Check out Spazzkid’s lushly design web site here, which also links to a pay-what-you-want Bandcamp, where you can find the rest Spazzkid’s scenic material.

The post Video: Spazzkid – “40 Winks” appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Synth-pop powerhouses Martin Gore and Vince Clarke have formed a band, VCMG, and will release a series of EPs and a new album in early 2012. Their first EP, Spock, will be released November 30th through Beatport, followed by a wide release on December 13th. Clarke and Gore last shared album credits on Depeche Mode’s 1981 debut album, Speak & Spell.

The two first worked together in the late ’70s, when Clarke, Gore, and Andy Fletcher were a part of a band called French Look, which would later become Composition of Sound and – with the arrival of Dave Gahan and departure of Clarke in 1981 – its ultimate incarnation, Depeche Mode. Clarke went on to form several projects (Yazoo, The Assembly) until his greatest success with Erasure, the popular electro-pop duo with Clarke and Andy Bell.

Gore has served as the chief songwriter of Depeche Mode, the most successful electronic band in music history. A strong case could be made that Clarke and Erasure, who have sold over 25 million albums, are in strong running for second place. So to call VCMG a synth-pop supergroup (say it fast) is certainly not an overstatement. It’s pretty much a given that their debut full-length will be lots of fun. As for the album’s sound? It may be more minimal-leaning than either of their main projects. “I’ve been getting into and listening to a lot of minimal dance music,” Clarke recently said, “and I got really intrigued by all the sound… I realized I needed a collaborator… so it occurred to me to talk to Martin.”

Depeche Mode – Stories of Old (studio outtake)

Depeche Mode – Somebody

MP3: Depeche Mode – John The Revelator

Erasure – When I Start To (Break It All Down)

Erasure – Be With You (Starshapes Remix)

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The post Martin Gore + Vince Clarke = VCMG appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Attempting to juggle two musical projects is like being forced to decide between two best friends. Each one provides great collaborative moments and a level of comfort, but the subtleties are often what determine the final decision. How durable the relationship has been, the amount of changes undergone to maintain relations, and even accustomed tones of voice are all subtle components of a friendship that devise the strength of a relationship’s backbone. Since music is often a process that is undeniably collaborative for most of today’s artists, the decisions regarding who to work with and what to work on are grounded in a very similar decision-making process. And like friendships, there is often pressure to focus all of one’s energy into a singular force. No one enjoys being a spare tire. For Brent Knopf, one-third of the creative power behind acclaimed indie-rockers Menomena, his ambitions are much too lofty to exist in a musical world full of singular demands and mind-numbingly consistent expectations. Menomena’s third album and Barsuk debut, Friend and Foe, was released nearly three years ago to glowing reviews, most of them praising the trio for taking accessible indie-rock into uncharted fusions of punk, noise-rock, and funk. Knopf has been with Menomena since the beginning and from their unknown status into one of prestige, leaving a sort of allegiance that is hard to shake off even if your fellow band members are supportive of a solo side project.

As Knopf attempts to simultaneously juggle his primary project (Menomena) and solo project (Ramona Falls), one cannot help but imagine how he is able to produce quality work with the pressures of both projects looming over him. Menomena have been in the studio for nearly three years preparing the follow-up to Friend and Foe, while the debut release from his new solo project contains 11 tracks that contain the depth and focus that fans of Menomena are accustomed to. To say that he has been busy over the past two years would be an understatement, as the development process for an album is grueling and time-consuming (unless you can whip a classic out in a week or so, like The Beatles did numerous times). But Knopf has kept his focus despite the struggles involved in simultaneously being a force in both projects, the struggles being not just the actual physical tasks of songwriting and recording but also the stress that one must feel if friends or band members are not supportive. However, even by simply listening to their music, it becomes fairly evident that the members in Menomena are all mature enough to respect the songwriting process and one’s own individualistic means of expression. For an artist like Knopf, this support makes his solo material flourish even more.

It takes a mature artist to admit a preference toward one specific project. It is always difficult to though, almost like telling a good friend that there will always be someone more reliable and fulfilling than them. But music is not always like life; music is much more flexible. Knopf admits that he initially kept his stronger material saved for Menomena, primarily because he believes in the power of collaboration. It only took a matter of time for Knopf’s own solo material to reveal otherwise though. While Knopf remains true to Menomena and continues to work on their new album, he has transformed his solo output into something of equal effort, satisfaction, and time. With his solo alias being named after one of his favorite childhood hiking trails, Knopf’s Ramona Falls has released a debut that is reflective of Menomena’s innovative tendencies while remaining completely original in style and tone. Like his initial work, Ramona Falls’ Intuit reveals a sophisticated vein of Knopf’s pop music that is enriched by everything from delicate piano progressions to the screeching of synchronized samples. He remains a pop songwriter at heart, but his interweaving and acoustical and electronic components are a gift for all listeners, especially those that are already Menomena fans.

Intuit sports plenty of guest appearances (The Helio Sequence, Mirah, Loch Lomond…) but Knopf is clearly the main audible force. What is amazing about this album is how polished he makes something sound with such little means; the majority of Intuit was recorded in DIY fashion with little aid from the studio. “I Say Fever” boasts a messy arsenal of interweaving guitars that seem to enjoyably crash and burn over the delicate twinkles of keys, while “Salt Sack” takes advantage of edginess by constantly alternating the rhythm section in accordance to Knopf’s melodic variations. These do not sound like DIY efforts, but Knopf’s ability to turn even the simplest of ideas into something extraordinarily grandiose should be unquestioned by now. Even the tracks that do sound lo-fi – like the build-up of acoustics in reverb in “Bellyfulla” or the stripped-down “Diamond Shovel” – are excellent additions to an album reigned supreme by constant innovation. “I Say Fever” is not quite minimalistic, but its evolution from a bluesy guitar progression into an epic with roaring guitars and squealing brass is boisterously impressive. Rarely has the birthing of stylistic fusions been so enjoyable.

With a croon that possesses the same nasally excellence and sincerity of a Michael Stipe sound-alike, Knopf also delivers a countless number of hooks in tracks like “Melectric” and the astonishing “Russia”. The constant use of keys makes this comparison even more apt, as the warble of acoustics and keys in the opening “Melectric” paves the way for brilliant bursts in rhythmic and vocal content that are quite reminiscent of similarly influenced ‘80s alternative-pop acts, even recalling Celtic folk in the process. “Russia” may be the best thing he has written, featuring musical snippets more abundantly than a conventional structure. They all combine to form something beautiful though, complete with string arrangements and revolutionary percussion. To say the least, it is the most epic three-minute song you are bound to hear. Knopf’s talent is extremely evident throughout Intuit but one must not forget how important his gifted support system and multifarious focus was toward this outstanding album’s final result.

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Ramona Falls – Russia

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Ramona Falls – I Say Fever

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Ramona Falls – Melectric

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Are eccentric artistic tendencies hereditary? Like eye color or facial characteristics, I would not be surprised if they were, mainly because I have witnessed friends that walk and talk eerily similar to one of their parents. Whether or not musical talent is hereditarily passed down is too theoretical to be argued for or against, so I tend to think that one’s upbringing has more to do with it than anything. If one is constantly surrounded by music and their idol, presumably a parent, is a musician, what else do they have to look up to and aspire to be? Like all children of parents in a professional occupation, there are advantages to be had here. Most kids that want to learn music are hammered with traditional songbooks and stiff learning routines. Some, though, are raised on it. Traditionalists may argue that theoretical mastery is the key to musical ability, but actual experience seems to be the prevailing factor in most cases. In regard to the passing down of “musical genes”, there are examples to cover each end of the spectrum. Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, and Femi Kuti all stand as exceptionally talented musicians, but their history leads fans to different circumstances despite a few shared characteristics. They all have a musically renowned father and later found future success of their own, but their differing relationships may elude to whether musical ability can be hereditary.

The sons and daughters of famous musicians could have their own capacity to resourcefully create their own music, but it is just as likely that their talents can be attributed to their parents in some way. Jeff Buckley is an example of a reputable musician with a famous father, but his talents and style are undoubtedly his own. He only met his father, Tim, once before his death when Jeff was 11. While his father’s career may have inspired him to pursue music full-time, Jeff Buckley was given no special treatment. His lack of guidance suggests that, perhaps, music simply runs in his blood. Then you have a case like Femi Kuti, whose father Fela Kuti is legendary for his prolific discography and upbringing of afro-pop. Femi initially lived with his mother, but went to live with his father when he was 15. A few years later, Fela gave his son a spot among his all-star performers on stage and the experience needed to pursue his own career. Nowadays, Femi boasts a consistent discography that separates him from his father’s work, while not entirely dismissing the vital experience he was given due to his father’s esteemed status. The differences between Buckley and Kuti show that musical talent is found too often on a case-by-case basis to assume whether it is hereditary or not, but it also shows that musicians tend to impact the lives of the people they influence, whether they are related to them or not.

