2010 Reviews, part 2

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1) Beach House - 10 Mile Stereo

Everyone has been masturbating over the new Beach House album, Teen Dream, but I'm having a hard time figuring out why. I understand the popularity of the band - at their best, their dreamy sound can be stunning - but here, a good half the songs sound exactly the same. It's still worth checking out, though. Here's one of the better ones.

2) Sunset - Gold Dissolves to Gray

The new album by Bill Baird's Sunset is kind of disappointing. Unlike most of his other material, Gold Dissolves to Gray (which is also the name of the album, is largely folksy. He doesn't entirely disregard the reverb-heavy psychedelic pop of his other material, but it's definitely not his main emphasis. Like the Beach House album, it's worth checking out, but not the best.

3) The Soft Pack - C'mon

The Soft Pack play really catchy garage rock, and there's very little that's going to stop them from their mission. Their self-titled debut is fun enough, but when there are so many bands doing a similar thing to similar success, what's the point?

4) Spoon - Who Makes Your Money

I've never been a huge fan of Spoon, nor am I familiar with them (except those couple of singles from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga). I don't know how Transference relates to earlier Spoon releases, it doesn't feel very consistent. It doesn't help that about half the songs are (supposed) demos. This track, as well as The Mystery Zone, are probably the most interesting songs on the album - kinda sexy, with a neat synth touch.

5) The Magnetic Fields - Better Things

The new Magnetic Fields album, Realism, is (thankfully) the last in what has been termed the "no synth trilogy". Realism goes beyond that, though - it uses almost entirely acoustic instruments (to contrast its sister album, Distortion, which was all...distorted). Stephin Merritt's songwriting is pretty samey on this disc (the first track even is reminiscent of I Don't Believe You). The arrangements of the tracks make the songs seem distant, almost like museum pieces separated by glass. A weird album, to be sure.

New Year! 2010! Reviews for 2010 Part One

Hey everyone. As you can tell from the lack of posts, I haven't exactly been the most dedicated blogger in the world. Blame that on the computer and not the computer operator though; the computer I was using to post crashed for about a month. So now that it's 2010, I'm going to begin posting music from 2010.

Before we keep going, I'd like to comment on two albums from 2009 that have totally kicked my ass.

Richard Youngs - Under Stellar Stream


During my first listen to this album, I could not breathe. Here, Richard Youngs creates music so tense and repetitive that it becomes almost oppressively beautiful. Using mostly synthesizers and piano, he's created a soundscape that seems drenched in regret and longing. Please listen to his latest Jagjaguwar record.

Ergo - Multitude, Solitude


Ergo are a jazz trio more interested in texture and space than in your typical jazz performance. I guess you could call it cool jazz for a new generation? This is one of the better "jazz" albums I've heard, and I highly recommend that you buy it. A track from this Cuneiform release is below.


This list is actually of discs that I have finished reviewing this month (January), but it also includes some releases from 2009. Can't do anything about that. Shrugs!

Download here! (18:54)

1) Tsigoti - With a Mirror and a Magnifying Glass

These guys are one of the newer rock oriented bands (along with the amazing Talibam!) to put out an album on the typically jazz-oriented label ESP-Disk. However, unlike Talibam!, these guys need to work on their form a little bit. "Private Poverty Speaks to the People of the Party" is an avant-punk album, not too far off from The Ex or The Minutemen (with both of their upfront political statements as well). Interestingly, the band is fronted by a pianist, named Thollem McDomas. I'd keep track of this band.

2) Nana Grizol - For Things That Haven't Come Yet

These guys play a sort of folk-punk type sound, but with a poppier edge than groups like This Bike is a Pipe Bomb or Against Me! I really don't care for this guy's music, nor do I think his latest album, "Ruth", is worth discussing.

3) Sufjan Stevens - Movement IV: Traffic Shock

It finally happened: Sufjan Stevens has released a classical album. "The BQE" is a tribute to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and, oddly enough, rather good, if predictable. Every aspect of his songwriting style appears, except his singing. IF you love the instrumental bits of his albums, this is basically an extension of that. This song is the exception: it's a return to his electronic style, and fairly unique.

4) Ergo - She Haunts Me

As I mentioned above, I love this album. This track is typical of the exploration made on this album. Dig it.

5) Olof Arnaulds - Ævagömul Orkuþula

Olof Arnaulds plays rather beautiful troubadour style folk music. It stays rather simple most of the time, which is for the best. The songs on here debut "Við Og Við" can best be compared to someone like Josephine Foster: repetitive but enchanting. Oddly, this album came out back in 2007, but is just now being made available in the states by One Little Indian.

Best wishes!