First and foremost, on behalf of both of us here at Never Leared to Swim - Happy Thanksgiving.
A while back, I posted a link to Blender's list of the top 100 indie rock albums of all time. I think enough time has elapsed now that I can offer my two cents on that article. Let me offer the following caveat to dedicated Blender readers: don't read this post; it'll rub you the wrong way. Moreover, it's possible that this post is an exercise in music snobbery. Maybe it is. Indulge me.
So, I wasn't aware that a magazine that has allowed the Black Eyed Peas to grace its cover was in any way fit to arbitrate quality in indie rock. I think Blender is just about as qualified as my mother to make a list like this. And it shows. This list conflates the terms "unheard-of" and "indie", probably intentionally so as to mask the fact that they really don't know what the hell they're talking about. I looked at that list, where the safe, predictable picks (Pavement at #1?? SHOCKING.) were tastefully nestled between bands who nobody ever cared about and who ultimately contributed nothing to indie music. Just because a band sounds like they were ahead of their time certainly doesn't mean they were, and the writers at Blender should know that.
Sad thing is, Blender's got a good thing going. They probably fooled the hell out of their readership, to whom names like Animal Collective and Wolf Parade are vaguely familiar at best. They pulled a fast one. But I want anyone on the Blender staff who ever reads this to know that we here at Never Learned to Swim were not fooled. Not one bit. For shame, Blender Magazine; for shame. We're on to you.
-PTC
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Top albums of 2007: 5-1
The top five albums of the year. Without further ado:
5. Spoon – “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
7/10 on Merge
Metacritic: 84
Q: 80
Pitchfork: 85
Britt Daniel and Jim Eno have come miles from "The Way We Get By" in only two albums. From lo-fi GBV-like material, the songwriting/production duo have grown into studio geniuses pumping out pop gems approaching the order of 21st century Brian Wilsons. Finally working with a full compliment of bells and whistles, Spoon shine like never before. It is hard to find a weak moment and finding strong ones is only a drop of the needle away. Opener "Don't Make Me a Target" and closer "Black Like Me" are especially fine. Provided you're the kind of listener that tires of endless hooks and Daniel's sometimes sluggish vocals, the 56 minute record drags on a bit. An optimist might see "Five Gas" as "more to love". Certainly, one of the year's best. The mind reels at the thought of their upcoming European tour with Explosions in the Sky.
-RJR
4. Jens Lekman – “Night Falls Over Kortedala”
10/9 on Secretly Canadian
Metacritic: 80
Q: 40
Pitchfork: 90
Have you heard? Phil Spector and Brian Wilson had a lovechild. They named it Jens. And now it writes music. Really fantastic music. Many people were rightly put off by Lekman’s previous record, “Oh, You’re So Silent, Jens”. It was just so...barren. On “Night Falls”, Lekman has made up for this shortcoming with interest. Lekman paints with broad sonic strokes as far as instrumentation is concerned, employing brass and strings to do the bulk of the labour. Lekman pulls liberally from a wide variety of genres, and this is where many lesser artists would falter. But his experience from “Oh, You’re So Silent” serves him well in this respect; Lekman refuses to be overwhelmed and proportions his various influences masterfully. He deftly, effortlessly adds dashes of doo-wop, jazz, and classical to his mixture. But the critical aspect of this record, ultimately, is Lekman’s command of melody. Into the panoramic arrangements Lekman weaves intricate melodies with pinpoint precision, aware of every note and every lyric. This is not to say that the melodies are overly complex, just that every note has a purpose (or at least sounds like it does, and that’s hard to fake). Despite all this (or maybe owing to it), “Night Falls” is not for everyone. The Phil Spector schtick is laid on a bit thick at times, and while some (this contributor among them) find that endearing, others might find it trite or contrived. But as a straight ahead piece of music, like it or not, “Night Falls Over Kortelada” commands our attention and respect.
