It's not offensive or anything, but compared to their previous stuff it is a big let down. War Prayers is an amazing record.

It's not really fair to label it 'disappointing' because the only thing I had to judge it on was hype, but Tapes 'n Tapes' The Loon is really, really mediocre to these ears. I'm not one to criticize stuff that is derivative, because I like plenty of stuff that sounds like other stuff, but with Tapes 'n Tapes, I can't help thinking "boy, this is trying to sound like the Pixies. I'd rather listen to Doolittle!" And on and on, for the various other bands they borrow from.

It's certainly not awful, but I guess I expected a little more after all the goo-goo hyped reviews. I should know better than that...

quote:

Originally posted by philosopherEric:
It's not really fair to label it 'disappointing' because the only thing I had to judge it on was hype, but Tapes 'n Tapes' The Loon is really, really mediocre to these ears. I'm not one to criticize stuff that is derivative, because I like plenty of stuff that sounds like other stuff, but with Tapes 'n Tapes, I can't help thinking "boy, this is trying to sound like the Pixies. I'd rather listen to Doolittle!" And on and on, for the various other bands they borrow from.

It's certainly not awful, but I guess I expected a little more after all the goo-goo hyped reviews. I should know better than that...

100% Agree.

Yeah, I'm on the same page as you guys with the Tapes 'n Tapes album. I thought it was a 2005 release though. I suppose it's one of those 'tweeners.

I'm not really seeing the appeal of Midlake's Trials of Van Occupanther. After the first song, I was thinking it would be really good, but the rest was just bleh for me.

And I said it elsewhere, but Magnolia Electric Co's new one, Fading Trails is yet another severely disappointing release for me this year.

Oh, and the new Junior Boys. What the hell? It's awful. I sure hope that there's something messed up with the leaked version, because it sounds like they've become the cheesy, lame-ass 80's synth-band some accused them of being. Last Exit was so great, and this.....abysmal.


Here's a list of albums I would've bet money on being good based on what I'd previously heard from the artists (not on hype).

Major, major 2006 disappointments for me so far:

Junior Boys
Magnolia Electric Co
Adem
Grandaddy
Fiery Furnaces
Page France (x2)
Shearwater (though I seem to be the only person who doesn't like this album)
Matt Friedberger (x2)
James Yorkston


Slight disappointments:

Mountain Goats (the LP)
Jason Molina
Espers II
Thee More Shallows
Snowglobe
Psapp
Court and Spark
Islands
Josh Ritter


The good news is that there are always lots of great unanticipated albums that come out of nowhere. It's getting to the point now where I expect most of the good new albums I hear to be from artists I've never heard of or listened to before.

quote:

Oh, and the new Junior Boys. What the hell? It's awful. I sure hope that there's something messed up with the leaked version, because it sounds like they've become the cheesy, lame-ass 80's synth-band some accused them of being. Last Exit was so great, and this.....abysmal.

I dunno what version of Last Exit you heard. So This is Goodbye is pretty much the same stuff - mellow synth pop with their little boy voices. I'm enjoying it.

But I do agree with Midlake. The lyrics are driving me batty - more specifically, the way the guy tries to sing his lyrics is godawful. He tries to stick way too many words in tiny phrases. I liked the harmony on the first song, and the awkward phrasing worked itself out somehow, but after that it kinda falls on its face.

quote:

Originally posted by vitunkrapula:
[QUOTE]Oh, and the new Junior Boys. What the The lyrics are driving me batty - more specifically, the way the guy tries to sing his lyrics is godawful. He tries to stick way too many words in tiny phrases.

That is a major pet peeve of mine. You're just a bad lyric writer if you can't think of a good phrase to fit the proper musical melody to a song. Perhaps the worst example of this in recent memory is Josh Ritter's "Thin Blue Flame" from his 2006 release, The Animal Years. Pitchfork gave that track a 4.5/5 star review, but the awkward phrasing makes me want to yell, "You're talking too much!" at the speakers every time I hear the song. And I hear it fairly often since my little brother's crazy about Ritter.

