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Glen’s Best/Worst of 2010: Albums

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With over one hundred reviews in the books (108 to be precise), I think I’m  all done with reviewing music in 2010. Going forward, I plan on exclusively publishing reviews of music that I like. I’d rather not be an influence in turning away people from music. If someone likes something that I don’t, that’s just how it is! Ain’t nothing I can do. It turns out that I liked most of the music I heard this year; the mean score for a CD Review was 84. In the grand scheme of albums that I’ve heard over the course of my lifetime, there weren’t any top-to-bottom gems. A top-to-bottom gem, in case you are wondering, is an album with at least 75% “A+” songs. Such albums would be considered instant favorites. That said, I gave out “A-” or better to 23 albums.

Best Albums [Album, Band, Label]:
1. King of the Beach – Wavves – I listened to this pretty much non-stop during the summer of 2010. It was perfect listening material, whether it was blasting from the inside stereo as I chilled outside or blasting in the car radio on my way to work. I like my music loud and pretty much every instrument is mixed really loudly on this record. That might be annoying to some, but for me, it was pleasantly nice. A record that never gets boring despite numerous listens over a lengthy period of time is a sensational record. The songs (which I was skeptical of at first) that dabble in experimental rock/psychedelia (“Baseball Cards,”When Will You Come, and “Mickey Mouse”) fit right in with the warm vibes that is King of the Beach. This is the best.

2. Teen Dream – Beach House – Sub Pop – Let me give you a little history of my experience with this album. I first heard it in early December 2009…it leaked really really early. This was also when I was grading albums kind of funky. As a result, I really nit-picked this one to the bone. Early in 2010, I revisited this mainly after reading nearly universal acclaim. Could I have possibly missed something? Surely. There was a time in February/March when I obsessed over Teen Dream. It’s a powerful mesh of dreamy tunes that are extremely uplifting, yet direly haunting. The atmosphere that surrounds the album is truly what wins me over. It’s unlike anything I really heard before.

3. The Maine Coons – The Maine Coons – Spent Planet – I have to really give a bunch of credit to The Maine Coons. When I first heard them open for Nobunny, I thought they were a great opening band, but not so noteworthy as to further look them up after the show. I then heard this album sometime later and thought, well, this is a good album! Upon further investigation, it turned out to be my most highly rated one. It’s garage-pop, at its finest. It’s almost as if the ghost of King Khan & BBQ Show past revived itself, but with a big ole’ keyboard on top of the traditional guitar/drums/tambourine set-up. This is 2010’s Invisible Girl.

4. Hippies – Harlem – Matador – Way back when, I was pretty convinced that this was going to sit at the top of the list. While it’s not #1, it is #4 and #4 is damn good. For a 16 track record, there’s surprisingly little-to-no rough patches along the way. Every song can’t be “Gay Human Bones” after all, but a whole bunch of them continue the spirit that commenced when Harlem released their fine 2008 debut LP Free Drugs ;-). While they sometimes get compared to some KLYAM-recommended contemporaries, these guys are pretty unique in their style of song and Hippies exemplifies that at length.

5. First Blood – Nobunny – Goner – Let me start off with something: Nobunny is a great songwriter. While he often (unfairly) gets lumped into the gimmick or rip-off-dead-punk-legend-wearing-bunny mask-and-nothing-but-underwear category, he’s got skills that allow him to successfully dabble in a variety of rock and roll styles. He can manipulate his voice to quasi-Joey Ramone on punk songs, while on others he toys around with a more country or power-pop twang. My favorite Nobunny songs are the fast ones, but he can get all romantically twisted and confounded on a lot of the slower ones. The enhanced studio production of First Blood should give the bunny-man more recognition than ever before and he deserves it more than anyone in music.

6. Cum Stain – Cum Stain – Burger Records 
7. WWII – White Wires – Dirtnap Records
8. Memphis – Magic Kids – True Panther Records
9. Gay Singles – Hunx & His Punx – True Panther Records
10. Halcyon Digest – Deerhunter – 4AD

Honorable Mentions: Be Brave (Strange Boys), I Will Be (Dum Dum Girls), Melted (Ty Segall)

Worst Album
1. There Is Love In You – Four Tet – Domino Records – I might be the only one who disliked this album, but man was it painful. It’s like a bad hangover…it’s something you’d rather forget than ever bring up again.