-PTC
2. Okkervil River – “The Stage Names”
8/7 on Jagjaguwar
Metacritic: 82
Q: 80
Pitchfork: 87
The surprise success of this year. Releases from Spoon, Modest Mouse, The White Stripes were bound to be winners, but Will Sheff's self-professed "mid-level band" have stumbled between mediocrity and genius for a couple of albums now. "Black Sheep Boy" had moments of greatness, but rambled too much. "The Stage Names" is the epitome of consistency, never getting sloppy or bloated. Okkervil River are playing as a tight-knit group and for the first time not just keeping time for the vocals. And Sheff cements himself as a great modern pop lyricist in the vein of Colin Meloy, John Darnielle, and Jeff Mangum. His characters are complex and witty, if a little road-weary. "Plus Ones" and "John Allyn Smith Sails" are the year's great inside jokes. Jim Eno's hand in production is evident enough, but OR carry more gravitas and are a little less eager to please than Eno's full-time band.
-RJR
2. The National – “Boxer”
5/22 on Beggars Banquet
Metacritic: 86
NME: 70
Pitchfork: 86
Very few people knew who these Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati rockers were before this year. “Alligator” was hailed by critics as a grower and in some cases even a masterpiece, but many listeners were unconvinced of this band’s merit (though this blogger was not among them). “Boxer” has all but completely silenced the skeptics. Lush instrumentation (anchored by Bryan Devendorf’s stellar drumming) coupled with Matt Berninger’s smoky, quietly tortured vocals weaves bleak, heart-breakingly beautiful tales of urban-corporate malaise. The National have returned to their (slightly) more expanded instrumental palette: this album features more acoustic guitar than “Alligator” did (a reversion to their earlier work), along with brass and strings (the latter arranged by Padma Newsome). Whether you’re talking about the insistent pound and grind of “Mistaken for Strangers,” the achingly beautiful “Slow Show” - a song which boasts the best coda of the century - or the droning melancholy of “Ada,” this album is a wondrous achievement from a band that has only begun to discover itself. Berninger’s lyrics shine as some of the best penned this year (with the exception of the embarrassing “Racing Like A Pro”). This is a complex, untraditional, thematically sprawling concept album: Berninger’s concerns are not of a sinister government or an oil war (though those things may concern him, I don’t know), but of something far more significant: a populace crippled by apathy, by a total lack of agency or ambition: “we’ll stay inside ‘til somebody finds us / do whatever the TV tells us.” These fears prove far more moving than the run of the mill anti-war, “Fuck the Republicans and fuck this war” rant, it forces us to look at something we don’t look at often enough: ourselves.
-PTC
1. Radiohead – “In Rainbows”
self-released on 10/10
Metacritic: 89
BBC: 90
Pitchfork: 93
There is little more to be said about "In Rainbows" from a critical point of view. I am so taken with its charms that rather than review it, I'd rather use my time to hasten its canonisation. Not since I began to think about music in a substantive way has an album come out this excellent. It's almost certainly the best album since the release of Radiohead's own "OK Computer". It made every other album this year look like child's play. The year's only other musical, nay, cultural event of similar magnitude was the Daft Punk world tour, tickets for which climbed into the hundreds of dollars. "In Rainbows" could be yours for free. Or $80. Or $15. Turning on critics complaining that the songs were just recycled "OK Computer"-era demos and questioning their relevance, Radiohead set the bar impossibly high for every other artist and listener. Let's hope they spill the beans on World Tour 2008.
-RJR
I’ll spare you the prologue (it would be lengthy, believe me). The latest release from the most influential and important band of our generation leaves next to nothing to be desired. This record is quite simply stunning from beginning to end. From the 5/4 stomp of “15 Step” to the final piano chords of the stunning closing track “Videotape,” this exceptional record grabs the listener and holds on with a vice-like grip. Radiohead has given us the gift of the most cohesive, uniformly spectacular album we’ve seen all year. This album shows a return to basics, but it is a move motivated by artistic vision, not necessity. The exceptional “Faust Arp” is a quick acoustic number that would have made The Beatles weak in the knees. “Reckoner” supports a relatively simplistic musical motif, weaving a gossamer guitar line between stark piano. Indeed, this standout track exemplifies the sort of maturity that Radiohead have arrived at: they are sophisticated as always, but on “In Rainbows,” they leave the listener to discover the nuances him or herself, which makes for a far more satisfying listening experience. Radiohead has learned the value of economy on this album. It is a far more frugal effort than any of their other albums. The band feels no need to overtly reinforce the profundity of the meaning this album bears. On “OK Computer” and “Kid A,” Radiohead showed signs of a certain breed of insecurity: their music was meaningful because it was difficult to access, but there was a lot behind it once you finally managed to sort it out. On “In Rainbows,” the music is meaningful because Radiohead knows it is. It is the sort of record that only the greatest band in the world can release. Simply put, “In Rainbows” is the closest thing this year - and maybe this century - to flawless.
