Shiner - The Egg

First post since July. I should have posted more during my long, leisurely Summer, instead of posting in the middle of a particularly busy school week. I guess I feel inspired by Eva and Sam, who both started up little bloggy poos of their own. Also, I've been listening to this really good album...

Today's album: Shiner - The Egg (Island 1969)
Genre: Alt-Rock, Indie Rock
Running time: 11 tracks, 49:01
In a nutshell: Brainy, Tool-like alt-rock

1. "The Truth About Cows" - 3:21 (Epley, Shiner)
2. "Surgery" - 3:23 (Epley, Shiner)
3. "Play Dead" - 3:30 (Epley, Shiner)
4. "The Top of the World" - 4:11 (Epley, Shiner)
5. "The Egg" - 5:42 (Epley, Shiner)
6. "Andalusia" - 3:56 (Newton, Epley and Shiner)
7. "Bells and Whistles" - 4:12 (Epley, Shiner)
8. "The Simple Truth" - 7:57 (Epley, Shiner)
9. "Spook the Heard" - 2:29 (Epley, Shiner)
10. "Pills" - 4:53 (Epley, Shiner)
11. "Stoned" - 5:27 (Epley, Shiner)

Sometimes I add music to my library without listening to it, forget what it was or why I sought it out, and then finally listen to it months later. This usually yields some sort of pleasant surprise, as the listen-through is divorced from any preconceived notions of what the music should be like. Too often I read a record review first, or somebody recommends the album, or I see a forum RIYL (read-if-you-like) tag, or something of the sort before I actually listen to the music, and it tends to spoil the experience a bit. I actually added Shiner to my iPod because I thought it was a new chillwave artist I hadn't gotten around to listening to yet. In fact, Shiner is the furthest thing from the steady hip-hop beats and atmospheric keyboards; instead, it is a whirl of mathy rock compositions and angsty, introspective vocals. I thought the album title was rather appropriate. Listening to this album is sort of like watching an egg roll across a flat surface: it might go relatively straight with just a bit of wobble, or the wobble might take over and take the egg for an unexpected turn. At one moment, the band will be surging forward with a fist-pumping hook, and the next it will devolve into guitar noodling and spastic beats. What's satisfying about this is that the Egg never seems to lose its momentum, making it both interesting and consistent. This is also its downside, as the record never seems technical enough for a full math-rock enthusiast, and the vocals come off as a bit abrasive without enough pop to back them up.

Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't shuffle this time. Today's album is handpicked, fresh off the vine. I needed some relief from all the "teenager's music" that's been popping up lately.


Today's album: Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (Island 1969)
Genre: Singer-songwriter, British Folk
Running time: 10 tracks, 39:33
In a nutshell: Lush, introspective folk

1. Time Has Told Me
2. River Man
3. Three Hours
4. Way to Blue
5. Day is Done
6. 'Cello Song
7. The Thoughts of Mary Jane
8. Man in a Shed
9. Fruit Tree
10. Saturday Sun

Take a look at the cover art above. Right off the bat, you can tell this is a much more mature album than the stuff I've been covering recently. You see a well-dressed, 30-something year-old man looking contemplatively out a window, as if he's searching for something. Obviously he won't find what he's looking for outside the window, but the act is analogous to what's going on internally, an external method of focus. Ever notice how your eyes will dart about, or turn upwards when you're trying to remember something?

Singer-songwriter Nick Drake is searching for answers, and provides none on Five Leaves Left. What's that cheezey saying about life? It's not about the destination, it's about the journey? Well that's definitely the case with this album. On the opening track, Drake sings And time has told me/Not to ask for more/For some day our ocean/Will find its shore. Perhaps all our problems will just resolve themselves in time, and this should be good enough for us in the present. Likewise, Drake seems to confirm the futility of searching for a master with answers, only to become a slave in Three Hours.

What's particularly beautiful about this album is how well the music synchronizes with the lyrics, like looking out a window when you're trying to remember something. The wandering guitar arrangement on Three Hours seems to follow its character, Jeremy, as he searches for answers and a home. On the other hand, the blaring strings on Way to Blue match Drake's more straight-forward demand Tell me all that you may know/Show me what you have to show.

I don't want to make it seem as though this whole album is just some folkie's mid-life crisis. There are lighter pop moments, like The Thoughts of Mary Jane, or Man in a Shed. There are also more themes in the album than the one I picked up on and described above. Even if you aren't in the mood to analyze the deep, introspective lyrics, the finger picked guitar melodies and acoustic arrangements are pretty satisfying on their own. This was my first time listening to Nick Drake, and I found him to be quite enjoyable.

