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The Notwist The Devil, You + Me [City Slang/May???] |
| It has been 6 years since The Notwist released their stunning masterpiece “Neon Golden”, so…needless to say I was ttly stoked to give this record a listen when it leaked last month. To my chagrin, though, the band’s focus seems to have moved much closer toward the sleepy, dream-inducing lap-pop that has previously acted only as meandering segues between brilliance. Though the tracks to be found here are nothing too stylistically different than some of the softer moments from “Neon Golden”, an entire record of it is somewhat tedious and — dare I say, boring. With the exception of the album’s opener, there are hardly any energetic moments here — certainly nothing in the same spectrum of amazingness as “Pilot”, and that is unfortunate :(
RIYL: Styrofoam, Lali Puna, Ms. John Soda, Dntel |
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the notwist - the devil, you + me (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, April 7th, 2008 | RSS feed |
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witch hats - cellulite soul (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, April 4th, 2008 | RSS feed |
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Witch Hats Cellulite Soul [In-Fidelity/Mar 1] |
| I have been anxiously awaiting a Witch Hats full-length ever since hearing their 2006 EP Wound of a Little Horse, and O.M.G. does this record deliver in every possible way. Kris Buscombe’s guttural vocals perfectly match the band’s grungy, Nirvana-influenced palate. The explosive breakdowns of the EP aren’t quite as dramatic here, but the energy is everywhere. The fevered, frantic tone of each song blends into the next, creating a sort of catastrophic sounding cacophony of melodic noise. Cellulite Soul is easily one of the best releases to date this year.
RIYL: Nirvana, The Pixies, Die! Die! Die!, Pidgeon, The Distillers, Liars |
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the kills - midnight boom (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, April 3rd, 2008 | RSS feed |
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The Kills Midnight Boom [Domino/Mar 10] |
| Though I have admittedly not listened to The Kills with any regularity since their 2003 debut, I also lack an explanation as to why (I loved that album). Having downloaded their latest LP a couple of months ago, I randomly put it on again last week and something clicked — namely that this album is brilliant. Probably better than Keep On Your Mean Side, even. The band’s raw songs are as catchy as ever, and the production is perfectly abrasive. VV’s vocals are spot on, with a heavy reliance on melodic PJ Harvey-styled causticity. And the mellow moments (“Black Balloon” and the stunning closer “Goodnight Bad Morning”) add a delicate, complimentary flavor to the edgy mood that surrounds.
RIYL: The White Stripes, PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Raveonettes, Mary Timony |
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devotchka - a mad & faithful telling (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, April 2nd, 2008 | RSS feed |
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DeVotchKa A Mad & Faithful Telling [Anti-Records/Mar 18] |
| Though I have never been too enamored by the gypsy-laced music of DeVotchKa, 2004’s “How It Ends” as well as their appearance on the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack certainly have their moments. A Mad & Faithful Telling stays true to the band’s eccentricity and maintains a willingness to experiment, though the tracks on this record are somewhat more somber than their recent work. At times Nick Urata’s warbling vocals are strangely reminiscent of Radiohead, while other times meandering into the spaghetti western territory paved by Ennio Morricone. Fans of the band should not be disappointed by this release, though I personally prefer the temperament of their recent past.
RIYL: Calexico, Radiohead, Beirut, Ennio Morricone |
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vincent vincent and the villains - gospel bombs (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, March 25th, 2008 | RSS feed |
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Vincent Vincent and the Villains Gospel Bombs [EMI/Mar 10] |
| I have been looking forward to Vincent Vincent’s debut LP since first hearing a few tracks a few years ago (most notably “End of the Night”). The Villains’ style of retro rockabilly-meets-samba would fit quite comfortably on a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack — at times delving into Caribbean-flavored lounge jams, then harking back to a classic whammy-bar tantrum that brings Roy Orbison or Ennio Morricone to mind. Vincent’s stylized vocals are strong and heartfelt, giving the record an irresistable vintage charm not heard from many other neo-retro bands.
