Sound Salvation Army

If music is indeed moving back towards shorter formats like vinyl and digital singles I think we’ll be just fine. While there’s something to be said for the mastery and majesty that goes into crafting a real back-to-front piece of art (ie OK Computer, Paul’s Boutique, or my favourite album of 2009, the Wheat Pool’s Hauntario) there is still the possibility of creating something transcendental on a smaller scale. Many notable bands (including Radiohead and hardcore punks Paint It Black) promised to move exclusively to single formats and why not; digital is king now, right? Well, maybe we won’t go that far.

07. Bon Iver - the Blood Bank EP
If we’re being honest this is really only on here because of the title track. That’s it. The rest of it is pretty much unnecessary. Especially that goddamn vocoder or auto-tune or whatever track. Pitchfork can talk about how it runs so contrary to his established aesthetic and how the coldness of the computery sound mirrors the tenor of same. But it sucks a big fat one and that’s all there is to it. But the title track is unimpeachably brilliant. Read more here.

06. Small Brown Bike - Composite, Vol. 1
In my round-up of the top five albums of the year I included a wonderful album called Chasing Hamburg by Polar Bear Club. I lot of why I liked that album has to do with both my and that band’s affection for Small Brown Bike. They were occasionally written-off as Hot Water Music devotees but as their career progressed they developed a more complex post-rock sound that really was unique. To see them reunited and creating new music after a few years apart is goddamn heart-warming. I love this band.

05. the Lazy MKs - A Field Guide To…
A local addition from a group of guys I hadn’t heard of prior to last summer. Their blend of roots and rock, combined with their instrumental aesthetic, is a very singular thing. It’s a purposeful step well outside of the boundaries Regina’s music scene is used to and that boldness should be rewarded, especially since their audience already has been with the release of this EP. Read more here.

04. the Lawrence Arms - Buttsweat and Tears
As long as these guys release something, I’ll include it on a year-end list. That doesn’t diminish the quality of this product, however. Hell, “The Slowest Drink At The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City” alone could carry this EP onto this list, never mind the presence of four other great songs. Their melancholic sense of self-loathing shouldn’t lend itself to music this catchy, but somehow it does. Read more here.

03. A Wilhelm Scream - self-titled EP
Probably the most talented band in punk today takes their first stab at a short-form release in a very long time and make it work. “Fun Time” might be seen as a mis-step if you’re used to hearing them play the most complicated shit they can think of 24/7, but its straight-forward, no frills, pop rock arrangement is just another example of the level of skill these guys possess; they have so many talents they rarely if ever utilize some of them. Read more here.

02. Laura Stevenson & the Cans/Bomb The Music Industry! split 7″
While there are four very good songs on this 7″ one soars above the others (previously documented here). Laura Stevenson’s cover of BTMI!’s “It Ceases To Be ‘Whining’ If You’re Still ‘Shitting Blood’” (yes, gross) is one of most beautiful songs with multiple f-bombs in it I’ve ever heard. Rest assured, that’s an unnecessary qualifier. She can’t help but create slightly off-kilter yet ceaselessly gorgeous songs and here she proves as capable with interpretation as she does with creation.

01. Jon Snodgrass/Cory Branan split LP
Each of these two country-influenced singer-songwriters could’ve released their individual tracks from this release on their own and garnered a spot on this list, but the fact that they combined forces to put out an album of mind-boggling quality makes them a clear favourite for top spot. Snodgrass continues the dour acoustic arrangements that marked some of the high low points of his first solo LP, Visitor’s Band; the highlight here from him is “Wild One,” a tortured plea for a lost lover to come home. His deft chord changes propel a powerful vocal performance to a conclusion that comes way too soon. As for Branan, I’ve NEVER been as immediately and fully impressed by a musician as I was after my first listen to his tracks on this album. Never. I cannot pick a favourite from his songs here; “the Corner” is a meditation on lost love that falls somewhere in between absolute misery and whistful remembrance, “Walk Around” is a joyful romp that runs awfully close to being too clever by half, and “Yeah, So What?” is a shamelessly flirtatious cover that swaggers through its entire length. I swear I’ve listened to this EP 100 times at least since November. It is absolutely without peer.

Bon Iver: Physical and iTunes
Small Brown Bike: Physical and iTunes
the Lazy MKs: Physical (although you could probably just go to a record store near you) and iTunes
Lawrence Arms: Physical and iTunes
A Wilhelm Scream: Physical and iTunes
Laura Stevenson/BTMI: Physical and iTunes (Bomb The Music Industry! only)
Jon Snodgrass/Cory Branan: Physical and iTunes (together, Branan solo, Snodgrass solo. Keep in mind, however, that Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective has their own digital download service that is cheaper than iTunes. That can be accessed through the first link.

Pat entries A Wilhelm Scream, acoustic, best ofs, Bomb The Music Industry!, Bon Iver, Canadian content, Cory Branan, indie rock, Jon Snodgrass, Laura Stevenson and the Cans, punk rock, Small Brown Bike, the Lawrence Arms, the Lazy MKs, year in review

At various points in 2009 each of these records have been my absolute favourite of the entire year. Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear be damned, these bands have written truly intimate and affecting songs, not dissonant and disaffected studies in sound. These songs have heart and soul and emotion and enlightenment woven into their very fabric. They are indeed my favourite, if not the best, albums of 2009.

05. Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg
This site has taken a big hit in the last five weeks and it has everything to do with this record. I’ve essentially listened to nothing in all of December except for this album. They sound like a pop rock/hardcore punk hybrid band with a bit of Gatsby’s American Dream-style quirk in their songwriting. There is a huge amount of passion at play here, even if their subject matter runs pretty frequently towards being in band and the experiences and emotions that come along with it. I just can’t get over how good this record is. It’s a shame it took me four months to actually listen to the damn thing.

04. Why? - Eskimo Snow
Yoni Wolf’s songs keep getting more and more interesting. He’s focused like a laser beam on making miserable sound as lovely as possible. The complexity of both the sentiment and the mixed meter arrangement of a track like “Berkeley By Hearseback” is not come upon easily. The imagery of “Against Me” is not something you hear or read every day. An acoustic guitar rarely sounds as full when sparingly plucked as it does on the album’s title track. Misery has rarely sounded so beautiful.

03. the Deep Dark Woods - Winter Hours
This band is so good it’s hard to believe they come from this tiny, insular province. Their songs are a slow walk down a back country road, an afternoon spent staring at the sky as the clouds morph into shapes that evoke the old west, a sad story told around a campfire late at night. These are songs sung by drifters on lonely back roads as they lament how everything’s gone wrong while thumbing for a ride. These are songs plucked on a beat-up acoustic guitar on a back porch as faint solace after a lover/dog has left you. These are ramblin’ men playing ramblin’ tunes of lives lived hard and fast and the consequences that follow. Plus the song found below sounds like Neil Young performing a song written by Radiohead. Fun!

02. Strike Anywhere - Iron Front
Strike Anywhere realized long ago that you can’t start a revolution without a hook and they’ve come out swinging harder than ever with this record. In addition to being the most immediately-catchy album I heard all year it’s also the most hopeful. Sure, the songs alternate between despondent reality-checks and desperate pleas for change but the tone and tenor of the album as a whole is at least mostly uplifting; the melodies are too buoyant, too catchy, too (dare I say it?) pretty for it to be anything else. They can keep promising they’ll return to a more hardcore sound but this sure as hell isn’t Black Flag or Bad Brains or the Germs. This is pop music through an activist, hardcore filter. But damn it, it’s good.

