Let's not gild the lily-- if these reviews seem bitchier than usual, it's for the simple reason that this has been an historically atrocious year for new music. Here's hoping the next few months improve matters since there's all kinds of potentially great shit poised to drop before the year's up. Fortunately I have a pretty significant backlog of albums I've hoarded over the last several years, and this year's shortage of good new shit has just meant I've been able to delve into the collected works of bands that y'all probably already know and love.
As usual, the rules for this list remain the same: this is newly-released full-lengths only, so there are no singles, reissues, or greatest hits comps on here. And these are all albums that I personally either bought myself or paid to download (except one which shall go nameless, and the Moby record which I streamed at NPR). So it's not like I stole this shit just so I could write snarky reviews. Enjoy! (or don't.)
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1.) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz -- I was absolutely in love with the noisy direction the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had taken on 2007's awesome Is Is EP, so naturally I cringed when I heard the new one would feature an entirely new stylistic twist n' turn into disco-ish territory. To me, this foretold of a streamlining/mainstreaming of their sound, and I wasn't the hugest fan of their previous attempt at conventionality on Show Your Bones, because I kinda always felt the YYY's material is at its best with plenty of roughness around the edges. But f all that; simply put, Blitz contains their strongest songwriting ever, framed by absolutely letter-perfect production. From rave-ups to poppy shit to straight-up dance rock and even earnest ballads (?!) this album proves that the YYYs are good enough to be able to put gimmickry aside and churn out an album full of amazing songs.
2.) The Crocodiles - Summer of Hate -- I've had this on heavy rotation since I caught them at Union Pool last month. The recipe is simple: snotty vocals, analog synth, blazing guitar tone, drum machine. Imagine, say, a bratty Suicide mixed with J&MC's noisy melodicism. No less than 3 positively stellar competitors for the title of best-song-of-the-year: the title track, "I Wanna Kill" (what a fucking triumphant chorus!!) and "Sleeping With the Lord." [Interestingly, the singer is apparently a substitute teacher at a special ed school. I had several similar jobs years ago so I think think is awesome.]
3.) Crippled Black Phoenix - The Resurrectionists/Night Raider -- Sprawling double-album companion piece to 2007's pretty good A Love of Shared Disasters, this surpasses Disasters in every way that matters. Several distinct styles are explored, from galloping, Floydish numbers ("Rise Up and Fight") to more traditional post-rock ("Burnt Reynolds") to folk (um, lots of 'em), with cleverly varied instrumentation. The real improvement is in the haunting melodies, which creep their way into your mind -- have fun trying to get the accordion riff from "200 Tons of Bad Luck" out of your head. Is there a significant amount of filler? Yes, and some of the songs seem to take forever to get where they're going (the payoff is worth it more often than not, however). Although the pervasive mood can be characterized as "morose" or "downcast," there's more than enough light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel hopefulness to transcend mere mopiness. Yes, this album is uplifting enough to beat the misery of an hour on the 4 train. Several days a week.
4.) The Dead Weather - Horehound -- Man, I hated the first single ("Hang You From the Heavens") when I first heard it, but consider me totally 180'd on that one... as it turns out it's actually one of the year's finest songs thus far. In many ways, this album is the exact sum of it's parts: there's a definite old-school Kills sound on most of the songs, some bluesy crunch courtesy QOTSA, plenty of the White Stripes' minimalism and quiet/loud dynamic, as well as some vintage Raconteurs-style blandness. Probably Alison Mosshart's most soulful vocals ever, too, which says quite a bit.
5.) Goes Cube - Another Day Has Passed -- I've liked every one of these guys' self-released EPs, but this one is the first that actually approaches the furious intensity of Goes Cube's thrash-tastic live show. Highly fucking recommended.
6.) The Thermals - Now We Can See -- No, this doesn't come anywhere close to matching '06's landmark The Body, The Blood, The Machine, but if you pick this one apart (say, like an orange) there's still several good songs for all your mix-tapin' needs. The rave-ups and more solemn songs are fine, but at times the sappiest of this bunch manage to plumb the sickeningly sweet depths of '02's smarmy-as-all-get-out Hutch and Kathy project. Just skip those ones, though.
7.) Children - Hard Times Hanging at the End of the World -- Rockin', technically precise thrash that's fun as hell. The video for their lead single shows that these guys have a sense of humor to match their formidable chops. Great, great listen.