800Beloved - Bouquet

A slow night spent in the bedroom. And the kitchen, actually. Doris and I made an amazing chicken tortilla soup, minus the tortilla. Fat, happy, buzzing slightly from a couple beers and a glass of wine. Let's get to it...

Today's album: 800Beloved - Bouquet (Self-released? 2009)
Genre: Shoegaze, Goth-pop
Running time: 11 tracks, 46:06
In a nutshell: Punky shoegaze tailored for a new generation of goth

1. Show Me Evil
2. Colours
3. The Skeleton Collection
4. Mortgage Your Organs
5. Go
6. Yesterday Tomorrow
7. Kiss Me Crooked
8. Your High School Photo
9. The Devil Etc.
10. Galaxies
11. Cut Flowers

This album would fit in quite nicely on a Hot Topic CD rack. Bouquet is bread-and-butter teenage music, gloomy and anguished, but somehow fast-paced and energetic. The pop-punk drumming doesn't let the pace slack for even one track.

The saving grace for me on this album is the production. There are enough neat fuzzy guitar effects and interesting synth textures to make the songs enjoyable in shuffle. I particularly enjoyed the buzzsaw guitar stabs in Kiss Me Crooked, or the Shieldsesque warped riffs on opening track Show Me Evil.

But the album as a whole can be too much. The lyrics range from sad-sack, to uncomfortably gothic. Take Mortgage Your Organs for example, in which frontman Sean Lynch sings Spread your legs wide/this may hurt, but you won't feel a thing. Too much, man. Too much. I won't even go into details about the barforama that it is Your High School Photo. Your worst guesses won't be far off, trust me.

Bear vs. Shark - Right Now You're In the Best of Hands

I'm not actually using iTunes anymore. Why? Because iTunes is a fucking piece of shit. I use mediamonkey now, definitely the best player I've ever used.


Today's album: Bear vs. Shark - Right Now You're In the Best of Hands (Equal Vision 2005)
Genre: Post-hardcore, Emo, Indie Rock
Running time: 12 tracks, 40:43
In a nutshell: There's more than one emotion in "emo" you know...

1. Ma Jolie
2. Campfire
3. Buses/No Buses
4. Employee is Not Afraid
5. We Were Sad, But Now We're Rebuilding
6. Kylie
7. MPS
8. Second
9. Don't Tell the Horses the Stable's On Fire
10. Bloodgiver
11. Michigan
12. Broken Dog Leg

Another relic from my adolescence pops up in shuffle. I seriously know this album like the back of my hand, I've listened to it countless times. Like In Reverie, this album has survived the corn and cheeze of my turbulent high school years and proven itself timeless. I remember seeing this on the rack at a Best Buy with a little sticker on it namedropping both Modest Mouse and Fear Before the March of Flames. You can't deny that the combination is at the least intriguing. Also like In Reverie, it does seem to hit the niche somewhere between indie and emo.

Is it 'emo'? I suppose you could call it that, but only if you don't associate angst with emo, and instead embrace the whole gamut of emotions. I've heard the album described as "happy hard-core", referring to the jubilant chorus and hand-claps of opening track Ma Jolie. The screaming on the album confers more than anger or sorrow; rather, what most comes across is some form of indescribable exhilaration. The sappiest tracks seem to be lost-love song Kylie, which I've read is actually the band's least liked song, a product more of label pressure than artistic intent. If I was going to suggest tracks for first-time listeners, I would suggest listening to the MPS and Second back-to-back. The former is somewhat poetic emo, just a clean electric guitar strummed over "deep" lyrics. The latter has lyrics which conclude in 30 seconds, followed by a 3 minutes of post-punk jam, spinning downward and landing softward.

Mux Mool - Just Saying Is All

Aliright, 2 for 2! Let's see how long I can keep this up...

Today's album: Mux Mool - Just Saying Is All (Moodgadgets 2009)
Genre: Glitch Hop, Dance, Electronic
Running time: 6 tracks, 34:57
In a nutshell: Beats and breaks that are interesting, but not too interesting

1. End Guy
2. Merlinfist!
3. Eagle Fantasies
4. B'Genius
5. 2muxLUV
6. Teal Trim

A while back I covered one of Flying Lotus's EPs, which essentially were an opportunity for the popular L.A. DJ to remix and reinvent some of his recent songs. Mux Mool is a similar sort of DJ, taking your everyday hip-hop beats and glitching them out, or gussying them up. However, the purpose of this EP seems less to deviate from styles already expressed or popularized and more to cement his reputation as a new artist on the scene.

Mux Mool's debut LP, Skulltaste, dropped earlier this year. It's amazing, you should definitely listen to it...but listen to Just Saying Is All first. While Skulltaste is a consistently good album peppered with amazing moments, Just Saying Is All is all amazing. Easy enough to pull off on a six-track EP, I know. Nevertheless, at times it seems the catchiness of Merlinfist!, or the cooler pulse of Eagle Fantasies have a little more pop value than any of the other 21 tracks on Skulltaste.

If this vein of electronic music hits the mainstream, I think it'll really take off. It's definitely great music to have on in the background at house parties, or to have on in the car while cruising between bars. I like it much better than all the cheezey, rambunctious shit they play in clubs or on the radio. You know what I'm talking about, the kind of over-commercialized music that really operates on one core principle: the more obnoxious, stupid, or ridiculous the hook the less likely you are to forget after you've heard. I call it the "morbid fascination" principle of music. People who hear it don't actually like it, nor do they think its actually cool. Rather, they take what they are given because they don't know any better, and besides, once the bass gets pounding loud enough, it doesn't really matter what the rest of the content sounds like.

The glitch-hop scene really seems to be the most viable contender to buck this painful trend. Unlike its brainier IDM and glitchcore cousins, this shit is accessible and undeniably cool. If this sounds like a bandwagon you'd like to jump on, I would suggest listening to some Machinedrum, Nosaj Thing, or Bassnectar for starters...and of course, Mux Mool and Flying Lotus.

Saves the Day - In Reverie

I'm serious this time! I'm gonna start posting again, like, every day. I think it would help if I shortened up my posts, just throw out a couple descriptions and some quick musings. It's gonna be hard not to rant about this one though...

Today's album: Saves the Day - In Reverie (DreamWorks 2003)
Genre: Pop-punk, Rock
Running time: 12 tracks, 33:58
In a nutshell: Underrated, mellow/dreamy emo

1. Anywhere With You
2. What Went Wrong
3. Driving In The Dark
4. Rise
5. In Reverie
6. Morning In The Moonlight
7. Monkey
8. In My Waking Life
9. She
10. Where Are You
11. Wednesday the Third
12. Tomorrow Too Late

I want to know why everyone hates In Reverie so much. It seems to me that it was just about the only truly original music Saves the Day ever produced. The melodies are much more complex, the songwriting is more mature (for the most part), and the vocals are entirely unique. To this day I haven't heard anyone reproduce that "ham-sandwhich", mellow vocal tone in quite the same way.

It seems to me that most people just wanted another Stay What You Are, which is why it seemed like such a let-down. Personally, I first picked up In Reverie right when I was growing out of pop-punk, and it really felt like the band was growing up with me. It's too bad they didn't keep innovating; trying to re-create SWYA is what has made all subsequent albums total garbage. I guess once you've grown up, you can't go back, which is why this is the only Saves the Day album I can really stomach nowadays.

Dinosaur Feathers - Fantasy Memorial

Time for me to get back into the habit of blogging now that summer is here. We'll see how long it lasts...


Today's album: Dinosaur Feathers - Fantasy Memorial (Self-Released 2009)
Genre: Indie Pop, Folk
Running time: 10 tracks, 46:21
In a nutshell: Lush, invigorating springtime pop.

It's hard to tell whether certain artists actually intend for their style to coincide so closely with a particular season. For example, bands like The Clientele consistently fit the fall's hazy, bittersweet niche, and yet they will release albums at any time of the year, seeming to suggest that their aesthetic is more universal. Whatever their intentions, I personally don't listen to Clientele albums in the Spring or Summer.

I wonder if the breezy, sun-soaked folk-pop of Dinosaur Feathers would fair any better in the cooler months. Their debut album, Fantasy Memorial, is not difficult to describe. On the foreground you have vibrant vocal harmonies, backed by folk-rock, and lightly embellished with psychedelia and Latin poly-rhythms. The closest comparisons that come to mind would be Fleet Foxes or The Dodos.

However, describing them this way doesn't really do any justice to the sheer amount of talent shown on this album. These guys can write really catchy songs, and back them up as well. The vocals are really what Fantasy Memorial is all about, though. For example, in Family Waves a harmonized call and response hook shifts unexpectedly to syncopated round-singing. There is enough richness in the vocals alone to hold the song together, while the accompaniment takes it from solid to excellent. There are enough quirky guitar effects, complex drum patterns, and spacey flourishes to make repeat listens rewarding long after the vocal hooks have been driven into your head.

If I made Fantasy Memorial sound addicting, it's because I've been addicted to it for roughly the past two months. I'll probably tire of it before the summer ends, and then pick it up again next spring. The album has a vitality to it, you have to be in a particular mood to enjoy it.

Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another

*Insert stereotypical apology for not posting enough here* Pshhh...as if any of you care.

Today's album: Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another



Genre: Post-Hardcore
Released: June 23, 2009
Running time: 12 tracks
In a nutshell: Badass.

It's hard to sound both mature and defiant. I suppose this is because kids have more to defy with more people telling them what they can and can't do. Nevertheless, Future of the Left puts your kid brother's hardcore bands to shame. For starters, the three-piece band hits harder with less; a definite sign of maturity. The arrangements are simple and driving, lean but mean. This is the perfect complement to the vocals, which are either screamed, shouted, or spoken, but always heard.

The lyrics are definitely the highlight of this album. If you can imagine teens howling Black Flag or Sex Pistols songs in the face of authority, this would be the exact opposite. It's time for the adults to scream in the faces of those dumbass kids. Opening track Arming Eritrea illustrates this perfectly; Come on, Rick! I'm not a drunk / I know my worth! / I'm an adult!!. The rest of the album goes balls-deep into arbitrary obscenity and tongue-in-cheek chaos, but it does so with a deeper understanding than the kids could ever muster. Take the track You Need Satan More Than He Needs You:

goddamn it's gonna rain
i only brought my socks
the night might hide my shame
but she won't dry my balls
the spell that brought me here
dissipated when the weather turned
yeah sure, satan rules, but
that doesn't mean i can't be practical

Lyrics like these really do speak for themselves. I don't know what else to say, other than that this album makes me want to go out and beat up high school metal heads.

Until next time...if I eat what I fuck, and I fuck what I eat, am I worthy?

2009 Year End Round-Up

It's hard to believe that a year ago I was spending my last days in Santee, getting ready for the big leap forward into Santa Cruz (not that Santee is "behind" Santa Cruz or anything...well, maybe just a little bit). I've put together a list that I believe not only gives a good picture of what I was listening to, but also characterizes the year's experiences and emotions fairly accurately. If I have time, I'll post a mixtape of my favorite songs of 2009 so that you can get an even better idea.

In 2008, I was listening to a lot of indie pop, twee, and 90's throwback psychadelia (I was obsessed with E6). In retrospect, I think that this was an attempt to bring balance into my life; those days were dark and stressful, with new responsibilities and fewer crutches. On the other hand, 2009's music for me has been much more mature, but also very versatile and well-rounded. Maybe you'll see what I mean...

I've made two lists: the first is a top-ten list, the second is an "honorary mentions" list. The albums are placed in no particular order; I don't really believe in ranking music, but I did want to separate the wheat from the chaff just a little bit. I should also mention that this is a list of personal discoveries, rather than my favorite new releases of 2009.

The Dismemberment Plan - Change
Released: October 2001
Genre: Indie Pop/Rock, Post-Hardcore, Emo

I first discovered "The Plan" a couple years ago. Emergency & I was a great album for someone still somewhat attached to, but also grown out of the pop-punk/emo genre. The lyrics were a bit angsty, the vocals were both high and abrasive, and there was definitely a good amount of drive to the songs. What set it apart was the jazzy instrumentation, and the overall willingness to experiment in ways that might frustrate your average listener. Change takes that maturity to a whole new level, as the title quite obviously suggests. Frontman Travis Morrison's voice softens to a dreamy mew, while the band pounds and clicks away, not unlike Pinback in many respects. The hooks in the songs, usually driven by synth, are much more effective even though the crazy left-turns are still there. Lyrically, Morrison sings about getting old, settling down, finding yourself...the kind of things you'd probably imagine hearing in a Scrubs episode.

Blitzen Trapper - Furr
Released: September 2008
Genre: Alt-Country, Indie Folk-Rock

This was one of very few truly perfect albums I have ever listened to. I mentioned my attachment to country in my review of Drag the River. This album hits the spot perfectly, along with so many others; classic rock, folk, psychadelia, Dead-style jams...this album has it all. What really makes this album addicting though is the cohesive theme of old-fashioned country waywardness and wild untamed youth.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Released: January 2009
Genre: Indie Pop

I first listened to Animal Collective when doing so was a somewhat rebellious thing. They were a bit too wild in their experiments, and almost embarrassingly joyous in their pop, so that when you told people that you listened to them, they knew that you truly and un-apologetically loved music, perhaps even to a fault. I think that in the years between Sung Tongs and Merriweather Post Pavilion the Collective has become progressively more universal. This is an album of catchy-as-fuck songs, plain and simple. This will be on the top of every year-end list you will see.

Deerhunter - Microcastle
Released: August 2008
Genre: Indie Rock/Pop

The first couple times I listened to Microcastle, I was disappointed for two reasons. First, the album just didn't sound the same as the ferociously dense Cryptograms. Second, I had learned a bit too much about the front-man Bradford Cox. Knowing the human vulnerability behind Cryptograms threw off its mystique, and made it much less interesting. That was before Microcastle grew on me. The album is much lighter and poppier than Cryptograms, but still retains a spectacular sense of pacing, which is clearly Cox's greatest skill. The album also retains the vulnerability of Cryptograms, making the albums seem like two sides of the same coin.

Grouper - Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
Released: June 2008
Genre: Ambient, Folk

This album is fucking beautiful. I don't know what else to say. It's basically Liz Harris's hushed, dreamy, reverb-soaked vocals over gently swaying acoustic guitar and ambience. The first time I listened to this, I was reading the Watchmen chapter about Dr. Manhattan. The story and art fit the music perfectly; the epic loneliness, power, alienation, love and hope...it was an absolutely perfect combination.



mewithoutYou - It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream!It's Alright
Released: May 2009
Genre: Christian Rock, Indie Folk-Rock

I never really knew mewithoutYou was Christian when I listened to them in high school. I'm not 100% sure if it's accurate to call them a Christian rock band even now; does writing music about your faith automatically slot you into this niche? Maybe, maybe not. It's All Crazy is a departure from mewithoutYou's other post-hardcore albums, which were all about erratic distorted guitars and shouted/spoken lyrics. This album is a collection of folk-rock songs and narratives inspired mainly by Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, a sufi teacher and storyteller, and more generally by Christian spirituality. In today's increasingly agnostic/atheistic scene, this kind of art can be refreshing, whether you're a spiritual person or not.



Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Released: April 2002
Genre: Indie Pop, Alt-Country, Experimental

I've had this album on my hard drive for years now, but I don't think I really appreciated it completely before 2009. Some songs were instantly accessible, such as Heavy Metal Drummer and Jesus Etc. For the most part though, these are dense songs that slowly grow on you. This album is now one of my all-time favorites, and has really lived up to its reputation as a "perfect album".



Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One
Released: 1997
Genre: Indie Pop-Rock, Experimental

Yo La Tengo is an extremely consistent and versatile band, which is why I think people tend to fall in love with the first album they hear from them. For me, that was I Am Not Afraid of You And Will Beat Your Ass. I didn't really listen to any other album because I felt I didn't really need to; it was a long album filled with great songs, and I could (and did) listen to it over and over. Seeing them live was the impetus to explore their discography more fully. I now believe that I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One is the one truly seminal YLT album. There are other songs as tumultuous as Deeper Into Movies, or as catchy as Autumn Sweater, but they probably won't move you in quite the same way.

Ween - Chocolate and Cheese
Released: 1994
Genre: 90's Rock-Pop weirdness, compliments of Garrett Smith

In terms of over-looked and under-rated artists, Ween is definitely the find of the year. I've been listening to their entire discography, but if I had to narrow it down to an album, Chocolate & Cheese is it. I have never heard of a band being so outrageous and weird without really being an "acquired taste", but Ween pulls it off perfectly. Chocolate & Cheese draws mainly from R&B and rock influences, but the beauty of Ween is that they can play anything, any genre whatsoever. Their music is a parody of pop music that in many cases is better than the original.



Vampire Weekend - S/T
Released: January 2008
Genre: Indie Pop, "Upper West Side Soweto"

I feel kind of silly for putting this one down, since I probably listened to it about a dozen times in 2008. Nevertheless, it deserves to be here just because it is so enjoyable. Also, I saw them live for the first time, and they really left an impression. In 2008, too many of their songs seemed too slow, too preppy, or too pretentious. It's funny how seeing a band live can redefine the context of their recorded works.

Honorable mentions:

The Apples in Stereo - The Discovery Of A World Inside the Moone
Bardo Pond - Ticket Crystals
Beaches - S/T
Bear in Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth
Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
BIGBIGcar - Limestone Throne/Kid Fight
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us
Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
The Clientele - Strange Geometry
Comet Gain - Broken Record Prayers
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
Dan Deacon - Bromst
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Fleeting Joys - Occult Radiance
Japandroids - POst-Nothing
Kurt Vile - Constant Hitmaker
Lewis & Clarke - Blasts of Holy Birth
Machine Drum - Want To 1 2?
Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
Night Control - Death Control
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - S/T
Passion Pit - Manners
Phish - Junta
Qua - Q&A
The Rentals - Return of the Rentals
Ride - Going Blank Again
So Cow - S/T
Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
The Vaselines - Enter The Vaselines
Viva Voce - Rose City
Washed Out - High Times
Wavves - S/T