-PTC
5. Spoon – “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
7/10 on Merge
Metacritic: 84
Q: 80
Pitchfork: 85
Britt Daniel and Jim Eno have come miles from "The Way We Get By" in only two albums. From lo-fi GBV-like material, the songwriting/production duo have grown into studio geniuses pumping out pop gems approaching the order of 21st century Brian Wilsons. Finally working with a full compliment of bells and whistles, Spoon shine like never before. It is hard to find a weak moment and finding strong ones is only a drop of the needle away. Opener "Don't Make Me a Target" and closer "Black Like Me" are especially fine. Provided you're the kind of listener that tires of endless hooks and Daniel's sometimes sluggish vocals, the 56 minute record drags on a bit. An optimist might see "Five Gas" as "more to love". Certainly, one of the year's best. The mind reels at the thought of their upcoming European tour with Explosions in the Sky.
-RJR
4. Jens Lekman – “Night Falls Over Kortedala”
10/9 on Secretly Canadian
Metacritic: 80
Q: 40
Pitchfork: 90
Have you heard? Phil Spector and Brian Wilson had a lovechild. They named it Jens. And now it writes music. Really fantastic music. Many people were rightly put off by Lekman’s previous record, “Oh, You’re So Silent, Jens”. It was just so...barren. On “Night Falls”, Lekman has made up for this shortcoming with interest. Lekman paints with broad sonic strokes as far as instrumentation is concerned, employing brass and strings to do the bulk of the labour. Lekman pulls liberally from a wide variety of genres, and this is where many lesser artists would falter. But his experience from “Oh, You’re So Silent” serves him well in this respect; Lekman refuses to be overwhelmed and proportions his various influences masterfully. He deftly, effortlessly adds dashes of doo-wop, jazz, and classical to his mixture. But the critical aspect of this record, ultimately, is Lekman’s command of melody. Into the panoramic arrangements Lekman weaves intricate melodies with pinpoint precision, aware of every note and every lyric. This is not to say that the melodies are overly complex, just that every note has a purpose (or at least sounds like it does, and that’s hard to fake). Despite all this (or maybe owing to it), “Night Falls” is not for everyone. The Phil Spector schtick is laid on a bit thick at times, and while some (this contributor among them) find that endearing, others might find it trite or contrived. But as a straight ahead piece of music, like it or not, “Night Falls Over Kortelada” commands our attention and respect.
-PTC
2. Okkervil River – “The Stage Names”
8/7 on Jagjaguwar
Metacritic: 82
Q: 80
Pitchfork: 87
The surprise success of this year. Releases from Spoon, Modest Mouse, The White Stripes were bound to be winners, but Will Sheff's self-professed "mid-level band" have stumbled between mediocrity and genius for a couple of albums now. "Black Sheep Boy" had moments of greatness, but rambled too much. "The Stage Names" is the epitome of consistency, never getting sloppy or bloated. Okkervil River are playing as a tight-knit group and for the first time not just keeping time for the vocals. And Sheff cements himself as a great modern pop lyricist in the vein of Colin Meloy, John Darnielle, and Jeff Mangum. His characters are complex and witty, if a little road-weary. "Plus Ones" and "John Allyn Smith Sails" are the year's great inside jokes. Jim Eno's hand in production is evident enough, but OR carry more gravitas and are a little less eager to please than Eno's full-time band.
