Category: Music Page 3 of 10

Best Music of 2011: So Far

On July 20, 2011

I‘m well on my way to buying more new albums this year than any other year thus far. As such, I could not keep this list to five, but I’m not a big fan of arbitrarily limited lists anyway – even the ordering on this is fairly arbitrary. Theese seven albums have distinguished themselves in my listening habits far above anything else I’ve gotten this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if several of them stuck around for my end-of-the-year list as well. Anyway, here they are, my favorite albums of 2011, released before July 1st.

#7 – The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

Jonathan introduced me to this Welsh band via their half album about a year ago, but I only really listened to it and got into the band just before they released this full-length, so I was perfectly primed for this to go into repeat, and that’s just what it did. It’s a big bombastic album, with lots of layers in the orchestration to go along with the lead vocals.

#6 – The Raveonettes – Raven in the Grave

I didn’t fall in love with this album quite as hard as I did with The Raveonettes’ previous release In and Out of Control, but it has grown on me quite a lot since I first got it, and I do really appreciate the band’s ability to innovate their sound (here softer and more contemplative than their previous noise-heavy rock) without leaving behind who they are – there’s still plenty of fuzz to go around here, and I actually expect the more thoughtful approach here may eventually be the one that stays with me for longer.

#5 – Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys

Somehow I missed out on really being a Death Cab fan back in the day – I managed to get into indie rock somewhere in between their releases, and even though their name is omnipresent and I’m plenty adept at dropping it whenever appropriate, I actually know very little of their music. I decided I’d check this one out, and lo and behold, I cannot turn it off. I didn’t expect that, but it’s addicting, and I really want to fill in the gaps of their other albums now.

#4 – Cults – Cults

I came close to putting Cults on my list last year on the strength of a 3-song EP, but I just couldn’t do it with that little to go on. Now there’s a full album (which incorporates at least some of the EP, including the hit single “Go Outside”), and I can say with very little doubt this will be on my year-end list this time. Every one of these tracks is irresistibly catchy – fair warning, they WILL get stuck in your head.

#3 – Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

I have Lykke Li’s 2009 release Youth Novel, but despite my best and repeated efforts, I have never been able to really get into it. Even seeing her live for part of a set at Lollapalooza wasn’t quite enough, even though she’s a charismatic performer. So it was with trepidation I picked up Wounded Rhymes…and loved it immediately. Still don’t love Youth Novel, but something about this new album is very nearly perfect. It’s strident and vulnerable, with a depth in the songs both musically and lyrically that I found lacking in the earlier outing. It’s a gorgeous and heartrending album that clearly cuts close to her heart, and that comes through in every song.

#2 – The Submarines – Love Notes/Letter Bombs

If the Submarines’ first album is about the dating process, breaking up and getting together again (which they did), and their second is about a young couple embarking into fully committed and joyful love together (which they did), then this third one is about dealing with the struggles and joys of married life (which they are doing). It’s more mature and more complicated than Honeysuckle Weeks, understanding that two people being a couple isn’t easy, but the happiness is worth the struggle. Not every song is autobiographical, but they can’t seem to keep the general trajectory of their lives out of their music, and when they’re able to capture their emotions as well as they are, I have no argument with that.

#1 – Dum Dum Girls – He Gets Me High EP

I usually don’t include EPs unless they’re exemplary. I guess this one is. It probably ranks high on my listening chart because I simply can’t turn it off when it starts and end up playing it on repeat forever. I had Dum Dum Girls’ full-length I Will Be on my year-end list last year, and I actually think this EP is better than that album. All three new songs are great, catchy in both music and lyrics, and the fourth now ranks a among my favorite covers, a pretty straight but really lovely rendition of The Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.” The band has another full-length due later this year. Will it top this? We’ll see.

Honorable Mentions: The Pauses – A Cautionary Tale, The Violet Lights – Sex & Sound EP, Vivian Girls – Share the Joy, Obi Best – Sentimental Education EP, The Belle Brigade – The Belle Brigade

2010 in Music: #1 Jenny and Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now

By Jandy

On January 2, 2011

In Music

Last year when writing about Neko Case in my post about favorite albums of the year, I mentioned Jenny Lewis and how she’d certainly be on the list if she’d had a new album out. Well, this year she does, a duo album with her boyfriend Johnathan Rice, and here it is at the top of my list. Not really surprising for anyone who knows me.

