Posts Tagged ‘Record of the Week’

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August 16th: A Release Week to Get Excited About

Monday, August 29th, 2011

The floodgates are beginning to open again and we’re seeing some absolutely excellent new releases come out! The following three releases made it impossible to do a proper Record of the Week for the August 16th release week, so without futher ado, here are some excellent albums to check out!

War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)

Have you ever had an album that people wanted you to describe and the only thing you could come up with is that it’s legitimately good music? That’s exactly what we have here. Sure we could try and pool together a bunch of bands to compare it to. There is some Spacemen 3 in there. Hell, I think there is some old Fleetwood Mac in there. There is also a large blueprint of what the former War on Drugs guitarist, Kurt Vile, has based an entire music career on. Most of all though, we have an album that doesn’t hide behind gimmicks and is the product of some absolutely phenomenal songwriting. Essential purchase.

Listen to “Come to the City” from War on Drugs’ Slave Ambient

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Case Studies – The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night (Sacred Bones)

If you’ve been in the store lately, you’ve probably heard us freaking out about some new release on Sacred Bones. They’ve been just absolutely killing it this year with the new Moon Duo, the Men, Human Eye, Religious Knives, Fresh & Onlys, Cult of Youth, Slug Guts…the list goes on. Well the debut release by Case Studies shows the label putting out something a bit different. Featuring the Duke half of store favorites the Dutchess & the Duke, Jesse Lortz, he’s constructed an album that draws heavy comparisons to Leonard Cohen. Some excellent darker folk songs that weave stories, Case Studies trumps anything the Dutchess & the Duke did together, which is not an easy feat.

Listen to “My Silver Hand” from Case Studies’ The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night

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Fool’s Gold – Leave No Trace (IAMSOUND)

Fool’s Gold released an album a couple years back, a couple months after Foreign Born released their excellent Secretly Canadian debut, Person to Person. At the time, I didn’t know they shared members but recognized some similarities, such as their penchant to write some excellent summer pop tunes. I eventually put the connection together months later and was ecstatic to see Fool’s Gold were releasing a follow up.

The new album, Leave No Trace, continues the trend of excellent pop songs. To describe Fool’s Gold might best be summed up by this sentiment: It’s like a Vampire Weekend album you don’t feel guilty about listening to. It’s afro-pop infused indie rock in a way that it’s not blatantly ripping off Graceland. An absolutely excellent record to wrap up the Summer with.

Listen to “The Dive” from Fool’s Gold’s Leave No Trace

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Record of the Week: While We’ve Been Out

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

When you run a small staff like we do here at the store, when things get busy(gearing up for Record Store Day!), some things unfortunately get sacrificed. Well the unfortunate sacrifice this past month has been one of my favorite things, and that is writing Record of the Week. So, to make up for it, I am going to write about a couple albums that have had us going crazy over this past month!

Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)

When I first saw the album cover for the debut album by Yuck, I completely judged the book by it’s cover. Mark my word, that will end up being THE WORST ALBUM ART OF THE YEAR. It’s atrocious! Luckily, I gave it a chance as this is one of the best albums I have heard in a long time. Take equal parts Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Sonic Youth, and maybe even some early Smashing Pumpkins and you are on the right track. There is a very distinct 90′s sound to it. A sound of teenage years and rebellion, although that might only apply to those born from the late 70′s to the early 80′s. Regardless, this album is one of the most essential albums this year.

Listen to “Get Away” from Yuck’s Yuck

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Toro Y Moi – Underneath the Pine (Carpark)

We absolutely loved the first Toro Y Moi album. It rode the chillwave(pun!) to the height of popularity but on this second album, he’s taken a step back and brought in a layer of 60′s psychedelia, along with some rather choice funk bass lines to put together a much more organic sounding record. Beyond organic, this record is absolutely killer.

Listen to “New Beat” from Toro Y Moi’s Underneath the Pine

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Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo (Matador)

Our favorite Philly weirdo is back with a new full length! Thing is, he is getting less and less weird but that certainly doesn’t effect how great his output has been or continues to be. Smoke Ring For My Halo finds Vile and his backing band the Violators, toning it down a bit and focusing more on the folk and pop side of things. You could almost consider this album a spiritual sequel to his God Is Saying This To You LP on Mexican Summer. With this record he’s written some of his best songs(see “Jesus Fever”, Peeping Tomboy”, “Runner Ups”) and continues to grow as a songwriter. Essential.