Although there are many musicians that do not pursue parenthood, the ones that do often vary dramatically in the relationship with their children. Some go off on tour and never return due to indifference, but others are genuinely interested in the happenings of their children… and maybe even their children’s friends. Such is the case with R. Stevie Moore, the prolific producer and songwriter whose accomplishments in both fields are admired by most in the music industry. His genre-bending and technological innovations in music seem nearly endless, and his contributions do not stop there. He gave a former bandmate’s son, who is also interested in music, the proper knowledge as he was growing up, exposing him to his material and quirky innovation in the process. As a result, it is not surprising that the kid’s band, Big Fresh, seems nearly like a replica of the elder Moore’s unique craftsmanship. The group consists of the collaborator’s son and his longtime friends, all thankful for the privilege to work with the legend. This video from 1999 shows just how great Moore seems with these kids, playing a rendition of Moore’s “Why Should I Love You?” from his classic 1976 debut, Phonography. The band is understandably rough there, but they certainly show some potential for their age. And now ten years later, it looks like Big Fresh’s potential has finally caught up to them.

After a debut that showed plenty of promise but not enough execution, Big Fresh returns with a second album that explains why they are so renowned in their native Lexington, Kentucky. Big Fresh Forever is an album that expands upon the group’s electro-pop repertoire, now complementing lush synths and bouncy bass lines with overlapping vocal melodies, eccentric structural transitions, and stylistic intricacies that show an increasing amount of ambition among the band members. Mixed by Robert Schneider (The Apples in Stereo), Big Fresh Forever takes the lo-fi brilliancy of Moore and combines it with the psychedelic musings of Elephant 6 standards like Schneider. “W.L.U.V.” shows off the group’s nostalgic leanings, complete with the crackling of vinyl as they sing about an Illinois radio station over the twinkling of keys and the “la-la-la”-ing backing vocals. It is electronic pop, but its minimalism results in one of the more restrained tracks on the album. That is not to say it is lacking in any way though, as it is nice way to begin a dense album with a track that is purely accessible. Songs like “W.T.O.” and “Entertainment” recall electro-pop surveyors like Chin Chin and Hilotrons with their thick synthesizers and swift implementation of acoustics, topped off by cartoon-ish vocals that echo Frank Zappa’s early material. As you can see, the comparisons to other groups are abundant but Big Fresh mix and match enough genres to call the varying stylistic results their own.

“Large Crowds” stands as one of Big Fresh’s biggest accomplishment though, introducing the listener to an otherworldly atmosphere that is the band’s own. It sounds as if The Flaming Lips combined with Depeche Mode, covering both spectrums of electronic pop with serenely entrancing synth lines and slickly utilized guitar progressions. The catchy “Satan, No” is more reflective of Of Montreal with its satirical lyrical content and key-led assortment of varying rhythmic transitions, made even funkier by an electronic edge that shows the group’s production chops and percussive emphasis. I guess it helps that R. Stevie Moore and Robert Schneider had a hand though, as their experience with the subtle grace of lo-fi production is practically unparalleled. For Big Fresh, their contributions on Big Fresh Forever contributes to a successful album that finds a young group inching closer to their eventual sound. The variety of comparisons warrants some indecisiveness, but there is so much to like on Big Fresh Forever that these insufficiencies can be overlooked. After all, any famous musician would be proud of an album like this, whether a family friend was involved or not.

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Big Fresh – Large Crowds

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Big Fresh – Satan, No

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Big Fresh – W.L.U.V.

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From crocodiles to woodpigeons, I have featured a surprising number of bands that resort to their animalistic side for their namesake. Many of us have, at one point, come across the Discovery Channel to learn something that shocks us about animals. Whether it involves mating rituals or hibernation, there are certain behavioral characteristics in animals that make the human race seem dull in comparison. Perhaps this can explain why so many artists opt for an animalistic connection, one that makes their appearance seem more enigmatic and naturally inclined than the human species. Or perhaps it can be deployed in a symbolic manner, like the recently featured Bowerbirds. Unbeknownst to me before I wrote about them, the male bowerbird holds a colorful object in its beak to attract females during mating season. As it turns out, they do so to compensate for their lack of coloring, adorning their bowers with dead insects and other objects to distinguish themselves from the females. We can all agree that this tidbit is interesting, but how does it relate to an indie-rock band? For Bowerbirds, their style of instrumentation valued quality over quantity; the sparse amount of instruments was compensated for by arrangements brimming with passion, authenticity, and irresistible hooks. The group collected influences and ideas and wore them on their sleeves. Like the bird in their namesake, this distinction attracted an audience and distinguished them from their contemporaries.

For our next animal feature, we turn to a reptile with a reputation of being particularly rowdy. Who could it be kids? If you guessed Alligators, you are correct! Like Bowerbirds, this Seattle-based quintet takes pride in their name, even if the comparison to the scaly reptile is more ambiguous than that of a comparison to a bowerbird. Alligators claim that the animal in their namesake “have a peculiar mystique surrounding their existence”, citing the band’s own small-town upbringing as an example of a band that has risen out of ambiguity to hopefully conquer the nation’s attention span. Since their days in the local music scene of the greater Bremerton area in Washington, the five members in Alligators have been slowly climbing to the top. Longtime friends and collaborators, most of them were professionally trained in music and they all encompass a similar range of musical influences. They all mention Radiohead, the Beach Boys, and the Zombies most prominently, which is quite apt considering their sound borders between melodic experimentation and accessible pop. It is very typical of contemporary indie-rock, but their songwriting and ambitious song structures make their debut album, Piggy and Cups, something to get excited over.

The songs on Piggy and Cups vary in their introductory stages, ranging anywhere from the lush acoustical balladry of “If You Want To” to the rushing guitars of “Original Fear”. Regardless of where these efforts start though, they tend to almost always unfold into something highly excitable and genuinely enthralling. That may lead some to assume that Alligators are simply a continuation of the long line of generic indie-rockers that linger today, but even one listen to a creatively diverse song like “Original Fear” should calm those qualms. Joshua Trembley begins the track with vocals that appear more subdued than usual, only to introduce the listener to a falsetto-like range that coincides with increased intricacy in the guitar progressions and rhythm section. When Trembley proclaims, “When I woke up to the light of day,” the meatiest section of the track occurs, and boy is it good. The flashback to ‘90s alt-rock here is prominent, and the song’s conclusion with roaring guitars and coo-ing backing vocals is even better. Trembley demonstrates such intense emotion throughout this gem, perhaps taking away the spotlight from some great performances and intensely excelling songwriting. Repeated listens will solidify this song’s success though, and other gems on the album will be enjoyed similarly. The flow of Piggy and Cups is something that continues to impress me after a few listens; each song flows into one another more cohesively than most indie-rock groups these days, and for a group as ambitious as Alligators that is certainly an important skill to have.

Although I find too many of the songs on Piggy and Cups to contain too much structural diversity to become radio staples, there is no denying that a patient listener will surely be rewarded by the debut. It is a shame when actual intricacy and focus hinders an artist’s potential for recognition, so Piggy and Cups is yet another remarkable indie-rock debut that may be too diverse for its own commercialized good. The album’s opener and one of the more accessible efforts, “Where Does It Hide”, opens simplistically enough with linear guitar progressions and very ‘90s-like reverbed vocals, paving the way to a one-dimensional chorus that depends on halted guitars and vocal quips. However, both the verse and chorus merely end up serving as an introduction for greater things to come. After about two minutes though, we find the group resorting to electronic pop in a fashion that resembles a more wound-up Maroon 5. We find a bit of ‘70s pop present here, just like in the ending minutes of “Mama, Stop” where various vocal tracks collide to create something serene and expressive in accordance to the backing guitars. It seems that most tracks on Piggy and Cups open up with something accessible in order to prepare listeners for greater things to come, introducing anything from tinges of electro-soul to country-pop after that. After any given track on Piggy and Cups exceeds the two-minute mark, one can expect to hear a flurry of hooks and outstanding performances that provide Alligators with a lasting impression that seems more than suitable for a grand accomplishment in the vein of Piggy and Cups.

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Alligators – Original Fear

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Alligators – If You Want To

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Alligators – Where Does It Hide

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When synth-pop was first glorified in the late ‘70s, it was a musical breakthrough in a more than one way. Its introductory development was more dramatic than most of its stylistic predecessors, as an entirely new emphasis on certain instrumentation and methods of production arose when technology began to integrate itself into the typical structure of a band. Decades have always come to represent specific styles of music, and while the transition from the British invasion to experimentation within psychedelia and rock in the ‘60s and ‘70s had an undeniable impact, there was little major alteration in the instrumentation used and the general presentation of a “quality” song. Synth-pop’s introduction was quite an interesting development in the music world, as the style seemed to borrow fashionable elements from glam and pop music while relying heavily on a synthesized sound that was previously withheld from most listeners that used conventional radio to satiate their musical needs. The songs were hardly complex, and often more simplistic than the experimentalism in the ‘70s, but it hardly mattered. As one could tell by looking at most aspects of pop culture in the ’80s, style reigned in this decade. In present time, what remains interesting about this period is its effect on contemporary music and the new styles that have originated from it.

