RIYL: Dirty Projectors, David Bowie, anything on Kompakt
Though he may be more known for his role in indie rock supergroup the New Pornographers, Dan Bejar has been enticing people into his strange world for the past 15 years via Destroyer. Backed by a frequently rotating cast of band members, Bejar uses Destroyer to craft his own brand of avant-pop-rock, unmistakable to anyone who has ever heard it. Over the course of nine albums, he weaves tales of numerous women, told in a hybrid of speech-yelp-singing with non-sequiturs, dense, visually striking metaphors (so dense someone created a Wiki for them), and references to his own body of work. So what happens when you’ve spent 15 years basically perfecting your own genre? What happens when what starts out as weird suddenly becomes the standard? With Kaputt, Destroyer’s ambitious tenth album, Bejar proves he can still make us question our notions of normality and taste.
When he serenades someone in “Blue Eyes” with the line, “Your first love’s New Order,” Bejar surely must be speaking of himself, because with the heavy synths, the saxophone and the female backing vocals that flutter throughout Kaputt, he seems to be unleashing his inner ‘80s. But, as tacky and oppressive as those reference points can be, under Bejar’s particular guidance, they are transformed into something delicate, as though he accidentally played dance records at half-speed and heard something he liked.
The first half of “Suicide Demo For Kara Walker” would make a decent soundtrack for footage of outer space. It opens with slow, steady synths, various sounds floating in and out of the background, such as a quiet guitar riff, light chimes, and what sounds like someone breathing. The song shifts drastically about half-way through, when some relative of the flute jumps in, followed by Bejar’s voice, cautioning, “Fool child, you’re never gonna make it / New York City just wants to see you naked, and they will / Though they’d never say so.” By the time the backing vocals arrive, one might conjure an image of Bejar in a white suit, performing at a hotel somewhere in Hawaii with a Robert Palmer-style all-woman band.
Though it arrives at the end of the album, “Bay of Pigs” serves as the obvious transition piece between Kaputt and Destroyer’s earlier works. Loosely relating to the 1961 invasion of Cuba, Bejar built an EP around it last year. In its original form, “Bay of Pigs” was over 13 minutes long. In its slightly trimmed down length, the 11-minute opus still finds time to transition from droning ambience to scaling blips that sound like they could come from an early Nintendo game, to the guitar-based avant-pop sound he became known for, complete with hand claps. It was around “Bay of Pigs” that Bejar’s record label, Merge, coined the term “ambient disco,” which is the most apropos classification for anything off of Kaputt.
Take off one of those Ts, and Kaputt becomes “kaput,” which means to incapacitate, break, ruin, or destroy. Knowing Bejar’s self-referential tendencies, it could be that he found a cheeky way to create a self-titled album. But with the new direction he’s embarking on, it speaks more fittingly to the ways he is destroying the Destroyer of the past, killing his old sound to create something new. (Merge 2011)
Having children has had a profound impact on my musical tastes. Will it make them cry? Will it teach them naughty words? Will it bore them? Then it doesn’t get played around the house, which has resulted in my sharp turn towards the poppier side of modern. And really, once you’ve seen your three-year-old completely lose his shit when hearing a song with a chorus of “Na, na na na, na na na, na na na na na na na,” it’s hard to push anything on him that doesn’t come armed to the teeth with the pop hooks. Mind you, I think the Ramones are a pop band too, so I’m painting with a pretty broad brush here. But make no mistake – these bands are pop bands, of varying stripes and shapes. If you fancy yourself a hipster, you’d be best to move on and check out one of the other writers’ lists. I gave up being hip a couple years ago, and let me tell you: it’s extremely liberating.
Note: Some of the notes at the end of the write-ups will offer suggestions of which songs to check out. Others actually offer the songs. If you see “Click here for a free download…”, those songs are on our server, meaning you won’t be dragged off to some site that asks you to give up your email address for a song. These puppies all come with no strings attached, so please download away.
