Favorite Albums of 2011 #11 through 6

11: Wire - Red Barked Tree

I've read a lot of complaints about the production on this album but I quite love the way these sounds reach my ears. It's got some really unique guitar sounds, but the this thing is full of terrific pop hooks and that's a winning combination. Some gritty guitar distortion makes for some exciting riffs, which might otherwise feel like standard alt. rock fare in the hands of less creative folks.




10: Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

I can't think of much that hasn't already been written about Fleet Foxes. I think the vocals are perfect, the lyrics interesting and the guitar playing intricate. To me, Fleet Foxes sound like nature. Their music captures the spirit of glorious countryside scenery about as well as anything I've ever heard. The backing vocals are used to tremendous effect; it's the sort of music that makes me stop what I'm doing and blissfully nod in agreement.

9: Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys

I know a lot of people like Death Cab but I don't actually know many people who do. Their style has become something of a mainstream indie-pop, perhaps best exemplified by Ben Gibbard's vocals which sometimes try a bit too much to sound smart and sensitive. I've always liked them (some albums more than others) and this one is about as consistent throughout as they've been since 2003. It sounds like they're had a bit more fun in the studio, trying different things and sounding quite happy doing it. They branch out just enough to keep things interesting and have recorded some of their most exciting tracks in so doing (see title track, "You Are a Tourist," "Under the Sycamore," "Stay Young, Go Dancing."

8: Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

I'm running out of adjectives that mean the same thing as "beautiful." I was going to use "heavenly" here, but that didn't feel like a natural part of my vocabulary so the reader may pick one: http://thesaurus.com/browse/beautiful. I don't honestly know whether this is a departure from or a continuation of the sounds on his debut; it's kind of both. It's unmistakably Bon Iver (best falsetto ever, for what little that's worth) but it's so intricately crafted that it requires close listens to catch every detail. On one hand the melodies feel a bit more straightforward but they're dressed in such a way that it's hard to catch everything that's happening with one cursory listen. In my mind, I understand how the two differ but I can't find the words. I keep coming back to how [synonym for pretty] these songs are.

7: Katie Costello - Lamplight

It's her personality that I like. I tend not to enjoy stuff that sounds like this, which I'd usually dismiss as "coffee-house music," but something in her voice makes her words so believable. The album really spoke to me, especially the track "The Weirds." She doesn't get bogged down with too many slow songs, fast songs, silly songs or sentimental songs. What ties these tracks together is her gorgeous voice and a general sense of it's-a-crazy-world-but-thing-will-be-ok. As may be evident, I love albums that I can agree with.

6: Noah and the Whale - Last Night on Earth

I'd be the first to admit that I am not an especially gifted music critic. The music I listen to has very distinct flavors and personalities that seem clear to me but I don't always know how to communicate them to other people. Sometimes I like albums that, to most critics, would seem less interesting, less artistically challenging, than others (this is ranked higher than Fleet Foxes, Wire and Bon Iver). I don't really care that much. I want to celebrate the music I like because some albums come to matter so incredibly much to me and there really isn't any set of rules to explain why some albums do and others don't.

Noah and the Whale play 60s/70s flavored pop with, perhaps, slight psychedelic undertones. For some reason, they sound to me like what might happen if you threw The Talking Heads and Tom Petty in a blender (plus a mystery ingredient that I can't put my finger on).

I have this blog because I love music and want to share my feelings about it, but my mind doesn't always work like a critic. That shouldn't matter, since there really are no rules to having a blog. High school teachers often told me it's never enough to simply say "I like this." I disagree. Sometimes songs can just lodge themselves firmly in my heart and tell my brain to go fuck itself (I don't like censorship). This album really lifted my spirits at times throughout the summer and it continues to do so without fail.

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6. Noah and the Whale - Last Night on Earth
7. Katie Costello - Lamplight
8. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
9. Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
10. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
11. Wire - Red Barked Tree
12. A.A. Bondy - Believers
13. Russian Circles - Empros
14. Piatcions - Senseless>Sense
15. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die but You Will
16. Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts
17. Amebix - Sonic Mass
18. Obits - Moody, Standard and Poor
19. Austra - Feel it Break
20. Maria Taylor - Overlook
21. Old Silver Key - Tales of Wanderings
22. Mates of State - Mountaintops
23. This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket
24. Low - C'mon
25. Weedeater - Jason... the Dragon
26. Little Dragon - Ritual Union
27. Dropkick Murphys - Going Out in Style
28. Indian - Guiltless
29. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
30. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

Favorite Albums of 2011 #16 through 12

16: Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

Thurston Moore is a wizard with the guitar, which shouldn't be surprising to anyone who's heard a few Sonic Youth records, but this acoustic folk album

15: Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die but You Will

This is a more direct, more drum-happy Mogwai and it's outstanding. Proof that bands can be great, change, and then be great again. It's a mixed bag of styles but not of quality; some tracks sound like Mogwai circa early 2000s, some sound like fuzzy pop/rock, some are on the heavy end of post-rock. This band keeps proving that they can experiment without totally abandoning the sound that made them so popular in the first place.

