Rawkblog » 2009

Old Music: The Middle East – “The Recordings of the Middle East” (2008)

David Greenwald — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:00:36 +0000

I wonder if it ever dawned on Andy Warhol that someday, everyone would have their 15 minute of fame… simultaneously. Indie rock’s greatest problem at the moment, whether one’s in a band trying to signal through the noise or a listener trying to sort through the muck, is the sheer glut of material: in any given day, Pitchfork (just for instance) reviews five albums, three tracks and drops another half-dozen MP3s on Forkcast. And they’re supposed to be the filter! No wonder Best New Music bands become such lightning rods for sales and attention: it’s too much fucking work to listen to the rest.

As buzz band vehicle SXSW revs up this week, Australian act The Middle East are the latest act to land enough Internet praise to catch the scent of whatever “hype” means in 2010. But how? Their debut record, 2008’s The Recordings of the Middle East, is an intermittently solid record that wavers between wonderfully insistent harmonized folk (”The Darkest Side,” “Fool’s Gold”) and the milquetoast vocal post-rock available on any noise-oriented CD-R blog. However, that debut record was never released in the U.S. — and a trimmer EP, with some of the sub-Sigur Ros meanderings sliced off, made it here last October. A star is born! Rumor has it the band’s next record is done; if they bring the new songs and a sharper direction to SXSW, it may be clear if The Middle East are a project with a future (and as ethereal acts go at the moment, I’d rather recommend The Rest’s 2009 debut), but until then, The Recordings Of shows enough promise to justify these first few minutes in the spotlight.

The Middle East – “The Darkest Side”: mp3

More: New Music | 2010 Album Release Calendar

Rest Of 2009: Jim O’Rourke – “The Visitor”

David Greenwald — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:00:39 +0000

To call Jim O’Rourke’s The Visitor much anticipated would be akin to wondering if people are still looking forward to the second coming of Christ. O’Rourke fans are less multitudinous, and arguably less devoted, but nevertheless, after almost a decade of nothing but scattered vocal tracks on Loose Fur records since 2001’s Insignificance, we’ve been dyin’ over here.

But The Visitor is a maddening arrival. It is at once staggeringly ambitious — a single 40+ minute composition performed completely by the man himself, with nary a caustic vocal in sight — and curiously inept.

The lack of lyrics is disappointing enough, but Jim seems uninterested in anything approaching a pop structure even as he avoids the free range of his noise efforts. Melodies and movements start, stop and dither like Grandpa at Costco. A sad-eyed motif appears intermittently, but too often, the music flowers and wilts in a fit of desert pique before halting entirely and starting from scratch.

The Visitor is best compared to of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping, another record that seemed more concerned with birthing ideas than exploring them. Still, like that album, The Visitor offers haphazard rewards. At the 8:30 mark, the drums last for the first time beyond a teasing handful of bars; at 11:30, the momentum returns and the album lies resplendent in galloping pastoral-folk bliss, the sound Jim does best.

To its credit, the album grows more focused with each ensuing movement, with a dazzling turn around the 22 minute mark like to be intended as the album’s climax. That leaves the rest for a comedown, though things heat up once again as the track draws to a close. Would that he would have learned from Mogwai epics such as “Like Herod” and gone, well, epic before cooling off.

If you can outlast its slow start and occasionally aimless segments, The Visitor offers enough to make itself welcome. After this long a wait, after all, the least we can do is let it rest its feet. But one can only hope that when O’Rourke returns again (and please, Jim, do), he’ll have a cleared itinerary and some snarky things to say about his ex-girlfriends and/or existentialism.

(The Visitor is out now on Drag City)

Previously: Best Of 2009: Albums of the Year

More Words On: Pants Yell! – “Received Pronunciation” (2009)

David Greenwald — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Like the evenly cooked oatmeal in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” so many things about Pants Yell!’s Received Pronunciation are just right. The guitars jangle along the edge of fuzz but not to the point of stylization; the vocals are sincere and dorky but not without confidence (at one point, singer Andrew Churchman sings, “Your boy friend’s an asshole,” and on “Not Wrong,” drops the line “You had the gall to tell me I’m wrong / but I’m not wrong”); and the performances are joyfully loose even as the songcraft is sewn tight with care. Despite their links to twee labels Asaurus and now Slumberland Records, three albums in, Pants Yell! have risen above their indie-pop roots to the broader camp of indie-as-pop – the big tent of Pavement and Beulah. I will now listen to this album for the fourth time in a row.

