Ho hum, another Monday, another day of new music and videos. Wait a second, that sounds great! On to the links.
Moby re-worked a song from director David Lynch (deeming it a “re-version”) and released it on Record Store Day last week; today he uploaded the video on YouTube, and it’s a delightfully spooky black-and-white film that fits the ethereal, hazy music perfectly.
One of our favorite metal acts, Red Fang, is about to head out on tour once again, because they don’t believe in resting on their laurels. As a bonus for showing up to their show, they’re giving out a free 7″ record which features a new single, “The Meadow”. You can take a listen right here, courtesy of Noisey.
The first new Pixies album in over two decades will officially be released tomorrow, and the band has uploaded a track-by-track overview on YouTube. Also be sure to check out the bonus track, “Women of War”, as well.
And Pitchfork has the video of a one-of-a-kind performance, with members of Beach House, Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen, and Fleet Foxes performing a tribute to Gene Clark of the Byrds with a recreation of his solo album No Other. Check out the whole show here.
Not too many #longreads this weekend, which probably is good news for us since our publishing schedule got sidetracked a bit this week, and there’s not much time left to cram.
Going a few years from Britpop’s heyday, Shortlist has a slideshow of facts about Joy Division’s landmark album, Unknown Pleasures. If that piques your interest, then I’d urge you to set aside some time in your schedule to watch Control and 24 Hour Party People if you haven’t already done so, because both are excellent looks at the brilliant band.
Just so you have the information somewhere on file, know that Lorde has been given Dave Grohl’s “Dad’s Seal of Approval”, which should have been somewhat obvious given her appearance with the reunited Nirvana at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Finally, there are a couple of articles from Pitchfork I wanted to highlight. On the one hand, there’s an interview with Marc Weidenbaum about his 33 1/3 book on Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II, which provides some good insight into the composer, the development of the ambient genre, and the album itself. At the end of the scale, we have this attempt by the staff to avoid writing a simple review of the new Pixies album Indie Cindy, with this half-assed stab at covering the entire Pixies discography. It offers no insight or perspective on landmark albums like Surfer Rosa or Doolittle, but seems to exist only so that they have it on record that those records deserve perfect 10 scores, and that for some reason Trompe le Monde is a better album than Bossanova. Perhaps that belief helps color their insistent tone in dealing with the new album. I’d normally advise against reading something like this, but I’ll make an exception for this since it’s a good example of how empty some music writing can be.
Modest Mouse will be returning next week as they launch a new tour in Portland, though we are still uncertain whether this is a signal that they will soon be releasing a follow-up to 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. To mark the occasion, we decided to share a brilliant music video that you may have missed when it was first released. Here, the band uses the familiar trick of playing the video in reverse, but here the technique serves to emphasize the emotional impact of the end. It’s a real testament to the production that one would know exactly how the video will end, but still end up intensely moved. So, fair warning: you may cry at the end.
There’s really no better way to cap a Record Store Day (or just a beautiful spring weekend in general) than to go to a tiny club and see a great young band just rip through a set. We got that exact opportunity last weekend when we caught RIJR favorites The Men do a blistering one hour show at one of Portland’s great gems, Dante’s. And our enjoyment was certainly not only due to our kind waitress, though she certainly helped.
Well, not tonight. But the sign was correct when taken.
The night began with an anti-comedy duo that when Tim & Eric are ever properly brought up on charges for the terror they’ve inflicted on audiences will be presented as Exhibits (E) and (F). Needless to say, at our first sight of a dilapidated ventriloquist’s dummy we were all of a sudden no longer perplexed as to why tables were still set up but instead grateful. Grateful for the seating as well as the opportunity to procure various alcoholic beverages to make the “show” more “enjoyable” (for the record, since this is Portland, the beverages were IPAs and bourbons because we don’t believe in bullshit). The next act, Nasalrod, featured a frontman that was simultaneously late-period David Lee Roth (thinning hair and a gut) and early-period David Lee Roth (doing flying leg-kicks and stage-diving). I remember nothing specific about the music, except that it was loud, not-melodic, and full of energy, which was perfect for the setting. Gun Outfit provided a nice change of pace, with actual songs, and now I am reminded that I should probably look up more of their stuff because they were quite good.