Top 10 Albums of 2010
1. Mark Ronson: Record Collection
Ahhhhhh. If I get to heaven, this is what the radio station will sound like. Tasteful drum beats paired with even tastier synth tracks, highlighted by brilliantly chosen guest contributors from Q-Tip and D’Angelo to Simon Le Bon and a devastating performance by Boy George. Definitely gonna ride this bike until we get home. Download these: “The Bike Song,” “Somebody to Love Me,” “Record Collection”
3. Prefab Sprout: Let’s Change the World with Music
Man, what a sweet surprise this was. Originally scheduled to be the follow-up album to 1990’s Jordan: The Comeback, the album was scrapped despite Prefab leader Paddy McAloon already finishing studio-quality demo versions of every song. Eighteen years later, the songs finally see the light of day, and the result is instant nostalgia. He supposedly has dozens more albums on his shelves from the same period. Please don’t make us wait 18 years for the next one, Paddy. Download these: “Let There Be Music,” “Ride,” “God Watch Over You”
4. The Hours: It’s Not How You Start, It’s How You Finish
This one is knocked down a few rungs on a technicality, in that it’s a Franken-album consisting of the best songs from the band’s two UK-only releases. But hot damn, are those songs good. Shimmering, sky-high, piano-driven pop that addresses the darkness in people’s lives but strives for hope and change. No wonder Nike used one of these songs for their unforgettable “Human Chain” ad earlier this year. Favorite lyric: “I can understand how someone can go over to the dark side, ’cause the Devil, he’s got all the tunes.” Download these: “See the Light,” “Big Black Hole,” “Come On”
5. The Silver Seas: Chateau Revenge
I’m still pissed about this one. I got a sneak peek of the record months before its release because our publicist is tight with the band. We played the daylights out of it, and couldn’t wait to sing its praises when it came out in April…only April never happened. Then it was July, and when it came out, the damn thing was buried. Why, why, why? Not enough irony or cynicism? I see no reason why the Shins can sell millions while the Silver Seas still toil in obscurity. The phrase ‘criminally underrated’ was written about bands like this. Click here for a free download of the Silver Seas’ “The Best Things in Life”
6. Midnight Juggernauts: The Crystal Axis
The back half of “Lara Versus the Savage Pack” makes me positively giddy. Armed with a hypnotic six-note riff, this Australian trio lays on the strangest chord sequence before finally landing on the original chord in spectacular fashion, then sending one note climbing the walls, guaranteeing that everyone lucky enough to be in the club that plays this song will do the same. A little odder and more groove-oriented than their (awesome) alt-dance debut Dystopia, but one gets the sense that the Midnight Juggernauts are just getting warmed up. Sweet. Download these: “Lara Versus the Savage Pack,” “The Great Beyond,” “Vital Signs”
7. Codeine Velvet Club: Codeine Velvet Club
The lead singer of the Fratellis hooks up with his wife’s friend (not in that way) and makes what is arguably his best album yet, a collection of ’60s-minded boy/girl songs that could be spy anthems or ballads that Nancy Sinatra would have killed for. They even had the guts to cover a song from one of the most hallowed English pop records of all time (that would be the Stone Roses’ first album, see clip below). Yes, it’s true: Fratelli wrote “I Would Send You Roses” for Roger Daltrey. (Click here to read our interview with Jon Fratelli.) Click here for a free download of Codeine Velvet Club’s “Hollywood”
8. Scissor Sisters: Night Work
It’s officially time to recognize Jake Shears as one of the most versatile singers in music today. He has a baritone that would give Chris Difford pause and a falsetto that would give Barry Gibb a hissy fit. His band, meanwhile, chugs out the most awesome disco pop the world has heard since, well, disco. I get why these guys aren’t chartbusters in the States – they’re far too comfortable with their sexuality than most Americans are. Still, you’d think that their craft as songwriters would rise above what they do in their private lives. Sigh. Download these: “Invisible Light,” “Nightlife,” “Harder You Get”
9. Trashcan Sinatras: In the Music
Ah, my beloved Trashcans. I hope they will forgive me for not putting them at the top of my list, but let’s face it: they’re in a different musical place now, and so am I. I still love them – I even made good on my promise to buy guitarist Paul Livingston a drink after their show in Chicago the weekend of Lollapalooza last year – but not quite like I once did. It’s a beautiful record – it’s just not the record I needed this year, hence its ranking in the bottom part of my list. I’ll definitely play it more when the kids get older, though. Click here for a free download of the Trashcan Sinatras’ “People”
10. Home Video: The Automatic Process
I’m shocked that, in the Internet age, any band would give themselves the name Home Video. I even teased the lead singer for the Australian band Oh Mercy for the same thing earlier this year – who the hell is going to find your band among a million Google hits about Bob Dylan album reviews, or in the case of this electro-pop duo, old VHS titles? But when you’re armed with a song that sounds like a modern-day take on Seal’s “Future Love Paradise” (that would be “Beatrice”), then you can probably name your band any old thing you want. If you like the idea of Radiohead more than the band itself these days, definitely give this a listen. Doves fans should take note, too. Download these: “The Smoke,” “Beatrice,” “You Will Know What to Do”
The Coral: Butterfly House
This was the first I had heard from them in eight years. Nice to see you again.
