Here’s some two week old god damn reviews
04/02
[154] And Then I Saw by Contain is an EP containing only four songs but the four songs are such distinct and fantastic pieces of art that I feel the need to talk about all of them individually?? But I’m trying to keep this brief. The highlight for me is opener A Cicada which takes an atmospheric piano riff creating one of the most delicate and beautiful soundscapes this side of post-rock. From there, the EP delves into some down-tempo and ambiance before diving headlong into some… I want to call them “understated dance grooves” for Let The Waters Rise but that barely makes any sense and at the very least doesn’t sound as flattering as I’m trying to make it sound. Anyway this is one of the best releases of the year for sure.
[155] The Clearing by Bowerbirds is pretty folky indie rock with lots of pretty male-female harmonies and falls firmly in the camp of “things that are pleasant and pretty and sound really good and I enjoyed them but I will never really have the desire to go and listen to unless I was on a long road trip through the countryside”. That’s a pretty big category of music really.
04/04
[156] Melodies From Mars by Aphex Twin is a collection of discarded untitled melodies by Richard D. James alongside some demos of future material from The Richard D James album. It is pretty early IDM stuff speaking purely chronologically and made for really good exercise bike music. It’s mostly skittering beats with some relatively straightforward synths, but some tracks like the second-to-last bring in some of the strings and extra percussion to flavour and makes just… some really good music out of it. When even your untitled junk is a treasure, you know you’ve got something special. OH YEAH AND THERE’S EVEN SOME REALLY NICE SQUAREWAVE / CHIPTUNEY STUFF gosh I love Aphex Twin.
[157] Power-Pill’s Pac-Man single is just Aphex Twin at his dancey extreme, with what is just a remix collection of a classic video game theme. It’s really simple, especially by his standards, and is just mostly ok.
[158] Icky Mettle by Archers of Loaf is such… straight-forward rock but this isn’t at all a criticism. It’s all emotion. It’s all heart-on-the-sleeve. It feels so so corny at times, and frontman Eric Bachmann has said he looks back on the album and cringes but man, despite the fact that indie rock started with a slacker vibe these guys came right out the gates strong and honest which is refreshing because so much indie rock just seems so… listless these days. So this was cool to finally listen to.
[159] Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not by The Arctic Monkeys is probably something I should’ve listened to in 2006 when it actually mattered. I recognized a few songs and they were cool but this is just… not really interesting. Is it the lyrics? Is it the totally… regular sound it has? This album is just medium. It’s regular. It’s middle-of-the-road. MAKE ME CARE, ARCTIC MONKEYS.
04/05
[160] Lil B’s BasedGod Velli mixtape is WEIRD TO ME because it’s one of his all-serious mixtapes. They’re still humour in here but it’s overall just… really good and conscious rapping. There’s barely any bad lines lyrically, the beats are simple and effective MAN THIS IS SO WEIRD. This is good Lil B, if you need anything to convince you the dude is good then get this mixtape.
04/06
[161] Born Gold’s Bodysongs is GREAT. It’s like a weirdo pop explosion that’s going in every direction but is still always entirely sure what it’s doing. It dips into rave, glossy pop music with some vaguely dupstep-ish wobbles in the background, all handclaps and drum machines pasted over with some wobbled and chopped up vocals. There’s a song with steel drum synths? SURE WHY THE HECK NOT. I’m always really glad when people make a conscious effort to make some interesting pop music and even more glad when the end-result is something this spectacular.
[162] The Paint Movement’s self-titled album is a pretty folk-poppy release. Toning back the insane energy of their live performances a little, the vocals are soft and harmonic, the saxophones are blended nicely into the background and everything just forms a nice tapestry of sound. This mostly benefits the softer songs, however, and the more energetic tunes feel like they would benefit from the vocals being brought forward a little since they feel overpowered by the instruments at some points. The album still holds pretty strong the whole way through.
