Tuddd's Muddd

The Best Albums of 2008 (so far) [updated yet again]

   

    I've been sitting on this one for nearly a full month, and by this point it's damn well time to get this bastard updated (yet again) before I have a true behemoth on my hands.

    First off, the rules remain the same as on previous lists, meaning that with the exception of reissues and singles, everything's game: regular albums, compilations, best-ofs, you name it.  I've heard every one of these albums the whole way through AT LEAST a few times each.  And yes, I've personally purchased every album on this list: none of that Limewire bullshit for me.  There's still a veritable cum-dumpster full of albums that will be out in the coming months, so it's safe to say this list will scarcely resemble the one I wind up putting out somewhere around Christmas '08.  I'll be putting out a list including all the remaining '08 "Eagerly Anticipated"s that I can think of sometime reasonably soon.

    Blah blah blah, shut the hell up, get to the list.  Okay.  But first, honorable mentions to a couple of album-less singles: Chairlift's sugary sweet "Evident Utensil" and O'Death's galloping "Spider Home."  Fine songs, both.

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1.) Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull -- In many ways, this is the most remarkable album in my entire collection: never in my life have I ever encountered anything -- powders, pills and potions included -- that manages to totally and unconditionally soothe, regardless of the circumstances.  Seriously.  Neighborhood kids making a racket?  No worries.  Family members driving you up the fucking wall?  Not a problem.  Car alarms starting to really, really piss you off?  BRING THAT SHIT. 

I liked Earth's previous incarnation as doomy dronesters, but The Bees' brand of repetitive, dreamy twang totally smokes anything else of theirs that I've heard.  Make no mistake, though: this is not good driving music, nor is it much good for drinkin'.  (Or, presumably, drinking and driving, although I haven't tested that one out.)  And no, this album does not rock.  But what it does manage to do is so welcome that I'll be relying on this album for a very, very long time.  No joke, sidle on up next to this one and you'll find yourself thinking someone replaced your Folger's Crystals with straight up smack. 

2.) The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust -- By reverting to the template put forth on 2003's excellent Chain Gang of Love, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo have once again hit upon a winning combination: perfect melodies, thrifty songwriting, plenty of Jesus and Mary Chain fuzz, near-telepathic harmonies, and their own should-be-patented dirty/sexy aesthetic.  Song of the Year candidates: "Dead Sound," "Aly Walk With Me," "Hallucinations."

3.) The Magnetic Fields - Distortion -- Just as on 1999's landmark 69 Love Songs, Stephin Merritt tosses out a whole mess of poppy goodness, yielding several unmistakable gems in the process.  Unlike 69 Love Songs, however, each of Distortion's 3-minute-or-so nuggets are fittingly swathed in a haze of distortion worthy of the finest Jesus and Mary Chain (or Raveonettes) records.  A nice collection of songs, even if -- only occasionally, mind you -- you find yourself tempted to hit the skip button for a couple numbers ("Please Stop Dancing" and "Mr. Mistletoe," notably). Song of the Year candidates: "Drive on Driver," "California Girls," "The Nun's Litany" and "I'll Dream Alone."

4.) Blood on the Wall - Liferz -- Immature, lo-fi, garagey, and as fun -- and welcome -- as free blow.  Sure, you'll find yourself playing the "sounds like..." game throughout this album, but c'mon, that's part of the fun: brother-sister duo Brad and Courtney Shanks make no attempt to disguise their Sonic Youth/Pixies worship.  For the record, according to iTunes this is my most listened-to album of '08.  Yay!  Song of the Year candidates: "Junkeee... Julieee," "Sorry Sorry Sarah."

5.) Tapes 'N Tapes - Walk It Off -- In what has to be easily the most puzzling hatchet job of the year, famed producer Dave Fridmann overloads these songs to near-unlistenable levels, complete with fartin' bass (check out the first chorus of "Headshock," jeez Louise).  It's as though the band sought to erase any memory of the glowing Pavement/Pixies comparisons brought on by their excellent debut, The Loon, and by adding little other than sheer volume, the production manages to completely overwhelm any subtleties these songs could have ever had (there's nothing here as hauntingly understated and beautiful as The Loon's "Manitoba," for example).  It's a testament to the strength of the material that several of the songs manage to shine through Fridmann's attempt at making the record sound like a low-bitrate mp3.  I for one probably would have preferred hearing the demos.  Song of the Year candidates: "Le Ruse," "Time of Songs," "The Dirty Dirty."

6.) Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust -- Much has been made of the band ditching their trademark bowed-guitar sound, but (thankfully) the grandiose, uplifting qualities of Sigur Ros' music remain.  When describing this album, it's easy to get bogged down by discussing the most obvious, soundbyte-worthy qualities: there's a song sung in English ("All Alright"), a couple tunes display a newfound jauntiness (most evident on album opener "Gobbledigook"), and the lush orchestration, but make no mistake, this is very much a Sigur Ros record, and a fine one at that.  Song of the Year candidates: Lots of good ones, with the flat-out adorable "Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur" leading the pack thus far for me.

7.) The Futureheads - This Is Not the World -- After these guys stunk up the joint with '06's downright putrid News and Tributes, fans had reason to think The Futureheads had completely jumped the shark, but This Is Not the World re-establishes them as juggernauts in the spiky/angular/uber-energetic category of post-punk.  Joyous?  Fun?  Hells yeah, although the band would have done well to throw a couple of downtempo curveballs (think "Danger of the Water" or "Hounds of Love" from the debut album) into the mix, as well as relying a bit more on their awesome four-part harmony vocals.  Song of the Year candidate: "Walking Backwards," "The Beginning of the Twist."

