top 2006

1the like young: last secrets
appropriately the like young called it quits after releasing last secrets. and it is a shame b/c last secrets is probably their best album so far. of course, it took me a while to realize it - at first i thought it lacked the energy of their previous efforts but a few more listens revealed a different kind of energy. less power-pop than they normally produce but more of an emotional rollercoaster. for some reason it reminded me of what music sounded like when i was seventeen. not in terms of what the music actually sounded but how i perceived it and how important it all seemed. or maybe people have just stopped pouring their souls into the music and spend their time learning to play the banjo instead. at any rate, the most listened to album of the year.

2tv on the radio: return to cookie mountain
i was very disappointed with tv on the radio's debut album b/c it followed a splendid single and a fantastic show at airwaves. the album just didn't click. the vocals sounded fine. the guitars sounded fine. but somehow it was if they were playing in different rooms. so return to cookie mountain was a stunning surprise. punk-soul at its best (not that there really is anything to compare them to...)

3sunset rubdown: shut up i'm dreaming
i was very very skeptical about sunset rubdown. the sounded like a poor imitation of frog eyes to me. and, again, it took a live show to convince me otherwise. though, of course, i maintain that they are influenced by frog eyes. but the guy from wolf parade virtually outshines wolf parade on this album.

4ratatat: classics
classics is simply a shinnier, more layered version of their debut album. and i thought things couldn't get much better...

5man man: six demon bag
i completely misunderstood this band the first few times i listened to them. it wasn't until i saw them live that this was just pure party music. that is, for people that like ukrainian folk music and tom waits. and everyone else will also get it when you crank it up loud enough.

6cadence weapon: braking kayfabe
braking kayfabe is cadence weapon's debut album (discounting the ...is the black hand "mix-tape") and it is a hell of an album. and thank god, because 2007 was not really the year for rap/hip-hop. braking kayfabe is probably less about the beats and more about the sound and the rapping. in some ways it reminds me of dalek shed of its metallic sound. and you might want to check this out even if you don't like rap 'cos the guy used to write for stylus and pitchforkmedia.

7detachment kit: +
this really is a disappointment compared to detachment kit's previous output but you have to give them credit b/c the call the album an ep despite containing 13 songs and it is self-released and some of the songs could have used a bit more studio time. but still it stands head and shoulders above most of what released this year. it is an outrage that these guys are signed - 18 yrs. should rightly be a huge hit. at any rate, + takes the dk in a poppier direction, which is interesting but being an old fart i hope they'll return to the post-rock fold again. this is enought to qualify as one of this year's best albums - there other stuff would top the list almost any year.

8malajube: tromp l'oeil
i suspect these guys jumped on the montreal/arcade fire bandwagon b/c their previous (first?) album sounded like someone had jumped on the strokes bandwagon. but what the hell, if the result are this good i don't really care why. as an added bonus they sing in french and my friend tells me the lyrics are bit dirty... they get an extra point for that.

9clark: body riddle
clark used to be chris clark who released the brilliant clarence park in 2000 (1999?), which sounded exactly like something that should be released on warp (as it was). on body riddle the clark has dropped most of the chopped up beats along with his first name and what remains is what sounds like detuned synths that makes the album a little sinister sounding. which, of course, was always what made clark special to begin with. for some reason i think of ian banks when i listen to him.

10beach house: beach house
it is never really fair to bands to describe by referencing other bands but, as you can tell, i'm too lazy to actually try to describe the music. so: galaxie 500, mazzy star, shannon wright. soft music and very very very nice. that's really all i can muster.

& some other albums i wouldn't have wanted to miss:

*the blow: paper television
a strangely brilliant non-recognizable mixture of r'n'b, eighties electronic sounds, and messed-up relationships. and if you haven't heard it, it probably doesn't sound at all like what you think. or like what i just described. it reminds me in some ways of how ratatat's reworking of hip-hop songs added a new dimension to the songs. another point of reference might be mirah.

*final fantasy: he poos clouds
well, i can hardly think of a worse album name this year. so final fantasy had a large hurdle to overcome. but this is the best violin pop i've heard since shelleyan orphan

*benoit pioulard: precis
precis gets on the list almost on the merit of its cd cover. a very next of ambient electronics and guitar. a little bit like tim hecker mixed with joze gonzales - although there is no guarantee that you will like this album if you like either of those two (or both).

*chad vangaalen: skelliconnection

*fiery furnaces: bitter tea
i've fluctuated from liking to disliking the fiery furnaces. bitter tea managed both but at this point in time i like it. who knows whether it would be on my list tomorrow.

*max richter: songs from before
just very quiet and very pretty. don't really know what else to say.

