smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Stewart Mason" <craigtorso@verizon.net> |
| Subject | Re: The rejuvenation of the Audities list. |
| Date | Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:59:03 -0400 |
[Part 1 text/plain iso-8859-1 (5.8 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Matt Whitby" <matt.whitby@gmail.com>
> It strikes me that we're just into July which means we could have a
> 'Best of Audities' for the first half of '09.
>
> Might that stimulate some debate?
Fair enough. Given some thought without getting too precious about
it, here's my Top 20 so far:
Bricolage -- BRICOLAGE: Scottish indie kids that, true to their name,
are all about taking influences from various eras of pop history and
putting them into new contexts. What makes them different from a lot
of similar bands is that they don't just recreate these favorite old
sounds, they make fresh, new songs that nod to the past but still
sound contemporary.
The Bird and the Bee--RAY GUNS ARE NOT JUST THE FUTURE: Second album
from L.A. duo whose s/t debut was one of my favorite albums of recent
years. Contains no songs as perfect as the debut's "Again and Again"
or "I'm A Broken Heart," but is arguably a bit more consistent.
Family tree alert: the singer is Inara George (daughter of Lowell
George) and the multi-instrumentalist is Greg Kurstin, who co-wrote
and produced Lily Allen's latest album.
Neko Case -- MIDDLE CYCLONE: Her most musically varied album so far,
and the one on which she sounds like she's having the most fun.
The Decemberists -- THE HAZARDS OF LOVE: Having been rather
disappointed by THE CRANE WIFE, I approached this full-on rock opera
with great trepidation, but damned if it doesn't work a treat. Part
of me is going to miss their early indie-pop days, but you have to
admire a band who makes the jump from an indie to a major label and
immediately gets even less commercial than they'd already been.
Camera Obscura -- MY MAUDLIN CAREER: Previous albums had had a handful
of great songs each, mixed with a lot of blah, samey filler, but this
is a very strong collection of tunes throughout.
Sonic Youth -- THE ETERNAL: Lost in all of the "great indie comeback!"
hype is the fact that this is actually the continuation of a midlife
renaissance that started with MURRAY STREET back in '02: they didn't
just suddenly make a great album out of nowhere, it's just that for
the first time in a long time, the press has noticed that Sonic Youth
is on a creative roll that's already lasted longer than their
much-vaunted late-'80s string of albums.
Grizzly Bear -- VECKATIMEST: I worry that the level of hype this album
got will engender a backlash, if it hasn't already. While I disagree
with all of the "Album of the Year!" plaudits (obviously, since
there's at least six albums I like better), I do think it's a big leap
forward from their previous work, and the chorus of "Two Weeks" still
gives me chills every time.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy -- BEWARE: In which WIll Oldham finally loosens
up a bit and even cracks a hint of a smile.
Abe Vigoda -- REVIVER: This five-song stopgap EP is not that record,
but something about these guys tells me that their next album is going
to be the DAYDREAM NATION of this era.
Seeland -- TOMORROW TODAY: Guys from two of my favorite
indie-electronic bands of the '90s, Broadcast and Plone, team up to --
improbably -- recreate the overall vibe of ARCHITECTURE AND
MORALITY-era Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Equally improbably,
it's brilliant.
Wavves -- WAVVVES: I worry about this guy's future -- he apparently
had some kind of drug-fueled meltdown at a European festival gig and
has checked into rehab -- but he gives hints that he could end up
being this generation's Beck.
Metric -- FANTASIES: Interestingly, the vibe of this album is closer
to Emily Haines' mildly depressive, minor-key solo albums than the new
wavey dance-rock of Metric's earlier albums, and it suits them.
St. Vincent -- ACTOR: I didn't get all the hype about Annie Clark's
first album, MARRY ME, at all, but for some reason, this album caught
me immediately. Inexplicably, the album I keep thinking of as a point
of comparison is Thomas Dolby's THE FLAT EARTH: they sound nothing
alike, really, but there's a similarity of mood.
Black Sea Hotel -- BLACK SEA HOTEL: Traditional Balkan vocal music as
sung by four women from Brooklyn. The sort of thing I never would
have listened to before I married someone who used to sing this stuff
semi-professionally herself.
Prefuse 73 -- EVERYTHING SHE TOUCHED TURNED AMPEXIAN: Collage-like
electronica (29 songs in about 48 and a half minutes) that makes much
more sense if you just think of it as one long and extremely
hyperactive piece.
Akron/Family -- SET 'EM WILD, SET 'EM FREE: At first, my biggest
disappointment of the year -- apparently the member who left following
the last album was the guy who provided the droney psych-folk stuff
that I'd liked so much on their earlier arecords -- but once I
recalibrated my expectations, this is probably their most direct and
effective album so far.
M. Ward -- HOLD TIME: I was shocked at how much I liked last year's
She and Him album given how dull and ponderous I had found M. Ward's
earlier solo records, but this one has a similarly lighthearted feel
to it, and again, it suits him.
Animal Collective -- MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION: Will go down as one
of the most overhyped albums of the year -- again, it's one of those
things where it's a big creative leap forward for the band (see also
Grizzly Bear) without necessarily also being one of the year's
greatest albums -- but it does prove that you can venture towards the
mainstream while maintaining a healthy experimental streak.
Various Artists -- DARK WAS THE NIGHT: The most consistently enjoyable
compilation I've heard in ages.
Ida Maria -- FORTRESS ROUND MY HEART: The Ting-Tings of 2009 -- just a
good old clattery, unpretentious, bratty noise-pop record from someone
we'll probably never hear from again, but it's a hoot for the 30
minutes or so that it's on.
S
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.