8.) Times New Viking - Rip It Off -- What is it about Ohio lo-fi bands?  Not since GbV crawled out of the basement for good a little over a decade ago has a lo-fi band been as deserving of excessive critical praise as these guys.  In this interview, when asked "what was the tipping point that made you sign with Matador?"  Times New Viking guitarist Jared Phillips begins his answer by stating "Alien Lanes," which, without even reading any further, sums things up nicely.  And although the melodicism of Rip it Off doesn't necessarily approximate the awesomely schizophrenic kitchen sinkism of mid '90's GbV, the enthusiasm, immediacy and FTW/DIY style does.  Song of the Year candidates: "Teen Drama," "The Wait."

9.) Goes Cube - Not What You Thought EP -- Say no more.  This band is great, and it's only a matter of time before the powers that be wise up and hand Goes Cube a kickass record deal.  Go here to download a new/unreleased/totally asskicking track by these guys.  Song of the Year candidates: "Goes Cube Song 57," and the "Goes Cube Song 54" into "Goes Cube Song 50" medley.

10.) Torche - Meanderthal -- Critics have been creaming their collective Levis over Torche's near-perfect blend of heaviness and pop sensibilities, and it's no wonder: these guys are both riff-tastic and hooky at the same time.  Song of the Year candidate: "Across the Shields" is probably '08's best so far.

11.) Portishead - Third -- After over a decade of dormancy, Portishead manages to break new ground instead of resting on their trip-hop laurels.  As original, inscrutable and downright creepy as ever, Third incorporates the best of elements "old" Portishead by relying on painstaking production and harrowing vocal performances, while still sounding nothing like their previous work.  This one's really a "grower;" revealing more with every successive listen; I won't be shocked if Third manages to crawl up nearer the top of the list by year's end.  Song of the Year candidate: "The Rip."

12.) Boris - Smile -- It's tough not to compare subsequent Boris outings to their 2006 (or '05, depending on which part of the world you live in) masterpiece, Pink, so why fight it.  Like Pink, this album has a few straight-edge barn-burners, some meatier tracks and a lengthy noise suite to cap it all off, and there's nothing nearly as great as "Farewell."  This album is still a fine listen without seeming like it required much effort; I'm not sure whether that speaks well or poorly for the band.  The real gem here is in the hypnotically dubby "My Neighbor Satan," which evokes the greatness of Bill Laswell's Charged project.  Come to think of it, I'd love to hear a Laswell/Boris collab.  Make it happen, Southern Lord!  Song of the Year candidate: "My Neighbor Satan."

13.) Russian Circles - Station -- I loved '06's Enter (that year's fourth-best record) because it married the flash-fingered virtuosity of thrash to the atmospherics of straight-up post-rock.  Like, imagine if somehow Stuart Braithwaite had wandered into a Puppets-era Metallica jam session.  (Fuck yeah!)  Although Station relies less on guitarist Mike Sullivan's incredible chops -- to the album's detriment, in my opinion -- songs like "Harper Lewis" and especially "Verses" are undeniably beautiful melodies.  Song of the Year candidate: "Verses."

14.) The Big Sleep - Sleep Forever -- Some nice instrumentals, some great '90s-ish alt-rock, and some more reflective pieces.  Nothing groundbreaking, but still worthy of many, many listens.  Song of the Year candidate: "Pinkies."

15.) King Khan and the Shrines - The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines -- If you're into Rhino's incredible Nuggets box set (and who isn't), then this album is for you.  Imagine top-notch garage-psych married to throat-shredding classic soul worthy of James Brown himself and you've got a pretty good idea as to what this one sounds like.  Song of the Year candidate: "Crackin' Up," a Bo Diddley cover.

16.) Thalia Zedek Band - Liars and Prayers -- Remember when Rick Rubin's late-career recordings of Johnny Cash (notably the cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt") went to great lengths to establish the pain and world-weariness of the man's voice?  Liars and Prayers has that in spades, utilizing the band's most unique instrument -- Zedek's voice -- to great effect.  Musically and thematically, this album has much in common with previous Zedek outings although here it sounds as though she's been gargling with Dran-O in the intervening years since '04's stellar Trust Not Those in Whom Without a Touch of Madness.  Song of the Year candidates: "Body Memory" and "Lower Allston."

17.) Witch - Paralyzed -- I absofuckinglutely loved their debut (#6 on my 2006 Best Of Albums list) and although this one doesn't have anything as immediately awesome as "Seer" or "Rip Van Winkle" it still seriously rocks.  This time around, the songs are leaner and faster paced, adding a whiskey-n'-crank-tinged breath of Motorhead to the preexisting Sabbath/stoner template.

18.) The Kills - Midnight Boom -- I felt that The Kills perfected their dark, beat punk/no wave dramas on No Wow, so the slightly gussied-up, gimmicky feel of singles "URA Fever" and "Cheap and Cheerful" is a bit disappointing.   Midnight Boom was supposedly heavily influenced by schoolyard chants and cadences, which succeeds most notably on the standouts "Hook and Line" and "Sour Cherry" but comes off as grating on cuts like "Alphabet Pony."  Also notable is the successful foray into Luscious Jacksonish territory with the uberchill "Black Balloon."  Uneven record but still very listenable and catchy throughout.  Song of the Year candidate: "Hook and Line."

19.) Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson -- Not sure what to think of this one.  On the one hand, Robinson often manages to evoke greatness in his songs (Dylan, Petty, even Neil Young), but on the other I can't help but be a bit wary that I'm being duped by the whole confessional junkie angle, one to which I'm obviously susceptible (um, Please Kill Me is one of my favorite books).  Is this really sincere?  To quote Johnny Rotten, "ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"  Yeah, kinda.  Song of the Year candidate: "The Debtor."

20.) Cheap Time - Cheap Time -- These guys sound like Richard Hell fronting the Heartbreakers.  Or Johnny Thunders fronting the Voidoids.  Or both.  Or something.  Song of the Year candidate: "Too Late."