*tapes'n'tapes: the loon
i guess it was released in 2005 but i didn't hear it until this year. really should be in the top 10.

*the very hush hush: mourir c'est facile
pop gems buried under sheets of hi-hats, organs and static. it is actually a little hard to listen to at first but once you just give upon trying to hear the words it is fine - perhaps that is exactly the point. the music has a sort of tragic quality and burying the vocals beneath the music adds to that feeling. but i have a feeling that there are even greater things to come from this band.

*red sparrows: every red sun...
in short, i listened a lot to this album in 2006. and live they are even better. and b/c it is kinda impossible to describe post-rock i'll just stop here.

*trentemoller: the last resort
people have referred to this as dance music but it doesn't strike me as a very accurate description. the beats are quite minimal and in some ways it is a very ambient album. but without being boring as there is always enough going on to keep you interested.

*mogwai - mr. beast
not everyone agrees but i thought mr. beast was a return to form. in fact, i think mogwai has rarely rocked this much. i even went back and listened to some of their old stuff to make sure i wasn't wrong. and, of course, i wasn't. mogwai certainly aren't breaking new ground any more, there are plenty of worthy post-rock challengers out there and the quite-loud-quite formula doesn't work quite as well as it used but music has always been about formulas anyway and we don't really complain if a song goes verse-chorus-verse, which sort of serves the same purpose (i.e. to break up the boring parts :-) ). i guess the bottom line is that there are some damn good songs here.

*the M's: future women
usually when i hear a band i can picture what they look like - and usually i'm not all that far off. with the M's i'm kinda clueless. or rather, i change my mind from song to song. right now i'm leaning towards the walkmen. a more melodic and happy walkmen.

*subtle: for hero for fool
indie hip-hop all grown up and it is neither particularily indie nor particularily hip-hop. doseone's rants are recognizable throughout the album but each song is a rollercoaster ride. within a single song you may be reminded of mike patton, the danielson family and mercury rev but you have probably never heard anything like this.

*cursive: happy hollow
pitchforkmedia described cursive as a sort of hold steady for high schoolers. which i takes a proof that i'm young in spirit. but i don't really like the album for the words - to be honest i can't really bother to listen to lyrics any more. most of the time i listen to music i'm working. what i like about about cursive is that tim sings like he means it even though he doesn't scream as much as he used to. however, the greater departure here is the use of brass that to me sort of takes the place of the screaming. so i guess this is sort of big band emo...

*cat power: the greatest
the greatest is a bit of misnomer is far from cat power's greatest album. the titlesong, however, is a different story and is possibly the best song i've heard all year. or the prettiest. the rest of the album is probably a bit too country for my taste but the half of the album that are slower makes for a splendid mini-album.

*charlotte gainsbourg: 5:55
just strangely pleasant. especially because charlotte and her collaborators seem to take their inspiration from sarge, which really is asking for it. so i don't know if it is a gutsy or a foolish move but it turns out to be quite enjoyable. and in the absence of any decent output from air in recent years this is a nice substitute (air being on of the aforementioned collaborators).

*the paper chase: now you are one of us
sort of like man man on a bad trip, which might sound something like nick cave before he became, well, a little boring. at any rate, the paper chase do their best to convince you something is wrong, which almost certainly it is. a healthy dose of paranoia.

*the blood brothers: young machetes
oh, how i wish there were more bands doing this. musicians are getting to damn polite and quiet. it's sad when having a tif with stephen colbert counts as rebellion. or was that a publicity stunt. actually that was entertaining so i shouldn't be taking a piss. at any rate, loud, spastic, and inventive counts for something in my book. on young machetes, the blood brothers get a little too close to the faint for comfort but, hell, it is still very enjoyable.

*mahogany: connectivity
the shoegazing revival subsided a bit this year. although there were some good efforts like asobi seksu. mahogany gets it right though and sound a lot better than a lot of their influences.

and this is where i have run out of steam. there are probably a dozen more albums that should be on the list but, damn it, the idea of putting together a list is a lot more fun than actually doing it. however, the absence of sufjan stevens, joanna newsom, junior boys and the knife is not an accident. just thought i'd make that clear...

benoit pioulard

don't be fooled by the name - this frenchie is actually a michiganite. of course, his name isn't benoit but it sounds much better than his actual name. a couple of more from his album precis: triggering back and ash into the sky

beach house

beach house kinda reminds me a little of galaxie 500 and, therefore, i like 'em.