04/01
[145] undun by The Roots features the excellent production and pretty good rapping that the Roots are known for but the album doesn’t really… grab me? It’s still pretty nice though
[146] Free Thyself From The Fetters Of This World by The Hidden Words was a little weird. For those not in the know, this is yet another ex-Unicorns project, this time featuring Alden Penner and Jamie Thompson (who has left Islands for the second time). A lot of it kind of has a folk-poppy twang to it but Alden’s voice just doesn’t really hold a lot of the songs very well with such lush instrumentation. Some of the best songs on the album are the ones in other languages (like French and Italian) which kind of just sound like world music. That was pretty cool. It’s overall a bit of a patchwork album but I’d definitely recommend it as a worthy piece of the post-Unicorns puzzle.
[147] YT // ST by Yamantaka // Sonic Titan bill themselves as a noh-wave pan-Asian psychedelic collective. Hailing from the creative hub of Montreal and based in Toronto, they mix traditional post-rock with themes and musical queues from members First Nations and Asian backgrounds and create an absolutely fascinating work creating dizzying pop creations like Hoshi Neko and utterly relentless noise like Reverse Crystal // Murder of a Spider. I’m definitely looking forward to more music from this group.
[148] The Boys by Girls Generation is deliciously cute Kpop music but doesn’t really hold my attention as well as their previous work has mostly because a lot of it doesn’t really capture the joy and whimsy of previous singles like Gee. The title track is pretty cool though, in both original Korean and the English version from the album’s US release (there’s also a remix with Snoop Dogg though I kind of wish he went into the studio with them for it because it’s clear that it was just a remix thing)
04/02
[149] Magic Cloud by Love Through Cannibalism continues to have some of the most inventive use of chiptunes in the genre, even though his releases don’t have much of a varied sound. Magic Cloud abandons any shred of a concept outside of its Pokemon-collage titles and just jams straight through for 32 minutes blending relatively simple gameboy melodies with breakcore drum machines. His skills at harmonizing the two in a way that makes sense is top notch, especially on tracks like Pinsir Used Fly which go absolutely HAYWIRE. Recommended.
[150] Expanding Anyway by Morning Teleportation was really great because several times throughout I had to check to see if I was even still listening to the same album. Expanding outwards from psychedelia, the band manages to encompass a huge history and variety of music into one still-coherent release. The album goes everywhere from classic rock road jams into rhythm driven indie rock to what sounds like a synth-driven Man Man pastiche all in the first three tracks. This band has a LOT of talent and range and moves through it effortlessly. My only complaint is that its hour-long length made it a bit of an imposing listen in one sitting.
[151] Sister Wife EP by Alex Winston is just some of the simply prettiest pop music. Her voice is high and often borders towards shrill but always manages to be the exact pitch to meld the best with her instrumentation that often gives the drums a nice echo that makes the recordings seem effortlessly airy and breezy along with the light guitars. Plus the lyrics are nice and form REALLY great hooks for the choruses. Many of these songs are also featured on her debut, King Con, though I was told that this EP is pretty much cream of the crop so go with her however you please.
[152] Andrew Bird has always had his way with folky melodies and instrumentation and Break It Yourself is no exception. I don’t know what it is about him, but his work always seems really fresh to me and I think it’s simply because his way of songcraft is so familiar and ingrained that it can’t possibly feel stale to me and his voice… HIS VOICE <3_<3 I want to kiss him on the voice. If you don’t like him already then this isn’t going to change your mind but if you like folky tunes with a bunch of extra instruments thrown on top and a lot of whimsical whistling then this is definitely for you. Bonus: A fair few songs are produced in such a way that it totally sounds like he’s having a jam party with his underwater friends and it’s so sweet.
[153] Ten$ion by Die Antwoord is the polar opposite of Andrew Bird so it’s kind of funny they’re reviewed next to each other. They’ve pretty much cornered the niche of creepy-as-hell rave rap and both Yo-Landi and Ninja have entirely embraced their ridiculous personas. Whether it’s a joke or not is irrelevant because it’s actually really entertaining and everyone involved is really talented. They create a lot of cringe-worthy stuff but you just don’t go into Die Antwoord not expecting to cringe. I’m really glad Yo-Landi raps a lot because she fucking rules. The skits just further the mythos and humour of the band and never really feel out of place even though they all make you feel a little weird. So basically if you go into this album with no reservations just looking to have a good time with some weird dudes then you probably will. If you’re expecting top-notch insightful lyrics and expert production, go elsewhere. Closing note: DJ HI-TEK WILL FUCK YOU IN THE ASS.
