Best Coast/The Only Place

If you’ve been following along with news on Best Coast, you know about the latest single, The Only Place. As an album opener (and title track) it sets the mood as the most modern love song for California. Why would you live anywhere else? The chorus sings. Why would we?

When the world fell in love with Bethany Cosentino back in the summer of 2010 when Crazy For You came out on Mexican Summer, we fell in love with the simple love song. Songs about boyfriends, Snacks the Cat (her cat), her love affair with Mary Jane, being alone, and songs about talking to your mom on the phone. We didn’t fall in love the Cosentino’s complexity. We fell in love with her sound and the greater idea she committed to. She writes about her life and about California. And why she thinks its the Only Place to live. But it seems like a distant dream (an American Dream?) of endless summer nights and sunsets on the beach. Maybe she’s attracting that desire to move west. To find the coast.

While there is nothing groundbreaking about her songwriting there might be something groundbreaking about the attention she has gotten. She grasped my attention. (And I do have tickets to see her at DC’s 930 Club in July.) Maybe for her love of California? But maybe for her sing-a-longs. I’m still unsure, but I’m no longer a closet Best Coast fan.

NPR is featuring The Only Place on their first listen. And I managed an early copy.

This record is clear. It sounds sharp, unlike the drowned-out sounds on Crazy For You. You can hear pieces of the acoustic guitar in track four, My Life. Known for her fuzz, Cosentino traded it in for Jon Brion (who produced early Aimee Mann records, some Fiona Apple, Dido, and lately Spoon and of Montreal.) Best Coast is certainly a front-runner in the niche genre world. Known for what she does best, The Only Place (also out on Mexican Summer) can be seen as just a continuation of Crazy For You.  The Only Place is also full of love songs, songs about her boyfriend, and those summer songs of longing. On Do You Love Me Like You Used To? [below] Cosentino changes it up. Just a little bit unfamiliar, like you caught her off guard. It should be the stand out track.

The reverb on her vocals bleed onto tracks like Dreaming My Life Away [above]. She sings about dreams within dreams and sailing away further into that dreamscape. It’s almost as if this record – or Cosentino herself – lives in a dream land (or is at least obsessed with it.) Where her records all sound the same but everyone embraces them anyway. (Wait, isn’t that real?) The Only Place is a California soundtrack. Meant to be heard driving north on the Pacific Coast Highway out of Los Angeles. Just under 35 minutes as a whole, The Only Place is romantic. Cosentino offered us nothing new. She knows her place. And apparently, it’s in the sun.

my ode to Oldie

Oldie is the closing track of the new Odd Future record, The OF Tape Vol. 2. Clocking in at 10:32 it features the same repetitive beat, only occasionally losing its’ basses and trebles, and features everyone from the collective. (And is the only track on Tape 2 to credit Earl Sweatshirt.) The trick to Oldie is it’s simplicity. While its all hook, they are their own chorus. Tyler, the Creator has come a long way. And now, he and the gang can arrange and produce while continuing to sonically innovate. Their array of voices vary in pace and decibel while they move like choppy waters over Oldie. This track puts them on full display as what they are: great lyricists.

Tyler opens and closes Oldie himself (and produces the track) leading off and finishing strong. In between, there are great verses from Hodgy Beats, Left Brain, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Jasper Dolphin, and Earl Sweatshirt. Their sounds are progressive, as always. But they don’t seem to be letting themselves get too good. With just enough breathing room knowing that they’ll never stop creating, each record gets better and better with production, lyricism and delicacy.

Two years ago yesterday, we got Radical. Officially Odd Future’s second mixtape, I was writing about it here a year after it’s release. I was writing about their rise to fame (remember this?) And about their presence in our culture and in hip hop’s culture.

Radical was a self-released free download. And now The OF Tape Vol. 2 is on their own label, Odd Future Records. With full creative control not only did they make this record 18 tracks long, they made the closing track their masterpiece. I’d be happy to make my Top Tracks Of The Year list only eight tracks long, just to include Oldie. Because every Top Ten List needs it.

A lot of people don’t like Odd Future. Most people have a problem with their misogyny, the violence in their lyrics and the ignorance they play out in their public lives. My only guess is that not enough people are paying attention. (Syd tha Kyd is their only female member and the only openly gay member of the hip hop community. And yes, no one cares because she’s equal.) Yeah, they’re silly. And they say dumb shit. Odd Future isn’t rapping about world peace or war or Wall Street. They’re rapping and creating, staying true to themselves (and sticking together) while changing hip hop (and how we talk about it.)  They rap about their lives and who they are, allowing a multitude of people to relate while they amass popularity.