21.) Endless Boogie - Focus Level -- These guys have built up quite the cache of hipster cool in all the right ways.  They have friends in high places (Stephen Malkmus famously prodded them to open for him at Bowery in '01), cool jobs (Matador art department; professional record collector), they've put out a couple of long out-of-print releases on tiny labels, and uh, apparently they like to party.  What they've created is a record perfect for drinkin,' card-playin' and cigar smokin': no worries if ya hafta get up an' take a leak (or blow a rail), the songs will still be chooglin' away when you get back to the table.  Song of the Year candidate: "Coming Down the Stairs."

22.) Black Keys - Attack and Release -- See, I'm not such a big fan of garage bands consciously trying to clean up their sound, and this album is a perfect example of why.  When critics write about the Black Keys needing to "switch up their aesthetic" and that "things had gotten stagnant," I wonder why everyone just couldn't leave well enough alone.  Also, I'd like to humbly invite the Black Keys back into the garage, and Danger Mouse to stick to writing shitty music for retarded twelve year olds. 

23.) Jay Reatard - Singles '06-'07 -- Earlier this year, I traveled a total of four hours (two hours there, two back) to catch a Jay Reatard live set at Bowery which clocked in at a robust 23 total minutes.  Live, he's a revelation, but on record he falls into the "good not great" category.  I haven't heard any of his '08 singles (a few of which are supposed to be fucking awesome), and I'm definitely looking forward to the Matador compilation of said singles which is supposed to be out in a couple of months. 

24.) Los Straitjackets - Los Straitjackets in Concert -- I love Los Straitjackets, especially in the live setting, but this album would have benefited from being seriously edited down, to, say, maybe 45 minutes or so.  Take the classics ("Casbah," "State Fair," "University Blvd." "Pacifica," etc.) and throw on a bunch of the theme song covers (Batman, Titanic, Munsters, Magnificent Seven, Midnight Cowboy) and you'd have a fine set of songs.  As with most live experiences, when you can't actually be there, less is more. 

25.) Danava - Unonou -- These days it's stylish to reference Sir Lord Baltimore as an influence, but the first half of this album is likely as close as I've ever heard a modern band come to matching that band's primal greatness.  (Sadly, no singing drummer, though.)  Along the path of riff-heavy stoner metal, this is miles and miles superior to the Black Mountain record.  At times, these guys take the unusual step of basing songs around unconventional Dan Deaconish synth loops, which stand out gloriously amongst the usual crunchy sturm und drang.  And, at times, all of this somehow manages to work marvelously.  Unfortunately, the album fades a bit down the stretch, ending in a colossally embarrassing misstep with a godawful ripoff of Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand."  The first few songs are great, though.  Song of the Year candidate: "The Emerald Snow of Sleep."

26.) My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges -- My first run-through of this album had me pegging it as the year's worst, and although it does suffer dramatically in comparison to Z or Okonokos, it appears as my intial survey was a bit too harsh.  No, it's not awful, but it's not that great either.  And put me in the camp that actually likes the mildly controversial "Highly Suspicious" -- it's easily the catchiest song on the record.  Also, it's funny to imagine the frowny faces that had to be made in order to record the background vocals.  Song of the Year candidate: "Highly Suspicious."

27.) Dub Trio - Another Sound is Dying -- Chops, chops, chops, and more chops on these instrumentals, with very little actual "dub" present, unless you count a couple of brief, spacey interludes crammed between the breakneck mathy riffing.  At first one may think Biohazard or Helmet, but I'd say these guys sound most like the latter-day, unappreciated era of Faith No More, which is only fitting considering their place on Mike Patton's Ipecac label, their history as Patton's touring band for his Peeping Tom project, and Patton's turn on guest vocals on the creepy "No Flag."

28.) Howlin' Rain - Magnificent Fiend -- As I've written before, I really, really, really miss Comets on Fire, and it's a bit of an unfair disadvantage to any Howlin' Rain record, even a good one, that it is simply not Comets.  And it's not that Magnificent Fiend is a bad record; far from it, but in addition to being a bit too reserved for my tastes it lacks any truly *great* songs (like "Calling Lightning With a Scythe" and "The Hanging Heart" from the self-titled debut).  Nonetheless, there are some entertaining instrumental passages, not to mention stunning soloing on "Lord Have Mercy" and "Goodbye Ruby."

29.) Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing -- Another album that's improved the more I've listened.  Like much experimental/progressive/ambient, it's probably best listened to on the train home after an exhausting night of excess and debauchery. 

30.) Young Knives - Superabundance -- Among their British soundalike counterparts, these guys are better than Kaiser Chiefs but worse than The Futureheads.  So they're okay.  Their live show is highly recommended. 

31.) Crystal Antlers - Crystal Antlers EP -- I saw these guys live recently, and my thoughts on this EP are exactly the same as they were for the live show: with very few minor exceptions, these guys sound exactly like Comets on Fire, who are one of my favorite bands of all time.  Not that it makes any sense to award originality for its own sake, but it's still tough for me to unconditionally stamp the seal of approval on such a blatant ripoff, no matter how good it sounds.  I'll keep listening to this one, and hopefully eventually I'll figure out something non-derivative about it, in which case it will probably find itself twenty-or-so places higher on the year end list.  Hmmm. 

32.) Grails - Take Refuge in Clean Living -- I need more time with this one, but thus far I've really enjoyed this when I've been stoned, not so much when I haven't been stoned.  I bet these guys get that a lot, though.

33.) Beach House - Devotion -- Some very nice songwriting on this one, but the absolute lack of any dynamics at all makes it sound a bit to pharmied-out to be truly awesome.  Song of the Year candidate: "Heart of Chambers."

