I already owned one Camera Obscura album, which really was enough for me, and reviewed and discarded another, before checking out Desire Lines. I learned my lesson from Iron and Wine: there's no need to collect every album and song from a group where every album and song sound exactly the same. However, I had heard this "was their best album yet" and "a departure from their past efforts." (I am now quoting my own recollections -- actual quotes may vary. But you get the gist.) And this is why I generally don't listen to other reviewers. It's kind of different -- "Troublemaker," "Break It to You Gently," "Do It Again," "William's Heart," "New Year's Resolution," "I Missed Your Party," and "Every Weekday" are all examples of where they are trying to branch out. But otherwise... it's more of the same. Great sound, little overall variety.
Camera Obscura - "Troublemaker"
When they get hooky with the guitar and keyboard, they definitely have something good going. It's pleasant, non-offensive pop that can be quite interesting at times. CD Placement rating: If this were an EP, I'd call the highlights Portable CD Case material. But unfortunately, it's an album, and the rest is Sell-Back 1 or 2. We'll split the difference and call it CD Rack. - Snilch
Following up on 2010's epic Phospherene Dreamis a tall order, but from the opening track (one of the best title tracks I've heard in quite a while, "Indigo Meadow"), it's pretty clear The Black Angels are up for it. Where The Black Angels start is guitar tonality -- they understand it and know how to get the most out of it. And God bless them, they get the most of a vocal echo (see "Black Isn't Black"). Even on a song like "You're Mine," which is pure 70s pop (and thus I listened to it with great trepidation, like a "don't open that door!" moment from a horror movie), they make it their own -- yes, it's lighter than usual and a bit more up-tempo, but it works. Other song highlights: "Broken Soldier" opines "It's hard to kill when you don't know whose side you're on." "Love Me Forever" just oozes The Doors mixed with the best kind of sludge you could ever hope for. The harmonies and organ on "Don't Play with Guns" are excellent.
The Black Angels - "Don't Play With Guns"
I could listen to this album again and again -- it's got just enough pop to be accessible, and just enough edge to keep it fresh and interesting. It's an impressive offering, produced expertly. CD Placement rating: Car CD Changer. - Snilch
So there are many reasons that I am a terrible person, but here are a few: 1) I failed to review this album before the CD Release Show; 2) I failed to actually attend the CD Release Show; and 3) I failed to review this album after the CD Release Show but before Eric's birthday two days later.
The first thing that struck me was that this was a return to Salt's more Glen Echo-ish roots. It's an energizing rock style that plays well with his natural talents as a storyteller. He's a little more mature in voice than on previous offerings, but not in an unpleasant way. This album shapes up as a muddy, 60's-rock styled hooky guitar affair. You can hear the care and attention to detail in the production of the album when you listen to it through great headphones. It really holds up well.
In terms of individual songs, "Stay on the Line" jumps out as a more deft approach from the band -- it's sparse but tuneful (I just make up words as I go along), with keyboard and vocal effect highlights. "Women I've Loved" is the most Glen Echo-like tune (with a close second going to the earnest and what seems very personal "Please Say Yes," maybe my favorite song on the album), except for "Movie Screen"... which actually WAS a Glen Echo song. "Last Man Standing" channels 38 Special, while adding a horn section. And covering the criminally underrated "Whaddya Want from Me?" (often ignored in the telling of the Billy Squier canon) is just great.
Eric Salt and The Electric City - "Women I've Loved"
In the end, this feels like a mixtape of the best songs Salt has written in the past four years, but it works (despite the drummer's mental problems, which clearly come through on the recording). Two complaints: 1) no "Nine Times a Day" (and how this didn't make the cut is beyond me), and 2) the crowd noise on "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You," which just doesn't work for me. (This is probably in part because I don't know the Bob Dylan original recording, but that won't stop me from complaining. Oh no it won't.)
That being said... all in all, it's a great listen and an album I'll be revisiting again and again in the near future.
Yes, it's that time of year again! Just like any respectable music reviewer, it's really important (perhaps even "mission critical") to come out with a ranking of all of the previous year's releases, in order of rank, to properly frame the previous year's highlights.
It's actually all pretty self-explanatory, but some of you look confused. Perhaps we'll take a few questions to clear up any details.
Q: You say "end of the year," but it's actually June.