Meanwhile, the rest of The OF Tape Vol. 2 is full of other Golf Wang creations. The fact that they made Oldie and still continued on with other essential pieces of the record shows a flexibility and a craving to create as much as possible. Each piece stands seperate from one another. Yet we know it’s still them.

With Hodgy Beats‘ Untitled EP (also out on Odd Future Records) and releases from The Internet and talks of an upcoming solo record from Earl Sweatshirt (and his own label) it’s clear that we have a lot to look forward to from OFWGKTA. And while I’m content with Oldie, more is always welcome.

Enjoy.

WU LYF live

Having been the second time I saw WU LYF at DC’s Rock and Roll Hotel on H Street, it lived up to my expectations of awesome. This band plays incredibly well together. While their sound is limited, it’s rehearsed. The drummer, as we learned after the show, is incredibly shy. Not often do we see a drummer who can play as hard, and as well, as Joe Manning and will cower when the crowd chants his name for an encore. Ellery Roberts, whom I think calls himself Howler, is a quiet showman. He barely speaks to us, laughs through what he does say, and paces around the stage. Too many rips in his jean jacket with the LYF logo on the back, he was so slim and sexy its hard to imagine that powerful rasp coming from such a small person. He supplements Evans Kati and Tom McClung, on guitar and bass respectively, with the ever present organ. Too few bands cherish the organ. Thank god for WU LYF.

They rattled off the tracks from their record, Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, with a few new tracks and covers that went unannounced (and therefore unrecognized.) If you haven’t hear their record I immediately suggest it. Bizarre sounding with unusual song progression WU LYF, sadly, isn’t for everyone. But they’re for me. (I even got myself a sweet poster pre-show. And got Roberts to sign it.) Almost every song has a movement to it and quite literally sounds just like the open space they recorded in.

When I saw WU LYF a year ago they didn’t give us an encore. Probably due to the fact that they only have ten songs to play. The crowd wouldn’t let up this time. After the band eventually came back (with a shirtless Roberts) we spent minutes chanting Joe, waiting for the drummer to appear. We then spent too many more minutes waiting for them to decide what to play. First a cover and then an encore of We Bros – the over-edited single. (Which, I hate to presume is becoming a trademark song for indie-bro-rock. Consider the phrase coined.) It turned into another mosh and Roberts jumped down into the crowd. I could see the crowd move in unison to the music. They jumped and swayed side to side while the rest of us tried (really hard!) not to get stepped on. WU LYF is the smallest epic band in the world. And their presence is unavoidable.

Willis Earl Beal opened. One man with a reel to reel, Beal is a mix of a spoken word artist, a poet, and an incredible vocalist. Although his sound was unrefined (he also promised us a lo-fi sound on his debut record, Acousmatic Sorcery out on XL) you had to believe what he was say-singing to you. He commanded the room from the start and held us all captive (with slight “this is weird” nods to one another in between.) Beal certainly fits in with WU LYF’s unusual existence and it was an honest treat to see him perform. Bed sheet cape/banner in all.

Jack White/Blunderbuss

And on the eighth day, God created Jack White. As we recently learned from the (finally!) long and detailed profile of White in the Easter edition of the New York Times Magazine, Jack White doesn’t own a cell phone. His studio at Third Man Records in Nashville runs on tape and he records only in analog. The employees are all required to wear certain colors and if not, they’re fined. We discover that his first ever concert was Bob Dylan (expect anything else?) He is also the youngest of 10 children and the only one, it seems, who left Michigan. My favorite detail of the article is that he installed microphones on his roof. Just so he can lie in bed with his kids and listen to the rain.

He’s been building his own guitars and he owns all his own master recordings. And for this tour he’s bringing two bands with him. They accompanied him on SNL, one all female and one all male. Neither of which is allowed to hear the other. For freshness.

Maybe one of the most precise men in music – at least in our age – Jack White is sharp. He dresses sharp and sexy and his music is exact. There certainly will be a discussion surrounding his upcoming release, Blunderbuss, out on Third Man/XL Recordings/Columbia on April 24th. But none of it will complain. None of it will revolve around claims against White and why he always sounds the same. Since The White Stripes officially broke up in February of last  year, we’ve seen collaborations with Conan and Colbert, the Insane Clown Posse, and don’t forget he recently released a song by balloon. His creativity seems to be never ending and always interesting. Which is exactly what he brought us on Blunderbuss.

