December’s features were cut short by the ‘Best Albums‘ feature, so I decided to cram two months into one for this compilation. I think it makes this one twice as good as the average one on here, headlined by the first big successes of 2011. Destroyer, Smith Westerns, British Sea Power, and Cut Copy are the first big names to release an album in 2011, all doing so with critical acclaim. Three of the four are featured in this month’s compilation with some of the highlights from those releases. Add to that some new efforts by other familiar faces like Memory Tapes, Akron/Family, and Times New Viking and there is little to complain about thus far. If 2011 continues in a positive direction like this, we could all be in for a great year.

Even aside from the popular names, other names like Woodsman, Grass Widow, and Tennis are generating buzz as well. There is yet to be a breakout new star in 2011, but a couple of these artists produced exceptional debuts and sophomore releases that should provide them with some well-deserved recognition. I’m just hoping that February comes and goes quickly… in my opinion, it’s easily the worst month of the year. The weather absolutely sucks, the only sport on TV is basketball, and illnesses are flying around with malicious intent. I was unlucky enough to catch one early last week and am still battling it. The last time I was sick before this? Last February. There’s just something about the month that makes my body weak. Good thing music is not affected by the miserable qualities of a given month. It’s one of the only things that acts as an enjoyable compass in times like these.

01. Destroyer – Chinatown (post)
02. Smith Westerns – All Die Young (post)
03. British Sea Power – Mongk II (post)
04. Akron/Family – So It Goes (post)
05. Bullion – I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (Beach Boys) (post)
06. Memory Tapes – Today Is Our Life (post)
07. Times New Viking – No Room to Live (post)
08. Woodsman – I Can’t Move (post)
09. Soft Landing – Pendleton Woolen (post)
10. Young Prisms – I Don’t Get Much (post)
11. Grass Widow – Fried Egg (post)
12. The Mountain Goats – Damn These Vampires (post)
13. Tennis – Pigeon (post)
14. Young Galaxy – We Have Everything (post)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE COMPILATION>>> (91.2 MB, .RAR)

The post Obscure Sound: Best of Dec./Jan. ’11 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Top News Story:

There’s a whole lotta tourin’ going on.  Terrible pun aside, a slew of bands announced tours this week.  Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian and CSS will be starting their tour at the Coachella Music Festival, Lil Wayne announced his “I Am Music II” tour with co-headliner Nicki Minaj, and supporting cast Rick Ross, Mix Master Mike, and Travis Barker.  Black Lips and Vivian Girls announced their tour across the east coast and most of the Midwest.  Wavves and Best Coast are hitting the road together, while The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are touring with newcomer Twin Shadow.  The spring is looking to be quite a busy season.

On a side, and extremely sad, note, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is sold out.  Tickets were only available for 4 days before selling out, and they’re now being sold on eBay, Craigslist and ticket bartering sites for as much as $1,500.

However, All Tomorrow’s Parties new festival in Asbury Park (starting 9/30) still has some tickets left, even though Jeff Mangum’s private Monday show is sold out. Curated by Portishead, they will play alongside Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Shellac, Chavez, and many more to be announced. 3-day passes run for $269.

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New Tracks:

Young Galaxy – We Have Everything

* Young Galaxy had the misfortune of being lumped into the chillwave obsession of 2010, but their brand of chilled-out electronic swirls have Studio’s Dan Lissvik producing their upcoming album, Shapeshifting.  “We Have Everything” is an absolute pleasure to hear. The bleeding vocals compliment the lighthearted melody without overpowering the overall mood.

Memory Tapes – Today Is Our Life

* Memory Tapes’ 2009 LP was fantastic. “Today Is Out Life” comes from the new Love SIC Disco compilation.  The track showcases a more focused style from Memory Tapes than was seen in ’09, but still retains Dayve Hawk’s signature hazy flutterings.  Hawk also stated that the song would be included on the Memory Tapes sophomore release.

Times New Viking – No Room to Live

* The first single from their new album, Dance Equired, which is out on Times New Viking’s brand new label, Merge.  This single is telling of TNV’s move toward more traditional recording methods whilst attempting to keep an air of analog goodness.  The obvious shift in style between Rip It Off and Born Again Revisited is even more evident in “No Room to Live.”

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Best New Album of the Week:

Destroyer – Kaputt

Destroyer – Chinatown

Destroyer – Suicide Demo for Kara Walker

Destroyer – Blue Eyes

Dan Bejar decided on the name ‘Destroyer’ for his side project because he was so surprised no other band had ever taken the name.  And while the name has a negative connotation, Bejar’s experiments in the world of singer/songwriters has produced some of the best albums of the last decade.  Destroyer albums range from the minimal and acoustic to the sonic and electronic. With Kaputt, Destroyer delves even deeper into Bejar’s experimental personality.  One of the biggest examples is the first track, “Chinatown”, which employs a late-80s synth/drum/sax combination that, when coupled with Bejar’s haunting vocals, produces a track that sounds out of place at first, but then eases into itself and eventually sounds no more awkward than most of Trouble in Dreams. With Kaputt, Bejar keeps to an overall thematic use of synthesizers and 80s style arrangements; long, luscious and overdone.  And while today’s music tends to veer away from this perceived fault, Bejar uses it with such confidence that he has you believing Olivia Newton John will start playing next.

Read Mike’s review of the album here.

BUY

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Song of the Week:

The Strokes – 12:51

by Jay Mattson

Room on Fire was released when I was a senior at Grimsely Senior High School.  This was a time before I wanted to hear anything beyond what the radio played.  But I bought the sophomore album from the Strokes, mostly because the scene girls in my art class talked about how good Is This It? had been.  Obviously fawning for their attention by letting the album sit halfway out of my book bag so they could see I had it didn’t work to curry their favor.  Instead, it became one of my favorite albums. Specifically, “12:51” was one of the best songs I had ever heard.  It was short, to the point; “rock ‘n’ roll”, but not bawdy; it had the garage aesthetic without sounding overly grimy.  Some of the reasons I love the Strokes are the same reasons other people dislike them.  “12:51” became a sort-of mood lifter for me.  Whenever I was having a bad day, I’d pop Room on Fire into my car stereo.  To this day, “12:51” makes me smile, not only because the track is one of the Strokes’ best work, but also because it reminds me of the days when I first became enamored with Casablancas and Company.

BUY

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