-RJR
2. The National – “Boxer”
5/22 on Beggars Banquet
Metacritic: 86
NME: 70
Pitchfork: 86
Very few people knew who these Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati rockers were before this year. “Alligator” was hailed by critics as a grower and in some cases even a masterpiece, but many listeners were unconvinced of this band’s merit (though this blogger was not among them). “Boxer” has all but completely silenced the skeptics. Lush instrumentation (anchored by Bryan Devendorf’s stellar drumming) coupled with Matt Berninger’s smoky, quietly tortured vocals weaves bleak, heart-breakingly beautiful tales of urban-corporate malaise. The National have returned to their (slightly) more expanded instrumental palette: this album features more acoustic guitar than “Alligator” did (a reversion to their earlier work), along with brass and strings (the latter arranged by Padma Newsome). Whether you’re talking about the insistent pound and grind of “Mistaken for Strangers,” the achingly beautiful “Slow Show” - a song which boasts the best coda of the century - or the droning melancholy of “Ada,” this album is a wondrous achievement from a band that has only begun to discover itself. Berninger’s lyrics shine as some of the best penned this year (with the exception of the embarrassing “Racing Like A Pro”). This is a complex, untraditional, thematically sprawling concept album: Berninger’s concerns are not of a sinister government or an oil war (though those things may concern him, I don’t know), but of something far more significant: a populace crippled by apathy, by a total lack of agency or ambition: “we’ll stay inside ‘til somebody finds us / do whatever the TV tells us.” These fears prove far more moving than the run of the mill anti-war, “Fuck the Republicans and fuck this war” rant, it forces us to look at something we don’t look at often enough: ourselves.
-PTC
1. Radiohead – “In Rainbows”
self-released on 10/10
Metacritic: 89
BBC: 90
Pitchfork: 93
There is little more to be said about "In Rainbows" from a critical point of view. I am so taken with its charms that rather than review it, I'd rather use my time to hasten its canonisation. Not since I began to think about music in a substantive way has an album come out this excellent. It's almost certainly the best album since the release of Radiohead's own "OK Computer". It made every other album this year look like child's play. The year's only other musical, nay, cultural event of similar magnitude was the Daft Punk world tour, tickets for which climbed into the hundreds of dollars. "In Rainbows" could be yours for free. Or $80. Or $15. Turning on critics complaining that the songs were just recycled "OK Computer"-era demos and questioning their relevance, Radiohead set the bar impossibly high for every other artist and listener. Let's hope they spill the beans on World Tour 2008.
-RJR
I’ll spare you the prologue (it would be lengthy, believe me). The latest release from the most influential and important band of our generation leaves next to nothing to be desired. This record is quite simply stunning from beginning to end. From the 5/4 stomp of “15 Step” to the final piano chords of the stunning closing track “Videotape,” this exceptional record grabs the listener and holds on with a vice-like grip. Radiohead has given us the gift of the most cohesive, uniformly spectacular album we’ve seen all year. This album shows a return to basics, but it is a move motivated by artistic vision, not necessity. The exceptional “Faust Arp” is a quick acoustic number that would have made The Beatles weak in the knees. “Reckoner” supports a relatively simplistic musical motif, weaving a gossamer guitar line between stark piano. Indeed, this standout track exemplifies the sort of maturity that Radiohead have arrived at: they are sophisticated as always, but on “In Rainbows,” they leave the listener to discover the nuances him or herself, which makes for a far more satisfying listening experience. Radiohead has learned the value of economy on this album. It is a far more frugal effort than any of their other albums. The band feels no need to overtly reinforce the profundity of the meaning this album bears. On “OK Computer” and “Kid A,” Radiohead showed signs of a certain breed of insecurity: their music was meaningful because it was difficult to access, but there was a lot behind it once you finally managed to sort it out. On “In Rainbows,” the music is meaningful because Radiohead knows it is. It is the sort of record that only the greatest band in the world can release. Simply put, “In Rainbows” is the closest thing this year - and maybe this century - to flawless.
-PTC
Items of the day
1. You really must get your hands on Alive 2007, Daft Punk's live album recorded on their recent world tour. It's a great keepsake for anyone that got to experience the tour and a vague indication of the sheer ecstasy that is live Daft Punk for those that missed out.