It’s hard for me to resist Jenny Lewis anyway, but I have to say that this album manages to be a step up from her solo work – bringing Johnny in officially (he was a pretty big part of Acid Tongue) was a good move, their voices blending and contrasting nicely throughout all the songs.

At first listen, it seems much like the several other beach poppy albums out this year, but after a few listens the lyrics show Jenny’s signature combination of wit, hope, and ironic unhappiness. Yet despite songs about being broke, in debt, on depression medication, etc., it’s clear that Jenny and Johnny are having fun now, and she’s as happy as she’s ever been. But her depth of understanding that it isn’t always that way gives the album that something extra that, say, Best Coast’s Crazy For You is missing, and reminds that even though Bethany Cosantino is often compared to Jenny, she still can’t match her role model’s lyrical ability.

There aren’t any official videos from the album yet, and somehow the duo doesn’t come across as well on concert videos as they do live, but here are a few of the better ones I could find. The third one is actually not on this album, but a duet they did on Johnathan’s 2007 solo album. They’ve been doing it at their shows in a much slower arrangement, and it’s gorgeous live.

2010 in Music: #2 Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love

By Jandy

On January 2, 2011

In Music

A new Belle and Sebastian album is something to celebrate, especially when it’s been some five years since the last one. At the same time, any new album of theirs has a lot to live up to, and I couldn’t be happier with this one. I might not put it right up with some of their earlier stuff, but it has certainly meant an awful lot to me this year, in more ways than one.

It’s poppy and retro, with several songs (including the title track, with Carey Mulligan guesting) that would be perfectly at home in a 1960s film, but also with a melancholic undertone on other songs that gives the album as a whole a nicely balanced feel. Every song on here just makes me feel happy, comfortable, and safe.

2010 in Music: #3 Stars – The Five Ghosts

By Jandy

On January 2, 2011

In Music

It took me only a tad bit longer to get into Stars than it did Metric (both are Broken Social Scene-related bands, Stars sharing Amy Millan and Evan Cranley with BSS, Metric sharing Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw), but now I’d be hard pressed to choose between them. Thankfully I haven’t had to the last couple of years, since they’re offsetting their releases. This years’ Stars release is not quite a concept album, but is certainly built around the common motif of ghosts, dying, and a nebulous afterlife. All sounds rather morbid, but Stars’ evocative lyricism and intricate instrumentation keep it from being anything but hopeful, especially with Torquil and Amy’s wistful interpretations.

I think when this CD came out, I listened to it non-stop for a month. And I’m still drawn back to it more than almost any other album this year. Even the songs that I can tell I wouldn’t ordinarily like that much stick with me – like “Changes,” which is fairly trite lyrically compared with most of their stuff and pretty spare musically, yet ends up stuck in my head time after time simply because Amy’s voice soars so beautifully on it. I think she could sing her grocery lists and make me love it. Thankfully most of the songs stand up even beyond the vocals.

They’ve got an official video out for “Fixed,” but they’ve disabled embedding. It’s over here. I’ve got live versions of a couple of songs embedded below.

2010 in Music: #4 Warpaint – The Fool

By Jandy

On December 28, 2010

In Music

This group came out of nowhere for me this year; I think I’d maybe seen the video for the single “Undertow” and liked it well enough, but they offered the whole album for streaming the week before it came out a couple of months ago, I happened to see it on one of the music blogs, and decided to try it out. I listened to the stream ALL DAY. Then bought the album, saw them live, and became a big fan all in the span of a few weeks.

Other than having female vocalists (all female members, in fact), the band is a bit off the track of what I listen to – it’s dreampop, I guess, but with a really kind of introspective yet experimental feel. It’s very well-orchestrated and musically precise, but with just enough of a wild, unpredictable edge, especially in the vocals, to justify their name. And it’s the kind of music that’s totally enveloping without being overwhelming. Listening to it live, it sounds like it’s coming from inside your head somehow.

I love every song on here, but I think the one that really sold me on the album as a whole is the one that’s the most different from the rest – when “Baby” came on, I was blown over. It’s a really simple, almost acoustic song, and that in comparison with the really intricate and full sound of the other songs was like, whoa. They can do that AND this too? And both are awesome? SOLD. I was only able to find a live recording of it, but the sound is pretty good. (Same venue I saw them at, but two days later.) Oh, the “Undertow” video is directed by Shannyn Sossamon, sister of the band’s bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg, and an original member of the band.