Perfume Genius / Learning / Matador / 2010
The debut album from Seattle-based songwriter Mike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius, is a brief collection of spare piano pop songs accented by his sweet, quavery, Muppet-like voice. The home recording is presented in the order it was written, accented by the occasional synth organ or strings, with material in the vein of Xiu Xiu. Hadreas reportedly moved back in with is mother to attend rehab, and to help exorcise his demons he began writing and recording music for the first time in his life. The stories ache, detailing his struggles with substance abuse and relationships.
Love Language / Libraries / Merge / 2010
The second full-length album from North Carolina band Love Language builds upon the facets of their 2009 debut: pop songs infused with a retro sensibility, a cavernous production aesthetic, capped by the soaring, Walkmen-meets-Morrissey vocals of lead singer/songwriter/creator Stuart McLamb. The full lineup is a seven-piece crew composed of close friends who make music that is a blend of classic pop styles, spanning doowop and country, standing in contrast with bitter lyrics of heartbreak and loss throughout. In the words of the band themselves, "pot + pop = top of the pops".
John Vanderslice / Life and Death of an American Fourtracker / Barsuk / 2002
John Vanderslice's 3rd album of indie pop is a loose concept about the loneliness and isolation of a man more connected to his home recording equipment than other people. A noted analog-recording proponent, Vanderslice is himself proprietor of the Tiny Telephone studio in his San Francisco base; it's not hard to imagine the autobiographical elements as he reels out literary lyrics in his distinctively warm, throaty voice. Featuring contributions from Spoon drummer Jim Eno (1, 4, 11) and Death Cab for Cutie front man Ben Gibbard (2), Fourtracker is a masterfully crafted effort. Vanderslice, formerly of 90's pop band MK Ultra, is one of those gifted artists you believe deserves fortune and fame, but secretly hope remains an open secret.
Tristeza / Dream Signals In Full Circles / Tiger Style / 2000
Tristeza's name is a play on varying Romantic-language words for "melancholy", which fits the atmospheric, mathy instrumental rock the San Diego band is known for. Their 2nd album was recorded here in Chicago with Dave Trumfio at King Size Sound Labs while the group was on a two-week break from a national tour. A gentle tone pervades the recording, and if there is a sameness to the compositions, it's warm, satisfying music for a particular mood/mindset. Local experimental pop musician Bobby Conn contributes guitar to "I Am A Cheetah" (6), making the track distinctive from the remainder of the album. In 2002 the band released Mixed Signals, a collection of remixed versions of these songs. Founding member/guitarist James Lavalle (not to be confused with UNKLE's James Lavelle) departed Tristeza in 2003 to focus on his project The Album Leaf.
Trans Am / TA / Thrill Jockey / 2002
Trans Am prides itself on being stylistically malleable, a group that both mocks and pays homage to varying rock idioms; typically they choose kinds of music which are infused with gravity and could use deflating. Based in Washington, D.C., the trio's 6th album is a synth-laden tongue-in-cheek electroclash party jam evoking bland club music, but shot through with characteristic dry wit. At times it almost seems to dip into novelty-music territory, (Flight of the Conchords meets Daft Punk, perhaps), in a way making TA all things to all people. Created after 6 months of demoing and touring, the album was tracked at National Recording Studios in D.C. and mixed by engineer Jonathan Kreinik. It's fun, light stuff, and the band members are obviously enjoying themselves.
Chin Up Chin Up / Chin Up Chin Up / Flameshovel / 2005
Initially this album was self-released by the local Chicago band in the Spring of 2002, and then re-released with bonus tracks (7-9) on Flameshovel in the Summer of 2005, following their "official" debut album We Should Never Have Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers. Formed in 2001 and disbanded in 2009, Chin Up Chin Up deliver post-rock pop songs played with technical prowess. The vocals are sung low, in a shouted whisper, and are nearly buried in the mix behind chiming guitars. Tragically, bassist Chris Saathoff was killed by a hit-and-run driver outside the Empty Bottle in 2004 following a Ponys show. While the band used as much of his bass playing on Skyscrapers as they could, only this recording represents the original lineup in full form.
