Yes, I know I have a bunch of other posts I should be working on right now (including the second half of this bad boy; plus I should write something about the insanely awesome Costa Rica trip I just returned from), but eff it, I've got to get a "Best Albums" list up before my backlog starts to get crazy. Again, this is not solely a "Best Albums of '11" list; it's actually ALL the newly released albums I've heard so far this year ordered from best to worst. And yes, I realize that with both the new Raveonettes album AND the new Kills albums coming out tomorrow, if I waited just a few days the top of this list would look VERY different. No matter; must soldier on.
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1.) Parts and Labor - Constant Future -- This album is so in my wheelhouse that it almost hurts. Lo-fi? Check. Live electro? Check. Catchy-as-hell songwriting with soaring, arena-ready choruses? Check. Massive and huge while still channeling a scrappy, underdoggish spirit? Awwwww motherfuckin' hells yeah. Seriously, buy this album IMMEDIATELY.
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2.) Goes Cube - In Tides and Drifts -- I've been a fan for quite some time now; click on the "Goes Cube" link on the left sidebar thingy if ya don't believe me. And although I've thoroughly enjoyed (and recommended highly) every one of Goes Cube's releases, this is the best thing they've put out yet. Riffs, hooks, brutish heaviness and aggression mixed with fleeting moments of contemplation, and the best drumming I've heard so far this year.
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3.) Tapes 'n Tapes - Outside -- Just a very listenable indie rock record, nothing more, nothing less. For a band that takes a lot of undue shit for wearing their influences prominently on their sleeves, this album's only true misstep is the Vampire Weekend-ish "One in the World." For fuck's sake! T'nT are miles better than Vampy Weeks; it's a crying shame that the record-buying indie rock public doesn't recognize that fact. What can ya do.
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4.) Soundgarden - Live on I-5 -- This was recorded in '96, and it's not tough to recognize why it wasn't released back in the day: Chris Cornell's vocals veer dramatically between rich, muscular, piercing howl (that's good!) and tuneless, ambivalent, bored-sounding muttering (that's bad!). But overall this is a decent live document, even if the total lack of any Louder Than Love-era material is a total fucking joke.
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5.) BOAT - Dress Like Your Idols -- I was really psyched for this one, as their last album, Setting the Paces, was the best album I heard in '09. As has been the case with literally every BOAT release thus far, appreciation of the band's albums benefits the more one listens... that being said, at this very moment (after only a handful of listens) I'm really liking the first half of the record (for Christ's sake, "Bite My Lips" is arguably the defining "sensitive guy anthem"), while I'm not so hot on side B. Of course, YMMV. Either way, I implore you to check it out.
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6.) Monogold - The Softest Glow -- Great songwriting, impeccable production, and a crisp, buoyant performance style make this a good listen. Much, much better than the spate of other current Williamsburg indie pop. These guys should be a household name, goddamn it, but don't just take my word for it... check that shit out for yourself.
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7.) Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light (Vol. 1) -- Earth's previous release, 2008's The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull was an absolute revelation: it's easily the single most relaxing piece of anything I've ever seen /heard /encountered. To me, it's Earth's clear career highlight (this coming from someone who dug the shit out of Hibernaculum). By comparison, Angels of Darkness is kind of a poor-man's type deal, since The Bees Made Honey's shorter songs, more memorable licks, and Bill Frisell guest spots are so clearly superior. Bottom line: unless you find yourself yearning for this type of somnambulent crap super-often, this album is pretty inessential.
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8.) Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will -- Only slightly better than 2008's career lowlight, The Hawk Is Howling. Listenable, but pretty fucking boring, not gonna lie.
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9.) Colin Stetson - Modern History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges -- Got turned onto this one when I saw Stetson perform during his slot opening for Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Terminal 5 last month. For the uninitiated, this is an albumful of a dude switching off between a massive 5 foot tall bass saxophone and a more normal alto sax with no real accompaniment (save the occasional "woman reciting poetry" jag). Mr. Stetson's flawless circular breathing technique allows him to perform all kinds of wild and wacky oral histrionics on this recording, not limited to: insane arpeggiated 64th notes, weird percussive stuff, didgeridoo-like low humming, and so on and so forth. All in all, this is as minimalistic an affair as you're going to find on one of my lists, and although it's definitely not for everyone (it's a bit much to listen to it straight through in one sitting) maybe you want to give it a shot if you find yourself in possession of a massive amount of pot / pot brownies (as I have).