01. the Wheat Pool - Hauntario
I am quite confident I didn’t hear another album all year that boasts songwriting as fully-realized as Hauntario. Their lyrics go beyond vivid, reaching an incredibly admirable level of descriptive and evocative wordsmithery. The overarching themes of the album are not heavy-handed, the emotional elements are honest instead of exploitative, and the undercurrent of absolute misery on some (re: most) of these tracks seems absolutely genuine. They even manage to reprise an upbeat song as a morose closing number without making it seem like a cloying re-tread. In every way this is Canadian music and storytelling at its finest.

Polar Bear Club: Webstore and iTunes
Why?: Webstore and iTunes
the Deep Dark Woods: Webstore and iTunes
Strike Anywhere: Label webstore, band webstore, and iTunes.
the Wheat Pool: Webstore and iTunes.

Pat entries alt country, best ofs, Canadian content, Canadiana, country, indie rap, Polar Bear Club, punk rock, roots, Strike Anywhere, the Deep Dark Woods, the Wheat Pool, Why?, year in review

There was a number of artists that broke new ground this year after having come a long way already. Here are two singer/songwriters that really hit their stride with their latest albums, a French pop band that people finally started paying attention to after four albums, a punk rocker that underwent a total rebirth, and a Toronto band that actually became a band.

Away we go!

10. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
They’re so French! Have you seen their Take Away Shows episode? Its a brilliant, joyfully ecstatic set that perfectly encapsulates Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The band shows up out of nowhere in front of the frigging Eiffel Tower after achieving fame around the world (several albums into their career) and at first people don’t even seem to believe it’s them. Much like their extremely slow and steady rise to prominence in the States, South America, and elsewhere a crowd starts to grow around them as the genius of their songs starts to become apparent. This band just continues to get better and better and its almost getting ridiculous. Read more here.

09. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood be damned, this is Neko Case’s best album yet. That is a simple fact. From the first track (found below) Case and her collection of players meld the alt-country she’s best known for with a rock edge, pop hooks, and simply stunning songwriting. She’s completely unfettered here, the incredible singles interspersed with a pair of covers perfectly suited to her, all of it giving way to a final track comprised of nothing but a half hour of frog noises. What more could you ask for? Read more about Neko here.

08. Ohbijou - Beacons
This is an album of love songs for the sake of love songs. Songs filled with deliberate, frequently orchestral arrangements that swirl and sway through the speakers and surround the listener. Casey Mecija’s vocal melodies constantly yearn for weightier gravitas and a bigger emotional response, the warmth of her tone (as well as warmth of the very organic production) helping to counter the chill that pops up in the lyrics due to constant references to winter, snow, and ice. This band should be on soundtracks. Soundtracks to movies about knitting.

07. Chris Wollard and the Ship-Thieves - self-titled
This album is in a bit of a grey area. Some might argue it shouldn’t because a pre-release run of 500 or so copies was pressed on vinyl for a big festival in the states run by his label. But it was technically released in 2009, so I’m including it (incidentally the mp3 below is a vinyl rip of that pre-release version). Regardless, this record is far from what I would’ve expected from the other half of the Hot Water Music songwriting duo. At a time when every punk in North America is picking up an acoustic guitar for some country/folk-inspired solo performances Wollard embraces his inner 90’s alt-rock nerd and makes a nuanced and varied album that has a little bit of everything (including a couple acoustic-based tracks). This is pop rock for grown-ups, done extremely well.

06. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
One might wonder what the need is for Dan Auerbach, half of the essentially-flawless Black Keys, to record a solo album. Why bother when you already contribute the majority of the writing in a two-man group? Well, regardless of motivation Auerbach made the right decision. He expands the bluesy stomp of the Keys to include a few more instruments and a modicum of funk, throws in a couple contemplative acoustic tracks, and then spends the rest of the album doing what he does best. This isn’t a sea change from the Black Keys sound but when your songs are as perfect as Auerbach’s they really don’t need to be. Just marvellous.

Neko Case: Webstore and iTunes.
Phoenix: Webstore and iTunes.
Ohbijou: Doesn’t actually seem to have a place on the web you can buy their physical albums, but MapleMusic still has copies of their split LP with the Acorn available if you dig around. Go digital with iTunes and Zunior.
Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves: No Idea Records Webstore and iTunes.
Dan Auerbach: Webstore and iTunes.

Pat entries alt-rock, best ofs, blues rock, Canadian content, Chris Wollard, Dan Auerbach, indie, Neko Case, Ohbijou, orchestral, Phoenix, pop rock, rock, year in review

It was a long, long year of self-reflection. This portion of the best-of rundown has changed a lot even right up to the last minute. I had to re-jig a lot of stuff in the bottom top 10 to get the line-up just right. You’ll see a few rockers in this section that have been consistent for years and years and a couple that have gone in the literal opposite direction in 2009. But all remain very, very tasty.

Here we go, jerks!

15. O Pioneers!!! - Neon Creeps
If you haven’t figured it out by now I love this band. Neon Creeps finds Eric simultaneously getting more desperate and harrowed lyrically while taking a bit of the edge of what is normally his extremely acerbic guitar tone. His playing sounds more precise, less hack-and-slash, and while it shouldn’t make that big a difference the addition of bass to the mix really helps flesh out the arrangements and support Eric in the quieter bits. Lyrically it might be kind of a bummer, but these songs are real; the desperation and depression is genuine. This is the sound of a man working through everyday frustrations with dramatic results. Read more here.

14. the Bronx - Mariachi el Bronx
As I previously stated, I’m not the least bit qualified to critique mariachi music. I have zero qualifications. But to paraphrase some old dude, I may not know mariachi but I know what I like and I like this album. It has a relaxed rhythm, shamelessly full arrangements, some great singing, and huge hooks. That Prince cover was a perfect teaser and the album delivered on all of its promise and then some.

13. Chad Price - Smile Sweet Face
This is the opposite of ground-breaking but Smile Sweet Face is both impossibly heartbreaking and improbably beautiful. There’s nothing revolutionary about a sad white dude and his acoustic guitar but the simple fact that Price’s world-weary voice can carry such incredible melodies and devastating sentiments is worth celebrating. “This War” perfectly captures the crushing weight of infidelity and “Peachy Tuscadero” sounds like the opposite of what it is: a mash note to a misfit puppy. This album has everything.

12. Propagandhi - Supporting Cast(e)
Fat Wreck Chords who? The long-running Winnipeg anarcho-punks say goodbye to their long-time associations and deliver what is unequivocally their best album ever, How To Clean Everything be damned. A second guitarist has them sounding huge (the compression helps the loudness as well, of course) and they’re still highly aggressive, but Cast(e) is also their most melodically rich and complex work yet. Aside from the horrifying death knell that starts “Human(e) Meat (the Flensing of Sandor Katz)” they don’t strike a single wrong note.

11. the Thermals - Now We Can See
Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster still writes songs that consist of little more than four chords and a heartbeat, but they’re sounding more at home than ever on Now We Can See. Down-playing the aggression that marked The Body, The Blood, The Machine, these songs are 100% anthemic and still rather thought-provoking. I maintain my assertion that “When I Died” is the best pop song you didn’t hear on the radio in 2009. Read more here.

O Pioneers!!!: All music physical, some files digital.
Mariachi el Bronx: Get the album (and/or Mariachi el Bronx’s exclusive cologne) from their webstore. Here’s the iTunes.
Chad Price: Smile Sweet Face and a bevy of other Price-related albums can be foundin the Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective webstore. The album is on iTunes, but you’re better off getting it from Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective’s own digital store. It’s cheaper.
Propagandhi: CD/LP/download is available through the G7 Welcoming Committee site, which I didn’t even realize still existd. Surprisingly, they’re also on iTunes. A lot.
the Thermals: Physical purchases can be made through Kill Rock Stars’ website. Old releases are on Sub Pop. iTunes is a thing too.