2. The 16th edition of San Francisco's Noise Pop festival is due at the end of February and first days of March next year (right around your contributor's birthday!) with Mountain Goats and Magnetic Fields announced so far as participants. Artists appear around the city at different venues for several days. The lineup last year was unspeakably good. Updates to come.
3. Before heading to the UK for All Tomorrow's Parties, Explosions in the Sky will do a series of shows, including two nights in SF on March 21 and 22.
-RJR
Monday, November 19, 2007
Top albums of 2007: 10-6
We've cracked the top ten! The real gems start here, with a classic or two thrown in. We'll continue our format of (more or less) alternating reviews from our contributors until we get to our record of the year, which one of us couldn't possibly sum up by his lonesome.
10. Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible”
3/6 on Merge
Metacritic: 87
Q: 100
Pitchfork: 84
Along with LCD Soundsystem, this was the year's big, hype-filled record. It was the album that was supposed to destroy the music business and rebuild it their own Canadian image. While it didn't quite do that, "Neon Bible" managed to avoid being a victim of the success of "Funeral". It is just as exuberant as the first record (witness "Keep the Car Running", especially live), though it replaces tenderness with paranoia. Fear ultimately drags "Neon Bible" down. A vague, apocalyptic fear of George Bush pervades nearly every song, but never really coalesces into a political statement of any eloquence. The lyrics play on hippie standards like poverty, globalisation, and war, but without humanising them at all or really making a point. Arcade Fire seem terrified of their critics as well. Win Butler and crew pile on track after track of hi-fi organ, strings, and vocals soaked in unparalleled amounts of reverb, but to what end? To hide a lack of melody? The depth of creative malaise here is obvious when the album's best song is a rehashing of early EP track "No Cars Go". Somewhere in the recording of "Neon Bible", Arcade Fire ran out of ideas entirely and it shows. But they still are Arcade Fire, and their fudgeings are passable and their original ideas are rapturous.
-RJR
9. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump”
6/19 on Warner Bros
Metacritic: 80
NME: 90
Pitchfork: 80
“Icky Thump” is the product of three weeks in the studio (a relative lifetime for the Stripes), and it may well be the best White Stripes album to date. It is certainly the record that best weds (or proves, depending upon your perspective on his previous releases) Jack White’s songwriting - not to mention instrumental - talent with lush instrumentation (Wurlitzer? Brass?! Acoustic guitar?!? Bagpipes?!?!?), singable melodies (who knew?), and slick production, all the while maintaining the improvisatory caprice of their earlier records. Jack White’s voice has never sounded so good, his guitar playing is incomparable as per usual, but most importantly, he has learned the value of restraint - as “300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues” will show. No one should be heard to say the White Stripes are losing steam. Quite the opposite, they seem here to be on top of their game. “Get Behind Me Satan” found the Stripes throwing in the kitchen sink and leaving out the electric guitar to avoid being pigeonholed as a band centred around and dependent upon Jack White’s guitar talent. But that’s precisely what they are. And that’s not a bad thing. “Icky Thump” shows that Jack and Meg have realised that as well. And not a moment too soon.
-PTC
8. Bloc Party – “A Weekend in the City”
2/6 on Vice
Metacritic: 65
Q: 60
Pitchfork: 75
It is a scary commentary on the pressures and mixed incentives of the music industry that, with only their second album, Bloc Party have met a crossroads. They are an art rock band at heart. But with their audience turning more and more bro-like and their songs appearing in sports games and Guitar Hero, they risk being Muse-d, hijacked by masculinity. At a show last year, frontman Kele Okereke stopped a song to quell some moshers, reminding them "people are here to listen to music". This year, at a smaller venue, he made no such effort. AWitC is a fittingly mixed album. The songs range from the "Silent Alarm" style "Song for Clay" and "Hunting for Witches" to drum machine-fuelled "The Prayer" to the ballads fleshing out the last few tracks. The lyrical content is conflicted as well, with Okereke questioning his nationality ("Where Is Home"), charm ("The Prayer"), and sexuality ("I Still Remember"). The fault lines running through the band thematically and stylistically make AWitC one of the most honest releases of the year. Fabulous production and an excellent vocal performance from Okereke complimenting the already excellent guitar work and rhythm section carried over from "Silent Alarm" help as well.
