90. Mew: And the Glass Handed Kites
Man, is And the Glass Handed Kites is a dark record. I don't mean it's full of death and depravity, in fact the lyrics are very fairytale-like, but the music. The effects on the guitars seem to be expressly engineered to resemble a black hole of sound. As far as mood is concerned, this is one of the best written and produced ever. All the arrangements, with their layers of keyboards and synths piling on top of jagged guitar riffs and throbbing bass, are perfectly attuned to each other to create the albums morbid sound. It's the indie prog-pop version of I See a Darkness, musically at least, since Will Oldham's certified masterpiece is dark lyrically as well. Perhaps the only fault with the album is the lyrics, most of the songs ("The Zookeeper's Boy" and "Apocalypso" particularly) are fine, but a few like "Why Are You Looking Grave?" sound like maybe something was lost in translation.89. Mono & World's End Girlfriend: Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain
I've long debated with myself about exactly how much neo-classical is worth. Some modern composers are, of course, excellent but a lot of them don't do anything much worthwhile. And when you compare them to Beethoven, Motzart, Tchaikovsky, etc. they seem even less significant. But there is a branch of neo-classical that create some of the most interesting and beautiful music this side of Phillip Glass. This as-yet unnamed branch (neo-classical ambient? droneoclassical?) is perfected on this collaboration, though it has 5 "Parts" it's really a giant 73 minute movement comprised mostly of violin and cello, but with some ambient noise and light guitar work here and there, lest it become a World's End Girlfriend solo project. The whole album is a very dismal affair, but there's so much beauty in it you won't mind feeling a bit down.88. The Samuel Jackson Five: Same Same, But Different
Same Same, But Different is a prelude to greatness. Like calm before the storm, but a calm that bears all the signs of the storm, leaving no one in doubt as to the cataclysm ahead. Not to mince words, Easily Misunderstood, SJ5's follow-up album is the best instrumental release of the 21st century and second only to TNT and f♯a♯∞ (infinity symbol) all time and the album that preceded it, while not up to its level, is still one of the best. The album is a toned down version of Easily Misunderstood, taking a more standard post-rock approach to the songs, but injecting them here or there with some livelier elements. For example, the undulating funk bassline in "Brittany Spears 4 President" the echo-happy "Honest Abe" and the tremendous jazz drumming found throughout the album. On their next album SJ5 full embrace their sound; they haven't quite yet here, but they're getting close.87. The Mountain Goats: All Hail West Texas
If you start an article of a pre-Tallahassee Mountain Goats album by describing John Darnielle's technique of recording all his song on a boombox with just himself singing and playing guitar, you're going to have to talk about the lyrics for the rest of the article. Because there's nothing more to the actual music on these albums than that. And that's ok, because it works perfectly with Darnielle's lyrics. They are the best when they are telling stories and pushing feelings. Some lines like "Selling acid was a bad idea, selling it to a cop was worse one" make you laugh at first, but within the songs they're really quite tragic. Elsewhere "Hi-didle-le-de, goddamn, the pirate's life for me" sound ridicules, but again within the songs they work so perfectly well. This isn't Conor Oberst's childish lyrics with lots of one liners going absolutely nowhere, this is a master songwriter and storyteller relating events, large and small, in the lives of people.86. Islaja: Meritie
I don't know if Islaja does acid, but if she did, as far as I can tell from her music, it was probably after this album and before the next one. Compared with what's to come in her career, this album is relatively tame, breathy folk. Occasionally a jagged instrument or two will pop in, but for the most part the album lacks the crazy surrealness of Palaa aurinkoon and Ulual yyy. This album shows a different side to the Finnish goddess, and seems much more personal for it. While "personal" doesn't seem like a term you can use with an artist who sings in a language you don't understand, the placement of Islaja's hypnotic voice above most of the arrangements gives it that close feel.85. The Magnetic Fields: i
I think for anyone but Stephin Merritt, trying to follow up an album like 69 Love Songs would be a nerve racking task. But Merritt is such a prolific songwriter and oddball in music that I can be pretty sure that no such thought entered into his mind. i is a much more personal album, with not only ever song's title starting with "I" but most of the lyrics do as well: "Nobody wants you when you're a circus clown. I should know, I looked all over town". Also, Merritt's talent for pop hooks is just as potent, he sings lines like "Love or not, I've always got ten guys on whom I can depend. And if you're not mine, one less is nine, get wise" with such bouncy hooks you'd think it was written for pop princess. The biggest difference between this album and past ones is it's almost entirely indie chamber pop, where as previous albums would mix in different styles, most prominently synthpop, this album contains none. Which is a good thing since previous synthpop tracks were some of the weakest.84. Supergrass: Road to Rouen
Road to Rouen was a big change for Supergrass, gone was the playful glam-rock, replaced with elaborate indie rock and serious lyricism. It's not quite the masterpieces their first three albums are, and it's significantly better than Life On Other Planets. It does, however, contain some of the bands more creative work, as well as some of their best songs. "St. Petersburg" is one of the band's gentlest song, with it's strings and piano, while on the other hand "Kick in the Teeth" is as aggressive, musically and lyrically, as the bands ever been. "Roxy" flirts with glam rock, and the title track is a elasticy retro rock jam. The album really suffers when it's flow is broken up twice by "Coffee in the Pot" and "Low C" which are essentially throw away tracks. Regardless of that, the other songs make up for it fully and completely.83. Destroyer: Notorious Lightning and Other Works
I love the songwriting on Your Blues, I really do. I mean the first two lines of the album are "Oh notorious lightning, yes I had to ride you" and it just gets better from there, but I was never a fan of the acoustic guitar/MIDI orchestration. But thankfully, some of (in fact most of) the best songs on that album get redeemed and reworked on this EP. The songs are done more in the Pavement-esque style of Destroyer's other albums, but with the MIDI still intact in some songs, but this time it works. The album puts the blues back into Your Blues, with Dan Brejar's angular guitar work twanging in some places and shrieking in others. Brejar's voice also goes from hushed to unhinged at a moments notice. The versions of the songs seem so much more complete and proper, whereas You Blues sounds like a demo album.82. Caribou: The Milk of Human Kindness
Caribou is a tough act to classify. Although they're generally put in the "electronica" catagory, that's not really that fair, sure the opening track "Yeti" bleeds analog synths, and "A Final Warning" comes close on it's heels with even more intense synths, but oddball songs like "Lord Leopard" and "Pelican Narrows" are unabashedly instrumental hip-hop while on the completely opposite of the spectrum you have the 60 psyche-rock of "Bees" and the throbbing apocalyptic folk of "Hello Hammerheads". But how does all this variation affect the listening experience? One might think it would throw the flow of the record off, but it doesn't. The reason it doesn't is because Caribou's sole member Dan Snaith, he unifies the whole album with his production style. No matter how many different styles he uses it's clear to hear that they're all recorded on and using the same equipment; unifying the albums sound.81. Espers: II
By the end of the first track on II, "Dead Queen", you have a pretty good idea of what you're in for with the rest of the album. British folk guitars, wispy freak vocals, jarring waltz violins, and acid-laced psyche guitar solos. That's pretty much the way the rest of the album goes, but the band's songwriting is so solid and their skill at constructing arrangements and moods in music is so strong that you really don't care. Espers is one of the premier driving forces in the psyche-folk revival and they make music of such quality and grace that you can't help but enjoy it. Each member is a master at their respective instrument and it's no surprise that the band has work with some major folk legends. Obviously this isn't music for everyone, but if psyche-folk is your thing, you can't do better.Part 3, coming soon! stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment