Patrick Wolf: The Magic Position

Patrick Wolf: The Magic Position
Fontana: 5/1/2007

The Magic Position is Patrick Wolf's third and most joyful album. Actually, it's his only joyful album. His previous two were some of the most deliciously depressing albums ever released. Wolf's a changed man, now, as a result of having fallen in love. The songs are more flamboyant and over-the-top than all his other songs combined. This album has instilled an even greater admiration for Wolf's songwriting than I had before, because he has proven himself capable of writing the sappiest lovesongs ever and making them interesting rather than just annoying. Even at his young age, he has grown into a performer unlike any other on the Earth, rivalled only by Björk in terms of wonderfully weird pop sensibility.

Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Epic: 3/20/2007

After Good News For People Who Love Bad News, I was beginning to worry about Modest Mouse. There were some great songs on that album, but they were beginning to slip noticeably. With We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Modest Mouse seem to have bounced back. It would be easy to attribute their revitalization entirely to the edition of former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, but I'm not convinced that's the whole story. Isaac Brock sounds more focused and fired up than he has in a long time. We Were Dead is probably the most outwardly aggressive Modest Mouse record yet. None of the songs meander unnecessarily; they seem to chug with determination and a brisk pace to some unknown destination. This album ranks among The Moon and Antarctica and The Lonesome Crowded West as one of their best.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble: A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble

A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble: A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble
Leaf: 6/5/2007

This album contains both an 8-song EP and a DVD. I downloaded it from Emusic, so I haven't seen the DVD, nor am I really interested in it. The EP, however, is superb. The music, as you can probably tell from the title, is a collaboration between A Hawk and a Hacksaw and a group of Hungarian musicians. The songs are a mixture of traditional Balkan folk songs and some original compositions. The Balkan sound has been coopted by a number of successful bands in recent years, and its great to finally see some authentically Hungarian musicians cross over into the American consciousness, even if it is riding on the coattails of an American band. If you have never been interested in Eastern European folk music before, don't let this description put you off. I think that this EP is incredibly appealing and capable of transcending cultural biases. Just give it some time and you won't be able to stop listening.

Justice: †

Justice: †
Ed Banger: 7/10/2007

I'm not sure whether Justice's use of Christian imagery is due to a sincere expression of faith or an attempt to be subversive. Either way, I'm pretty sure that Justice is the first Christian-themed French dance act to cross over into the mainstream. The duo make dance music in a similar vein as Daft Punk, but with more influences from American R&B and funk. The Christian themes are not confined to the artwork, as some of the songs sound like electrified instrumental hymns. † is quite unlike any dance record I've heard, and it's definitely a welcome change.

Fujiya & Miyagi: Transparent Things

Fujiya & Miyagi: Transparent Things
Deaf Dumb & Blind: 1/23/2007

I actually acquired Transparent Things last year, before it had been officially released in the U.S., and recommended it as one of the best albums of 2006 on my previous blog. However, since most Americans didn't get the chance to hear the album until this year, I'll recommend it again. Fujiya & Miyagi chose the name to convince the press they were Japanese, but their sound betrays their Brighton roots and their German influences. Many reviews classify Fujiya & Miyagi as krautrock, and I can definitely hear its influence, but they are much more complex than that. I can also hear strains of American dance-punk and laid-back French electronica. Transparent Things, despite being a hodgepodge of influences, has a remarkably unified sound which is definitely a pleasure to listen to.

Battles: Mirrored

Battles: Mirrored
Warp: 5/22/2007

Having heard and loved Battles' three EPs a couple of years ago, Mirrored, their proper full-length debut, came as a surprise to me. I was expecting more of the same, but Mirrored is tighter and more propulsive than any of their early work. Their new sound isn't a huge departure from their old one, but Mirrored combines their math rock sound with influences from post-rock and krautrock. It's much more rhythmically oriented, and hence danceable, than the early EPs. There are even vocals on some of the tracks, though they are so heavily distorted that it's not clear whether the songs can be said to have lyrics. With Mirrored, Battles are beginning to go strange new places and silence the critics that had labeled their EPs as mediocre.