Listen to “Jesus Fever” from Kurt Vile’s Smoke Ring For My Halo

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Obits – Moody, Standard, and Poor (Sub Pop)

First things first: Even though they didn’t put it in their album title, I took it upon myself to add the serial comma in the title. It’s just right.

The other thing that’s right is this album. Undoubtedly one of the best rock bands out there today, and they haven’t slowed down with their sophomore album. Sure, it might not be balls to the wall all the time but we’re completely fine with that. Songs like “You Gotta Lose” and “I Want Results” certainly sound like a continuation of the first album but tracks like “Shift Operator”,  “No Fly List”, and “New August” show a band that continues to grow and get better. There is even a bit of Shadowy Men On a Shadowy Planet on the track “Spot the Pikey” and god does that get us excited.

Listen to “You Gotta Lose” from Obits’ Moody, Standard, and Poor

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True Wid0w – As High as the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the Earth (Kemado)

Quite a few sophomore albums on this list, bucking the trend of the sophomore slumps. Not many people got to hear True Widow’s self titled debut, which is a shame because it was absolutely incredible. This three piece from Austin, TX play what could only be described as a crushingly heavy version of slowcore. If Codeine or Bedhead members got really into getting high and listening to doom metal, you might be on the right track. The dual male / female vocals add a whole lot to the mix and keep the album from ever going stale. One of the best albums this year, bar none. Absolutely essential.

Listen to “Skull Eyes” from True Widow’s As High as the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the Earth

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Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi (Domino)

If you’ve been in the store in the last month, you’ve heard us playing Anna Calvi. We’ve listened to this album so much, I should be absolutely sick of it. Thing is, it’s seriously incredible and we cannot get enough of it. The combination of Anna’s insane guitar playing, incredible voice and the arrangements of all these tracks make for an album that sounds like Nick Cave scoring a David Lynch. This album actually would make for an excellent companion to the latest Grinderman now that we think about it…

Listen to “Desire” from Anna Calvi’s Anna Calvi

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Record of the Week: Destroyer – Kaputt (Merge)

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

I am going on record to say that this might be the best January I have ever seen when it comes to new releases. We continue to get just absolutely bombarded with great album after great album and we’ve barely seemed to have scratch the surface of 2011! A sign of great music to come this year for sure. This week alone we’ve got new albums by Gang of Four, Iron & Wine, Wanda Jackson, Death, Cloud Nothings, Deerhoof, Fujiya & Miyagi, John Vanderslice, and a ton more.

From the moment we heard the new album by Destroyer we were hooked. From the airy production to the instrumentation(so much smooth saxophone and flute going on here), it completely took us by surprise and has held us captive ever since.

The influences here are all over the place. From Prefab Sprout to Syd Barrett. From Robert Wyatt to Steely Dan. From Roxy Music to just about the entire Windham Hill catalog. Daniel Bejar, the mastermind behind Destroyer, has managed to take a lifetime’s worth of listening and crammed it into a 50 minute album that might teach you more than that pop music class down at the community college.

This is a record though, that while it sounds like it is rooted deeply in the 80′s, is surprisingly modern. Whereas bands such as Washed Out, Small Black, and just about any “chillwave” band have tapped into that 80′s nostalgic sound, they haven’t gone the extra step that Daniel Bejar has here, which is to let the song speak for itself, rather than the sound. From the excellent opening track, “Chinatown”, to the storybook that is “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker”, to the self-proclaimed “ambient disco” closer, “Bay of Pigs”, Bejar takes no shortcuts in crafting these tunes. Each track is dressed to the nines in both the instrumentation and the tales that he weaves throughout them.

If there was an album I could say with absolute certainty that you needed in your collection this year, this would be it. Still eleven months away, Kaputt is already destined to be on the top of most year end lists for 2011. Absolutely essential.

