2011 Thus Far...

So here's a a quick break down of the stuff I've thought was super rad so far in 2011:

Arbouretum - The Gathering

Austra - Feel It Black

Bass Drum of Death - GB City

Cold Cave - Cherish The Light Years

Cough Cool - Cough Cool EP

D. Charles Speer & The Helix - Leaving The Commonwealth

Death Grips - Exmilitary Mixtape

Deap Sleep - Turn Me Off EP

Demdike Stare - Tryptych

Destroyer - Kaputt

Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High EP

Eternal Tapestry - Beyond the 4th Door

The Ex - Catch My Shoe

Explosions In The Sky - take care, take care, take care

Food Pyramid - III

Food Pyramid - New-Omni Directional Healing Techniques

Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure

Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

J. Mascis - Several Shades of Why

Jeremy Jay - Dream Diary

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo

Liturgy - Aesthetica

Low - C'mon

Martial Canterel - You Today

Mi Ami - Dolphins

Mike Watt - Hyphenated-Man

Milk Music - Beyond Living EP

The Mind Spiders - The Mind Spiders

Mock Duck - Alters of Radness EP

Moon Duo - Mazes

Omegas - Blasts of Lunacy

The Oscillation - Veils

Peaking Lights - 936

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

Psychic Reality - Vibrant New Age

Rival Tribes - Tiger Paint EP

Sic Alps - Napa Asylum

Six Organs of Admittance - Asleep on the Floodplain

The Skull Defekts - Peer Amid

Sports Bar - Sports Bar EP

Sun Araw - Houston Abstros 7"

Teenage Panzerkorps - German Reggae

Thee Oh Cees - Castlemania

Times New Viking - Dancer Equired

Total Control - Pyre Island 7"

True Widow - As High As the Highest Heavens and from the Center to the Circumference of the Earth

The UFO Club / Night Beats - Split 10"

Useless Eaters - Daily Commute

The Weeknd - House of Balloons

Wet Hair - In Vogue Spirit

White Hills - H-p1

White Laces - White Laces EP

WIN WIN - WIN WIN

Woods - Sun And Shade

Various Artists - Deluxe Double Fold (Night-People Compilation)

A collection of artists associated with the Iowa City tape label. (Download)

Night-People is a small label out of Iowa City that has been one of the labels popularizing cassette tapes in recent years. Their tapes are often silk-screened, one-of-a-kind musical artifacts. This compilation pulls together 19 bands associated with the label, past/present/future. The music ranges from garage to shoegaze to minimal electronic to weirdo-experimental.

Of the bands on the comp., I've only heard of four of the artists previously: Dirty Beaches (recently hyped-up, but IMHO a bit overrated), Dan Melchoir und das Menace (quirky out-sider pop, this song "Pretty Torn Up" shows a real improvement to other stuff I've heard from him), Trailblazer ("Don't Need It Anyways" blissed-out/metorik beat, the more I hear from them, the more I like) and White Woods (f. Melbourne, AU. Velvet Underground/Galexie 500 homage. Last year's Bellplay cassette is the only release on this label that my poor ass actually purchased.* "Groundswell" is not only an excellent closing track on this comp. but is best song of the 19.)

Overall the compilation is very solid (the only song I didn't like was "Style Promotion" by Yves Son Ace). The artist that jumped out at me that I haven't heard before were: Crome Dome "CMA" (spooky, keyboard driven drone akin to Zola Jesus, also from Melbourne), Eklin "Polan" (f. The Netherlands. Spooky, vocal-heavy kraut-rock), and Lantern "Get Out Of My Mind" (f. Montreal**. This track kind of stood out. A super fun, upbeat proto-punk garage jam, reminded me of The Stooges/early-Germs).

Check out the compilation, there's a lot of great stuff here from a lot of relatively unknown artists that deserve a deeper following. Night-People Records is offering the comp. as a free download on their site. www.raccoo-oo-oon.org

*I picked this up at FEEDING TUBE RECORDS in Northapmton Massachusetts. They carry most of the Night-People releases, along with a tons of great records and tapes. If you're ever in the area, check it out. Plus you might be able to catch local resident Thurston Moore performing an impromptu solo show.

**What's up with Montreal? It seems like all the best punk that nobody seems to be doing is radiating out of the that cold city.

Similar: Velvet Underground, Galaxie 500, Animal Collective, The Stooges, Suicide, Zola Jesus

Rating: 8.0

Night-People Records

Released: Spring 2011

Bad Indians - Sounds from the Big Room

Lo-fi Psyche/Garage from Ann Arbor, MI.

This is a new cassette from Bad Indians a psyche-garage outfit from Michigan. They are offering the cassette via their Mediafire site so download it if you like psyche-rock or garage rock. Solid tunes here. The cassette is a bit all-over the place as an album. You can tell that the band is still honing their sound here.