trentemoller

there is plenty to hate about trentemoller - at first it sounds like flaccid house music and, frankly, i don't know how many times i skipped over his songs after listening to the first few beats. but laziness clearly pays b/c yesterday i was too lazy to get up of the couch so i was forced to listen to a whole song and, well, it was a bit like having a hamburger that tastes really good. the ingredients are kinda boring/normal but for some strange reason it actually tastes really good. and, yes, it is a hamburger with a generous helping of cheese. not everything on the album, the last resort, is equally good, but the standout tracks are really quite tasty. if i weren't so prejudiced against house music i might even say it was a great album.

thee more shallows

san franciscans thee more shallows have been growing on me. the album is pretty solid but in a sort of quite way that you might not notice if 2am wasn't there to catch our attention.

a few random tracks...

it's been a while and, well, i figured i should throw something up here to dispell any notions that this blog is dead. or that i am dead. still alive, just not kicking. so some random new-ish stuff.

golem - warsaw is khelm

midnight movies - patient eyes

repellent - low earth orbit

clap your hands say yeah! - love song no. 7
clap your hands say yeah! - underwater

the shins - phantom limb

the thermals - here's your future

okkervil river - the president's dead

menomena - wet and rusting

viva voce - when planets collide

what made milwaukee famous - i decide

black sunday - this heart is now aluminum

mystery jets - elizabeth

the like young

tly have apparently decided to retire - old news i guess but i'm damn disappointed. anyhow, i like this video.

malajube

malajube hail from montreal and i wouldn't be surprised if they came to be regarded one of montreal's finest bands. which is no small feat given that montreal has spawned some of the finest bands of the last few years. montreal -40c is one of the band's poppier moments. but it's the band's louder moments that i favor (see filles a plumbes video below). and at times they sound a little cheesy... their first album was a fairly straight laced indie rock album. their new one, trompe l'oeil, is far more adventurous - and i hate to say it - it sounds like these guys learned a trick or two from arcade fire and wolf parade. but that doesn't make it any worse. actually, it makes it much better because malajube ad something new to the mix - or perhaps something old - there is trace of polishness that reminds me of some very much disliked rock from the 70s. but it works lovely when you add in lyrics in french. at any rate, i'm pretty sure this is on my top 10 for the year.

airwaves day 4

i barely had the energy to go to any shows this last day of the festival. but i did want to see ulpa... and i had to grab something to eat so i went anyway. ulpa, as always, was great. i guess this is the their third airwaves performance that i see and they have consistently been among the highlights. walter meego was next and i was not impressed - i thought the songs i had heard had some promise but they were pretty dull. some of the music was alright but the vocals sounded pretty much if the postal service went horribly, horribly wrong. benny crespo's gang was next and sometime in the future they will probably become quite good. right now, they just make me think of muse - this is not a complete put down b/c secretly i like muse a little bit. the keyboard parts seemed to drawn out and the songs didn't seem very dynamic. watching them i kept waiting for something to happen - when something happened it wasn't bad. or maybe i was just too tired - at least, my friends liked them a lot more than i did. but i have to admit that their female singer has a really great voice, which the band should use more. then i went to get some pizza and contemplated going home to sleep. but since i was curious to see patrick watson i kept going. i was somewhat surprised to see that the line to see the kaiser chiefs was longer than for the brazilian girls, which was enough to resolve my difference. and the brazilian girls turned out to be fun - just pretty solid and pleasant pop (for the most part). patrick watson ended the festival for me and may just have been the festival highlight. the only thing that you can really complain about (which is pretty much all i do) is that his voice sounds a lot like jeff buckley. which isn't really much of a complaint. musically, there isn't much of a similarity - as much as i like jeff buckley, his music was almost generic. not bad but it didn't bring anything new to the table - he just did it better or put his own twist on the formula. in patrick watson's case, you could take away the vocals and it would still be interesting. at any rate, a great end to the festival for me. there were still some bands playing but they couldn't possibly top patrick and i was quite happy to head home with his songs on my mind.

so overall, this year's airwaves was pretty good. obviously, i would have liked to see wolf parade. it is unbelievable that the organizers would make such a bad mistake to put them in one of the smaller venues. but then again, this is not exactly the first time the organizers make such mistakes. another downside (yes, i like to complain) is that people talk too damn much during performances - especially during relatively quiet acts like trost or patrick watson. but then again, icelanders aren't exactly known for being polite.