This record has many things going for it. The biggest might be it’s element of surprise. There is surprise in its’ instrumentation and its’ sounds. While White’s songwriting and skill on the guitar are well known, there’s almost no need to address them, his passion for the unusual is reflected in his musicianship and composition. And even though it is technically his first solo record, he brought along his friends: acoustic instruments, the Fender Rhodes, violins, and a myriad of layered vocalists on verses. Oh, and the piano.  Used as detail in hooks and then featured in solos, the piano seems to be an overarching theme in this record – that is, if Jack White isn’t already his own theme.

Blunderbuss [below], the title track, is homespun with piano, slide guitar, and violins. The chorus is a mouthful. It’s romantic and resourceful, just like White himself. The opening and closing tracks, Missing Pieces and Take Me With You When You Go, are developed as if they have movements. But when you see that they’re three and a half and four minutes, respectively, you go back and listen again. And then a third time.

I’m Shakin’ is an even three minute delight. Rockabilly at its finest…until his quintessential layered raw and wild (and almost backwards sounding) guitar solo shows up. White commands your memory of who exactly you’re listening to. His signature sounds are instantly identifiable. We know it’s Jack White we’re listening to. We just have to guess which door he’s behind.

The style of this record pushes past anything he’s done before. And it should make you listen with a new ear. It almost seems like he’s never pleased with his work despite his appetite for perfection. It’s a treat for all of us, not only because he never stops trying but because it always seems like he has the best idea. New ideas are contagious. And so is Jack White.

back to back sold out: Megafaun and Dr. Dog

This Thursday and Friday I had the pleasure of back to back sold out shows: Megafaun at the Backstage at DC’s Black Cat and Dr. Dog at the 930 Club.

Megafaun was more excellent than I could’ve imagined. My first time at the Backstage venue, it was intimate. A perfect setting for a brother band. Brad Cook, Phil Cook, and Joe Westerlund are Megafaun (a fourth was with them, but he seems to remain nameless.) They performed like pros. Phil with a harmonica nestled around his neck, switched between guitar, banjo, and keyboards. Brad led on guitar while Westerlund drummed and sang a number of songs, an unusual trade for a drummer. (This band is proof that it can be done, and exceptionally well. You hear me drummers?) Their three (and four) part harmonies charmed the crowd and reminded me yet again that multiple lead voices is a favorite characteristic of mine. The folk overtones to their psychedelic live performance would have been enjoyed by everyone I know. Lesson here, start listening to Megafaun. [Below, track three from their most recent self titled, out on Hometapes.] They have three previous records to keep you interested. This Durham band won’t ever let you down.

In 2010 I had the extreme privilege of seeing Dr. Dog three times. This fourth time solidified my love and dedication to the Philly band. Along side me was my roommate, the newest of Dr. Dog fans. All I said to her before hand was, “spoiler alert: they’re great live.” She couldn’t agree more. I knew I was in for a treat when the crowd knew every word as they opened with their new single, That Old Black Hole. They also knew every word to From, Die, Die, Die, I Only Wear Blue, My Friend, and well, every other song (Dr. Dog fans are a unique brand. We also always sing along.)

Their catalogue is large, thank god, due to their versatility (one of which is their two lead vocalists. Do we see a pattern here?) Toby Leaman on bass is a groan rock crooner and Scott McMicken on lead guitar is the charming pop rock vocalist with an unbeatable range. Back up vocals helped them get through their hour and a half set (including encore!) which may or may not have included a lion’s head, astronaut, and poncho that doubled as a blanket. Dr. Dog’s composition can be dissonant, melodic and hooky. They wear many hats (and they wear hats) as songwriters. I never get tired of them. Their sixth record, Be The Void, out on ANTI- this past February opens with twang [see below] and follows through with rock and roll. Rock on.

The Black Keys LIVE: you pretty much love The Black Keys

When it was first announced that The Black Keys were playing an arena tour, I was disappointed. Disappointed because I knew at that point the only place I could ever see them would be in an arena. [Unless one day in the far away future they're making their comeback at Cafe Wha? and I just happen to be in Manhattan.] We wouldn’t be seeing them in any small rock clubs from now on.  Not only are they doing an arena tour, they’re selling them out. Music nerds, like myself, haven’t been able to understand why this is happening. Was it the Grammys? Was it their success of Brothers so quickly followed by El Camino? No one knows. All we know is The Black Keys are a universally accepted sonic now: everyone enjoys this band on some level or another. You’re either from Akron, [or any part of Ohio for that matter, it's basically required of you. Which no Ohio native will argue with.] you can’t get the hook from that car commercial out of your head or you just love rock music. Either way, you pretty much love The Black Keys.