03/21
[136] Lil B’s White Flame was, like most mixtapes are for me, a totally polarizing effort. Lil B can clearly rap and string lines together, and he can clearly put together a good beat or at the very least choose a great sample to rap with. This said, he definitely does not use it on about half of this mixtape, but he manages to entertain throughout. He has the charm to carry even his weakest, bumbling tracks up to a respectable shine and make his good tracks pristine. White Flame isn’t his strongest effort, but like most of his mixtapes there’s plenty worth having in here.
03/22
[137] DJ Waz Presents… is a collaborative album between two GTB records members and good friends, Chris and Michelle. I believe they sent each other tracks and had the other finish them off, and as such there are feelings of both musicians all throughout the whole album. I liked more what the Contain parts did with rhythms (especially album highlight It Often Takes Decades) but the ambiguity of contribution makes it kind of cool. The highlight of the HamsterFanClub part for me was 89, where an almost-silence is broken by delicate twinkles and wobbles that almost seem like they’re coming through a fog. I listened to this on the sunniest day of the year so far but yet the atmosphere was not lost. Overall pretty dang good.
[138] A Sleep And Forgetting by Islands was a great album that continues the trend of simple pop structures and lengths that was only really broken by the epic qualities of Arm’s Way. Yet again without Jamie Thompson (who, incidentally, has formed a new band with the other ex-Unicorn Alden Penner). The lyrics tackle a lot about songwriting itself and seems really introspective for Islands, who often seem to be comfortable in flights of fantasy and storytelling in lyrics. The music itself has the variation you’d expect of the band, with some 60s pop songs with callback choruses back-to-back to breezy island lounge jams. It’s my favourite of theirs since their debut.
[139] Illusion by Poor Moon is dudes from Fleet Foxes making music that sounds just like Fleet Foxes in some places, and like Fleet Foxes doing more traditional pop songs in other places. The main difference is the vocalist(s?), all of which don’t quite have the charm of Robin Pecknold. Not bad, but not particularly interesting.
[140] The Legend of Korra Sampler by The Track Team is a sampling of music from the upcoming series The Legend of Korra, the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Continuing with the live asian instrumentation of the past series, LOK seems to stray more into a roaring 20s kind of theme in many places, with jazz and ragtime forming among the more typical orchestral pieces saved for dramatic scenes. I really hope this and TLA get proper soundtrack releases in the future.
03/22
[141] I thought Something by Chairlift was to be straightforward indie pop stuff but I was pleasantly surprised by not only the more danceable rhythms but also the LYRICS. I mean, the album opens up with “All of the bones in your body are in way too few pieces for me”. That is a BRUTAL lyric and the whole of Sidewalk Safari seems to generally be a revenge tune. Generally the lyrics see the singer taking power and control of herself over strong basslines and punchy drums although there are a few slower pieces. Overall a really good and pleasant surprise and a sure top-20 contender for the end of the year.
[142] Young and Old by Tennis was even more of a pleasant surprise than anything else this year, because while their debut wore thin after a few songs, Young and Old was wise to spread out the more upbeat surf-rock across the album while keeping the ballads by themselves. Everything seems to move with more purpose and the album flowed interestingly instead of just stagnating. It IS however, a lot more of the same. The lyrics are wistful reminisces over light, summery guitars and light percussion that sound like they should be sung on a sailboat. The singer can sing the fuzzed out summery vocals fine, but they are always the same kind of singing. I’m not so sure it’ll hold to repeated listens, but it was definitely a good single listen.
[143] And the Tears Washed Me Wave After Cowardly Wave by Dreamend is a Graveface labelmate that finds itself very comfortable among its peers. The instruments (of which there must be dozens) are layered such that some are crystal clear, some are fuzzy and some sound as if they’re off in the distance. These effects change over the course of the album, with the guitars occupying most layers at some point. The unique tapestry of instruments creates an atmosphere that is startlingly unique but at its best evokes the wonderful sonic textures of albums like Pet Sounds and Person Pitch. The vocals, generally high/low harmonies (that may be one vocalist singing or shifted into two ranges or two vocalists, either way they are perfect together) are then breathed out like a sigh, crafting one of the best albums of the year so far. Dreamend’s instrumental prowess is there, but the craft is definitely in how they and the vocals move across layers. It’s perfect. You have to listen to it to hear what I mean.