Patrick Watson - Giver
Patrick Watson - Luscious Life

airwaves days 1-3

wednesday - a half hearted attempt at seeing we are scientists. instead i checked out ultra mega teknobandid stefan, which was entertaining but not groundbraking. but hell, i'm sure they'll be a lot better by the time they hit puberty. damn kids these days. then i caught the last four minutes of lokbra. all i can say is that receive a pretty high score using the good music/bad name ratio. in the end though, it is kinda hard to like a band one of whose members sports a korn tattoo. weapons was just boring.

thursday - mates of states turned out to be slightly better than i predicted. but still not the most exciting live band and occasionally they get a little annoying. tilly and the wall were alright as well but perhaps a little too cute - in any case i had had my fill after a couple of songs and headed over to nasa to catch skatar and reykjavik!. i'm not sure what to make of either of them. skatar certainly had moments of polvoesque brilliance but, on the whole, the didn't leave a strong impression. but i would definately check them out again. reykjavik! was a similar story - there is much to like about the band. for example, they are loud and they look funny. but i couldn't figure out what they are aiming for - which may actually be a good thing. metric was up next so i made a run for it and caught a few songs with mugison. there is no question that mugison is talented but the first couple of songs were just a little too slick, which had me worried a bit but thankfully he slipped into his death metal shoes for a song. i returned to nasa before metric finished up but hid away in the back and managed to ignore them almost completely. finally, love is all was quite good actually though their sound is a little limited and kinda wears on you. but i have to give them credit for pulling off, first, a squeaky sounding singer, two, a saxophone, and, three, being swedish. and copying biggie smalls is pretty cool.

friday - i was feeling pretty beat but i made it to the festival after running into bobby fisher at a reception. islands were brilliant, as expected, and the best band of the festival so far. it would have been nice if their set had been longer. next up were apparat organ quartet who, well, try to rock with keyboards. and they kinda succeed. jakobrinarina (or whatever their name is) were up next - i had heard a lot about them but for some reason i had always been a little sceptical. but these kids rock - something tells me they have gotten into their parents' record collection b/c they certainly heard joy division somewhere. though they are a tad more upbeat perhaps. anyhow, a pleasant surprise. then the go!team, which quickly scared a good chunk of the audience away by turning up their guitars and rocking out like i hadn't expected them to. so, another pleasant surprise. the poppier songs were alright but what really won me over was the fact that they like noise. i guess, i'll have to give their album another listen. then, over to grand rokk to see gavin portland. gavin portland sounded massive - in the unsane sort of way. some great heavy riffing but unfortunately the singers yelling in no way matched the band's sound - or at least didn't add anything to it. i think actually would like them a whole lot more if they went all instrumental. and at the end of the night, we went over to the national theater's basement to watch trost. trost was pretty good - a kinda seedy cabaresque music if that means anything at all. but trost was an entertaining performer who liked to climb up on tables and play tug-of-war with the sound guy using the microphone cord.

my private own airwaves

so another year another airwaves festival. i swore i would never again go to the festival after last year's disaster... but, well, reykjavik is just too boring to let it pass you by. if nothing else i can always catch ulpa again. but it, of course, it won't stop me from complaining. so here is a list of the "international" acts ... and who is playing instead of them at my festival.


120 Days (NO) well, listening to the album certainly feels like 120 days. my guess is that these guys overdosed on the cure and new order and, no, those don't mix very well. i would have preferred 31 knots or 7 year rabbit cycle. or if you are going to stick with norwegian's, how about serena maneesh? i know, i know, i don't really like them either but if you are going with late 80s sound they are a vastly better choice. or actually, mustafa et monique would actually make me happy.

Brazilian Girls (US) strangely enough, i rather enjoy brazilian girls.

Call to Mind (UK) if you are going to bring dull emo-pop, why not go all the way and bring coldplay. wait, no we have the leaves so we don't really have to get an "international" band. but, of course, the leaves don't get to play my festival either

D�lek (US) are just fine and just great once you get used to the rapping.

Fields (UK) "Combining a harmony pop sensibility to rival the Magic Numbers with My Bloody Valentine style soundscapes, Fields are already shaping up to be one of the most talked about bands of 2006." (Airwaves website) man, i'm really out of the loop. Field Music would have been a better choice.

Datarock (NO) not enough data, not enough rock.

Gojira (FRA) not really my cup of tea but at least they are the least scary looking guys on their label's website. if there is going to be screaming i think i'd prefer isis.

Hot Club de Paris (UK) couldn't make it through their album even once. i suggest new young pony club or tokyo police club.

Islands (CAN) excellent choice. the only thing better would have been the unicorns....

Kaiser Chiefs (UK) can't really say that i've heard them but if you are dealing with kaisers franz ferdinand would seem to be the more obvious choice.

Klaxons (UK) might be fun to see

Leave Calmer (US) i think "Leave Calmer shifts from floating, ghostly vocals reminiscent of Buckley to the organic, textural explosions akin to Reznor" (Airwaves website) says all that needs to be said.

Love is All (SE) i have actually be warming up to love is all but i still find them a little annoying and i can't quite figure out who they remind me of.