Pat entries acoustic, best ofs, Canadian content, Chad Price, mariachi, Mariachi el Bronx, O Pioneers!!!, pop punk, pop rock, Propagandhi, punk rock, roots, the Thermals, year in review

Ooooh, boy. Year-end list. Best albums of 2009. Here we go.

I’m going to start with the ones that didn’t quite make it, the albums that were excellent but not the very top of the heap. Some Canadian groups shone brightly, groups like The Rest, Bruce Peninsula, and Passenger Action are getting off to amazing starts. Bob Mould continued to excel in his new solo career, his prolificness exceeded only by the quality of the songs. Austin Lucas continued to shine with the help of his friends and family and Tegan and Sara’s familial connection continued to result in great pop songs. Attack In Black, Vivian Girls, Manchester Orchestra, Two Hours Traffic, and Dead To Me put out great second albums. Thursday, Lucero (and Ben Nichols), Pete Yorn (with Scarlett Johansson), and William Elliott Whitmore all wrote compelling new chapters in their songbooks.

But I’m going with a top 20 this year for the absolute cream of the crop. Let’s begin.

20. Converge - Axe to Fall
This album is so good it makes me wish I listened to heavy music more often. It’s not their albums specifically, I just only listen to a few heavy bands with any regularity. I’ve always liked Converge but I tend to listen to them much less than most other heavy bands. Which is odd, because their work has been transcendental; they’ve changed hardcore at its very roots and literally everything they’ve done is as the very least highly interesting. This album is very, very good. It would be ranked higher if I felt compelled to listen to it more but for some inexplicable reason I just don’t. Even though it’s amazing.

19. the Danks - Are You Afraid Of The Danks?
Spiritual cousins to fellow PEI rockers Two Hours Traffic, the Danks have a slightly more energetic, driving sound that embraces the hooks-only aesthetic of bands like the Ramones. Throw together some Super Friendz, Thrush Hermit, Stone Roses, and Buzzcocks and you’ll be tapping your foot until you start to lose feeling (or until the half hour is up). Read more here and celebrate the East Coast resurgence.

18. We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
Perhaps their eyes are bigger than their stomachs, but We Were Promised Jetpacks have come forth with a stirring debut packed tight with tension and youthful energy. Compressed to within an inch of their lives, each song is big, loud, and brash and full of life. Not every moment is flawless, not every note resonates, but everything comes together in an inspiring package. Commenters liken it to a Scottish version of Bloc Party covering Thursday’s Full Collapse. Read more here and decide for yourself.

17. Bomb The Music Industry! - Scrambles
It took me forever to “get” Bomb The Music Industry! Or at least what seemed like forever, seeing as Jeff Rosenstock puts out an album or two every single year. While his arrangements continue to have a considerably chaotic tapestry this is lyrically his most mature offering to date. Yes, he’s aping Springsteen more than Black Flag but he’s also making it work. He still talks about “the scene” to an ob-scene degree (which is a little Inside Baseball for me sometimes) but no one speaks for the slowly-maturing punk rockers of this generation quite like he does.

16. Andy Shauf - Darker Days
This is easily one of the best albums released by a Regina artist in a long while. Shauf’s style is understated and gentle, his tender singing voice a perfect compliment to his acoustic guitar and banjo arrangements. Some are hushed and atmospheric, some are peppered with sprightly electric guitar runs, and all are imbued with the quiet intensity and intimacy of bedroom recordings. Even better for Shauf and the world at large, the album has been released on a wide scale by P Is For Panda, an imprint of the wonderful Hopeless Records. And he has a new EP out! Huzzah!

Andy Shauf: Website and iTunes
Bomb The Music Industry!: Donation-based label, vinyl purchasing, iTunes
We Were Promised Jetpacks: Fat Cat Records store, iTunes
the Danks: MapleMusic, iTunes
Converge: Buy music, iTunes

Pat entries acoustic, Andy Shauf, best ofs, Bomb The Music Industry!, Canadian content, Converge, pop rock, post-punk, punk rock, rock, the Danks, We Were Promised Jetpacks, year in review

It’s that time of the year again.

Part of me wants to sight and stop right now. Every year nerds like me put together “best of” lists at the end of a year and pretend like anyone gives a damn. I’ve been vacillating on whether or not it’s really worth the time this year and I think I’m doing it more out of tradition than anything. There’s just so much I still haven’t listened to enough yet I know it likely isn’t entirely representative. Maybe I’ll put out an amendment list at the end of January or February if anything changes, but I’ll let you know.

Anyway, to start things off I’m putting forward a couple of mix tapes’ worth of my favourite songs of 2009.

The first disc is entitled “The Worst CD of 2009.” That is a representative title. It is entirely influenced by the last four months of my life, in which I’ve been attempting to cope with the fact that I got dumped after seven years. I listened to a lot of sad songs after that happened and at some point I started to notice there was a lot of them from this year. After a couple more months I started noticing that a lot of them resonated very strongly with me, almost like they were written about my situation. Hell, one song even talks about a relationship that ends after seven years. What you’ll get in this download is a revised tracklisting that deviates pretty heavily from the original line-up I first put together. I gave that mix to a couple of people and they said it was depressing and almost made them want to kill themselves. So I revised it a bit, put a few upbeat songs at the beginning instead of starting off with the most depressing song on there and that seemed to take the edge off a bit. I think it takes some of the power away, but its probably for the best. I don’t want anyone to drive into an overpass while listening to it.

There’s also a rising action in the last three songs that helps to bring the listener out of the darkness gradually; the Why? track represents a growing sense of self, the Matheson cut is one of the most tender and genuine love songs ever, and O Pioneers!!! close out with a track (originally written about here) that really helped me remember that there are things out there besides misery and self-pity.

Get it here: the Worst CD of 2009
1. the Lawrence Arms - the Slowest Drink In The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In the Greatest City
2. Hayden - Let’s Break Up
3. Cory Branan - the Corner
4. Chuck Ragan - Rotterdam
5. the City Streets - Jane Gallagher
6. Jill Barber - Old Flame
7. the Wheat Pool - Nervous Bird
8. Austin Lucas - Go West
9. Mike Hale - Lives Like Mine
10. Chad Price - This War
11. the Wheat Pool - Selfish Gun
12. Drag the River - Jeff Black Song
13. Dojo Workhorse - Laval Street
14. Why? - Eskimo Snow
15. Jesse Matheson - We Don’t Have To Go Home
16. O Pioneers!!! - Put On A RRRRecord

The second is much more upbeat: “the Opposite of the Worst CD Of 2009.” It has a lot of rock and roll and some punk nonsense on it and isn’t thematically built in any way. Its just a catchy effing mix.

Download it here: the Opposite Of The Worst CD of 2009
1. Library Voices - the Book of Love (Magnetic Fields cover)
2. Neko Case - This Tornado Loves You
3. Girls - Lust For Life
4. Two Hours Traffic - Painted Halo
5. Phoenix - 1901
6. the Danks - 374
7. the Dudes - Mr. Someone Else
8. Propagandhi - Dear Coach’s Corner
9. Strike Anywhere - Omega Footprint
10. Dan Auerbach - Mean Monsoon
11. Laura Stevenson & the Cans - It Ceases To Be “Whining” If You’re Still “Shitting Blood” (Bomb The Music Industry! cover)
12. Attack In Black - I’m A Rock
13. Metric - Gimme Sympathy
14. Hawks and Doves - I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)
15. the Wheat Pool - Italy
16. Deep Dark Woods - All The Money I Had Is Gone
17. Cory Branan - Walk Around
18. Said The Whale - Out On The Shield
19. the Rest - Walk On Water (Auspicious Beginnings)
20. the Bronx - Quinceniera
21. Flight of the Conchords - Carol Browne
22. Bob Mould - Life and Times
23. Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg

Both come with a document that contains a track listing, album and label information, and links for purchasing. Use them!