CD Review, Music, White Wires

CD Review: WWII [2010]

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Band: White Wires
Release: 11/10
Label: Dirtnap Records

1. “Let’s Go To The Beach” – A
2. “Roxanne” – A+
3. “Did You Forget My Name?” – A
4. “I Can Tell” – A-
5. “Just Wanna Be” – A
6. “Be True To Your School” – A
7. “Popularity” – A
8. “Hands” – A
9. “Are You Mad? – B+
10. “Outta My Mind” – A
11. “Summer Girl” – A
12. “Bye Bye Baby” –  B+

Comments: Power-pop — like music of all genres — has a tendency to tell tales of romantic failings, hopes, and dreams. It rarely forms substance over being popular or “true to your school,” but on this record it does. “Let’s Go The Beach” is packed from start to finish with hooks and a story-line of “running away” to California. The hooks and catchy parts outweigh their less interesting counterparts on WWII and this is precisely why this is a great album. The drums and chorus during “Roxanne” bring us back to simpler times when just an easy melody and a few chords were needed for greatness. The intensity and punch, at least from listening to the first two tracks, is similar to that of Atlanta pop group Gentleman Jesse and His Men. All these songs clock under three minutes, but this doesn’t inhibit memorable moments. There is a mixture of pure hitters (“Hands,” “Summer Girl,” “Popularity,” notably) and slower, more melodic tunes (“Outta My Mind,” the instrumental closer “Bye Bye Baby”), but this variation isn’t too dramatic. In other words, what’s thrown at us is very likable music. Despite this coming out pretty late in the year, it sticks and will have appeal lasting into the foreseeable future.

Grade: A- (92)

Art, Best of 2010, Box Elders, Bradford Cox, Burger Records, Deerhunter, Harlem, Honorary KLAYMERS, Lists, Mark Sultan, Music, No Age, Nobunny, pictures, Punk, Video, Wavves

Chris’s Top Songs of Twenty Ten

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The Top Song of 2010 for this cat is none other than the Box Elders’ classic “Tiny Sioux” released on Hozac records. Being a massive fan of the Box Elders, I naturally elected this ditty as Song of the Year, but with all that excessive fandom aside, I think this tune has attributes that can be genuinely appreciated by “non-garage” fans: the sincerity of the lyrics and the heartfelt delivery of the vocals. The lo-fi, home recording insanely complements the overall innocence of the number, making it feel like a sad, but beautiful children’s song, as if to be heard before falling asleep. I didn’t think the Omaha boys could top themselves after “Atlantis” from last year’s LP Alice and Friends or at least do it so soon, but indeed they did and this is without a doubt my favorite BE number. Y’all have to hear this!

Okay, so the rest of this list will be in alaphabetical order and I have set it to a three song per artist limit. Here we go…

Sadly no A’s :(

B:

Best Coast:
“When I’m With You”
“Boyfriend”
“Summer Mood”

Box Elders:
“Tiny Sioux” :)
“Plenty of Room At the Bottom”

C:

Cum Stain:
“Cum Stain”
“Broke My Dick”
“Bachelor’s Life”

D:

Deerhunter:
“Basement Scene”
“Don’t Cry”
“Desire Lines”

H:

Happy Birthday:
“Girls FM”

Harlem:
“Friendly Ghost”
“Someday Soon”
“Gay Human Bones”

Hunx and His Punx:
“Cruisin'”
“Gimmie Gimmie Back Your Love”
“Hey Rocky”
Note: these songs had been released previously, but this year marked their official release (Gay Singles) on True Panther Sounds. So, I’m breaking my rule here by sharing two more rockin’ Hunx tunes.
“Lovers’ Lane”
“Too Young to Be In Love”

M:

Magic Kids:
“Hey Boy”
“Candy”
“Summer”

Maine Coons:
“Pull the Plug On Grandma”
“I Am a Motherfucker”
“My Kinda Luv”

Mark Sultan:
“Ten of Hearts”
“Misery’s Upon Us”
“I Am the End”

N:

No Age:
“Life Prowler”
“Glitter”
“Fever Dreaming”

Nobunny:
“I Was On (the Bozo Show)”
“Live It Up”
“(Do the) Fuck Yourself”

S:

Sex Beet:
“I’m In Love With You (So Shut the Fuck Up)”

Strange Boys:
“A Walk On the Beach”
“Be Brave”
“Laugh At Sex (Not At Her)”

T:

Ty Segall: need to hear more of this guy!
“Caesar”

V:

Vomit Squad:
“Burning With Beelzebub”

W:

Wavves:
“Post Acid”
“Linus Spacehead”
“Take On the World”

Music, Random

Recommended Website: TuneGlue

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This website isn’t really like Pandora or Last.fm in that you can’t actually listen to similar music. TuneGlue is set up to simply display a web of related bands and artists. For instance, I typed in “Jay Reatard” and I got six matches: Nobunny, Angry Angles, Terror Visions, Cheap Time, Lost Sounds, and the Reatards. If you then click to “expand” matches for say Nobunny, you will be given a list of more bands. So far I’ve found that the list of matches have a predisposition to previous bands that members of the band have been in or bands that come from the same label as the one that you initially searched for. Overall, TuneGlue is a great way to expand your musical palate and I think you should check it out. TuneGlue didn’t pay me to write this by the way. If it sounds like an advertisement, that’s purely coincidental. I’m just sayin’.

http://audiomap.tuneglue.net/

Art, Band Recommendation, Band Spotlight, Best of 2010, CD Review, Music

Envy on the Coast: The Impetuous Lowcountry

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I’m afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning.
Andy Warhol
Lowcountry is a work of art born from spontaneous action. It is a common misconception that spontaneity (especially in music) derives from laziness, carelessness, or too much pot. This my friends is entirely wrong. After all, there is no such thing as too much pot! In a Youtube interview with lead vocalist, Ryan Hunter explained the band’s approach to recording their final album. There was no thinking involved while playing. Clearly a lot of thought went into this approach. It’s something that only experience can explain. By forbidding any form of processing during the recording stages, the members of EOTC relied solely on their subconscious and musical relationship. This daring approach truly allows the music to take control and grow its natural roots. Most well-known musicians concern themselves with radio standards, mass appeal, and easily digested song structures. Often times these concerns can sacrifice originality. Kiddos…let me introduce Lowcountry; an organic musical masterpiece.
I highly recommend this album to anyone who is looking for that fresh rock album that becomes your best friend. No matter what type of music you enjoy, a few key ingredients are crucial. The music needs to be catchy, relatable, real, and obtain some form of original substance to it. If an artist lacks these ingredients then they ain’t gonna stick for long! Luckily, Lowcountry has each of these substances cram packed into each song. It’s a frenzied, emotional journey from start to finish.
An enjoyable album is difficult to find. An album where an artist has created their own unique sound, and maintains that vibe throughout is nearly impossible. Lowcountry is the pearl for 2010. You have never heard anything like this. Vocalist, Ryan Hunter also recorded the drum tracks for the album. There is a lot to be said for this. The drums are all about pocket time, groove, and punch. Bassist, Jeremy Velardi adds tremendous depth to this powerful pulse. I’ll say it again (and you will understand when you listen) this album is all about groove! Much of todays rock music contains overbearing drum, and guitar parts. Often times I find myself listening to a band and the song will sound like a group of musicians competing for lead role. The instrumentals on Lowcountry are noninvasive to the lyrical value on the album. In between catchy vocal hooks you will be swept away by the blend of spacey, experimental guitar hooks and kick ass Southern leads.
There also lies a wonderful strangeness to this record. It’s the little things like a track of voicemail messages leading into the mesmerizing song “Like I Do.” It’s the Twilight Zone narration that kicks off “Southern Comfort.” It’s the sound of toe tapping in “Made of Stone.” I always frowned upon bands that tried creating a “dark edge” to their album by putting satanic pictures on the album cover, playing triplet double bass drum patterns, or adding an endless amount of pinch harmonics to each song. Lowcountry is dark and heavy as hell for none of the above reasons. Listening, I can’t help but get the vibe that these guys simply don’t give a fuck. The album is painfully real. It’s alien. The band plays with rests and space like never before. Listen to “The Devil’s Tongue.”  Rather than take away from the mystery of EOTC, I will leave the rest up to you.
Unfortunately, Envy called it quits this year. All the members are involved in new projects. A friend once told me he believes most brilliant bands have serious inner struggles. I believe that very thing.