Because of other less important crap, I've been neglecting the blog. Of course, I've still be listening to music, so I'll do some quick rundowns of what I've heard recently, divided into three categories.
OK:
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (Self Titled): I'll pass on commenting on the band name, and just say that I'm pretty sure that the Vivian Girls just made this album last year, following a number of bands that made this album before them. Sighs.
M. Ward-Hold Time: Second favorite voice in music today I think (behind Neko Case, but more on that later), which ultimately makes this album a pleasure to listen to. That said, Hold Time is not as strong or as urgent as his last effort, Post-War, and probably not as appealing as his collaboration with Zoey Deschanel on She & Him. Three tracks worth listening to: For Beginners, Never Had Nobody Like You, and Rave On. I would skip the rest.
Better:
The Miniature Tigers-Tell it To the Volcano: I love this album. It's bright and poppy, but also clever, which keeps it from being bland and annoying (which a lot of albums in this vein tend to do). It's like The Boy Least Likely To sped up a bit. The first track, Cannibal Queen, is going to end up being one of the best tracks released this year. The rest of the album contrasts bright instrumentation with someBeirut-March of the Zapotec: I was a bit down on Beirut, which is more or less Zach Condon, after his sophomore release which was a inferior version of his debut album. However, this EP was enough to restore the faith. The first half of the EP is Condon backed by a mexican horn section, and the result is stunning. Actually, perhaps "backed by" is the wrong terminology, the horns on this half of the EP really dominate and direct everything else. The sound is original yet recalls a lot of his best earlier work. That half of the EP concludes with The Shrew, which features a great horn workout at the end of the track which I think needs to be heard by everyone. A frontrunner for one of my favorite tracks of the year. The second half of the EP, Realpeople Holland, is a bit less appealing to me. It's Condon backed mostly by keyboards and synths, and while it's not bad per se, it's just not as appealing as his new take on the Beirut sound present on the first half of the EP.
Coconut Records-Davy: So Jason Schwartzman, yeah, the guy from Rushmore, has a band (in fact, this is his second band). And seriously, I mean seriously, it's not bad. In fact, it's a pleasure to listen to. The toughest part of this is getting that whiny image out of your head. I know that it's hard not to think of him going toe-to-toe with Bill Murray, but it's worth it if you can do so. At best, this album is Harry Nilsson-esque, backing piano, clever lyricism, echoes of the Beatles. At worst, you can't stop thinking about Rushmore, but that's your own fault. This is a very, very good pop album that's easily accessible yet has depth. Best tracks: Drummer, Any Fun, Saint Jerome, Wandering Around, The Summer.
Great:
Neko Case-Middle Cyclone: Throwing covers onto your album can be a dangerous thing (um, song covers, not like the photo on the front of the album). If the covers are more well written than an artist's own tracks, it becomes painfully obvious that the songwriting is lacking. That is not the case here, and the covers actually serve to show how accomplished of a songwriter Case has become. On Middle Cyclone, she covers a Harry Nilsson track (Don't Forget Me) and a Sparks track (Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth). The Nilsson track feels right at home, I wasn't even aware it was a cover for a while, while the Sparks track feels out of place. And while some may fault Case for the misplaced Sparks cover, I think it feels misplaced because it's just not as strong of a song as anything else on the album. So for those math majors, it goes something like this: Nilsson=Case>Sparks. (whoa whoa whoa, at least in this one instance--I'm not suggesting that Neko Case's career work is equivalent to that of Nilsson)On another level, this album is fucking heart breaking--I have to be careful when I listen to this because I'm usually in a somber mood for a couple hours after. I don't want to give it all away, but the stories in Vengeance is Sleeping and Middle Cyclone are almost a bit too much to bear. Of course, this album wouldn't be any fun if it weren't for a couple of more upbeat tracks, most notably This Tornado Loves You, I'm an Animal, and Red Tide.
This is going to be one of the best albums of the year--the only weak track is the Sparks cover, and maybe the 30 minute recording of nature sounds tacked onto the end of the album (don't buy that one on itunes or whatever). To close, I'd like to put in a plug for seeing her live--amazingly, her voice is even better live than it is on record (which isn't true for the majority of artists), and it's one of those things that you need to see at some point.
Irrelevant:
U2-No Line on the Horizon: Honestly, I gave up on this one after the first (unsuccessful) listen. I sat down at my computer, put it on, expecting something great, and had forgotten that I was listening to it after 10 minutes. It might as well be elevator music. Subsequent attempts at listening played out similarly. I expected a lot more, especially after The Rolling Stone gave it 5 stars (which, by the way, means absolutely fucking nothing anymore). Bono himself said that if this wasn't the best album they've made, then they're now irrelevant. Welcome to retirement, douchebag.I will say however, that some of the U2 diehards enjoy this album. An unnamed friend, who admitted to crying at U2 shows and using his free time to shop at American Apparel, convinced me to listen to the album a second time after relating a similar first experience and then expouding on the majesty of Bono and Edge and other people with only one name. But even after more listens, I remained unconvinced. U2 doesn't, um, rock hard enough to be as good as any new band out there, and their balladry is dry and unconvincing. I don't see U2 garnering a lot of new fans with this one. Maybe time will prove me wrong on this one, but I think most of us would do better to skip this crap and try listening to something new.
Upcoming: Right now I'm listening to the new Grizzly Bear, Cymbals Eat Guitars, MF Doom (or DOOM), Boy Least Likely To, and a few more things. Updates when I have time.
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