Mates of State (US) are a decent choice but somehow i suspect they are not going to put on the most exciting show. which the like young most certainly would

Metric (CAN) if getting rid of the metric system would get rid of metric it would be worth dealing with feet and inches. i assume celine dion and barenaked ladies were busy? why? why? not only does the music suck, emily is also the most annoying "performer" out there.

Patrick Watson (CAN) may not be a bad choice. his 2003 album was kinda nice and what i've heard from his new one is promising - though some of it sounds a bit too much like buckley. but i still think it would have more interesting to see patrick wolf or patrick phelan. but it still might be one of the highlights of the festival.

Spektrum (UK) apparently they meant to book spectrum, i can't think of any other reason

The Cribs (UK) might turn ok. a bit like franz a bit like the strokes but they have a couple more cards up their sleeves.

The Go! Team (UK) should be fun. they are also playing on my airwaves festival. except at mine they don't play at the same time as wolf parade!

The Handsome Public (US) what, this sounds like the electric six without guitars. at my festival the electric six would play instead of the handsome public but the only song they would play would be fire at the disco.

The Whitest Boy Alive (NO/DE) is alright but i think they may end up feeling kinda silly with that name since reykjavik only gets about 2 hours of sunlight a year and consequently everyone is pretty damn pale here.

Tilly and the Wall (US) i feel are here because architecture in helsinki was such a success last year. but the problem is that tilly and the wall aren't quite as good. should be good fun though. at my festival the danielson family is playing instead.

Trost (DE) i don't know much about. her band, cobra killer, is kinda cool though. and the couple of songs i've heard sound pretty promising. i'm curious enough to invite her to my festival too.

Walter Meego (US) don't know about that name. they sound ok though when they aren't singing. i would invite trs-80 instead - and not just because they don't sing. who knows, maybe i'll check them out.

We are Scientists (US) kinda missed the train. the aren't really any worse than the killers or hot hot heat or any of those bands. poppy and fun to a certain degree but instead i opted for spoon, which is a far classier act as you can tell by the jaguar ads.

Whomadewho (DK) get to play my festival as well b/c i) sometimes they sound like a mellow version of the queens of the stone ages and ii) they released two versions of their album, one electric and one acoustic without making acoustic one (which came after the electric one) seem like a joke. this might be fun.

Wolf Parade (CAN) is clearly the big name here. that's why they get stuck into crappy little venue that will be extremely unpleasant and most likely you will not be able to see the band. at my festival, not only do they play at a bigger venue, but i get sunset rubdown and swan lake as well because the bands share a member anyway. and then i might as well get frog eyes and new pornographers to play as well.

and on a completely unrelated note, i've kinda been enjoying swissair

de rosa

i've kinda been digging de rosa lately - scots on the delgados' chemikal underground label. these couple of songs are actually not among their best but you would do yourself a favour if you were to head over to their myspace page to check some of their other stuff out. New Lanark

in other scottish news, the arab strap are apparently no more. love detective

madvillain all caps

bonnie 'prince' billy & the red sparowes

big day for shows yesterday. first, bonnie 'prince' billy and, then, the red sparowes. needlessly to say, the red sparowed won that contest hands down - i mean how much fun can a guy with an acoustic guitar be (unless, of course, you are damien rice)? not that i dislike bonnie 'prince' - i just much prefer listening to him on record. anyhow, this is an entertaining ad for his new album "the letting go". the reference to pissed-on shark probably has something to do with it being recorded in iceland. everyone knows icelanders like pissing on their food. that's why the girls are so pretty. there are a couple of more - undoubtedly to be found on youtube.com

the red sparowes have a new album, every red heart shines towards a red sun, coming out in september. the album does not represent a radical change from their previous album, which is a relief - at the soundless dawn was one of my favorite albums last year. if there is any discernable change, every red heart is a bit harder and, perhaps, less accesible. and if you get a chance to catch them live, they are certainly worth checking out. like always the songs have long titles like: Like The Howling Glory Of The Darkest Winds, This Voice Was Thunderous And The Words Holy, Tangling Their Way Around Our Hearts And Clutching Our Innocent Awe

swan lake

swan lake consists of carey mercer (frog eyes), spencer krug (wolf parade and sunset rubdown), and dan bejar (destroyer and new pornographers) so in theory this should be the best band in the world, or at least, in canada. whether that is indeed the case remains to be seen but this song, all fires, is certainly promising. the album arrives in november and is called beast moans.

i stumbled upon this cover on pitchforkmedia. now i'm not a huge fan of velvet underground (i know, i know... but i won't go into that) and covers are rarely good but i like this one:

DeVotchKa - Venus in Furs

ladyhawk from vancouver sort of remind me of okkervil river. pretty nice stuff: the dugout
and since i mentioned okkervil river, why not listen to for real once again. it's such a nice song.