How can I argue with that? After seeing them live, it’s hard to do. Although, I do have qualms with the evening. Too many people in a crowd is incredibly overwhelming for four hours. They’re all rubbing up against you, spilling their beer on you, expecting you to see over them. It’s a real effort standing in an arena crowd. Then there’s the sound. Not only is there nowhere for it to escape [spoiler alert: it stays in your head for a good three days] there is no where you can go to escape it. Running to the bathroom to refresh yourself is not an option in an arena. Despite how close we managed to get and how dumb it is to leave, I won’t lie. It crossed my mind a number of times.

But I can’t lie to myself anymore. The Black Keys are one of, if not the, biggest rock band in America right now. We don’t need to talk about their music. You know what it sounds like and you know their songwriting is a tightly knit genre of blues rock. They played all the songs I’d hope they’d play. Like Nova Baby, The Girl Is On My Mind, Have Love Will Travel, Strange Times, I’ll Be Your Man, Ten Cent Pistol, almost all of El Camino and Brothers as well as Your Touch. Their force never to be reckoned with is Patrick and Daniel and The Black Keys. Both players, and the two who accompanied them for most of the set, can play their instruments. And they know how to put on a show. I don’t know how they don’t get sick of the songs they play every night in every city. But they never looked tired. They only looked grateful to be there. A few jams here and there, and teasing the crowd during the breakdown of Little Black Submarines, now, it’s no secret how they got here.

Dan Auerbach really knows how to play the guitar. And even though it felt hard for him to keep time during Sister, and a few other songs, Patrick Carney can play the drums. That is why they are selling out arenas. And that is why we all love them. The Black Keys write their songs and perform them just as they wrote them. They love what they do and you couldn’t pay them to hide it. From the art design of their set to the huge ass disco ball lowered during their too short encore [please, for how hard we had to work for it, we could've used more than four songs] the thought they put into what they do is too big and too loud to walk away from.

They sound great on the record and despite some tempo changes, they sound great live. They Black Keys deserve your attention, and yes, they deserve your money. There is no harder working band in America right now. For ten years they’ve been putting out records. It’s time you start listening to them.

tennis/young & old

 

Just about a year ago in January 2011 we first heard from Tennis – couple composed of Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley (previously from the Indiana pop-punk band, The Ataris.) Famously, they sailed the Eastern Atlantic Seaboard and wrote a record about it called Cape Dory. Now we have  Young & Old, also on Fat Possum. This time produced by The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney. It is due out on Valentine’s Day. The track two single, “Origins” [below], has been around the Internet, satellite radio and stuck in our heads.

For how dreamy independent rock has become, Tennis may remain more true to that than any other band. Even thought they aren’t soaked in reverb, the pair has managed a sound that is fitting for a summer’s day. Releasing, so far, only in the winter months seems to be a statement for them. True to themselves, they do not make compromises. This is who they are and what they sound like. Whatever happened on the high seas for the first record certainly stuck around for the second.

Even with Carney’s name setting a precedent for something (are we sure of what yet?) he hasn’t changed much. A few keys here and there and certainly more interesting drumming. Why he’s connected to a band so different than his own is just a miracle of modern music: there is so much of it everywhere it’s hard not to get your hands dirty.

Tracks “Petition” and “Robin” [below] seem to show us some more dynamics of the band. Showing and telling us that they can vary themselves. (It would be nice to see this band be a part of a cover project, wouldn’t it?) Cape Dory can be reminiscent of doo-wop beats and rhythms that make you want to shuffle. But here on Young & Old we have less sway and more nod. The two releases aren’t much different from each other, but they provide the beginnings of a fun catalogue. Maybe one day we’ll be listening and find something new. Is it today? You decide.

top 50 tracks of 2011

Happy New Year!

Here we have my favorite tracks of the year. They are not ranked and some are tracks from my favorite albums previously listed. And some of these tracks are from artists I couldn’t escape this year. It shines light on my obsession with music: I am willing to follow the over-hyped press of bands I hate just to be sure I know enough to hate them. Those tend to be the bands I obsess the most over, which is a very surreal realization. Enjoy!