A: Great question. I needed time to listen to the albums, and I do have a day job, as you may or may not know.
Q: Then why didn't you just listen to them earlier?
A: Lack of time, but definitely NOT because of poor planning.
Q: But I've moved on to 2014. Why would I care about 2013 albums now?
A: Well, why wouldn't you care?
Q: This is pointless. And IT'S JUNE!
A: This interview is over.
Now the simple thing, of course, would be to just give you a list right here. Instead, since I clearly hate the six of you who actually read this, I will review all of the 2013 albums I never got to, and THEN put them in order, all over the next month or so. It's this kind of revolutionary thinking that earned me the "Music Blogger of the Year Award" from no one.
So today, I'm going to start with notable downloads. These are albums that got sent to me by various PR people (unsolicited), which I listen to, delete 75% of, then listen to the remainder again, and delete about 30% of those. Thus the Pile of Death here is rather large, but the individual band names have not been disclosed as I really don't need to embarrass bands that are likely living in a family member's basement.
So without further ado...
At Least You Made It to Round 3, But Upon Further Review It Turns Out You're in the Sell-Back 1 Pile
Coke Weed -Back to Soft. This is one of those albums that is actually good enough to keep, but I'll ultimately never listen to again. It's very laid back, with 60s Mama and the Poppas-ish harmonies. It kind of plods you into submission, but the first half of the album mainly makes me realize I really need a nap. I'll keep "Mary Anne," "Blue Flag," "SOM," and "Sunseekers," and toss the rest. Special note must be made of "Manchester," which is the last song on the album and is just a terribly trite song.
Dog Party -Lost Control. I can see why this appealed to me at first in a Magnapop or K-pop kind of way, but there is just a lot of rhythm guitar here. The highlight for me was their cover of "Los Angeles," where the lead singer sounds A LOT like X's Exene Cervenka. For their age (they are teenagers), this is a remarkable accomplishment and is polished. Taking their age out of the equation, it's generic.
Ellie Herring - Kite Day. "Anti Alias" starts out pretty trippy. It's a nice song... that goes nowhere. As does the rest of the album. I'll keep "Thinking JFK."
PVT - Homosapien. First of all, it's unfortunate that the album name screams Pete Shelley from The Buzzcocks. (Look it up -- you only need to listen to the song once to forever keep that association.) In any case, there is something positive going on here in electronica land, but this whole thing needs to be put back in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. There are a few fully formed compositions here ("Evolution," "Electric," "Nightfall," and "Love and Defeat"), but the rest do not make the cut. Let's hope that the next time out is a step forward -- there is a lot of potential here for sure.
CD Rack
Dramady - Answer Only to the Sea. This is an odd one for me, as the music is decent to a little below average, but the lyrics save this electronica/guitar offering from the scrapheap. Tracks like "Go Home" and "Two Ghosts in One Costume" are vocally and lyrically are way above par, and I'll keep them just based on that factor. Glad I listened to this on the right day; this would have been Sell-back 1 or (gasp!) Pile of Death material otherwise. It's like a poet laureate decided to play with his high school kid's band. It's amazing and disappointing at the same time.
Portable CD Case
These were really good, and in some cases almost in the Car iPod. But that's why I get paid the big bucks -- to make the tough choices here.* *Editor's note: He does not actually get paid for ANY of this.
The Embassy - Sweet Sensation. Think a simpler Haircut 100 with Pet Shop Boys vocals. They focus on both more tightly controlled and gently placed individual sound elements, and thus feature lots of grooves and riffs. It's dance pop that I'd describe as "oddly uplifting," while remaining thought provoking. As you listen, you can't help think that this is simple but not dumb; it may be minimalist but it's not minimal. It's very pleasant but not without strong purpose. I'm clear but not direct, apparently.
The Embassy - "Livin' is Easy"
Rainbow Arabia -FM Sushi. Electronica/Dance is generally out of my comfort zone, except when it's something like New Young Pony Club (now just NYPC) or Ladyhawke. This album is very '80s retro, with "Precreation" being the standout track here. A little same-y? Yes, at times. But it's fun, upbeat, and ultimately interesting. And on tracks like "Lacking Risk," they'll even get subtly and deceptively complex. It's indie retro rock without the guitars, basically.