[144] Meltdown by Mind Spiders continues the saga of this entirely underrated garage rock effort in a decidedly strange sophomore effort. Rather than the relative straight-forwardness of their first album, this album embraces a variety of styles with the lyrics carry a theme of malice, constantly referring to a “we” and “the spiders” versus an unnamed “you”. The styles shift all over the various facets of garage-inspired indie rock of the last few years, with Skull-Eyed hitting the spooky garage feel of songs like MGMT’s Brian Eno, while some, like More Than You, are more reminiscent of Deerhunter. Overall the band have crafted a really FUN effort, which is all that really matters. “When it’s over, we’ll play you out”.
03/14
[126] Float by Aesop Rock is my favourite Aesop Rock release so far. This is, mind you, given my limited sampling of each of them (one listen) and the relative density of Aesop Rock’s material (a lot of fucking worlds and layered beats means HIGH) but I’ll say as much, it’s a worthy entry-point into the rapper’s pretty big catalogue.
[127] Exitudes by Saso is some nice mellow indie rock from Ireland that apparently only Brian listens to so I feel it important to sing their praises a little. Using a variation of speeds, going from completely atmosphering percussion that sounds almost like dripping water to a light backing beat played on a pedal symbol to what is only the sounds of their hands on their other instruments, they expertly set the tone and mood for their tracks which is always really neat since many MANY bands don’t utilize their percussion this effectively. The band members’ voices are great too and man EVERYTHING this band does just meshes so well that an album like this that changes tone and pace between songs still seems REALLY COHERENT. Kudos to Saso.
03/16
[128] Love Through Cannibalism’s Enemies EP is yet another excursion into the mostly similar world of chipbreak for LTC. Breakcore beats and chiptunes expertly laid atop them, LTC never disappoints but never particularly dazzles if you’re familiar with the rest of his work? And if you’re not I’d recommend earlier work like Metapodestroyer, rooted with a common and hilarious concept, over his newer work. Either way, it’s still a really good listen.
03/19
[129] I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted is Snowing’s swan song and I’m not really sure how I went so long without listening it given the high praise from many of my friends several of whom attended their last show. I’m also not sure what kept me from emo post-hardcore before because it’s basically always a combination of great lyrics, jangly guitar riffs and amazing math-rocky drumming so… yeah. I also actually really happen to enjoy the vocalist right off the bat which is kind of rare for me with anything around this genre. This is a solid album. Can you tell I’m awful at writing reviews that do anything but describe the music in broad terms?
[130] The Flaming Lips 2011: The Flaming Lips with Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band I…. I’m scared. This wasn’t entirely unpleasant but it was a little… unnerving??? Even the Christmas tune. What was even UP with that? Overall it wasn’t a bad listen the Flaming Lips and Plastic Ono Band are all talented musicians and Yoko Ono’s unique vocal talents add a nice flair.
[131] The Marshmallow Ghosts self-titled album is absolutely fantastic! It evokes the feeling of Graveface labelmates Black Moth Super Rainbow if they were, instead of vocoded to high-heaven, spent their time in a haunted house. The instruments mix crystal clear simple synths with fuzzy guitars and generally sound really great alongside the vocals, which are mostly great harmonies. High praises.
[132] Underneath the Pine by Toro Y Moi is the biggest surprise of 2011 releases for me. Was I the only one bored the fuck out of my gourd at his first album? Chillwave was a generally tepid movement of boring bullshit with a few gems, and his album seemed like a defining statement of it. But he buffed up his basslines, cleared up his vocals and added just the right amount of fluorish and suddenly his songwriting prowess shines to the forefront. This album is GOOD. Like, REALLY GOOD? What??? Album-closer Elise is a particular highlight for me. I wish everyone could’ve moved as gracefully as this out of the trainwreck that was chillwave.
03/20
[133] Trash Talk’s Awake EP doesn’t even clock in at 9 minutes but yet it left more of a distinct impression than most of 2011 did. I DON’T CARE WHERE YOU’RE GOING, I JUST CARE THAT YOU’RE DONE. This is hardcore right? This is cool. I want more of this. Hit me up, bros. Since it’s so short I left it out of the album art collage because Tumblr is dumb to not square images and 9 is easier to put than 10.