and check out patrick phelan. his album cost had been sitting on my desk for a while and i never really got into it but one day.... favour. nice and poppy.

i also rediscoverd centro_matic: calling thermatico

and snowden from atlanta just released their first ep (?) or album (?) - well, they released something and it isn't bad at all: anti-anti

the big sleep

i've been kinda bored with music lately. and even more bored with blogging. although the guillemots' rave reviews were almost enough to get me started again - i actually listened to the their albums several times to try to figure out what i was missing and that supposedly makes their album so good. i never figured it out and except for a couple of decent pop songs i think the album is absolute shit. just had to get that out of my system. anyhow, i'm pretty excited about hearing the big sleep's forthcoming album son of the tiger. it seems like quite a few bands these days are inspired by late 80s-early 90s indie music with the great majority of them zoning in on my bloody valentine but unfortunately mostly ending up sounding like chapterhouse. with some exceptions, of course. the big sleep's influences are less obvious perhaps but i'm pretty sure their record collections/harddrives contain a fair amount of music from this period. they actually remind me quite a bit of the faith healers who, at least in my opinion, were somewhat underrated. at any rate, the big sleep shares the same driving, almost mechanical, beat, which also brings stereolab to (my) mind. at any rate, definately worth checking out. murder & you can't touch the untouchable.

pitchfork infinitemixtape

for convenience's sake.... the songs are listed here. or this may be better.

frog eyes

i've mentioned frog eyes here before but after seeing them play with beirut recently i feel obligated to mention them again. i had sort of mixed feelings about beirut as you can see below and seeing these guys live confirmed pretty much everything i thought before. beirut was nice but failed to excite. i just couldn't sense any sort of emotional investment in their music. to be fair this was their second show (or so they claimed).
but there do seem to be an awful lot of bands these days that are making 'nice' music - sonically, that is. but a lot of it sounds kinda hollow to me. personally, i blame sufjan. though i wouldn't lump in with these bands. but i think he has set the trend, accidentally, by using 'different' instruments and i think some people miss the point and mistakenly think sufjan's music is good because he plays a banjo. i guess beirut isn't the worst offender - i still like them but i just wished they'd inject some passion into the music. to me, someone like patrick wolf, another youngster, would be far more deserving of the hype.

or frog eyes. this post was supposed to be about frog eyes but all i want to say is frog eyes does exactly what beirut is missing, they are raw and they spit passion. a song from the folded palm is above. and, oh, since these guys deserve some hype - this is spencer krug's (wolf parade) other (sunset rubdown), other band. though i suspect this is more carey mercer's band - who incidentally reminds me of screaming jay hawkins...

tenement halls

tenement halls released the unappealingly titled "Knitting Needles and Bicycle Bells" last year and I guess I was a little late catching on to it. tenement halls is, from what I gather, essentially Chris Lopez who used to be in the Rock*A*Teens, which I never really listened to but I did like the few songs I heard and I was always going to check them out. Anyhow, for those of you in the know, tenement halls sounds a bit like the Rock*A*Teens (or at least how I remembered them sounding). There is something very likeable about that sound - somehow I always picture tenement halls playing small sleazy dark clubs with everyone sitting at the bar paying little attention to the band. Don't ask me why. tenement halls would also be a good for a David Lynch movie. If you like the song above you can check out a few more here.

beirut

beirut's first album has been getting quite a lot of attention and there are probably good reasons for that. or least a good reason - it sound quite a bit like the legendary Neutral Milk Hotel, which is probably not a coincidence since Jeremy Barnes of NMH assisted with the making. but basically this is the work of a yet another 19 year old wunderkind. at any rate, it sounds pretty nice but it is also a little restrained and, as a consequence, it feels a little bit gimmicky. i mean, if I was 19 and could make music like this i can't help but feel that there should be a greater sense of urgency. but still, a perfectly enjoyable album. Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)

mustafa et monique

there are still a few people out there waiting for my bloody valentine to release a new album. these people served as the definition of "optimism" in the hipsters dictionary. then these people were to be moved to the definition of "a dreamer" but by then mbv had fallen out of favor. however, now that shoegazing is making a comeback these people again have useful function in the definitions of "disillusioned" and "just plain crazy". at this point i'm not sure a new mbv album would be desirable at all. besides, the swedes mustafa et monique seem to do exactly what mbv used to do and do it quite well. you might hold it against them that they sound eerily like isn't anything era mbv. in most instances that would be something to complain about but what always liked about mbv was the sound on isn't anything (loveless was good too but i favour the rougher sound). unfortunately, these guys appear to copy mbv's every move since they haven't released anything since 2004 (i think). [correction: mustafa et monique released houdini aubergine ep in 2005.]