Fitz & the Tantrums: Pickin’ Up the Pieces
I was late to this party, but once I arrived, I couldn’t stop dancing. We could use about a dozen more bands like this.
Nitzer Ebb: Industrial Complex
Alan Wilder told us that Nitzer Ebb always had good rhythmic ideas, but lacked melodic content. The band listened.
Surprise of the Year
Ratt: Infestation
Shockingly good for a group of guys whose last good song is old enough to buy its own beer.
Notable songs that kicked ass
“He’s Not a Boy,” The Like (Click here for a free download)
It’s like a female Strokes, only fun. And check out this video. Those ’60s outfits just slay me. Va-voom.
“Closer,” Kylie Minogue
I’m still baffled as to how this hasn’t been released as a single. This is the most epic three-minute bubblegum pop song I’ve heard in years. I bet Muse would do a killer cover of it. This version is a little sped up, to keep Kylie’s label from throwing the hammer down, but you get the idea.
“Hot ‘n Fun,” N.E.R.D. featuring Nelly Furtado
How on earth was this song not huge? It’s like a modern-day “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” for crying out loud.
“Burn It Down,” Awolnation (Click here for a free download)
Little Richard surely loves this song, though I’m betting he opts for the version that doesn’t say “motherfucker” in the chorus.
“How You Like Me Now,” The Heavy
A bit of a cheat, since the album came out last year, but the single came out this year. And it made for a hell of a Super Bowl commercial.
“Remedy,” Little Boots
My pop star crush of 2010. She makes me tingly. (Click here to see the video, embedding disabled.)
“I L U,” School of Seven Bells(Click here for a free download)
Breakup song of the year. It’s also the best song My Bloody Valentine never wrote.
“Numbers Don’t Lie,” The Mynabirds
The video for this one totally won me over. Clever low-budget clip, and the lead singer is a total cutie.
“DHDQ,” Andy Bell
Think Eurythmics’ “Would I Lie to You” on synth steroids, about a Debbie Harry drag queen. Yep, that’s what “DHDQ” stands for.
“From Above,” Ben Folds & Nick Hornby
Best song Ben Folds has sung in nearly a decade, and quite possibly the definitive ‘ships passing in the night’ anthem.
“Thinking Bout Somethin’,” Hanson
Go ahead, you can laugh all you want (Ben Folds fans just nodded knowingly), but good luck getting this one out of your head. The video is about 16 different flavors of awesome, too.
Exit Calm: Exit Calm
Liam Gallagher and Mani from the Stone Roses love ’em. Big, loud, epic indie guitar rock.
Diego Garcia: The Girls Are Yours
If the first track from the former Elefant man (oh, I hate myself for typing that) is any indication, we have a guitar pop classic waiting in the wings. Click here to download Diego Garcia’s “You Were Never There”
2010 was sensational year for music. Not only was there a slew of exceptional rock, metal, and indie records, released from proven acts, there was also an exciting crop of new artists that sprouted up throughout the year. Debut albums from Tame Impala, Aeroplane, and Mumford and Sons all showcased stellar songwriting while veteran artists like Bryan Ferry and Manic Street Preachers proved they still had gas in their creative tanks. For this year’s Bullz-Eye list, I’ve broken down my favorite albums into a few categories.
