New Albums
(the Pitchfork-y ones)
-Contra by Vampire Weekend
This album just takes their Afro-pop-inspired/Graceland-Paul Simon-ish thing to the next level with more synth sounds and pounding beats. I'm cool with that for now, but, since it jumped WAY up on the Billboard charts, I'm afraid we'll see this become a trend. They even stake out their territory as a band very much of this time by employing the effervescent auto-tune on 'California English'-- albiet to minimal extent. Their melodies are so catchy and uplifting, though, it's tough for me to be a hater.
Watch 'Cousins'
-Astro Coast by Surfer Blood
Feels like a solid, old-school alternative album. Catchy and guitar driven-- I guess I'm not the only one getting bored by the prevalence of heady, oft-orchestral, slow-tempo, chamber pop/folk/whatever. Sometimes they do the trendy thing and bust out an interesting production choice-- like the strange reverb in the vocals of lead single 'Swim.' Lots of people are throwing out the Weezer card, but their melodies sound more like the previously mentioned Vampire Weekend to me. A guitar slinging Vampire Weekend, that is.
Watch a live performance of 'Swim'
IRM by Charlotte Gainsbourg
I like some of her father's music (Serge Gainsbourg), but Beck produced this one and I'm a huge fan of his. Like any good Beck record, Charlotte's album is crammed full of bumpin' drum beats, folk-y guitars, and atmospherics. Similar to Beck's Sea Change, we also get swaying string arrangements from Beck's father, David. And, of course, no two songs share quite the same influences-- but the tracks' aesthetics are similar enough that the cohesiveness of the album isn't affected.
Watch 'Heaven Can Wait'
Old Albums
(from various points in the space/time continuum)
Ultraglide in Black by The Dirtbombs
I heard of The Dirtbombs because they were featured in an episode of We Have Signal, and they were definitely cool enough to check out. This album from 2001 is comprised almost entirely of soul covers, but it's hard to complain about that. Soul gettin' done up garage-rock style? That would be perfect for a dance party in the basement!
Gil & Jorge by Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben
This album from 1975 sticks two Brazilian folk legends together and lets them just jam out. There are few words of English, but with simply two guitars and two voices-- and a percussionist-- the duo makes some of the most joyful music ever put to tape. It will be especially fitting when Summer rolls around again.
Listen to 'Taj Mahal' (with unfortunate sound quality)
Ege Bamyasi by Can
It's somewhat difficult to accept that this album came out in 1972-- given the fact that its beats often come dangerously close to sounding like post-80's era hip-hop. The strangest album recommended on this post, Can did not make music for the faint of heart. It sounds like black-and-white, minimalist funk that was colored-in by a little kid with a noisy crayon. And that kid DID NOT stay inside the lines. "I'm seventy-five years old, and I cannot abide this!" said a friend's roommate upon overhearing this record. Sorry. Maybe you can abide the influence? It's easy to see where Thom Yorke gets his vocal inflections from.
Listen to 'I'm so Green' (with an unfortunate background picture)
Midnight Green by Modill
It is by sheer mistake that I ever even heard this album from 2005. A friend stumbled across it last year-- now he proclaims it as his favorite underground hip-hop album. I haven't been listening to it for long, but it is already climbing my hip-hop list. The group combines the sunshiny-ness of Chicago soul with atmospheric electronica to make a probably-De La-influenced blend. Production-wise, the record contains a colorful array of samples that start, stop, drop out, warp, and spring up with such precision that it's just mind-boggling. The jazzy, superbly orchestrated beats will be the real draw here, but that shouldn't be a deterrent. Lyrically, the rhymes are delivered with both feeling and swagger, proving that meaning and style can coexist.
No comments:
Post a Comment