RIYL: Tiger Army, Roy Orbison, The Rumble Strips, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Sublime |
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crystal castles - crystal castles (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, March 25th, 2008 | RSS feed |
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Crystal Castles Crystal Castles [Last Gang/Mar 18] |
| Crystal Castles’ long awaited full-length debut finally leaked a few weeks ago and was released just a few weeks later (the difficulty of finding a decent leak of this album was on par to finding the Team Sleep debut a few years ago). And though it only contains a few new tracks, this record is by far the best release of 2008 to date. Smothered in 8-bit terror and synthy aural candy and out-of-this-world vocal manipulation and otherwise pure insanity, Crystal Castles continue to show why they are the greatest band in the world right now. The new tracks keep the band’s renowned nightmare freakscapes while adding an even more dancable vibe, creating a blistering fusion of intensity and melody.
RIYL: The Knife, Health, New Young Pony Club, CSS |
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m83 - saturdays = youth (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, March 25th, 2008 | RSS feed |
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M83 Saturdays = Youth [Mute/Apr 14] |
| M83’s fourth proper album moves even further into the lush, 80s-synthpop-cum-post-rock territory that recent releases have suggested, resulting in a typically inconsistent record filled with mediocrity that occasionally stumbles onto something great. The problem with M83 has always been inconsistency — with stunning, synth-soaked MBV-styled freakouts such as “*” and “Unrecorded” paired with boring post-rock that ambles along but never really goes anywhere (I won’t even get into the awful “Cyborg”). Anthony Gonzalez seems to be moving in a more mellow direction, which is unfortunate, as the aforementioned wall-of-sound is the reason we all fell in love with M83 in the first place. And though there are a few gems to be heard here (“Couleurs”, “Dark Moves of Love”), Saturdays = Youth is the least impressive M83 album to date — featuring boring vocals and bland soundscapes that do not live up to the promise laid out by earlier releases.
RIYL: Ova Looven, Cut Copy, Sigur Ros, Hooverphonic |
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silver jews - lookout mountain, lookout sea (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, March 25th, 2008 | RSS feed |
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Silver Jews Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea [Drag City/Jun 17] |
| The latest offering from the prolific indie mainstay David Berman isn’t as instantly accessible as some of his older work (read: American Water), however, it definitely creeps up after multiple listens. The lack of Stephen Malkmus is particularly notable (his touring backing band has much more of a pentience for americana-styled guitarplay), but Berman’s brilliant, literary lyrics and deadpan delivery are as clever and witty as ever. Though not his best work, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea is certainly a worthy companion in Silver Jews’ catalogue.
RIYL: Stephen Malkmus, Pavement, Okkervil River |
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colour revolt - plunder, beg, and curse (2008)
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, February 26th, 2008 | RSS feed |
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Colour Revolt Plunder, Beg, and Curse [Fat Possum/Apr 1] |
| I have been looking forward to Colour Revolt’s first full-length ever since hearing their self-titled EP a few years ago, and this release delivers on all counts. The raw, abrasive attitude of the EP has been slightly toned down in favor of a muddier, more introspective tone — lending the record a mature, slow-paced drawl that snakes around like a dirty southern creek littered with weeds and leeches. Yet, this subtle shift in songwriting enhances the band’s strengths even moreso, resulting in a strong record that reveals more of its secrets with each successive listen.
RIYL: Kings of Leon, We Barbarians, My Morning Jacket, Okkervil River |
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32 amazing songs to listen to in the pouring rain
By drunkie mcdramaqueen, February 19th, 2008 | RSS feed |
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Dudes & dudettes, I am sure you can agree that there’s something magical about listening to a sad song in a thunderstorm. Here are my favorites. Enjoy:
Psychotica - 180º [Psychotica/1996] |
| This seminal goth band’s debut album was a mainstay on my playlist back in high school. “180º”, in particular, is a grand foray into industrial goth androgyny.
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The Sound - Winning [From the Lion’s Mouth/1986] |
| Post-punk pioneers The Sound were unfortunately overlooked due to the successes of Joy Division, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen and others. Nevertheless, they released some chilling, hopeless music that used to send shivers up my spine when I would go for walks at 3 a.m. through my empty town of rural suburbia.
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The Music - Getaway [The Music/2002] |
| The Music’s masterpiece, “Getaway”, from their self-titled debut, is a rain-soaked anthem of intense, thunderous guitars and wailing vocal pleas that never fail to make my blood boil.
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Dimbodius - Breaking You [While We Fall/2004] |
| “Breaking You” is a sprawling, hypnotic cadence of desparation and dejection. Afloat in dreary reverb and steady electronic backbeats are passionately slow vocals that evolve and devolve like a thunderstorm in and of themselves.
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M83 - Unrecorded [Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts/2003] |
| M83’s gorgeous debut surprised everyone with its intricate electronic homages to My Bloody Valentine, and this epic instrumental cascade of synth-soaked melody is a perfect introduction. “Unrecorded” could probably start a rainstorm by itself if played loud enough.
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Optiganally Yours - Oar [Exclusively Talentmaker!/2000] |
| Rob Crowe hid this little gem on an obscure side project, deftly ensuring a treasure trove of happy-to-be-sadness for anyone lucky enough to discover it. This track is quite possibly the most depressing I have ever listened to, yet two weeks of listening to it on repeat very possibly saved my life once upon a time.
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Team Sleep - Your Skull is Red [Team Sleep/2005] |
| Chino Moreno’s superhuman vocals lust over a stunning display of passion and melody that never let up even when bordering on mesmeric implosion. “Your Skull is Red” displays Moreno at the height of his game.
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ohGr - JaKO [SunnyPsyOp/2003] |
| The side project of Nivek Ogre (of Skinny Puppy fame) harnesses a dark, pulsating energy that exhibits a mature grasp of industrial atmospherics and elegiac melody. Perfect to listen to during a midnight storm.
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The Church - Under the Milky Way [Starfish/1988] |
| The Church’s greatest moment (utilized perfectly in Donnie Darko) is quite possibly the saddest, most demoralized song ever written. Steve Kilbey’s wistful vocals float so dismally in the surrounding sea of delicate guitar chords and shivering atmospherics, turning everything nearby to frozen gloom.
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The Boxer Rebellion - Never Knowing How or Why [Exits/2005] |
| The Boxer Rebellion’s debut is a chilling assemblage of Sigur Rossian vocals and droning soundscapes that make for a perfect soundtrack to a rainy afternoon.
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The Organ - Memorize the City [Grab That Gun/2004] |
| This now-defunct all-girl Canadian band has released some of the most depressing music of the decade. “Memorize the City” is a pulsating journey through the empty, rain-soaked streets of desolation, brilliantly harnessing the band’s namesake to add texture to the icy cold guitar passages.
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Ra Ra Riot - Ghost Under Rocks [Ra Ra Riot EP/2007] |
| Perhaps made even more surreal by the recent death of drummer John Pike, “Ghost Under Rocks” is a dazzling track that weaves and winds through a landscape of anguish, refusing to release its deathgrip of emotions.
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Ellen Allien & Apparat - Way Out [Orchestra of Bubbles/2006] |
| Ellen Allien’s collaboration with Apparat showcased a beautifully produced set of moody electronica, most notably this masterpiece, which mixes Allien’s evocative vocals with a backdrop of hammering beats and synthy melodies.
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The Raveonettes - Lust [Lust Lust Lust/2007] |
| Drenched in reverb and moving along at a sexy, hypnotizing crawl, “Lust” is the perfect backdrop for a canvas of gentle rain on an otherwise silent Sunday afternoon.
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The Dandy Warhols - Good Morning [Come Down/1997] |
| This classic Dandy Warhols’ track is a druggy meditation of droning guitars topped with Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s typically lackadaisical vocals, relenting only after a brilliant guitar solo crescendo.
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New Order - Crystal [Get Ready/2001] |
| Possibly the greatest song New Order has ever recorded, “Crystal” is nothing short of an anthem for driving fast in the rain. Bernard Sumner’s melodic vocals have never sounded so intense with the accompanying keyboards and throbbing bassline.
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The Big Sleep - Sleep Forever [Sleep Forever/2008] |
| The title track of The Big Sleep’s latest record is a perfect album closer, awash in shoegazy guitars and wailing vocals, like a massive summer thunderstorm.
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The Get Up Kids - Like a Man Possessed [Another Year on the Streets, Vol. 3/2004] |
| One of The Get Up Kids’ softer, more introspective moments (which makes a jawdropping appearance on an episode of One Tree Hill), “Like a Man Possessed” combines a restrained tempo with melodic guitarscapes and a vigorous breakdown.
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Denali - The Instinct [The Instinct/2003] |
| Maura Davis’s classically trained vocals have never sounded as frozen and hopeless as they do on this Denali song — backed by steady, electronic drums and cacophonous guitars, this track was my only solace for weeks following my grandpa’s death a few years ago.