1. More Than Muscle/Luke Temple/Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care

2. Yonkers/Tyler, The Creator/Goblin

Ever since I saw the video for this, like the rest of the world I couldn’t get Tyler off my mind. With 34 million views [just on youtube] and counting, this video is spineless. The racking of Tyler and the clean black and white helps clear our mind visually so we won’t be on sensory overload. His lyrics shift shapes while his expressions and delivery sell it. This video plays in my head every time I hear the song. I think you can agree.

3. Spooky Jookie/Man Man/Life Fantastic

4. Middle Of The Cake/Das Racist/Relax

5. Senator/Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks/Mirror Traffic

The toxin’s American made. What an incredible opening line, not to mention the chorus [I know what the senator wants/what the senator wants is a blow job]. Malkmus can’t seem to get America off his mind. I think he did us proud.

6. San Francisco/WATERS/Out In The Light

7. Cave Song/WU LYF/Go Tell Fire To The Mountain

7. Cruel/St. Vincent/Strange Mercy

While this album didn’t sell me, this song did. Cruel has the Annie Clark shredding touch. Annie has it all: a beautiful voice and face. Her song writing is elegant and creepy. The image she has managed to craft of herself is unforgettable. Actor still remains my favorite. But this track will find its way into loads of mix tapes.

8. Doorstep/tUnE-yArDs/w h o k i l l

9. Beth/Rest /Bon Iver/Bon Iver

This song seemed to be everyone’s biggest complaint about Bon Iver. But since I first heard it, it was my favorite. We all agree that it’s hard to chose a favorite on here. Beth/Rest is unlike anything Vernon has ever made. [Who knows? Maybe we'll see some synth heavy Bon Iver records in the future?] This album is powerful and this closing track seems to tie it up for me, perfectly.

10. Modern Art/Black Lips/Arabia Mountain

11. Don’t Move/Phantogram/Nightlife

12. Cake/Federal Funding/Showroom Of Compassion

Cake might be one of the first bands I’ve ever loved. [Right next to Led Zeppelin.] I saw the last of three sold out shows at DC’s 930 club and got to sing along to every song. And I wasn’t crazy about this record when I first heard it. It was John McCrea in the flesh [and maybe the ominous capitol building in the distance] that made me fall in love with this whole record.

13. New Beat/Toro Y Moi/Underneath The Pine

14. Operation/Yuck/Yuck

15. Machu Picchu/The Strokes/Angles

Here is where my geeky audio production side emerges. I love The Strokes. Angles has some glittering production on it. Machu Picchu has panning and guitar production work unlike any other. It can stand alone for me. But it doesn’t have to. As an album opener, it shall stay on a list of great opening tracks with that slide, hit and unforgettable line I’m Putting Your Patience To The Test. While Casablancas was teasing us, making us wait four years for this album, he knew [as he always does] that it would be worth the wait.

16. Book of Revelation/The Drums/Portamento

Due to the fact that this song has great hooks [and that my roommate would play it on repeat till the end of the earth if no one stopped her] I found the true ‘track’. A song everyone is bound to love and you’ll find yourself singing it everywhere.

17. Bumper/Cults/Cults

One of the bands I loathe finds itself on this list. I saw Cults open for Best Coast [quite a bill, I know] in a tiny room in Georgetown University’s campus center. There were enough drunk underclassmen talking through every performance to make me sick. [I became livid and wasn't consoled when Bethany Cosentino, admittedly drunk herself, didn't give a care.] Cults are shown everywhere as the weird boy-girl/brother-sister duo. [They actually used to date and went to The New School in Manhattan together: how they met. They used to have no online presence, but then all of a sudden they were everywhere: hence the obsession.] When I saw them there must’ve been five or so other long dark haired sibling-like-bandmates backing them up. Ever since I’ve never been able to buy it. Until this song became charming enough for me to not realize I was singing along to it.

18. Run Right Back/The Black Keys/El Camino

19. Drinking Problem/Surfer Blood/Tarot Classics EP

20. Nerve Damage!/Unknown Mortal Orchestra/Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra opened for Toro Y Moi, the second time I saw Chaz, at DC’s Black Cat. I was so excited at the thought of hearing this song [perhaps my favorite track of the year, despite this very list's non-ranking nature] live. Nevertheless, they opened with it. My only complaint is that it’s too short. Clocking in at 2:14 it tricks us into psychedelia for the first 20 seconds. But then they remind us punk is alive with a Captain Beefheart sound-a-like and a charming 2 minute overly simple riff.