Now that sampling, vocal alteration, and most elements of electronic music are accessible to most of those with a computer, many with a talent for songwriting have at least attempted to incorporate similar aspects into their sound. The challenge here, though, is striving to sound innovative without being too caught up in the past (which almost always results in a detrimental cliché). Some groups like Cut Copy have incorporated elements of modernistic indie-rock into a sparkling array of synths, while others like M83 have chosen to evoke pure nostalgia with their blissful interpretations of synth-charged ‘80s romance. Choosing this method of electronic implementation is extraordinarily influential on an artist’s success, as there is rarely a line in this practice between immense stylistic success and embarrassing imitations. This great divide was not prevalent when synth-pop first emerged, but now that the genre has been heavily utilized there are fewer ideas that listeners have not heard. With this in mind, when I come across a contemporary electronic artist that does not stray too far from the basics of the style’s instrumental and structural approach, I tend to magnify some things. When a style that has been prominent for several decades is being used by an artist, their songwriting now becomes the most vital element of their potential success.

Unlike artists like LCD Soundsystem, Cut Copy, and Chromeo that blend elements of contemporary indie-rock or hip-hop over tinges of ‘80s synth-pop goodness, Tesla Boy are straightforward throwbacks that have already proven their ability in being one of the only current acts that can sound directly out of the ‘80s with no modernistic touches or technological advances. They successfully create pure synth-pop that reaps from an endless stream of hooks and monumental build-ups. On their debuting and self-titled EP, the Russian trio crafts an ingenious mixture of interwoven Eurodisco synth lines, glittering keys, and a ceaselessly active rhythm section. These are all complemented by Anton Sevidov, whose vocals encompass the stylishly European demeanor of synth-pop’s heyday. The trio is somehow able to come across as a fusion of Depeche Mode, Erasure, and Pet Shop Boys without sounding like they borrowed any primary ideas at all. Considering their style is undoubtedly within the same realm, most of this can be traced to Tesla Boy’s stellar songwriting and sharp production. “Spirit of the Night” should be a surefire hit with its energetic display of alternating arpeggios and twinkling keys, led by an irresistible chorus that finds Sevidov’s vocals and a newly accompanying synth line crafting an ingeniously gripping moment that can serve to epitomize the trio’s potential and ability to craft hooks.

Ah yes, the hooks. Where would synth-pop be without them? It is clearly an aspect that Tesla Boy value considerably, as is shown on the five tracks on the Tesla Boy EP. “Spirit of the Night” shows their chops well with its integration of synths that stretch from both sides of the range spectrum, concluded by an elegant synth progression that is perfectly backed by a bustling plethora of alternating chords that align appropriately to each melodic transition. Another single-worthy effort, “Electric Lady”, contains as much energy as the Hendrix album it took its name from. Compared to the somewhat developmental nature of “Spirit of the Night”, “Electric Lady” takes no time in propelling Tesla Boy to the pinnacle of synth-pop and dance, with the latter reigning quite supremely here. A series of quickly paced high-pitched keys establish the basic melody like most of Tesla Boy’s songs, but the subtle additions within an already contagious melody makes this and “Spirit of the Night” supremely infectious efforts. If released in the ‘80s, success would be imminent. As for now though, this trio has enough songwriting chops to reach a degree of success that should have all fans of electronic pop excited and familiar with the Russian trio whose apparent time machine has helped them create some of the most exciting electronic music of the year thus far.

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Tesla Boy – Spirit of the Night

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Tesla Boy – Electric Lady

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Tesla Boy – Fire

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The first group goes by the name of WhoMadeWho, a clever choice considering their broad array of influences. An initial listen will flaunt shades of ‘90s alternative-rock, specifically in a British context with groups like Blur and Supergrass serving as enjoyable constants. This is most prominent in their use of jangly guitars and the crisp delivery of both Jeppe Kjellberg’s and Tomas Hoffding, though this context certainly does not apply to every aspect of their sound. For the most part, their emphasis on more electro-influenced styles like funk, dance, and house is delivered more prominently. The result is an extremely modernistic sound that fuses the enjoyable aspects of ‘90s alt-rock with several accessible elements of contemporary indie-electronica. This description tends to place WhoMadeWho among similarly fused acts like Klaxons (whom they have toured with), though WhoMadeWho’s delivery is generally too polished to make this comparison entirely justifiable. For a stellar pop track like “The Plot”, the refined mannerisms emit more of a radio-friendly appeal than any form of angst or pettiness. As I previously mentioned, it is not WhoMadeWho’s intricacy or boldness that makes them memorable. It is the way in which they can craft a stellar pop hook using familiar influences of both the present and past, making that feeling of instantaneous captivation a frequent occurrence for the listener.

WhoMadeWho have already shared the stage with the likes of Hot Chip, Justice, and LCD Soundsystem, and such acts provide a good indication of their stylistic demeanor. WhoMadeWho’s knack to implement additional genres – which reaches back as far as ‘60s psychedelia – is also a uniquely creative component that most groups of their nature fail to succeed in accomplishing. Often one will find such indecisiveness between incorporating rock and electronica in acts like this, but the Danish trio show no hesitation whatsoever. “The Plot”, the self-titled track off of their upcoming album, begins with some standard indie-rock flair. A very prominent bass, a few guitar chords or so, and Hoffding’s slight falsetto in the chorus establish a very infectious tone from the get-go, though the track becomes more eclectic as it progresses. After the introductory chorus, the verse attempts a slight stylistic shift with a repeating synth line. The melody here is a more subdued version of the first verse, and it makes the subsequent reversion into indie-rock territory that much more seamless. With the booming bass and occasional synth lines counteracting with the hectic percussion and ardent vocals, one could make a case in saying that “The Plot” summarizes the direction that WhoMadeWho will take on their new album. If this is the case, success seems practically imminent.

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WhoMadeWho – The Plot

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WhoMadeWho – The Train

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Compared to WhoMadeWho, it would be practical to say that La Roux seem more primed for widespread recognition. Apart from already being scooped up by a major label in Polydor, the British duo have received significant airplay across the UK for irresistible efforts like “Quicksand” and will be the supporting act on Lily Allen’s upcoming UK tour. Much like The Knife (but without the brother-sister connection), La Roux are comprised of two members that both have an esteemed knowledge of electronic pop music. Elly Jackson serves as the face and vocals of La Roux, while both she and Ben Langmaid create the infectious melodies with their personal arsenal of synthesizers. Unlike WhoMadeWho, their style is strictly within the realm of electronica, but that does not hinder them from standing out from the rest. Though their songs are extremely conventional and straightforward, their material has a special flair to it that derives from both its infectious qualities and atmospheric consistencies. Jackson’s voice is one that quivers and yelps in accordance to the backing instrumentation, best evidenced by the convincingly danceable “Quicksand”.

Even at the beginning of “Quicksand”, Jackson is an immediate force. Taking advantage of consummate production and high-end technology, she shifts between several ranges and tones of production seamlessly. This track sees her delivery transition from robotic-like, tight vocals into a very flexible approach during the chorus in which she simply proclaims, “I’m in the quicksand”. Again, there are no lyrical revelations to be found or stylistic innovations, but the songwriting and production are solid and Jackson certainly has what it takes to become a memorable figure in electronic pop music. Whether this type of music is too electronically engineered for a mass audience is questionable, as the current “hot faces” in the UK like Lilly Allen and Amy Winehouse deliver a more orchestrated, expectable form of pop music. But if electro-pop becomes the mainstream genre of choice in the next year or decade, La Roux are surely primed to hit the big time. One reason to believe this is by looking at their string of song releases. Hyped electro-pop bands in the vein of La Roux often tend to release a great song or two and disappear, but considering that they have already released two electrifying singles in “Quicksand” and “In For the Kill” (the latter to be released on March 16th), it would be surprising to see their upcoming full-length disappoint.

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La Roux – Quicksand

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La Roux – In For the Kill

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by Mike Mineo

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20. Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line

Losing a member of a band to death can be devastating. No matter how many arguments and fistfights were initiated in the past, it is a fact that many groups tend to form a family-like bond after years and even months of touring and working together. When Ra Ra Riot’s original drummer, John Pike, was found dead on June 3rd of 2007, his former band mates were stunned. “This has felt like the unraveling plot of a tragic piece of fiction,” they said in a press release. However, about a month after Pike’s death, the band announced that they would continue the group in Pike’s memory. A string of tour dates and the eponymous EP in 2007 brought the group increased recognition as they prepared their debut full-length album, The Rhumb Line. The album itself serves as a fine example of the group’s potential, with their flashy style of art-rock serving as both an accessible and contagious interpretation of contemporary indie-rock. The New York-based group works with tinges of post-punk and punk, implementing both cellos and violins over a zealous display of dazzling guitars and tenacious rhythm sections. Vocalist Wesley Miles emits a sharp, slightly high-pitched tone that is reminiscent of vocalists in the vein of Nick Stumpf (The French Kicks) or a more subdued Hamilton Leithauser (The Walkmen). All together, it creates a very convincing sound that proves memorable despite its common originations. In addition to his role as a co-songwriter on a handful of tracks, one notable posthumous contribution from Pike on The Rhumb Line comes in the form of lyrical content. With Miles, he wrote “Dying is Fine”, a gripping track that wholly capitalizes on the group’s stellar mixture of strings and guitars. With an E.E. Cummings quotation serving as the main hook, the topic is emotionally ironic and the melody is addictively consuming. The mournful “Ghost Under Rocks” also makes excellent use of strings, guiding yet another captivating chorus as Miles yelps in perhaps his most emotionally resounding vocal performance on the album. “Here you are, you are breathing like little ghosts under rocks,” he sings, speaking of romanticized suffocation in mildly poetic form. When compared to the regretful – though dynamically vigorous – yelps and moans of “Ghost Under Rocks” and “Dying is Fine”, Miles’ vocals in “Winter ‘05” are appropriately more somber as the strings increase in intricacy and the percussion subtly adds several shuffled components. Along with a cover of Kate Bush’s “Suspended in Gaffa” making the cut, it exemplifies how The Rhumb Line serves as an enjoyably eclectic album within a fused genre that desperately needs it these days.