34.) The Breeders - Mountain Battles -- It's not an awful album, it's just wildly inconsistent.  Of course, I was hoping for some garagey GbV-ish pop like Last Splash, but alas that bird has flown.  There are a few charming songs ("Here No More," "Overglazed," "Bang On") but there's just too much filler.

35.) Meshugga - Obzen -- The label on the front of this one reads: "EXPERIENCE THE HEAVIEST, MOST DEVASTATING AUDIO ATTACK EVER CAPTURED IN 52 MINUTES AND 25 SECONDS" which pretty much sums things up.  The band's assault is relentless and unwavering, with arguably the most sophisticated bass drumming I've ever heard, but listening to the full thing in one sitting is (literally) a bit of a beating.  Oddly enough, although this album (obviously) sounds nothing like Beach House, both albums are best taken in small doses.

36.) Crystal Stilts - Crystal Stilts EP -- Not an iota of originality on this one, although the songs are tuneful enough, especially "Shattered Shine" and "Through the Floor."  If you think Paul Banks apes Ian Curtis, check this guy out.

37.) Dead Meadow - Old Growth -- On the album's excellent opening track, "Ain't Got Nothing (To Go Wrong)," these guys cultivate an addictive groove, chooglin' along like a whiskey-fueled Creedence jam session.  But the act gets old after a few tracks, drifting into jambandish aimlessness and never really taking the listener into balls-out RAWK!!! territory.

38.) Beck - Modern Guilt -- I'm not the world's biggest fan of DangerMouse. And although previous Beck producers have worked wonders with his material, that material was already at least good.  Although there are a couple of decent songs on this album, for the most part, the songs are lackluster, matching DangerMouse's "fabled" production beat for dreary beat.  I'm hoping this one will be a "grower," but who th' fuck knows.

39.) Robert Pollard - Robert Pollard Is Off to Business -- I've long advocated that Uncle Bob split once and for all with studio svengali/multi-instrumentalist Todd Tobias.  Not because they're incapable of making good music together: Fiction Man and From a Compound Eye were great; the Bubble and Zoom EPs had their moments, and much of late-period Guided by Voices was recorded with Tobias at the helm.  No, it's because somewhere along the way, over the past couple of years, Bob n' Todd forgot how to rock.  Although this is Bob's best new record -- including side projects -- since '06's good-not-great Normal Happiness, I'm still uncomfortable with the amount of autonomy Tobias has over the proceedings: remember, in the halcyon days of GbV, Bob was always at his best churning out tunes by the bucketload and recording them with whatever and whomever he had at his disposal at the moment, instead of allowing one (non-Bob) person (Tobias) to play almost all of the instruments himself.  While this isn't a bad record, it still sounds mature, and maturity has never suited Uncle Bob.  Nor should it.

40.) Birds of Avalon - Outer Upper Inner EP -- To be sure, I need more time with this one but thus far it reminds me a lot of last year's Bazaar Bazaar LP: competent (if unspectacular) music, with a Robin Zander soundalike crowing above it all. 

41.) Ratatat - LP3 -- Not gonna lie: I'm not finding that this one merits too many repeat listens.  Odd, because there's probably little difference between this and either of their first two records, which I liked.  It's possible that the sameness has finally gotten to me.

42.) Oxford Collapse - The Hann Byrd EP -- Many artists have clauses in their contracts stating that the parent label gets first crack at putting out a given release, and if the parent label passes on said release the band is allowed to farm the record out to another label.  If that's the case, it's understandable that Sub Pop would have passed on this one.  Where Oxford Collapse's previous album, Remember the Night Parties, set the standard for summer rockin' (at least to me), this one falls short.

43.) Growing - Live at Floristree 1.26.08 -- Useless if you're not high, although if you are high you may find the repetitiveness kinda groovy.

44.) Under Byen - Siamesisk -- To me, Under Byen's catalog consists of two types of music: dramatic, white-knuckle post-rock with arty Bjorkish flourishes, and limp new-agey noodling.  This EP, recorded with a full orchestra, unfortunately is neither here nor there: neither intriguing enough to warrant multiple listens, nor bad enough to skip outright.

45.) The Sword - Gods of the Earth -- Too samey.  Plus, the kinda fuzzy quality of the recording does a band like The Sword -- who should be recorded with precision and clarity in mind -- no favors.

46.) Awesome Color - Electric Aborigines -- One song has the line "there's nothing wrong/with what we say." Au contraire, mon frere: there's everything wrong with what you're saying.  Actually, the lyrics are so inexcusably godawful that a perfectly decent Stooges-y raveup is totally ruined.  Lots of "right/tonight/light" rhymes, over and over and over a-fucking-gain.  Seriously, the guy would have been better just yelling random phonetics or reading out of the phone book. 

47.)  Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel -- I really wanted to like this one (considering how awesome the Deerhunter album was --  #3 on last year's Best Of Albums list) but you're not going to find any great songs here, although Bradford Cox' DIY sound manipulation and production trickery is amusing at times.  All in all just too druggy and tossed-off sounding.

48.) Nine Inch Nails - The Slip -- '07's Year Zero was a crock of unadulterated shit, marrying half-baked political rants (yes, we hate Dubya too, we get it already) to uninspired, rote Trent-by-numbers tunelessness/melody avoidance.  Well, the political bile may be gone on The Slip, but the crappy music remains. 

49.)  Various Artists - Disco Not Disco 1974-1986 -- Again, I have no earthly idea why I picked this up, but if you like your disco lo-fi-ish this might be your cup of tea.

50.) No Age - Nouns -- Meh.  Must be yet another sign that I'm getting old, but I think these guys are the most overrated thing out there today.

51.) Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood Soundtrack -- Useless without the context of the movie (which is excellent).  I've heard that Master Greenwood apparently ripped off a bunch of other avant-garde-ish composers to make this, which I guess somehow makes it even worse. 

