And I really don't know. Honestly, I have no fucking clue. It's honestly what hits me about the record. If I see people hyping the shit out of an album, listen to it and think it's shit, then it's probably not going to get very high. If I listen to the album over and over, and still love it? It's probably higher. Got synths? Plus. Sound like most every day indie band? Minus.
44. Adult. - The Way Things Fall - Ghostly International
Adult. haven't put together a new album since 2007's "Why Bother?" which did beg the question. This release however returns them to form and it seems like their addition to the Ghostly International pantheon has brought with it a nice influence. The "Ghostly-sound" comes through on the album in a number of tracks including "Idle (Second Thoughts)". The more dancey aspect is also a plus on some of the tracks.
43. Frankie Rose - Herein Wild - Slumberland Records
Frankie Rose (formerly of the Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls fame) makes me wonder why bands like Savages get all the acclaim they do. She's been doing the whole post-punk revival thing for a few years now. Her voice might not be the typical angsty post-punk vocals, but I don't mind the more uplifting tracks on the album. This is another step in the right direction after 2012's Interstellar.
42. Knife - Shaking the Habitual - Rabid
First off, I have to say that I was disappointed in this release. Of course, I give artists full license to do whatever the fuck they want on albums. However, after waiting seven years for a new release after Silent Shout we're treated to this beyond experimental release. The video below for "A Tooth for an Eye" shows a very slim minority on this double disc release. There are several seven minute plus sojourns through whatever the pair was feeling at the moment, which makes it hard for this album to be enjoyable.
Some of the longer songs would be great if not for their absolutely abysmal length. Take for example "Raging Lung" which is a good song for 4 minutes and then just drones on for another 6 minutes with really no point and no finality. All in all, there's some greatness in this album you just have to find it for yourself.
41. Savages - Silence Yourself - Matador
Going to be honest with everyone right off the bat: The hype behind this band hindered my ability to judge them honestly. I operate in their space. I'm a guy who enjoys listening to music from the late seventies and early eighties which is where Savages pull their influence right out of. That said, Siouxsie Sioux is either loving Savages or asking her lawyer about the potential to sue for imitation.
When this album came out people were talking about Savages like they were the first band to make music like this since the original post-punkers came about. It's just not right. As mentioned earlier in this article other bands have been using the '79-'82 basslines, echoey effects, and angsty vocals since Interpol put out Turn on the Bright Lights in 2002 and definitely before them as well.
40. Au Revoir Simone - Move in Spectrums - Moshi Moshi
Draw your influence from eighties bands and bring in sounds from indie bands like Stereolab add a dancey vibe, and you have the recipe for a successful album. "Somebody Who" is prime example of this albums greatness. It lacks the pretentiousness of an album like the Savages release presented above and is easily accessible (which some may say detracts from it, but fuck those people).
39. Arcade Fire - Reflektor - Merge
When I first heard that James Murphy, the co-founder of DFA records and former leader of now defunct LCD Soundsystem, was producing one of my favorite indie bands (although are they really indie now? What the fuck is indie these days anyways?), I was ecstatic. Upon hearing "Reflecktor" for the first time on SNL played live, I loved it. It was exactly what I was expecting, Arcade Fire with the signature gritty dance-punky sound obviously brought in by James Murphy.
Then I listened to the whole album... and it comes across as a rather blase release. It doesn't live up to the Arcade Fire brand to me. They just don't capture the same feelings they elicit in Funeral, the Suburbs or even Neon Bible. Those are all (even Neon Bible) epic feeling albums that make you want to re-listen to them over and over. Rather Reflektor feels kinda generic and somewhat forced. There are a few stand-outs however like "Reflektor" in particular.
38. Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
Picking up from where they left off in 2008's release of The Slip, Nine Inch Nails add to their discography with Hesitation Marks. The album diverges from the path set-out by krautrocky, experimentally, jammy Ghosts, and moves back into the alternative radio genre following albums like Year Zero, With Teeth, etc. I enjoyed tracks like "Came Back Haunted" and "Copy of a", however the harmonized vocals on "Everything"? Come on Trent really?
37. Little Boots - Nocturnes
Italo-disco derived dance music in the year 2013 will always have a special place in my heart. You can even hear the nineties derived clap in "Confusion" along with the spacey synths which I hope other bands draw on and develop out of the course of the next couple years. The production by Tim Goldsworthy on the album helps move Little Boots forward from here 2009 release of Hands.
36. Bear Mountain - XO - Self-Released
Incorporating aspects of indie rock, dance music, and afrobeat (on "Congo") makes this debut a stand-out in my eyes. The album comes across as uplifting without making me embarrassed to be listening to it. Something which happens quite rarely.
35. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
And here we are. I could probably write a treatise about this album. I was reading what other music writers had to say about RAM, and one thing in particular caught my eye. One writer noted that "you could hear how much this album cost to make" as if that added to the music.
As with The Knife, I totally understand and support experimentation. I want artists to get out of their comfort zone, and make totally weird and interesting music. That's kind of what Daft Punk does on Random Access Memories. They made a concept album where they are combining their electronic sensibilities with the sound of the seventies and early eighties.
They brought in all these great guests to assist on this musical odyssey and it works on some tracks. "Giorgio by Moroder" is fucking astounding. It tells a tale of his genesis in the music industry with a tight soul/disco background track. I love it.
But boy do I fucking hate Pharrell Williams vocals on "Lose Yourself to Dance" and "Get Lucky". Those songs are all about Mr. Williams singing and the rest is just generic crap. "Doin' It Right" with Panda Bear is just boring and combining Animal Collective's cadence with a Daft Punk songs plays very awkwardly.
RAM has some good songs, some bad songs, but, overall, I hate when music writers hype up an album by a well-known band even if said album isn't all that great (which was the case this year with a number of releases from this one to Reflektor, etc.). The industry in general just buys into the album and writers reviewing the work don't want to be the ONE person to give a negative review.
No comments:
Post a Comment