21. Jesus Fever/Kurt Vile/Smoke Ring For My Halo

22. Eyes Be Closed/Washed Out/Within And Without

I won’t loathe Ernest Greene like I do Cults. His World Cafe Live episode helped turn me around. I spent time back-listening to his previous releases, that I think show more fun and wash out way better than Within And Without, only to find myself disappointed in this record. But not disappointed enough to find myself enjoying Eyes Be Closed on the radio the other day, realizing that a track can sometimes out-weigh an album.

23. Standing O/Wilco/The Whole Love

No matter what, this song always puts me [you] in a good mood.

24. Thunder On The Mountain/Wanda Jackson/The Party Ain’t Over

A Bob Dylan cover, yes. Wanda Jackson is 74 years young. And her friend and producer [and slick guitarist, like we haven't heard him since De Stijl] Jack White turned this one on its head. With a horn section to boot! [The other key to my heart, first being White himself.] This song is just part of an incredibly loud, rocking record that was too overlooked this year.

25. Radio/Raphael Saadiq/Stone Rollin’

26. Daydreaming/Middle Brother/Middle Brother

Some people can’t get past the whine [or shall I say wine] in John McCauley’s voice. I can’t get enough of it. The twang he brings to this folk-super-group [him+Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit] is my favorite part of it. And I’m so glad I remembered this track because I fell in love with McCauley all over again.

27. The Bump/Deer Tick/Divine Providence

But I fell out of love when he could barely hold a song together. Never have I seen a performer as loaded as John McCauley leading Deer Tick at DC’s 930 Club. A friend passed on to me that he bragged about a heroin binge during another live show. His lyrics and storytelling in his records lead you to believe he might not make the long haul. So does the shared lead vocals on most of Divine Providence [foreshadowing? I hope not.] I just hope he can hold it together because I can’t get enough croon.

28. Cool Vapors/Jacuzzi Boys/Glazin’

29. In My Head/Dum Dum Girls/Only In Dreams

30. (You’re So Square) Baby, I Don’t Care/Cee Lo Green/Rave On Buddy Holly

The other sweet sleeper hit from Rave On Buddy Holly comes from, gasp, Kid Rock. This song is a carnival made for everyone. I think it was this record that finally let me love the art of the cover. Buddy Holly’s songs stand up everywhere and they’ll just get better with every reinvention.

31. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair/Arctic Monkeys/Suck It And See

Pure rock. What a riff.

32. Let England Shake/PJ Harvey/Let England Shake

Winner of England’s Mercury Prize, the title track of this record is unsettling. In a good way. The gruesome lyrics and autoharp, xylophone, mellotron, Rhodes, piano and – well, add your imagination and stir – create a sound literally unlike any other. She is masterful in her body of work. This whole record flaunts it, for all to see. Just in case we forgot.

33. How Come You Never Go There/Feist/Metals

34. Make Some Noise/the Beastie Boys/Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Another incredible opening line back on the mic is the anti-depressa. I said it once and I’ll say it again. This record let me discover the Beastie Boys’ back catalog and I can’t go a day without them now.

35. Can’t You Tell/Vetiver/Errant Charm

36. Holding On To Black Metal/My Morning Jacket/Circuital

37. DNA/The Kills/Blood Pressures

38. Second Friend/Megafaun/Megafaun

39. Posters/Youth Lagoon/The Year Of Hibernation

Surprised at this youngster’s success, straight out of the weirdness that is Boise, ID. What else are you going to do? You live in Idaho. You’re going to make music in your bedroom, until Fat Possum finds you, gets your record everywhere and sends you out to see the world. While his music really does all sound the same, its charming. And charm never goes overlooked here.

40. Diamond Way/JEFF The Brotherhood/We Are The Champions

41. Santa Fe/Beirut/The Rip Tide

42. Several Shades Of Why/J Mascis/Several Shades Of Why

This real life guitar hero delivers on this acoustic solo album. This album almost makes me cry on some tracks. It’s just a glance into the brain that gave us Dinosaur Jr. I’m so glad that J will share this side of us with him. It makes the picture more complete.

43. Me And Lazarus/Iron & Wine/Kiss Each Other Clean

44. Ice Cream/Battles/Gloss Drop

45. What A Pleasure/Beach Fossils/Beach Fossils

Nothing this band does can live up to the forgettable self titled debut from last year. It is forgettable. But not to me. I love this band. And as far as I’m concerned the only wrong they do is not enough touring.