[134] Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s album starts out really song with album highlight FFunny FFrends, which has one of the most infectous guitar lines right at the forefront. From there, the way the vocals have a kind of… mixed distant sound to them kind of throws off what would otherwise be a perfectly enjoyable indie-rock outing. The guitars sound good throughout definitely, but the vocals make it fall a bit flat for me.
[135] The Mistress by Yellow Ostrich is kind of amazing considering that, for me and for many, it’s the follow-up to a positively delightful novelty EP entirely about Morgan Freeman and as far as relatively straightforward indie rock goes, this is absolutely delightful and almost kind of refreshingly happy and upbeat when more and more people seem to rely on morosity to tell their tales. TRY TO LISTEN TO HAHAHAOHHOHO AND BE SAD. FUCKIN’ TRY IT, SHITNERD. Anyway this rules and this band rules.
03/09
[118] Tomb of the Ancestors by Robert Blaker was cool but overall the best bits were the ones that borrowed motifs from older Homestuck albums and it was otherwise kind of underwhelming. Still nice though.
[119] Wildlife by La Dispute was really really enjoyable and I’m glad I’ve gotten into more hardcore / post-hardcore and such lately because I wouldn’t have touched this stuff a year ago and HOW STUPID IS THAT. Riffs with what is mostly dramatic talking overtop is something I have a particular weakness for (via my love for Slint) and the lyrics on this whole album were wonderful <3_<3
03/12
[120] Animal Joy by Shearwater was really pretty and I particularly enjoy tribal-like booming drums in anything I hear but man I have so much pretty, densely-layered indie folk stuff it just kind of slides into the pack by the end.
[121] Delta Spirit was a cool album but it didn’t feel very… Delta Spirit to me? They had kind of a piano-soul singalong feel going on before but this strays over to kinda plain indie rock stuff too often. It would be a good album by someone I wasn’t familiar with but as a Delta Spirit album it fell flat.
[122] Kindred EP by Burial was really cool but I don’t like Burial nearly at all in proportion that I download every Burial release. I know the dude’s good at what he does, a kind of ambient dubstep much unlike what typically gets the label of “dubstep”, but it’s not really something I like all that much.
[123] Put Your Back N 2 It by Perfume Genius YO I’M REALLY SAD THIS ALBUM IS FUCKING SAD. IT’s SAD PIANO-BASED CHAMBER POP. YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT ELSE IT IS? FUCKING SAD. OK.
[124] Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells is a decent but ultimately disappointing follow-up but that’s only because I consider the original pretty much entirely perfect. There’s very little punch in some of these tracks!!! Comeback Kid pretty much adds a little polish to the cheerleader noise that I loved about the first album so that’s a standout track for me. After that song had gone by
03/13
[125] “I have a new record. It’s called Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. Out on Definitive Jux records” plays over the start and end of every track in what, from what I can find online, is entirely intentional. As if I needed a reminder I’m listening to an Aesop Rock EP??? Dude’s rhyming and wordplay is pretty much entirely unmatched. I don’t even know how to review his work on first listen because it’s impossible to digest all his lyrics so quickly. He’s a good rapper and always has good production and doesn’t always sound the exact same that’s pretty much all the praise I can give. He’s really great at consonance it’s my favourite thing about his rapping.
Yeah so due to depressions I kind of stopped listening to unfamiliar music! But I’m feeling better so here!! I’m gonna try to catch up to my “2 per day” goal that I’ve been running with, though if I don’t it’s no big deal because I’m well on my way to 500.
02/26
[112] Nujabes’ Spiritual State is kind of the cobbled remains of the late producer’s final works but it still sounds like a completed piece. All the guest spots fit the tone of the music perfectly, making it a great swan song for an amazing musician.
03/06
[113] Ten Short Songs for Modern Lovers by Aidan John Moffat reminds me of a smaller-scope 69 Love Songs and manages to be a good mix of silly and poignant. Mostly just guitar and Scottish-accented voice. Worth a listen.
[114] Talkie Walkie by air is so good! It’s got a kind of downtempo electro feel that I get from slightly more modern dream pop and all the songs are completely gorgeous. Strong recommend.
