Tuesday, June 21, 2011

What I've Been Listening To

I'll just cut to the chase here: in ascending order of how much I liked them, the albums I've listened to since about January, with a little blurb about each one, and song recommendations.

19 | Decemberists | The King Is Dead

Meh. I deleted all but two songs. Definitely not my kind of thing.

Listen to: "This Is Why We Fight", "Down By The Water"

18 | Radiohead | King Of Limbs

Radiohead is pretty hit or miss for me I have to admit. I can't say I even listen to this any more. Disappointing effort from Radiohead, and definitely not as engaging as In Rainbows.

Listen to: "Give Up The Ghost"

17 | Malajube | La Caverne

It's a fun album, but it sounds pretty much the same throughout...and it's in French, which is cool if you're Coeur Du Pirate, but otherwise...

Listen to: "Synesthesie"

16 | Lykke Li | Wounded Rhymes

Another disappointing follow-up from a favorite artist of mine. "Wounded" is right, because there's a lot of pain behind this album it seems, and the "sexy" Lykke seems to have largely disappeared, other than on the track "Get Some". She's still got the chops, just doesn't seem like she has the same attitude.

Listen to: "Get Some", "I Follow Rivers"

15 | Cut Copy | Zonoscope

A pleasant mix of sounds, and the whole thing goes down like an iced tea. It's all pretty much the same, and it's refreshing amidst other tastes, but all on its own? It's a bit boring, if not unoffensive.

Listen to: "Need You Now", "Hanging On To Every Heartbeat"

14 | James Blake | Echoes

As soft as Blake can make his voice, his production skills balance a fine line between enjoyably listenable and downright annoyingly repetitive and vocally scathing. The chipmunky voice has its place, and it's not on a proper album. There's a handful of standout tracks though, like "Wilhelm's Scream", "Lindsfarne" (Parts I and II), and the Feist cover, "Limit To Your Love". Otherwise, there's some low lows.

Listen to: "Wilhelm's Scream", "Lindsfarne Pts. I & II", "Limit To Your Love"

13 | Salem | King Night

Just a really weird album that hits me the right way. It's everything you would expect from a bunch of white kids from Texas who make dark, pseudo-rap music that sounds like what everything would if you were tripping on sizzurp.

Listen to: "King Night", "Trapdoor"

12 | The Rural Alberta Advantage | Departing

Already gave a rundown of this album here, but overall, it's in the lower half of what I've listened to recently. There's just more upbeat, interesting things that I've come across in the last six months or so.

Listen to: "Stamp", "Under The Knife"

11 | Explosions In The Sky | Take Care, Take Care

I really wish I'd gotten into these guys years ago. Awesome instrumental music that makes me think of Do Make Say Think. Only six tracks long, it's short on quality, but at eight minutes long on average, there's a lot of quality.

Listen to: the whole thing

10 | CFCF | The River

Along the same lines as the album above, as well as Salem's. I'm a big fan of instrumental music that simultaneously keeps you engaged, while freeing your mind to do other things like essay-writing or reading. CFCF is my favorite artist for that right now, and I'm proud to say he's homegrown talent from Montreal.

Listen to: "Upon The Hill"

09 | The Strokes | Angles

Why do people seem to be shitting on this album? I don't even hear the single on the radio any more. Sure, it's no Is This It, The Strokes' otherworldly-great debut album...but what the hell is? It's fun, it's pure Julian Casablancas, and as far as I can tell, it's what the future of The Strokes is gonna sound like anyways. It may not have the same staying power as their previous albums, but it's got the sugary immediacy of cotton candy. Also, in a totally abstract way, every song is a Simpson's episode. You know how every show starts off in a completely different and unrelated way from the ending? That's the deal with this album; 90% of the songs start off kind of weird, then move in a different, noticeably catchier direction. I feel like maybe people who hate this album really only listened to the first 20 seconds of each song or something.

Listen to: "Under Cover Of Darkness"

08 | Cults | Cults

Just listened to this one all the way through today. Multiple times. Each song is just an earworm. If you thought all the catchy hooks and melodies had already been written and done to death, think again. This stuff is damn good, like the even-beachier version of last year's Sleigh Bells.

Listen to: "Go Outside", "Abducted"

07 | Hey Rosetta! | Seeds

The album Hey Rosetta! was meant to make. For me, it's through-and-through their most consistent effort, and the songs are complex, with lots of build and layers. Can't wait to hear them play most of these ones live this summer.

Listen to: "Welcome", "New Sum (Nous Sommes)"

06 | The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart | Belong

I like that they went in a different direction from their debut, and still pulled it off fine, getting rid of a good part of the noisy fuzz that defined their first album. Their name conveys the very twee sentiments of their music, and "Heart In Your Heartbreak" is a track I keep going back to. Their name also gives them tons of bonus points. But like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, those are technically worthless.

Listen to: "Heart In Your Hearbreak", "The Body"

05 | Future Islands | Wave Like Home

I love Future Islands. They're super weird vocally and sonically (which, I guess, is the whole make-up of music...soo...yeah), and I'm pretty sure I've written about them before (ah yes, I have). This is their older album, but it has lots of treats for anyone who might like their unexplainable style.

Listen to: "Old Friend", "Seize A Shark"

04 | Yuck | Yuck 

Yuck. Sorry, good things come in threes. Or from the 90's, which is where these guys' music is rooted. Just good old fashioned rock; Britain's version of Japandroids.

Listen to: "Georgia", "Operation"

03 | Shad | TSOL

The only hip-hop album I really have in rotation, Kanye West's MBDTF included. Shad's wordplay is intelligent, hilarious, and layered like an onion. The beats are great, giving him room to work. His flow is well-defined and distinctive. And he's great live to boot.

Listen to: "Rose Garden", "Telephone", "Yaa I Get It", "We, Myself, And I"

02 | Fucked Up | David Comes To Life

I know you want to listen to the greatest hardcore group ever. There's nothing more you like than driving down the street with Pink Eyes' cheese-grater voice yelling out, blaring from your speakers. You wouldn't be caught dead without this CD in your car. Oh, that's just me? Yeah, it's kinda awkward listening to this stuff, let alone in the summer with the windows rolled down, but for this album to be enjoyed, it has to be turned waaay up. Sure, no one will want to sit in the car with you while you're listening to it, but that's unavoidable if the group is named "Fucked Up". Anyways, the real gems here lie in the backing vocals, lyrics, and amazing guitar tracks that make these songs so multi-layered and enjoyable. It's seriously not even music - it's a work of art, right down to the album being structured as a four-part play. I'm not joking.

Listen to: "The Other Shoe", "Ship Of Fools", "A Little Death"

01 | No Joy | Ghost Blonde

On reeepeat. It's a shame this album's dropped down on my list in iTunes, because it's definitely my favorite thing from this year so far. It's like My Bloody Valentine updated their sound just a tad, became two Canadian girls, and still ripped it up when they had to. I've spent many a night listening to this album; as a way to wind down, as something to read to, as something to write papers to...I love versatile music like that, whether it's the instrumental albums mentioned above, or one like this where you can just crank it and let the waves of guitar wash right over you. I feel like No Joy's kind of music (shoegaze, to generalize) is like a force of nature: it has to be experienced to be fully understood. You may not always like it, but at least you'll know what it's like.

Listen to: "Hawai'i", "Still", "You Girls Smoke Cigarettes?"

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