-RJR
7. Modest Mouse – “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank”
3/20 on Sony
Metacritic: 77
Q: 80
Pitchfork: 78
I have not been moved - really moved - by a Modest Mouse record since the breathtaking “The Moon and Antartica”. They got lazy, they fell into a routine (a deadly trap for a songwriter to whom creativity means more than selling records), and their records were single-driven - “we’ll all float on all right” - and uninspired. “Good News for People Who Love Bad News” petered out quickly after an excellent first three songs, From “Bury Me With It” on, the record is hugely unmemorable (I had to check and see what that song was called). The addition of Johnny Marr was quite possibly the best thing that has happened to Modest Mouse, like, ever. From the very first track, the rollicking “March Into the Sea”, this record boasts an energy, intensity, and sense of artistic urgency that none of their other records has ever had - not even “The Moon and Antarctica.” The pelagic theme of the album is fitting; every song has its own lilt, its own sway: “Dashboard” and “Missed the Boat” in particular. This record is the work of a band that has learned to play to its strengths but are still growing into themselves. Don’t be surprised if Modest Mouse still have a few tricks up their sleeve; I think this record is a portent of things to come.
-PTC
6. Sea Wolf – “Leaves in the River”
9/25 on Dangerbird
It’s been a busy twelve months for Alex Brown Church and the amorphous coterie of companions he calls a backing band. He released a lovely if slightly rough around the edges EP and went on a largely ignored tour. Then he blind-sided the music world with this phenomenal LP. “Leaves in the River” is a record of deceptive complexity, brimming with meaning, and above all, honesty - a quality which is tragically lacking from 99% of records released nowadays. His songwriting is impeccable, his songs brim with a simplicity that borders on innocence (another quality you won’t find in corporate rock, which is totally anathema to the success of the uncorrupted). Church has tact and nuance down to a science. Even on the more “upbeat” tracks like “Winter Windows,” the album is careful not to overextend itself. Church never strays from his comfort zone, but opts to coyly toe its border instead, which is precisely what an artist should do on a debut. This fantastic record starts his young and exceptionally promising career off on the right foot.
-PTC
Another day, another five albums. The reviews you've all been waiting for tomorrow!
10. Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible”
3/6 on Merge
Metacritic: 87
Q: 100
Pitchfork: 84
Along with LCD Soundsystem, this was the year's big, hype-filled record. It was the album that was supposed to destroy the music business and rebuild it their own Canadian image. While it didn't quite do that, "Neon Bible" managed to avoid being a victim of the success of "Funeral". It is just as exuberant as the first record (witness "Keep the Car Running", especially live), though it replaces tenderness with paranoia. Fear ultimately drags "Neon Bible" down. A vague, apocalyptic fear of George Bush pervades nearly every song, but never really coalesces into a political statement of any eloquence. The lyrics play on hippie standards like poverty, globalisation, and war, but without humanising them at all or really making a point. Arcade Fire seem terrified of their critics as well. Win Butler and crew pile on track after track of hi-fi organ, strings, and vocals soaked in unparalleled amounts of reverb, but to what end? To hide a lack of melody? The depth of creative malaise here is obvious when the album's best song is a rehashing of early EP track "No Cars Go". Somewhere in the recording of "Neon Bible", Arcade Fire ran out of ideas entirely and it shows. But they still are Arcade Fire, and their fudgeings are passable and their original ideas are rapturous.
