The next batch of reviews covers everything I reviewed for the radio station for the last two weeks of September.
Download Here (30:21)
1. Julianna Barwick - Anjos
In a world where Britney Spears could be called a great singer, shouldn't we honor those with even better voices? Julianna Barwick is nowhere near as famous as anyone in the pop world (she self-releases her music in limited runs), nor does she sound anything like what is popular. But Julianna, I can say without a doubt, sings and writes better songs than almost anyone in popular music. This EP, Florine, is based around her voice, which she loops and overlaps into dense yet minimal soundscapes. The song featured here is an oddity for her - it barely features her voice - but its beauty is exceptional.
2. múm - Show Me
I know that many people were disappointed when múm started transitioning away from their Aphex Twin influenced electronica to a more organic, live instrument sound. I personally still enjoy their music just as much as before. Some might be pleased to hear that on their 5th album, Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know, there is a very, very faint return to electronica, albeit through (what sounds like) cheap casio keyboards. I preferred the tracks without those - these tracks produce still, serene beauty.
3. The Pastels/Tenniscoats - Boats
Best known as a twee pop band, The Pastels have been shying away from that description since the early 1990's. True, Stephen Pastel can't sing very well (in an adorable way), nor can he play guitar all that well, but their music has been much more sophisticated and well written than, say, Beat Happening. On this collaboration with the Japanese duo Tenniscoats, the group shines at creating atmospheric ballads. Two Sunsets feels like a perfect album for a sad autumn evening.
4. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Shy
I'm not going to lie - the latest A Sunny Day in Glasgow was painful to sit through. Every track seemed like some sort of interlude to another song, but it seemed like there weren't that many fully formed songs. Ashes Grammar almost seemed like a half hearted attempt at dream pop.
5. Darlings - Eviction Party
I also wasn't thrilled to review Darling's debut album, Yeah, I Know, whose blatant overusage of the Helvetica font and semi-ironic black and white photos of various domestic scenes. I mean, how many mediocre hipster bands do we need? Even worse, how many do we need that are co-opting Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers? But still, I have to admit, this song gets stuck in my head quite frequently.
6. Six Organs of Admittance - Actaeon's Fall
At first, I was kind of disappointed by the latest release by Ben Chasny's solo project. Luminous Night seemed to continue the more drab sounds of his last album, Shelter From the Ash. But after further listens, I realized that Chasny is using minimal finger picking to create a different sort of psychedelic music than his earlier albums. Here, he doesn't even bother with guitar drones that often, instead relying on Eyvind Kang's viola and keyboards. Still, a really solid album.
7. Castanets - Dance, Dance
What can I say? Ray Raposa knows how to write a good country tune. Maybe Texas Rose, The Thaw, and the Beasts isn't as diverse in sound as his earlier albums, but it's still worth listening to.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A Different Sort of Best Of
Instead of what I usually do, this is a post summarizing several of the albums I had to review for the radio station in chronological order. Everything is still lumped together into one mp3 file, but this time (and probably from now on) I won't say anything on the track. Here goes nothing:
Download playlist (22:38)
1. Pens - Freddie
They always start new reviewers with albums that aren't particularly great, and "Hey Friend! What You Doing" is no exception to this rule. The hot new thing these past couple of years has been lo-fi, either in the vein of Ariel Pink or of the Siltbreeze catalog. Pens tries to write cutesy, nonchalant pop songs, but jesus, they can't write songs worth a damn. It just seems like they're not even trying at times. Other people do the lo-fi thing much better - check out the aforementioned Ariel Pink, Dum Dum Girls, or Vivian Girls. Out on De Stijl records.
2. Shonen Knife - Super Group
Okay, so Shonen Knife have been irrelevant for how long now? Even when they were big, they always seemed to be kind of a joke - they seemed incapable of playing their instruments at times, and they definitely didn't have the best grasp of the English language. "Super Group" is the band's 16th album, and they have yet to change their formula at all - loud guitars, catchy vocals, lyrics written in Engrish about the goofiest things. Out on Good Charamel.
