Dr. Dog
Since I’m constantly hungry for new music, I’m almost always gobbling up records one after another, and never take the time to digest. I decided to force myself to chew my food before I swallow it. I’m glad I did because it made me realize that 2010 has been pretty delicious so far.
Beck (with Wilco, Feist, and Jamie Lidell) – Oar (self-released)
Despite not liking any of his collaborators, I find myself enjoying Beck’s cover of Skip Spence’s landmark 1969 album. The group seems to be “having fun with it” and thankfully it sounds loose and at times exciting, rather than thrown-together and dull. Perhaps it’s the source material, as it was written by an asylum-bound 60s rocker, but so far this is easily the most fitting and possibly overall best “Record Club” album Beck has done (beating out his reworkings of VU and Lenonard Cohen, and I’m not holding my breath on the INXS tribute).
Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore – Dear Companion (Sub Pop)
Pleasant indie-Americana stuff, here. The release is enjoyable but it somewhat drifts among the plains, as it neither has a modern sound, nor an authentic “classic” feel. Just a standard semi-sparse acoustic-based album amongst a plethora of bands milking the same sound (even on the same label!). You’ve got to push towards one side of the spectrum or the other in order to get noticed these days. And if you don’t do that, you’d better have some amazing songs written. Having said that, I don’t know if Sub Pop still puts out 7” singles these days, but this duo could’ve put out a great one (“Something, Someone, Somewhere” b/w “My Wealth Comes To Me”).
Chumbawamba – ABCDEFG (No Masters)
Sigh. Not as fresh as it once was – this is their 3rd (or 4th, if you count the live album Get On With It) folk album since amputating the amps and a few members. But still, the melodies are strong, the harmonies are stronger, and the topical songs will unabashedly be outdated in a few years. They don’t care, they’re punks. They just happen to sound like Peter, Paul, & Mary now. I love it.
Clem Snide – The Meat of Life (429)
Maybe the best thing I’ve heard all year. Songwriter Eef Barzelay followed his solo muse for a while, but now I’m glad the band is back and back to its roots. Clem Snide’s best material (Your Favorite Music and Ghost of Fashion) were reference rock at it’s finest. Charming, catchy, and hip without attracting any of the dreaded hipsters. Later on the Clem Snide sound slowed down and songs overstayed their welcome, but now thankfully we’re back to the basics. The music can still be painted with a wide pop/rock ballad brush, but Eef’s sad sack vocals sound confident (does that even make sense?) and the band sounds full and alive. When the gang is sharp, the songwriting concise, and the lyrics witty (and that’s the case on several tracks here) this group really shines.
Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame (Anti)
Awesome right out the gate, and I have a feeling it will grow on me even still. Fans of early 70s era Beach Boys will be doing themselves a favor by picking this up. This sounds like a modern-day Wrecking Crew came in and supplied every instrument a genius songwriter could ask for, and then some dude took a solid pop skeleton and filled it up with sounds and fattened it up with delicious backing harmonies. Can’t say enough good things about this band.
Eels – End Times (Vagrant)
Not as good as their previous release, but “Gone Man” and “Paradise Blues” are pretty choice cuts. Nothing here will turn off the fans though.
Everyone, Everywhere – A Lot of Weird People Standing Around (self-released)
Once again one of those intriguing bands that finger paints its way into a mess of pop/punk/emo/indie tags. The songs rip though, equal parts pop catchiness, punk fuzz, emo earnesty, and indie chord complexity. I’ve heard that the sonic points of reference are the Promise Ring (which I agree with, at least in the vocals and phrasing) and Piebald (which I can’t speak to, but let’s all just put on our happy hats and say that it’s a complimentary nod).
Hamid Drake & Bindu – Reggaeology (Rogue Art)
A modern, jazzy take on reggae that looks back at the history of the sound while stretching its boundaries forward. The basic Jamaican off-beat rears it’s head on every one of the seven tracks, but not before giving the beatboxer, guitar noodler, or dualing trombones a chance to weave their way into the mix. Not for the impatient or the jam-allergic.
Hoquiam – S/T (St. Ives)
Damien Jurado and his brother put out an album. I have two things to say about it. 1) They should have just called it another DJ album, it doesn’t venture too far off from his usual territory – simple, well-executed gothic folk than just plain teems with images of the beach, the ocean, birds, and the family that adventures its way into such an environment. 2) While the material here is quite good, at 17 songs it’s a tad long. Shave off some of the excess weight on your iTunes and you’re smooth sailing.
Hotrats – Turn Ons (Fat Possum)
I’ve really enjoyed Supergrass since their debut I Should Coco back in 1994. Gaz Coombs and Dan Goffey from the band teamed up with Nigel Godrich and made a covers album of songs they really like. Well, I’m slightly saddened to say that if we ever met we’d be having a very short conversation about our favorite artists. The Doors, Sex Pistols, Twisted Sister, Gang Of Four, Pink Floyd, and the The Cure all get a reworking, and a rather uneventful one at that. Pounding out VU’s “I Can’t Stand It” started off with such promise, but for most part the covers are true to form, and unfortunately don’t even have much of Supergrass’s fun and Brit-punch rock to them. The two best songs are covers of “Pump It Up” and “Up The Junction”; I don’t know how often I’d reach for the Hotrats over the originals. Maybe if I had some kind of “Up” listening party and needed to fill out the playlist they’d be useful.
It’s A King Thing – Buffalo x 8 (self-released)
I’m not typing out “buffalo” that many times, even if the sentence makes sense. So this comes down the pike with a label for Ben Kweller and Fountains of Wayne fans. On the one hand, I agree. The tag fits as this group puts out clean, radio-friendly pop that should be popular in a more just world. On the other hand, this band has a long way to go and grow before it overtakes its influences. Too many repeated choruses and phrases that just pad the album length rather than flesh out the songs. Music like that comes dangerously close to becoming “non-songs,” and at that point one has to wonder – why did they bother? I will say that “Old Hobbies” sounds like Tone Soul-era Apples in Stereo, which is a great thing, because the new Apples in Stereo sucks.
jj – n (degree) 3 (Secretly Canadian)
This Swedish pop duo supplied one of my favorite albums from last year (n (degree) 2). The music is a synthetic symphony and the vocals are the warm lush stuff that made many a soft-goth 4AD fanboy swoon back in the day (think of a slightly less somber This Mortal Coil or Hope Blister). While this release doesn’t have the mega-hits of the last outing, it’s still a comfy listen. At times it may lull you to sleep, but I’d describe it more as dreamy more than boring.
-- Mark Hughson
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