14: Piatcions - Senseless>Sense

Alt. rock filtered through masses of heavy echo and reverb (otherwise known as shoegaze). I love the guitar work and I love that this band employs some really nice quieter parts. The fact that it isn't always going for the jugular is a plus as they manage to often obtain a gorgeous crystalline guitar sound.

13: Russian Circles - Empros

Russian Circles never fail to impress. Here's their fourth album of heavy post-rock, post-metal, atmospheric sludge (whatever you want to call it). I love how the production makes the drums thud with a hollow echo and how the low end is crushed into a jumbled mess of distortion. This album is varied to a point where I'd expect people to find it inconsistent, but there's beauty in the heavy crunch of "309", the catchy melody at the beginning of "Mladek" and the dreamy acoustic track, "Praise Be Man."

12: A.A. Bondy - Believers

He left the rustic folk behind here, in favor of lush reverb-laden beds of guitar echo. The album feels delicate and highly personal; his lyrics are uplifting and this is a wonderful guitar record. On his other albums, as on this one, I find the personality so easy to identify with. He's rapidly becoming one of my favorite songwriters.

Favorite Albums of 2011 #21 through 17

21: Old Silver Key - Tales of Wanderings

This mostly-instrumental album, which may be classifiable as blackgaze, incorporates elements of folk music nicely to go with textured layers of guitar noise. It's gloomy but has a good amount of energy to it.

20: Maria Taylor - Overlook

I've written about her before. It's her voice and the warm glow of the guitar feedback that make this album so intimate and its sentiment so heartfelt.

19: Austra - Feel it Break

Debut album from this Canadian synth pop group. I love the synth tones, which have a heavy sort of echo to them. It's sort of dance music but has a chilly atmosphere and outstanding vocals; whereas Maria Taylor's (see above) convey warmth, this album is sung with a strong, almost shrill voice that is nonetheless, disarmingly pretty.

18: Obits - Moody, Standard and Poor

Fast-paced post-punk with a great sense of urgency to it. Also, guitars that sound as hollow as this are always a winner.

17: Amebix - Sonic Mass

Amebix have generally been associated with hardcore punk, but this album (their first in 24 years!) is a blend of punk and metal. There's a rawness to everything, from the barked vocals to the grinding guitars. There's a lot of energy here for a band that formed 33 years ago. Not everything is dialed up to 11 though; the slow songs work really well, perhaps showcasing the powerful guitar sound better than the fast ones.

Favorite Albums of 2011 #26 through 22

I'm just going to breeze through these, quick and simple-like. Don't have the time to go into too much detail on each of these, plus I've already heard my first album of 2012 and am excited for new tunes. Plus, I want to bury that massive "favorite songs" post. What was I thinking? The page takes forever to load.

Anyway, here are more albums that made 2011 as special as it was:

26: Little Dragon - Ritual Union

Third album from this Swedish band whom I had the pleasure of discovering this year. It's a good recipe for hype-machine stuff, spacey electronic textures and vocals that try to be eccentric. Had a very coy attitude throughout; sort of like soul music meets electropop.

25: Weedeater - Jason... The Dragon

I listen to a lot of metal but it's usually the sludge metal albums that capture the most of my attention these days. Weedeater really captured that sound here, on their fourth LP. The guitar is tuned so low, and is so earth-shaking-ly heavy that it becomes a spectacle in and of itself. That's why I listen to this stuff; the title track is especially great. It's like Black Sabbath but darker and heavier.

24: Low - C'mon

This is album number nine for Low, whose first three albums were slow, bleak and atmospheric. They've evolved over the years, experimenting with different tempos (from very slow to slowish) and different sonic textures. C'mon is among their more accessible albums. It's still slow and somber throughout, but it's vocals command attention and there's such depth revealed by close attention (banjo works well on "Witches")! It's amazing how much this band has been able to do within the confines of their subgenre. I'd list them as one of the essential bands of the last twenty years.

23: This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket

These songs evolve slowly, often starting as ambient noise and subtly transitioning into massive, loud waves of pounding guitar noise. I found myself really enjoying the sounds on this album and there's surprising variation among them. Lots of atmosphere to be found here. Blink (or take a bathroom break) while this is playing and you'll miss lots.