Best Pop Album
Ellie Goulding: Lights
Initially, this English newcomer performed her self-written material in a more intimate, singer-songwriter setting – but upon entering her university studies, she discovered and fell in love with electronica. She then started working with producers like Frankmusik and Starsmith, who began to reshape her song presentations. The retooling of Goulding’s approach proved to be pop music gold. On Lights, the songstress’ debut album, Goulding’s confessional lyrics and ethereal vocal delivery effortlessly weave through waves of synthesizers, hyper-melodic guitars, and Italo-disco bass lines. While there isn’t anything on Lights that is as obviously radio-baiting as Katy Perry’s inescapable “California Gurls,” there are at least six or seven tracks that top it in quality. There’s a song late on the record called “I’ll Hold My Breath” that I must have played a hundred times this past year. Musically, the track’s intro and first verse are kept lean, with hushed synths and acoustic guitars supporting a honey-sweet vocal from Goulding, but just when you think you know the direction the arrangement heading in, an explosion of crystalline keyboards and thumping drums gushes from your speakers, revealing what in my estimation is the greatest chorus of the last 12 months. Whether it’s dance-floor bangers (“Under the Sheets”) or gorgeous ballads (“The Writer”), Lights never misses the mark.
Best Metal Album
Alcest: Écailles de Lune
Alcest is the brainchild of a French musician who goes under the nom de plume Neige. Écailles de Lune is the project’s second album and is easily the most exhilarating musical piece that I came across in the last 12 months. Although Neige’s roots are in black metal, his wildly inventive arrangements aren’t exclusively bound to that genre’s parameters. Everything from the atmospherics of shoegaze to the barren soundscapes frequently favored by groups like Sigur Rós and Mogwai are explored on Écailles de Lune. Each song on the album is its own sweeping epic, with skyscraping guitars and serpentine mood shifts. Neige’s vocal performance also mirrors the music’s expansive reach. On “Solar Song,” the singer croons like he’s fronting a 4AD band circa 1991, but on the two-part title track, his tortured screeching and growling owes an obvious debt to his black metal background. Time will tell if Alcest finds an audience with non-metal listeners, but there’s certainly enough diversity on Écailles de Lune to warrant it.
Best Indie Rock Album
Best Coast: Crazy for You
It’s often said that writing a simple yet effective pop song is infinitely tougher to do than writing something proggy and complicated. If that’s really the case, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino is a songwriting craftswoman of the highest order. Crazy for You, the Southern California group’s debut album, is 30 minutes of pure jangle-pop ecstasy. Cosentino is an astute student of the popular music songbook. She channels the melancholy spirit of the Girl Group era on “I Want To” and in the irresistible “Our Deal,” she delivers the kind of teenage melodrama-packed single that Lesley Gore would have cut during her chart-topping heyday. Sonically speaking, the classicism of Cosentino’s songwriting and singing style mixed with Lewis Pesacov’s analog-warm production style is a perfect match. Pesacov clearly understands the most appealing aspect of Best Coast is the melodies, and he never lets anything get in the way of them on Crazy for You. Let’s hope both parties work with each other again on the next record.
Best Rap Album
Roc Marciano: Marcberg
Even though guys like Drake and Lil Wayne got the lion’s share of press attention this past year, it was a little-known emcee from Long Island, NY that put together the most compelling rap album of 2010. Formerly affiliated with Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode Squad and now going the solo independent route, Roc Marciano possesses a lyrical disposition that harks back to the era of hip-hop when artists like Pete Rock & CL Smooth and Black Moon were getting airplay on urban radio. On the production front, Marcberg finds Marciano rhyming over a collection of tracks that are often cinematic in their breadth and expose his admiration for obscure ‘70s soul and jazz records. Most of the rap releases that come across my desk come off like thrown-together compilations; what makes Marcberg such an accomplished work is that it actually feels like an album should feel. Instead of packing his record with a million guest artists and marring it with an undefined thematic vision, Marciano keeps us enthralled with his bleak yet focused wordplay, and elegantly produced tracks.