Listen to “Chinatown” from Destroyer’s Kaputt

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Highlights

Caroline – Verdugo Hills (Temporary Residence)

Caroline released her first album five years ago and it seemed like she had disappeared into obscurity since then. Hiding away in the band Mice Parade for the past couple years, she returns with her long awaited follow-up, Verdugo Hills. Not much has changed in the 5 years as Caroline has delivered another excellent album of minimalist dream pop that even has some J-pop leanings. An great companion for the remainder of these brutal Winter months.

Listen to “Swimmer” from Caroline’s Verdugo Hills

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My Disco – Little Joy (Temporary Residence)

Australia’s My Disco are somewhat an anomaly of a band. Little Joy, their third album and first one that is readily available stateside, is a post-punk album that almost achieves minimalism through sheer volume. Their sound owes as much to what’s being played as what’s not being played. It’s this theoretical “expansive minimalism” that has them sounding almost as if Glenn Branca joined Shellac. If that sounds like the best band ever(I really want to hear that now actually) then you owe it to yourself to check this album out.

Listen to “Rivers” from My Disco’s Little Joy

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Record of the Week: Disappears – Guider (Kranky)

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

We are just a couple weeks into 2011 and already the releases are aplenty and damn good at that! This week alone we saw excellent new albums by tons of great artists. Whether you wanted it a bit punk rock n’ roll with the new Social Distortion(FINALLY!), a great indie rock album with the new Smith Westerns, a beachy, twee indie pop record with the new Tennis, a hypnagogic pop masterpiece with the new Ducktails, an excellent shoegaze album with the new Young Prisms, an exceptional blues album from the accomplished Gregg Allman, or a stoner metal milestone with the new Electric Wizard, there was something for everyone this week. That’s not to mention our Record of the Week and the highlights to follow!

Disappears second full length, and follow up to last year’s absolutely excellent album, Lux, manages to impress just as much. Titled Guider, this second album has managed to find itself in a more psychedelic haze than the last, taking cues from modern bands such as Wooden Shjips and Obits, while still being influcenced by older bands such as Spacemen 3, Suicide, Velvet Underground, and maybe even MC5. If what I described sounds like an absolutely killer album, let me tell you: it is.

From the second the first track, “Superstition”, hits, Disappears are already at it full bore. There isn’t much of an off switch for these guys. It’s loud, it’s very matter of fact but, it still maintains this stripped down, almost minimalist take on garage rock. The members of the band are never venturing out and over stepping their boundaries. They all remain in the cut, with the bassist and drummer absolutely shining on just about every track. It’s not so much calculated as it is good form.

The final track, “Revisiting”, finds them let loose for a bit and ends up jamming for 15 minutes. This is where the krautrock / psychedelic / Wooden Shjips comparison really comes into play. It provides excellent closure on what might be the best 30 minutes committed to album this year.

Listen to “Superstition” from Disappears’ Guider

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Highlights

Decemberists – The King Is Dead (Capitol)

The Decemberists return with the their first full length since the incredibly ambitious, Hazards of Love, and have gone back to writing some absolutely great songs as opposed to concept albums. This might be one of their best albums ever, which is a pretty lofty statement for a band with their discography. You know it’s a good album when you overlook the fact that Gillian Welch sings on it the first 3 times you hear it. Comeback album of the year. Mark it down now.


Listen to “Down By the Water” from Decemberists’ The King Is Dead

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Daniel Martin Moore – In the Cool of the Day (Sub Pop)

Talk about an album that completely took us by surprise. Daniel Martin Moore’s second full length(if you discount last year’s album with Ben Sollee) is an absolutely excellent singer-songwriter album. Pairing some of his own songs with some traditional fare, he finds himself doing a bit of roots rock, some New Orleans inspired jams, and even a bit of Thomas Newman inspired piano work on the title track. Absolutely fantastic album.


Listen to “Dark Road” from Daniel Martin Moore’s In the Cool of the Day

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White Fence – Is Growing Faith (Woodsist)

The second solo album from Tim Presley, better known as the singer/guitarist of one of our absolute favorites this past year, Darker My Love, finds himself getting even more and more into 60′s and 70′s rock. There is a lot of reference points here from the Kinks, to McCartney’s solo albums, to the Byrds. While most records though sound like they were influenced by those, there are points in this record that sound like it could have very well been recorded around then. A really great, albeit strange at times, record that is definitely getting played a ton around here.

