The last week or so I've been on an almost desperate mission to get caught up on 2011 music. I would really like to be able to discuss what albums I thought were good come December, when I'm mostly just a spectator. One problem is that last year's music keeps sounding better and better as we move farther from it.
As I mentioned earlier I was listening to the
Cults s/t. I didn't really dig it past a few songs. I was messing with Google Music's Instant mix feature and playing Rise of Nations and this really good Cults song comes up! How could I have missed this song? So I tab out of my game to check the title. There do I find its not Cults at all, its the band
Best Coast whose album I neglected! Pretty lulzy.
Here are some picks I've been listening to that you might want to look in to:
06152011.png
David Comes to Life: This year's
The Monitor? This is probably going to be one of those albums that you'll see floating in people's end of year top 10's. And it's hard to deny the songsmanship and ambition. The price of admission though is Damian Abraham's singing style. No matter how traditional the album's sound is at heart, Fucked Up is a punk band (and not in the whiny Titus Andronicus way either.) I definitely have to make some effort to listen through, and I can't help but feel self-conscious as I listen. As high school as it sounds I just don't want someone to walk by and hear what I'm listening to and say "You listen to
that music now?" As much as I don't want to deal with answering a question like that, its catchy stuff.
Yuck: I feel Yuck and the next two albums (as well as my personal current darling, The Joy Formidable's
Big Roar) all belong to the same Millennial, 90's revival, category. And I couldn't be happier. Yuck is like Joy Formidable Jr. They like their fuzzy guitars just the same. If their rockers don't reach those heights though, they offer some superb chill-down tracks like Suicide Policeman, Shook Down, and Stutter. The opener, "Get Away" has got to be a college radio staple. Just as well the closer, "Rubber" is going to find a lot of shoegaze fans.
No Color: The Dodos bring out the janglier side of alternative...excuse me, "indie" music. Like a heavier Fleet Foxes? Plus they get some help from my favorite back-up singer, Neko Case (who I really aught to get into.) The crown jewel on the album is "Don't Try to Hide it" which unsurprisingly features copious amounts of Neko Case; one of 2011's best tracks. Even if the track does tower over the rest of the record, there are plenty of surprises like the building intensity of "Don't Stop" (which always segues beautifully into whatever is next on your playlist,) and the Shins-ish refrain in "Sleep."
We Love You So Bad: I only just started my second time through this album, and I honestly can't figure out if I like it. It has the same 60's-retro sound that I dismiss other bands for. On the other hand, how about that opening track? "Dead Ripe" is pretty sweet too. With all those distorted guitars might be enough to sway me. Or maybe its just that the cover is
such a nod to
Siamese Dream I can't help it.
Make Your Own Danger: Sometimes I start writing just so I can talk about one thing way at the end. This is that thing. I
love this album a whole bunch. Your mileage may vary though. I know that I tend to have a "type" of music I like. Alina Simone's music is not that brand. And I have a long history of just
loving the shit out of this angsty-chick-folk-semi-acoustic music inexplicably. Albums like this get labelled folk, but I don't really think that fits. Is Fiona Apple folk then too, or does the choice between guitar and piano completely decide the genre? I have had a hunger for this kind of music for a long time and I didn't even realize it. Not only that, but I bought it completely blind -- something I haven't done in a decade. I bought it completely off a decent pitchfork review and two measly live performances I could find off Youtube. I was ordering another cd, so I thought why not. Great decision! One of my early favorites, even if it's not quite
King of Limbs or
The Big Roar. If it's not your cup of tea, so be it, I get it. However, if you are posting on this forum, I bet some part of this album appeals to you as it does me.
Fake-edit p.s.: I've been doing posts like this in an attempt to get some off-topic music discussion going, but I kind of would like to know what you'se all think. Should I move these posts elsewhere? Is there not enough room in the CLT for any talk? Should I just save these for some sort of writing portfolio and hope some hipster website gives me a pittance for them and keep this thread a youtube-only forum? Let me know what you guys think!