There has been much lauded praise extolled on LCD Soundsystem, or specifically ringleader James Murphy, beginning when their first album compiling three years of 12 inch singles burst onto the indie mainstream. Since then, Mr. Murphy has gained platinum card credibility and earned mountains of accolades from every arena of hipster culture. Their next effort Sound of Silver was arguably the best album of the last decade (my thoughts are given here). James Murphy also spent his time growing his record label DFA, remixing major artists and accepting a commission from Nike for an exercise mix. He is a man whose rising star has allowed him the luxury to cherry pick his professional direction and where his thoughts, tastes and opinions are read and re-read, respected and retweeted.
Early in 2010, LCD Soundsystem released their highly anticipated third (and, according to James Murphy, last) album This Is Happening. Each of it's nine tracks exudes the confidence of someone who knows exactly what he wants to do and the fussiness of someone who knows that a huge fanbase is listening very, very closely. The educated listener can connect the dots to figure out what influence Murphy and Co. were paying homage to on each particular track. In fact, it would be easiest to call This Is Happening "The Bowie Album". There are slight variations on this Thin White Duke theme. "Someone's Calling Me" is borderline plagiarism of Iggy Pop's Nightclubbing. The only piece missing from "I Can Change" and a Yaz single is Alison Moyet. Most of the other songs should hopefully garner Brian Eno the renaissance he deserves. For the most part, LCD Soundsystem is not only representing it's broad influences, it is pointing out that other bands should write songs this obsessively cool.
Admittedly, it took me awhile to fully enjoy this album. I wanted Sound Of Silver Part II and got instead James Murphy's Awesome Collection Of Vinyl. It took about three months to run through the process of wanting to dance, then sitting down to listen, then getting back up again to dance. It is a slow burn, but worth the deliberation. The best tracks from This is Happening are given below for your listening enjoyment.
What a way to celebrate your Independence Day. Portland, Oregon pop-punkers The Thermals unleash the new track from their upcoming LP Personal Life. It will be officially released on the Kill Rock Stars label September 7th. New track "I Don't Believe You" holds no huge surprises; it is a straight forward, two and a half minute joyful bouncer featuring all the good stuff that The Thermals bring. Flinty guitar riffs skim over the lively bass line while the nasally vocals chant out the chorus, making you want to push the stranger next to you for some innate yet innocent, mosh pit inspired fun.
For those Chicagoans who do not want to wait to hear the rest of the new album, we have been blessed with the bounty of a free concert from The Thermals in Millennium Park on Monday, July 5th. The Disappears open and it at begins at 6:30pm. It will indeed be a explosive Fourth of July.
After a groundbreaking decade for music in sound, production, distribution, listening devices and expanding community, such as the 2000's were, the 2010's have a hard act to follow. The stage is set for endless possibility, with new avenues to be explored, old roads to be rediscovered and endless combinations to be unlocked. Also, many questions are posed; what will be the new direction of Indie? Of Pop? Of Hip Hop? Of Electronica? How will these genres diverge and intertwine? Will the dinosaurs of music's past (major labels, open air radio stations, physical distribution of music) finally become extinct or reinvent into a more adept species? Will the savvy younger generation embrace the future of music or get suckered by new marketing techniques pushing the same old rubbish?
For the first six months of this year and decade, I feel the indie influence has regressed rather than progressed.That statement sounds wholly negative, but it is meant to express the sound of now as influenced by the past, with all of its steps forward and back. One example of what is getting pushed in indie circles is a garage revival, a stripped down antithesis to the qualities of the digital age. Although four track recordings of distorted, tin can vocals and unfiltered guitar riffs has its definite charms, the most important and universally agreed aspect is the quality of the songs. Bands like Male Bonding, Dum Dum Girls and The Smith Westerns have bright spots and some solid tracks, yet don't make me forget (or even reflect upon) the great heights of such bands as Sebadoh, Guided By Voices and early Dinosaur Jr.. Lately, there is lots of love for the sounds of the past. Beach Boys chamber-pop, neo-80's synthesized pop and the heavy percussive influence of world music has cross-pollinated with the indie aesthetic to make new subgenres. These upstarts still have not stamped their movements with the head-turning album that defines it all in one front-to-back listen. There are torch bearers that stand out (Japandroids comes to mind) but this new decade needs more groundbreakers.