ecstasy like you
mailman bike

islands

the unicorns were quite a brilliant band and i was terribly disappointed when the broke up. but at least the band's members didn't give up on music and went on (some/all ... i don't know) to form islands. perhaps not quite as brilliant as the unicorns (more polished, less manic) but it is a pretty damn good album nevertheless. rough gem from return to the sea.

the double

somehow i missed this album when it came out last year. maybe there isn't really a reason why i should have noticed. but if there is it is definately the song idiocy, which is pretty much a perfect indie pop hit. it is actually good to the point it almost seems too calculated. and there is a bit of annoying killers type of sounds to it but if you can ignore it. of course, having said that you probably can't. much like igor ruined heineken for me by saying it tasted like olives...

the walkmen

the walkmen have a new album out on may 23rd. something to look forward to. there is a song on their myspace page (link above) and it sounds, well, sort of strange. it's still the walkmen's signature sound but the song is a little country... and mariachi. i kinda hope that the rest of the album is bit more raucious.

do make say think

i do seem to make my way back to do make say think every once in a while. & every time i wonder why i don't listen to them constantly - which may sound like a backhanded complement but isn't intended to. basically, these guys are liable to outlast 94% of my record collection although at any given time i may fall in love with some other band. i can't really pinpoint exactly what it is but do make say think also sound a lot like broken social scene to me. without the pop sensibility. something about these bands sounds seems very similar to me. at any rate, if you haven't checked them out now is as good a time as any.

tapes 'n tapes

i don't really know much about this band except that i find them entertaining. in sort of the arcade fire/wolf parade way... although they seem a bit more chaotic in sort of a unicorns way. but to the best of my knowledge they are not canadian. something about them also reminded me of namelessnumberheadman (a truly stellar band).

tv on the radio's new album finally sees them live up to their potential. i found desperate youth... rather disappointing and completely failing to capture what the band was like live. now they managed to be rough and hyper-melodic at the same time. this may just be the album of the year. the same can not be said for yeah yeah yeah's soon to be released album. it it perhaps best described as competent pop. good work music. it will probably be very successful. but if you liked the first one you will probably like this one as well.

i have also come to realize that the best album of 2004 was probably castanets' cathedral. here is a song: three days four nights

jason forrest

jason forrest started out by releasing stuff under the name donna summer, which is fitting b/c his/her music borrows heavily from other artists. technically an electronic album but it is really a rock beast in spirit. lots of fun to be had here.

jason also runs a record label called cock rock disco and here you can find a free compilation with a bunch of artists on his label.

The song above is satan cries again but for a far more rockin' song check out the video for war photographer.

the comas - the science of your mind

came out in 2004 but i still like it.

the rosebuds

i am one of those people that believe that bands are never better than on their first album. it probably has more to do with me craving something new (except when the band is mono) than anything else. i might have like a band's second album more than the first if it had been released first. maybe. we'll never know. at any rate, the rosebuds are an exception to this - first time around the struck me as decent pop-rock but nothing remarkable. but on birds make good neighbors the rosebuds have transformed themselves and deliver a set of songs that are, well, solid. they are not breaking any new ground here though, their songwriting has just improved vastly. good stuff. almost up there with the best of 2005.

man man

this band had me confused for a while. the reviews referenced tom waits and captain beefheart so i know i was supposed to like this. and i tried. it just didn't click. then i saw them live and i realized that i had completely misunderstood this band. these guys have more in common with the make up than tom waits. but instead of attacking funk and sould they deal in ... gypsy music.. or something like that. the tom waits references are understandable because of the instrumentation but that is really where the commonality ends. this is just a huge, huge blast of fun. though it may not sound it at times. you should buy the album but you must see them live.

Giant Drag

if the album kept up pace with the first song, kevin is gay, this would possibly be the best album to be released all year long. I can't quite place the song but it reminds me of the first time I listened to the Breeders. The only thing that makes it anything short of f**ing brilliant is that it's not terribly original sounding and essentially recycles, well, the breeders and my bloody valentine. but then again recycling is a good thing, right? in this case it is. the mbv influence is especially obvious on the first couple of tracks and, although such obviousness is a little off putting, I got over it pretty quickly and frankly there are far worse influences to have. sort of similar to autolux in that way - solid without reinventing the wheel.

are you there?

i guess I got tired of listing my favorite albums from last year... it's just too last year to really bother. at any rate, 2006 is already shaping up to be a stellar year for my tastes. mogwai's mr. beast is a monster of an album that even makes my want to revist their old stuff. and now i find out mono is bringing out a new album in april "there you are". steve albini records and mixes but mono produce the album themselves. at any rate, the first song of the album (linked above and available at mono's website) is pretty much everything you would expect from mono. so pretty much the same old, same old but in the case of mono I would never dream of asking for anything else.