In a way it's almost like there is two separate bands/influences going on. On one hand there's a hazy psyche-garage vibe which reminds me of very old Black Lips. The song "Where I'm Living" is the best one of these songs. The other style/sound that this band plays is a stripped down psychedelic style that reminds me a bit off Galaxie 500. I felt that this sound was a lot better. The songs "Baby Doll" and "I Can't" (which reminds me a lot "Walking With Jesus" by Spacemen 3) are great and are the best of this side of the band. They also have a spegetti-western-country vibe to some of the songs as well. Another distinctive feature is Bad Indians use of male/female vocals which I always think is a great idea for bands to incorporate (why is it that only crust-punk bands and Arcade Fire seem to get this?).

A solid release here. My complaint would be that the bands needs to tighten their sound up and figure out what they want to sound like. The psyche-garage thing seems like it's been done to death, but so has the Suicide worship recently (they do a great cover "Cheree", one of my favorite Suicide songs, btw.)

Similar: The Black Lips, Galaxie 500, Suicide, BJTM's Thank God For Mental Illness

Rating: 7.0

Self Released

February 19th, 2011

Sonny and the Sunsets - Hit After Hit

Fun and sunny (ha!) garage-pop from SF.

San Francisco really is the mecca of garage rock. More garage bands seem to come of that city than anywhere else. These bands range from gritty garage-punk like Thee Oh Sees (John Dywer is a "Sunset") to a more traditional AM radio sound like Sonny and the Sunsets. The later sound is typically cleaner-sounding, reverb-heavy and embraces lyrical themes that would not exactly upset your parents.

Now there are a lot of garage bands out there. What makes the genre so appealing is that the songs are simple, fun and easy to play. This also creates a whole slew of bands with little talent getting up there and having fun but not really writing any good songs (which is not such a bad thing).

Sonny Smith is a gifted song writer fortunately for us and does not suffer from this. The songs he has penned for this album are whole lot of fun and will really get you pumped for the summertime-funtimes ahead. The album has a good mix of the typical range of pop-songs that wouldn't be out of place in California in the 1960's (although they do have a modern edge to them). Highlights of the album are the opening track "She Plays YoYo With My Mind" which has a riff reminiscent to "Dirty Water" by The Standels. "Teen Age Thugs", another one of the "hits" is a dance-y number about war or soldiers or something.

I liked this album a lot, it's really fun and it's getting me psyched (ha!) for summer. Woo!

Similar: Thee Oh Sees, Jonathan Richman, Standells

Rating: 8.5

Fat Possum Records

Released: April 14th 2011

Mock Duck - Alters of Radness EP

Amazing-ly grungey punkrock.

Mock Duck is a two-piece outfit from L.A./Tokyo. I came across this in the blogospere. They have a punkrock vibe reminiscent of the late 80's/early 90's sound of the Pac NW. Mudhoney/Wipers really come to mind when I hear this. They also sound a bit like Boris' rock n' roll side (not so much the psyche side) which is obviously the Japanese connection.

This EP fucking rules. I'm really like it a lot. Download it for free from their Bandcamp page below. And may I say, more bands starting out should be putting their music out for free via Bandcamp. If you want to make some cash, release a cassette and sell it at your shows.

Similar: Boris, Mudhoney, Wipers

Rating: 9.5

Self-Released: April 1st 2011

Wizard Smoke - The Speed of Smoke

Blackened Stoner/Sludge/Doom with a dash of Psychedelic

Wizard Smoke (!) is a sludge band from Atlanta, which as we all know is a the unholiest mecca for this kind of shit. They describe their influences as "Satan, Weed and the Cosmos." In most cases I find band's self-descripitions kind of bunk, but these dudes got it spot-on. You can seriously hear all three influences here. Satan comes through the atmospheric black-metal style singing. The Weed had a big part in the writing of the droning, buzzing guitars and sludgy riffs (and the primo choice of band name). And the Cosmos had a hand letting the music get to whole new transcendental level, man...

This is some wicked shit. I love how the vocals are totally evil sounding and are paired with the wicked Sleep-style stoner metal. The opening track "Dead Wood" is a big highlight, as well as "Panama II" and "Witches Brew." One knock on the band is that although their sound is great, the overall songwriting and production could use some work as the album does drag in spots. This will surely develop if the band continues to keep it real.

Best thing is that they are offering the album for free on their website before it is released later this month so go and check it out and preorder the LP.

Download

Similar: Sleep, Black Sabbath, Zoroaster

Rating: 7.0

Self-Released

Release: April 30th, 2011

The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck

Folky-Emo, Starbucks/NPR music.

