Midyear Report Nos. 22-12
Posted By Ben W. on July 17, 2009
This is the part of the countdown where we discuss some records you may actually want to purchase!
22. 200 Million Thousand Black Lips
The Black Lips’ latest is another demented trip through the Atlanta hipsters’ record collections. They don’t do anything new, but they’re pulling from so many diverse sources — garage, old-time country, hard rock, doo-wop, ’60s pop, soul, even old-school hip hop — that the final product sounds fresh, if incredibly bizarre. As usual, they fly their “We’re weird” and “We’re high as hell” flags with pride, which can be exhilarating or incredibly annoying depending on your point of view. But mostly it’s a good album, loaded with catchy pop and ramshackle fun.
21. Junior Royksopp
Royksopp returns with a near-masterpiece of exquisitely produced electro pop. The record’s first half is almost perfect, sequenced brilliantly to showcase both dance-floor singles and gorgeous slower numbers. Frustratingly, the second half can’t maintain the momentum. The power of the first six songs is tarnished a bit by a couple dull tracks at the end and the bloated 51-minute running time. The great moments make it an enjoyable record, but it’s hard not to think about what a classic it could have been with two songs and 10 minutes trimmed off the back.
20. The Hazards Of Love The Decemberists
It’s only logical that The Decemberists would take their propensity for concept and extend it over, not just a song or suite but, an entire album. Colin Meloy and crew have taken great pains to wrap this 17-track opus air-tight with recurring themes, melodies and characters. Of course, the story is nearly impossible to follow or even find, but in the end it doesn’t matter. The music — though rarely traditional verse-chorus pop — maintains the band’s usual standard of excellence, and the hooks are accessible enough to neutralize the density and pretensions of the opera.
19. Manners Passion Pit
Hyped among indie circles as the Next Big Thing this year, it’s easy to write Passion Pit off as overrated on first glance. Their limited sound — big dance drums, sharp piercing synths and Michael Angelakos’ virtually incomprehensible falsetto singing — is exposed as being very repetitive over the course of an album. Ultimately, however, complaints about the sound fall by the wayside because the songwriting is just so consistently excellent. These are not subtle hooks either. “Little Secrets,” “The Reeling,” “Eyes As Candles” and “Sleepyhead” each feature addictively memorable choruses and form the foundation of an exciting debut album, worthy of the hype.
18. Goodnight Oslo Robyn Hitchcock
This album probably won’t realign the planets or solve the world financial crisis, but it’s a nice reminder that Robyn Hitchcock is good at writing songs. Originality and innovation are not key components here. Nor are standout singles (“Your Head Here” would qualify it didn’t sound so similar to Chris Isakk’s “Wicked Game.”) But that’s OK. What you get is 10 well-written, well-played, well-produced songs of lovely guitar pop-rock. And all things considered, these days that’s a pretty good get.
17. It’s Blitz! Yeah Yeah Yeahs
This is what ambition sounds like. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs went all out to make the next great pop rock record this year, adding an assortment of trendy synths and dance rhythms to their angular rock. Then they pared the songs down to their bare essentials — big hooks and Karen O’s sassy vocals. And to an extent they succeed. Most of these songs are good, and two or three of these songs qualify as contenders for Most Exciting Rock Single Of The Year honors. Overall though it’s hard not to think they miss the mark a bit, falling just short of the mass-appeal greatness they clearly crave. The hooks aren’t quite hooky enough to truly cross over, while Karen O’s vapid lyrics and rock-star attitude never really connect beyond the surface level.
16. Art Brut Vs. Satan Art Brut
OK Eddie Argos, we get it. You’re broke; you’re bad at jobs, bad with girls and generally not very good at being an adult. This is the Art Brut frontman’s schtick, so don’t expect anything new here on the band’s third album. The good news is that, while he does occasionally descend into self parody, he’s more often than not very funny and insightful, even if it is within a limited realm of subject matter. Even better news is that Art Brut The Band sounds better than ever. The music behind Argos is filled with memorable riffs and melodies, making this — if not an album full of surprises — the most consistently enjoyable disc of the band’s brief career.
DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshake
15. 21st Century Breakdown Green Day
There are so many reasons to hate this album — Billie Joe’s shameless pilfering of past tunes (from rock history and his own back catalog); the billion-dollar production values; the generic platitudes parading as politically charged lyrics; the lack of any real quality singles; the absurdly indulgent 75-minute running time; the unintelligible rock opera storyline; the utterly predictable quiet-loud-quiet-loud arrangements; the calculated and contrived air that hangs about the entire thing. So why do I listen to it so much? I don’t know. It’s big and poppy and very easy. That’s nice sometimes in a world of Frog Eyes and Grizzly Bear. Mostly, though, there is something too daft to resist about aging punk rockers shooting for the mainstream by telling young suburbanites to fight the establishment. Weird.
14. The Love Language The Love Language
Stu McLamb’s one-man recording project scores big by aiming small. It’s short — nine songs in about 30 minutes — and its amateurish home-recording production often sounds like he rolled out of bed and recorded an album. But McLamb has two major points in his favor: he sings very well and he writes great pop songs. As a result, every song here is good, nearly every moment is worthwhile. And the blemished production is charming, as its homespun feel suits the material perfectly. One of the year’s best little indie pop records, and I say that with love, not condescension.
13. Primary Colours The Horrors
Like The Maccabees, The Horrors are far more interesting on their second album than they were on their first. Their list of influences — Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cure and more than a little Joy Division — won’t win any prizes for originality. But they succeed on sheer execution. The reverb-heavy production, full of distorted guitar and disembodied vocals, lends excitement to every song. And the tracklist, minus a misstep or two, unfolds like a series of potential singles.
12. Wall Of Arms The Maccabees
This album sounds extraordarily like the Arcade Fire, and not just because the bands share the same producer. The Maccabees have shifted everything in their sound — the jittery rhythm section, the blasts of backing vocals, the wounded whiny lead vocals, the inscrutably pensive lyrics — toward Montreal’s favorite sons and daughters. And that would be unforgivably contrived and unoriginal if the transformation wasn’t so damned successful. Put simply, The Maccabees have gotten a lot better at writing songs since their vanilla debut. With nary a filler track to be found, this is one of the year’s most pleasant surprises.
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i don’t care if they’re indie’s big thing or whatever. i love passion pit…with a passion? yes.