 

Listen to “Lillian (Won’t You Play Drums)” from White Fence’s Is Growing Faith

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Record of the Week: Minks – By the Hedge (Captured Tracks)

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Now that we are finally out of the hectic holiday season and firmly into the new year, it’s time to restart Record of the Week!

Our first Record of the Week in 2011 goes to Brooklyn, NY based band, Minks. Their debut album, By the Hedge, is going to get a lot of comparisons to the Cure and rightfully so. Their brand of goth pop can be found in spades on this album, from the very Simon Gallup-esque bass playing to the Seventeen Seconds era production. This can be found especially on the tracks “Kusmi,” “Funeral Song,” and “Ophelia.” There are bits of other bands influence here as well. The dual vocals, when they happen, recall the XX album that came out two years ago to an extent. There is even an instrumental track that brings Durutti Column to mind.

That’s not to say the whole album is a retread of what’s been done before. They do follow their own path of making jangly pop. I honestly can’t make out close to a word of what’s being said in “Funeral Song” but I’ll be damned if I won’t be humming that song for the next couple months, it’s so unbelievably catchy. “Ophelia” is an absolutely depressing song that is set to a great pop hook. “Kusmi” is one of the best opening tracks that I have heard in quite some time. When they do slow it down a bit, like on “Life at Dusk,” it’s equally as captivating as the more upbeat tunes.

If you were a fan of the Tamaryn album that came out late last year, early Cure(as if needed to be said again), Cocteau Twins, Smiths, then this album is going to be right up your alley. It’s rare to have great albums come out so early in the year but Minks definitely delivered.

Listen to “Funeral Song” from Minks’ By the Hedge

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Record of the Week: Jatoma – Jatoma (Kompakt)

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Not a ton of releases this week but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t great stuff! As a matter of fact, this week sees one of the best albums THIS YEAR get released!

No one knows much about Jatoma. The only clues that have been given about their identity is they are a three piece. They might be from Denmark. Two of the members might just be teenagers while the third might be a world renowned producer. The thing is, they certainly don’t need to rely on a schtick of being “mysterious” because their debut album stands on it’s own as an absolutely stellar release.

Jatoma fall into the Microhouse genre of music, which might not sound familiar at all but if you’ve heard us recommend the stellar Pantha Du Prince album that came out this year, or Matthew Dear’s newest album, you’ll be familiar with the ground they are treading. You could almost consider it music’s equivalent of tilt-shift photography. It’s very deceiving in that it makes you view it as this piece that seems much smaller than itself. That is because Jatoma pack so much into their songs, it’s hard to hear everything until you’ve listened to it several times.

There is a lot of emotion in these songs. While some of them sound like they could be these club anthems, it’s almost as if they are being heard from outside of the club, when the person you’ve been talking to all night has had a bit too much to drink and you find yourself having a conversation that is way too emotional for the time and place. A slight wooziness but a strange and familiar cohesiveness as well.

If you have liked the most recent records by Four Tet, Pantha Du Prince, or the Field, odds are you will really like this. Just an absolutely great record that is going to be in rotation around here for a long time.

Listen to “Little Houseboat” from Jatoma’s Jatoma

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Record of the Week: Maserati – Pyramid of the Sun (Temporary Residence)

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

It’s not often we’ll get such a huge release week this late in the year but I’ll be damned if you’ll find us complaining about it! Some absolutely killer releases this week that are all over the map. Some new favorites, some old store favorites, and everything in between!

First and foremost, our Record of the Week goes to the excellent new album by Maserati, Pyramid of the Sun. It was a year ago, almost to the date, that drummer of Maserati, Jerry Fuchs, tragically lost his life, possibly marking this as the final Maserati album. If so, they certainly went out with a big bang as this album is about as good as music gets.

Maserati always walked a fine line of being a post rock band, but wanting to do a bit more. You could see them reaching out, trying to rise above the post rock tag but they could never quite get there. With this album, they have gone full on kraut-rock, with Fuchs entrenching himself as the drummer with his mechanical drumming which helps the band hit their apex. Zombi’s Steve Moore joins the band on synth for a couple tracks, just furthering their path down kraut rock way and adding a very otherworldly effect to these songs.