22. Mates of State - Mountaintops

This quirky husband/wife duo released their follow-up to one of my favorite albums from 2008. All of their music has a happy-go-lucky charm to it, which is why I like it so much. This is pop music at its best; full of hooks and genuine, earnest emotion. It's a charming and somewhat offbeat album and it's so much fun.

Favorite Albums of 2011 #27: "Going Out in Style" by Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys could keep releasing the same album every two to four years and I'd be content. That's more or less what they've done since 1998. Some records had a bit more energy and/or showcased stronger songwriting than others, I've thought. My favorites are Do or Die (1998) and Blackout (2003). I thought The Gang's All Here (1999) and The Warrior's Code (2005) were just ok and Sing Loud, Sing Proud (2001) and The Meanest of Times (2007) fell somewhere in between. Album number seven, Going Out in Style, isn't going to become one of my favorites, but it's got everything that has made this band great: singable melodies, spirited energy, and themes of blue-collar solidarity. I am completely uninterested in experimentation or diversity when it comes to these guys. I can't imagine what one could do to celtic punk to "break the mold"; just play it with passion and we'll know if you mean what you say. Many of these tracks are DKM at their best (or thereabouts), especially "Hang 'Em High," "The Hardest Mile" and "Peg 'O My Heart." The ballads are also especially strong (see "Cruel" and "1953") and "Take 'Em Down" is a joyful folk tune for which the percussion, if my ears serve me well, is provided by feet stamping on a wood floor. It's an effective substitute for drums.

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28. Indian - Guiltless
29. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
30. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

Pink City - Designing Women (2011)

This is among the darker albums I've heard in a long time. It's massive waves of tension and noise and a bleak, overpowering sense of foreboding. Much of the album is built around amelodic, hyper-distorted chunks of guitar noise, vocals that couldn't possibly have been created by a human being and a massive, rumbling bass sound. It's experimental and the first listen is a trip because you won't have any clue what to expect from one moment to the next. Generally, much of what's on here falls into one of two extremes: it'll pound your ears into oblivion or else slowly envelop you with the sonic equivalent of everything negative in the world. It's a challenging album for those who prefer riffs and melodies but it creates a vivid atmosphere and, in so doing, is massively successful. Music this intense and bleak doesn't come around often. Tracks like "Come Apart" and "Pitcher" are over-the-top in their thunderous pummeling; others, like "Family Therapy" and "Endless Night" use slower tempos and plod along. All are heavy, aided by an unforgiving low end and a mechanistic rhythm (where rhythm can be heard, that is). There are elements of hardcore here, some noise, some post-punk, a touch of electronic stuff here and there. I don't have a clue how to categorize this but it does a fantastic job in churning the contents of my brain into deep, dark mush.

8.5 / 10

Favorite Albums of 2011 #28: "Guiltless" by Indian

I like a lot of the metal I listen to, finding that often it delivers at least some of what I like in the genre: oppressive heaviness, impressive technicality or an especially vivid representation of negative emotions. I don't often fall in love with metal though, perhaps because I find that, in enjoying so much of it, I almost take it for granted that I'll get what I want out of any of the many, many metal albums I listen to with any frequency. Some bands and albums rise above and Indian's Guiltless is one such record. It's sludge metal, with a bit of black metal in the vocal style and is just pummeling and dark beyond much of what I've listened to this year. And so, it's also one of the most interesting heavy albums I've listened to in a while; I particularly enjoyed how well-placed the cymbal crashes are

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28. Indian - Guiltless
29. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
30. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

Favorite Songs of 2011 (part 3)

Frank Turner - "I Still Believe"


Fugiya & Miyagi - "16 Shades of Black and Blue"


The Horrible Crowes - "Behold the Hurricane"


Iron & Wine - "Walking Far From Home"


Katie Costello - "The Weirds"


Kurt Vile - "Ghost Town"


La Dispute - "King Park"


Low - "Especially Me" (they cut the song short by about a minute and a half in this video)


Manchester Orchestra - "Virgin"


Maria Taylor - "Masterplan"


Mastodon - "Black Tongue"


Mates of State - "Maracas"


Mogwai - "Rano Pano"

Favorite Songs of 2011 (part 2)

The Mountain Goats - "Damn these Vampires"


My Morning Jacket - "Circuital"


M83 - "Midnight City"


Noah and the Whale - "Just Before We Met"


Obits - "Shift Operator"


Okkervil River - "The Valley"


Patrick Wolf - "The City"


Portugal. The Man - "So American"


Rise Against - "Help is on the Way"


St. Vincent - "Strange Mercy"


Thurston Moore - "Benediction"


TV on the Radio - "Will Do"


Weedeater - "Long Gone"


WU LYF - "We Bros"

Favorite Albums of 2011 #29: "Go Tell Fire to the Mountain" by WU LYF

It wasn’t difficult to get past the “out there” factor on this album; the vocals were the only thing that took some getting used to. Barely a word can be distinguished without a lyric sheet. The vocalist moans his words spastically, akin to what I imagine a caveman might sound like if he had taken some powerful hallucinogenic drugs. My time with this album hasn’t taxed my mind with worries about words, I just listen in awe of the stunning waves of guitar reverb and synth tones. This isn’t about a message as much as vague emotions and massive sounds. It isn’t hard to find reverb in indie rock, but I like when it’s used this way. WU LYF create walls of noise (pretty noise) that feels like it moves in distinct patterns. I see vivid patterns of light and energy bouncing around in space (kind of like those visualizers most media players have where you can watch patterned colors move around the screen). Slow-motion firecrackers go off in my head when I listen to this album.


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29. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
30. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

Favorite Songs of 2011 (part 1)

Alphabetical order by artist/band name:


Alkaline Trio - "We've Had Enough" (acoustic re-imagining of an eight-year old song)


The Antlers - "I Don't Want Love"


Bon Iver - "Calgary"


Boy & Bear - "Part-Time Believer"


Bright Eyes - "Shell Games"


Cass McCombs - "County Line"


Cut Copy - "Where I'm Going"


David Bazan - "Don't Change"


Death Cab for Cutie - "You Are a Tourist"


The Decemberists - "Don't Carry it All"


Dropkick Murphys - "Hang 'Em High"


The Felice Brothers - "Fire at the Pageant"


Fleet Foxes - "Helplessness Blues"

Favorite Albums of 2011 #30: "Simple Math" by Manchester Orchestra

I’d never bothered to listen to Manchester Orchestra before this year, even after I learned that, despite their name, they aren’t a 37-piece jam band. To give them a genre, this is indie pop, but it’s muscular, moody and adventurous. Some of the guitar tones are distorted to a point where they approach “threatening.” The singer, who often reminds me of My Morning Jacket (because I think Jim James could sound like this, not that he actually does), sometimes really belts it, shunning all of the constraint that often accompanies orchestral indie pop. Then there’s the intereting turns these songs take, most notably, the backing vocals on the track “Virgin.” It’s an interesting album and it will throw listeners for a loop if they expect something bubbly and sentimental or chamber pop 101. Ultimately, it comes down to interesting songs. Well-written pop still exists and it’s delightful, but can also be and moody, perhaps as a result, exciting.

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The Field - Looping State of Mind (2011)

Another hyped album, perhaps the most-hyped artist in an especially-hyped genre. The Field's ambient techno has been exciting hipster youth who just want to dance to an hour of beats and warm synth textures, and I get the draw of this kind of music, though I have trouble really connecting with electronic music that isn't especially dark, especially noisy or isn't just a catchy pop song thinly veiled by electronic sounds. Looping State of Mind is probably The Field's most compelling work, at least to my ears, however. While his last record, 2009's Yesterday and Today, went for a hazier, dreamy take on the style, this new record is a bit more dynamic. Some of the sounds border on grimy or ominous, and the final track, "Sweet Slow Baby" whittles the techno beat down to a muffled background. This type of music has the potential to be incredibly boring but The Field pushes enough of the right buttons, expands the boundaries just enough, the make it almost exciting and certainly interesting.

8.2 / 10

Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia (2011)

It took me a while to get around to listening to this, which is a shame because I've enjoyed his past work. Patrick Wolf is a rather theatrical baroque pop practitioner who incorporates electronic elements into his music, but pop structures and infectious melodies are a hallmark of his sound. As a result, it feels very accessible despite the dense and constant string instrumentation, sometimes over-sung vocals, and general emotional weight to his lyrics. He could come across as sappy and vain, and such complains are not without merit, but Lupercalia is his most consistent album. It is without a weak track, despite a short interlude in the middle, and has a nice balance of upbeat songs and ballads. Some of his past work has felt bogged down in electronics, but strings and his voice take the center stage here. At times he may have too much of a sappy balladeer feel, but that's who he is and he pulls it off tastefully. My one complaint is I would have preferred, maybe, one more upbeat song and one less slow one, but at the end of the day, this is the best thing he's recorded and I'll be listening to it for a long while.

8.0 / 10

Animal Collective - Campfire Songs (2003)

Animal Collective get a ton of credit for "breaking the rules" of indie-hipster-approved pop/rock but they really are one of many bands who do this. They're just one of the more popular ones. On some of their more recent albums they've done a great job of making dense psychedelic folk accessible and even catchy, but not all of their stuff is gold. This really undynamic as spacey psych folk goes. It's vaguely pretty and moderately interesting but you don't have to look far for other examples of this kind of music. I prefer Plankton Wat's In Magical Light, the final track of which sums up what Campfire Songs aims to be, but better.