We had caught The Men before at the very same venue during MusicFest NW last fall, but with a new record out we were anxious to hear how different their set would be. Whereas last time New Moon featured heavily and allowed the band to stretch a bit, including an extended-version of “I Saw Her Face” that opened the show, Saturday night was a take-no-prisoners run that went through the majority of Tomorrow’s Hits. For all the fans that bemoaned how the band had changed their sound to be, for lack of a better word, more “polished”, this performance was a stark rebuttal from the band. The Men upped the tempo, cranked up the amplifiers, and blasted through raucous versions of “Going Down”, “Pearly Gates”, and even the shuffling “The Dark Waltz”. And for those wondering how the band would replicate some of the cool horn parts, a couple of guitar pedals were apparently all that were necessary to recreate the fun stomp of “Another Night”.
The curtains really add the right touch.
Sure, the mix was a little off, with the vocals buried way below all the guitars and keyboards; if you were unfamiliar with the new material, the set would have seemed to just run together. Fortunately, it seemed that the crowd knew their stuff and sang along anyway. And yes, it was loud as fuck, but at a show like this, that’s a feature and not a bug; we were informed by our waitress Brittney that at soundcheck it was the first time they had to tell a band to turn it down a little bit, and perhaps they didn’t fully understand the request. It was a good thing we had worked out a system before the band took the stage so our drink orders were still heard.
Despite the crowd’s pleas for an encore, the band did not return, which makes the one that we received back in the fall a seemingly more unique experience, and the band’s surprise at our demand seem even more genuine. Everyone still left buzzed and in good spirits, and I was glad to shake guitarist Nick Chiericozzi ‘s hand and congratulate him on a great show (once he finished downing his shot of tequila). Let’s hope that this trend of quick return trips back to Portland continues.
I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend, whether it was spiritual, musical, or “miscellaneous”, and we also hope that you didn’t mind waiting an extra day while we recuperated. I believe my stomach is proof that Costco should not be allowed to sell jellybeans.
Record Store Day was this past Saturday, and perhaps you scored some cool vinyl or just enjoyed a good excuse to spend a weekend afternoon scouring the racks at your local record store. I only picked up a 7″ Mudhoney/The Sonics split-single, mainly in part to my reluctance to splurge on vinyl. And now I have some ammunition when a so-called “audiophile” tries to insist that I’m missing out on superior sound, courtesy of Vox. I’ll just be sure not to mention the Nyquist-Shannon theorem, because I have it on good authority that it’s not really handled correctly in the piece. Otherwise, it’s a great scientific explanation of sound recordings in different formats; of course, if you prefer the sound of vinyl, feel free to keep rocking.
There weren’t really that many videos to share this week, but there was this footage from Soundgarden’s SXSW appearance that was just uploaded, with the band ripping through “Rusty Cage”.
Finally, it’s the 20th anniversary of Above the Rim, one of my favorite movies to watch whenever it shows up on cable. First, there’s a look at the making of the film with the screenwriter, Barry Michael Cooper, courtesy of Complex. When you’re done with that, have some fun with a more irreverent look with a roundtable discussion about the unique greatness of the film from Grantland. If you’re wondering why we’re discussing a basketball movie on a music site, you should probably check this slideshow, then ask yourself why you bothered to pose the question considering this was one of Tupac’s great roles, and it featured “Regulate”.
We’ve got some great #longreads for you this weekend, so try to fit these in as you enjoy Record Store Day.
Many music fans were excited for the reunion of OutKast at Coachella last weekend (this one included), but unfortunately it wasn’t the joyous celebration that we were hoping would occur. There’s a lot to be said about the general shittiness of festivals, and Coachella specifically, but even that doesn’t account for some of the disappointment that many OutKast fans felt (personally, as a viewer watching things on my couch, I was able to enjoy it, album-plug for Future notwithstanding). Rembert Browne at Grantland does a great job of expounding on this sentiment. And if you’re wondering why the OutKast reunion was such a big deal in the first place, Andrea Battleground at the AVClub can help get you up to speed.
Last weekend I engaged in a scavenger hunt across Portland with some friends, and one of the items that we procured was an 8-Track of Bob Seger’s Night Moves. It is now one of my most valued possessions. Coincidentally enough, Steven Hyden wrote a piece this week why you shouldn’t scoff at this notion. Behold, in all its glory:
My new most valued possession
SPIN has an excerpt from the recently released oral history of Dinosaur Jr. You get a look at the early, early days of the band, as they toured around Massachusetts and their early ventures into New York, as well as their first tour as they opened for Sonic Youth.