Let me say that when I first listened to this I was expecting something way more alt-country. But what I got, I immediately went "wtf is this emo shit?" I was not impressed. I was ready to fully rip this album a new asshole. BUT as a personal policy I like to give every album I review a full three listens, and on further review this album has a few redeeming songs.

I've never really listened to this band, but I remember they had an alt-country album some years ago when I was at a college radio station. I remember kind of liking it. This album sounds like nothing I remember and that was disappointing. The Mountain Goats are the moniker of some mid-90's lo-fi folk dude, who was prolific back in the day or something but I could care less now. The dude's voice is really whinny and annoying.

But after listening it a few times I really liked the opening track "All These Vampires" and "For Charles Bronson." The best song on the album, "Estate Sale Sign" is also the most upbeat and fun. That song is actually really awesome. But the rest of the album is boring music for white people with "creative" office jobs, a spouse, mortgage and a stupid golden retriever, who live in the expensive part of town with "unique" cafes and restaurants. Barf.

Similar: Wilco, Starbucks, NPR

Rating: 4.5

Merge Records

Released: March 29th, 2010

Listen to "Estate Sale Sign"

Moon Duo - Mazes

Psychedelic/Shoegaze (Psyche-gaze? Shoe-delic?) Hypnotic Proto-Punk.

Moon Duo is a duo (duh?) from SF consisting from the dude from Wooden Shijps, Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada (just look how cute/badass they look together). The duo's older stuff on Sacred Bones and Woodist Records was much more psychedelic than this album. This album has a decidedly more pop-feel to it. It's an album thats takes the simplicity of pop and layers reverb, distortion and draws it out in a hypnotic way.

It's the pop element that really caught me on this album, especially on the title track "Mazes" (listen to it below). Moon Duo has crafted a pop/distortion thing more in the vein on The Modern Lovers than JAMC. There's a minimal feel that draws you into the hazy swirl in other songs like the opener "Seer". This and a few others have more of a Suicide feel to the songs. These songs are less successful in my opinion. In both cases, you are awash with psychedelic distortion of guitars and keys.

The album is a success, but it does suffer from its own sound. While the hypnotic nature of the simple beat and chords (popularized by Nue!'s metorik) give the music character, it also drags it out at times too. This is worth a listen to any fans of psyche-rock, shoegaze, post-punk that enjoy a fair dose of pop once in a while.

Similar: The Modern Lovers, Suicide, Wooden Shijps

Rating: 8.5

Sacred Bones Records

Released: March 29th, 2011

Moon Duo- Mazes by sacredbones

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo

Kurt Vile explores a more classic rock n' roll sound, moving away from previous experimentation.

Smoke Ring For My Halo is Kurt Vile's fourth solo album since departing War On Drugs. One of the reasons for his departure, evident through Vile's earlier solo albums, is that he was interested in exploring more of an experimental sound than the Springsteen-influenced classic rock sound of his former band. But this album is interesting because of how closely he has come back to his former band's sound.

Kurt Vile has defiantly made a truly American classic rock n' roll album here. There is no doubt about it. Even my mom was in the kitchen when I was playing this album the other night (yes I'm currently living at home. It's only temporary I swear) and she remarked how it sounded like Tom Petty and the Dire Straights. I will defer to her 40-plus years of listening to rock n' roll and agree. Tom Petty is far and away the most obvious influence.

This shift back to a stream-lined rock n' roll sound thankfully has paid off. Although the experimentation in sonic layers and textures are largely missing from this album, the strength of the song writing more than makes up for this. Kurt Vile has penned some really great rock songs like "Jesus Fever" and my favorite "Society Is My Friend" on the album. Although the music isn't pushing any boundaries, this is still a great album to just sit back and listen to.

Similar: Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, War On Drugs

Rating: 8.5

Matador Records

Released: March 8th 2011

Arbouretum - The Gathering

Sludgey stoner-rock with some epic, mythological droning folk-vibes.

The Gathering marks Arbouretum's fourth album and is a mix of stoner-metal, drone, folk-rock and an americana-style feel. The feel to album is very old. Old like a tree (duh) or a dusty old old town off the highway. Not old like your Dad's record collection or some lame retro vibe. Old like the Earth.

I just recently traveled around the country on the train. I saw so much of this country and this album reminds me a lot of it. When I listen to this I think of plains, rivers, forests, mountains, deserts, snow and oceans. This album has a very earthy feel to it, but not in a cheesy hippy way. This is an album not celebrating the Earth but revering it as a force not to fuck with.

The opening track "The White Bird" is already one of my favorite songs of the year. It's just so fucking epic. The whole album is an awesome listen front to back. The other big highlight is their cover of "The Highwayman" (popularized by Glen Campbell and the Cash, Nelson, Jennings and Kristofferson super-group) which is an absolutely perfect song for this album. The Gathering is a weighty album and if you like epic-shit, this album is right up your alley. Spark a joint and enjoy, mannnn (or don't. I enjoyed the album perfectly fine without doing that.)

