Bat for Lashes - Pearl's Dream 7"
Bat for Lashes - Pearl's Dream 7" (Astralwerks) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Ordinarily, I wouldn't bother reviewing a single when the song is also contained on a readily available album, but the Cenzo Townshend radio edit of "Pearl's Dream" (like "Daniel" before it) is completely essential. Townshend tweaks the song without really altering any of its DNA. It's so much brighter and the syncopated percussion is brought forward in the mix, making headphone-listening a real treat. Also, the 909s remix of "Sleep Alone" is actually Dave Sitek in disguise, and he twists that up in a wonderful way.
- paul
The Chatham Singers - Juju Claudius
The Chatham Singers - Juju Claudius (Damaged Goods) [audio]
Out of the ten thousand or so albums Billy Childish has released since the 1970s, I've heard only a few. What stands out, though, is how Childish is always so on-point with anything he attempts. The Chatham Singers, his latest collaborative project, digs deep into the well of blues, folk and gospel sounds. He and his wife Julie Hamper (with help from bandmates including Blur's Graham Coxon) coax the past out of the present. The ghosts of Hank Williams and The Carter Family inhabit every second of Juju Claudius.
- paul
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm (Jagjaguwar) [audio] [upcoming shows]
There's really no negatives to Dinosaur's 5th album (with the original members). As usual, the songs are jammed with heavy guitar riffs and super-hooky melodies. Fans of Bug and Green Mind are going to love this record. "I Don't Want to Go There" can be put on their best-of list, while "Over It" should be getting major airplay across radio waves and "Pieces" has become one of my personal favorites. Three guys in their forties making music that is more relevant than anything on the radio and then some... radical!
- kyle j.
Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King
Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King (RCA) [audio] [upcoming shows]
You show me a band that had a steeper instant drop-off in caliber of output than DMB, and I will gladly shake the hands of Boston in 1977. Which is why Big Whiskey came as a total shock. I didn't think these guys had another Before These Crowded Streets caliber disc in them, but I was magnificently wrong. The songs collected here reinsert the teeth that had been missing from their pop confections in the last decade. Highlights include the infectious "Why I Am" and the soulful "Lying in the Hands of God", but it is a triumph for its entire runtime.
- tom d.
Various Artists - Not Given Lightly: A Tribute to the Giant Golden Book of Ne...
Various Artists - Not Given Lightly: A Tribute to the Giant Golden Book of New Zealand's Alternative Music (Morr Music) [audio]
NZ's first DIY scene birthed some brilliant music, so expectations were high when I found out Morr was compiling covers by their own artists; maybe too high. The spark of the originals gets extinguished by the drowsy sounds of Lali Puna, B.Fleischmann, The Go Find and others. Still, it's not a complete loss. Masha Qrella brightens up The Chills' "Pink Frost" considerably and The American Analog Set whisper The Clean's "Anything Could Happen" like a secret. If anything, this might steer people towards the original bands and songs.
- paul
Rancid - Let the Dominoes Fall
Rancid - Let the Dominoes Fall (Hellcat) [audio] [upcoming shows]
It seems unfair to give Rancid a hard time for falling short of ...And Out Come the Wolves and Life Won't Wait, when they are easily the only punk band even slightly in the public spotlight that still makes music this strong. The frantic intensity is dialed back slightly on this album, but all 19 tracks are solid, even when veering from their trademark sound (an acoustically mellow "Civilian Ways" is an obvious highlight here). It would be in my best of the year list no matter what; the fact that I never expected another Rancid album of this caliber just makes it that much better.
- tom d.
Kissy Sell Out - Youth
Kissy Sell Out - Youth (Marrakesh) [audio] [upcoming shows]
With countless remixes to his credit in the last three years, electropop wunderkind Kissy Sell Out has finally delivered a full-length collection of his own material. Youth is, in no uncertain terms, an exhilarating joyride. Kissy treats his synthesizer like a lead guitar, guiding the melody of nearly every song along through arpeggiated workouts that are bent and squelched to their limits. His friend Danimal Kingdom lends charmingly bratty vocals throughout, making songs like "This Kiss" and "Pop Bottle" essential summertime fare.
- paul
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