hThis is Part 3 of 4 of my best of. These are albums that I'll still be listening to well into next year.
Love More (<3)
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Who was honestly surprised by this album? Andrew Bird can do no wrong.
Andrew Bird - Imitosis
Explosions In The Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
With a sound almost bigger than God(speed You! Black Emperor), this Texan quartet has been recording music since the early 00's, and has basically been doing it right since they started in the late 90's. There are few bands that can claim the majestic feel that EIS consistently creates, orchestrating songs that should be remembered forever (but, of course, will not, thanks to music ADD [which I admit I too take part in]). These songs make me want to cry. They make me want to sit around in a field and think about existence. The charging crescendos make me want to get up and shake. You can feel your synapses firing when you listen to Explosions In the Sky's new album.
Explosions In The Sky - The Birth and Death of the Day
CAKE - B-Sides and Rarities
CAKE was one of my first favorite bands, along side The Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers, and, like the others, I've continued to be very fond of them. That kind of makes me worry that if they ever do put out a shit record, I'll hype it to no end, purely because I get all nostalgic about it. I sure hope that's not what I'm doing here, because I really really liked this B-sides album. CAKE is in true form on this album, which makes it even harder to talk about. To me, CAKE is the kind of band that is so good, you don't notice them, and you don't notice why they're so good, because they don't have to shove it in your face with over the top solos or ... well you get the point: CAKE is good, inventive, and one of my favorite bands, so there's no way I'd leave them off this list.
CAKE - Strangers in the Night
Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Devendra Banhart is the Led Zeppelin of Freak Folk. That's all you need to know.
Devendra Banhart - Seahorse
The National - Boxer
How is it that The National hasn't been elected president of the indie community? These fellas make making music look like a breeze, like superman saving a bus falling from a cliff; everyone else just stands in awe while great feats are performed with little effort. It's the sort of album that you accidentally start listening to at like 2AM and keep saying "okay, just 1 more song" and then 3AM rolls around, and you're wondering if you really do want to go to work tomorrow, or if listening to the album again is more important. The end of every song leaves you sad, because you didn't want the song to end, but then you get filled with hope and joy, because the next song is only a few seconds of silence away! :). Haha, anyway, it was great, and if you don't all ready know that ... well then I feel bad, so here's a great tune off of that great album:
The National - Brainy
Bishop Allen - The Broken String
This album is an Indie Triumph, straight up, flat out, no joke. It's almost everything I could ask for from Indie Orchestral Pop. I say almost because, really, every song on this album has all ready been released. This album is basically a "Best of" of their 2006 EPs, taking the best songs off those albums, rerecording them, and repackaging them. that is the only thing that kept them off of the top tier of this list.
Bishop Allen - Rain
Bishop Allen - The News From Your Bed
Tegan and Sara - The Con
At times similar to many others, until you realize that the people they sound like (not counting the classic bands) probably sound the way they do because of Tegan and Sara. Tegan and Sara have rarely put out music that they don't seem to be putting their entire being into, and this release is no different. These girls are just trying to figure out the world, just like the rest of us, and that is one of the most refreshing things to know.
Tegan and Sara - Relief Next to Me
Tegan and Sara - Back In Your Head
Phosphorescent - Pride
Like a mixture of the Lion King Soundtrack and 1/2 speed Appalachian folk for people who are slowly overdosing on heroine. The music is haunting and beautiful, scary and soothing. It's an album to die to.
Phosphorescent - My Dove, My Lamb
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Resident crooner Zach Condon comes back with another Balkan gypsy-inspired worldly French indie pop album that with whisk you away to another time and place. My buddy Casey once said (again, not verbatim) that Beirut's music reminds him of Hemingway (i.e. the stories he wrote and the time he lived in and just everything Hemingway-ish), something I whole heartedly agree with. There are few better things than listening to this album and reading The West Bank Gang in the early after noon.
Beirut - Guyamas Sonora
Kittie - Funeral For Yesterday
Mercedes Lander is the reason I own a drum set. For some reason Kittie just really really gets to me, and everything they released up until this album had always been really promising, but never really delivered. Spit was good fun, though not all that competent, Oracle showed them attempting to experiment a bit (and, honestly, failing to produce a fun album), and Until The End showed fans that there was still something there, but Until The End just scratched the surface. What Kittie really ... really needed was just the right combination of people. And it finally happened. Trish Doan and Tara McLeod couldn't have arrived at a better time. Every single aspect of this album titillates and excites me. It's flipping metal. I honestly don't think they'll ever top it.
Kittie - Funeral For Yesterday
Kittie - Breathe
Cheeseburger - Cheeseburger
Balls to the wall, "we're gonna rock you til you're dead" straight up 80's manliness rock, tongue firmly in cheek. These boys came to drink your beer (but they'll return the favor when you come over to their place next friday), hit on your female friends (but not the one you've called squirrel on, because that's not cool), and, guess what? They invited Mike. That's right, they know Mike, and they got him to come to your party. And they just introduced you.
Cheeseburger - Let The Good Times Roll
Cheeseburger - Hot Streets (this really is off their album, not the radio)
Tilly and the Wall - Bottoms of the Barrels
Their first album was a little monotonous, with a few stand out tracks. This album, conversely, is just a blast all the way through. C-64 style synths + tap shoes in place of drums = cutest music eva. It's summertime all the time with Tilly and the Wall. I fell down the stairs into their arms.
Tilly and the Wall - Bad Education
Tilly and the Wall - Sing Songs Along
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment