Highly Anticipated Fall Albums

I'm so far behind on the albums I've listened to and would like to review, I will likely never catch up--so, sorry about that. But there have been three albums released in the last month that I was really looking forward to, and even though I haven't really absorbed any of them yet, here are some quick early impressions...

The Dodos - Time To Die
So far this album falls squarely in between the previous two Dodos albums in terms of how much I like it. It's not quite as catchy as Beware of the Maniacs, but it's definitely more accessible than last year's somewhat disappointing Visiter. The third album is often a death knell for bands, but I think The Dodos still have some life in them. "Fables", the song in the following video, is pretty representative.


Thao (with the Get Down Stay Down) - Know Better Learn Faster
Of the three albums I'm writing about here, this is the one living up to my expectations the least. That may be because I had the highest expectations for it since Thao's last album, We Brave Bee Stings And All, was my favorite album last year. Where that album was kind of light, silly, and sexy, this album is often dark, dirty, and sexy. It was a big shift in tone (other than the sexy part), and I guess I was a bit jarred. It might grow on me, but I'm pretty sure it won't crack my top 10 or 20 of the year. Still, "Cool Yourself"'s a pretty good song (though not particularly representative of the rest of the album):


Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy
Of these three albums, this is the one that surpassed my expectations. It's not that I don't expect a lot from Built to Spill--Doug Martsch and co. are hands down one of my favorite bands. But they've made a lot of albums, and there are some misses along with the hits. Since I really enjoyed their last album, 2006's You in Reverse, I didn't want to get my hopes up too much. I needn't have worried. I would say There Is No Enemy is on par with Keep It Like a Secret in terms of how much I like it, though they are both very different albums. This album is a little more bitter than usual, but the clever lyrics and massive guitar are still there. Whenever I really need to have my ears barraged by guitar, I know Built to Spill is there for me.

The video below is fan-made, but it's the only way I could get this song on here. "Things Fall Apart" is long, kinda depressing, and has some NSFW lyrics...but it's also pretty awesome.