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.

EJP's Top Albums of 2008: 1-10

What this list ultimately comes down to for me stems from one question: Which albums did I end up listening to the most this past year? Obviously I don't keep track of how many times I listen to every album (I'm not that anal retentive about my music...yet), but I usually have a pretty good feeling about how often I pop something in the CD player or bring it up on my iPod. So, with the exception of one album that I got fairly recently but that I really, really like, these are the albums that I listened to over and over again in 2008. They might not be the best music in terms of quality--and really, quality is pretty subjective, right?--but they gave me what my ears craved, and that's good enough for me.

10) The Nobility--The Mezzanine
First blogged about this Nashville group back in April, and I kept on listening to them. The title track was one of my favorite tunes of the year, but the rest of the album was plenty catchy, too.

9) Eliza Carthy--Dreams of Breathing Underwater
Carthy has apparently been around for a while, but this was my introduction to her crazy-good mixture of traditional folk with a splash of rock and also some other stuff that I can't pin down. Whatever it is, it's a great listen. Carthy has a strong voice without a trace of the whispiness that tends to characterize some British folk singers (ahem, Vashti Bunyan). The album starts out strong with "Follow the Dollar" and ends even stronger, with my favorite track, "Oranges and Seasalt", a song about terrible margaritas. If you only listen to one song from this album, listen to that one, but trust me when I say the whole thing is worth a try.


8) Michael Franti & Spearhead--All Rebel Rockers
So this is the aforementioned album that I haven't actually had for all that long, but that I really, really like. A humungous thanks to Nat at ...and sometimes why for introducing me to this artist. A little background, and a much overdo thanks to Nat. When she posted about her local folk festival, I was intrigued because I'd never heard of most of the bands she'd seen. Not only did she give me a detailed description on nearly ever set she watched, but she sent me a mix with music from all the artists (and an excellent bonus disc CD with several other Canadian artists). It was awesome. I'm still listening to them, and I'm still figuring out which groups to explore further (personal note to Nat: the Weakerthans are awesome, but their album wasn't 2008, so didn't make the list).

But I digress. I loved the Michael Franti song Nat put on my mix (see video for "Say Hey" below), and it turns out I really liked the whole album. Nat says they're awesome live, and I can believe it. ARR gives us a mix of funk, rock, soul and plenty of other good stuff. Some songs are political, some are simple, many will make you shake your booty (again, see video below).



7) Vampire Weekend--Vampire Weekend
I realize there's been some backlash with VW, but the album's still catchy as hell and definitely worth a spot on this list. Older posts can be found here and here.

6) Blind Pilot--3 Rounds and a Sound
How have I not posted on this album? That was an oversight. Consider it a pleasant surprise. This Portland group hit a sweet spot for me. There's nothing outrageously innovative here...some nice strings pop up throughout the songs, occasional horns, mixing seamlessly with some guitar plucking and minimal percussion. Pleasant vocals, good harmonies, incredible hooks. Hmmm...I'm probably not really selling these guys. All I know is I found myself playing this CD a lot. Like, a lot a lot. It was my comfort food for the year. Give "Oviedo" a listen below--it's one of my favorite tracks on the album, the song that initially got me hooked. If you like it, I can assure you the rest of the album is worth a listen.

5) Fleet Foxes--Fleet Foxes
Simply put, if you didn't put this album in your top ten of 2008, you are a crazy person and should go live in a crazy house. Full stop.





4) Try Me Bicycle-Voicings
Well, this is awkward. In finding the links to write his entry, I learned that this album was actually released in 2007. Oh well...screw it. I've already put way too much effort into this and I'm not going to rearrange my list now. I'm pretty sure this got a re-release in 2008, so we'll just count that. This a pretty album from beginning to end. That's really the best word for it. Pretty. The guitar and piano are perfect, Andy Naylor's vocals are comforting--the complete opposite of abrasive. I could sit down in a dark room with nothing but this album playing and a nice glass of red wine and I would very happy. OK, that sounds pretentious, but it's true. This is the perfect album for unwinding after a long day.

3) Jim White--Transnormal Skiperoo
Loved this album from the very first listen. The only reason it dropped a notch or two on my list is that the songs are so all over the place in terms of how they make me feel--from silly to sappy to very, very sad--that eventually it became exhausting to listen to the album from beginning to end all in one go. Still one of the more underrated albums of the year, in my opinion.

2) The Airborne Toxic Event--The Airborne Toxic Event
Every year, I seem to have at least a few guilty pleasures on my list. TATE should probably be this year's, but I refuse to feel guilty about the pleasure I get from listening to this album. Pitchfork gave this puppy a whopping 1.6. Wow. I'm not saying this band is highly original. And honestly, some of the lyrics might make Rick Springfield roll his eyes. But I'm sticking with my first impression: these songs are pure and simple rock and roll, and I can listen to this album over and over again.