52.) Black Mountain - In the Future -- The "heavy" riffs are derivative and uninspired, the folky interludes are substanceless, the songs plod, and that "LITE BRITE LITE BRITE LITE BRITE" bullshit is about as much fun as a kick square in the balls.  I like hard rockin' stuff that sounds good when you're high; this album just sounds like the musicians were high when they made it.  To quote my pal Beefy D., "this is hard rock for people who like Rusted Root." 

53.) Robert Pollard - Superman Was a Rocker -- Take it from this Pollard fanatic: this album fucking sucks.  Believe me, nobody wants Bob to step up his game more than I do, but any way you slice it this album is a depressing waste of time/money.  Where Bob used to craft incredible melodies seemingly effortlessly, this album just makes him sound tired, old, and lazy.

54.) Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual -- Basically, the musicians are Lords of the Underworld, and the vocalist is a ritalin-ed up Timmy.  Lots of screaming over a bedding of non-descript loud riffage.  Somewhere, Phil Collins is outraged.

   

The Best Albums of 2007, pt. 2 (list #12)

    In case you missed the first half of this list (numbers 1-35), you can find that here. 

    NOTE: it helps to read most of these reviews -- especially the ones that are overly snarky or fawning -- in Comic Book Store Guy voice.

2007: The Year in Albums, part two

36.) Tomahawk - Untitled -- Nobody, not even the most devoted Mike Patton fan, could have seen this one coming.  Untitled is a set of traditional Native American songs, some sung seemingly faithfully, but in most others Patton and Tomahawk work in all kinds of modern flourishes: metal, hip-hop, straight-ahead rock, simple balladry.  This sounds absolutely nothing like the self-titled debut or Mit Gas.  Taking it a step further, it's pretty safe to assume that you have nothing in your record collection that resembles this.

37.) No Age - Weirdo Ripper -- A very lo-fi and exuberantly noisy collection of tracks from this West Coast garage-punk duo.  Listening to this album I feel like a dirty old man leering at young girls in the park: youth is beautiful, and listening to this album (and seeing their live show) I realize that getting old sucks.  The who-gives-a-royal-fuck production values remind me of something that was once said by Scat label head Robert Griffin about an early GbV album: "this has a refreshing 'non product' quality to it."  Indeed.

38.) Scout Niblett - This Fool Can Die Now -- This one... vexes me.  At various times throughout the course of this album, Niblett produces sounds harrowing, comforting, earpiercingly shrill, defiant and hopelessly romantic.  It's on the outstanding "Kiss," a duet with Will Oldham -- when she somehow manages to effectively combine each of these elements -- that the album works best.  There are other good tracks, to be sure, as Steve Albini's stark production occasionally even manages to evoke In Utero-era Nirvana (!), but many of the songs sound too one-dimensional and tossed off.  This Fool would have benefited from a more judicious track selection, but self-editing has never been among Niblett's strong points.

39.) Coliseum - No Salvation -- Explosively intense white hot fury from this Kentucky (I think) hardcore trio.  While plenty of doom vocalists are accused of leaning too heavily on vocals reminiscent of Cookie Monster, this guy does a fairly faithful approximation of the Tasmanian Devil -- there's such a strong amount of conviction in his delivery that I wish I had some idea what the fuck he was saying.

40.) Birds of Avalon - Bazaar Bazaar -- Throwback album with a lot of '70s rock influences shining through.  Got turned on to these guys during their live set opening for the Fucking Champs back in June and as someone who grew up on AOR, I have to say it's cool to hear an amalgam of all things '70s coming out of my on this one.  Part early Rush, part Thin Lizzy, with lots of psych thrown in, and the singer sounds almost exactly like Cheap Trick's Robin Zander.

41.) Maserati - New Inventions for the Season -- sleek, tight, restrained post-rock instrumentals -- in fact, a little too tight and restrained for my tastes.  Main complaint: fades into the background just too easily.  But any record with Gerald Fuchs, former drummer with the criminally underrated Turing Machine, as well as a song entitled "Synchronicity IV," has to be worth a few listens.

42.) Fucking Champs - VI -- gratuitous, dazzling thrash wizardry which (unfortunately) gets a bit samey after awhile.  Good, even great, taken in small doses however.

43.) Okkervil River - The Stage Names -- I feel like a dick even putting this on the list considering that it's clearly an album that requires more than the handful of listens that I've afforded it thus far(I only got it a few weeks ago).  In other words, if I were to make this list a year from now, I'd bet The Stage Names would find itself at least twenty places higher.  "Unless It's Kicks" is one of my favorite songs of the year and the closing track is especially moving when understanding the significance of the backstory.  New Year's resolution #1: put this one into heavier rotation.

44.) Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb -- Well, I like what I've heard, but I rent a basement apartment from a family with one year-old kid.  In other words, not too many opportunities to blast this shit so loud that the rafters shake without having to deal with the possibility of coming back "home" and finding the locks changed and all my shit kicked to the curb.

45.) 3 Inches of Blood - Fire Up the Blades -- great drum sound, thanks to signing Slipknot's Joey Jordison as producer.  Decidedly heavier than Advance and Vanquish, and these guys really take advantage of the two lead-singer thing well.  But, bottom line, the guitars just simply aren't pushed forward enough in the mix for me to get too into it.

46.) Blues Control - Blues Control -- Live, these guys are able to successfully combine wanky arena rock, well-placed funky backing tracks and spacey atmospherics into a big ball of awesome.  Which is why I don't necessarily understand the seemingly universal praise this album has received -- the actual music making is too often back-burnered, hidden behind drum machines and other sound effects.

