Infinite Shuffle

February 12, 2012

102 – The Belle Brigade

Filed under: B, Los Angeles — assman41 @ 12:01 am

While I have never read any of the Twilight books, and vow to never watch any of the movies, I have to admit one positive thing about the franchise — the musical director certainly knows what she’s doing.

That woman, Alexandra Patsavas, has been in charge of compiling songs for all four of the movie soundtracks to date, and, so far, she’s done a bang-up job, having convinced a slew of great indie and pop bands to produce songs for the movies.

The soundtrack for the latest installment — with the unbearably long title, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” — was released in November 2011. The list of acts isn’t quite as impressive as past discs, but one song has stood out so far.

“I Didn’t Mean It” by The Belle Brigade has slowly been getting more and more airplay on radio stations. And for good reason.

I first heard the song a few weeks ago on my favorite local station (WGCS 91.1 FM “The Globe”) well before I knew about its connection to the movie soundtrack.

The song was strong enough that I had to find out more about the band. The group consists of siblings Barbara and Ethan Gruska. The Los Angelenos from a family with strong ties to the music and entertainment industries.

After overcoming their sibling rivalry, the pair a formed band in 2008 and released a self-titled debut in April 2011.

The above song is the second track from the album. It’s also a great table-setter for the rest of the disc, as it perfectly highlights the band’s strong Fleetwood Mac influences.

The album is full of quality songs, including other standouts such as “Losers”, “Lucky Guy”, “Rusted Wheel” and “My Goodness”.

Considering how much they’ve already done in such a short period of time, The Belle Brigade looks like a band that has a very bright future. They will be in Chicago soon to open for Good Old War — a show that I very much want to attend.

February 6, 2012

101 – Of Monsters and Men

Filed under: Iceland, O — assman41 @ 6:16 am

As a music fan, there might not be anything more exciting than getting in on the ground floor with a band just as it’s about to break out big-time.

(Obviously, it’d be cooler to champion a band long before it gets its big break, but that’s hard to do — unless you’re embedded in an awesome music scene or just plain lucky.)

Anyway, if you’re reading this post in February 2012, you still have a chance to be among the early adopters to Of Monsters and Men, a band that should make a big splash in the coming months.

Critical praise for the five-piece indie/folk-pop group from Iceland has slowly been bubbling up during the past year and should reach a boiling point once they release their full-length debut, My Head Is An Animal, worldwide.

The album came out in Iceland in September 2011 and has helped them become radio darlings locally.

They have been receiving airplay on a few radio stations in America during the past year. And sales for their big single, “Little Talks”, have steadily risen.

That track is definitely their best to date, but there are plenty of solid songs on the LP, including “Six Weeks”, “Dirty Paws”, “King and Lionheart” and “Your Bones”.

With the raucous instrumentation and the folky male-female vocals, the group has received plenty of comparisons to Arcade Fire and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and, to a lesser extent, Mumford & Sons.

The band will begin touring the United States in late March and will be at Subterranean in Chicago on March 30. Chances are, as more and more people hear this album, tickets will quickly become scarce.

January 30, 2012

100 – Good Old War

Filed under: G, Philadelphia — assman41 @ 12:09 am

I will readily admit that my indie music knowledge barely scratches the surface of what is out there. Sure, I can talk endlessly about different bands I’ve heard and upcoming albums I’m looking forward to, but I’m constantly being reminded I’m just at the tip of the iceberg with this stuff.

One such instance came a couple of weeks ago while I was perusing local concert listings. I saw that two solid bands — The Belle Brigade and Family of the Year — would be coming to Chicago soon. But they were just the openers for another band, Good Old War.

I had no clue who these guys were, which surprised the hell out of me. I can’t remember a time when I recognized multiple opening acts but knew not even an inkling about the headliner.

Apparently, Good Old War is a three-piece folk/roots-rock band hailing from Philadelphia, home to other solid acts such as Kurt Vile, The War On Drugs and Dr. Dog.