So, my top albums of 2010 includes (save Avi Buffalo) artists established in the last decade (and two beginning in the 1990's) building on their well rooted foundation and branching into new directions. Some of my personal favorites (The National, Spoon, LCD Soundsystem, Broken Social Scene) were consistent or even emboldened, while artists Beach House, Tokyo Police Club and The Besnard Lakes released efforts that show the beginning of an intriguing future. Even though my heart lies in rock, three of my favorites albums so far this year are electronica, hopefully representing my unwillingness to be turned by the influences of indie tastemaking as well as the quality of their efforts. Hey, it is one guy's opinion. Enjoy it for what it's worth and debate away.
The list in alphabetical order is given below. I tried to eliminate make it a list-friendly ten albums, but could not break the ties. Again, my blog, my rules. All artists are available below for listening and download. Hopefully I will find the time to write more about these deserved albums.
Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
Beach House - Teen Dream
The Besnard Lakes - Are The Roaring Night
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Caribou - Swim
Chemical Brothers - Further
Four Tet - There Is Love In You
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
The National - High Violet
Sleigh Bells - Treats
Spoon - Transference
Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
Tokyo Police Club - Champ
Avi Buffalo - What's It in For
Beach House - Norway
The Besnard Lakes - Albatross
Broken Social Scene - World Sick
Caribou - Sun
Chemical Brothers - Full Album
Four Tet - Love Cry
LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change
The National - Sorrow
Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill
Spoon -Written In Reverse
Teenage Fanclub - Sometimes I Don't Need To Believe In Anything
There has been a lot of activity coming from the Interpol camp lately. First, the band slyly drops their first (and incredibly solid) track upon an unsuspecting public for free. (Read my blog entry about it here.) Next, founding member and bassist Carlos D decides to amicably go his own way and leave Interpol. Without missing a beat, they pick up much heralded guitarist David Pajo (of Slint fame) to fill the open roster spot and add on former Secret Machines keyboardist Brandon Curtis as well. Amidst all of these details is an impending self-titled album release in September, returning to their initial label Matador and garnering all the hype a good mystery can bring.
Also on the news front was the concern that their tour was permanently derailed. Since they hitched their wagon to U2 as their opening act, when Bono needed back surgery (or possibly a procedure to remove his sunglasses?) and canceled the tour, Interpol was lost in the wake. However, their backbone was obviously more resolute than certain pensioner rock-n-roll singers and they pull together some dates to support their new album. This includes an August 15th date in Chicago at the Vic Theatre. All upcoming tour dates are given on their website.
Finally, they released their music video for their early release "Lights". The video is like the song; immediately foreboding, emotionally distant with a certain detached sexuality. If you must, a hi-quality version is available for download at the Interpol website. Download the new track below as well.
For those of you yearning to resolve your Lollapalooza schedule conflicts with your credit card or those who choose to abstain from the heat, crowds and expense of said three day festival can catch most of the highlighted bands at your friendly neighborhood concert venue.
Featured bands include The National, Phoenix, New Pornographers, Hot Chip, Devo, The Black Keys, The Walkmen and Rogue Wave are playing everywhere from large capacity halls such as House of Blues and Congress Theater to intimate settings like Empty Bottle and Double Door. Since my attendance at Lollapalooza is still being debated, this list helps me lean the other way. Single day tickets are still on sale here.
Thanks to bloggers Consequence Of Sound for typing this first so I could cut and paste without incident.