The Dismemberment Plan / Emergency & I / DeSoto / 1999
Recorded as they careened toward their creative peak, Emergency & I exemplifies why The Dismemberment Plan was perhaps one of most celebrated indie-rock bands of their peers. Known for riveting live shows, versatile songwriting and sheer mastery of their instruments, the band balances punk, funk/R&B, and arty digressions with unmatched charisma and power. Lead singer Travis Morrison is a gifted showman, from his fearless singing, to his literate lyrics, and onto his shameless onstage dance moves. Formed in Washington D.C. in 1993, this is the third of The Plan's five albums; they called it quits in 2003. The members have gone on to other projects, but nothing yet has quite inspired the awe this band did in its prime.
Seabear / We Built a Fire / Morr Music / 2010
There really isn't a bad song on the 2nd official full-length from this Reykjavik, Iceland band. Lead by lead singer and songwriter Sindri Már Sigfússon, Seabear plays folky chamber pop infused with hushed vocals and sweet harmonies, earning them comparisons to Sufjan Stevens. Expanded from a solo project in the early days to the current six-piece ensemble that includes piano, violin and trumpet, the music possesses an earthy yet dignified air. There are shuffling beats, bah-bah-bah backing vocals, and ultimately instead of conveying a sadness typically found in quiet music like this, there is a jubilant air to these songs, sometimes subtle and sometimes quite overt.
Pontiak / Sun On Sun / Thrill Jockey / 2008
Emerging from Holtzclaw, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge farm country, Pontiak is a three-piece, all brothers. Their second full-length album, recorded in four days in a log cabin, is dark psychdelic stoner rock with a brain. It is irresistably spooky, laden with dry menacing grooves, swinging dirges, atonal Hendrixy solos, modern bluesy stomps and cavernous moans. Crafting the material while on tour, the Carney brothers successfully set out to create a recording that flows like a live performance. Attention-grabbing specifically because it lacks the pop appeal of early Kings Of Leon or The White Stripes, this is authentic, dangerous-sounding stuff.
Future Bible Heroes / Eternal Youth / Instinct / 2002
Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields (and The 6ths, and The Gothic Archies, and his own self-titled solo work) collaborates with Chris Ewen (formerly of Figures on a Beach) and Claudia Gonson (Magnetic Fields) to create pleasant, blippy keyboard pop that occasionally veers into dance music using kitschy 70's/80's-esque sounds a la Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, et al. Gonson -- who is also Merritt's manager -- sings all the songs, while the electronic instrumentation is handled entirely by Ewen. As is Merritt's usual style, the lyrics have a wry sadness, a literary bent, and a particular defiance, dealing mostly with relationships. When juxtaposed against the light synthpop bounce, the 2nd of Future Bible Heroes' albums (so far; plus 3 EPs) is another bittersweet offering from this highly-regarded artist.
David Bowie / Pin Ups / Rykodisc/EMI / 1973 (1990)
After the high-water marks of Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, Bowie's 7th album was all covers of, presumably, some of his favorite 60's songs. With his skilled backing band The Spiders From Mars (whom he would disband after this release), Bowie aims for rockers and/or rocking interpretations, with a few exceptions. The result is obviously not as ground-breaking or life-changing as his recent original work, but it's still glammy, soulful music to boogie to. Almost all of the material comes British Invasion bands, yet Bowie aimed for tracks that were relatively unknown to larger audiences. Everything here is worth checking out, starting with the recommended tracks.
Artists covered: 1. The Pretty Things 2. Them 3. The Yardbirds 4. Pink Floyd 5. The Mojos 6. The Who 7. The Easybeats 8. The Merseys 9. The Pretty Things 10. The Yardbirds 11. The Who 12. The Kinks 13. Bruce Springsteen 14. Jacques Brel