Pitchfork has a couple of excellent features this week, both analyzing more the business side of music, and specifically the use and accumulation of data. First, there was an article outlining the evolution of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and how its current format leads to problems in tracking songs. It raises some interesting points, but to dismiss the impact on how the specific genre has had an impact on Top 40 is a bit of a mistake, and maybe a solution that is more in line with how Billboard charts Alternative Rock may be one way to go. The other piece looks at the history of streaming and its future, finding analogues in prior devices like the jukebox and looking at how data is processed to give a better idea for programs in dispensing recommendations. Both are great and worth the time to read.
It’s become increasingly clear that if you’re going to see a band perform, it’s best to do it in Portland. Sure, we always have enthusiastic crowds and a ton of great venues, but that’s been the case for years. What I’m talking about is that special moment that sends you straight to your cell phone to put everyone on blast that “Holy shit, you won’t believe what happened at the **** show!” Just in the past few months, we’ve seen a Sleater-Kinney “reunion” at a Pearl Jam show, Jim James showing up to do a John Lennon cover with The War On Drugs, and now a surprise reconciliation at Tuesday’s Queens of the Stone Age concert.
I didn’t realize most of the new material was in standard tuning
Queens kicked things off with a bang, perhaps buoyed by the announcement earlier in the day of their number 2 ranking in RIJR’s Album of the Year rankings, with the raucous “Feel Good Hit of the Summer”. Few bands would then follow up their opener with their biggest hit, but QOTSA knew that the sold-out crowd didn’t come just to hear the songs they heard from the radio. That’s what we call confidence, my friends. After that, “Avon” brought a huge cheer from the fans who remember QOTSA’s self-titled debut with fondness.
The band then went on a run of material from their scintillating new album, …Like Clockwork. By the end of the night, 80% of the album would be covered, and considering the excellence of the material, nobody minded missing out on a couple of old favorites. The lead single “My God Is The Sun” serves as an excellent bridge between classic Queens desert-rock and the rest of the new album, with its catchy riffs and rolling drums interspersed with a groovy shaker rhythm. However, it was what’s in my opinion …Like Clockwork‘s cornerstone “I Appear Missing” that was the highlight of the new material, with its intoxicating and hypnotic Gothic groove that you allow to drag you forward, even though you know it’s probably not a good idea. The band did a brilliant job of extending the ending, as if caught in a trap with ever-escalating tension, matching the image of a man falling forever and ever from the sky. As the band brought the volume down, the crowd watched the video screen and there was a moment that you thought perhaps the character would live to see a happy ending, but then the band snapped back with full force and that was the end for Our Hero. It was but one of many examples of how QOTSA was able to improve on already-fantastic new material.
As the band neared the end of their main set, Josh Home dedicated Rated R‘s “Better Living Through Chemistry” to “his brother from a fucked-up mother”, former bandmate Nick Oliveri. Nick played bass with the opening band, Moistboyz (who also featured another QOTSA collaborator in Mickey Melchiondo (aka Dean Ween)), and it was good to see further confirmation that he and Josh had patched things up. The song itself was a perfect distillation of the greatness of Queens, and was one of the most mind-blowing performances that I could remember; in many ways, it was an inversion of many standard rock tropes, with epic breakdowns and solos. Queens capped off the first part of the evening with the excellent “Go With the Flow”, leaving the crowd breathless but wanting more.
An amazing show even from these ridiculous seats.
The band returned for their encore with the haunting “The Vampyre of Time and Memory”, featuring Josh behind the piano. As the roadies wheeled away the extra piano, a familiar guitar riff came on, and the crowd went apeshit as they heard the opening to “You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire.” Josh then brought Nick out on stage and handed him a mic, and Portland then witnessed Nick perform with Queens of the Stone Age for the first time in ten years as the crowd lost their shit a second time. “Gimme toro, gimme some more!!!” The band ended the evening with the live favorite “A Song For The Dead”, officially making it worth the wait since the band’s last stop in Portland several years ago. And considering Josh’s lively interactions with the crowd and the several bits of praise he had for Portland (“You got yourselves a cool town…fuck it, you’re the best.”), hopefully we’ll be seeing him again soon.