Frog Eyes: Tears of the Valedictorian

Frog Eyes: Tears of the Valedictorian
Absolutely Kosher: 5/1/2007

I fell in love with Frog Eyes upon hearing their last album, The Folded Palm. I was bowled over by their short, restless, frenetic songs that changed melody and meter abruptly and without warning. That being said, I wasn't immediately enamored with Tears of the Valedictorian. The songs are much more structured and tend to give more cues ahead of transitions. There are even a couple of epic, multipart tracks that probably would have been broken into several separate songs if they had been recorded earlier in Frog Eyes' career. However, with some patience and effort, I began to appreciate Tears as a new direction for the band. Though their compositions are beginning to resemble "songs" in terms of structure, they are no less weird and wonderful. In fact, the longest track, "Bushels", has become my favorite song on the album and one of my favorites overall. Carey Mercer is developing a skill for writing grand, theatrical songs that maintain a sense of drama throughout. Though I had feared that Frog Eyes were past there prime, it is clear now that they are just getting started.

A-Trak: Dirty South Dance

A-Trak: Dirty South Dance
Turntable Lab: 2007

Dirty South Dance is likely to be the only DJ mix that I'll recommend this year. A-Trak's mix is seamless and full of humorous juxtapositions. While it doesn't have quite the same impact as Girl Talk's 2006 masterpiece Night Ripper, Dirty South Dance is similar in spirit and intent. The most fun aspect of this mix is that it pushes a lot of pleasure buttons in the brain simultaneously. Rap vocals are repurposed as part of the rhythm of a continuously shifting high-energy mix. Fragments of recognizable songs float by, and the surprise of being able to identify samples from Madonna, Simian Mobile Disco, LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, etc., add to the enjoyment. Dirty South Dance is equally satisfying for listening and for dancing, a rare quality in a mixtape.

Kanye West: Graduation

Kanye West: Graduation
Roc-A-Fella: 9/11/2007

Kanye West just keeps getting better with each album. With Graduation, he demonstrates exactly why his music has been embraced by indie culture more than any other major-label hip-hop artist. For one thing, the music is more than just a frame for the lyrics. Every detail contributes to the track as a whole, rather than just being a disposable beat intended only to buttress his flow. West also borrows from an astounding array of influences. He uses samples from disparate sources like Can and Daft Punk, and a duet with Coldplay's Chris Martin. Most of all, West displays a stubborn independence, bucking trends in hip-hop and rock, thereby setting an example that many others are beginning to follow. Graduation has cemented West's reputation as an iconoclast, proving that his presence will be felt for many years to come.

Of Montreal: Icons, Abstract Thee EP

Of Montreal: Icons, Abstract Thee EP
Polyvinyl: 5/8/2007

This five-song EP serves as an appendix to Of Montreal's most recent album, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?. The album is sublime in its own right, and it's only by chance that it hasn't yet come up in my rotation for recommendation on this blog. Icons, though, is solid enough to warrant a recommendation separate from its companion album.

Icons starts on an upbeat note but it soon crashes into despair. The marital problems of Kevin Barnes and his wife, which were alluded to on Hissing Fauna, take center stage here. This kind of thematic consistency could have easily grown boring fast, but luckily Barnes is too restless to let that happen. The songs change direction unexpectedly, almost at random, with an impishness that belies his heartbreak. This yields some bizarre results. For instance, on "Miss Blonde, Your Papa Is Failing", Barnes manages to cross-pollenate the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows", which is not an easy feat. "No Conclusion", a nearly ten-minute epic, sounds like several songs that shift seamlessly into one another, like conjoined quadruplets. Icons reveals an oddly satisfying paradox in Barnes' songwriting. The random shifts in tempo, meter and instrumentation suggest a short attention span, but Barnes exhibits meticulousness and attention to the tiniest detail.