6.3 / 10

My Morning Jacket - Circuital (2011)

I have some good things and some bad things to say about this album. Starting with the good, My Morning Jacket have a great sound. Their arena-ready rock dabbles in a number of different styles, often sounding vaguely psychedelic, but they don’t have to try very hard to achieve moments of utter beauty, expansiveness, and majesty. Jim James’ vocals fit very nicely with their sound, except when he takes the falsetto to unfortunate extremes, as he does on “Holdin on to Black Metal.”

It’s no small feat to be able to put songs as different as “Victory Dance” (dark, slow-moving, moody, complex) and “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)” (simple, folky, light-hearted) on the same album and have it make sense. Their sound is so well-defined that they can expand their boundaries without making things feel like a huge departure.

Now the negative, and it’s an intangible that we can chalk up to subjective bias. There is something about Jim James’ vocal delivery that kind of dulls the impact of his words. Often I feel as though his vocals have no emotional weight to them. I have trouble believing some of the words he sings and I think it’s because his voice is so high that some purely subjective bias in me has trouble taking him seriously. I quite respect this band, but there’s something there that I can’t quite wrap my ears around.

I appreciate My Morning Jacket (and Circuital) on a purely aesthetic level. It’s art that I can consume and experience some audible beauty, but it doesn’t reach me on any personal level and so I feel a bit distanced from it. I could say the same about any of their albums, including Z (2005) and It Still Moves (2003), both of which I like better than Circuital, and Evil Urges, which I like less. In short, I can’t say anything all that bad about My Morning Jacket, but they aren’t really for me. The video below is of a performance of the title track, which is among their better songs, in my opinion.

7.3 / 10

2 by Bukowski - Drink From My Bastard Grail (2003)

This time around, 2 by Bukowski add vocals to their sprawling post-rock sound. Their debut had some great moments, but on this album, their second, they push their boundaries a bit. The heavy guitars are back, but this album relies a great deal upon the piano to create it’s ominous mood. They indulge in the guitars a bit much, perhaps, but this is a tense album that delivers a convincing atmosphere even when it seems to meander. Tracks like “I Am Continuum” and “Wild Manner” are wonderful sludge metal tunes. “The Last Aerie” and “Gate 3” find the band experimenting with other sounds, such as middle eastern sounding music and more airy, dreamy textures. It’s not a cohesive album, but it has some very good moments.

8.8 / 10

2 by Bukowski - What a Long, Strange Journey This Has Been (2001)

2 by Bukowski are a Greek post-rock group who err on the heavier side of what the genre has to offer. This album features three slow-building dirges and three more immediate, louder pieces. They begin the album, which was their debut, with a fifteen-minute affair, the first ten of which are little more than a beat over ambient noise, however the song’s trajectory is tangible and the journey is compelling. About ten minutes in, feedback-drenched guitars come crashing into the scene, making for a climactic, intense moment. They show a real talent for creating sounds that just erupt with explosive conclusions. This album is intense and spacey, and done as well as many of their contemporaries.

8.2 / 10

2562 - Fever (2011)

Off-kilter rhythms, waves of synth noise, beats that make heavy use of the cymbals and various sounds that resemble chimes and bells, with a thick layer of gloom over it. It’s pretty much standard dubstep, which isn’t a bad thing. I’ve heard dubstep that’s a bit more dynamic, a bit more atmospheric than this, but 2562 delivers the raw sort of primal rhythms that fans of this stuff love. Given the right mood, this album really hits the spot but I don't see if achieving the sort of hype artists like Burial got. It just doesn't seem to do enough. It’s got spacey, dreamily atmospheric tunes and it has some more grimey, thumping beats. Nothing truly stunning, though, I thought the title track and “Aquatic Family Affair” were highlights and it’s an album I can see myself listening to from time to time.

7.3 / 10

Den Saakaldte - All Hail Pessimism (2009)

Abrasive guitar chords, anguished screams rendered low in the mix, percussion that’s almost inaudible and extremely underproduced. That describes a lot of black metal, and Den Saakaldte are certainly one of the bleaker ones. Whereas some black metal bands play with intensity and speed, these guys don’t. This music has the requisite mood, but doesn't hit with as heavy a hand as this stuff can. This is a long album, and though black metal is a niche genre, the fact that this is over an hour of music that isn’t especially varied, will further limit their fanbase, but it’s more about mood than anything else, and this does what it does competently.