8.) Kylesa - Static Tensions -- 3 bona fide sludge classics on here ("Scapegoat," "Unknown Awareness," "To Walk Alone") framed by some lesser-but-still-pretty-darn-good stoner jams.
9.) Heartless Bastards - The Mountain -- The bluegrassy shit is terribly boring but the 3-chord grunge jams are emotive, soulful and rockin'. Employ your skip button judiciously.
10.) Dead Mellotron - Ghost Light Constellation EP -- How rare is it that a random band you've never heard of friends you on MySpace and it turns out their music is actually really good? Several lo-fi, hazy, shoegazy gems on this one, and you can download it for free here.
11.) Dan Deacon - Bromst -- Easily Dan Deacon's best songwriting ever, and the first thing I've heard by him that displays any real heart to speak of. But fans of his spazzier stuff can rejoice: plenty of wackiness (notably the goofy sound effects and pitch-shifted vocals) remains.
12.) Hull - Sole Lord -- Let me start by saying that 2007's Viking Funeral is one of the most aggressive, arresting metal epics I've ever heard, and for anyone who's had the pleasure of seeing Hull perform it live, you have to think "man, they're going to have to tone down the next thing they do a coupl'a notches if they're going avoid burning themselves out." That being said, I was a little disappointed with this album's subdued, at times even new-agey feel. Don't get me wrong, there are still several great bonecrushing moments on this record, but nothing here matches Viking Funeral's singular awesomeness.
13.) Death - ...For the Whole World to See -- A few people have hailed this as an "unearthed classic" or whatever which isn't exactly the case -- the material's good overall, but not great. Although there are only two truly great songs here ("Keep on Knocking," "Politicians in My Eyes,"), understanding the context in which it was written, recorded, and ultimately forgotten for a quarter century is pretty neat.
14.) Big Business - Mind the Drift -- The bass should be louder, the vocals should be turned down, and the guitar parts should just be fucking erased. Seriously, with Big Business, the sludgier the better, and here the head-scratchingly awful production choices almost -- almost, mind you -- ruin it. "The Drift" is one of the year's best songs, though.
15.) These Arms Are Snakes - Tail Swallower and Dove -- Several killer, bone-crushing grooves on this one ("Ethric Double," for one, is undeniably great), although at times it degenerates into what comes across as mathed-up emo.
(EDIT: it turns out this album actually came out in 2008, so don't be all "where'd the These Arms Are Snakes album go on your year end list?!")
16.) Black Math Horseman - Wylt -- Typically serviceable stoner metal. Yes, it's plodding and monotonous, but either way, it's still better than that Black Mountain "light bright light bright light bright" horsecrap.
17.) Dinosaur Jr. - Farm -- I had really high hopes for this one after the awesomeness of 2007's triumphant comeback Beyond, but the second half of this record really drags. On the positive tip, they did drastically improve the mix in comparison to Beyond: rather than placing the vocals front and center, the grunginess and fuzz really suit these guys. (Think You're Living All Over Me.) Also, I should mention that Farm does not lack for stellar guitar solos, if you're into that sort of thing.
18.) Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown -- At nearly 70 minutes this bad boy is overstuffed to the point of being comically bloated. Tough to get through in one sitting, although there are some decent tunes on here (I'm partial to the title track).
19.) LiveFastDie - Bandana Thrash Record -- Potty-mouthed gutterpunk by these drunken louts who (presumably) named their band after one of GG Allin's tats (peep his left tit). Very fun at times, but sometimes too retarded for their own good. Plus, "Fat Guy with an iPod" hits a bit too close to home *SNIFFLE*
20.) Dex Romweber Duo - Ruins of Berlin -- Somewhat of a disappointment after seeing their garage-filthy live show. Some tepid guest spots (Cat Power, Neko Case) take the music in the wrong direction: in a sane world this would be presented as distorted, raucous fare, not mild-mannered imitation bar-band averageness. Dex's amazing voice (part Roy Orbison, part Jerry Lee Lewis) saves this one.
21.) Stinking Lizaveta - Sacrifice and Bliss -- Dexterous, proggy licks crammed together, kind of in the vein of a more stoned Fucking Champs (if the Champs had an electric stand-up bassist).
22.) Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP -- I'm used to Bradford Cox putting out tossed-off sounding stuff under the Atlas Sound moniker and saving the good shit for Deerhunter records, but this one pretty much splits the difference there.