Thursday, August 5th:
Devo w/ Dirty Projectors @ Congress Theater 7:30pm
Slightly Stoopid w/ Collie Buddz @ House of Blues 8pm
New Pornographers w/ Dodos @ Metro 8pm
Big Pink w/ Night Gallery @ Lincoln Hall 8pm
Cymbals Eat Guitars w/ Young Galaxy @ Schubas 8pm
New Pornographers - Your Hands (Together)
Friday, August 6th:
MGMT @ House of Blues 10pm
Cut Copy w/ Dragonette @ Metro 10pm
The Walkmen w/ Warpaint @ Double Door 10pm
Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros w/ Freelance Whales @ Lincoln Hall 10pm
Wild Beasts – Empty Bottle @ 10pm
Rogue Wave w/ Gamble House @ Schubas 1opm
Rogue Wave - Solitary Gun
Saturday, August 7th:
Precision Guided Musicians featuring Hot Chip (Live), Rusko, Steve Porter, Ancient Astronauts, and Perry Farrell @ Congress Theatre 10pm
The National w/ Antlers @ House of Blues 10pm
The Black Keys w/ Morning Benders @ Metro – 10pm
Minus the Bear w Miniature Tigers @ Double Door – 10pm
Blitzen Trapper w/ Avi Buffalo @ Lincoln Hall 10pm
Gogol Bordello @ Subterranean – 10pm
Wavves w/ Harlem @ Empty Bottle – 10pm
The Soft Pack w/ Royal Bangs @ Schubas – 10pm
Hot Chip - And I Was A Boy From School
Sunday, August 8th:
Phoenix w/ Toro Y Moi @ House of Blues 10pm
Health @ Reggies Rock Club 10pm
Hipsters have been getting a rough time lately. Skin tight jeans and 70's porn 'staches aside, there is one criticism that is dead wrong. The indie rocker is funky. Where hip hop is dangerously careening closer to pop music, indie rock has been digging deep in its vinyl carrying milk crates, excavating the nuggets of the past and lighting torches to lead us away from the dull, stagnant and the flat footed.
Today's music excavators are the New York collective !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) who bring the live funk, punk, disco and dub like no one since these sounds congealed in the early 1980's. Releasing three albums and, like all dance outfits should, extended vinyl singles through the 2000's, !!! have honed a serious dance sound that rubs off gritty rather than slick or overproduced. Whereas most live performances of dance music can be limp and aloof, this band gets down on the audience's level and doesn't stop moving until the last encore.
!!!'s new album on Warp, Strange Weather, Isn't It?, is their first sign of a new recording in three years and the first single, AM/FM, is a welcome homecoming. The joy is evident and palpable, like the recording was a jailhouse release. All of the elements are back in play: disco congos, jittery post-punk guitar stabs and bouncing bass all hit you the hips while the comely voices of male lead and female backing vocals lure you in like sirens to the rocks. Download and get to stepping. The rest will be awaiting you August 24.
Call it techno. Call it club music. Call them dance tracks. There are many generic terms for the masses to tag the music of the crossover electronic artist. These lucky souls have successfully bridged the divide from their music having limited mass exposure in late night venues to alternative radio play, music video popularity, hired remix duty and, most lucrative of all, licensing to commercials and feature films. If they are truly deserving, they can stand at the top of the heap while retaining their club credibility (God bless you, Daft Punk) or, sadly, releasing unadventurous product while hoping for the public to latch onto their attempts to return to glory (I am looking at you, Moby).
For some time, The Chemical Brothers were taking that path into slowly fading obscurity, putting out uneven albums, selling their music to the first available beer maker and basically grinding their once successful formula into dust. Since no one was interested in listening to the past in electronica's ever revolving door of ready now music, Tom and Ed made the decision to embrace other influences and reinvent their sound for the fan of today.
Their new album Further is to be released June 22 on Astralwerks. The sounds of the 90's Chemical Brothers has been cherry picked or altogether flushed. Most notably, there is an absence of their signature big-name guest vocalists. Although a guarantee in record sales, it was a necessary loss for The Chemical Brothers to grow. The new influences are from the past and present here, drawing from sources such as brightly lit chamber-pop, gauzy shoegaze, arms-length ambient, and blownout electroclash. Although the album has eight tracks, the songs run overlap with only the stylistic change alerting the listener to the new track. After the joyous bleeps open up "Snow" with the thankful chorus: "Your love keeps lifting me higher", the highlight track of Further "Escape Velocity" begins sounding like the opening of a BBC documentary from the 1970's. Then beat kicks in, and it all hands in the air for about 10 minutes. My earlier review of this song had me thinking about "a remix of Boards of Canada by Underworld in their prime". Although its roots are firmly in The Chemical Brothers Big Beat past, the song is fresh, fun and undeniable.
