Mostly for my Dancing About Architecture lads, though whomever else floats this way is welcome to read and laugh or cry or comment or none of the above.
Overall, I'd give the year a C+, a B-minus if I was feeling charitable. Bands I really like, or whose last release I really liked, issued duds this year. Bloc Party, the Hold Steady, I'm looking at you. Don't Look Back nearly overshadowed new releases anyway with entire weekends dedicated to the format. After 17 years, the mighty My Bloody Valentine showed up to play Loveless. Yippee. But no new material Kevin? Really? Can I call you Axl now?
The whole wimpy boy beard music doesn't do much for me. Bon Iver, I'm talking to you. I appreciate the Fleet Foxes a bit more, but my initial exposure to them was at an outdoor summer music festival and their music absolutely does not lend itself to that setting whatsoever. The Doug Fir Lounge on a cold February night? That would have been better.
And, my annual award to the most overhyped, most overrated album that the world seems to love and I don't get in the least...My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges. I urge you to avoid, if you haven't been overexposed already.
If the name of this game was top 15, here are five more records I liked enough not to slag: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazurus, Dig!!!; Jolie Holland - the Living and the Dead; M83 - Saturdays=Youth; Magnetic Morning - A.M.; Ra Ra Riot - the Rhumb Line.
Herewith, what I enjoyed (and I must add here, if you see something of interest, click on the album cover art. I'm now an Amazon affiliate):
10. Kaiser Chiefs - Off with Their Heads
No earth-rattling single on this release and that probably
played right into my hands, er, ears. Rather than get overshadowed by an "I
Predict a Riot" or "Heat Dies Down," Off with Their Heads is just a solid set of songs, something pretty
lacking in many other releases I heard. Still not sure why these guys aren't
massive. Oasis can take the piss, but the Gallaghers really haven't done much
in the past decade besides fight.
9. Sons & Daughters - This Gift
Another band who sound so different from just about
everything else out there. I should have listed this higher. A solid follow-up
to the Repulsion Box. A little
cleaner production beefs up the band behind Adele Bethel's mouthpiece. The
songs and the tunes are still all manner of creepy - aural film noir, if you
must. Though, I could have done with a little more of Scott Patterson's singing
on this effort.8. REM - Accelerate
I still stand by my thought that this isn't a return to form
for REM; none of their other albums sound anything like Accelerate. So it's a bit louder, and a lot faster, than the baby
boomer pop they had been trafficking in for a while, but it doesn't sound like Murmur or Lifes Rich Pageant either. As it happens, two of the slowest songs,
"
7. Sloan - Parallel Play
Somehow, after releasing an album last year with 30 songs on it (and two more available as free downloads), these Canucks release another brilliant piece of power pop. There's basically nothing to dislike here though, for a rare change, it's not Patrick's songs I swoon over.
6. Sun Kil Moon - April
I'm nearly a Mark Kozelek apologist, there's little he does that isn't beautiful and inspired. That said, April is no Ghosts of the Great Highway. Though to be fair, Ghosts is probably the best Mark musical release under any moniker. April gets off on an unsteady foot, but by "Lucky Man" and the transcendent "Unlit Hallway," he's hit his stride in full for the remainder of the record. It was a very prolific year for Mark. Some versions of April included a bonus disk; also released were a live ep and another collection of covers. Plus, his lyric book that was originally only available in Portuguese was published in English and some versions of that also included a CD of rarities. A vein of riches.
5. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
A welcome return to form after the mistake of Plans. Chris Walla figured out what to do with all the extra money they have to play around in the studio and it shows in spades. Real clean lines and Ben's voice sounds less thin somehow. Maybe this is too high on the list, a little home-region bias to the PacNW. Song of the year is the full-length version of "I Will Possess Your Heart."
4. Foals - Antidotes
Here's where the heavy hitters begin. I'm not sure any of my 5-10 picks would have cracked the top 10 in another year, but my top 4 certainly would. There are so many sounds and probable influences in Foals I lost track: I could argue they listen to a fair amount of Bowie and Arcade Fire, have one eye firmly on making sure they keep your hips shakin', and then the horns! An antidote to all that ails ya.
3. Last Shadow Puppets - the Age of the Understatement
Anyone in my general vicinity knows I think Alex Turner's
Arctic Monkeys are nothing short of brilliant. So with absolutely zero
objectivity, I can now say he can do just about no wrong. The Puppets sound
nothing like the Monkeys and I still love it. Pour yourself a cocktail and wake
up in
2. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Not really sure there's anything I can say about this album or band that hasn't already been said. I've seen Dear Science ranked first on at least three polls and don't doubt many more to come. Not my number 1 since it wasn't unexpected. I loved Return to Cookie Mountain and this release was eagerly anticipated by me. So, I'm a tough A: meeting expectations gets you second-best.
1. Mercury Rev - Snowflake Midnight
Totally unexpected takes the prize. I liked Mercury Rev well enough, even with their Flaming Lips' connection (who I think are sorta frauds), and was similarly looking forward to the new release. But absolutely wasn't expecting to have my ears blown off. Soothing and transporting simultaneously. A headphone album no doubt and even though mine are crappy little iPod ear buds, the sonic joy was inescapable. If this makes any sense, it's some sort of mash-up of early '90s downtempo/ambient with a healthy nod toward a Spiritualized wall of sound (minus the gospel choruses) and plenty of field recordings strewn everywhere. Over the top comes Jonathan Donohue declaiming oddly comforting lyrics alternating between the banal and Zen-ish koans. All perfectly encapsulated in "People Are So Unpredictable (There's No Bliss Like Home)" and "Runaway Raindrop." I'm not sure what's in the water in upstate New York - though it leads to a man-squirrel encounter as the album closer - and there's no need to bottle it, just throw the Rev on the hi-fi and drift.
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