If you are a fan of 70′s prog, kraut rock, or even soundtracks to Italian horror films, Maserati’s new album is definitely one worth checking out. One of the finest releases of the year of this ilk and you’ll be hard pressed to find a better release this year, period.

Listen to “We Got the System to Fight the System” from Maserati’s Pyramid of the Sun

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Highlights

Cee-Lo Green - The Lady Killer (Elektra)

I have to say, I am surprised to find myself liking this so much. I have never been all that big on Gnarls Barkley, and generally don’t even venture down this avenue of music. After hearing the lead single, “Fuck You,” I was completely hooked. There is some very genuine sounding Motown production on some of these cuts and honestly, it’s just so damn catchy! I was equally shocked to find Cee-Lo covering Band of Horses, “No One’s Gonna Love You” on this album as well and he does an absolutely fantastic version of it. Absolutely worth checking out!

Listen to “Fuck You” from Cee-Lo Green’s The Lady Killer

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Tallest Man on Earth – Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird (Dead Oceans)

One of our favorite artists making music today, The Tallest Man on Earth, is back with a new release, his second of the year. This time it’s an EP of material, five songs that find him going electric, going softer, and honing his singer-songwriting skills and stepping into his own and out of the Dylan comparison. Don’t fear though, only one song on here is electric, and he still is solo. Overall, another absolutely great release from one of our favorite Swedes!

Listen to “The Dreamer” from Tallest Man on Earth’s Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird

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Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Love Is a Stream (Type)

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma has been releasing records for years, solo or as the leader of The Alps for the past couple, but as a member of the always excellent Tarentel years ago. He now works primarily as an ambient artist, and has released his best work as a solo artist by far with his new album, Love Is a Stream. Where as Cantu-Ledesma has worked within a much more noisier palette in the last, his new album is one of very warm tones, bringing to mind Fennesz, Grouper or Tim Hecker. Absolutely essential for the season.

Listen to “Stained Glass Body” from Jefre Cantu Ledesma’s Love Is a Stream

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3 More Weeks of Record of the Week: Benoît Pioulard – Lasted (Kranky) / Desertshore – Drifting Your Majesty (Caldo Verde) / Purling Hiss – Public Service Announcement (Woodsist)

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Catching up on 3 weeks of Record of the Week again after some incredibly hectic weeks. The hangover from our Kurt Vile and Soft Pack in-store is in full force but I’m confident we can pass on our excitement about these three records just the same!

It’s the month of October and an even number year which means, a new album from Benoît Pioulard! An absolute store favorite here for years, we’ve played his two previous full lengths, Précis and Temper, a whole lot in the store. This former Ann Arbor native, who’s actual name is Thomas Meluch, has been crafting his unique style of blissful, bedroom dream pop for years and presumably releasing them strategically in the Fall as his records have become the absolute sign of the season around here. You’d could almost consider him our dream pop version of Punxsutawney Phil.

Lasted is his newest full length and it’s an absolutely beautiful record, certainly worthy of October 12th’s Record of the Week. His field recordings sound as lively as they ever have as a backing track. Sounds of trains and various other things, they help speckle the album with the sound of Fall. He has also honed his skills on pop hooks and incredible song writing even more and some of his best tracks are here to show for it.

All in all, another incredible effort from Benoît Pioulard. An album that truly sounds like it’s album cover. A washed out Polaroid photo that has been bleached out by the sun, yet retains, or maybe even gains a new sense of life.

Listen to “A Coin On the Tongue” from Benoît Pioulard’s Lasted

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October 19th’s Record of the Week, Desertshore’s Drifting Your Majesty was something of an enigma. Without any information at all, just knowing I really liked the album cover, I put it on and was quite taken aback.

The first thing I noticed was a striking similarity to the backing music of the first two Sun Kil Moon albums, or Red House Painters material. While Desertshore is entirely instrumental, there was some definite similarities. Come to find out, Phil Carney of both bands is the guitarist of Desertshore!

Most of the songs are somewhat short, generally falling under four minutes. Some songs come across more as ideas rather than full fleshed out songs but are rather good nonetheless. Right in the middle of the album is the title track that clocks in at close to eleven minutes and is the absolute pinnacle of the album.