7.0 / 10

1349 - Liberation (2003)

It’s aggressive, performed with furiosity, but it’s also cookie-cutter black metal. The guitars buzz, the screams are demonic, the percussion is frantic, but it still somehow feels limp. I guess what bugs me about this is the raw production. Raw is often a good thing, but I also like to be able to hear the technicality of the guitars. Here, it’s all smothered together. I could play my guitar with intensity and speed, but I can’t play my guitar well with intensity and speed. So 1349 get points for their approach, but lose points for their aesthetic.

5.0 / 10

100 Demons - In The Eyes of the Lord (2000)

It’s unfortunate, because 100 Demons play with a heaviness and furiosity that is missing from a lot of metalcore or metallic hardcore albums these days, but this debut is too cliched to stand out. Released a few years before the heyday of this type of music, it’s surprising 100 Demons didn’t gather a greater following. Perhaps they didn’t fit the mold of bands like Killswitch Engage or As I Lay Dying, who inserted melodic passages into many of their songs to widen their appeal. 100 Demons are heavy, loud, and have an uncompromising in-your-face attitude. However, these slabs of heavily distorted guitars are as textbook and the satisfaction I get from them is fleeting. The riffs themselves are simplistic and the vocals are nothing to write home about. I found myself wishing the drums were higher in the mix, but I doubt that would have made much of a difference.

5.2 / 10

Tapes ‘n Tapes - Outside (2011)

Pounding drums, an eccentric half-shouted vocal drawl, and simple guitar melodies that shift in volume at the drop of a hat. That's what this album is from start to finish and we've heard all this before, but it isn't always this catchy. I'm not reading the most positive of reviews, but this is working for me. It's got energy, it's got hooks, it doesn't feel dull or stupid or mindless. Maybe the world is just "over" catchy standard indie rock. I'm not.

Note: the video below is for the song "Freak Out," which I thought was one of the better songs on the album, but is also one of the more unique tracks and may not be the best representative of this album (but it's what I could find).

8.5 / 10

Psychic Ills - Hazed Dream (2011)

Hazed Dream is the sixth album from this psychedelic rock quartet. They draw heavily from krautrock and have a Southern rock, bluesy style to their guitar playing, especiallt the solos. The vocals have this woozy sort of echo to them such that the singer sounds very, very bored, but in a way that fits well with the very laid-back feel of the melodies. This reminds me a bit of bands like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Brain Jonestown Massacre just in the general tone of the album. Some of the tracks reminded me of post-punk acts like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, but that’s just because of the hollow sound of the vocals. This isn’t psychedelic in the sense that the soundscapes are colorful and complex; this is an indie rock band that dresses their melodies and vocals with a layer of psychedelic haze. Synthesizers aid this effect, but the hooks and melodies are pretty apparent and generally pretty enjoyable. I love the moodiness of this album. It's slow-moving, dense and atmospheric.

8.4 / 10

Deer Tick - Divine Providence (2011)

Divine Providence is Deer Tick’s follow-up to last year’s disappointing The Black Dirt Sessions. I liked their sound, especially the raspy vocals, on 2009’s Born on Flag Day, but things have changed. For one thing, the vocals have dispensed with some of their rustic charm in favor of a hearty dose of testosterone. The music has also veered toward simplicity. Deer Tick were never a complex band and they never had any need to be, but this album is full of generally-weak melodies. If the lyrics and vocalist had some charm or some respectable personality, this wouldn’t be as much of a problem. “Funny Word” is a clear example of rock ‘n’ roll at its worst: a boring melody on repeat for almost five minutes, dumb lyrics with a silly refrain (“love is such a funny word”), and production that crushes everything down to a weak mash-up of rock instruments without any muscle behind them. “Let’s All Go To The Bar” is the sort of song that The Ramones or Misfits might have been able to inject some personality into, but Deer Tick make it sound simple-minded. “Miss K.” could have been written by any (mainstream) country music “rebel.” Where this album isn’t a “rock ‘n’ roll” cliche superimposed over country music 101, it’s mediocre balladry (“Electric” is a mellow musing on chemical indulgence). Production hurts this album, but its ethos really kills it. Deer Tick used to play gritty southern rock with a dash of outlaw country. Since then, they’re proving that though music doesn’t have to be intelligent, it helps if it isn’t stupid or obnoxious. If Divine Providence was a person, it would be an obnoxious frat boy spewing semi-offensive “wisdom” with beer on his breath.