Ra Ra Riot – Dying is Fine

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19. Gentleman Jesse – Introducing Gentleman Jesse and His Men

One of the most appealing aspects of power-pop is the ability it has to remain untainted in a world where stylistic alteration is often inevitable. While some may argue that the genre’s apparent lack of stylistic ambition is the cause for such sturdy pop ideologies, the crafters of such music never seem to be given enough credit for their reluctance to become submissive toward what is deemed as this week’s fad in the music industry. Gentleman Jesse and His Men, a talented four-piece based out of Atlanta, employ this highly accessible form of power-pop very well, but they are also quite unique when compared to other groups in the genre. Yes, they are comparably intent on hooking in the listener with exceptionally infectious choruses and stellar harmonizing, but Gentleman Jesse and His Men happen to be significantly more nostalgic in approach. Instead of employing a formula in which an overwhelming degree of varying styles clash within a comforting power-pop aroma, the four-piece instead opts to bring back what made the genre so great in the first place. Traditional punk and garage-rock are the main forces at work here, making comparisons to the early workings of power-pop greats Exploding Hearts somewhat unavoidable. Exploding Hearts certainly infused more elements of punk into their overall sound, but the approach and level of melodic alteration remains highly comparable in the sentiment that both groups rely on amiable simplicity to elicit a uniquely engaging charm in which the songwriting and consequential hooks sound freshly invigorating despite the minimal forces of instrumentation at work. On their debut, Introducing Gentleman Jesse and His Men, frontman Jesse Smith plays the role of accessible power-pop vocalist with apparent ease, extracting a youthful tone of amateur exuberance while simultaneously allowing his commendable melodic range to flow naturally with the brisk use of guitar-led instrumentation. This is perhaps best heard on “All I Need Tonight (Is You)”, a track that would likely have been considered a classic by now if it had been released 30 years ago. From the lyrics to the lead guitar progression, the approach is extraordinarily simple but the appeal arrives in the strong melodic form that Smith conveys with the utmost confidence. In conventional power-pop form, he utilizes a callback approach in the utterly irresistible chorus before embellishing the moment with an extremely concise guitar solo. “You Got Me Where You Want Me” and “Attention” also utilize this accustomed callback approach with surprising precision. Those who view most traditional power-pop as a one-trick pony will likely state the same about Gentleman Jesse and His Men’s debut album, but anyone who enjoys fantastic hooks guided by little more than a guitar and rhythm section simply needs to check it out. Intricate it may not be, but this album’s infectiousness is downright undeniable.

Gentleman Jesse – All I Need Tonight (Is You)

Gentleman Jesse – You Got Me Where You Want Me

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18. Håkan Hellström – För sent för Edelweiss

Swedish listeners first caught a glimpse of Hellström in 2000 with his hit single “Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg”, with Hellström also releasing his debut album of that same name in November. Prior to the release, Hellström was only recognized as fans of the Swedish indie-pop band Broder Daniel as their drummer, a position he vacated between 1988 and 1994. He then rejoined the band in 1997 with a new role as the bassist, leaving in 2003 to focus solely on his solo career. By that time, Hellström had also released a second album, Det är så jag säger det, in 2002 and was in the midst of writing Ett kolikbarns bekännelser, his third album that released in 2005. Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått, a compilation of b-sides, was also released the same year. After announcing that he had become a father and planned to take a short break, he emerged with his fourth album, För sent för Edelweiss, three years later in 2008. Though his first three albums exhibited a form of potential that only arrives once every so often in Swedish pop music, Hellström’s style sounded awkward with occasionally out-of-key vocals and repetitive arrangements. However, with För sent för Edelweiss, it looks as if the skilled songwriter has finally lived up to his wholesome potential. When an artist names an album after one of their own songs in particular, the conceptual intentions of the self-titled track take on lofty expectations. When it comes to “För sent för Edelweiss”, it serves as arguably the most pleasing track on both the album and throughout Hellström’s blossoming career thus far. It features the type of melody that will cause anyone – regardless of whether they understand the Swedish lyrics or not – to grin in pure delight, with the hauntingly beautiful instrumentation contrasting impressively with Hellström’s ardent vocals. The light plucking of an acoustic guitar initially finds itself underlying a graceful piano melody as Hellström’s voice quivers over the corresponding melody. When the twinkle of a new piano melody takes charge and establishes the chorus, Hellström’s voice takes on a melodic shift and crafts a devastating hook in the process. When the track concludes with a Sigur Rós-like instrumental recap over the crooning of Hellström, it simply reminds the listener just how elegantly stunning the overall result actually is. Since the title track will generally be recognized as one of the more instrumentally subdued songs on För sent för Edelweiss, first-time listeners of the track will likely be curious as to what Hellström sounds like when accompanied by increasingly noticeable instrumental fervor. As both “Kärlek är ett Brev Skickat Tusen Gånger” and “Jag Vet Inte Vem Jag är Men jag Vet Att Jag är Din” prove, the result is actually just as satisfying. Both songs implement guitar within a style of pop that is most reminiscent of accessible indie-rock, with “Jag Vet Inte Vem Jag är Men jag Vet Att Jag är Din” especially being resounding of the sentiment with a fury of electric guitars and reflective keys. They each remain insanely catchy in their own unique ways though, with “Kärlek är ett Brev Skickat Tusen Gånger” benefiting most from the vocal correspondence between a bluesy guitar, effervescent keys, and Hellström’s impressive vocal performance. With so many great Swedish releases each year, it is quite an indicator that För sent för Edelweiss is one of this year’s best from Sweden.

Håkan Hellström – För sent för Edelweiss

Håkan Hellström – Kärlek är ett Brev Skickat Tusen Gånger

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17. Thomas Function – Celebration

It would be premature for me to judge the chemistry in Thomas Function based on their music and online photos alone, right?. It could all just be a classic attempt to sell records. Well, considering that all pictures I have found of the members together depicts them having insane amounts of fun while at parties, playing shows, and in the studio, superficial corporate achievement seems to be the last things on their mind. In fact, It leads you to believe that these guys might even be having fun while making music together. And apart from the putting the “fun” in “function”, their music plays off just as naturally. Providing heavy doses of southern-rock and folk within a consistent showing of punk, the fact that Thomas Function are able to simultaneously provide odes to energized punk greats in the vein of Television and The Buzzcocks while delivering an array of styles related to folk and contemporary rock contributes prevalently to a style that is wholesomely unique and energetically engaging. The track that brought the four-piece arguably their biggest buzz in 2007 was “Relentless Machine”, a 7″ single that now once again has appeared on their excellent debut album, Celebration. Despite offering 13 tracks that are contained within a similar delivery, the boastful amount of hooks and instrumental variations provide for a form of excitement that most debuts only dream of. “2012 Blues” was a standout immediately for me from the first listen, as its acoustical folk origins are in stark contrast to vigorous punk-oriented gems like “Snake in the Grass” and “Conspiracy of Praise”, a style that reigns over most of the album. In a track like “Can’t Say No”, where a Pixies-like bass line is adjusted accordingly over an organ-led guitar progression that provides visions of classic Television and Velvet Underground, it almost makes for a colossal fusion of great indie-rock and punk bands who have made a significant mark in the past 30 years. The infectious “Can’t Say No” may be too hectic to make such past comparisons entirely spot-on, but the melodically charged energy that Josh Macero’s vocals convey makes the mixture of modernistic enthusiasm with past forms of punk and garage-rock a very satisfying blend. As for fans of The Buzzcocks or even Wire, one listen of “Snake in the Grass” should be convincing enough. Alongside “Conspiracy of Praise” and “A Long Walk”, it employs a concisely familiar form of catchy punk without being overly aggressive or manipulative in the process. With the rhythm section constantly impressing me with its tight coordination, the excellent guitar work making the comparisons to Television even possible, and Macero’s vocals being a constant source of hooks and youthful vibrancy, Celebration packs a very powerful punch that results in it being one of this year’s most satisfying debuts.