And yeah. I’ll be back sooner or later with a more thorough run-down of which LPs are worth your time in 2009.

Pat entries best ofs, mix tapes, year in review

Because I’m not as smart as Pitchfork this is neither a round number, nor are they ordered sequentially because I love them all. Nonetheless, here are my top 57 songs of 2008. I hope you’ve enjoyed them all as much as I have and if not, get on it.

Able Baker Fox – Stuttering // When the founding members of Able Baker Fox collaborated on an EP with their previous bands, they set down a terrific cover of the timeless Queen/Bowie track “Under Pressure.” This, the standout track from their debut record, has an equally classic rock feel from the moment that opening riff hits, a brawny rocker that features the same trade-off vocals.

Alkaline Trio – I Found Away + Do You Wanna Know? // About four albums ago, Rolling Stone magazine called Alkaline Trio’s music “pop punk for grown ups.” Interestingly, since then their albums have gotten progressively more focused on a teenage demographic, amping up the dark/Goth leanings of certain members and leaving the maturation behind. There are exceptions, of course; “I Found Away” may still have those dark tones, but it’s a speedy, energetic rocker with some of the album’s best hooks. Meanwhile, the lone member that still writes songs for/about grown-up stuff (ie getting old, mature relationships, etc) contributes his best song ever.

Austin Lucas – Go West // I’m beginning to think it’s no coincidence that there are only a few letters different between “Austin” and “astounding.” Every time this guy puts out a record there are at least a few songs that completely leave me aghast (in a good way). The twang in his voice might be off-putting to some, but the sheer amazement of what this guy can do in a single take with just a guitar and his vocal chords leaves me breathless.

Basia Bulat – I Was A Daughter // A Canadian songstress gets her big break…from a European label. I love the record but it makes little to no impact in Canada. This one is good for the handclaps alone, not to mention the incredible rush that comes after the bridge.

Be Your Own Pet – Zombie Graveyard Party // They broke up this year, which sucked because their records are really rocking and bizarre and random and wonderful. I never really understood the “they’re too arty” criticisms because they always came off to me like they were just kids goofing around and having a good time. There’s no better evidence than a song that is literally about partying in a graveyard after becoming a zombie.

Black Mountain – Tyrants + Lucy Brown // Jagjaguwar did a smart thing by making “Tyrants” the free mp3 given away on their site as a teaser for In The Future. Anyone who isn’t blown away by the scope and execution of this song must be daft. It’s the very essence of Black Mountain jammed into eight minutes of intensity. Perhaps sensing the overwhelming Seriousness of their wildly acclaimed full-length, the band followed it up with some fun, looser tracks via a contribution to Sub Pop’s 20th Anniversary Single Series. The a-side, “Lucy Brown,” is basically the sound of the band doing enough drugs that they actually think it’s 1975. A steady riff, keyboard flourishes, and lyrics about being bummed when your mom confiscates your drug stash.

Bloc Party – Flux // What the new Bloc Party LP should have sounded like, this song mercifully retains what made the first album so amazing while tastefully mixing in small amounts of the stuff that have made the quality of their subsequent albums so diminished. That means fake drums to placate the one with the electronic fetish, reverby guitar parts to placate whichever one has the U2 boner, and Kele Okereke’s cloying anxiety about coupling. Thankfully, it all works.

Bon Iver – Skinny Love // While I don’t get the hype surrounding this album and I certainly don’t think it’s the best of the year (Who gives a shit if the guy recorded it in a cabin? Tons of bands do that. This just sounds like Iron & Wine to me, but with less finger picking and more annoying falsetto), there are still a couple of good to great songs. I like this one because he kind of sounds like Tunde Adebimpe at some points.

Chuck Ragan & Nagel – No Rubber Tired Vehicles Beyond This Point // My review of this track says all I need to say. Ragan might be the best songwriter to come out of punk rock in decades.

City & Colour – Waiting… // I learned to love this song in a hockey rink in Estevan, Saskatchewan while reporting on a concert sponsored by Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile corporation that was awarded to the town because they had the highest per capita rate of people who logged on to a website and promised Sir Richard that they would reduce their carbon footprint. The song is almost as good as the story.

Constantines (& Feist) – Credit River + Island In The Stream // I was pretty disappointed by the new Cons album, “Credit River” being about the only up-tempo rock track that really hit home. I can totally relate to it also. Their low-key cover of a schmaltzy Bee Gees tune made famous by two of country’s oddest legends came out brooding and wonderful, due in no small part to Feist’s breathy, understated performance.

Dead To Me – Little Brother // Punks don’t like war, but they do like the Clash.

Death Cab For Cutie – Long Division // Thankfully one of indie rock’s best guitar bands re-introduced themselves to guitars and rock. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t make myself care. This is the standout of the latest album as far as I’m concerned because it sounds like it could be on the Photo Album or We Have The Facts and We’re Voting Yes.

The Decemberists – Raincoat Song // While the Decemberists have proven they can pretty much do anything they want and make it sound: a) good, and b) like the Decemberists, I still enjoy them most when they simplify. Like my favourite Colin Meloy songs (“Angels and Angles,” “Red Right Ankle”), this track is broken down to Colin Meloy’s voice, a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment, and their astoundingly gorgeous melodies.

Dillinger Four – Gainseville // Grown-ups who actually do make pop-punk for grown-ups do the impossible and write a happy song. For the first time ever.

Drag the River – Tobacco Fields + Lizzy // One of the saddest moments of the year for me was hearing Drag the River was breaking up again. With three or four releases planned for 2009, however, it appears to be about as effective as every other break-up they’ve gone through. Still, hearing some of the incredible back-porch country they produced on You Can’t Live This Way makes even the slightest slow-down in their output impossible to bear.

Final Fantasy – the Butcher // I wish both of the EP’s Owen Pallett put out this year were as good as this song is. More instruments, his best vocals to date, and probably his best melody make for the most gripping song he’s ever constructed. I’m hoping for more like this on his up-coming full-length.

Frightened Rabbit – the Modern Leper + Poke // A really terrific album yields two albums that each have an element of why I love music. “The Modern Leper” features an inspired lyric with a twisted romantic edge, while “Poke” floats along on just a few plucked guitar notes and the kind of ethereal vocal melody that come along just once in a blue moon.

Fucked Up – Son The Father // Before embarking on a musical journey for the ages, the hardcore brutes open their latest album with its most blistering song. Setting the lyrical agenda for an album that raises all the questions about the origins of life you’ve ever had (and some you never thought of), it also establishes the musical game plan for the record by opening with a flute and featuring excellent guest vocals.

The Gaslight Anthem – Great Expectations + Miles Davis & the Cool // Punks with an overwhelming Springsteen boner write some incredible, mature pop rock songs soaked in a broth of Drugstore Cowboy attitude, vocal reverb, Marlboros, and regret.

The Hold Steady – Constructive Summer // Propulsive rock and roll spiked with a Jerry Lee Lewis piano part, this song comes out of the gate running. It builds and builds through a quiet bridge, exploding into the last verse as songwriter Craig Finn romanticizes a past filled with constant drinking, rocking, and rebellion.

Jaguar Love – Highways of Gold // While the idea of members of the Blood Brothers and Pretty Girls Make Graves combining to form a new band sounds pretty incredible, it actually proved kind of hard to listen to over the span of an entire album. You can’t beat the first track though: a remarkable combination of jangly guitars and lightly restrained vocals from a man generously referred to as a wailing banshee that isn’t nearly as cloying as some people found the Bloods.

Kanye West – Love Lockdown // While 808’s and Heartbreaks is very upsetting to me as a huge Kanye West fan, nobody can front on this song. As much as I enjoy his previous work, Auto-Tune still drives me fucking crazy.

Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground – Hey Momma // A song so effing good it overshadows the rest of the album it opens. Takes frequent left turns into folk, dub, rock, and psychedelia and back in just a few short minutes.

Kevin Seconds – Ione // The former 7 Seconds frontman hasn’t gone down the country-fried route of a lot the now-solo former punkers have, and thank goodness. His songs may still be primarily acoustically structured, but they usually have bounce and sass deeply ingrained.

LaGrecia – According To My Notes // There’s at least five songs on the LaGrecia album that could qualify for this list, but this is the one I decided to go with. It’s more in line with Jason Shevchuk’s other works, all speedy guitars and gruff vocals. But it also adds a daunting amount of melody and the best singing of his entire damn career.

Lemuria – Bee’s Spit // This song technically shouldn’t qualify because it was originally released last year and then compiled on a b-sides/leftovers album in 2008. However, it’s so damn good I couldn’t help myself. While it may not carve out drastically new ground musically, the lyrics are simultaneously adorable (“Sweeter than the frosting on the cake/sweeter than bee’s spit for Christ’s sake”) and cathartic (the theme: putting your head down and powering through tragedy). The bands singers also turn in terrific performances, combining for a dynamic harmony in the chorus that should not go unnoticed.

The Loved Ones – I Swear // Dave Hause’s album-closing torch ballad may not be the defining point of the band’s new sound, but it’s the most genuine moment on an album chock full of them. The almost-playful bounce of the bassline in the verses and the swell of emotion in the chorus are captivating as anything released in rock and roll this year.

The Lucksmiths – California In Popular Song // I love it when a song turns your expectations on their head. Having never even heard of this Australian group, I was blown away by their latest. When not writing songs about lost mittens or getting drunk, the Lucksmiths are constructing one of the most musically bright but lyrically depressing songs I’ve heard in years. In a nutshell: everything sucks and pop songs won’t make it better.

Malcolm Bauld – Every Time I Read The Words // One of the best Canadian songwriters working today turns in a dark, depressing lamentation on the classic muse of lost love. I adore songs with sad trumpets.

Me First & the Gimme Gimmes – I’m Gonna Write A Song // Cover bands don’t usually make these kinds of lists, but this song is great. Amping up the original by about a million times in every way possible, they also re-write it extensively, turning fluffy, insipid feel-goodery into as scathing an indictment of the Bush White House’s oil and foreign policies as we’ve seen in the last eight years. Sort of.

The Measure [SA] – Drunk By Noon // A band that showed an awful lot of promise at the beginning of their career has tightened up their playing and the hooks are coming effortlessly, especially on their latest EP, Songs About People…and Fruit and Shit. Besides, everybody likes songs about getting drunk, right?

Mike Hale – Before You Were Gone // His solo debut is so goddamned depressing it honestly left me breathless and this is the centerpiece. Like the Mountain Goats “Woke Up New,” the simple and immaculately produced acoustic weeper lays bare the feelings of a relationship that has reached an inevitable but devastating end.

The Mountain Goats – Marduk T-Shirt Men’s Room Incident // While I absolutely adore the fantastic metaphor of Heretic Pride’s “Autoclave,” no song on John Darnielle’s latest is quite as triumphant as this. The guitar, recorded so sparsely its barely there, conveys the emptiness of the act and emotions of the song’s characters

Murder By Death – ’52 Ford // One of my favourite bands tightens up their songs and decide they aren’t afraid to make every second track an old-school murder ballad. On this one the protagonist grows a conscience at the last second, only to find the shoe on the other foot. The band members are big movie buffs, and there’s definitely a cinematic quality to the storyline of this song.

O Pioneers!!! – Summers In Necro Norway With Spider Ryan // The Texan twosome continue their brutal assault on their own instruments and vocal chords with this inspirational 7” track. When frontman Eric Solomon furiously shouts, “Don’t be afraid to say this is who I’m gonna be,” over some of the biggest, gnarliest-sounding guitar I’ve ever heard I get chills down my spine.

Okkervil River – Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed On The Roof Of The Chelsea Hotel, 1979 // It may get off to a slower start, but it’s classic Okkervil River; subject matter that has context far beyond the lyrics’ first blush, dense, complex melodic touches, and a passionate performance. Another highlight from a career that has seen peak after peak after peak with no evidence they plan to slow down.

Old Man Luedecke – Thrown By The Bull // The occasionally accidentally bi-coastal banjo-slingin’ troubadour expertly weaves a sparse hard luck tale that anyone can relate to, rodeo experience or not.

Papermoons – Follow The Sun // One of my favourite discoveries of the last two years, this two-piece weaves such beautiful and delicate compositions it’s almost hard to comprehend. A treatise on how to properly live your life from two fellows barely into adulthood, it also kicks off one of the most rewarding listens of the year.

Shad K – I Heard You Had A Voice Like An Angel/Psalm 137 // The goofy track might hook the average listener, but this is the real meat of the best Canadian rap album of the year. This cautionary tale for black musicians is given incredible power by a beautifully sampled guitar track and some wonderfully sparse minor key piano.

The Steinways – Main Street, Flushing USA // A 7” with six new songs turned out to be my favourite Steinways release of the year, even though they put out a second full-length album as well. You could say every Steinways song is good because every Steinways song sounds exactly the same, but that’s a little bit disingenuous; this one is has more hooks.

The Stills – Everything I Build // It may be a touch 80’s, but there’s something about this song that gets me right in my moon shoes. Everything he builds may be breaking down, but this song is one big exception.

Sweatshop Union – High Grade // I’d like to say the new Sweatshop album is a return to form, but if you have to delete more than a dozen tracks of filler or mis-steps to trim its running time to 13 palatable ones that’s probably not the case. There are, however, still a bakers dozen of great pieces of music, and this one rides high on an unabashed B.B. King sample and some great flows.

Sylvie – Dark Ages // Regina has some bands that are genuine contenders on the international music scene and few seem to be rising to the occasion like Sylvie. With production from the legendary J. Robbins and more substantial contributions from other band members fleshing out their sound, Trees and Shade Are Our Only Fences could take them a long way.

Tokyo Police Club – Listen To The Math // Compared to their first two EPs, the Tokyo Police Club album was a lot more low key than I would’ve expected. This song sticks out for it’s measured pace and drum beat, the precious vocal, and the imagery in the lyrics. I also love songs that harmonize below the melody.

Trever Keith – Sick of Me // The man might be the most miserable bastard in the free world, but the Face to Face frontman sure knows how to put that into a lovely piece of music. Like his band’s under-rated 1999 album Ignorance Is Bliss, he eschews punk rock for a more textured mope-rock sound that complements his tenor nicely.

TV On The Radio – Dancing Choose // There are so very many reasons to love TV On The Radio, especially when they start writing fuzzed out pop songs that you can actually dance to for a change.

