Lambchop – National Talk Like a Pirate Day by MergeRecords
I try to avoid non-donut-including fake holidays, but if Merge Records is giving away one of the best-ever Lambchop songs from the best-ever Lambchop album (yes), that’s worth celebrating.
Previously: Live: Lambchop at the Echoplex
Greg and I were discussing the Beach Fossils album the other night, and I got to thinking about luminous, arpeggio-driven guitar records. Prettier and more artful than the B. Fossil’s workmanlike debut, Crushed Stars’ 2008 release Gossamer Days offers the simple pleasures of aesthetic richness; with a new album by the band on the way, it’s well worth revisiting.
Crushed Stars – “Spies”: mp3
Previously: Interview: Crushed Stars
Obviously a major contender for Pitchfork’s top 20 jams tomorrow, don’t even front. Also, high-five to Taylor for 1) co-opting that horrific Avril video concept and making it resonate, and 2) The retro opening sequence where she writes notes to her crush from her window instead of, you know, texting (sexting? texting. T’s classy.).
I went a slightly different direction for 2008′s songs list — there’s some crossover with yesterday’s albums list because my favorite three albums happened to have my favorite three songs of the year, but other than that I tried to spotlight 20 singles and album tracks by artists who didn’t quite stand out enough across the board to crack the albums best-of. Get your left-field on after the jump and remember, the Rawkblog pledge drive ends this weekend — please give now! Read the rest of this entry »
Women / photo by David Greenwald
Apologies for the tardiness, folks, but with some distance from the — let’s just go ahead and say it — shitty trends that characterized 2008, I feel pretty good about the year. It didn’t offer a lot of new classics to my ears, but it was a fantastic time for indie-folk (excluding Bon Iver: Shitty!) and new artists, or at least those who were fresh to me — I became a Hold Steady and Mountain Goats convert, and the debuts of Fleet Foxes, Women and White Hinterland, among others, have only aged well in recent months. A great year? Nah. (My actual favorite album of 2008: Reckoning by R.E.M.) But worth digging into, after the jump. [Ed. note: Like what you see? It’s Pledge Week — please donate!]
Like too many albums, Empire of the Sun’s debut is front-loaded — extremely so. Luckily, there’s enough awesome in the release’s first 20 minutes to carry the whole thing, a burden tracks such as title track “Walking on a Dream” and “Standing by the Shore” shoulder with aplomb and synth hooks. The duo goes straight for kitsch: their album cover is an absurdist bit of ’80s futurist fantasia, and the songs don’t deny the aesthetic. “Walking on a Dream” sounds like Phil Collins soundtracking Miami Vice by way of 2008: slick, sincere and, um, erect.
Walking On A Dream closes with “Without You,” which finds singer Luke Steele (also of The Sleepy Jackson) contorting his nasal croon into Robert Smith-like positions. It’s a gem in and of itself, but next to the first half’s pulsing excitement, it’s also another in a sea of neo-synth ballads. It probably sounds great on a yacht.
Empire of the Sun – “Walking On A Dream”: mp3
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2008: We knew ye well. Click below for more of last year’s best music.
Editor’s note: Women’s self-titled debut is a stunning album, perhaps the year’s most vital 30 minutes; while it will will place high on my year-end albums list, I haven’t blogged on it and don’t want it to get lost in the crowd. Also, I’m on vacation and I have a million blurbs to write to do this year-end list properly so I may just wait for the site relaunch in January. (We’re relaunching in January!)
The closest thing 2008 had to a trend this year was the emergence — and prominence, at least among listeners who still care about new rock music — of a fresh, experimental lo-fi scene, one that ranged from No Age’s Smell-y noise to Vivian Girl’s throwback pop soup. But despite the hype, and the shot of energy the waning indie scene so sorely needs, too many of these bands’ albums are full of underwritten tracks hiding under tape hiss and two-minute runtimes. Read the rest of this entry »
Seeing all these year-end lists, it’s clear that I’ve missed a few things. Starting right now, I’m going to sample all of the 20-30 hip young new bands that slipped through the cracks this year over on Hypem. Strap in, folks, and feel free to suggest some tunes we can jam out before the weekend hits. Crystal bands and curse-word acts alike, after the jump. [Continue reading...]
Frightened Rabbit — The Once soundtrack gone wrong. There’s potential in tracks like “The Modern Leper,” but the band never quite pulls the songs off.
Telepathe — “So Fine” is sooo ’80s. This song reminds me of a sassier, street-savvy Au Revoir Simone. “Islands” has more potential with its broken-down chamber-pop vibe. “Devil’s Trident” goes back to the synths mixed with a weirdo spoken-word monologue, but the Velvet Underground these girls ain’t. Too much clutter.
Crystal Castles – After the Knife, I guess people are into this Legend of Zelda meets New Order buried vox shit, but, uh, what the hell? “Untrust Us?” “Knights?” These songs are terrible!
Crystal Antlers -- A step up, as far as crystal bands go, but still a B-grade Wolf Parade recording in a cave.
Crystal Stilts – Here we go! “Departure” is on some druggy, dirty surf-rock shit. See, guys, this is what lo-fi is for.
Fucked Up – The only fucked up thing about this band is how silly they sound for having such a hard-ass name. “No Epiphany” and “Twice Born” both have the titles of would-be metal juggernauts, but while the band churns out reliable chord-fests, Growly McGrowlerson’s singing borders on the satirical — dude, we get it, you’re in a rock band. BWAAAAAAH! Somebody get these guys the Les Savy Fav discog, stat.
The Mae Shi — We’re YELPY! And we just drank COFFEE! And none of us can SING! Barf.
Max Tundra – Oh Max, where have you been all my life? “Which Song” is glitchy and glitzy, a whirlwind of texture and groove and romance.
Gang Gang Dance – This band is way more interesting than Portishead. Not for me, though.