23.) Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind -- Not bad, but I can't understand why you'd bother with this when there's so much other great post-rockish stuff out there. Yes, the instrumentation sounds painstakingly orchestrated, but the music just isn't great enough to warrant the feeling of timelessness that they're clearly shooting for.
24.) Franz Ferdinand - Tonight! Franz Ferdinand -- Pointless beyond the first single, "Ulysses," which was actually quite good.
25.) Los Straitjackets - The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets -- Might as well have just named this one Etc. because while it's in the same vein of their previous output, it's nowhere near as good as much of it. Remember - while these guys are probably best known for their "Wipe Out!" soundalikes and film/TV theme covers, it's on their more original-sounding compositions ("University Blvd.," "Pacifica," "Casbah," "State Fair," etc.) that they've really earned their mettle up till now. Alas, this is record is mostly uninspired rehashes.
26.) Moby - Wait for Me -- Good background music; nothing more, nothing less.
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NOTE-- albums below here are all interchangeably crappy, so I didn't bother numbering them. Why bother writing reviews for them then, you may ask? Three simple reasons: 1.) I don't have a real job; 2.) I'm bitter about having spent money on them; and perhaps most importantly, 3.) I'm fresh out of pork rinds so I'm going to need something to occupy my hands for the next hour or so. Happy?
- Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion -- I doubt I'll ever "get" these guys mainly because I'm a fan of memorable melodies. You will find none of those on this album.
- Art Brut - Art Brut vs. Satan -- Loved the first album just like everyone else, but it's time to send this one-trick pony to the glue factory already. Not even production by Frank Black can save this one from being wholly inessential.
- Boston Spaceships - Planets are Blasted -- The "Pay Bob's Mortgage You Sucker" campaign fumbles onward with this, yet another horrible album. And still, like a total fucking moron, I hold tight to the misguided notion that at some point Bob may rediscover the brilliance that made me such an eager devotee for several years. Y'know what? Fuck "brilliance." At this point I'd settle for Fiction Man II or some such. [Note: yes, I did preorder Bob's newest forthcoming solo record yesterday. I hate myself.]
- Isis - Wavering Radiant -- Another band that I'm "supposed" to love because I like Tool and I enjoy all kinds of good post-metal-ish stuff, but frankly I just don't see it. The riffs are poor-man's at best and what's worse, the sung vocals sound like Nick Hexum. Shudder.
- Mastodon - Crack the Skye -- A major turn for the worse. First off, if you're going to jack up your (crappy) vocals, you may want to think about writing a decent fucking melody first, no? Second, for a band frequently cited these days as being among The Best Metal Bands in the World, whither all the great riffs? I'll tell you exactly where: "The Czar" at about 4:00 and again in the same song at 7:40; the intro to the title track; and 8:25 or so into "The Last Baron." Seriously, that's it. Weak.
- Maximo Park - Quicken the Heart - Futureheads>Bloc Party>Young Knives>Arctic Monkeys>Maximo Park>Kaiser Chiefs. Nuff said.
- NODZZZ - NODZZZ -- Useless. For all the kids out there that think horrendous crap like Nodzzz or Wavves or Vivian Girls or The Beets perfected lo-fi, please spend some quality time with Alien Lanes and see how this shit's really supposed to be done. Thanks!
- Pelican - Ephemeral EP -- First thing by these guys I've heard that I haven't absolutely adored. These 3 songs suck ass. (Full disclosure - I think City of Echoes is one of the two finest albums of the aughts.)
- Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - I think this is trite, and the songwriting's poor-at-best. Discuss!
- Praxis - Profanation: Preparation for a Coming Darkness -- Unfortunately, the emphasis here is not on the band (killer B's Bill Laswell, Buckethead, Bernie Worrell and Brain)'s formidable chops, but on shuffling a new, different guest vocalist in on each and every track. Does not for good listening make.
- Seventh Void - Heaven Is Gone -- Long-awaited side project from the guitarist and drummer of Type O Negative. The title track is decent, but the rest is sub-generic stoner metal crap.
- The Soft Pack - The Muslims - The Meh-slims is more like it. T'heh!
- Wavves - Wavvves -- Manages to be both overrated and underrated at the same time. No, this guy isn't the Antichrist, and no, he's also not the "savior of lo-fi" or whatever. He's just some spoiled SoCal kid with an incredible publicist and no perceptible talent.