Tegan and Sara: The Con

Tegan and Sara: The Con
Sire: 7/24/2007

Tegan and Sara are twin sisters that record and perform together, but they write songs independently. On The Con, their antipodal approaches to songwriting are represented in almost equal measures. Tegan's songs are frenetic and harried; Sara's are more contemplative and unfold more gently. The common threads, however, are baroque structures and youthful angst. Chris Walla's production reins in the sisters and anchors the songs, preventing the kind of excess that could have destroyed the balance and ruined a gorgeous album. The tension that pervades The Con is rarely spills over into histrionics, providing just enough drama to keep the songs interesting without inducing eye-rolling in the listener.

Gui Boratto: Chromophobia

Gui Boratto: Chromophobia
Kompakt: 3/27/2007

Is Chromophobia Intelligent Dance Music? The term IDM has always struck me as odd. For one thing, it implies a kind of arrogance - are Mensa members not supposed to enjoy house music? For another, IDM seems to be an oxymoron. The notion that dance music is supposed to make one think, or that one kind of rhythmic electronic noise is more "thinky" than another, is absurd.

However, if were to apply the term IDM to anything, it would likely be Gui Boratto. Superficially, it seems to resemble house and techno music. On the other hand, Chromophobia is a balanced and integrated listening experience as a unit, though a majority of the tracks are almost as well-suited for being chopped up and composted into dancefloor fodder. Boratto is informed as much by the erudite affectations of industrial and post-punk as he is by Manuel Göttsching. He even admits to deliberately imitating Peter Hook's distinctive bass on "Xilo". The ploy worked; I initially thought that it was Hook playing on the track until I read otherwise. I suppose whether you are looking for a way to wile away some introspective hours or to shake some junk, Chromophobia will serve your purposes well.

Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam

Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
Domino: 9/11/2007

I have been following Animal Collective for a few years now, since just before Sung Tongs, and I don't remember anything they've done that's as naturally catchy as the songs on Strawberry Jam. I'm not sure if their sound has migrated closer to my notions of pop, or whether listening to Animal Collective has changed them, but hearing Strawberry Jam makes me think they have always been making pop music. It's just that the world has been slow to catch on. If one were to send "Peacebone", Animal Collective's most accessible stab at a single, to 1939, the visionary genius popsmith Cole Porter would have recognized the intention behind it. After all, the differences between "Peacebone" and Porter tunes like "Too Darn Hot" are merely superficial; the results in both cases are a hummable, memorable melody and the urge to dance. The only reason that Strawberry Jam hasn't garnered the same fame for Animal Collective that Kiss Me, Kate did for Porter is that the former are taking a perpendicular approach to pop music that is, at least for now, unrecognizable or unplatable to the population at large. I suspect that will change over the next few years.

Deerhunter: Fluorescent Grey EP

Deerhunter: Fluorescent Grey EP
Kranky: 5/8/2007

I wouldn't ordinarily recommend a four-song EP on this blog, as they aren't usually substantial enough to warrant much thought. However, each of Fluorescent Grey's four tracks, though brief, are so consistently strong that together, they form a solid unit worthy of the same level of attention given to full-length albums. The biggest strength of Fluorescent Grey is its meticulously crafted atmospheres. The tempo varies between moderately slow and moderately fast, giving the listener enough time to absorb the melodies but never giving the attention opportunity to wander. Deerhunter combine the brooding earnestness of the more Gothic-leaning post punks acts of the late 70s with the densely melodic shoegaze of the 80s. I feel that Fluorescent Grey is an even better showcase for Deerhunter's talents than their much-lauded debut full-length, Cryptograms.

The Field: From Here We Go Sublime

The Field: From Here We Go Sublime
Kompakt: 4/5/2007

I dread getting out of bed on weekday mornings. My first alarm goes off at 4:15 and tells me I should get up soon but I can hit the snooze button a few times. My second alarm, which sounds at 5AM sharp, is the "get your ass out of bed and jump in the shower NOW" alarm. Shortly after the first alarm, one of my cats starts trying to rouse me by lying on my chest or back and nudging my face gently with her paw. As she grows impatient, she starts poking me lightly with her claws. I periodically acknowledge her efforts with head scratches as I hit the snooze button and roll over. The dance continues until the latter alarm sounds and I get up.