-RJR
9. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump”
6/19 on Warner Bros
Metacritic: 80
NME: 90
Pitchfork: 80
“Icky Thump” is the product of three weeks in the studio (a relative lifetime for the Stripes), and it may well be the best White Stripes album to date. It is certainly the record that best weds (or proves, depending upon your perspective on his previous releases) Jack White’s songwriting - not to mention instrumental - talent with lush instrumentation (Wurlitzer? Brass?! Acoustic guitar?!? Bagpipes?!?!?), singable melodies (who knew?), and slick production, all the while maintaining the improvisatory caprice of their earlier records. Jack White’s voice has never sounded so good, his guitar playing is incomparable as per usual, but most importantly, he has learned the value of restraint - as “300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues” will show. No one should be heard to say the White Stripes are losing steam. Quite the opposite, they seem here to be on top of their game. “Get Behind Me Satan” found the Stripes throwing in the kitchen sink and leaving out the electric guitar to avoid being pigeonholed as a band centred around and dependent upon Jack White’s guitar talent. But that’s precisely what they are. And that’s not a bad thing. “Icky Thump” shows that Jack and Meg have realised that as well. And not a moment too soon.
-PTC
8. Bloc Party – “A Weekend in the City”
2/6 on Vice
Metacritic: 65
Q: 60
Pitchfork: 75
It is a scary commentary on the pressures and mixed incentives of the music industry that, with only their second album, Bloc Party have met a crossroads. They are an art rock band at heart. But with their audience turning more and more bro-like and their songs appearing in sports games and Guitar Hero, they risk being Muse-d, hijacked by masculinity. At a show last year, frontman Kele Okereke stopped a song to quell some moshers, reminding them "people are here to listen to music". This year, at a smaller venue, he made no such effort. AWitC is a fittingly mixed album. The songs range from the "Silent Alarm" style "Song for Clay" and "Hunting for Witches" to drum machine-fuelled "The Prayer" to the ballads fleshing out the last few tracks. The lyrical content is conflicted as well, with Okereke questioning his nationality ("Where Is Home"), charm ("The Prayer"), and sexuality ("I Still Remember"). The fault lines running through the band thematically and stylistically make AWitC one of the most honest releases of the year. Fabulous production and an excellent vocal performance from Okereke complimenting the already excellent guitar work and rhythm section carried over from "Silent Alarm" help as well.
-RJR
7. Modest Mouse – “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank”
3/20 on Sony
Metacritic: 77
Q: 80
Pitchfork: 78
I have not been moved - really moved - by a Modest Mouse record since the breathtaking “The Moon and Antartica”. They got lazy, they fell into a routine (a deadly trap for a songwriter to whom creativity means more than selling records), and their records were single-driven - “we’ll all float on all right” - and uninspired. “Good News for People Who Love Bad News” petered out quickly after an excellent first three songs, From “Bury Me With It” on, the record is hugely unmemorable (I had to check and see what that song was called). The addition of Johnny Marr was quite possibly the best thing that has happened to Modest Mouse, like, ever. From the very first track, the rollicking “March Into the Sea”, this record boasts an energy, intensity, and sense of artistic urgency that none of their other records has ever had - not even “The Moon and Antarctica.” The pelagic theme of the album is fitting; every song has its own lilt, its own sway: “Dashboard” and “Missed the Boat” in particular. This record is the work of a band that has learned to play to its strengths but are still growing into themselves. Don’t be surprised if Modest Mouse still have a few tricks up their sleeve; I think this record is a portent of things to come.
-PTC
6. Sea Wolf – “Leaves in the River”
9/25 on Dangerbird
It’s been a busy twelve months for Alex Brown Church and the amorphous coterie of companions he calls a backing band. He released a lovely if slightly rough around the edges EP and went on a largely ignored tour. Then he blind-sided the music world with this phenomenal LP. “Leaves in the River” is a record of deceptive complexity, brimming with meaning, and above all, honesty - a quality which is tragically lacking from 99% of records released nowadays. His songwriting is impeccable, his songs brim with a simplicity that borders on innocence (another quality you won’t find in corporate rock, which is totally anathema to the success of the uncorrupted). Church has tact and nuance down to a science. Even on the more “upbeat” tracks like “Winter Windows,” the album is careful not to overextend itself. Church never strays from his comfort zone, but opts to coyly toe its border instead, which is precisely what an artist should do on a debut. This fantastic record starts his young and exceptionally promising career off on the right foot.
-PTC
Another day, another five albums. The reviews you've all been waiting for tomorrow!
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