Two Hours Traffic – Stuck For The Summer // Like albums by Phoenix and the Dudes a couple of years ago, Two Hours Traffic play unashamed, unshitty pop rock. Good pop rock, not Weezer pop rock. The phrasing of the lead singer parallels the vocalist in Phoenix, which is weird because one of them is Canadian and the other is French. Like all good pop rock, this song is about cars, summer, and feeling good.

Why? – the Hollows + These Few Presidents // Pitchfork may have wet themselves over “Fatalist Palmistry,” but these two tracks make up the real heart of the album. One reflects the intensely dark moments Yoni Wolf occasionally falls into while the other provides a moment of ambiguity. It’s open to interpretation whether the beautiful, lilting keys that back the track and the line, “Yours is a funeral I’d fly to from anywhere,” are a touching tribute to a friend or lover or whether they’re a mean-spirited dig at someone Wolf just doesn’t like that much. Either way, this is one of the greatest twisted-pop records

Wolf Parade – California Dreaming // While you can count me in the camp of those who think the new Wolf Parade album was a bit inferior to their previous one, as far as I’m concerned the group will never write a song better than this one. It’s unhurried pace and heavy keyboard strokes might be overly reminiscent of Sunset Rubdown, but the way the song crests and falls, rising to a powerful and cathartic finish speaks to the cohesiveness and tenacity of the band as a whole.

Stay tuned; between now and the new year (and probably into the new year as well) we should have more “Best of 2008″ content for your perusal. Keep it classy, interwebs.

Pat entries Best of, Canadian content, compilation, various artists, year in review

 

Hey there! You may not remember me, but I used to write some articles. Then I got a new job and got super busy and even though I tried and tried I couldn’t seem to finish anything for this awesome site. But then finally I did! And here it is, all the better because since we’re two and a half months into the new year, you’ve probably completely forgotten about last year’s music. So if you have, check out these albums and songs, because they were my favorites from 2007, and you might like them too! 
Albums

10. Wintersleep – Welcome to the Night Sky
Great Canadian rock band whose songs feature fuzzy guitar mixing with solid drumming and interesting-sounding lead vocals to create both heavy rock arrangements and catchy pop sing-alongs. Despite the presence of one instrumental track that severely interrupts the flow of the album this record is solid from start to finish.

9. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
After a couple of albums worth of experimentation they’re back to doing what they do best. Jeff Tweedy maximizes his gift for harmony and pop-rock arrangements and delivers surprisingly straightforward and direct lyrics that create a very strong emotional connection. Tweedy and guitarist Nels Cline’s dueling guitar fuzz freak outs on “Hate it Here” are a highlight. Those looking for further experimentation and musical expansion may have written this record off because of its simplicity, but they’re missing out on a great album.

8. Joe Henry - Civilians
Joe writes old-fashioned folk/blues songs, kind of like Tom Waits, but with a voice most people could actually enjoy over the length of a full album. His songs are mostly downers, with the odd one showing some reluctant hope. Relationships, God and the devil, turmoil and war; all classic themes and he addresses them wonderfully. Very moving.

7. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
The Stage Names reinforces the fact that Will Scheff is one hell of a songwriter. The album is only nine songs long, but each is a masterful example of his trademark desolation and depression, and as always he wears his emotions on his vocal chords, as his piercing howl shreds right through your soul. On this record the band seems to be trying to rock the misery out of the songs and their rock is far more forceful and dynamic than it has ever been. The Stage Names is every bit as powerful as it is sad, creating some of the most affecting songs of the year.

6. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Possibly the next band to achieve the title ‘Best Band in the World,’ Arcade Fire followed up one of the great indie rock records ever (2005’s Funeral) with another fierce effort. Neon Bible contains themes, instrumentation and sounds far bigger than anything most bands could conceive of, let alone put to tape.

5. Iron & Wine – The Shepherds Dog
Iron & Wine’s discography is one that has shown growth with each new record, and on The Shepherds Dog their sound has finally fully blossomed. Sam Beam’s acoustic guitar and hushed singing has been layered with all sorts of instrumentation, a lot of which is inspired by world music. It works wonderfully. And for the record, I love the vocal effects on “Carousel;” they’re hauntingly beautiful.

4. Feist - the Reminder
Sometimes the ridiculous overexposure musicians get is deserved. In the case of Leslie Feist, it isn’t half as ridiculous as it should be. The Reminder is a pop revelation that shifts in and out of styles effortlessly and keeps you on your toes. Several songs were recorded as live takes and it makes the songs sound organic and natural, like they’re piped through the musicians straight from a higher power.

3. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
2007 saw Of Montreal going in a new direction thematically and lyrically as Kevin Barnes focused his songwriting on autobiographical tales of heartbreak, isolation, desolation and despair as his relationship and mental stability broke down. Fortunately they retained their sunny, synth-y dance-pop musicianship which creates an odd yet appealing combination of positive and negative elements. The 12-minute centerpiece “The Past is a Grotesque Animal,” with its driving, repetitive disco beat and intense lyrics is a definite highlight, and the rest of the tracks are more than catchy enough to keep you coming back.

2. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
The addition of Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr seemed to reinvigorate Modest Mouse, as they released their best album in years in 2007. It comes in long at fourteen tracks and close to an hour run time but it never gets boring and none of the songs are throwaways. It captures the essence of the band, that ability to play loud or soft, angry or melancholy or just plain beautiful music. It has danceable rock songs a la 2004’s “Float On”, long-form burners like they used to make, and a psycho freak out now and then just to keep you on your toes.

1. the National - Boxer
Flat out the best record of the year, by a long shot. Every second is filled with crisp, clean instrumentation and gorgeous baritone vocals that drive deep into your soul and you can’t help but connect to the sad, paranoid loneliness and isolation that pours out of the speakers. The fact that all of these dark themes ultimately combine in a record that restores your faith in music and makes you press repeat again and again is really the best argument for how brilliant it really is.

Songs

“Killing the Blues” – Robert Plant & Allison Krauss: Killer bluegrass from out of left field.

“The Sons of Cain” – Ted Leo: Another great frenetic rock song from a brilliant sweaty bastard

“A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger” – Of Montreal: So much fun, musically, so depressing lyrically. It’s crazy!

“I Feel It All” – Feist: My favourite off the new album, it’s dance-able without being too poppy or sounding too insincere

“Innocent Bones” – Iron & Wine: I love it when Sam swears. Then goes “oooooooooo” in a falsetto

“Dead Letter & the Infinite Yes” – Wintersleep: Such a fucking good song! Best song about disassociation and depression that didn’t make you want to kill yourself ever! Does that make sense? Just listen to it.

“Turn On Me” – The Shins: The amped-up instrumentation and cleaner production made this record a top ten contender, and this is the highlight track.

“Slow Show” – The National: Mid-tempo burner about building up an experience until the pressure caves in your head. Not exactly.

“Spitting Venom” – Modest Mouse: Old school MM, nine minutes long and it’s slow, fast, angry and sad.

“Unless It’s Kicks” – Okkervil River: Great rock song about how much awesomer life is with rock songs

“Hate It Here” – Wilco: Song about how much it sucks when they leave, lots of great soloing.

“Adventures In Solitude” – New Pornographers: Most beautiful song they’ve done.

“I Am John – Loney, Dear: A little bit twee, but a lot of fun too. It’s got a xylophone!

“(Antichrist Television Blues)” – Arcade Fire: I love songs without a chorus, and sound like Bruce Springsteen only cooler.

“the Underdog” – Spoon: Great song from a band really hitting its stride this year.

“the Heinrich Maneuver” – Interpol: A kick-ass evolution of their sound; it’s as though they’re channeling Queen.