47.) Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead -- Basically this is a heavily diluted System of a Down album, which is to be expected.  If nothing else, Elect the Dead proves that Daron Malakian's unique brand of itchy/crunchy riffage is just as important to System's sound as Serj's versatile, plaintive vocals -- without Malakian's innovative musical bedding, Serj is left singing over what sounds like a bunch of overproduced, boring-as-hell Linkin Park-ish backing tracks.  Even this album's crazy gypsy breakdowns (check out the middle section of "Sky is Over") seem played out, and too many choruses are just plain clunky ("Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition!  Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition!")  Also, can we once and for all dispense with the half-assed quasi political bent?  Is the vague, middlebrow philosophizing of half-baked phrases like "we are the cause of a world gone wrong" supposed to actually be provocative?

48.) Art Brut - It's a Bit Complicated -- Face it, when you make a record as brilliantly retarded as Bang Bang Rock and Roll, you're gonna find yourself painted into a corner.  Continue in the same vein as the first record's peppy, catchy sloganeering and folks will say you're stuck in a rut.  But tighten up the band, improve your chops, and make it a point to mature a bit lyrically, and, well, then you've got this record, which unfortunately just ain't all that good or memorable.  In all fairness, it's hard to tell what's more responsible for prematurely de-railing this album's ascent towards the top of any reviewer's list, though: simply succumbing to the sophomore slump, or unrealistlically high expectations.

49.) Titan - A Raining Sun of Light and Love for You and You and You -- You can probably tell what this one sounds like by just reading the title: 9+ minute proggy jams, kind of in the vein of a crunchier Yes (complete with Wakeman-esque keyboard runs).  I bought this record at Panthers' record release party back in April.  For a while there, reaching back into early/mid '06, it seemed that any time I'd see a "heavy music"-themed show in Brooklyn these guys would be somewhere on the bill as openers, and since I really liked one of their songs ("Annals of the Former World") I said what the heck and ponied up the ten bucks.  Your enjoyment of this record will depend entirely upon your patience for '70s prog.

50.) Grinderman - Grinderman -- I bet if you were to make a Venn diagram of Jim Morrison and Nick Cave fans, you'd have something that looks like this:

On the left you have the hipper Cave fans, who think Morrison's ninth grade badpoetry is played out.  In the center you have the group that celebrates the catalog of both.  Most likely, these people also have a lot of Morrissey posters.  And on the right you have Doors fans who have never heard of Nick Cave.  Not sure what this proves, other than that I'm pretty obviously getting pretty burned out from compiling this list.  Best song: "No Pussy Blues," by a country mile.

51.) Eyvind Kang - Athlantis -- Long on the "haunting" and "terrifying," short on the "beautiful."  At least you get to have Mike Patton yell at you in Latin.

52.) Beastie Boys - The Mix-Up -- not sure why anyone would bother with this -- a collection of mostly mediocre Phish-esque instrumentals -- when the vastly superior In Sound from Way Out is still available.   Best song: "Off the Grid."

53.) Battles - Mirrored -- Man, I wanted to like this record, but count me as one of the few who just don't get it.  Odd, I know, especially since I loved "Atlas" from the moment I heard it.  Mirrored sounds to me like a slightly more glossed up version of Ian Willams' former band, Don Caballero, a band I was "supposed" to like, never actually finding any reason to go back to their stuff.  I'll save the hyperbole for the others who've gone abso-fucking-lutely goo goo ga ga over this one. 

54.) Menomena - Friend and Foe -- Doesn't grab me, except "Weird."  Meh-nomena.

55.) Down - Over the Under -- Better than Bustle but nowhere near as good as NOLA.  Uninspiring, unambitious, generic stoner fodder.

56.) Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris -- Truly one of the most disappointing records of the last several years, possibly even rivaling The Futureheads' godawful News and Tributes in the category of Jesus-Christ-who-knew-these-guys-could-put-out-a- sausage-shaped-but-lumpy-like-this-one.  And think about it: it came pretty much out of nowhere: before Era Vulgaris, QoTSA was a band that had pumped out good records with amazing consistency -- never spectacular, but always fun and listenable.  This one's neither: for the most part you get heaping portions of tuneless, dreary and uninteresting. 

57.) Hollerado - Demo in a Bag -- I caught these Canadian kids opening up for (and at least in my mind overshadowing) the Black Lips at Bowery Ballroom in September.  Unfortunately, this 3-song EP/demo doesn't capture the affable self-deprecation and energetic humor of their live set.  But I'll be looking forward to whatever these guys put out next.

58.) Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound --  ...And by now you know what yer getting into with Shellac: dorky witticisms, genuine oddness, caustic humor and crush-a-walnut-between-yer-buttcheeks-tight musicianship.  Extra points for the nod to The Who Sell Out ("Hold ya groove together... with RotoSound Strings!") but I can't find any reason to go back to this record.

59.) Jesu - Lifeline -- What am I missing here?  Everything I read about this had me thinking Jesu would be right up my alley, but with all the great post-rock/post-metal stuff available these days, this doesn't really measure up (let alone stand out).  Bland music and weak vocals.

60.) Puscifer - V is for Vagina -- undoubtedly the wtf record of the year.  Who knew that uber metal god Maynard Keenan had an album of slick-as-snails, creepy-yet-superboring R&B up his sleeve?  To quote Gilbert Gottfried, "not good."

61.) Hella - There's No 666 in Outer Space -- A friend who's usually good for musical recommendations suggested that I finally get into Hella, but I have the feeling I'd be more into their instrumental era, which, to my understanding, does not include the Claypool-soundalike singer on this record.  A very, very busy album, jampacked and overloaded with migraine-inducing clatter. 