Similar: Dead Meadow, Midlake, The Highwaymen

Rating: 8.5

Thrill Jockey Records

Released: February 15th, 2011

3 EP Reviews: Sports Bar, Dum Dum Girls & Milk Music

Here's a few EP reviews for you...

Sports Bar - Sports Bar Demo

Super-Fun Garage Punk.

Sports Bar are a Garage-Punk and Rock n' Fuckin' Roll band from Richmond, VA. This demo cassette is really fucking fun. Good party music: Booze. Girls. Drugs. The 22-minute cassette has 10-tracks. "Anisa, Nah She Don't Live Here No More" is far and away the hit on this EP. I fully expect it to be on all the mix-tapes this summer. "Camo Face" is an ode to hunting and is a perfect closing song. This band is awesome and I can't wait to see them live, they should be a lot of fun.

Sweet Dreams Records

Released: January, 2011

Similar: The Black Lips, King Kahn and The Shrines, The Sonics

Rating: 8.5

Dum Dum Girls - He Get's Me High EP

All-Female Dream Pop.

For my money I like the Dum Dum Girls so much better than Best Coast. Both are recent female-fronted bands playing fuzzed-out garage-pop. I just think that this band does it so much better, and I think that Best Coast are waaaaaay too overrated. The newest Sub Pop release from these girls is a four-song EP with three originals and a cover of the Smiths "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" (which is amazing and the DDGs manage to make the song non-mopey). The title track "He Get's Me High" is a dreamy swirling mix of the girls voices, guitars and melodies and I highly suggest checking it out. This band is seems to be moving towards more of a Dream-Pop sound and I really like it.

Sub Pop Records

Released: March 1st, 2011

Similar: Asobi Seksu, Best Coast, The Smiths

Rating: 8.0

Milk Music - Beyond Living EP

Fuzzed-out early-sounding indie-rock and garage-punk.

This band fucking rocks. They have a great fuzzed-out sound that reminds me a lot of early Dinosaur Jr and maybe a bit of The Wipers. Driving rhythms and epic courses. They're from Olympia, WA which comes through with their sound, as the use of the fuzzed out guitars has a bit of Mudhoney ring to it as well. The title track is fucking epic, but the whole EP is worth the listen. I want to hear more!

Self Released

January, 2011

Similar: Dinosaur Jr, The Wipers, Bloody Gears

Rating: 7.5

Music for Headphones - Life.in.Mono

Electronic Krautrock with a dash Post-Punk and Post-Rock for good measure.

Ok let's first start off by saying this band has a stupid name. I mean it is fitting but COME ON! But after get over the Philadelphia band's (well dude, Jonathan Allen's) name, this is some excellent Neu! style Krautrock. It might not have that snazzy drum beat that Neu! is known for but it does have some pretty epic synths like the German inspiration. Plus like the cover would suggest Music for Headphones would make some excellent driving music.

Refreshingly Life.in.Mono does vary from the Krautrock template at points. There a couple songs that have an almost angular Post-Punk sound (a-la newer The Fall), such as the stand-out track "Drive Motorik". A Post-Rock sound comes through in other songs like "123GO!!!"

But all in all this is some straight up Neu! worship if I've ever heard any. It is really good too. Good music for driving or working on some project. It's get-shit-done kind of music. The type of album you put it on and after 40 minutes of solid work-time and you realize the album is done.

Similar: Neu!, The Fall, Mogwai

Rating: 7.5

Self-Released (Website)

Released: January 4th 2011

Wire - Red Barked Tree

Pink Flag Records

Released: January 10th, 2011

New Post-Punk from one of the originals of the genre.

Wire has been around for a looooong time. They started off in the first wave of English punkrock bands in 1977. But even 1977's iconic Pink Flag LP was something more than punkrock. They were a band striving for their own unique sound, like so many other acts of the time. In the process of striving for a sound of their own, they, along with other bands at the time crafted what is now know as post-punk.

While Pink Flag stands as one of the albums that defined a genre, Wire's new album is anything but genre defining. Don't get me wrong, I think its a good album and certain songs like "Clay" and "Two Minutes" contain some of the old Wire sound, but this album lacks the cutting social commentary and guitar riffs of songs like "12XU".

The first track off the album, "Please Take" is far and away the "hit song" of the disc, but it is a lot more easily digestible than the abrasive and angular guitars and lyrics of Wire's 70's and 80's output. All in all a good listen and worth picking up if your a fan of the genre or the band, but if you've never listened to this band (Ahem. Really?) pick up Pink Flag instead.

Similar: The Fall, Buzzcocks, Gang of Four

Rating: 6.5