Although the album's payoff comes early, Further still reveals nuggets of electronica gold. Muffled beats and vocals burst and twinkle on "Another World". Disco bass reign supreme on "Swoon". "Dissolve" sounds like a forgotten but worthy holdover from their classic LP Dig Your Own Hole. Even Further's most derivative track "Horse Power", with its horse whinny samples and stomping drumbeat, has its hokey charm. Where we were used to a collection of good to great songs on the best Chemical Brothers LP's, Further plays like a proper full length with crests and valleys that carries the listener to the very end.
The excitability of the English music press is well established. If a new band vaguely has hit the airwaves with a new song, publishers such as NME or Q are ready to ignore restrained hyperbole and wildly declare them the new Oasis or start connecting the dots to John, Paul, George and/or Ringo. Oxford five-piece Foals made some indie waves with their breathy 2008 debut Antidotes. It was well received here in the US, perhaps even more than England. However, their new album has struck a chord across the pond and you can't take a tube ride without seeing massive advertising about their release. The reviews in NME, The Guardian and the BBC proudly followed suit.
I guess I cannot blame the English for support their rock music to the point of excess. British bands are well-established in making their catchy brand of pop. It comes so easily and often that it leaves American bands in the dust to the point that it is a source of national pride. Even the band themselves called their new album's sound like the "dream of an eagle dying". Cringe.
So, the real question is "Is Foals new album Total Life Forever good? Great? Beatlesque?". Quick answers are: Yes, Depends, Stop it. Released in America on the ever broadening label Sub Pop, Foals have taken their upbeat, breezy and reinforced it with a muscular funky dub bassline, jazzy drums and thickly accented vocals that emphasize the lyrical force. There is an excellent retro feel to this album, reminding the listener of the best of the British New Wave of the 80's. Standouts tracks include the new single Spanish Sahara, powerful opener Blue Blood and the smooth sounds of tracks Black Gold and 2 Trees.
Since I could not narrow it down for one post, I choose not to choose and decided to chat about the latest and upcoming releases on Subpop. These three bands are disparate to say the least, so give them all a listen and see what you strikes your eardrum.
London based Male Bonding has a lo-fi garage sound that is not short on energy. The trio burns through this album in a half hour and fills it full of catchy sounds and introspective lyrics. Year's Not Long is the type of high impact track that brings the kids to the live shows to jump around and sing along. The new album Nothing Hurts is out now. Fans of Japandroids or Guided By Voices will be most pleased.
Blitzen Trapper is out of Portland, Oregon with a sound that induces the Pacific Northwest. Their sound has a woodsy warmth built with the sturdy sensibility of a log cabin. With footholds in 70's AM-rock and indie folk, they straddle the fence between delicate beauty and emotive strength. Their fifth album Destroyer Of The Void will be out June 8. People who dig Fleet Foxes or Mumford and Sons will enjoy this as well.
A well established member of the Montreal indie scene, Wolf Parade released one of the best albums of the past decade in Apologies To The Queen Mary. Their quirky play between guitar and keys builds tension while never sounding derivative. Their third album Expo 86 is due for release on June 29. Chances are if you already listen to other Montreal natives New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene, this is already on your radar. If not, give it a spin.
Electronica musician Matthew Dear keeps himself busy making music under his pseudonyms Audion, Jabberjaw and False. Beyond his remixing duties, he has not released a new album as Matthew Dear since 2007's excellent Asa Breed. The waiting is over. The new album, entitled Black City will be out August 17 on his own label Ghostly International.
The new track entitled I Can't Feel has a chilled beat, stuttering bass and his trademark monotone. As opposed to his minimal/microhouse style he sports under his alter egos, Dear can explore a more organic sound under his true name. The track has elements of Remain In Light era Talking Heads in terms of its neo-African influences and awkward paranoia. Check it out below with an old track and video from Asa Breed.