62. and 63.) Robert Pollard - Coast to Coast Carpet of Love and Silverfish Trivia -- Hey kids!  Do you like rock?  Because, to paraphrase the introduction to Guided by Voices' landmark Propeller LP, "these albums do NOT rock."  To be sure, Uncle Bob used to know how to rock, but replacing "the rawk" with the "the maturity" that's infiltrated his recent recordings is not a welcome trend.  For as long as I can remember, Bob's served as one of indie rock's elder statesmen, drunkenly preaching to the converted about the importance of preserving "the rawk," but on these outings he just sounds old, like a bitter codger telling the nieces and nephews to "turn that godawful noise down" rather than making his own joyous racket in the first place.  As much as it pains me to piss on the work of an artist that's meant so much to me for so long (Blues and Boogie Shoes, Normal Happiness, From a Compound Eye and Moon were all firmly within last year's top 20), I have to wonder whether Bob's initially symbiotic relationship with producer/multi-instrumentalist Todd Tobias has finally turned the man's music to complete crap.

64.) The Takeovers - Bad Football -- Another underwhelming Pollard release, this time as The Takeovers with former GbV bassist Chris Slusarenko and a bevy of guests.  Last year's Turn to Red contained some of the best music of Bob's career ("Insane/Cool It" and "Be it Not for the Serpentine Rain Dodger" rank up there with anything, GbV or otherwise, from the past decade-plus) but Bad Football is dull and mediocre.

65.) The White Stripes - Icky Thump -- Not wasting another minute on this band.

66.) M.I.A. - Kala -- Don't believe the hype!  How is this any different than, say, a new Spice Girls joint?  If you actually like this album, you probably think "kewl mizzpellingz" are, well, "kewl," and you've probably spent too much money on sunglasses in the last year.

67.) Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero -- If you were eagerly anticipating Trent Reznor's first foray into "politically charged" songwriting, well, may I invite you to sink your teeth into this shitburger.  Yup, this is what Trent's unmitigated hatred of a certain Dubya sounds like: uninspired sludge married to unbearable lyrics.   
 
68.) Robert Pollard - Standard Gargoyle Decisions -- If you can spot a single decent hook on this record, please let me know where.  FUCK!

69.) Marnie Stern - In Advance of the Broken Arm -- Sorry, not sold on this one.  Someone told me this sounded like Lightning Bolt (who I like) meets Deerhoof (who are terrible), but to me it's more of a Hella meets Deerhoof type deal.  Plus, the vocals are really really super grating.

70.) Oneida - Seeds of Contemplation -- On this retrospective (of sorts), the listener is treated to lots of wacky genre hopping, with heaping portions of electronic, krautrock, garage, etc.  Some genuinely intriguing ideas and a nice, crunchy synth sound, even if there are few (if any) truly good songs here. 

71.) Rush - Snakes and Arrows -- I know, I know, what did I expect.  But as a card-carrying member of the High School Pariah Alumnus Club (there are no meetings, because we've all finally realized that we prefer being alone), Rush's lyrics really spoke to me during the early to mid-90s, and the technical wizardry so eagerly displayed by Geddy, Alex and Neil served as a measuring stick of chops against which other bands could rarely match up.  At this point however, Rush can be expected to pinch off another album-length turd every couple years just so they can have an excuse to fire up the umpteenthousandth Greatest Hits tour -- tuned down a couple of steps, of course, allowing Geddy to pretend he can still hit the high notes.  Their worst album, ever.

72.) The Nightwatchman - One Man Revolution -- Really, what's more inessential: Rush's ten billionth studio album, or this, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello's collection of acoustic protest songs?  Having Brendan O'Brien produce this is like using a jackhammer to build a gingerbread house: O'Brien likely spent untold dumpsters full of cash trying to make this record sound like it was recorded on a boombox instead of, you know, just recording it on a boombox in the first place. 

73.) Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City -- it's pretty rare that terrible lyrics can render an otherwise moderately hook-laden record completely unlistenable, but oy vey, these are some bad, bad lyrics.  Like a petulant, spoiled teenager who has just put down the baseball cards and picked up vague activism ("yeah! Save the Vote! Rock the Whales!") under the guise of appearing "responsible," or "independent," this album is highly bitchslappable.  Even includes the obligatory "let's scare mommy and daddy that I might be gay" track.  If this album were a TV character, it would be AJ from the Sopranos a few years ago, berating family members for "not caring" about hybrid automobile technology, and then moments later asking his comatose father for a gas guzzler after all the hypocritical bluster.

------------------

    *Whew* glad that's finally over.  70+ albums and hundreds of scatalogical references later, I can finally start digging into the huge pile of CDs that I haven't listened to yet that sits on the lower shelves of my wall unit.  There were several new albums that I regret not having heard in '07, among them:

John Fogerty
Black Moth Superwhatever
Holy Fuck
Blonde Redhead
St. Vincent
Kinski
Mono
Dan Deacon
Hellyeah
Circus Devils
Method of Defiance

Thanks in particular to go eMusic, the now-defunct North Shore Sound (R.I.P.) and my associates "Jake" and "loud and fat" for actually taking the time to read (and comment on) this blog.  As for me, I'm'a smoke a bowl and go lay down.  Tuddd out. 

 

The Fucking Champs with Birds of Avalon and Red Fang, June 4th, 2007, Mercury Lounge

    Well, tonight begins my ever-ambitious attempt at seeing a show every night this week -- Fucking Champs et al. tonight, Endless Boogie tomorrow night, Los Straitjackets on Wednesday, Dinosaur Jr Thursday, Clientele with Beach House Friday, and maybe USAISAMONSTER Saturday and Melt Banana Sunday depending on how shitty the weather is.  Since I've just recently started a pretty rigorous (for me at least, c'mon) daily workout regimen at the gym, we're going to have to see how my back and legs hold up over the next few nights.  Should be interesting/virtually impossible.  And, yes, I'm still incredibly pissed off that I somehow missed out on getting tickets for tomorrow night's Interpol show at Bowery.  BOOOOOOO!