[115] Chronos by All Heroes was really nice! Who are these guys. How does everyone even know them??? They’re nice it’s kind of an indie pop-punk feel but never feels hokey and the instrumental never seems all powerchords and phoned-in drums. Plus there’s a song called ”Rock!!!”. Good yes.
[116] American Football EP by American Football is a really good companion to the album which was released the next year. The One With The Tambourine being imagined as a full song puts extra strength behind the wordless closer on the album while Five Silent Miles does an ever better job than it evoking emotion only threw the instruments. Definitely grab it if you haven’t yet. [Also since this release is short, I’m just counting it with “Bradley’s Beat” as 1 “album”, though I am reviewing that below]
[117] Bradley’s Beat and Chosen Lords, both under different names of Richard D James AKA Aphex Twin, pretty much span his entire artistic output. The Bradley’s Beat single was released with several B-Sides (of which I have two) and represent what is basically the equivalent of screwing around in FruityLoops now. For him, mind you, it’s more like banging on pots and pans because I firmly believe he’s pretty much the best dude at electronics (also one time he used a mixing bowl for an entire DJ set so…). Anyway. It’s boring and not much fun. CHOSEN LORDS on the other hand is the most recent release (IT’S BEEN SIX DAMN YEARS SINCE IT THOUGH) and shows the many sides of Richard D James all mashed into one and is a really enjoyable compilation. Let’s all hope he has another album for us soon.
Highlight song of the days: The One With The Wurlitzer by American Football (from American Football)
02/24
[107] Skeleton by Abe Vigoda is a really fun noisy punk album. The genre tag of “tropical punk” seems to fit really well with the way they craft their sound and it fits really nicely with summery music. Good fun.
[108] Friends of Mine by Adam Green sounds so much unlike his work with the Moldy Peaches which is great because I don’t like the Moldy Peaches. Pretty straightforward indie-rock stuff and I guess the kids call his stuff anti-folk?? Sure. I like his lyrics. This guy uses good words
02/25
[108/109] Mantis Preying & Lady Portrait by Alvin Band is pretty much just as good as Rainbow Road? Which is belatedly named one of my favourites of 2011 when I reviewed it earlier this year? This dude just has a way with his instruments and mixing that makes everything just sound magic. If Math the Band or Dan Deacon are fun incarnate, Alvin Band is MAGIC INCARNATE. Cannot bestow higher praise. Get this.
[110] American Football’s debut self-titled album is just one of the greatest works of music. I’m not sure how I managed to not listen to the whole album until now. After considering the jangly layered guitars (A CHECK ON “MATT’S PERFECT THINGS IN MUSIC”) and the REALLY GOOD RHYTHM SECTION (CHECK TWO) playing not necessarily ridiculous but still oddly rhythmed beats, you simply just get really good lyrics that are pretty much the definite late-90s emo. Just perfect.
[111] Da Chip Vol 2 consisted of mostly straightforward chiptune covers of Daft Punk that weren’t really interesting or compelling but several remixes altered in a way that put a little original flavour (such as the remix of One More Time and the song by Ary from Anamanaguchi). Overall not really worth grabbing.
It’s really hard to maintain something like this when I have no motivation but I crossed over 1/5 of the way to my goal the other day so I CAN DO IT. I skipped a lot of day
02/12
[95] Reformat: A Tribute To Bit Shifter’s Information Chase is just a great show-of-force in the chiptune community because really any complaints of unoriginal instrumentation and melody can NOT be levied against the people on this compilation. The core chiptune community around Bit Shifter contains some of the most talented musicians
02/14
[96] danny brown’s xxx ranks among my favourite hip-hop albums of recent memory. His voice doesn’t grate like it does for some people, his lyrics are kind of all over and often really striking and it’s all so pleasantly produced. Strong recommend.
02/17
[97] Western Teleport by Emperor X is SO GOOD SO PERFECT it’s like a dude’s indie pop / folk project and everything is so pretty incl. voice and instruments and god I am so in love with his songwriting I need to look more into his work.
[98] Are You Gonna Eat That? by Hail Mary Mallon seems to be overlooked by a lot of people who aren’t Def Jux fanatics and I’m glad Noel convinced me to check it out. I don’t think I could possibly hate any hip-hop project with Aesop Rock on it.