Good Old War was born out of the ashes of two well-liked indie rock groups from Philly — Days Away and Unlikely Cowboy. Moving from their rocker roots to a more folk sound, and taking advantage of some great harmonies, the band is reminiscent to such contemporaries as Dawes, The Head and the Heart, Fleet Foxes and Lord Huron.

They released their debut album, Only Way To Be Alone, in 2008, and followed it with a self-titled disc in 2010. Their third release, Come Back As Rain, is set to drop in a few weeks on March 6.

They’ll be making their way to Lincoln Hall — my favorite venue in Chicago — on April 14. I’m very hopeful that I’ll be in attendance.

In the meantime, here are a couple more great tracks from the band.

P.S. I’d hoped to do something special for my 100th proper band post, but I’ve been pretty busy so far in 2012. Maybe I’ll do something for No. 150. Fingers crossed.

January 22, 2012

99 – Youth Lagoon

Filed under: Boise Idaho, Y — assman41 @ 12:01 am

Reading an interview with Trevor Powers is like getting a glimpse into a troubled mind. For a long time, Powers, whose musical alter-ego is Youth Lagoon, couldn’t properly articulate all the strange thoughts that were cluttering his brain.

It wasn’t until the Boise, Idaho, resident put pen to paper and began writing songs that he was finally able to start relaying to people everything that was in his head.

The end result is The Year of Hibernation, the eight-song debut from Youth Lagoon.

Upon a cursory listen, the songs meld together into a dreamy electronic escape. But that facade belies a darker message in the lyrics.

According to Powers in a review at Amazon.com, “I don’t think I could ever write a completely happy album. It’s not that I’m not a happy person, but I just have too many things in my mind that haunt me.”

While that may be true, he does a pretty good job masking it with beautiful melodies and soundscapes.

Youth Lagoon falls perfectly into the same ilk as Wild Nothing, The XX, Zola Jesus, Beach Fossils and Wye Oak.

Powers masters the slow-build in his songs, starting out soft and quiet before becoming faster and more powerful.

Hopefully, Powers is able to maintain a balance in which he can keep making such beautiful music while also holding on to his sanity.

 

January 17, 2012

98 – The Lonely Forest

Filed under: Anacortes Wash., L — assman41 @ 3:52 am

Besides having catchy tunes and good, honest lyrics, the one thing that sets The Lonely Forest apart from their indie-pop brethren is the fact that they don’t take themselves too seriously.

That becomes apparent with one listen to their big single, the ironically titled “Turn Off This Song and Go Outside”.

That ditty is definitely the best track on the group’s third full-length album, Arrows, but it’s far from the only quality song.

The four-piece hailing from Anacortes, Wash., channels the best of late ’90s/early ’00s alt-rock. Particularly on earlier releases such as Nuclear Winter (2007) and We Sing the Body Electric! (2009), where the piano is more prominent, the group conjures up memories of Ben Folds Five.

But on the latest release, the sound is more reminiscent to such bands as Jimmy Eat World and, to a lesser extent, Filter. (Sidenote: The album was produced by Death Cab For Cutie guitarist/producer Chris Walla.)

On the above track — which is actually titled “I Don’t Want To Live There” — singer John Van Deusen longs to remain in the Pacific Northwest as opposed to living in Los Angeles or Nashville or other far-flung metropolises.

Very few of the 12 tracks on Arrows even border on being filler. And, besides the two aforementioned songs, the other standouts are “(I Am) the Love Addict”, “Coyote” and “We Sing In Time”, which was also on the previous LP.

If I’d listened to the album a month or so earlier, it would’ve definitely made my Best of 2011 list. Perhaps I can make it up to the band by going to one of its shows. I’ve heard they’re pretty great in person, and I wouldn’t mind confirming that for myself.

January 8, 2012

97 – Lykke Li

Filed under: Sweden — assman41 @ 12:01 am

It turns out that Lykke Li is legit.

When the Swedish songstress dropped her debut, Youth Novels, in 2008, I simply wrote her off as a two-hit wonder — “Little Bit” and “I’m Good, I’m Gone”.

When her follow-up, Wounded Rhymes, came out in 2011, I enjoyed the first single, “Get Some”, but assumed that once again the rest of the album wasn’t worth my time.

But after seeing it earn a decent amount of praise on the end-of-the-year lists, I figured I should give it a fair shake.

Not only does it include some catchy dance-pop numbers, but Li shows her range with a few slow, heartfelt tracks that might be her real strength.

She brings out her bread and butter on haltingly, upbeat tunes such as “I Follow Rivers”, “Rich Kids Blues”, “Jerome” and the aforementioned “Get Some”.

On several songs — especially “Youth Knows No Pain”, “Unrequited Love”, “Sadness Is a Blessing” and “Silent My Song” — she channels some of the ’50s/’60s girl-group sound that has regained traction the past couple of years.

But the best song on this album has to be “Love Out of Lust”. It’s a slow ballad that takes awhile to build to a crescendo, but when that chorus hits, it totally seals the song’s greatness.

Even the live version is solid as hell.

After listening to this album a few times, I decided to give the debut another try. I figured I might have a newfound love for it. But, no, I was right the first time — there are only two good songs there.

If Li can continue that kind of steep improvement, her third album is sure to be amazing.

January 2, 2012

Best of 2011 – Everyone else

Filed under: Best of — assman41 @ 12:01 am

Just as I did last year and the year before that, I have compiled as many end-of-the-year lists as I could find. And, in case you missed it, here’s my list.

A.V. Club … No. 1 album: Wye Oak, “Civilian”

Amazon … No. 1 album: Adele, “21” … No. 1 song: Adele, “Rolling in the Deep” … No. 1 alt/indie album: tUnE-yArDs “w h o k i l l” … No. 1 alt/indie song: M83, “Midnight City”

American Songwriter … No. 1 album: Wilco, The Whole Love … No. 1 song: Hayes Carll, “Another Like You”

BBC Music … No. 1 album: PJ Harvey, “Let England Shake”

Billboard … No. 1 album: Adele, “21” … No. 1 song: Nicki Minaj, “Super Bass”

Drowned In Sound … No. 1 album: The Antlers, “Burst Apart”

Exclaim! … No. 1 album: Bon Iver, “Bon Iver”

Filter … No. 1 album: M83, “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming”

KCRW … No. 1 album: TV on the Radio, “Nine Types of Light”

MTV (Bigger Than Sound … No. 1 Album: Girls, “Father, Son, Holy Ghost”

Magnet … No. 1 album: Yuck, “Yuck”

Metacritic … No. 1 album: PJ Harvey, “Let England Shake”

Mojo … No. 1 album: PJ Harvey, “Let England Shake”

NME … No. 1 album: PJ Harvey, “Let England Shake” … No. 1 song: Lana Del Rey, “Video Games”

The Observer … No. 1 album: Gillian Welch, “The Harrow & the Harvest”

Obscure Sound … No. 1 album: Destroyer, “Kaputt”

Paste … No. 1 album: Bon Iver, “Bon Iver” … No. 1 song: Fleet Foxes, “Helplessness Blues”

Picadilly Records … No. 1 album: Peaking Lights, “936”

PopMatters … No. 1 album: Fleet Foxes, “Helplessness Blues” … No. 1 indie rock album: Future Islands, “On the Water” … No. 1 indie pop album: The Caribbean, “Discontinued Perfume”

Prefix … No. 1 album: Shabazz Palaces, “Black Up”

The Record Exchange … No. 1 album: Youth Lagoon, “The Year of Hibernation”

Rise … No. 1 album: The War On Drugs, “Slave Ambient”

Rolling Stone … No. 1 album: Adele, “21”

Rough Trade Shops … No. 1 album: Josh T. Person, “Last of the Country Gentlemen”

The Sonic Medium … No. 1 album: Kurt Vile, “Smoke Ring For My Halo”

Spin … No. 1 album: Fucked Up, “David Comes To Life” … No. 1 song: Adele, “Rolling In the Deep”

Spinner … No. 1 album: EMA, “Past-Life Martyred Saints”

Stereogum … No. 1 album: Girls, “Father, Son, Holy Ghost”

TIME … No. 1 album: Adele, “21”

Treble … No. 1 album: St. Vincent, “Strange Mercy”

Uncut … No. 1 album: PJ Harvey, “Let England Shake”

Under the Radar … No. 1 album: St. Vincent, “Strange Mercy”

Urban Outfitters … No. 1 album: The War On Drugs, “Slave Ambient”

WNRN … No. 1 album: The Head and the Heart, “The Head and the Heart” (I wouldn’t put too much stock into the rankings of this one. The War On Drugs are No. 91, while Blink-182 is No. 63.)

January 1, 2012

Best of 2011 – My list

Filed under: Best of — assman41 @ 12:01 am

Despite a lot of excellent live music experiences this year, I kept finding myself bemoaning the lack of standout albums released in 2011. There were only a few that I knew deserved recognition.

But rather than just write some rant about the poor quality of music this year, I went back and re-listened to everything I’d heard from the past 12 months — as well as some other stuff that I knew was worthy of consideration.

The end result? It really wasn’t as bad a year as I kept making it out to be. By the time I was done, I’d found 20 albums and 10 bonus songs that deserved to be honored.

Normally, I just list everything in alphabetical order. But, as I was compiling my list, I was forced to rank everything and make some tough decisions. And, since I’m a sportswriter by trade, I figured it’d be fitting if I broke things into a first and second team.

And, just like last year, I put together a playlist of all the best songs I could find (which turned out to be barely half of the 30 I searched for).

Anyway, without further ado, I give you the Best of 2011.

FIRST TEAM

  • The Decemberists – The King Is Dead … As far as I’m concerned, these guys can do no wrong. After several highly praised concept albums, the Portland crew stripped things down and put out an album full of great songs and no filler. … Favorite song: “Down By the Water”
  • Yuck – Yuck … At first I was apprehensive about this album. But after my first listen, I knew this was a disc I was gonna love all year long. This was a close second to The Decemberists. … Favorite song: “Georgia”
  • Cults – Cults … I can’t help but smile every time I listen to this album. These guys latched on to the lo-fi, old-school girl group sound that has become popular and took it to another level. … Favorite song: “Go Outside”
  • The Rural Alberta Advantage – Departing … I never got into Neutral Milk Hotel during their heyday, but this group is a nice consolation. I saw them live and met them afterwards, and it just added to my love for them and this album. … Favorite song: “Two Lovers”
  • Wye Oak – Civilian … I’d known of this band for a while, but after seeing them live at SXSW, I was totally sold. This album is great to just sit back and relax to. … Favorite song: “Holy Holy”
  • The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart … Another band that I’ve seen live (in 2010) and missed seeing a couple of times this year, this Seattle crew is just the latest in a wave of great solid indie folk acts. … Favorite song: “Lost In My Mind”
  • Young the Giant – Young the Giant … This album is full of catchy tunes, and I’d love to get the chance to see them live someday. … Favorite song: “My Body”
  • Grouplove – Never Trust a Happy Song … I was worried this would be one of those groups with one or two great singles and nothing else. But this album has plenty of solid indie-pop tracks. … Favorite song: “Tongue Tied”
  • The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient … Yet another band I saw live this year, this third disc (second LP) by the group adds to a strong catalog of catchy, groovy indie folk with a tinge of psychedelia. … Favorite song: “Baby Missiles”
  • Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues … While their debut album was great, I worried that this follow-up would be too similar. Thankfully, it’s not. No longer sounding like a band that lives in a cabin in the woods, the group channels its inner Simon & Garfunkel en route to some amazing folk-rock. Favorite song: “Helplessness Blues”

SECOND TEAM

  • The Cave Singers – No Witch … Favorite song: “Gifts and the Raft”
  • Rival Schools – Pedals … Favorite song: “A Parts For B Actors”
  • Death Cab For Cutie – Codes and Keys … Favorite song: “You Are a Tourist”
  • Tammar – Visits … Favorite song: “Deep Witness”
  • The Black Keys – El Camino … Favorite song: “Lonely Boy”
  • The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong … Favorite song: “Heart in Your Heartbreak”
  • Wilco – The Whole Love … Favorite song: “I Might”
  • Real Estate – Days … Favorite song: “It’s Real”
  • Apex Manor – The Year of Magical Drinking … Favorite song: “Southern Decline”
  • Big Scary – Vacation … Favorite song: “Mix Tape”

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Since writing this post earlier in the week, I have listened to a handful of albums that received solid reviews during the past year. For one reason or another, I had just kinda overlooked them until now. And, as it turned out, I was quite keen on all of them. If I’d given them more listens earlier in the year, there’s a decent chance they would’ve made the above lists.

  • Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost … Favorite song: “Alex”
  • Lonely Forest – Arrows … Favorite song: “Turn Off This Song and Go Outside”
  • Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes … Favorite song: “Get Some”
  • Youth Lagoon – Year of Hibernation … Favorite song: “Daydream”

I look forward to giving all of these albums repeated listens soon and sharing my thoughts in the near future.

TOP SINGLES (That weren’t on an aforementioned album)

Check back tomorrow for my annual compilation of end-of-the-year lists from around the internet.

December 25, 2011

96 – The Horrors

Filed under: England, H — assman41 @ 12:01 am

What better time to post a review about a band named The Horrors than on Christmas Day? The contrast is delectable.

Anyways, I had never even heard of The Horrors until a couple of weeks ago when I started scouring best-of-the-year lists. The English five-piece had received a lot of nods for their third full-length release, Skying.

I’d noted it on several lists, but didn’t pay much attention until I read what Under the Radar magazine had to say after ranking it the year’s No. 5 album:

After the Sonics-worship of their debut and post-punk experiments of its follow-up, England’s The Horrors look back to the melodic rush of such ’80s bands as Simple Minds for Skying. Whether they settle into this sound remains to be seen, but for now they seem to have found a stylistic coat that fits just right.

That description piqued my interest, so I set forth listening to their entire catalog, including 2007’s Strange House and 2009’s Primary Colours.

I don’t know The Sonics’ sound well enough to compare the debut album. All I can say about it is that it was a nearly unbearable mishmash of industrial metal/punk garbage. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who dug that sound, but not me.

The sophomore disc was a welcomed departure from that earlier nonsense. While still rough around the edges, The Horrors start to find their niche in the post-punk genre. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve sworn this album came out in 1983, what with its strong early goth influences.

On the latest album, we find the boys sticking to the post-punk sound, but refining things and adding some slightly poppier inflection. While I certainly wouldn’t rank it among the best albums of the year, it does have its moments.

Some of the stronger tracks include “I Can See Through You”, “Dive In”, “Moving Further Away” and “Still Life”.

December 18, 2011

95 – An Horse

Filed under: A, Australia, H — assman41 @ 12:01 am

I had high hopes when I downloaded Walls, this year’s sophomore release from the Australian boy-girl duo An Horse. I’d had a positive reaction to their 2008 debut, Rearrange Beds, and expected for more of the same.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I got. The two albums sound nearly identical. Then I went back and listened to the original and realized that, despite having a really great sound, every song was pretty much a continuation of the last.

Judging by their looks, the Australian duo seems like a blonder version of Matt & Kim. And, at times, the music channels their Brooklyn contemporaries — just on a softer, more toned-down level.

Vocally, Kate Cooper sounds like a relaxed version of Shirley Manson. Paired with Damon Cox, they’re somewhat reminiscent of Tegan & Sara, the group that “discovered” them.

This is why it’s difficult to rag on them. Each song, taken on its own merit, is pretty catchy indie-pop. But when you string together 10-12 of them on an album, it can seem pretty repetitive.

Maybe I’m being too superficial. Perhaps someone with a more refined ear can detect nuance in their tunes.

Feel free to check out their website or MySpace page and decide for yourself. Just don’t be surprised if you start to get the feeling that you’re listening to the same song on repeat.

P.S. When you see a picture of them, just remember that the short one really is a woman.

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