Best Comeback Album
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: History of Modern
Just like their fellow British synth-poppers Pet Shop Boys did with 2009’s wonderful Yes album, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark came back this year with their most inspired collection of songs in what seems like ages. The UK press has made a big deal about the group’s return to their classic four-piece line-up, but History of Modern is so much more than a nostalgia trip. While they do tap into some of the same textural flavors they worked with during their commercially successful mid-period, nothing on the album sounds contrived. What we get here is a striking balance of the sparse, synthesizer-anchored arrangements of their early records, with the poppier leanings of their best-known singles. It’s easy to hear OMD’s influence on contemporary artists like La Roux and Little Boots on tracks like “Sister Marie Says” and “History of Modern (Part II),” with their pulsating rhythms and lilting keyboard melodies. What’s clear here is that the time away from each other has invigorated Andy McCluskey and company.
Best Single
“Wonderful Life,” Hurts
Throw this single on your stereo, close your eyes and you’d swear it was 1986 again. Comprised of singer Theo Hutchcraft and synth-op Adam Anderson, Hurts is a Manchester, UK duo that specialize in a sultry brand of pop that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on that country’s Top of the Pops television show two decades ago. Released back in May, “Wonderful Life,” the second single from Hurts, sounded like nothing else being raved about across the blogosphere. One listen to the song and seasoned ears could hear a direct connection to artists like Spandau Ballet and the Human League when they were produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. “Wonderful Life” should have been a hit here in the States, but myopic pop radio programmers don’t bother playlisting stuff this elegant anymore.
I seriously can’t remember the last time I’ve had to struggle with a list of my favorite music in a particular year. Actually, I can, so I should clarify: I seriously can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much good music to choose from when paring down my list of favorites for the year. Upon looking at my CD collection (yes, I’m one of those guys), I still see another 10 or 20 albums that could make the list if I listen more carefully. But without the benefit of the free time it would take to check those CDs out, here’s a list of the 20 best albums I’ve heard in 2010.
1. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
As much as Kanye’s childish tirades infuriate me, I’ll be damned if his music doesn’t always win me over. Fantasy is amazing from just about every facet: musically, lyrically, thematically. I’ll forgive ‘Ye for a million idiotic public statements if he keeps making music like this.
2. Gil Scott-Heron: I’m New Here
One of two albums in my Top 20 recorded by artists re-emerging after a 14-year absence, I’m New Here is a haunting listen. The ravages of time have wreaked havoc on Scott-Heron’s voice, but much like Bob Dylan’s most recent work, age has given the artist’s voice additional resonance.
3. The Black Keys: Brothers
Sometimes the album that breaks a band through to a mainstream audience is indeed their best work. That’s definitely the case with the Black Keys’ Brothers. Bluesy garage-rock with enough hooks to keep guys like me interested, I feel like this is the album Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were aiming for with their Danger Mouse-helmed Attack & Release album. As it turned out, they didn’t (really) need Danger Mouse, anyway, just their bad selves and the ghosts of Muscle Schoals, Alabama.
4. The Roots: How I Got Over
Can someone give these guys a medal for the most consistently awesome act not only in hip-hop, but in music period? I feel like the Roots are incapable of making a bad album even if they tried to. Although I suppose if they replaced Black Thought with Jimmy Fallon…
5. Cee Lo Green: The Lady Killer
“Fuck You” (or “Forget You,” if you’re easily offended) was a gimmick single, sure. However, even gimmick singles can be genius, and what’s more is that the Goodie Mob/Gnarls Barkley frontman was able to back the promise of that song up with an incredible album. I wish he rapped more, but when you can outsing just about every artist in contemporary pop and R&B, I guess you can be excused.
6. Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley: Distant Relatives
Needless to say, this was a good year for hip-hop. Political and passionate, but still sweet and melodic, Nas is on point lyrically and Marley provides the album with organic, sympathetic production. He should produce every Nas album from here on in.
7. Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
You will never hear sweeter harmonies than on this record. You might not hear better country-flavored rock and roll, either. Give the Byrds or CSNY a little modern flair, and you’ve got Band of Horses in a nutshell. I also doubt you’ll see cooler facial hair.
8. Vampire Weekend: Contra
Despite being released in the dead of winter, Vampire Weekend captured the sound of summer for the second consecutive album. It’s easy to overlook lead singer Ezra Koenig (as well as keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij)’s perpetually tongue-in-cheek lyrics when the music is this fun, but that’s not to say you should.
9. Steven Page: Page One
His former Barenaked Ladies soldiered on admirably without him (All in Good Time was a pretty okay album), but after hearing Page’s solo debut, it becomes obvious that he took a great deal of songwriting and singing magic with him when he left.
10. John Legend & the Roots: Wake Up!
It was a great idea for John Legend to team up with the Roots for this collection of mostly obscure soul covers. As great as the idea was, though, I can’t help but wish Legend, ?uestlove and Co. would have put all the passion and soul they put into Wake Up into a collection of equally passionate and soulful originals.
11. Robyn: Body Talk
She may not sell as much as contemporaries like Britney and Christina, but there’s no doubt who makes the most interesting music. Even if “Body Talk” consisted of “Dancing on My Own” ten times in a row, it would have been worthy of inclusion on this list. Thankfully, there’s other material on here that further qualifies Body Talk as the dance-pop album of 2010.
12. El DeBarge: Second Chance–
One of R&B’s greatest should’ve-been stories returns after a decade and a half in the wilderness, and he hasn’t lost a step. Talented enough to write beautifully about his personal struggles and smooth enough to create masterful collaborations with the normally insufferable likes of 50 Cent, this is a must-have for contemporary R&B fans.
13. B.o.B.: The Adventures of Bobby Ray
This Atlanta newcomer made a definite case for the eclecticism of modern-day hip-hop. Capable of recording playa anthems with T.I. as well as rockin’ pop jams with Dr. Luke and Rivers Cuomo, rapper/singer/multi-instrumentalist B.o.B made the year’s most fun record.
14. Big Boi: Sir Luscious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty
The less-heralded member of OutKast more than made up for his partner Andre 3000’s absence with an album funkier than those drawers you’ve worn all week. Mixing socio-political commentary with a fair amount of shit-talking, Leftfoot almost made me stop wanting an OutKast reunion. Almost.
15. Crowded House: Intriguer
One of the best songwriters of his generation, Neil Finn never disappoints. The second album by Crowded House Mach 2 (well, 3, actually) finds the band regaining their footing with aplomb following the somewhat tentative Time on Earth album.
16. Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon: Wu-Massacre
Wu-Tang Clan certainly has the capability to be scattered and messy. Even a cursory listen to much of their recent output (together and solo) bears that truth out. However, this album finds group MVP Ghostface re-teaming with a newly energized Raekwon as well as Method Man, who obviously had a fire lit under his lazy ass by the other two men. Result? The best Wu product in a decade, easily. So good I won’t even harp on the paltry 30-minute run time.
17. Bilal: Airtight’s Revenge
It sucks that all left-of-center R&B vocalists seem to fall under the radar at one point or another. Nine years after his solid debut, 1st Born Second, Bilal Oliver returned from space (or wherever he was hiding) to deliver his deliciously bizarre sophomore effort. Who needs D’angelo when you’ve got this dude?
18. RJD2: The Colossus
Is it hip-hop? Is it indie rock (what the hell is indie rock, anyway)? Is it R&B? Who the hell cares? It’s good! One of the more underappreciated underground (damn, I was gonna say hip-hop) artists out there, RJ capably straddles boundaries and genre lines with his excellent fourth solo album.