Thomas Function – Can’t Say No

Thomas Function – 2012 Blues

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16. Beach House – Devotion

Like many of those who immediately latched onto Beach House’s fantastic self-titled debut in 2006, I kept my admiration for the release no secret. It was an atmospherically beauteous album, flawlessly transcribing humane emotions as diverse as regret, embrace, and heartbreak into a sound that was as much accessible as it was ravishing. Beach House, a two-piece based out of Baltimore consisting of guitarist/keyboardist Alex Scally and vocalist/organist Victoria Legrand, were certainly the center of attention in 2006, as their well-received debut was an album that seemed to find its way onto everyone’s year-end list (it took a respectable #37 on mine). This year, they have reclaimed that same spotlight, with an excellent second album in Devotion that proves even more fulfilling than their debut. Though it may be subtle, Beach House’s own namesake provides for a cleverly suitable effect. Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand craft a sound that ushers the listener away from the hectic rush of complex urbanity, with their style being ceaselessly relaxing without any stylistic mundaneness. Like the location depicted in their namesake, the lushly written songs provide for an escape from petty demands and harsh realities; think of Devotion as a $15, 44-minute vacation. The exquisite “D.A.R.L.I.N.G.” is reminiscent of a lost love ballad from the ’50s or ’60s. Legrand’s vocals and Scally’s guitar progressions are seemingly able to put listeners into an entrancing state, this time being aided by a guitar soaked in reverb and a set of subdued keys. As per usual, Legrand’s vocals are beautifully chilling, being airily husky but giving off a frail sense of imagery in regard to the alluring backing instrumentation. The percussive involvement is always minute, but the lack of involvement makes the delicate nature even more suitably presented in the process. Another aspect that is revived from Beach House’s debut is Legrand’s ability to create a hook using her vocal range alone. Like “D.A.R.L.I.N.G.” and the majority of Devotion, “Gila” is aided by a guitar supplemented by a mixture of keys and organs. Though the bare instrumentation is enough to solicit immediate enjoyment, the moment when Legrand shifts her vocals into a deeper, more sympathetic range by stating, “Don’t you waste your time, no-oh-oh,” it provides for an instant realization in regard to the sheer beauty that the songwriting of Beach House conveys. With songs like these, Beach House’s Devotion is an elegantly beautiful release that sees this talented duo somehow improve upon the excellence of their self-titled debut.

Beach House – D.A.R.L.I.N.G.

Beach House – Gila

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15. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park

A good majority of people have, at one point in their lives, been forced to live with someone who does not exactly coincide with their standards of life. Roommate horror stories can be as amusing as they are appalling, but everyone recognizes that it is a part of life that most unspoiled individuals have to go through in order to live without a larger financial burden. When Fred Nicolaus and Daniel Rossen were assigned by NYU as roommates in their freshman year of college in 2000, they likely went through the usual semi-awkward introductions. The first few weeks may have passed by without much chemistry, but eventually when they found a common bonding point in music, they knew that luck was on their side. After putting out three EPs and two LPs under the name of The Whitey on the Moon UK, the roommates changed their name to Department of Eagles. Their first two full-lengths, The Whitey on the Moon UK LP and The Cold Nose, saw some moderate success with a stylistic array of electronic pop and sample-based instrumentals, but critics often felt that the releases were too disjointed and cluttered to truly capture a consistent audience. Shortly after the release of The Whitey on the Moon UK LP in 2003, Rossen joined the up-and-coming Grizzly Bear as an additional songwriter and guitarist. However, the two returned to working together shortly, recruiting drummer Chris Bear and bassist Nat Baldwin earlier this year to focus on In Ear Park, the duo’s second album under Department of Eagles. While I was personally impressed with some material that Rossen and Nicolaus have collaborated on prior to In Ear Park, this album is a major stepping stone in both of their developments as songwriters. The album itself was written partly as an ode to childhood, with Rossen making it a tribute of sorts to his recently deceased father. The actual “Ear Park” is a park in Los Angeles in which Rossen and his father used to visit, a touching point of significance when the song is being played. A lo-fi charmer, the duo shuffles through a series of intricately composed guitar arpeggios as Rossen relays his tender voice through a midst of backing strings and twinkling keys. The melody and instrumental capacity is astoundingly beautiful, especially when the subject is in consideration. The following track, “No One Does It Like You”, captures the essence of ‘60s pop in extravagant form. Backing vocals are exceptional here, simultaneously adding to both the rhythm section and enthralling melody in the deep and heightened tones, respectively. “Teenagers” is another key-led spectacle that later bursts into a consuming array of subtle horns and strings, highly indicative of the duo’s impeccably placed value on songwriting and production.

Department of Eagles – No One Does It Like You

Department of Eagles – In Ear Park

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14. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?

The “sophomore slump” is a term that has been applied a countless number of times for musicians, with indie-rock artists arguably being in that recent undesirable majority. It often proves difficult to attempt to pinpoint the cause for such drop-offs in quality, though I believe much of it can be accredited to the amount of pressure an artist receives from their label, the press, and the masses of fans who follow in their every step. In regard to British Sea Power, I admit that they initially set my expectations at a nearly insurmountable high. I consider their fantastic 2003 debut, The Decline of British Sea Power, to be one of the best debuts of this decade and I continue to give it a listen every so often. After the group released their follow-up, Open Season, in 2005, I found that the result was not something I was too personally enamored with. It was not a bad follow-up by any means, just a step back in the direction that the prevalently ambitious British Sea Power intended to go. With their third album, Do You Like Rock Music?, the album’s title seems hypothetical in relation to the brilliant content it conveys. With it, I have once again regained hope that British Sea Power could indeed be one of the most inventive indie-rock bands of the decade. It all begins suitably with “All In It”, a brooding build-up where a choral vocal accompaniment sings reflectively over the steady beat of a snare drum. Once the song begins to subtly fade out and the murmur of a church organ is the only audible presence, a burst of percussion and high-pitched guitar effects collapse onto one another, creating a monumental hook that sets the tone for the rest of Do You Like Rock Music?. The brilliant “Waving Flags” is arguably the best song that British Sea Power have written since the classic “Carrion”, crafting their trademark sound of epic, guitar-oriented rock into a state of pure bliss. Once the ardently grandiose chorus kicks in, any skeptics of the Brighton-based four-piece will likely cower away. Though the structure remains more consistent and the instrumentation more simplistic, the glimmering “Canvey Island” once again finds its strength in a explosive chorus, fully cemented by a preceding verse and bridge where the murmur of strings are presented over the slight strumming of an electric guitar. Depicting the great North Sea flood of 1953, the suitably named British Sea Power carry the song in full force, touching on feelings on disastrous disbelief as Scott “Yan” Wilkinson resoundly croons, “Don’t you think its strange, you know, the way it all works out? Brace yourself for storms and summer drought.” the beautiful “No Need to Cry” rounds off the album very nicely. Being somewhat of a new approach for British Sea Power, they pull off the sympathetic throwback love ballad with ease. Wilkinson turns his vocal intensity down a notch but compensates it with a lush assortment of guitars, subdued percussion, and cooing backing vocals. Unlike the stadium-sized intensity of the choruses in excellent tracks like “Waving Flags” and “Canvey Island”, “No Need to Cry” uses a more subtle approach in being uplifted by a simplistic sprinkling of keys. Regardless, the result is stunningly beautiful when a violin cleverly emerges from the layers of delicately crafted sound during the song’s final few moments. Do You Like Rock Music? opens, continues, and concludes in the same way: with consistent quality. So, if for some reason, the question of “Do you like rock music?” remains etched in your head, it should be quite easy to answer. In regard to this specific album, the answer is an unhesitant “yes”.

British Sea Power – Waving Flags

British Sea Power – Canvey Island

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13. The Walkmen – You & Me

Whether or not The Walkmen regressed on You & Me is a topic with two sides to it. Yes, they returned to a style that was more indicative of their first two albums with a higher emphasis on heavily distorted guitars and angular vocal melodies, but there is still a glaring aspect of You & Me that separates itself from any of The Walkmen’s preceding four releases. While percussively aided keyboards were often at the forefront on Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone and distorted guitars and yelps comprised most of Bows + Arrows, You & Me serves as arguably the most stylistically multifarious album of their commendably consistent career. Their usual use of overpowering guitars, shimmering keys, and clashing percussion is predominant, but when looking at it by a track-by-track basis it becomes evident that efforts like “On the Water” and “Red Moon” contribute to an album whose stylistic scope remains unpredictably consuming. The swirling mixture of keys and horns in “Red Moon” creates some charmingly melodic circumstances for a topic as simple as romantic longing, while the beginnings of “On the Water” invokes the same sort of exotic imagery that songwriters in the vein of Tom Waits have been so known to generate. As the rumbling of bass underlies a glistening guitar progression, singer Hamilton Leithauser concocts a series of vividly appropriate lyrics. “All the years keep rolling, the decades flying by,” he sings as the guitars pick up pace and the track reverts from a mystical bass-led enigma into a hard-rocking fury. “But ahh, the days are long.” This lyrical realization is complemented superbly by Leithauser’s uniquely invigorating howl, an aspect that is aided by instrumentation that increases in intensity as the track progresses. “Red Moon” and “On the Water” are particularly excellent usages of the band’s tendencies to use natural imagery, an effect that supplements the occasional tranquility of both tracks superbly. In terms of each individual song, the songs are not the most structurally adventurous or melodically intimidating in the band’s catalog, but other gems like the anthemic “In the New Year” and the innovative use of percussion in “Postcards From Tony Islands” should convince listeners that the five-piece have clearly succeeded in crafting one of their most fascinatingly compelling releases to date.