If you are a fan of the music that has backed Mark Kozelek for years as Sun Kil Moon or Red House Painters, I’d definitely recommend checking out this album.

Listen to “The Town Alight” from Desertshore’s Drifting Your Majesty

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October 26th’s Record of the Week comes from Philadelphia’s Purling Hiss. Their new album, Public Service Announcement comes from us from Woodsist Records and is absolutely out there.

The only way to describe it would be if Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti smoked some of the dirtiest weed they could find and laid down some tracks on a busted four track recorder. The opening track, “Run From the City”, is headlined by an absolutely killer guitar hook and has a production that almost sounds like standing outside and hearing some guy driving down the street blaring classic rock in his ’78 El Camino with blown out speakers and the windows down.

The production of the album is used as an instrument just as much as the instruments themselves. There are parts of the album that sounds like it just skips a frame or two. Other parts where it sounds like the turntable belt is going bad and the record can’t quite sit around 33 1/3 RPMs. It’s incredibly lo-fi which could turn a lot of people off but just adds to the mystique if you ask us!

All in all, an absolutely great record from these Philly weirdos. We also are stocking their two other full lengths, this year’s Hissteria, and their earlier self-titled effort. Absolutely worth a pick up!

Listen to “Run From the City” from Purling Hiss’ Public Service Announcement

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3 Weeks of Record of the Week: Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky (Young God) / Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest (4AD) / Tamaryn – The Waves (Mexican Summer)

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Catching up on three weeks of Record of the Week. That’s a daunting task. It was made a whole lot less daunting though when you think about the quality of releases we’re talking about here. These things practically write themselves!

First and foremost is our Record of the Week for September 21st! Back after a nearly 15 year hiatus from releasing their last full length, Soundtracks For the Blind, the legendary Swans are back with their twelfth album, My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope To the Sky.

A band reuniting after a 15 year hiatus, who had been around since 1982, could lose a step here or there. Not be nearly as involved. Not be nearly as captivating. This couldn’t be further from the case with Swans. Founder, Michael Gira, is just as intense as he’s always been, his croon sending shivers up your spine as sings of lost friends, throwing liars on the fire to keep warm, and other equally depressing topics.

Gira has adopted a lot since his last days as Swans, bringing a little bit of his Angels of Light moniker into the music. There is a gospel and western tinge to these tracks that weren’t immediately obvious on previous Swans releases. It all lends to this being one of the best albums of the year and one of the most crushingly depressing things you are bound to hear in a long while.

Listen to “Jim” from Swans’ My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky

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As a stark contrast to September 21st’s Record of the Week, September 28th’s Record of the Week is of the dreamy, ethereal sort with a brand new album by store favorites, Deerhunter.

We’ve long been a fan of just about anything Deerhunter frontman, Bradford Cox, has touched. His albums as Deerhunter have always gotten lots of love from us and his solo albums as the Atlas Sound haven’t been short of praise from our end either. You certainly aren’t going to see this love affair end anytime soon either as Deerhunter’s new album, Halcyon Digest, might just be one of their best.

With each album they step a little further out of the shadows that are reverb and delay and refine their songwriting more and more. They’ve stripped down to some very basic elements at times and even dip into more natural and acoustic sounds like the saxophone that comes in out of left field.

If you were a fan of Deerhunter’s previous albums, there is absolutely no excuse why you shouldn’t pick this up. If you haven’t familiarized yourself with Deerhunter yet, this is a great album to start with as it’s one of their finest efforts yet.

Listen to “He Would Have Laughed” from Deerhunter’s Halcyon Digest

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Our third Record of the Week comes from the very hazy 80′s throwback styling’s of Tamaryn. Bringing to mind Siouxsie Sioux or Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins, Tamaryn’s vocals are hushed and never confrontational, usually finding themselves melting into the mix along with the music.

They seem to be getting tagged under the genre shoegaze quite a bit but they seem to have more in common with bands like Cocteau Twins, leaning more towards the gothic dream pop vein than shoegaze. There might be a tinge of Slowdive here and there, but not enough to label them shoegaze completely.