Even with our expanded Best-Of list courtesy of The Process, there were still a ton of great albums released last year that were worthy of recognition. Since we here at Rust Is Just Right are big believers in spreading all good music, we’re going to put a spotlight on some other great records that you may have overlooked from the past year.
EELS – Wonderful, Glorious. It had begun to seem as if Eels were stuck in a rut, with a trio of dour albums (Hombre Lobo, End Times, Tomorrow Morning) that were difficult for even a superfan like me to listen to on an regular basis. But E switched up the formula a bit and even sounds “happy” with this album. And the live show for the tour for this album was quite great as well, a kind of variety-show getup with everyone dressed in monochrome tracksuits and sporting the same facial hair.
No Age – An Object. No Age have always been a band that’s difficult to appreciate on first listen, but even fans of their abrasive sound (whether it be riotous punk rock or feedback-drenched ambient) weren’t sure how to respond to An Object. In many ways it was built more like an art project than just “the next album from No Age”, and surprisingly it often worked.
Phosphorescent – Muchacho. This country-tinged indie folk album is a real treat to listen to on a relaxing, sunny day, but would still be worth it if it only included the reworking of “Wicked Game” that we didn’t know we needed in 2013 with “The Quotidian Beasts”.
Red Fang – Whales and Leeches. I always love hearing my favorite hometown metal band, so it was surprising that they didn’t manage to make it onto the official list. Such is the mysterious ways of The Process. It seems that touring with Mastodon rubbed off on them a bit, as one could definitely hear their influence on the album (my initial comparison was “Mastodon on amphetamines”, and I think that it still fits). And good news, Red Fang is still making great music videos.
David Bowie – The Next Day. Can we just pause a minute and recognize how awesome it is that it’s 2014 and David Bowie can just surprise the world with a damn good album 45 years into his career? The album isn’t perfect, but there are some songs that would fit comfortably aside the old classics on a Greatest Hits.
Los Campesinos! – No Blues. I keep telling everyone to go to one of their shows because it’ll probably be the most fun you’ll have all year, and I’ll continue to do so. No Blues sees the band continuing with the mature sound from Hello, Sadness but with a slightly more positive outlook.
Janelle Monáe – The ElectricLady. It’s hard to keep track of the narrative about robots and revolution, but the music is fantastic. Seeing her perform with OutKast was one of the highlights of Coachella.
The Knife – Shaking the Habitual. I hadn’t understood the love that some people had for this band until I heard this album. It’s bizarre, but I like it.
Death Grips – Government Plates. Who knew we hadn’t heard the last from Death Grips? My favorite part is that when I downloaded the album, it was automatically tagged as “Rock & Roll”. If you are unfamiliar with their music, well…
Also Worthy of Praise
Speedy Ortiz – Major Arcana; Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt; Ghostface Killah – Twelve Reasons to Die; Moonface – Julia With Blue Jeans On; Tim Hecker – Virgins; Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You; Washed Out – Paracosm.
All Albums That Were Considered
Here’s a list of the albums that I listened to last year, in full. Most of these were quite good and worthy of repeated listens, but they just couldn’t crack the previous lists. And I’m not going to do something like say the new albums from The Strokes or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were complete garbage, because that wouldn’t be nice.
Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest; Daft Punk – Random Access Memories; Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Daze; The Strokes – Comedown Machine; Surfer Blood – Pythons; Atoms for Peace – Amok; Ducktails – The Flower Lane;Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Specter at the Feast; British Sea Power – Machineries of Joy; The Dismemberment Plan – Uncanney Valley; M.I.A. – Matangi; Palms – Palms; Phoenix – Bankrupt!; Cold War Kids – Dear Miss Lonelyhearts; Deerhunter – Monomania; Jake Bugg – Shangri-La; Jim James – Regions of Light and Sound of God; MGMT – MGMT; Mudhoney – Vanishing Point; Yo la Tengo – Fade; Beach Fossils – Clash the Truth; Fitz & The Tantrums – More Than Just a Dream; Alice in Chains – The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here; The Appleseed Cast – Illumination Ritual; Chelsea Light Moving – Chelsea Light Moving; Darkside – Psychic; The Dear Hunter – Migrant; Dr. Dog – B-Room; How to Destroy Angels – Welcome Oblivion; Kavinsky – OutRun; Major Lazer – Free the Universe; Of Montreal – Lousy With Sylvianbriar; Oneohtrix Point Never – R Plus Seven; Ra Ra Riot – Beta Love; Talib Kweli – Prisoner of Conscious; Tyler, the Creator – Wolf; Typhoon – White Lighter; Baths – Obsidian.