The Walkmen – On the Water

The Walkmen – Red Moon

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12. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

Few bands manage to be as innovative and instantaneously accessible as Wolf Parade, the acclaimed joint project of Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner. The most impressive thing to me about the two collaborators, however, is not the infectious melodies they create or the constant critical acclaim that comes their way, but rather the stylistic transition that both are able to make seamlessly as they jump from project to project. Both have been renowned as a few of the busiest songwriters in indie-rock and their durability throughout the past several years can mainly attributed to the unique and melodically invigorating aspects that their songwriting triggers. At Mount Zoomer will hardly feel like a sophomore album to most listeners, as both Krug and Boeckner have been employing reminiscent styles in their respective projects of Sunset Rubdown and Handsome Furs ever since Wolf Parade originated. But it is also a common belief to state that Wolf Parade’s debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, contains the most accessible material from either artist to date, an aspect that arguably derives from intentions to promote their material to a more diversified audience. Krug’s share of material on At Mount Zoomer appears most reminiscent to his work with Sunset Rubdown, with the eerily resounding flair of “Bang Your Drum” and “An Animal in Your Care” employing much of they key-oriented formula over the yelping vocals and consistently revolving song structures that made trademark Sunset Rubdown tracks so memorable. Keeping in mind that At Mount Zoomer comprises of a similar structure in that Krug and Boeckner contribute an even number of separate tracks, I am actually more impressed with Boeckner’s efforts this time around despite Krug’s showings also being expectedly strong. This can be primarily attributed to Boeckner’s increased instrumental virtuosity, as his use of keys and synths has noticeably become more prevalent. This is best evident on “Language City” and “The Grey Estates”, both tracks that utilize an array of sparkling keys in an infectious chorus that is also guided by guitars and rhythmic additives. Despite Boeckner providing for a more consistent offering of quality songwriting, Krug offers one of the best tracks in the excellent “California Dreamer”. Krug’s skills as both a songwriter and excellent keyboardist are in full display as he shifts a minimal introduction of singular keys and backing percussion into a chorus that is the most anthemic and memorable on the album. “I’ll be round, I’ll be round, I’ll be round,” he sings prior to the bridge. “Like a teenager in town where all the other young lovers are found.” It is a moment that is aided purely by the intensifying tempo of deepened keys, a technique that makes the exceptional chorus that follows even more satisfying. A few shrill chords on keys then follow as the fully bolstered rhythm section emerges for the first time. Boeckner’s “Fine Young Cannibals” also serves as a standout, mainly due to a catchy little guitar riff that manages to sound so seductively enthralling over a soulful blend of keys (à la “It’s a Curse”). As the steady delivery of a new wave-like guitar progression eases placidly over concise percussion, it takes over two minutes for the track’s greatest hook to appear. Signaled by the brisk entry of keys, a crescendo of chords flurry over the same guitar progression and intensifying quivers. Keeping in mind that a Krug-Boeckner release without some sort of epic would feel out of place, the concluding “Kissing the Beehive” makes use of both songwriter’s ability to craft alternating song structures within a familiar melody. Though the first several listen will treat nothing to the listener but a few unexpected melodic surprises, each new listen with a better comprehension of the structure provides more in terms of infectiousness and enjoyment. As that track ends, it is easy to note that Krug and Boeckner have once again collaborated for one of the most enjoyable indie-rock releases of the year.

Wolf Parade – Language City

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11. Portishead – Third

Unlike the majority of other groups during the mid ’90s in Britain, Portishead did not become legends by releasing a masterpiece or two alongside a dozen or so middling attempts at reviving glory. Instead, the trio’s status as one of the most mystifyingly ambiguous groups to have an undeniable influence on contemporary music was granted because of sheer quality, not because of an excess of tours or releases. Prior to this year’s release of Third, the group released two albums of new material in the span of 13 years. Both of them, Dummy and Portishead will forever be considered landmark achievements in the genres of trip-hop and atmospheric alternative-pop. Clearly, unless Portishead have something worth releasing, it is not going to see the light of day. This rare ideology continues with Third, an awe-inspiring release that ranks up there with the classic Dummy as being one of the most atmospherically brilliant releases of the past 20 years. Their arrangements are often initially sparse, such as in “The Rip” where only an acoustic guitar and haunting synth pad appears to back Beth Gibbons’ quivering vocals. Like many classic Portishead tracks though, the melodic and instrumental expansion of “The Rip” is what makes the group’s ingenious level of execution so irresistible. As a bassy synth arpeggio backs a lengthily stable croon from Gibbons, a simultaneous percussive ignition occurs as the track steadily fades to black. The vocally brooding nature of “Plastic” and the ethereal, guitar-based murmurs of “We Carry On” may provide indication that Third is Portishead’s least accessible album out of their three, but successive listens will reward even those who are reluctant of the trio’s atmospherically-based talents. Sure, there are less instantaneous hooks, but Third is a grower whose genius is slowly unveiled with careful audible precision. For immediate enjoyment though, a track like the appropriately titled “Machine Gun” (with its percussive bursts) and the melodically enchanting “Hunter”, the latter which proves to be one of Portishead’s most captivating efforts. Haunting is often a common word to describe Portishead’s atmospheric brilliance, and never has being haunted been so enjoyable. A sheer piece of atmospheric perfection, Third is an album to be treasured by fans of Portishead and newcomers alike.

Portishead – Hunter

Portishead – The Rip

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The post Best Albums of 2008: #20 to #11 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Mike Mineo

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50. Hot Chip – Made in the Dark

Before they earned a Grammy nod or topped the UK singles charts, Hot Chip had a considerable amount of doubt surrounding them. Their 2005 full-length debut, Coming on Strong, showed signs of potential here and there with a few stellar hooks, but many found the London-based group to be lacking in three things that are often vital in electronic pop: energy, wit, and consistent infectiousness. They answered the criticism resoundingly with their second album, The Warning, a year later and have not looked back. It somehow found the perfect divide between creativity and accessibility, proving more accessible than Coming on Strong while also suggesting that the group was steadily evolving into something that could be easily separated from the hordes of generic synth-pop acts. The songs were bouncier, more energetic, and – most importantly – more fun. That being said, it was hardly a surprise when their follow-up, Made in the Dark, proved just as successful and arguably even more so when considering how remarkably consistent the album’s quality is. The budding catchiness of “Ready for the Floor” may very well be the best song of their short career so far, while even the more emotionally demanding pieces like the seductive “We’re Looking for a Lot of Love” and the swanky “Don’t Dance” prove wildly successful, providing a fair amount of diversity to an album whose genre usually does not demand it. It simply proves that Hot Chip are beginning to think outside of the box and, in doing so, are succeeding dramatically.

Hot Chip – Ready for the Floor

Hot Chip – We’re Looking for a Lot of Love

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49.Little Joy – Little Joy

When you are a member like an internationally renowned band like The Strokes, it can be difficult when attempting to separate yourself from your past projects in order to form a new one. These initial thoughts may have ran through Fabrizio Moretti’s head when he first formed Little Joy, but after the widespread acclaim of their self-titled debut album, the association appears nearly obsolete. Never mind the fact that lead vocalist Rodrigo Amarante can sound eerily like Julian Casablancas on tracks like the tropical “No One’s Better Sake” and the rockabilly-tinged “How to Hang a Warhol”. Little Joy is ultimately the product of a compelling stylistic focus, resulting in carefree and extremely accessible effort that allows simplicity to flourish in the most complementary way possible. Beautifully interweaved backing vocal harmonies, subdued rhythm sections, and the gentle twang of acoustic and electric guitars are a few of the components at work throughout the album, as is the powerful usage of Amarante’s breezy vocals. Though Little Joy was released a month or two after the warm days of summer, it is inarguably a perfect album for the season. Additionally, even though Amarante is the lead vocalist throughout the majority of the album, Moretti’s girlfriend, Binki Shaprio, shines brightly with her backing vocals and on “Unattainable”, an unrequited love ballad that blends gentle acoustical melodies and hushed vocal harmonies. This track, in addition to irresistibly luxurious efforts like “The Next Time Around”, makes Little Joy a sure winner.