The Waves is an album that flows together incredibly well, not just showcasing a couple killer tracks with a bunch of filler. That also means there isn’t that one “definitive” single on the album, which I have had no problem with. It’s an album you put on and just get absolutely lost in.

Listen to “Sandstone” from Tamaryn’s The Waves

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Record(s) of the Week: Black Angels – Phosphene Dream (Blue Horizon) & Grinderman – Grinderman 2 (Anti)

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

I can’t remember a release date that had so many amazing releases, which left us struggling over here to pick a record of the week. So instead of racking our brains, we decided to do something for just the second time- make two records of the week!

The Black Angels have been a store favorite ever since their first album Passover. Psychedelic rock + a girl drummer who can hit as hard as any guy + always killer album art makes for one of the best formulas a band could follow. The Black Angels have continued with that formula and have even found themselves paying homage to one of the best psychedelic rock bands, the 13th Floor Elevators, in the process.

The 13th Floor Elevators tribute can be found all over this album. From the first time that you hear frontman, Alex Maas, howl as if he is possessed by Roky Erickson himself on the beginning track, “Bad Vibrations”; the use of the electric jug on “Sunday Afternoon” is a very obvious reference point. “Telephone” brings the jangly riffs, the howl, the keyboard, into a culmination of Elevators celebration.

That is not to say there is nothing original about the album. On the contrary. Their dirge-y psychedelic jams are very much one of a kind. They continue to mature since their debut and have arguably put out their best record yet. Absolutely essential.

Listen to “Sunday Afternoon” from Black Angels’ Phosphene Dream

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The second record of the week goes to a man who’s been blessed with that honor from us once before: the one and only Nick Cave. Whereas last time it was for the beautiful score he arranged with Warren Ellis for the film, The Road, this time it’s for something that has not a lick of beauty to it.

Nick Cave is back with his side project Grinderman, after having put out an excellent record back in 2007. It was a record that seemed like it might be a one-off. Even when we found out it wasn’t, we held reservation. Could they possibly top that first album?

The answer: In every way, shape, and form. This record is one of the grimiest, filthy, punk-infused blues albums we’ve heard in some time. It makes the White Stripes look like they should go back to playing with those Legos they used in that music video years ago. It’s that good.

Nick Cave has aged better than a fine wine. His lyrics just fall deeper and deeper into the realm of dirty old man while his growl has never felt livelier. This record won’t just share record of the week but will be on the shortlist for record of the year.

Listen to “Worm Tamer” from Grinderman’s Grinderman 2

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Highlights

Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar)

Black Mountain’s 2008 album, In the Future, still finds it’s way onto the record player with great frequency. The follow-up, Wilderness Heart, begins with one of the best tracks of the year, “The Hair Song”. Taking cues from Zeppelin, Sabbath, and anything that’s rock ‘n’ roll, Black Mountain have turned in a very worthy follow-up to one of last decades best albums.

Listen to “The Hair Song” from Black Mountain’s Wilderness Heart

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Dungen – Skit I Allt (Mexican Summer)

Our favorite psychedelic Swede’s are back with a new album, a follow-up to their phenomenal 2008 release, 4. Here they find themselves mellowing out even a bit more, venturing more into the jazzier side of what was hinted at on 4. Another great album from a band who continues to mature with every release.

Listen to “Marken Låg Stilla” from Dungen’s Skit I Allt

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Mount Kimbie – Crooks & Lovers (Hotflush)

After a handful of absolutely killer 12″s, Mount Kimbie have finally unleashed their debut album, Crooks & Lovers upon us. What they’ve graced us with is eleven tracks of excellent dubstep. Now this isn’t nearly as grimey as anything Burial has done but it’s one of the most thoughtfully constructed albums this year. Recommended for fans of previous record of the weekers Bibio or Baths.

Listen to “Ode to Bear” from Mount Kimbie’s Crooks & Lovers

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Walkmen – Lisbon (Fat Possum)

The Walkmen are back with another excellent album of drunken pub indie rock. Almost as if the Small Faces were to have started as a band in the early 2000′s. That might also be the worst description ever. Regardless, they won us back over with their last album after the misstep that was covering Harry Nilsson’s Pussy Cats and continue to win us back.

Listen to “Blue As Your Blood” from The Walkmen’s Lisbon

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