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10.) J. Mascis - Several Shades of Why -- Don't get me wrong, I thought Martin + Me (hard to believe that was released all the way back in '96) was fucking great, what with the clever mixture of interesting covers, Dinosaur Jr cuts and other originals. By comparison, this album seems pretty flat and monotonous (shit, is that Ben Kweller on background vocals, or a Ben Kweller soundalike? Why?!), and I can't help but feel that the more hopeful-sounding cuts would have done well on a proper Dino Jr record. Oh well.
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11.) Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo -- The live show was way better. Of course, whiny / strung-out sounding acoustic shit isn't exactly my bag. In particular, this one's just too Westerberg-y for me to really enjoy it.
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12.) Radiohead - King of Limbs -- Easily the worst Radiohead release ever, including crap like Com Lag, the In Rainbows bonus disc, the OK Computer-leftovers Airbag EP, and even the hilariously quaint (by modern Radiohead standards) Pablo Honey. Yes, Misters Yorke and Godrich like pushing the envelope towards the minimalistic, but usually they're able to weave enough actual melody in there to keep me interested. Not here. To these ears, the only good song is "Codex," which, when ya think about it, is basically a poor-man's "Pyramid Song."
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13.) Yuck - Yuck -- Not a single shred of originality on here. This album / band slavishly rips off early '90s indie rock godhead, so if you were in on the ground floor with Sonic Youth / Pavement / The Pixies you may be amused by these guys shameless aping of your heroes. [I, for one, am not.]
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14.) Lifeguards - Waving at the Astronauts -- I had high hopes for this one, as Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department, the first straight collaboration between Robert Pollard and GbV "modern era" guitar wizard Doug Gillard, is probably the single best album in the annals of Bob's idiosyncratically-named side projects. (For the record, I'm pretty indifferent to the previous Lifeguards outing, 2004's Mist King Urth.) Anyway, on this one, Bob does his usual "best" when it comes to all-star level hook avoidance (par for the course since '06 or so, with few exceptions). Bleh.
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15.) Social Distortion - Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes -- The only thing this album has in common with those of Social D's glory days are power chords and Mike Ness's unmistakable rasp. The songwriting is uninspired to the point of sounding like one of the countless mediocre bands that have carved minor careers out of ripping Social D off. Yes, truly the teacher has become... the student. Longtime Social D fans may find themselves disappointed by this album's suckitude, but the watered-down, safe as milk, fifth rate pop punk contained on this album shouldn't be too much of a surprise for anyone who's witnessed the comical, unintentionally self-parodying humongous racks of merch that Social D has schlepped around the country while on tour lo these last 7 or 8 years (why yes, we do take Visa and Mastercard!).
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16.) Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde -- Awful, no matter what the tin-eared sycophants would tell you. These kids took everything that was good about their decent first album -- great guitar tone, gritty production, clever songwriting -- and did away with it, replacing any semblance of authenticity with a glossy, synth-riddled sack of shit, the foundation of which (vocals) are the band's unquestionable weak point. For crying out loud, if you like T. Rex so goddamn much, just go listen to a T. Rex album already. Avoid unless you're a total fucking idiot.
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17.) Robert Pollard - Space City Kicks -- Ah, the Hookless Wonder phase of Uncle Bob's career continues with yet another tuneless turd. Naptime indeed.
Anyway, on this one, Bob does his usual "best" when it comes to all-star level hook avoidance
this line cracked me up -- kudos tudd and thanks for steering me clear of things like kurt vile (poor man's MBAR?), smith westerns (first one WAS dece) and yuck (i considered it) ...
Posted by: beaf | April 05, 2011 at 07:08 PM