    That being said, if the rest of the shows I see this week are as good as Monday night's, then Interpol can suck my ass.  No, wait, scratch that, because that would be impossible, since tonight was unexpectedly one of the best shows I've seen so far this year.  How rare is it that all three bands on the bill wind up, well, totally rocking the fuck out?  I mean, usually at least one of the opening bands is horrible -- hoo, boy, not mentioning any names, but I've seen some dreadful, limpwristed, poser bullshit passing for opening acts this year, especially at Bowery.  Making tonight's show all the more remarkable is the fact that I'd never even heard so much as a single note by any of the three bands on tonight's bill.  What I wound up with was definitely among the top five shows I've seen so far this year (ranking only behind Arcade Fire night three, Deerhunter, Raveonettes night one, and the Oxford Collapse show I caught at Glasslands).  For the record, this is the 25th show I've caught so far in '07.

    First up on the Bill was Red Fang, from Portland Oregon.  Four scruffy dudes and probably the most bad-ass beat-up Telecaster I've ever seen.  During the first couple of songs, my initial reaction was to lump them in with Radio 4, except with a chunkier guitar sound and some cooler, more sophisticated Shellac-style syncopation.  Definitely some hardcore-influenced post-punk; shit that pummels yet still makes you wanna dance.  But as their set went on, the overall ambience morphed into some kind of SST-era Soundgarden vibe, though, complete with plenty of blatantly unabashed Sabbath-worship.  Fucking fantastic, indeed!  Beginning a theme that would be echoed by the evening's other bands, these guys were no amateurs: fantastic drummer, dual synchronized rhythm guitars, and nimble basslines highlighted by a brief "WOOO!"- inducing bass solo .  Great, great fun and highly recommended.

    Birds of Avalon followed.  Their style is based on '70s style prog rock riffing in the vein of  Fly By Night-era Rush, with quieter, noodly sections reminiscent of, say, Gentle Giant joining the pieces together into lengthy suites.  But despite the obvious technical prowess at play, the stage show didn't suffer as all five members got down and dirty.  Visually, it all starts with the singer; he's rockin' a kind of part Robert Plant, part the dude from Dungen thing, but way more manic than either.  At one point, force from his gyrations sent his harmonica hurtling into the crowd, where it landed at my feet.  I returned it to its proper place atop the keyboard which was sitting at the edge of the stage, and he kindly mouthed a "thank you."  From the outset, it was obvious that these guys had no qualms about showing off their 60's/70's RAWK influences, quoting Creedence ("leave the sinking ship behind") and, later, inserting a feisty, amped-up cover of The Who's "Armenia City in the Sky" within a lengthy instrumental passage.  The set's highlight came during the final song, a minor key number reminiscent of the two chord pre-solo segment of Rush's "La Villa Strangiato," during which bandmembers took turns whispering/chanting "the one..."  Sonically, these guys were incredibly tight, and visually, they were super-busy, projecting a looped film of a flock of birds (of Avalon, get it?) on their white paper-covered amps.  Yowza, someone was in the AV club growing up!  Lots of shit going on here.

    The Fucking Champs, up last, did not disappoint, either.  When was the last time I saw classic metal riffs played with this level of chopsmanship?  The only show I can think of that compared in that area was the 3 Inches of Blood/Early Man slugfest I saw a year ago at Knitting Factory.  (Unlike that show, however, noone pissed on my leg during this set.  And no, I don't particularly want to talk about it.)  Also, is this guy the world's best drummer or what?  I've seen all kinds of renowned percussionists perform live (Peart, Carey, Lombardo, Stanier, Vinnie Paul, Billy Martin, tons of others) but I have to say this dude beats all of 'em, no joke.  Although any of their licks would sound right at home on Rust in Peace or ...And Justice for All, The Champs are by no means a simple Mega-tallica thrash ripoff artist, however, as their stop-on-a-dime prog chops add another dimension to their formidable virtuosity.   The set's highlight to me occurred about 6 songs in, when the sweat-drenched drummer lumbered out from behind his kit, picked up a Les Paul, and led a beautiful three-part harmony piece that could have been mistaken for a Satriani studio jam.  A triumphant, ascending, major-key melody, over which the dude with the custom 9-string (!) laid some flash-fingered brilliance before the drummer returned to his stool to rip shit up on the skins.   The remainder of the set continued in a similar vein as to the first several songs, revealing an overall same-ness to the sound, but with an hour-long set you really don't have much time to get terribly bored.  Either way, I was too busy banging my head and trying to figure out the time signatures (impossible!) to experience anything remotely close to boredom. 

    Having had my ass sufficiently rocked, I began to exit before being stopped by a member of Birds of Avalon, who kindly thanked me for standing up front and rocking out.  (I tend to be very, um, "demonstrative" during shows, and since I'm like 270 I also tend to stand out).  I thanked him for putting on a great set (good dude), before heading to the merch table and picking up Red Fang's CDR EP.  I wish that I had bought a copy of the Birds of Avalon disc, but I took a gamble that it would be available on eMusic, which I discovered to not be the case.  Meh, I'll just order it from North Shore Sound.  [edit: done.]

    So, yeah, to recap, I'm pretty glad that The Fucking Champs exist, and I'll get out to see 'em any time they come around.  The only attendee that might have had as good a time as I did was the whirling dervish, metal horns-flashing headbanging retarded dude that was standing near me throughout most of the show.  Right on, man!  Fortunately, said Champs seem to eschew surrounding themselves with the typical hesher audience that would undoubtedly worship them, instead seeking a home amongst hipsters, which is just fine by me.  As embarrassing as it may be to admit it, I'd rather see a metal show with a bunch of puny hipsters than with a bunch of scary-ass bikers and construction worker types.  (Call me a pussy, but I'd rather be able to completely rule out getting my ass kicked.)