Today is April 15, and while the rest of the nation celebrates Tax Day, we here at Rust Is Just Right choose this occasion to release our Best Albums of the Year list. To be technical, this is our first such list since the site was launched only a few months ago, but this is a practice that I’ve personally done for a few years now. There are a few of reasons for this: 1) It allows some of the albums that are released at the end of the calendar year to get some recognition, since they usually get swallowed up in the attention of the flurry of year-end lists; 2) I get the chance to analyze other lists to pick up on albums that somehow escaped my attention during the course of the year; and 3) It provides a handy consumer guide for people to focus where to spend their tax refund.
The process that is used to determine this list is highly rigorous and hardly scientific. That said, it is in the process of being patented and trademarked, so I can say that it’s not simply a look at my iTunes playcount for the year. Actually, that is what it is exactly, but I’ll choose to believe in your good faith that you won’t steal The Process. On to the list!
Note: Though the list is a Top 10, there are more albums than slots, because I don’t like breaking ties for the same play count. If you’re really intent on focusing on only 10, I guess take the 10 highest performing albums from the list, but you really shouldn’t limit yourself like that if you can help it.
We already have a surprise courtesy of The Process, as I didn’t think that Mosquito would perform so well. The first single “Sacrilege” had me really excited for the album, but there was no other song that really matched its heights. It was a bit of a letdown after the great It’s Blitz!, so my response to it may be harsher than it should be. The Terror on the other hand was a new high point for The Flaming Lips; with the band involved in so many projects and gimmicks, there were legitimate fears that the creative well may have been running a bit dry, but the Lips responded with an album that showed that even after 30 years the band still has new directions to explore. Long known for their happy outlook on life, the band channeled inner turmoil (Steve Drozd’s relapse, Wayne Coyne’s separation from his partner) and created a dark, disturbing album that often plays like an hour-long version of the horrifying “Frankie Teardrop”, incorporating new elements like krautrock influences and drum machines. The only reason it’s not higher on the list is you really need to prepare yourself to handle the despair that is prevalent throughout the album (though there are moments of pure beauty). With Th!!!er, !!! may have won Album Name of the Year, but they also back it up with some of the best songs of their career. I’m a sucker for their dance-punk style, and I highly recommend seeing these guys live. It’s fun to see a bunch of people who normally don’t dance groove to songs like “One Girl/One Boy”.
9). (7 plays) Foals – Holy Fire; The Joy Formidable – Wolf’s Law; Low – The Invisible Way; Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks; Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold; Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt; Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels.
Normally, I would say that Pearl Jam exists outside the scope of “lists”, but one cannot argue with The Process. I haven’t delved deep into my love of the band since starting this site, so for those of you unfamiliar with my passion for the band, I’ll try to sum it up like this: I’ve been to hundreds of shows over the years, and when people ask me for my all-time greatest concerts, I tell them there’s a Pearl Jam list and a non-Pearl Jam list.
As for the others, I’ll offer a few quick thoughts. Foals have been underrated for a while now, and by my calculations “My Number” should have been as big a summer hit as “Get Lucky”. The Joy Formidable put on one of the best shows I saw last year, and I’m a big fan of how the sweetness of the vocals contrast with the heaviness of the music, but all done in a very melodic way. There wasn’t a big hit like “Whirring” on this album, but “This Ladder Is Ours” should have been. Nine Inch Nails returned with a very good comeback album–I loved the incorporation of more minimalist ideas, which made it an exceedingly interesting dance record. And it’s amazing that Low once again produced an amazing album, and I hardly saw any mention of it on the year-end lists. Invisible Way saw the band returning to the more delicate sounds pre-Drums and Guns, but it was definitely not a simple rehash.
Light Up Gold is a perfect example of reason number two up above, as I heard nothing about this album before I saw it on a few year-end lists. This catchy and too-smart-for-probably-its-own-good soon became a go-to in my car stereo. You have to love a band that makes the point that “Socrates died in the fucking gutter.”
As for Run The Jewels, I’ll say this: it’s hard to believe that one of the best albums of the year was given away for free earlier this year. And it received a small fraction of the attention of Magna Carta Holy Grail.
8). (8 plays) Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action; Kanye West – Yeezus; The Thermals – Desperate Ground.
I was glad to see Franz Ferdinand return from hiatus alive and kicking. After some experimentation with Tonight, the band decided to go back to their old sound and play to their own strengths–a lot of good, hook-filled rock songs (for the record, I was a fan of Tonight, but hey, I understand the calculus). The Thermals made a similar return to their roots: after the reflective Personal Life, the band decided to keep the songs short and the tempos fast, with the furious Desperate Ground.
I’m sure Yeezus was the most analyzed album of the year, so my opinion shouldn’t add much to the conversation. I think Lou Reed did an excellent job in explaining its genius, so you should probably take his word for it. I will say that one of the things I enjoy most about Kanye records is that it always seems like we’re listening in on a therapy session, because he seems free to let his thoughts roam unfiltered. I also love a person that embraces the dichotomy of the sacred and the profane; who else would follow a great line “close your eyes and let the word paint a thousand pictures” with “one good girl is worth a thousand bitches”? The man knows exactly what he’s doing: “After all these long-ass verses, I’m tired, you’re tired. Jesus wept.“
7). (9 plays) The Men – New Moon; Sigur Rós – Kveikur; Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City; Volcano Choir – Repave; Yuck – Glow & Behold.
We had an extensive piece already on Yuck, so we won’t rehash it here. Volcano Choir is proof that Justin Vernon knows what he’s doing and that he doesn’t need the “Bon Iver” name to make great music. The Men will continue to put great, solid rock albums from now until eternity it seems like; throwing in some classic rock and Americana touches like they did on New Moon just helps expand their sound.
Vampire Weekend got a lot of credit for their show of maturity on their third album, and a lot of it is deserved–Modern Vampires is an excellent rumination on love and faith. That said, it wasn’t as great a leap as some critics made it out to be; I thought that Contra showed that the band was creative enough to find a way to connect their niche sound with other genres and still remain true to their identity. So while this is a very good album, it’s not quite the “Album of the Year”.
I’m much more surprised about the latest album from Sigur Rós. I found Valtari to be a real low point, an album that often struggled to find any semblance of creativity or inspiration, and it just seemed like an ambient mess. So when the band released Kveikur so quickly after Valtari, I was pretty skeptical. But holy shit, this sounds like a band reborn. It’s a much more aggressive album, an adjective that is rarely associated with the band, and bears some (dare I say?) metal influences.
5). (11 plays) Arctic Monkeys – AM; The Besnard Lakes – Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO.
The instant I heard “Do I Wanna Know?”, I knew I would love this album; I just didn’t know that it would turn out to revive their career here in the States. It’s a huge improvement over the good-but-unmemorable Suck It And See and the completely forgettable Humbug, and it wins my coveted award of “Night Driver of the Year”.
I’ve been a longtime fan of The Besnard Lakes, a band far more deserving of some of the plaudits that another Canadian band whose absence you may notice from this list. If there were actual justice in this world, they’d be headlining arenas, but I’m glad I get to see them perform spellbinding sets in tiny venues like the Doug Fir. I initially was not impressed with the new album, mainly because I had been hoping that they could use some of the huge hooks from Roaring Night and hopefully catapult into the mainstream; but once I accepted the album for what it was, I was able to appreciate the subtle melodies and beautiful atmosphere.
4). (12 plays) Deafheaven – Sunbather; My Bloody Valentine – m b v.
My Bloody Valentine shocked the world when they announced that they were immediately releasing their long-awaited follow-up to Loveless. Servers were in a constant state of crashing as music buffs around the world rushed to download the album, but eventually we all got our copy. Was it worth the over two-decade wait? If you based it on trash like “Nothing Is”, then you would say no, but then you hear the gorgeous “Only Tomorrow” with its monumental guitar solo, and all is forgiven, because you are reminded that while there are thousands of bands that were inspired by them, there is truly only one My Bloody Valentine.
Sunbather might be the most surprising album on my list, because while there is a lot of heavy metal that I do enjoy, it’s usually not of the black metal variety. However, Deafheaven uses the banshee wail-type vocals to their advantage, as they blend in with the walls of guitar. If I had my preference, it wouldn’t be the style I choose, if only because it becomes hard to distinguish what are actually some pretty decent lyrics (an exchange like “‘I’m dying.’ ‘Is it blissful?’ ‘It’s like a dream.’ ‘I want to dream.'” read great on the page, but impossible to pick out when sung). That said, the actual music is pretty goddamn brilliant. I’m going to explore them in a future Feats of Strength, but I’ll say that the last half of “The Pecan Tree” was probably the best music I heard all year, but to understand its full brilliance you need to hear the 55 minutes of brutality that came before it.