3. Frida Hyvonen - Jesus Was a Cross Maker
4. The Bye Bye Blackbirds - There's a Rugged Road
My good friend Jonathan introduced me to 70's singer/songwriter Judee Sill about a year ago. I was amazed that she even got a record deal at all - her songs, while they are incredibly catchy, aren't the most accessible. A talented musician, she would often include sections in her songs that had a different time signature, or occasionally have odd arrangements. Then there's the lyrics - nearly every song is about Christianity. This in and of it self wouldn't be a big deal, but all of the Christian images are seen through a gnostic or mystic point of view. So when American Dust announced that they were releasing a tribute album to her, I was excited. The album is pretty great, even though many of the artists temper down Sill's eccentricities. Frida Hyvonen's much-lauded cover of Sill's greatest single is an example of this when it works - beautiful choir vocals and a minimal piano make her song become like a classic hymn. I included the Bye Bye Blackbirds track because it was my personal favorite from this album. The disc is called "Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill"
5. Vivian Girls - Can't Get Over You
If there's one thing I love, it's noise-pop, and Vivian Girls have been conjuring up some of the better tunes in that sub-genre for the past year or so. That being said, their second album, "Everything Goes Wrong", doesn't really live up to the standards of their self-titled debut. The songs seem underwritten in some spots, hoping to ride merely on velocity and noise. This track might be the most solidly written track on the album (although it might not be the best). Out on In the Red.
6. Ramona Falls - Always Right
Since Menomena is on a temporary break, Brent Knopf took some time to record a solo album, "Inuit". This can barely be called a solo album though - he has over 30 guests on this album. The recording process is slightly odd - Knopf had some ideas for songs, took them to individual friends of his and recorded with them for three hours. He did this many, many times. The results were then edited together (similar to Menomena's editing style) into cohesive, swelling songs. This track may not be the best one on the album, but it's been the favorite of mine since I first heard it because of it's cobbled-together style. If you like this, you'd probably really love the rest of this album. Out on Barsuk Records.
Download playlist (22:38)
1. Pens - Freddie
They always start new reviewers with albums that aren't particularly great, and "Hey Friend! What You Doing" is no exception to this rule. The hot new thing these past couple of years has been lo-fi, either in the vein of Ariel Pink or of the Siltbreeze catalog. Pens tries to write cutesy, nonchalant pop songs, but jesus, they can't write songs worth a damn. It just seems like they're not even trying at times. Other people do the lo-fi thing much better - check out the aforementioned Ariel Pink, Dum Dum Girls, or Vivian Girls. Out on De Stijl records.
2. Shonen Knife - Super Group
Okay, so Shonen Knife have been irrelevant for how long now? Even when they were big, they always seemed to be kind of a joke - they seemed incapable of playing their instruments at times, and they definitely didn't have the best grasp of the English language. "Super Group" is the band's 16th album, and they have yet to change their formula at all - loud guitars, catchy vocals, lyrics written in Engrish about the goofiest things. Out on Good Charamel.
3. Frida Hyvonen - Jesus Was a Cross Maker
4. The Bye Bye Blackbirds - There's a Rugged Road
My good friend Jonathan introduced me to 70's singer/songwriter Judee Sill about a year ago. I was amazed that she even got a record deal at all - her songs, while they are incredibly catchy, aren't the most accessible. A talented musician, she would often include sections in her songs that had a different time signature, or occasionally have odd arrangements. Then there's the lyrics - nearly every song is about Christianity. This in and of it self wouldn't be a big deal, but all of the Christian images are seen through a gnostic or mystic point of view. So when American Dust announced that they were releasing a tribute album to her, I was excited. The album is pretty great, even though many of the artists temper down Sill's eccentricities. Frida Hyvonen's much-lauded cover of Sill's greatest single is an example of this when it works - beautiful choir vocals and a minimal piano make her song become like a classic hymn. I included the Bye Bye Blackbirds track because it was my personal favorite from this album. The disc is called "Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill"
5. Vivian Girls - Can't Get Over You
If there's one thing I love, it's noise-pop, and Vivian Girls have been conjuring up some of the better tunes in that sub-genre for the past year or so. That being said, their second album, "Everything Goes Wrong", doesn't really live up to the standards of their self-titled debut. The songs seem underwritten in some spots, hoping to ride merely on velocity and noise. This track might be the most solidly written track on the album (although it might not be the best). Out on In the Red.
6. Ramona Falls - Always Right
Since Menomena is on a temporary break, Brent Knopf took some time to record a solo album, "Inuit". This can barely be called a solo album though - he has over 30 guests on this album. The recording process is slightly odd - Knopf had some ideas for songs, took them to individual friends of his and recorded with them for three hours. He did this many, many times. The results were then edited together (similar to Menomena's editing style) into cohesive, swelling songs. This track may not be the best one on the album, but it's been the favorite of mine since I first heard it because of it's cobbled-together style. If you like this, you'd probably really love the rest of this album. Out on Barsuk Records.
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