46. Top Bunk/Gauntlet Hair/Gauntlet Hair

47. Weekend/Class Actress/Rapprocher

48. Up Up Up/Givers/In Light

49. Die/Girls/Father, Son, Holy Ghost

50. It’s Him!/White Denim/D

This psych-jam that White Denim calls an album has surprises around every corner. The single Street Joy manages to sound like nothing else on this album, but it makes it even more delightful. All of these songs speak for themselves, and their musicianship. I can’t wait for more.

this year’s records in review: #20 – #11

Year end lists are out. I’ve spent the last two weeks crafting mine. Listening to your favorite records of the year in their entirety is really the only way to do it. [I could rant here about how listening to an album from start to finish is the only way to hear a band and understand them: listening to songs in the order presented, letting it rise and fall, and taking you a different place every spin. But I digress..]

We have the folks at NPR‘s All Songs Considered – who are full of surprises, Stereogum, who were the first to put out their top 50 list [which I was baffled by]. SPIN put out a list that seriously makes you rethink your own choices, and the classic debatable Pitchfork [who also feel the need to do an Honorable Mention list - because they're Pitchfork and they're here to annoy you.] And Rolling Stone manages to take the cake, as always, in endless jaw dropping I-Can’t-Believe-They-Did-That-isms all over their list.

Too many of the indie publications included Youth Lagoon while Watch The Throne managed to find itself in a lot of the Top 10′s – which I will never understand [makin' records just for flexin', between what have become two hip hop giants, seems to be who can overproduce and over sample more. Boring boring boring record.] Fucked Up made some surprises at SPIN [including the cover of their magazine - nice photo]. Paul Simon crashed the party at Rolling Stone [while Bon Iver is hard to find and Radiohead claimed a spot that shouldn't belong to them.] Yuck got left out of too many places and chillwave has become a tidal wave. We all have our complaints.

In an effort to constantly create conversation I want to remind us all that it’s important to separate the Best from your Favorite. [Chuck Klosterman taught me that at a signing of his paperback edition of Killing Yourself To Live.] When building my list I was clearly choosing my favorites [which can get tricky] and trying to keep my favorite and the best apart. But then I realized that my favorites are what I think are the best. At first I didn’t want to put them in a ranked order, but then what’s the fun in that?

20. Rave On Buddy Holly - Various Artists

It is in no way shape or form a cop out to include a various artists compilation album in a year end list. Never forget that. The fact is that this album is full of great songs – written by one of the greatest songwriters who is forgotten too often – performed by a collective of talented artists that get the big picture [and understand why they were included in the project.] You can find my full, original, review of it here.

19. Megafaun – Megafaun

Psych folk rock has certainly found its place, even if we never knew it existed. This September surprise from the North Carolina band is charming and full of sound effects [really.] Their songs rise and fall with movements of motion and the whole record gives you the feeling of undulation. Their episode of World Cafe Live from WXPN is worth a listen.

18. Stone Rollin’ - Raphael Saadiq

Raphael Saadiq is the second youngest in his family of fourteen, so he knows how to work with a large collective of people. [Including, from his 2008 release The Way I See It Jay-Z, Joss Stone and Stevie Wonder.] Movin’ is slow on soul and just as fast with R&B. The sounds on this record have come out of another time. But thank god its ours.

17. D – White Denim

This band can play. Opening your show with a twenty minute long jam in a small club can really leave an impression on someone. Knowing their instruments, they also know how to craft a record. D not only shows us that this Austin band has experience playing together live [which can make or break you] but that they know they’re way around a recording studio. Telling a story with a record  has never sounded so good.

16. Suck It And See - Arctic Monkeys

After hearing this record and dismissing it I went and back listened to their previous albums [also in an effort to make sense of their instantly sold out show at the 930 club here in DC.] It took me some time, but I realized their trick. Lyricism isn’t their best. It’s their musicianship. These lads from Sheffield know how to rock with riffs. It’s their music you get lost in and the words you can almost laugh at – in a great way. For the lucky masses who are seeing The Black Keys on their upcoming arena tour also get English rock as the Monkeys are opening.

15. Yuck – Yuck

I actually have this image on a tee shirt [which always shocks people, but the art is too good to pass up.] Saw them open for Tame Impala in May at DC’s Black Cat Main Stage. And it was then I was converted from a skeptic to a lover. They headlined the same club a few months later and shook me a second time. I look forward to hearing their sophomore record – hoping that it’s diverse while keeping that indie mod 90′s experimental sound. Until then I’ll keep listening to this album and be surprised how great it can be every time.

14. Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 - the Beastie Boys

Back on the mic is the anti-depressa. This album came at me like nothing else. It has certified The Beastie Boys catalog in my daily diet. You can stream the full album from their site, watch a short version of the 30 minute film here and laugh at the nostalgic star studded trailer every day. These three still know what makes great hip hop, in fact they always did. Have you had your Beasties today?

13. Only In Dreams – Dum Dum Girls.

Seeing them live solidified my love for this all girl rock band. But after learning about this record from their World Cafe Live episode I gained a bigger appreciation for it.  The loss of Dee Dee’s mother as inspiration to everything from the album art [that's her on the cover] to basic song writing made me realize that these dreamy pop songs dig deeper than any other revival beach fuzz band [see Cults, Best Coast et al.]

12. Errant Charm – Vetiver

This album might not be my favorite but it sure is my favorite record to travel to. A constant in my earphones for long train rides, it’s a soundtrack to watch the countryside. Folk rock is so popular right now. And even though I have my platter to choose from, this is my favorite. Something about the humble singing, piano charm and acoustic love struck a chord.

11. Freaking Out! EP – Toro Y Moi

Nothing put me off more than this record. I couldn’t believe an artist would put out an EP the same year as a record that already did him so well. And now I can’t believe myself. This year has become the year of the EP – as you’ll see later another finds itself in my list. There’s something to say about a short record in these digital days. When an artist can deliver brevity full of A-sides it becomes something you cherish. It’s romantic even. You never want it to end. But then you realize you can listen to it again and again – happy as a clam. Yes, this record sounds like it belongs in the 1980s. But it taught me that my persistence in revisiting music to understand and challenge myself [and my listening habits] can only pay off.

The Black Keys/El Camino

This record is a smash, opening with the first single ‘Lonely Boy’. Out on December 6th, the fourth record with Nonesuch, The Black Keys’ seventh studio album El Camino is an advanced sound of their body of work. Produced by Danger Mouse [whose hands have been in projects as far back as The Grey Album and as soon as this year's Rome with Daniele Luppi]  and the duo themselves, El Camino is full of production. [Finally a band that uses panning!] The detail in recording is so heavy that you barely notice it. Seamless layers of Auerbach’s dirty guitar mingle with hand claps and chorus. Patrick Carney will always stand out as one of the most underrated rock drummers. He is concise and holds it together. Tight, unusual drum fills back up raunchy guitar solos and that raspy croon – the Keys’ signature sound.

The only complaints about this band remain that all their music sounds the same and blends into one. But El Camino gives us a varied song structure and, if possible, shows off better use of their instruments. The Black Keys use the same sounds, yes. But they make memorable records where each stands out on its own. Auerbach and Carney have been perfecting their craft for ten years, from their cover of ‘She Said She Said’ on their debut The Big Come Up in 2002 to the heavily underrated twangs found on 2008′s Attack & Release.

Track four, ‘Little Black Submarines’ [below], shows off Auerbach’s tender acoustic side [much like parts of his 2009 solo effort Keep It Hid]. While you fall in love with it just long enough, the fender rhodes smoothing you over in the background, electricity kicks in with riffs, solos and more standout drumming from Carney. It gives us two versions of the same song on the same track. The Black Keys showed us on Brothers that they can make a record where not only is every track a hit, but is also built on smarts. El Camino is full of them: ‘Money Maker’, ‘Stop Stop’, ‘Gold On The Ceiling’ and b-side single ‘Run Right Back’ all flaunt their hooks – but this time with wah wahs and gender-mixed choruses while all are coated with meticulous musicianship.

Savoring this rock is hard. The only thing you can do wrong is play it too much, too soon. First you’ll bob your head, then you’ll sing along and soon enough you’ll find yourself dancing. [It's never too soon for choreography.] With hand claps on ‘Sister’, the charming, destroyed love of broken hearts are washed away on the grunge channel, The Black Keys way. Sometimes the guitar is too perfect. It sounds like a machine. Carney’s drums morph towards the close of ‘Hell Of A Season’ [below] and sound industrial. It’s refreshing.

The Black Keys know their place as producers, musicians and marketers. They are here to rock backing up traditional styles and sounds with original design and personal touch. Blues rock is meant for every season and every age. Loud music was meant to be heard this way, in excellence. El Camino has keys layered with guitars, heartache, and if you listen close enough, the portrait of every small rock club you hope to see. Carney and Auerbach are longtime friends and have been writing together since the beginning. While they both have had their hands in other projects, it is here where they belong. And it is here, where I hope they’ll stay. You can pre-order at their website while admiring every tasteful minivan of the past.