2.5 / 10

12twelve - Tears, Complaints and Spaces (2001)

12twelve’s debut is an unheralded should-be-classic post-rock album. It’s easy to get lost in the ominous gloom that shrouds this album, created by the low-end of the guitars and the raw underproduced percussion. It’s a sound that has been done by more well-known acts. Tortoise and Slint come readily to mind. Mogwai and Godspeed have leaned in this direction, but let’s not cast 12twelve aside just because they sound like other fantastic bands. They don’t sound derivative, and this album was released when Mogwai and Godpseed were still relatively young acts. The sound is convincing, the atmosphere can fill a room and the music rewards close listening. The track, “Zero, Nought, Nothing” reminds me of “Mogwai Fear Satan.” I don’t think I could offer a higher compliment than that.

9.1 / 10

Maserati - The Language of Cities (2002)

On The Language of Cities, Maserati throw their hat into the melodic, guitar-driven post-rock ring. This sounds a lot like what groups like Explosions in the Sky have been doing, creating dynamic guitar melodies that just shine and ring out in a beautiful way. The songs have a tangible linear progression to them but I never really felt like they wound up anywhere all that exciting. There are a lot of sounds that are very pleasant on the ears, but it’s a far cry from the best Explosions, Mogwai or Sigur Ros songs and, unlike them, The Language of Cities gets old.

7.2 / 10

!!! - Myth Takes (2007)

On Myth Takes, !!! really streamlined their sound. It’s less immediate and groovy, with several songs that have a bland sort of alt rock feel. While it may seem as if the band is sacrificing character for accessibility, they also dull the obnoxious brashness of their sound (mainly the vocals), and so this record is, in some ways, easier on the ears than their previous two. The post-punk and funk influences are still there, of course, but it’s all been smoothed out a bit. I can see how fans might have felt alienated by this album, but a non-fan like me who enjoyed their sound at least a little bit, may be able to latch on a bit more easily as the band’s ability to pick up a bouncy groove and run with it is still intact.

7.1 / 10

Happy Go Lickey - Will Play (1997)

Happy Go Lickey was formed shortly after Rites of Spring disbanded in 1986, consisting of exactly the same members. The band never released any studio albums but two collections of live recordings are available, including this one, put out by Dischord records. Happy Go Lickey’s music is not worlds apart from Rites of Springs emotive post-hardcore. It is more heavily instrumental, but it shares that raw, underproduced sound. There are some weird guitar sounds on this album, for instance on the song “Boca Raton” which has sounds similar to what the NYC subway makes when a train screeches to a halt. This was more experimental and less direct and to the point. Vocals here are similar to those from Fugazi (more restrained than Rites of Spring), but they generally are buried in the mix and hard to focus in on. Admittedly, I find this somewhat less compelling than Rites of Spring whose songs were a bit more emotionally affecting. This is by design, of course, and we should take Will Play for what it is. It isn’t a studio album, rather a collection of incidental recordings and there are some interesting sounds here for fans of post-hardcore or emo (the 1980s version).

7.7 / 10

!!! - Louden Up Now (2004)

!!!’s second album adds some much-needed variety to the mix. The songs feel more fleshed out, with tempos and instrumentation that suit each. It also sounds as though the vocals have been tamed somewhat. As a result, this is a much more immediately gratifying album and also one that is more rewarding to repeated listens. There are still some silly moments, like “Pardon My Freedom” which also has one of the best bass-lines on the album. This silliness is tempered somewhat by a general political awareness in the lyrics. This is certainly catchier and more varied than the band’s debut, which makes it both more fun and more mature despite some tracks that don’t seem to go anywhere.

6.8 / 10

The Tories - Wonderful Life (1997)

The Tories were a power pop band who released two albums around the turn of the century and Wonderful Life bored me beyond any album I’ve heard in recent memory. There’s nothing especially offensive about their sound. It doesn’t wear on me emotionally like some grunge does, it doesn’t seem immature like some hardcore and punk. It’s just very plain. These songs could be on in any department store at any given time and their inoffensiveness may be their downfall. Nothing sets them apart and if you’re going to play radio-friendly pop/rock, that’s especially problematic. The lyrics are so commonplace that it’s hard to identify with the band. They’re singing about things that everyone experiences (meeting a girl, good memories of a certain place, etc. plus there are some songs that are so vague in meaning that they could be applied to any number of circumstances) but they sing about them in ways that so many bands do. I identify with this music in the same way I identify with other people who like pizza, or other people who play video games, or other people who breathe. Instead of communicating any genuine emotion, they scratch the surface in such a way that I’m having trouble seeing how these songs are relevant to me. But I may be missing the point. Bands like this aren’t about depth or experimentation. It’s about catchy tunes that won’t alienate the masses by being to specific, either in theme or sound. If I’m rating them based on how much I enjoyed this album, it’s probably a 2 out of 10. If I’m rating them based on how well I think they accomplished what I think they were trying to accomplish, it’s probably closer to a 7. I generally err toward the former approach, but I want to be fair to these guys. The 14-year-old me would probably have enjoyed this more, and if one of these songs came on my shuffle, I probably wouldn’t skip it. If two came on back-to-back, I’d probably get bored. I don’t like this, but I don’t think it’s horrible. Just not for me. Radio-friendly rock music has its place on my iTunes, but I’m not liking this band.