It’s all good, find it!

Jeremy entries Canadian content, year in review

They say everything old is new again. For me, 2007 is a prime example of that statement being a dead-on truth. Vinyl records made a huge comeback in sales and practical use, CD sales fell for the seventh or eighth straight year, and the recording industry continued to flail its collective arms wildly, continuing to file lawsuit after lawsuit despite clear evidence that it isn’t deterring people from stealing music in any way.
As for music itself, I thought we had a pretty good year on our hands. Every genre came to the table with some amazingly terrific albums, even though you might not find every genre represented in this best-of list. As usual, melody, passion, and ingenuity most held my attention, and I think this list speaks for itself (be warned; it’s a long one). Stay tuned for similar year-end updates from the rest of the crew, whenever they get around to doing them.

TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2007

10. Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian

Seeing Carey Mercer and his band of merry misfits live for the first time further cemented my love of their back-catalog while totally psyching me up for their latest. “Caravan Breakers, How They Prey On The Weak and the Old” was the dramatic centerpiece of one of the most intense and singularly insane pieces of live performance I’ve witnessed. Essentially two very long songs interspersed by typically brief bursts of noise, it adds a subtlety and atmosphere to a band that isn’t terribly familiar with either. 

9. the Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
This is a last minute decision that I still don’t know if I’m comfortable with. Since this sites inception I’ve been trying to finalize a post about the latest Weakerthans album, focusing on how disappointing an album this incredible is. The disappointment comes from my initial reaction that the band is out of ideas, that they’re treading water musically. But at the eleventh hour I reminded myself that expectations can’t get in the way an amazing piece of work, and the compositions on Reunion Tour are possibly the band’s most cohesive to date, while lyrically and melodically John Samson remains without peer.

8. A Wilhelm Scream - Career Suicide
After being one of the most unanimously-praised punk rock bands of 2006, A Wilhelm Scream was facing some pretty high expectations. It’s somewhat fitting that this album is named after a prominent Toronto hardcore band, because they definitely amped up the aggression on Career Suicide, throwing away just a bit of the dizzying guitar work that marked their last effort in favour of straight-up shredding. Most pleasantly though is the thematic consistency and lyrical prowess on display here, a trait too-often overlooked by bands that play fast, complicated songs.

7. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Tanis has already — and will soon, I expect — say it better than I ever could. All you need to know is that Spoon are writing hooky, gorgeous, minimalist pop songs that don’t pander to the lowest common denominator. Bare bones music the way it used to be done before “pop” was a dirty word.

6. Chuck Ragan - Feast or Famine
As I stated in my previous review, this is passionate unplugged music for punks that are getting older. Ragan celebrates the things that make his life worth living: nature, family, love, hope, and a higher power. It’s a heady cocktail that even loner athiests can get swept up in.

5. Tegan & Sara - the Con
I’m glad to see that four albums in a more widespread audience is starting to catch on to these “indie-rock” beauties. They’ve definitely picked up the “rawk” on this one, assisted by some interesting guest players (Death Cab For Cutie’s drummer and guitarist, AFI’s bassist, and the Rentals’ Matt Sharp), but the genesis of the twosome remains their lovelorn, conflicted lyrics and the quirky pop that goes along with them. No amount of bad indie-mullets can hold them back.

4. Attack In Black - Marriage
After dabbling in more generic fare on their first couple ep’s, this band has really come into their own. More Weakerthans than Propagandhi, these Canadian youngsters meld all the right bits of propulsive punk, folk, and 60’s AOR. The musical style alternates as frequently as the vocals, which are in turns reminiscent of the Get Up Kids, Smoke or Fire, and others (all four members sing). Not perfect, but the energy, enthusiasm, and promise shown on this record (and the vinyl-only follow up full-length just five months later) are truly daunting.

3. the Gaslight Anthem - Sink or Swim
As an aging punk, there seems to be a subset of music coming out that is aimed at me: the punk whose tastes have expanded well beyond the label rosters that make up the genre’s mainstays. To satisfy our tastes, the Gaslight Anthem decided to make a record that kind of sounds like Bruce Springsteen writing a love letter to Joe Strummer. Actually, that’s exactly what one song is (”I’da Called You Woody, Joe”). Some say this sounds like one song repeated over and over…but like the Latterman before them, it’s just way too fucking good a song.

2. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Yeah, they only let us know it was coming out a week in advance. Yes, the “pay what you want thing” was kind of a scam (and likely won’t really “revolutionize” the music business. Yes, they let everyone down when they eventually did find a label to put it out. But I’ll be damned if this isn’t one of the most beautiful albums released this decade, let alone this year. The fact that this comes out ten years after OK Computer should’ve changed everything is surely no accident (”Naked” is a hold-over from that era); the two are not-so-distant cousins in spirit and execution, if not precisely in sound. And the genius move of printing up a discbox with bonus material, incredible packaging, and audiophile vinyl supports a flawless record in ways few bands are smart or brave enough to follow through with. I’m admittedly a huge Radiohead fanboy, but you really only need to listen to the first track to see how good this really is.  

1. the National – Boxer
Driving through the Crow’s Nest Pass on a recent vacation to the West Coast, I found myself ensconced in a darkness that simultaneously felt dangerous and terrifying…but also comforting and familiar in a way. Dipping and curving in between and around mountains often cuts off the light of the moon, leaving only the swath of your headlights to remind you that you might not be alone in this world — even if you are completely and utterly alone on the road. The mind tends to wander when your brain is tired and there’s little visual stimuli present in your environment, and when one escapes into a record to keep the brain focused and on point, it had damn well better be a record appropriate for such a desolate situation. The National’s Boxer reflects a musical and lyrical tone of complete solitude and is the perfect accompaniment to a car ride that could turn deadly at a moment’s notice.

Like the very mountains that line the highways in the Kootenays and the Rockies of Canada, Boxer has dizzying peaks and devastating valleys, but it’s the lost and lonely middles that make up most of the disc. The vocals are delivered in a frequently laconic baritone, brought way up front in the mix, which makes it feel like it’s just you and lead singer Matt Berninger locked in a supply closet somewhere and he’s whispering his deepest secrets and fears across the floor to you.

They don’t muck about with excessive harmonies to get the beauty of the songs across. The drums lock into sharp, quick patterns that at times seem almost robotic. The music is a complementary wash of guitars, pianos, and synthesizers that occasionally blend in such a way that one element is not clearly distinguished above the others. Lyrically, Berninger expresses a strong me/us against the world feeling. “Fake Empire” recognizes the difficulties that exist outside of a couple’s relationships, finding a way to deal with another person in the midst of a world that makes no sense. “Brainy” could be interpreted as the story of a lone wolf stalking a woman in the night, trying his best to convince his prey that she “might need him more than she thinks she will.” “Slow Show” is a deeply affecting track, a man fed up with his life and looking to start over by proposing/propositioning a woman he’s “dreamed about…for 29 years…before I first saw you.” “Apartment Story” is a rare up-tempo number featuring two characters rebelling from the conventions of modern life and social obligation in favour of locking themselves in their home for several days until someone comes to find them. “Guest Room” reflects the desperation of a couple whose relationship has become cold and stale. And one of the last tracks when Berninger sings, “Ada, I can hear the sound of your laugh through the wall,” he makes it sound like the sourest, most joyless experience in life’s rich pageantry.

After “Ada”’s lonesome bottom, the piano chords that open “Gospel” let you know that everything is going to be okay. “Gospel” is a reconnection, a holiday reunion that uses subtle horns and insistent acoustic guitar chords to lift you back up to a place where you can breathe again.