When I heard From Here We Go Sublime for the first time, I was startled at how much the second track reminded me of this experience. It wasn't until the second listen that I noticed the title was "A Paw in My Face". Amazingly, The Field is able to arouse the feelings associated with common human experiences without words or images, just sounds. The rest is album is this way, too, though the connections between titles and songs became clear only in retrospect in most cases. In this sense, From Here We Go Sublime doesn't sound like techno as I typically think of it, except for the use of dense rhythms and lots of bleeps and bloops. While the viscerality of "traditional" techno aims to get the body moving, The Field's music evokes the senses to different ends. He uses sound as an analog to other physical sensations to connect with the emotional content of the listener's memories. From Here We Go Sublime is, I think, the result of tremendous insight into the nature of memory, so I wouldn't call it dance music exactly. On the other hand, if it makes you want to shake whatever junk you have on a dancefloor, I wouldn't think you're crazy.

The White Stripes: Icky Thump

The White Stripes: Icky Thump
Warner Bros.: 6/19/2007

I wouldn't call myself a fan of The White Stripes. I bought Elephant a few years ago, when The White Stripes were being heralded as rock messiahs, mainly to see what all the fuss was about. I loved certain tracks, especially "Black Math", but I felt lukewarm about the album. I didn't even bother with Get Behind Me Satan. I probably wouldn't have given Icky Thump a chance, either, except for a verse in the title track: "Why don't you kick yourself out?/You're an immigrant, too/Who's using who?/What should we do?/Well, you can't be a pimp and a prostitute, too." It's refreshing to hear such an insightful and succinct (though not completely original) sentiment about an issue usually mired in so much vitriol. Though "Icky Thump" had won me over, I was nervous that the rest of the album wouldn't match the charm of its lead single. Fortunately, it does.

If you happen to be the one person on the planet who hasn't heard The White Stripes, possibly due to living in a cave for the past five or so years, I'll briefly describe their signature sound: blues rock, oft compared to Led Zeppelin. Elephant was an overly noisy affair, and the songs were frequently overshadowed by their own raucous guitar work. On Icky Thump, Jack and Meg White have slightly tempered the instrumentation to better showcase their songwriting, which is usually exceptional. Jack often sounds like a time traveler from an indeterminate past decade, bringing the slang and attitude of a boxcar vagrant. My favorite tracks, aside from the title track, are "Conquest" (a Patti Page cover), "Effect and Cause", and "Rag and Bone", though most of the others are pretty impressive, too. Though there are four albums I've never heard, I suspect this is the best White Stripes album so far.

Monkey Swallows the Universe: The Casket Letters

Monkey Swallows the Universe: The Casket Letters
not yet released in the U.S.

I wrote a review for this album on my cell phone on my way to work this morning, but I lost it somehow. That's probably a good thing, since my review sucked. It's difficult for me to articulate why I like an album sometimes, especially at 5:30 in the morning. My review didn't say much about why I was recommending The Casket Letters or what distinguishes this particular indie pop band from the legions of indie pop bands flooding the market with pleasant but insignificant treacle.

There are several ways that a band can stand out from the pack. One way is with well-executed over-the-top weirdness, as is the case with acts like Xiu Xiu and Danielson, but this is a dangerous path. Most groups can't make it work. Another way is to be a little more meticulous and talented, to spend a little more effort refining songs, while treading a well-worn path. Monkey Swallows the Universe have chosen the latter course. They could have settled with just making a pretty album, but there are hundreds of pretty but mutually indistinguishable albums being released. On The Casket Letters, Monkey Swallows the Universe crafted ten songs that are not merely pleasant, but intelligent and refined. It's clear they have spent a lot of time and effort working on the lyrics, melodies and instrumentation, until everything was satisfactory to their own high standards. Their efforts have paid off handsomely, both for the band and for the listener.