3.6 / 10

A.A. Bondy - American Hearts (2007)

A.A. Bondy’s debut album is a lush, atmospheric folk/Americana album and his version of the style nails everything I like about it nearly perfectly. For one thing, he has the voice for the style; it’s breathy and communicates so much emotion. It does this in a “show, don’t tell” way. I know how he feels about the songs based on the tone and inflection of his voice, rather than just the words he sings. These are songs of reflection on memories, good and bad, but all filtered through a lens of contentment. It’s a happy album, but it doesn’t sound that way at first. To put it bluntly, the album is beautiful and just seems extremely relevant to my life. But beyond that, A.A. Bondy is clearly one of the more talented singer/songwriters in folk music today. His melodies are intricate and dense, easy to get lost in, and they suit his vocals well in that they just seem to fit together. Some music captures the spirit of rural America exceptionally well, and A.A. Bondy’s American Hearts is one of those albums. I think his future albums (he’s released two more since) would expand on his strengths, both as a lyricist and as a composer, but this is an excellent contemporary folk album.

9.0 / 10

!!! - !!! (2000)

!!! would evolve significantly since issuing this debut album ten years ago, but their sound has always been a funky sort of dance-punk and to those who aren’t necessarily fans of this stuff, the distinctions among this band's work won’t stand out. This album features too many tracks that sound a bit too similar, though they often hit on some really nice grooves. Nic Offer’s vocals, which will probably sound downright annoying to some listeners, could make or break the album for some. One track that stands out is the eight-minute “There’s No Fucking Rules, Dude,” if only because it experiments with some different tempos. Fans will love the propulsive rhythms, detractors will find the band's attitude amateurish. Both might be right.

6.5 / 10

Neon Indian - Era Extraña (2011)

I still have yet to find a "chillwave" album that did anything for me. This may very well be because it isn't for me rather than any real drawbacks to the style. I feel like I'm hearing very bland electropop. The synths drown everything out with chilly waves of noise, yet it's in the pop structure which tells me that the words are meant to heard and the melodies reacted to. I guess it's the "chilliness" itself that distracts from what might otherwise be a perfectly enjoyable melody. This album by Neon Indian feels like it lacks personality. Nothing about it is really that bad, it's just bland. The rhythms don't feel like there's a lot of heart in them and the atmosphere isn't especially convincing and I see little reason to spend time with music that doesn't keep my attention.

6.5 / 10

The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient (2011)

The War on Drugs, who I last heard on their 2008 album Wagonwheel Blues, initially struck me as a folk-rock group but I obviously didn’t listen closely enough. There are a lot of psychedelic vibes going on, from the shoegazey guitars, the vocal drawl (which sometimes sounds a lot like Bob Dylan) and the general haziness to the every element of the instrumentation. In general, I hear a lot of shoegaze mixed with sugary-sweet pop music or harsh black metal, if it is mixed with anything at all. So Slave Ambient is a rather unique blend of styles. Indie folk doesn’t generally get this psychedelic, and music this psychedelic often sacrifices melody. The band still have that rustic folky vibe but they take it in an ambitious direction and the results are a joy to listen to.

8.2 / 10

Maria Taylor - Overlook (2011)

Maria Taylor is an alt-country musician and Overlook is her fourth album released under her own name. She's also been featured on four albums as one half of the folk duo Azure Ray. While Azure Ray's music is low-tempo, low-key and has a sense of fragility to it, Taylor's solo work is more lively and has a poppier feel to it. The first thing I noticed was how great her singing voice is. Of course that was true of her previous albums, but I had forgotten just how beautiful her voice is. The production handles it perfectly, at times lending an airy quality to it that contributes the album's emotionally-dense feel. I think one of the marks of a really great singer is when you hear him or her sing, you’re convinced the words mean more than they actually do. That happens while I listen to Overlook, and that’s an exciting thing. I felt like the music itself was as emotive as her voice but there’s a weight to the music. Anyone can sing sad songs over soft acoustic guitar plucking, but here Taylor really layers sounds, strings here, a warm synth tone there and a bluesy guitar solo for good measure. So much alt-country sounds like it goes through the motions, trying one cliche after another. The authenticity I hear in her voice and the beauty of the arrangements make Overlook an above average album for those who have an interest in the style.

9.0 / 10