I urge you to find your own lonesome, quiet, dark place to experience Boxer. Don’t even try to be the same afterwards.

Honourable Mentions

1. Minus the Bear - Planet of Ice

Another late addition, the majesty of this record is actually a little hard to grasp. Like the title suggests, Planet of Ice runs the risk of coming off as cold and detached. That’s thanks in part to the other-worldly guitar histrionics and ethereal keyboards, but mostly due to the occasionally disinterested-sounding vocals. As great as the music is, lyrically it’s too sexy and not as interesting as their previous LPs.

2. Dillinger Escape Plan – Ire Works
I raved about this album on the site and I stand by every word of that post. However, the ambient parts turned out to be a bit too ambient and you can kind of lose track of what you’re listening to at times. That’s probably about the only thing holding it back.

3. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
Yes, I’m consistently late to everything Spencer Krug does, but man this album is weird and catchy.

4. Witches With Dicks – Manual
Like Dillinger Four, Witches With Dicks proves you can do pop punk without being sugary, vacuous, and inane. Sure they probably named the band after losing a bet, but sometimes intentional provocation is a sign of better things.

5. Feist - the Reminder
Yeah, we all know it’s a great record. But if the last two or three songs didn’t put me to sleep it would be amazing.

6. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living With The Living
Trim the fat Ted. Seriously, you’re pretty much one of the best living songwriters. Just trim the fat and this would be perfection.

7. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd’s Dog
Again, we all know this is an impressive stylistic and artistic change for Sam Beam. That’s cool, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t occasionally bore me. I’ll be the first to admit some of these songs are my new instant favourite Iron & Wine tracks (”Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” “Boy With A Coin,” “Resurrection Fern”), but what’s with the weird affect on the vocals? What’s with every instrument sounding kind of hollow? Why is the acoustic guitar buried?

8. Do Make Say Think - You, You’re A History In Rust
There is nothing about this record that I don’t like, but I find myself listening to purely instrumental albums very rarely. If my appreciation of music didn’t hinge so heavily on lyrics then it’d be top 10 for sure.

9. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds Of Silver
Again, a really good album that I have no real complaints about. But not something I feel compelled to put on every time I’m looking for something to listen to.

10. Against Me! - New Wave
They could’ve made this one of the best ep’s of the last five years, but they wrote two bad songs, put a new song from their live record on it, and it lowered the bar. But tracks two through seven and ten are awesome. I’m not sure if anyone shares this feeling, but I both hate and love that they made this album. Love because it’s very good, hate because it makes a phenomenal and unique band far less so.

Singles/EPs of the Year

1. Fucked Up - Year Of The Pig

Song of the year, EP/single of the year, songwriting of the year. This is amazing. 

 

2. Mike Hale/Chris Wollard split 7″
Acoustic-based solo material from two dudes who used to be in very similar sounding bands. These songs don’t sound the same though, and while Wollard’s side is weighed down by lackluster production, Hale’s has me salivating for Asian Man’s full-length release in a couple of months.

3. Papermoons 7″
These guys are so good I thought they were Canadian. Gorgeous acoustic/folk numbers from an unexpected source and one of the downright prettiest pieces of wax this year. 

4. Short Attention - Clever, Maddening, Annoying 7″
Remember when Ben Weasel didn’t record with All-American Rejects members? When songs about girls and being bored were almost all there was? When a song didn’t have to be more than 30 seconds or have verses to be awesome? That’s because you haven’t heard these 30 tracks yet.  

5. Muff Potter/Chuck Ragan split 7″

Sure it follows the split diagram to the letter: “cover the other guys song in an unexpected style for wacky results!” But there are just really spirited interpretations of very well-written songs, and that has to be appreciated.

 

 

WORST/MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS

Armor For Sleep - Smile For Them

Ugh. So boring.

 

Matthew Good - Hospital Music

Just kind of passed by, didn’t make an impression.

 

Sundowner - Five One Four Three

 It’s the same reason why I didn’t like the City & Colour album: what should’ve been a great idea that complimented the performers voice just came off as under-dressed and kind of dull.

 

Say Anything - In Defense of the Genre

I had low expectations going in, but this is just one example of what’s wrong with the music business. Bloated, overly long, and crammed so full of filler I can’t imagine anyone wading through this crap.

 

Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight

Whuuuuuuuuu?

 

the Playing Favourites - I Remember When I Was Pretty

I wish Joey Cape had just written and sang every song. He’s weighed down by lesser songwriters and it’s a shame; his contributions are solid.

 

Drag the River/Dents - Found All The Parts

The usually-stellar DTR just wasn’t putting their backbone into this one. These sound like the b-sides of a band that’s breaking up.

 

YOU STOLE OUR SONG, NOW WE ROCK YOUR FACE
(best live sets of the year)

1. A Wilhelm Scream – the Distrikt

My favourite shows are the ones where the opener totally outshines the headliner. These guys murdered Strung Out on their tour together and are one of the funnest bands to watch of all time as far as I know.

2. The Weakerthans – the Distrikt

Always a pleasure, and this time they played fun new songs. Samson smiles more and more every tour, and it’s kind of fun to see that.

3. Do Make Say Think – the Exchange

So awesome they made a frigid winter’s day sweaty. I had no idea so many people were into this group, but seeing their giant, swelling compositions come to life on stage was totally mesmerizing.

4. Wolf Parade/Frog Eyes – the Exchange

I’m pretty sure it was this year. Carey Mercer is a trip to watch play guitar.

5. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - the Distrikt

He’s a writhing ball of sweaty energy, even if his band looks bored out of their minds. Seriously, the drummer was rolling his eyes hard for at least the first third of the set. I guess I can’t blame him, as they only played to about 50 people. Come on Regina, this man is an amazing songwriter and performer! Get out there!

SADDEST BREAK-UPS
Drag the River
This year was all about Drag the River for me. I started the year by mail-ordering most of their cds, then started gathering up their 7”s and LP’s. After listening to them almost exclusively for at least a quarter of the year, they broke up. Then in December they announced that their final full-length would be out in January. Then I pre-ordered the LP and got a digital download as a Festivus gift. Then, after listening to it, I discovered that it just might be their best yet. Way to make breaking up even sadder, jerks.

 

Blood Brothers
So awesome. Always noisy, always spazzy, always sassy, Blood Brothers were also consistently amazing. Listen to Burn, Piano Island, Burn and try not to have heavy music forever changed in your eyes.  

Witches With Dicks
Warlocks, we hardly knew ye. They were awesome and they liked Kurt Vonnegut (as all good young punk rockers should). What else is there?

Kurt Vonnegut and life
Seriously. What could be sadder? 

AWESOME YEAR-END MIX TAPE
(you can’t download it all, but you can get much of it)

1. the Gaslight Anthem – Angry Johnny & the Radio
2. Attack In Black – Marriage
3. A Wilhelm Scream – Pardon Me, Thanks A Lot
4. Bomb The Music Industry! – Bike Test 1-2-3
5. Fucked Up – Year of the Pig
6. Pinback – Barnes
7. Tegan & Sara – Nineteen
8. The Weakerthans – Night Windows
9. The Pipettes – Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me
10. Spoon – the Underdog
11. Spoon – You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
12. Wintersleep – Dead Letter & the Infinite Yes
13. Austin Lucas – Man Alive
14. The National – Slow Show
15. Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas – Hold My Bed
16. The New Pornographers – Adventures In Solitude
17. Iron & Wine – Flightless Bird, American Mouth
18. Mike Hale – Easy Come, Easy Go

Please: buy buy buy!

Pat entries Canadian content, mix tapes, year in review