3. (16 plays) Wavves – Afraid of Heights.
Wavves received the best press and sales of their career with King of the Beach, and to follow it up they release an album filled with cynicism and paranoia and plain old depression. But they made it fun as hell. I have to give a lot of respect who released a single that got actual radio airplay whose chorus is “Holding a gun to my head, so send me an angel; or bury me deeply instead, with demons to lean on”. And they played it on Letterman.
2. (17 plays) Queens of the Stone Age – ...LikeClockwork.
This one of the best albums of QOTSA’s career, and that’s saying something since they’ve released several classic albums already. It’s a brilliant mix of their desert rock with gothic horror. It’s hard for me to think of much more to say than that, because I’m still bitter thinking how not one person on the AV Club staff gave this album a single vote.
1. (20 plays) The National – Trouble Will Find Me.
In the end, the list was topped off by what I would have predicted at the beginning of the year, but when I first listened to Trouble Will Find Me this was not a foregone conclusion. But like other albums from The National before it, what initially sounded like a shapeless bore gradually revealed its subtle strength and beauty. Melodies become more apparent, and dynamics become more evident; often it’s not drastic loud-soft contrast, but a gradual intensity that builds throughout in a song. Each listen brings about a new favorite; first it was “Sea of Love”, then it was “Pink Rabbits” followed by “Don’t Swallow the Cap”. Lately, it’s been “Graceless”, a powerful look at attempts to shake the melancholy stemming from a past relationship, filled with great lines like “God loves everybody–don’t remind me” and “all of my thoughts of you: bullets through rotten fruit.” After a few listens, you notice things like the shift halfway between “graceless” and “grace” that occurs in the lyrics, and the gradual buildup of intensity in Matt Berninger’s voice as he powers through the song. It’s perfect that an album that rewards multiple listens takes the top spot.
Tomorrow is a big day for Rust Is Just Right, because we’ll be releasing our long-awaited list of the Best Albums of 2013. We’ll explain why we chose that particular day for the big reveal tomorrow, but just be content knowing that the day will finally be here. Meanwhile we have a selection of videos to help you ease into the week.
Last week, Queens of the Stone Age released a music video of their latest single, “Smooth Sailing”, featuring Josh Homme on a wild night of partying with a group of businessmen. As the old saying goes, beware of what karaoke may bring. Now’s a good time to familiarize yourself with the song and the rest of …Like Clockwork, because we’ll have a review of their live show later this week, and QOTSA will certainly make an appearance in tomorrow’s Best Of list. You could check out their performance at Coachella from this past weekend as well; Pitchfork has their performance as well as many others, so they’re worth checking out.
Eels also released a music video last week for “Mistakes of My Youth”, the lead single from the upcoming album The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett. The full album is also available for streaming on YouTube, ahead of its release date next week on the 22nd. It seems the band has stepped back from the happier, livelier sound of Wonderful, Glorious to a more delicate, winsome sound that E has favored on recent albums, but long-time fans of the band should be pleased.
Atmosphere just released a music video for “Kanye West”, their latest single from their upcoming album Southsiders. It’s a fun Bonnie & Clyde story, with an unexpected couple, with a cameo from Slug as a cashier.
Yesterday saw an unexpected release from the Deftones, as they released a track from the Eros sessions in memory of their departed bassist, Chi Cheng, who died a year ago on Sunday. “Smile” was the first song we’ve heard from the sessions, which were put on hold after Cheng had gone into a coma after a car accident. Though Chino Moreno had himself posted the song, the record label took it down because of copyright issues; we’ll see how long the link I’ve posted lasts.
We also got a brand new track today from The Black Keys, who posted the title track to their upcoming release Turn Blue today. It’s a groovy ballad, reminiscent in my mind of their cover of “Never Gonna Give You Up” and featuring that trademark Danger Mouse bass.
And finally we have Sigur Rós performing a cover of the song “The Rains of Castamere” for the Game of Thrones soundtrack. While the song is nice, I get a bigger kick out of the band dressed up in costume for the show itself. I can’t wait to catch that scene when it airs.
Rust Is Just Right 