Little Joy – The Next Time Around

Little Joy – Unattainable

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48. Phoebe Killdeer and the Short Straws – Weather’s Coming

At one time in her life, Phoebe Killdeer was an eight-year-old who admired few people more than her musical hero, Tom Waits. As a college student, such a fact was quite alarming to me. After all, I have some friends my age who STILL are not mature enough to even respect Waits as a songwriter. For an eight-year-old to recognize such prevalent talent, it can perhaps prove to be an indicator of their future musical endeavors. Well, this was at least true in Killdeer’s case. Now a renowned songwriter who, like Waits, continues to defy stylistic and methodical norms, her solo debut, Weather’s Coming, exhibited both a raw display of talent and a veneration for artists of the past and present with a swirling stylistic fusion of jazz, Afro-pop, blues, and folk. The audibly emotional fury of “Big Fight” plays with a form of vocalized free-jazz that sees a variety of woodwinds and brass combine with the constant use of an upright bass to create a purely enthralling sense of tension. It sounds like something Matthew Herbert would have crafted, but the credit here goes to Killdeer and her noted producer Marc Collin. “Let Me” sees her pop approach in more conventional form, using elements of Afro-pop in the echoey keys and supplementing electric guitar. Combined with the serene elegance of Killdeer’s voice, it creates a resoundingly successful atmosphere that contributes to an album that has been criminally overlooked this year.

Phoebe Killdeer & The Short Straws – Let Me

Phoebe Killdeer & The Short Straws – Big Fight

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47. Firekites – The Bowery

Speaking of criminally overlooked albums, Firekites’ The Bowery has subtly emerged as one of this year’s finest folk-oriented efforts. The focus throughout the release is folk music, but the subtle implementation of jazz and even electronica is executed flawlessly by this Australian collective. Some tracks like “Same Suburb Different Park” tend to have more emphasis on electronica, while the beautiful “New Year Has Spoken” seems more inclined to tread in folkier and jazzier waters. Regardless though, every track on The Bowery flourishes with exceptional songwriting and instrumentation that gives the group more depth than the majority of their contemporaries, a complement that also weighs heavily on their ability to multifariously emit a selection of styles. Two tracks in particular, “Autumn Story” and “Paris”, are particularly indicative of this wildly successful fusion of folk and electronica. “Autumn Story” gradually shifts from a sole acoustical melody to one that is accompanied by tragically empowering strings and steady percussion, eventually supplemented by a gurgling synth pad that echoes the initial guitar melody elegantly. The usage here is subtle underneath the strings and intricate guitar progression, but it adds to the atmosphere of the track even more so. The instrumental “Paris” utilizes synth pads in similar form, throwing it under a variety of simultaneous guitar progressions. When the distant use of an upright bass is heard, the percussion picks up and introduces the listener to a more vigorous instrumental approach. The introduction, like every stylistic preface on this beautiful album, is one that proves highly rewarding and consistently satisfying.

Firekites – Autumn Story

Firekites – Paris

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46. Destroyer – Trouble in Dreams

Dan Bejar, better known under his Destroyer alias, has made a name for himself as one of the most consistent songwriters in contemporary indie-rock ever since the 1996 release of his debut, We’ll Build Them a Golden Bridge. He is also known as one of the most prolific, releasing eight LPs in a span of eleven years and appearing on a countless number of year-end lists because of it. Well, here he is again with Trouble in Dreams, an effort that sees him continuing with his uniquely invigorating delivery and continuously impressive songwriting. Whether you happen to be a fan of The New Pornographers, Swan Lake, or Destroyer itself, Bejar’s vocals has become one of the most recognizable in contemporary indie-rock for good reason. Trouble in Dreams, his eighth LP, finds . Debating which Destroyer album is the most worthwhile can be a trivial affair, as it is a widely accepted opinion that he has yet to release an album under the alias that lacks his usual vigor and strengths as a songwriter. That being said, Trouble in Dreams is simply like his other albums: engrossing and melodically rewarding, both in ways that improve with each successive listen. The eight-minute “Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape)” proves to be one the album’s best efforts, throwing in plenty of Bejar’s expected metaphors over a forceful display of swift keys and roaring guitars to create something that is epic and masterfully constructed. The same can be said for the majority of the album, as Bejar has once again crafted something worth contributing to his status as one of the most consistent songwriters in indie-rock.

Destroyer – Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape)

Destroyer – My Favorite Year

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45. White Denim – Workout Holiday

The Austin-based White Denim hold more importance than being identified as one of the first groups to embrace netlabels as a source of distribution. They also are showing that the quality of music does not have to be poor or even mediocre for this type of distribution. In fact, the material can be quite excellent, as their debut album, Workout Holiday, quite perfectly demonstrates. The first version of the album (the “Tour EP”) was released in 2007 under the digitalized RCRD LBL, resulting in a considerable amount of attention for a group who had always been a live favorite in their native Texas. The EP version of Workout Holiday was then re-released in 2008 under the same name, featuring several new tracks and re-recorded versions of older ones. “Sitting” and “I Can Tell You” are two examples of their newer material, being two of the more gratifying displays of the group’s gritty mixture of blues and garage-rock. “Sitting” is an outstanding display of the trio’s youthful energy, as vocalist James Petralli indicates immediately with his quivering croon over a slick piano progression. The remainder of the group – bassist Steve Terebecki and drummer Joshua Block – then come in with a very lively rhythm section, an aspect of the band’s repertoire that proves to be one of their major strengths throughout the release. “I Can Tell You” also proves worthwhile as an ode of sorts to early punk, using a repetitive structure over aggressive guitars, a bustling rhythm section, and – the best component – a small sprinkling of keys at the end of each verse. Their methods may have changed from self-distributing CD-Rs at shows to signing with a netlabel and then signing with an actual label, but the newest release of Workout Holiday proves vastly enjoyable regardless of the release format.

White Denim – Sitting

White Denim – I Can Tell You

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44. Benoît Pioulard – Temper

The concept of lo-fi music can occasionally end up being too pretentiously overbearing for some. It can be used as an attempt to cloak a songwriter’s inabilities or a producer’s lack of grandiosity, but there is little doubt surrounding a select group of artists who embrace the style and use it masterfully. Benoît Pioulard is one of them. He recorded his debut EP, Enge, on a built-in computer, an early indication of his lo-fi endeavors. Listening to his second full-length, Temper, though, I start to wonder whether that “lo-fi” tag can even apply any more. Pioulard has hardly changed, with his interests in tape decay and field recordings fusing together to create a sound that uses elements of folk, pop, and electronic in a delicately consuming form. However, the amount of intricacies that lie in any one of the album’s 16 songs makes it seem like it is from another world; it is usually not an aspect of so-called “lo-fi”. Often using ambiance in the background of tracks, whether it be natural elements like rain falling in “The Loom Pedal” or melodic attributes like the eerie bells on “Ardoise”, Pioulard’s success derives primarily from an impressive amount of well-executed ideas. “Idyll”, one of the album’s more accessible efforts, sees a very simplistic acoustic guitar progression being repeated throughout the entire duration of the track. Adding on numerous complementary instrumental layers is what to be expected and he does so here, but when combined with his caressing, lyrically indistinguishable voice, the result is anything but predictable. The same can be said for a track like “The Loom Pedal”, where a repeating acoustic guitar progression is warmly embraced by a synth pad that alters the barren atmosphere into something resoundingly effective. While Temper is perfect for a late-night listen with its gently plucked progressions and use of desolate electronica, the cumulative innovational success engineered by Pioulard makes it more than a nightly affair.

Benoît Pioulard – Idyll

Benoît Pioulard – The Loom Pedal

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43. Howlin Rain – Magnificent Fiend

Back in the day when groups like The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers reigned supreme, live performances were just as valued, if not more than, the albums themselves. Even if one was able to acquire the show’s setlist beforehand, it would likely prove absolutely irrelevant in determining the content of the performance. The musicians in each group altered their initial songs drastically, throwing in a variety of musical styles over structural dissimilarities in a form that sounded ingeniously cohesive and somehow reminiscent of the original song at hand. When listening to Howlin Rain’s second album, Magnificent Fiend, it is quite conspicuous that the Oakland-based collective lean towards a similar school of thought. Appropriately meshed in with the “jam band” standards of blues, rock, psychedelia, and folk, Howlin Rain have crafted an album full of unpredictable hooks that are highly indicative of a group with a studied vision of their stylistic roots. “El Rey” is an excellent example of the grup’s multi-instrumental prowess, utilizing a variety of keys and organs over a prominent brass section. The chorus is the biggest treat here, where a series of brass clashes with Ethan Miller’s wailing vocals to show just how perfectly implemented his soulful presence is. Miller’s howl during “Dancers at the End of Time” sounds like some sort of possessed preacher, with a backdrop of vigorous guitar progressions and straining organs acting as the composed followers. The main lyrical focus of “El Rey” describes this group best: “You don’t have to change; you don’t have to hold onto your past.” A similar musical style has been evident for several decades, but the unpredictably enjoyable way that Howlin Rain present their outstanding songwriting and integration of influences is what separates them from the rest.