19. Scissor Sisters: Night Work
The sophomore slump killed the Scissor Sisters’ Ta-Dah critically, while some unfortunate comments made at a retail convention killed the group’s career commercially. After taking a few years off, Jake Shears and company returned with the year’s most decadent, hilarious dance record. Shears sings like Barry Gibb’s long lost son and he’s got a capable foil in the band’s female member Ana Matronic.
20. Drake: Thank Me Later
I hate Lil Wayne. So the fact that his protege ranks on my list of the year’s top albums says much about Drake’s level of talent. The amiable Canadian might be an unlikely hip-hop star, and the buzz that surrounded him prior to his album’s release was way over-inflated, but good music always wins out over buzz, and Drake’s rapping and singing skills are capable (if not amazing) enough to have won me over. Maybe Weezy should concentrate on being a talent scout or something.
RIYL: Nirvana, The Replacements, Jesus & Mary Chain
Here’s a nifty Blu-ray two-fer for the indie rock purist in your life. “Acoustic” and “Electric” were released individually in 2006, but are smartly paired together here, along with some footage of one of the Pixies’ first gigs at the legendary TT the Bear’s.
The acoustic show, recorded in 2005 at the Newport Folk Festival, was certainly a unique affair for both the festival and the band; the band had never done a full acoustic show before, and the festival organizers never had an artist that could claim to have influenced Nirvana, but there they were, plugging through a well-balanced set of alt rock hits (“Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Here Comes Your Man”) and large chunks of their debut album Surfer Rosa and their 1989 breakthrough Doolittle. It’s cute, though forcing guitarist Joey Santiago to play an entire set without an electric guitar is a crime against nature, something that the “Electric” set rectifies. Recorded at the tiny Paradise rock club in Boston only a few days after the Newport gig (Frank Black and Kim Deal are even wearing the same shirts), “Electric” is the Pixies as they are meant to be heard. Black even goes off the set list at the beginning and begs drummer David Lovering to do “La La Love You” because his mom’s in the audience. The band scarcely lets up from there, and Santiago gets his ya-ya’s out on a blistering version of “Vamos” where he plays his effects pedals like a synthesizer.
There isn’t much in the way of on-stage banter – after the first couple songs, they just tend to play and play – and for some reason they had no use for “Dig for Fire,” one of their best-known songs – but they get credit for mixing up the set lists and covering 37 different songs between the two shows. And with the holidays fast approaching, this is the kind of thing that someone is probably reluctant to buy, but would love to get. (Eagle Vision 2010)
Though he may be more known for his role in indie rock supergroup the New Pornographers, Dan Bejar has been enticing people into his strange world for the past 15 years via Destroyer. Backed by a frequently rotating cast of band members, Bejar uses Destroyer to craft his own brand of avant-pop-rock, unmistakable to anyone who has ever heard it. Over the course of nine albums, he weaves tales of numerous women, told in a hybrid of speech-yelp-singing with non-sequiturs, dense, visually striking metaphors (so dense someone created a Wiki for them), and references to his own body of work. So what happens when you’ve spent 15 years basically perfecting your own genre? What happens when what starts out as weird suddenly becomes the standard? With Kaputt, Destroyer’s ambitious tenth album, Bejar proves he can still make us question our notions of normality and taste.
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Alcest: Écailles de Lune
Best Coast: Crazy for You
Roc Marciano: Marcberg
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: History of Modern
“Wonderful Life,” Hurts
1. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2. Gil Scott-Heron: I’m New Here
3. The Black Keys: Brothers
4. The Roots: How I Got Over
5. Cee Lo Green: The Lady Killer
6. Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley: Distant Relatives
7. Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
8. Vampire Weekend: Contra
9. Steven Page: Page One
10. John Legend & the Roots: Wake Up!
11. Robyn: Body Talk
12. El DeBarge: Second Chance–
13. B.o.B.: The Adventures of Bobby Ray
14. Big Boi: Sir Luscious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty
15. Crowded House: Intriguer
16. Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon: Wu-Massacre
17. Bilal: Airtight’s Revenge
18. RJD2: The Colossus
19. Scissor Sisters: Night Work
20. Drake: Thank Me Later