Same here. My take on it is that the words are part of a melodic line - the consonants and vowels are just as important to the success of the line as are the actual notes sung. They can be written to fit the notes as closely as possible, or they can add some variety and contrast. But when you don't think about it, it shows and you just end up singing like a spastic jack ass. Tom Waits does this really well, as does Isaac Brock and Joanna Newsom, albeit in different ways. But it's one area where the amateurs really stick out from the masters.

So, Akron Family's got a new album out. Guess What? They still suck.

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:

I'm not really seeing the appeal of Midlake's Trials of Van Occupanther. After the first song, I was thinking it would be really good, but the rest was just bleh for me.

* * * *

The good news is that there are always lots of great unanticipated albums that come out of nowhere. It's getting to the point now where I expect most of the good new albums I hear to be from artists I've never heard of or listened to before.

I love the Midlake album. You’re right that “Roscoe” is the best song and, to some degree, all the other songs on the album suffer by comparison, but – to me, at least -- that’s more a reflection of how good “Roscoe” is, not how mediocre the other songs are.

Interestingly, one of the things I like best about “Van Occupanther” are the vocals, and in particular, the harmonies. There’s a smooth, West Coast 70s rock quality to them (and to the music, as well), making Midlake sound like an updated Fleetwood Mac or Steely Dan.

I also love the Espers album. The songs are more muscular and complex than those on the debut (although the middle album -- The Weed Tree -- may be better than Espers I or II). And the band benefits tremendously from the unexpected touches. For instance, the drums crashing in at the 1:20 mark of Widow’s Weed is a really dramatic moment.

I agree with you, however, about some great albums coming out of nowhere this year. Some of them are from artists I’ve never heard of before, e.g., Ali Farka Touré. Some of them are from artists I’ve heard of before but either I hadn’t paid attention to them or I didn’t expect much from them, e.g., Alejandro Escovedo and Scritti Politti (from the first category), Camera Obscura and Comets on Fire (from the second category).

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel, Esq.:
I also love the Espers album. The songs are more muscular and complex than those on the debut (although the middle album -- The Weed Tree -- may be better than Espers I or II). And the band benefits tremendously from the unexpected touches. For instance, the drums crashing in at the 1:20 mark of Widow’s Weed is a really dramatic moment.

Yeah, I just listened to Espers again last night, and it really sounded good. It's definitely moving up my list. I still think their first record is their best though, mainly because I really don't like "Moon Occults the Sun" much at all. Not a good closer. The good thing about Espers, though, is that they put out an album every year, (or at least they have so far). Actually, they've done better than that, since frontman (and I think primary songwriter) Greg Weeks released a solo CD at the beginning of 2005. I own it, and it's not bad. Not as good as any of his Espers stuff though.

I'm hoping you or somebody else, Daniel, can tell me a little bit about the Comets on Fire album. Is it mostly a noise album? Is it kind of jazzy? Because I can't stand either of those things, and I know their last couple records were a bit like that. I've heard this album is something of a departure, but I don't know how much.

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:
I'm hoping you or somebody else, Daniel, can tell me a little bit about the Comets on Fire album. Is it mostly a noise album? Is it kind of jazzy? Because I can't stand either of those things, and I know their last couple records were a bit like that. I've heard this album is something of a departure, but I don't know how much.

It's too melodic (and not nearly chaotic enough) to be a noise album, although they go through guitar "freakouts" from time-to-time in some songs. I'd say it's closer to psychedelic or prog rock, with some jazzy elements.