Rainbow Arabia - "Lacking Risk"
Sister Crayon -Cynic (EP). Vocally, this is Jill Cunniffmeets Siouxsie and The Banshees. Overall, this good, but at times it veers into too much of "kitchen sink" territory. This makes some of the EP complex, and other parts confused; they're simply trying too hard, oddly enough -- sometimes less is more. Once they relax and find their voice, they will be great. As it is, they are very, very good already, so you might as well get on board now. They can sound transcendent at times, and one day they will all of the time.
Sister Crayon - "Cynic"
Soviet Soviet - Fate. Think a stripped down Joy Division/Interpol/*stellastar with Pet Shop Boys vocals. (Hmmm... that latter part sounds very familiar.) It's indie rock with whirlwind drums (i.e., no double bass, but frenetic). It's a fun listen, but what carries the day is their energy and enthusiasm. They're living through these songs, and it sounds like a lot of fun. There's neither a standout or a stepdown track here -- it's a good solid listen all around.
Soviet Soviet - "Further"
Team Ghost - Rituals. Off of their Dead Film Star EP in 2012, Team Ghost is back with ethereal, dreamy pop. Whispered vocals and atmospheric synths effectively build up tension and then remove it -- it's a clever push and pull, resulting in a pleasant tug of war. Excellent percussion helps, of course. One thing that holds this album back is the Autotune on a couple of songs; there is no need for it, and it's ultimately detrimental. The lyrics are inconsistent -- at times, they are high-level prose, but at other times they range from "teenage charming" to making Peaches look like Shakespeare. I'd call this low-tempo neo-shoegazer and mid- tempo alt electronica. (If I hadn't just made up those genres, you'd probably know exactly what I was talking about.) Basically, it's two parts M83, one part The Information. Highlights include "Pleasures That Hurt," "Dead Film Star," "Montreuil" (which sounds like Rod Stewart meets the Moonababies), "Curtains," "Blood" (a piano ballad that turns into a midtempo guitar fuzz thrash), and "Fireworks" (totally guitar based and a complete build-up song). Overall an excellent listen, which falls just short of being great by a hair. Definitely worth a listen, this easily could be in the Car iPod upon further review.
Team Ghost - "Curtains"
Car iPod Now these may legitimately appear in the Top 10. I'll bet the suspense is killing you.
Anoraak - Chronotropic. Of all the electronica I heard this year, this album seemed to incorporate the best parts of all of them, adding in a confidence and a self-assuredness that comes off as "relaxed expert," and not "annoyingly cocky." Where electronica generally fails is that much of it is purposefully mono- or even non-emotive; part of that is the nature of the genre. Here, you feel they are engaged vocally and invested emotionally. There are a bunch of standouts here, including "Morning Light," "Behind Your Shades," and "Summer Is Over." Sure, there are some highs and some lulls here, but in general, it's just awesome.
Anoraak - "Morning Light"
Brent Amaker and the Rodeo - Year of the Dragon. I generally don't like country, but I try to keep an open mind. This sounds like Calvin Johnson from Beat Happening traded his lo-fi bandmates for Johnny Cash's backing band. It's uptempo country, fun storytelling extolled in a lighthearted tone (even when the lyrics are dark). Highly recommended; even if it is country, it's still great.
Brent Amaker and the Rodeo - "Tequila Cerveza" Warning: the video is very sacreligious at points.
Bored Nothing - Bored Nothing.Right from the opening track "Shit for Brains," you can't avoid the eerie sonic similarity to Big Star (and even a little Elliott Smith at times). It's 60s/70s rock with quick changes throughout; ultimately it's traditional rock/pop that does not seem stale. The lyrics have some weight and life experience behind them. This is excellent, accessible, and well produced; it's everything you'd want in an album to listen to and enjoy. Not a bad song in the bunch. I'll take Big Star 2.0 any day.
Bored Nothing - "Let Down"
Speck Mountain - Badwater. Let's see, I hear Gila Bend, Mark Kozelek, and a slightly higher energy Cowboy Junkies. It's laid-back alt-country, but it's not languid -- it's measured and exacting. To my ear, it sounds like a late 80s/early 90s type album, in the best possible way. There are great drenching guitar sounds, and very pleasant musical "harmonies" throughout. It's a nice mellow listen, best enjoyed with a good book on a bright sunny day on your porch, or with your favorite medicinal drug of choice. (My guess is that the latter is what the artist intended.)