[99] The Horror by Pop 1280 is referred to as “Cyber Punk” on last.fm? I will just refer to it as “good”. I’m glad people are making me listen to more punk. I’m not good on descriptions lately I’m a bit behind but this is another “recommend”.
[100] Fanclub by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION is my 100th album of the year! Woo! This band seems to be one of the pre-eminent Japanese answers to rock and power pop and despite not being able to understand the lyrics I found it immensely enjoyable to listen to.
[101] People Who Eat People by Andrew Jackson Jihad I’m not really sure how I hadn’t listened to this before. Always a really good juxtaposition of nice folk-punk melodies with sad motherfucker lyrics. This album might be my favourite so far by the band.
02/20
[102 / 1] The Heat Index’s Horsehead EP is a bit short to be a full entry so I’m counting this and the next single jointly as 102. A really fun instrumental math rock EP, nothing too stellar but definitely cool.
[102 / 2] Mark Hadley’s Song of Skaia single is cool, the first two tracks are kind of unremarkable (though pretty) but the title track is SO COOL is that god damn Elvish I’m hearing god this rules. Sometimes Homestuck music really rules, take note.
[103] Always by Xiu Xiu was kind of unremarkable by Xiu Xiu standards. I might give it another listen. Jamie Stewart is a really good songwriter but I couldn’t stop this album from completely blending into the background for me.
[104] GTB: Foreword I’d only listened to on stream before so I’m counting it here now. It is SO GOOD THAT YOU SHOULD GET IT RIGHT FUCKING NOW HERE’S THE LINK (This review may contain bias)
02/22
[105] Satin Panthers EP by Hudson Mohawke is a really nice pastiche of dozens of genres that somehow comes out not only coherent but also incredibly enjoyable. At its core it feels like hip-hop-beat inspired electronic music and I offer a glowing recommendation
[106] Idle Ages by Junior Battles is a nice melodic punk album straight out of Toronto. It’s really fun and features a lot of anthemic songs with great harmonies and god do you even need anything else out of melodic punk because I sure don’t.
Gotta stop letting myself fall behind! Had to write a lot of belated reviews today X_X
02/07
[80] Let’s Go Eat The Factory by Guided By Voices was unremarkable and not really near the caliber of their older work and was additionally too god damn long. Pass.
[81] Nehru Jackets by Heems was amazing. Heems is just a gifted producer and the guest verses, especially a late-album spot by Childish Gambino, all shined. Has a bit of “mixtape syndrome” in its length but it’s made up for in quality.
[82] Parrot Flies by Algernon Cadwallader furthers my foray into more modern emo music and doesn’t disappoint, particularly due to the instrumental complexity afforded to it by its very talented drummer. Can’t say much on the lyrics on first listen but it was pretty good.
[83] Future Days by Can was the last Damo Suzuki-era Can album I had left to listen to and I’m upset it took me so long to listen to. This is a masterpiece in krautrock elegance, just a beautifully crafted album. Suzuki’s vocals tie up their sound perfectly and it’s gonna be sad to see him go when I eventually hit the rest of their catalogue.
02/08
[84] I Get Wet by Andrew WK is the most fun music every created. My first listen of this was while doing a cardio routine and I broke all my previous records and sweat out like 3 whole bottles of water. Incredible and fun and noisy and magnificent, Andrew WK is stadium rock for people who don’t take themselves too seriously.
[85] The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele is basically modern Beach Boys with a ukulele but he is just so adorable and charming and every single one of his lyrics shines with youthful brilliance. His band has mastered harmonies and god what a cute album everyone get it.
[86] With God on the Dog Team Trail by 20 Minute Loop, as their first release, right out the gates with Jubilation balances the beautiful harmonies of Greg Giles and Kelly Atkins against the harsh and violent lyrics that Greg had written them. This conflict of melody against lyrical agony was the crux of the band throughout their ~10 year life and here it’s particularly cool. Definite recommend.
02/09
[87] 65daysofstatic’s The Destruction of Small Ideas, for the most part was a good apocalptic sounding math rock rush but then sometimes there was lyrics and I didn’t much care for those songs. Pretty good overall though.
