Catch Up #1: 2009

Catch Up #1:
What is it? Basically where I post a laundry list of albums or other things that have come up this year that I haven't had the time to review, or that don't deserve their own blog about it.

8.5
"Black River Killer EP"- Blitzen Trapper
More great tracks from the "Furr" era that won't be new to your ears if you've seen them live in the last year. Good job Eric Earley and gang.

5.0
"Wavvves"- Wavves
Alright, so there's been a lot of buzz over this Wavves kid and I don't get it. He flaked out of most of the gigs on his European tour, got pissed at his drummer, and did more E than one kid from California can take.

8.0
"Dark Was the Night"- various artists.
Tons of Indie hall of famers. The good part is that all of the tracks are new or b-side/rarities sort of thing, but the bad part is that all of the tracks are new or b-side/rarities. "Knotty Pine" is going to be a classic.

6.5
"No One's First and You're Next"- Modest Mouse
B-sides and rarities from the past 2 albums. My feelings about this idea fits in with the "Final Cut" and "the Wall" struggle between David Gilmour and Roger Waters nearly 30 years ago, and I agree with David Gilmour. If the songs weren't good enough then, why are they good enough now? I rest my case. Sorry Modest Mouse.

2.0
"Octahedron"- the Mars Volta
No one wants to listen to 7 minutes of "polyrhythmic" guitar solos anymore.

5.0
"The Eternal"- Sonic Youth
After hearing the Flaming Lips' new tracks from the forthcoming double album, and then hearing Sonic Youth's umpteenth album, it made me realize that alternative bands don't always last 20 years and make good music.

5.0
Tour EP handout- the Flaming Lips
Hearing these songs has made me question who told them they should release a double album of this uber psychedelic alternative fuzz.

But hold your head up!
Because in late 2009/early 2010, you can expect new records from.....
Vampire Weekend
Fleet Foxes
Guster
Architecture in Helsinki
the Strokes
Ra Ra Riot
the Shins

"The Ruminant Band"- Fruit Bats

8.1

Eric Johnson's voice sounds just as much like My Morning Jacket's Jim James as he does James Mercer. "the Ruminant Band" sounds as much like the Shins playing Blitzen Trapper, as it does Fleet Foxes playing Neil Young. There are plenty of comparisons one can draw from listening to Fruit Bats, but the band does well to retain their own brand of alt-country mixed with americana and of course folk (lead singer Johnson hardly lets an acoustic guitar go farther than inches from his hands).

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The vocal phrasing is similar to the Byrds. One line goes up, one goes back down. Johnson's voice does well with both, by the way. The music is the folky sometimes americana, while the vocals and guitar solo lines are the alt-country. The lyrics have their own Fruit Bats twist as well. Mexicans, hobo girls, Indian casinos, etc.

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"Primitive Man" is one of the greatest tracks of the year, and an incredible way to start out an album. The reverb applied to each song sounds like the vocal and the acoustic guitar was recorded in a big open room with stained-glass windows, with the sonic guitar passages then laid over. The title track carries the same sonic-meets-down home wonder as the opener. These songs also have a great camp-fire atmosphere to them. The listener, after three or four tracks could go as far as to describe their sound as "alt-country-campfire indie rock"; you heard it here.

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"Tegucigalpa" brings in the Western country influence. Which could make Eric Johnson and band look like a baroque Johnny Cash. "Beautiful Morning Light" is the first quaint campfire singalong that you can feel the strings being strummed, a style that recurrs in "Singing Joy to the World" again, possibly more so. That song makes you want to stare out a window on a beautiful summer morning. I feel like this album was released at the perfect time.; August. This is, to me, an August album, evoking sunlight, girls, love, happy feelings, old country Michigan, and rural fields at every chance it gets to. The instrumentation on this album should not go un-noted. Like I mentioned before, the guitar work is sonic, the bass and drums compliment it well, with sliced, punchy piano when needed: "the Hobo Girl", "Being on Your Own", "My Unusual Friend". "The Hobo Girl" brings back that late Byrds-esque psychedelic country rock feeling. It almost feels like the Fruits Bats are the Byrds of our era. The final track, "Flamingo", sounds like it was recorded in the 1930's.

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So basically what you have here is a modest album that comes off wonderfully most of the time, but does get too repetitive with the token alt-country at times. But please pay attention if you're looking for an end of the summer album full of county fairs, summer love, holding hands, and singing at the campfire.

Listen if you like: Blitzen Trapper, My Morning Jacket, the Byrds.

Key Tracks: "Primitive Man", "the Ruminant Band"

"3 Rounds and A Sound"- Blind Pilot

8.4

After completing a tour where Portland's Blind Pilot Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski biked from Bellingham, WA to San Diego, CA, the band sold out of their self released EP. Both of those feats are truly impresive. If you have ever listened to Blind Pilot, you'll discover there's another thing to be impressed by; their amazing whimsy amidst melancholy folk, and happy pop.
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Their sound is powerful; which is odd considering most of their tracks are an acoustic guitar and drums. There's something in Nebeker's voice that yields a powerful edge, while still holding a soft, gentle, endearing tone. The brushed snare drum, the carefuly strummed chords, the soothing hi hat or jazz cymbal, the stories, the element of Oregon, everything comes together to their advantage.
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In "Oviedo", the guitar seems to appear out of nowhere and get closer and closer to the mic. The lyrics hold a meaning and augment the soft music. Eventually the two Pilots are joined by a brass section that belt the melody; it's beautiful. "Paint or Pollen" has a jazzy, sly chord progression. "The Story I Heard" ties in elements of the Northwest, jumping a Utah train, things undone. "Poor Boy" is a somber song, but still not terrible to listen to like most sad songs. "One Red Thread" shows the full band potential of their live sound and touches on the upbeat and the slower grooves of this album. Beginning the same way as "Oviedo", but going into new territory with vibe lines in the middle are admirable, lyrics that are liberating, drums that are pumping but not too loud, and touching on the same quiet delivery as the slower songs.
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Although in recordings there is few tracks, a minimalist sense that I can respect, Blind Pilot are joined on stage by a full band that, I feel, takes their sound to the potential that is so obvious on "3 Rounds and a Sound". This album is a perfect album to listen to in your car on your way home. I almost feel like it's giving me a pat on the back. From the time I bought this album, in February '09, until about May, it was nearly all I listened to. This album is listenable all the way through, or if you're just feeling like a couple of their tracks, which makes this album versatile.
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" Go On, Say It" continues the energy that "One Red Thread" brought into the record, urging you to "come on say it right". This time joined by strings, which also course through the veins of their live sets. "Two Towns from Me" is a borderline alt-country song with that wonderful soothing quality, and a Rhodes organ! "Things I Cannot Recall" highlights all the fun of a young relationship; first kisses, trips to the beach, getting caught. "There are things I could not forget/I wish none had happened yet/There are some things I cannot forget/We were stronger than the preachers, wiser than the law". This song is one of my favourites from the entire year.
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Blind Pilot combines child-like innocence, "Things I Cannot Recall", "Two Towns from Me", with more mature situations, "The Bitter End", "3 Rounds and a Sound", as well as the story telling quality of early Decemberists. I truly believe there are great things coming from these guys. They are constantly expanding and I think it's safe to say we can expect a lot of great tunes from these guys in the years to come.
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Key tracks: "Oviedo", "One Red Thread", "Things I Cannot Recall"
Listen if you like: early Decemberists, Elliot Smith, The Shins