1.) Thao and the Get Down Stay Down--We Brave Bee Stings and All
You can learn more about Thao, hear some of her music, and see a cool video in one of my older posts. It's like her song "Bag of Hammers" says, her music soothes me like a lick of ice cream. I fully realize this album won't be #1 on many lists, but it's the CD I listened to the most by far, so there you go. Listening to it made me happy, and usually that's what it all comes down to for me.


So that's it for 2008. For any regular readers (both of you!) who actually take an interest in my musical opinions, sorry it took me so long to get my act together this year. I'd planned on throwing up some favorite tracks in this post, but this has already taken me too long. Maybe a future post. But 2009 has already produced some good to excellent albums in a few short weeks, so it may be time to move on...

EJP's Top 10 Albums of 2008...So Far

Unbelievably, we're already halfway through 2008. I've been in a bit of a music buying/listening slump the last few months, mostly because my new job does not really lend itself to listening to music at work all that much. Also, April and May were kind of dry spells as far as new releases went, at least as far as I was concerned. But I still have a top 10 list and some honorable mentions, many of which I've already written about here (just links to the previous blog posts for those). These are kind of in a rough order of sorts:

10) Try Me Bicycle: Voicings
A very mellow album. Nice instrumentation...a little piano here, a little violin there, some classical guitar picking, all with just a hint of a catchy hook on a lot of songs. This is a relatively new one for me, but it's growing on me quickly. Give "Two Stern Feet" or "Big Small" a listen from the web site for a taste.

9) The Nobility: The Mezzanine

8) She & Him: Volume One
Discussed here.

7) Nerf Herder: IV
Discussed here.

6) The Kills: Midnight Boom
Several posts. Look here, here, and here.

5) Dodos: Visiter
Also several posts on this blog--see here, here, and here. Please note that as much as I like this album, I still liked their first album more. Get that one first.

4) The Black Keys: Attack & Release
There are enough drum/guitar duos out there now (see Dodos) that they could practically be their own genre at this point. But The Black Keys are really in a class of their own. Really, no white boys should be able to create and perform this type of bluesy rock fusion music so well. Attack & Release, which was produced by Danger Mouse, is a bit of a departure for the BKs, but not only did I tolerate it, I enjoyed it immensely. There are a few more instruments thrown in; it's a bit more rock-oriented. I definitely like it better than their last release, Magic Potion, and I think it's a close second behind Rubber Factory. I already know Evelyn Is Not Real is going to disagree with me on BK faves, but whatever.

3) Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
Posts here and here.

1-tie) Thao and the Get Down Stay Down: We Brave Bee Stings and All
I posted about this album here back in April, and it's continued to grow on me ever since that first listen. It's rare that I get songs stuck in my head months after getting an album, but these songs are that catchy.

1-tie) Jim White: Transnormal Skiperoo
Discussed here and here. Still the most cathartic album I've heard in ages.

Honorable Mentions:
The Ditty Bops: Summer Rains
Headlights: Some Racing, Some Stopping (check out the video for their great song "Cherry Tulips" at the bottom of the post!)
Tilly and the Wall: o
Eef Barzelay: Lose Big
The Magnetic Fields: Distortion
Pepe Ginsberg: Red

Check'em Out: Studio 360 and Thao Nguyen

Does anyone else out there listen to NPR's Studio 360? If not, I highly recommend that you check it out, via podcast or whatever means you can find (I suppose you could even use the radio). It's essentially a radio version of what this blog aspires to be, with stories about literature, pop culture, and the arts. And by "the arts", I mean every aspect of the arts, including music, film, design, architecture--virtually anything that involves creativity. The host, Kurt Andersen, is usually an excellent interviewer--better than Terry Gross, in any case--and is neither fawning nor overly contentious with any of his guests.

Over the past year or so, they've devoted entire episodes to their "American icons" series, which focus on such diverse icons as the film "The Wizard of Oz", F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and recently, the Lincoln Memorial. The producers of the show do an excellent job of demonstrating how these "icons" have contributed to the American cultural landscape over the years. The show also has a recurring feature about science and creativity, often talking to a scientist or engineer who was influenced by a particular work of art. So many people fail to see the connection between the world of science and the world of art, when really they're very closely intertwined. I could write oodles on that topic, but in the interest of brevity I'll just say that I appreciate it when anyone, Studio 360 or otherwise, is willing to highlight the interdependence of science and art.

I'm writing about Studio 360 because it's one of many places I go to find new stuff to like, in case anyone is the least bit interested in how I "discover" new bands, movies, or whatever. The program has introduced me to a slew of authors, film makers, musicians...even new comics. One musician in particular that I recently discovered through Studio 360 is Thao Nguyen and her band, The Get Down Stay Down. Listening to the segment I heard is a much better introduction to the woman and her music than anything I could write here, so check it out below:


I liked their latest album, We Brave Bee Stings and All, instantly. Lots of great hooks, a simple but engaging musical style--I'm not saying everyone will love it, but I'd be surprised if anyone could actively dislike it. The video below will give you just a taste. More songs and video on her MySpace page.