The songs are intricate, strong and surprisingly clean and sharp for this kind of music. The first number, "Dogwood Rust," is a bit less focused than the other songs, and noisier. But the band settles down by the second song, "Jaybird," which is a sharp, bluesy workout with a hyperactive, restless rhythm section and inventive drumming (the last two minutes or so of the song is one of those "freakout" moments I mentioned). By the time they reach the next song, "Lucifer's Memory," Comets On Fire sound to me like Gregg Allman from his solo album, "Laid Back" (not lyrically, but musically). "The Swallow's Eye" and "Holy Teeth" are too noisy for my taste, but I keep them on my iPod to maintain the album's continuity (and who knows, maybe I'll warm to them). Pitchfork's review panned the penultimate song, "Sour Smoke," but I think it's the best song on the album. It's a propulsive blues-rock powerhouse. It sounds to me more like Led Zepplin than anything I've heard in a while (sans vocals). A piano drives the melody of the closing song, "Hatched Upon The Age," with the guitars rising and falling around it.

I don't like noise-rock either, but I'm really enjoying this album.

I can't really say it's a surprise, so I'm not really disappointed, but I don't like either of the acclaimed shoegazer releases this year by Serena Maneesh and Asobi Seksu.

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel, Esq.:
[QUOTE]Interestingly, one of the things I like best about “Van Occupanther” are the vocals, and in particular, the harmonies. There’s a smooth, West Coast 70s rock quality to them (and to the music, as well), making Midlake sound like an updated Fleetwood Mac or Steely Dan.

I completely agree. The harmonies, phrasing and vocals are what initially drew me to Van Occupanther, and that's not what I usually find with newer bands. But the Midlake album hasn't had the staying power I thought it would, and has slipped a bit on my list.
The first 3 tracks are still solid, though.

quote:

Pitchfork's review panned the penultimate song, "Sour Smoke," but I think it's the best song on the album.

COULDN"T AGREE MORE...but then I often find myself at odds with Pitchfork, which often seems to value texture and attitude over song craft...which brings me too...

quote:

can't really say it's a surprise, so I'm not really disappointed, but I don't like either of the acclaimed shoegazer releases this year by Serena Maneesh and Asobi Seksu

These have dropped significantly in my eyes as well the more I've listened to them for exactly the reason mentioned aboved...Fascinating Textural approach, but anchored by really inconsistent, often plain piss poor songcraft, Serena Meneesh especially just goes nowhere after the fantastic "Drain Cosmetic."

But going beyond that, I think this strong texture/spotty songcraft issue is one of the dominant themes of the year...a number of other releases across several genres...TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Sonic Youth, Eagles of Death Metal, Espers, Charalambides, Beiruit, The Drift...are far more notable for Attitude or Sonic Approach than Consistent strength of the individual songs.

I think that's why I'm responding so strongly to some to more conventional mainsteam releases lately (Snow Patrol, Howe Gelb, Rosanne Cash, Chilli Peppers, Maritime), because so few indie artists right now seem to be approaching music from the simple standpoint of song, whereas last year seemed to focus on almost nothing but.

Even though I've hated everything I've heard from them before, I thought Liars Drums Not Dead was going to be good. It isn't.

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:
Even though I've hated everything I've heard from them before, I thought Liars Drums Not Dead was going to be good. It isn't.

I like it. There's a primitive, menacing quality to the songs, which can particularly be heard in the interplay between the frantic rhythms created by the band's two drummers and the droning, base vocals of the singer. And the DVD that accompanies the album -- which has three videos for each song on the record -- is great. The videos are overflowing with ideas, and mirror the menacing vibe of the album. I like the DVD even more than the album itself.

If you hated everything the Liars did, why did you even bother listening to Drum's Not Dead?

Mainly because a lot of people had Silent Shout at the top of their list also had Drum's Not Dead there, and Silent Shout's my #1.

I feel that.

Anyways. The Pipettes hype has let me down big time. I don't really find anything special about them.

I'd like to go ahead and say that We're from Barcelona is one of the shittiest groups I've heard this year. Shame on you, P4k!

Glorified childrens music. If I wanted that, I'd go to They Might Be Giants. It's Polyphonic Spree for Kids...shudder.