BO05 - Red Sparowes

a great year for instru-metal clearly. treads the same waters as pelican but probably tops it thanks to some nice slide guitar. seeing them play live had me grinning like a fool for days.

WO95 - Art Brut

another huge disappointment - a band called Art Brut should be good + they released an entertaining single in 2004. Art Brut is a band that you either love or you hate. i belong to the latter category. sure they are fun but the problem with jokes is that you can only really laugh at them once, maybe twice if it is really good. after that you at most fake a laugh to be polite when you're told the joke for the n-th time. in this case i can't even do that because i find it offensive that music should be the vehicle for humour. that's even worse than dealing with politics. is there really any point to put music to your jokes? does it make the jokes better? i just don't get the idea. plus the music itself is not that exciting. maybe that's the point - the jokes serve as a distraction? still like the name though...

BO05 - Silence Kit

Pieonear. If I was absolutely forced to pick one album as the best of '05 this would have to be it (though technically it came out in '04.). i don't really know how to describe it - i guess post-rock wouldn't be far of but then it is more ambient in places and in others sort of radiohead kind of groovy. one of the very few albums this year where i would simply have to put whatever i was doing at the time and just listen. perhaps not enterily consistent in its greatness but there are moments here that are just amazing. oh, and these guys are from russia so don't confuse them with the u.s. band that shares their name.

BO05 - Pelican

The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw was a little less metal than the bands previous effort but no less engaging. at any rate, it wasn't too surprising that Pelican would release a split ep with Mono since the bands seem to share the same vision.

WO05 - Serena Maneesh

Another band I was really pretty excited about - shoegazers usually get a bad rep & here was one that was getting great reviews. But in the end it was just a record that pitchforkmedia 'discovered' before everyone else: " We understand that some records recommended by Pitchfork can be difficult to find. Please visit Honeymilk for more information on this release, including how to purchase it." Well, wish I was that cool. Strange though how albums featuring blonde Norwegians always get a great reviews.... recall Annie? At any rate, new shoegazers are sprouting like mushrooms (paik comes recommended) and this not among the tasty ones. Serena-Maneesh does the shoegazing bit pretty well - and there are bits and pieces that sound splendid - but you can't really get more derivative like this. There is a my bloody valentine song, a stone roses one, a primal scream (crappy gospel area) one, and you can go on. This is just pure nostalgia with not an original idea in sight. Here is to hoping that they will come up with some of their own songs next time around.

BO05 - Bohren & Der Club of Gore

I don't know how I stumbled upon this one but nothing could have prepared me for this. And frankly I wasn't sure what to think. Almost painstakingly slow. Sort of funeral jazz. Or just your slowest jazz record 72rpm played at 33rpm. Sort of the perfect David Lynch soundtrack. Needlessly to say, this is a record best listened to in the dark. Preferably with a cigarette and a beer.

WO05 - M.I.A.

Technically, not one of the worst albums of '05 but I just really feel like bitching about the music that is being hyped out of proportion. And I was excited to hear this album. But I wish I hadn't. C'mon, this is just shit. Ok, it is cool to go postpone the release because she felt like contributing the vocals to an album with Diplo and, yeah, she has some political opinions to express - though I don't know why we should give a damn about the political opinion's of musicians. Music and politics have never mixed particularily well and, well, maybe I'm old fashioned but music should be about emotions and feelings and all that shit but not about politics or reason or logic. If you have something so profound to say, wouldn't it make sense just to write a book. At any rate, the music did nothing for me and I find the whole album kinda annoying, neither hard enough not poppy enough.

BO05 - The Duke Spirit

Well, I guess it is about time to start deciding what was good and what was bad in 2005 - and since I've taken such a good time to think about it, you can be sure that, well, that I have indeed thought about. So, to kick of the new year in style (at last) I'm gonna list my favorite albums from last year in no particular order. In no particular order because it is to time consuming and the order would be pretty arbitrary since I pretty much change my mind every day. And I'm not going to be mentioning some of the albums that are on everyone's list (hello, Sufjan, Antony) b/c, well, you have already heard them or you know you should check them out. At any rate, The Duke Spirit album was a disappointment. But only because it came on the heels of such an excellent ep that promised the world. Initially it never occurred to me that this album would become one of my favorites for the year. Basically, straightforwards "bluesy" rock. The closest comparison is early-PJ Harvey, which is a big recommendation in my book. At first, I was drawn to the singer's voice, which is sexy as hell (if you find women who smoke and drink whiskey sexy), but the music is pretty solid as well. In fact, a damn perfect combination.