Pants Yell! – “Cold Hands”: mp3

(Received Pronunciation is out now on Slumberland; the band plays in L.A. in March as part of the epic Slumberland 20th anniversary celebration)

Previously: First Look: Pants Yell! – Received Pronunciation

New Music: Jim Thomas – “Billy On 4th”

David Greenwald — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:00:17 +0000

Clean Equations member Jim Thomas set out to make a soap-scrubbed piano pop record with The Blue Floor, his solo debut. He landed just south, singing like a Tennessee-born Jackson Browne (who’s originally from Germany, believe it or not) and embracing bluesy Memphis guitars. He’s at his best on tracks such as “Billy On 4th,” a bright, Brion-esque song that leans closer to the modernist indie rock of his regular band, but the whole collection is miles away from running on empty.

Jim Thomas – “Billy On 4th”: mp3

(The Blue Floor is out now)

2009: The Year In Rawk

David Greenwald — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:44:22 +0000

Best Of 2009: Albums | Songs | Concert Photos | Movies | Rawky Awards

2009 Album Release Calendar

Best of the Decade: Top 100 Albums of the 2000s

And one final word: While it’s been a fantastic year for new music, the absolute best albums released this year are the Beatles’ long-awaited remasters. Over four decades later, they remain the best albums ever made, and to these ears, they’ve never sounded more totally fucking stunning than their sorely needed new incarnations. There’s not enough hyperbole on Earth.

With that said, happy holidays, and I’ll see you in 2010, Rawkers!

Best Of 2009: Albums Of The Year

David Greenwald — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:56:52 +0000

Photo/illustration by David Greenwald

After a year where I avoided making a best-of for six months, I’m thoroughly excited to bring you this year’s albums of the year list. After the jump, the 40 finest albums of the last year of the decade — a list full of fresh faces and modern heroes alike.

Editor’s note: As the vast majority of these appear on my Best Songs of 2009 list, I’ll point you there for the MP3s. Please, seek these bands out on the Internet and pay them money for the privilege of listening to their music — they deserve it.

1. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
What I said: “A big-picture album whose broad canvas should embarrass the ambitions of a number of the band’s New York neighbors. Bitte Orca lands between edgy art and the comfort of rock catharsis; it’s the best of both worlds.”

2. Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health
What I said: “A collection of extremely dense jams that filter every good indie rock idea from the last half-decade, [making] Harlem Shakes too endearing, and far too talented, to deny.”

3. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
What I said: “Eagle flies toward the top of Bill Callahan’s catalog under both his Smog moniker and his given name, a collection of darkly funny songs that poke fun at his own misery (”Eid Ma Clack Shaw”) even as they admit the depths of his despair.”

4. St. Vincent – Actor
What I said: “The album [is] a slippery piece of work and one less immediately rewarding than Marry Me — but given time, its predecessor’s equal. Annie hides headphone Easter eggs throughout and proves herself once again a sonic individualist — filtered drums, pedal-warped guitars and synthesized choirs fill up the songs with sounds alternately red-lining and silky.”

5. Atlas Sound – Logos
What I said: “A well-flowing collection of sleepy, swirly ambient pop — the fusion of melody, structure and adventurous sonics that Deerhunter’s early stuff hinted at but rarely achieved.”

6. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
What I said: “Grizzly Bear deserve a lot of credit – and maybe even an engraved plaque from rockist preservationists – for making guitars sound cool again… Meanwhile, the impressionistic vocal mixtures that colored Yellow House are even better here.”

7. Paramore – Brand New Eyes
What I said: “Paramore’s Brand New Eyes, the follow-up to their stellar Riot!, plays into plenty of modern rock tropes… but arguably, no better act has come out of what’s left of “alternative” in the last decade.”

8. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
What I said: “Never before has the French band sounded so supremely confident in their glistening neo-power-pop.”

9. The Clientele – Bonfires on the Heath
What I said: “Bonfires improves on 2007’s lovely, string-laden God Save The Clientele thanks to a more adventurous mood: livelier tempos, Latin horns and journeys into psychedelia accent the songs, which remain anchored by [Alisdair] MacLean’s introspective guitar picking and vocals and a gently insistent rhythm section.”

10. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
What I said: “This is the sound of AC turned adult… The druggy, psychadelic sound that Strawberry Jam ignored and Feels and Sung Tongs were too lo-fi to embrace is on full display here, but otherwise the album feels like a career summation — less Hail to the Thief and more Rubies.”

11. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains
Like Technicolor Health, a record of exuberant, extremely rewarding indie rock that would’ve been enormous in the heady days of 2005. Don’t sleep on it now.

12. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Maybe not the best Neko record, but certainly my favorite: for the first time, the alt-country fixture sounds like she’s having fun. So am I.

13. Rose Melberg – Homemade Ship
My favorite living musician makes her prettiest, singer-songwriter-est album ever. A mom’s answer to #15.

14. Reverie Sound Revue – Reverie Sound Revue
For once, a Broken Social Scene outlier worth watching — sleek, minimalist guitar pop both effervescent and immersive.

15. Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
About a third of this should’ve been titled Jackson Browne (The Album), but the rest is all the excellent work we’ve come to expect from the best band in America.

16. Asobi Seksu – Hush
Shoegazer act turns down the volume, turns up the songwriting.

17. Sondre Lerche – Heartbeat Radio
Not Sondre’s best (that’d be the jazz-rooted Duper Sessions), but his best straight pop record since his debut. 2009 Bacharach.

18. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Indie pop lives! Now, fellas, learn about tempos.

19. Division Day – Visitation
A dark, otherworldly record that went too unrecognized in this one.

20. Ned Collette and Wirewalker – Over The Stones, Under The Stars
The haunting Australian folkie is as hypnotic as ever with a new backing band, but now he’s added psych-rock force to his arsenal.

21. Pants Yell! – Received Pronunciation
22. Real Estate – Real Estate
23. John Vanderslice – Romanian Names / John Vanderslice and The Mountain Goats – Moon Colony Bloodbath EP
24. Strand Of Oaks – Leave Ruin
25. Holopaw – Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness.
26. Karen O and the Kids – Where The Wild Things Are OST
27. Japandroids – Post Nothing
28. God Help The Girl – God Help The Girl
29. The Rest – Everyone All At Once
30. Kurt Vile – Childish Prodigy
31. Girls – Album
32. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Beware
33. Charlie Wadhams – In A Goldmine EP
34. Mandy Moore – Amanda Leigh
35. Adam & Darcie – California Trail
36. Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King
37. Telekinesis – Telekinesis
38. It Hugs Back – Inside Your Guitar
39. Touching Earth Made Of Steel – The Carl Wilson Lake Mystery
40. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast

Best Of 2009: Albums | Songs | Concert Photos | Movies | Rawky Awards

Best Of 2009: Songs Of The Year

David Greenwald — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:16:44 +0000

Photo/illustration by David Greenwald

All due apologies to Animal Collective, Mandy Moore really brought it in the singles department this year. My top 54 pretty young white people playing guitar and singing earnestly after the jump. (Note: Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” not included.)

Best Of 2009: Albums | Songs | Concert Photos | Movies | Rawky Awards

The list after the jump!

Download All Songs: ZIP

1. Karen O and the Kids – “Worried Shoes” (Daniel Johnston cover): mp3
A beautifully written song finally gets the performance it deserves on the soundtrack of a phenomenal (yes) movie. And who knew Karen could out-sing Cat Power?

2. Bill Callahan – “Jim Cain”: mp3
In which Bill Callahan breaks up with Joanna Newsom and writes the saddest fucking song ever.

3. Wilco – “One Wing”: mp3
If only every song on Wilco (The Album) was this good. Great Tweedy lyrics, searing Nels guitars.

4. Phoenix – “1901″: mp3
The obvious choice for jam of the year in 2009, 1901, or pretty much any year that didn’t already have “This Charming Man.”

5. Neko Case – “This Tornado Loves You”: mp3
A+ Gothic alt-country from its premiere songstress.

6. Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able”: mp3
Indie folk’s foremost innovators enter The Twilight Zone (but not the Twilight zone).

7. Charlie Wadhams – “Someone To Kiss”: mp3
I only regret Sinatra didn’t have the chance to have a go at this one.

8. Very Truly Yours – “1234″: mp3
Very truly the most adorable indie-pop gem of the year.

9. Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move”: mp3
See No. 7, only with Aaliyah.

