please see my full review here.
Broken Social Scene with The Sea and Cake – TLA (Philadelphia) – September 15, 2010
(Written by Anne Leavitt-Gruberger) Matt and I braved a trip to see one of my favorites, The Sea and Cake. Even though we arrived a few minutes late, their blissful pop songs never fail to make me happy. A little too much bossa nova for Matt, but I like that sort of thing. Broken Social Scene, who’d taken them along on tour after Sam Prekop appeared on the last BSS album, were unfortunately a bore. Bandleader Kevin Drew was a little too smug for our tastes, which was a letdown after really enjoying their set the last time I saw them.
Pavement with Kurt Vile – Mann Center (Philadelphia) – September 17, 2010
Please see my full review here.
Drop Dead – Drop Dead (Armageddon)
A volatile, aggressive, angry molotov cocktail of a record, this Providence, RI’s debut full-length from 1993 is still a beast to be reckoned with. This is, in some ways, a record for those who like really raw hardcore punk but who don’t really like the extreme “power violence,” “grind” or “crust” type stuff too much.
Interpol – Interpol (Matador)
Interpol’s new album is, despite so-so reviews, actually a return to form. At least this is my impression on initial listens. It’s not that 2007’s Our Love to Admire was a bad album, though some seem to think so, and it’s true that their sound hasn’t changed that much over the course of their 4 albums, but this one has the “x” factor that made Turn on the Bright Lights and Antics, the one that this really reminds me of, so special.
The Vaselines – Sex with an X (Sub Pop)
I finally got the physical copy a few days ago and it’s fantastic, picking up right where they left off when they broke up in 1989, though with slightly (and I do mean slightly) more polished production values. Still, anyone who liked them before will probably like this, as songs like the title track, the clever “Overweight but Not Over You” and “I Hate the ’80s” explore both relationship and social issues and set them to a catchy, repetitive indie-pop soundtrack.
The Gerunds – 4 song demo (self-released)
The first official release by the Philadelphia-based Gerunds is a 4 song demo comprised of re-recorded versions of songs on their initial demo Hitsville PA. Unlike that one, though, these are full-band versions that my ears, sound a lot better and are, not surprisingly, much closer to how these songs are played live. Particularly good is “Prick Up Your Ears”, though the new versions of “Our Man in Havana,” “Gill” and “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy” are great, too.
Teenage Fanclub – Shadows (Merge)
The Trashcan Sinatras – In the Music (Lo-Five)
Brendan Halpin – Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Villard, 2007)
Re-reading this book after my initial exposure to it last year, I was struck by the slight differences between the uncorrected proof version and the paperback, though overall it’s still very much the same book. I highly recommend this book and for more, you can see the review I wrote of it last year here.