[88] John K Samson’s Provincial is a solo Weakerthans album that sounds like it might as well be a Weakerthans album which I am cool with since they haven’t put anything out in a while. He has a song called “When I Write My Master’s Thesis” which can generally alert you to the kind of guy writing the tunes and his literary lyrics in a folksy tune deliver nothing but goodness over the course of the album. Wonderful.
[89] Kool AD’s The Palm Wine Drinkard didn’t stand up to how much I enjoyed Heems’ mixtape and it was additionally in at least 3 different formats and 5 different bitrates which made it annoying to find in the wake up Megaupload’s demise. A lot of it was too noisy and dissonant for me to enjoy. I just didn’t really like it.
02/10
[90] Bomb the Music Industry’s Vacation nicely blends ideals of ska and punk with little 8-bit melodies which always seemed really pleasant and never jarring or unnecessary. Their lyrics always resonate well but this one in particular held great messages on trying to fit in or build a home somewhere. All in all a quality album
[91] Balam Acab’s Wander/Wonder is a bedroom project of one dude and has been described as everything from “ambient” to “dubstep” but I’d rather just refer to it as “pretty as hell” because really that’s all you need. This album is pretty and if you like pretty things then listen to it.
[92] Colin Stetson’s Those Who Didn’t Run EP continues the amazing saxophone compositions of New History Warfare: Vol 2 with this two-song EP (but the songs are pretty long). Never anymore do you really hear such mastery of an instrument which makes it no wonder that Colin Stetson is highly in demand and has played with Arcade Fire, Bon Iver and Au, among many other bands.
02/11
[93] Bangs & Works Vol 2 introduced me to the concept of “footwork” as a musical genre and RP Boo’s natural evolution of juke is completely fascinating. Not quite as easy to digest without its origins in mind, but once you realize people actually do complicated dances to this shit, your mind reels trying to process the sounds hitting your head. Particularly great on this album are some of the sample choices which range from such diverse sources as Lord of the Rings and Mortal Kombat. Cool as heck.
[94] None Shall Pass by Aesop Rock is just really great hip-hop. Production is top-notch throughout and Aesop Rock’s flow is nearly unamtched in the entire genre. Dude has more words than any one person should ever have. How does he house all these words? If his words were grains of rice, one Aesop Rock album would end world hunger. What the heck. Really good. One hundred billion words out of 10.
Highlight Song of the Day: King of the World (feat. Conor Oberst) by First Aid Kit (from The Lion’s Roar)
02/05
[74] Clear Heart, Full Eyes by Craig Finn was a pretty good listen. Jesusy lyrics, even when tongue in cheek as they may or may not be since I don’t know much about Craig Finn, always kind of weird me out when I’m not used to them but otherwise this album. Dude just tells good stories and has the voice and guitar chops to deliver.
[75] The Lion’s Roar by First Aid Kit is ACTUALLY AMAZING. I knew these girls had amazing voices but their debut album, The Big Black and Blue, was too sparsely arranged and long to fit them in the way that their Drunken Trees EP did. This album corrects that, with both Mike Mogis and Conor Oberst steeping the album in their influence and bringing out a lush and fantastic sound for the duo’s great folksy harmonies to croon over. Plus the last song has Conor on guest vocals. One of my favourites of 2012 so far.
[76] Rounds by Four Tet is cool but not overly fascinating electronica. I don’t really have much to say about it. There Is Love In You was way cooler.
[77] A New Chance by The Tough Alliance just has some great tropical sounding electro. The Swedes really know what’s up with that kind of stuff! Sadly the duo has dissolved, but one half of it at least still releases music, putting out the stellar White Magic in 2010. Still, Looking For Gold is still one of my favourite tunes.
02/06
[78] Pink Magick by Giraffes? Giraffes! makes me wonder why all music can’t be this fun. There’s something about the manic creative energy that goes into their albums, and most good math rock, that just cheers me up. Almost entirely instrumental but vocals would just distract you. What a good album jeez.
[79] Shoes by Math the Band is a nice look into the softer side of a band more awash with energy than anything less than the god damn sun has any right to be. Often their voices, when soft, drift into a bizarre sort of almost-tunelessness but it’s not even jarring and actually kind of endearing when you realize how earnest both Kevin and Justine are in their songwriting. A definitely get for fans of Math.