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Radiohead - Where I End + You Begin [Hail to the Thief/2003] |
| Radiohead’s “Where I End + You Begin” is a staggering kaleidoscope of haunting atmospherics and discordant guitars that perfectly compliment Thom York’s manic vocal stylings, creating a sort of bi-polar mood that never fails to clone the feelings I was having in 2003 when I first heard it.
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Starflyer 59 - Too Much Fun [The Fashion Focus/1998] |
| The epic wall of guitars that is “Too Much Fun” is not only the greatest song ever recorded, but perhaps the moodiest I have ever listened to. At almost 8 minutes long, there simply is no better song to listen to during a tumultuous flood. Period.
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Sound Team - TV Torso [Movie Monster/2006] |
| Sound Team’s “TV Torso” is a steadily escalating, trance-inducing track that continuously gains steam like a feverish locomotive, uncompromising in its despair and unabatedly frenetic.
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Sparklehorse - Cow [Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot/1995] |
| Mark Linkous’s typically surrealistic wordplay and intricate arrangements add a bizarre, dreamlike quality to this song, giving it a sense of delicate frailty that goes perfectly with a gentle rainshower on a weekend afternoon. This track ties itself to many of my most vivid memories from the early 00s.
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Blonde Redhead - 23 [23/2007] |
| The opening title track on Blonde Redhead’s most recent magnum opus is a spellbinding display of harmonies and spine-chilling temperaments. Featuring Kazu Makino’s now-customary blend of abstract vocal stylings and a canvas of My Bloody Valentine-influenced distortion, “23″ vomits beauty and inhales more of my soul with each listen.
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The 101 - Regret [Green Street/2005] |
| The 7-minute closer from The 101’s first full-length is a ceaselessly lethargic and logical conclusion to the record it closes. Dripping with melodic vocals and driving guitarlines, it forms a reasurring aura that hides its futility without denying its existence. This track was a mainstay for me on Saturday afternoons a few summers ago.
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Maserati - The World Outside [Inventions For the New Season/2007] |
| “The World Outside” is a sparkling bit of instrumental post-rock, laden with gorgeous textures and vibrant guitars that weave in and out of themselves as they gracefully unfold.
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Honey is Cool - Bolero [Early Morning Are You Working/1999] |
| Karin Dreijer’s pre-Knife music is somewhat inconsistent, but Honey is Cool’s best work can easily stand on its own with her newer, more acclaimed releases. “Bolero” is one such example, offering a fabulous glimpse into Dreijer’s future as a skilled songwriter and producer with this assemblage of wintry, otherworldly vocals and tundric guitars.
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Moonbabies - I’m Insane But So Are You [June and Novas/2001] |
| This Moonbabies track is a wonderfully sad sea of jangly guitars and shimmering boy/girl vocal harmonies that perfectly flatter the hopeless tranquility found in the lyrics. Every time I listen to this song I am instantly shoved into the Japanese dreamworld described in Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood. So much so, that Moonbabies has become my official soundtrack whenever reading any Murakami.
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Failure - Another Space Song [Fantastic Planet/1996] |
| Possibly one of the most overlooked bands of the mid-90s, Failure’s “Another Space Song” is a dismal, metaphorical tale of being left alone to die in nothingness. Ken Andrews’ amazing grasp of space-tinged effects are exhibited flawlessly here, adding just the right amount of color to his heroin-soaked vocal chords. Fun fact: the intro of this song is taken directly from a scene in the 1973 animated French surrealist film Fantastic Planet.
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Hum - Little Dipper [You’d Prefer an Astronaut/1995] |
| This thunderous wall of sound is drenched in waves of distortion and droning, indolent vocals — sluggishly moving without moving and breathing without breathing. Matt Talbott’s space-themed lyrics are the perfect adversary to such a stentorian nightmare, his voice barely audible above the swells and crashes of the surrounding feedback.
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On!Air!Library! - Feb. [On!Air!Library!/2004] |
| Before their breakup, these NYC experimentalists managed to test the limits of despair on this track, which comes in at just over two minutes. Yet, in just a couple of minutes, the band overlays a simple, repetitious guitarscape with an utterly hopeless vocal line that seems as sad as anything could ever be.
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National Skyline - A Night at the Drugstore [This=Everything/2001] |
| Former members of Castor and Hum teamed up to create this demure masterpiece, which is a sensory overload scourged with chilling synths, ethereal samples and emotionless drum loops. A perfect choice for walking around in a midnight thunderstorm.
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