Howlin Rain – El Rey

Howlin Rain – Dancers at the End of Time

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42. Hilotrons – Happymatic

Relying heavily on a genre that fans and critics alike generally tend to call “outdated” can prove to be a risky venture. That is, unless it is performed in such a unique way that it instead appears as an updated memento rather than an outdated . With a clever mixture of humor, wit, and stylistic accuracy, Hilotrons have released one of the surprise successes of 2008 with their third album, Happymatic. Whether Happymatic finds the Canadian five-piece tackling synth-pop on “Emergency Street” and “Streets of Science”, new-wave on “Love Suit” and “Caught on Video”, or odes to the spaghetti westerns of Ennio Morricone on the instrumental “Feet First”, there is something for everyone with at least a slight hunger for everything good that came out of the ‘80s. That is not to say the album is entirely a trip to the past though, as tracks like “Deep River” and “Big Plans” provide an inventive edge to contemporary indie-rock with snappy guitar progressions and superbly vigorous rhythm sections that allow such efforts to stay within the cohesive range of successful attempts at synth-pop and new-wave. “Big Plans”, while not the most intricately impressive effort on the album, proves to be one of the most fun with a chorus that borders on ska and reggae. Mix in a bit of Hilotrons’ trademark new-wave and you have yourself an extremely appetizing style to gravitate toward. For a more proficient example of their songwriting, the intense build-up toward the chorus in “Big River” is hard to beat. For an album that contains so many styles (many of which are blasts to the past), it is extraordinary how cohesive Happymatic. For a group who has been flying under the radar for over six years now, this is a fantastic effort that should give them some well-deserved recognition.

Hilotrons – Deep River

Hilotrons – Big Plans

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41. Cineplexx – Picnic

After the sleepless city life of New York City prompted Sebastian Litmanovich to pursue music as a producer and songwriter, he did something slightly unexpected: he returned home to Argentina. You would figure that with all the connections, sights, and opportunities that New York City has to offer, an up-and-coming artist would be at least skeptical of leaving. Not Litmanovich though, as he valued comfort to . This wise decision allowed him to flourish as an artist, playing with the post-rock group Amarena Incident and co-founding a design studio before Cineplexx was even orchestrated. Now, after ten years and five full-length albums, he is widely accredited as being one of the most talented Argentinian musicians of the decade. For his fifth album, the masterful Picnic finds Litmanovich at his absolute finest in crafting an album that defies all atmospheric expectations. Using a variety of twinkling keys, placid guitar progressions, and synthesizers, he has created an extremely lush arena for his beautiful songs to play out in. The standout “Droga Paliativa” fuses together electronic and acoustical aspects of pop music to result in something that proves quite extraordinary. The varying use of reverb on Litmanovich’s hushed vocals adds to the atmospheric brilliance, with the infectiousness of the track also being an unavoidable characteristic of the overall success found on “Droga Paliativa”. For a more poised representation of Litmanovich’s skills as a pop songwriter and perhaps future composer of film scores, the beautiful “Humedad” reaps benefits from twinkling keys and sweepingly somber string arrangements. The same can be said for “Novatone 500mg”, an instrumental effort that sees a highly ardent melody flourish with the appropriate touches of synthesizers, samplers, and automated percussion. Whether he is using dozens and dozens of synthetically engineered samples or a single acoustic guitar, the lushly invigorating atmosphere that Litmanovich stirs up on Picnic is nothing short of breathtaking.

Cineplexx – Droga Paliativa

Cineplexx – Humedad


[audio:http://mineorecords.com/mp3/cplexx-hum.mp3]

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The post Best Albums of 2008: #50 to #41 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Though it is a risky venture to release a double album even if you are a considerably prestigious artist, the bulk of such releases usually derive from artists who have already made a reputable name for themselves at a time when they can afford to take risks. I can use two classic albums from 1996 as an example; Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collies and the Infinite Sadness and 2Pac’s All Eyez on Me were released by both artists at their commercial and artistic peaks. 2Pac already had a platinum album to his name, with his previous Me Against the World reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 upon its release. The Smashing Pumpkins’ prior album, Siamese Dream, also saw a similar range of success as it reached #10. The Pumpkins were the kings of alternative-rock at the time and 2Pac was the king of hip-hop during the same era; they had substantial room to take risks and both artists vastly benefitted from their decisions. Both double albums are now considered classics of their respective genres, but that is not often the case for other attempts when applied to a format that some find overwhelming due to aspects like length, stylistic repetition, and even price. It does not help that most of today’s listeners tend to be an impatient group, with it being a feat if many of them could even sit down and listen to an album in its entirety.

For an artist who opts to produce a double album, it is arguably vital to have a sense of confidence in regard to their own stylistic ability. Unless the songwriting can be widely classified as ingenious, few artists can release such a lengthy album without their style becoming tiresome by the last few tracks at best. This is one of the primary reasons why most double albums we see are from artists who have already had their successes and bumps in the road, as experience is the most imperative tool in crafting something successful of a lengthy duration. Pink Floyd had delicately constructed the epic release of The Wall in 1979 after already writing a slew of legendary albums like The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, releasing the renowned double album in ‘79 after 10 albums and 12 years of working together. Such a practice is most common amongst artists, with experience and success contributing to a high degree of confidence that consequently results in aspirations for a release of epic proportions. Keeping that in mind, for an artist to debut with a double album showcases a form of confidence that is rare even among the most experienced artists. Whether they can live up their own lofty impressions is often a flawed cause, but Benji Hughes’s debut, A Love Extreme, has pulled it off so seamlessly that it is not even slightly pretentious or overbearing. Instead, the native of North Carolina has produced one of the best debuts of 2008.

Within the 25 tracks that encompass A Love Extreme, Hughes’ topical tendencies stray anywhere from taking mushrooms before a Flaming Lips concert to being stood up at a Dairy Queen. “I’m more alternative than Suicide Girls,” he goes on to say during “The Mummy”, a rather apt indication of his cultural awareness. An awareness of so-called “hipster culture” is something that he does quite humorously, with the majority of it being in satirical form like the bouncy, topically self-explanatory “I Went with Some Friends to See the Flaming Lips”, the synthesized dance-pop of “Why Do These Parties Always End the Same Way?”, and the infectious electro-funk of “Neighbor Down the Hall”, a tale of the effect of loud music on an irritated landlord. His outlook on youth culture is amusing because he manages to make a mockery of it while not disbanding and dismissing it entirely, using realistically humorous anecdotes to often emit a central focus. Since it is a double album after all, this is wisely not the only prevalent topical focus. Hughes also has an extreme capability to craft resoundingly successful love songs, whether they are in the form of a ballad or an infectious interpretation of electronic pop. Tracks like “All You’ve Got to Do Is Fall in Love”, “Waiting for an Invitation”, and “So Much Better” variously employ gentle acoustic and key progressions, while a brisker effort like “Even If” showcases a suave mixture of key-led pop and jazz. All of the aforementioned provide excellent results though in a romanticized atmosphere, particularly the brilliant “Even If”, which finds Hughes treading successfully somewhere between The Walkmen and The Divine Comedy.

Though Hughes’ diversity causes comparisons to The Walkmen on “Even If” and even Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy on “So Well” to arise, his multifarious topical ability is more reminiscent of Stephin Merritt, the leader of the Magnetic Fields. Like Merritt, Hughes is able to simultaneously generate ironic, satirical, and witty remarks over a ceaselessly expanding array of musical styles. It also helps that his voice is similarly low, musky, and also highly melodic. One of the album’s catchiest tracks, “You Stood Me Up”, fuses power-pop in the verses with an utterly irresistible chorus that is largely dependent on electro-rock. Its humorous lyrical content is subtly accompanied with rejection and somberness though, as is more evidenced by a track like “All You’ve Got to Do Is Fall in Love” where he begins by asking (or pleading), “Wouldn’t it be sweet if you could be in love with me the way I am in love with you?” For a more direct relation to the Magnetic Fields, “Love is a Razor” reminds me of Merritt’s “Love is Like Jazz” for its witty metaphorical stance. “Love is like a razor, it’s cold and it’s sharp,” Hughes delicately croons over the gentle strum of an acoustic guitar, adding another one to a sprawling list of concurrently humorous and ironically tragic songs.

How so many songs can be simultaneously humorous and tragic is part of what makes Hughes’ album so impressive. The very same thing can be said for Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs, another comparable epic that incorporated a massive array of styles, unpredictable topical frequencies, and amusing references to pop (and independent) culture. Many of us consider that album to be a classic As usual, you can find three recommended samples from the album below, but buying the other 22 tracks for less than $14 should be a no-brainer. It is quite impressive that Hughes has crafted 25 tracks for the album and none of them are lacking in either effort or quality. “When it was time to put it all together, we didn’t want to leave out too much,” Hughes replied when asked about his choice of releasing his debut as a double album. “It just didn’t seem right to leave out too much because it represented where we were when we began all the way through until now.” For the sake of his listeners, it was certainly a wise decision, as each and every track is clearly a great effort that most often results in a unique success.

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Benji Hughes – Even If

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Benji Hughes – You Stood Me Up

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Benji Hughes – All You’ve Got to Do Is Fall in Love

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