10. Reverie Sound Revue – “An Anniversary Away”: mp3
Fans of the xx: This is what you should be listening to instead of the xx. Fans of Broken Social Scene: You should listen to this, too.

11. Richard Hawley – “Early Morning Rain” (Gordon Lightfoot cover): mp3
12. Greater California – “The Foolish Son”: mp3
13. Mandy Moore – “Love To Love Me Back”
14. Animal Collective – “Guys Eyes”: mp3
15. Pepper Rabbit – “Red Wine”: mp3
16. Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
17. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “This Love Is Fucking Right”: mp3
18. St. Vincent – “Laughing with a Mouth of Blood”: mp3
19. Paramore – “Playing God”
20. Radiohead – “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)”: mp3
21. It Hugs Back – “Work Day”: mp3
21.5 Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”: mp3 (update: totally forgot this one!)
22. Real Estate – “Beach Comber”: mp3
23. Sondre Lerche – “Like Lazenby”: mp3
24. God Help The Girl – “Come Monday Night”
25. Bowerbirds – “Northern Lights”: mp3
26. Diane Birch – “Fools”: mp3
27. Rose Melberg – “Things That We Do”: mp3
28. Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Tunguska”: mp3
29. Asobi Seksu – “Transparence”
30. Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace”: mp3
31. Air – “African Velvet”
32. John Vanderslice – “Tremble and Tear”: mp3
33. Thao with the Get Down Stay Down – “Know Better Learn Faster”: mp3
34. Iron & Wine – “Stolen Houses (Die)”
35. The xx – “Crystalised”: mp3
36. Telekinesis – “Coast of Carolina”: mp3
37. Burning Hearts – “Iris”: mp3
38. We/Or/Me – “Aimless Day”: mp3
39. Dog Day – “Saturday Night”: mp3
40. Taken By Trees – “Watch The Waves”: mp3
41. Strand Of Oaks – “New Paris”: mp3
42. Kurt Vile – “Hunchback”: mp3
43. Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
44. Adam & Darcie – “I Need To Let Go Of What I Won’t Miss”: mp3
45. Wild Light – “California On My Mind”
46. Division Day – “Chalk Lines”: mp3
47. Sally Shapiro – “Dying In Africa” (Nikolas Makelberge cover): mp3
48. The Clientele – “Bonfires On The Heath”: mp3
49. Coconut Records – “Microphone”: mp3
50. Yael Meyer – “Heartbeat”: mp3
51. Noah & The Whale – “Blue Skies”: mp3
52. Tesla Boy – “Fire”: mp3
53. Daniel, Fred & Julie – “The Gambler and His Bride”

Best Of 2009: Albums | Songs | Concert Photos | Movies | Rawky Awards

Best of 2009: Top 10 Concert Photos

David Greenwald — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:00:37 +0000

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All photos by David Greenwald

Just over a year ago, I decided to turn my concert photography from hobby into a considerably more expensive hobby and bought a DSLR. It’s the most satisfying purchase I’ve ever made. So this year’s best concert photos are, hopefully, a few steps up from their predecessors and a document of my growth as a photographer. Along the way, I documented great bands on the verge of break-ups, the Rawky Awards pick for the year’s worst band in one of his first (and worst) concerts, and Thom motherfucking Yorke. In 2010, I’m looking forward to shooting SXSW and hopefully selling some photos (holler at me if you want to buy prints, folks), but for now, 10 shots I love from 2009. After the jump — my 10 favorite shows of the year.

1 Thom York (with Flea & Co.) @ The Orpheum
2. Destroyer @ The Echoplex, May 10
3. Wilco @ The Wiltern, June 22
4. Jens Lekman @ The Echo, May 27
5. Rose Melberg @ Vacation Vinyl and the Echo Curio, October 27
6. My Bloody Valentine @ The El Rey, April 16
7. Grizzly Bear @ Hollywood Palladium, October 20
8. Bill Callahan @ The Troubadour, July 1
9. Chad VanGaalen, Women and Boat People @ Spaceland, March 28
10. Division Day with Bad Veins @ Spaceland, September 2

Best Of 2009: Albums | Songs | Concert Photos | Movies | Rawky Awards