Al's Music Rant

'Just Don't Call Him A DJ' An Interview with Girl Talk

2012-01-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

This is an interview I did with Girl Talk for Pedestrian.TV in the lead-up to the Big Day Out, reproduced here in its entirety for the dedicated Ranters amongst you.

There would be few artists who would forgive a hungover interviewer like mash-up maestro Girl Talk, particularly when the cause is a celebratory night on the town after seeing Steely Dan.

“Oh! Were they good? They’re a cool band, they’ve done so much great stuff. I have sampled some drums, not melodies or anything, just some subtle stuff. One of my favourite samples is from them, used by Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz [whose 1997 hit Déjà vu samples 1977 Aja opener Black Cow]. That is one of the coolest samples and they worked it so well, in my top 20 samples in hip-hop music of all time.”

Even casual conversation with Gillis makes evident his encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and giddy enthusiasm for its potential use and celebratory power - something that anyone who has heard his dazzling pop alchemy or seen one of his gigs-come-party-raves can attest to. And let’s be honest, that’s an ever- quotient of people. If you’ve got an internet connection, you know Girl Talk.

His transition from mild-mannered biomedical engineer to a full-time cultural jammer is well-documented. The canvas of his albums – essentially extended mixtapes – is the complete tawdry history of 20th century pop music transformed into a hectic game of ‘spot the sample.’ However, it would be unfair to say that anything and everything is susceptible to his configurations, in fact, it speaks volumes when he’s quizzed whether anything is considered a ‘no-go’ zone.

“No, to me it’s my favourite stuff, what you love when you were young or more personal music. Like Nirvana or Public Enemy. There’s others… I’m a little bit more apprehensive with because of their status.”

So what marks the distinction?

“Well, if I want to use Nirvana, I feel comfortable because I’m a hardcore fan and I understand them inside out, I know how appropriate it is or isn’t to use. Others though, classics like The Beatles, I want to make sure I understand what the song means to everyone.”

The Girl Talk live show is all about what the ‘song means to everyone,’ a testament to the power of music, not as a performance but as a pure experience. Unburdened from its history, its context, and most significantly – it’s appropriate use. It’s not about exploitation, but celebration; an equal-rights statement that just so happens to translate to a great party: a delirious spectacle of sweaty heaving bodies, who usually end up invading the stage while Gillis strips to his undies in salutation.

It’s quite the sight to behold, and for those that caught it at the Big Day Out, they’ll be delighted to know that Girl Talk is set to return for the national festival in 2012. Gillis confirms “I have to say that [the last one] was hands down the most fun tour I’ve ever done.”
So what can punters expect from the show this time around?

“In the last couple of years I’ve been putting a lot of effort in the show to fit a festival scale, more props, people, lighting and visuals - just making it bigger, so it’s always ready for that size.“
Hasn’t the appeal of his smaller club shows, the ramshackle moments of chaotic abandon, been difficult to achieve in a festival setting?

“I know that people might prefer the smaller clubs and the more intimate show. But naturally, I think when the shows got a little bigger we had to refine it. For years I asked for no barricades, letting all the kids on stage for a free-for-all; but at some point it started getting to a size where it just became a problem; and it’s like ‘ok, this is not safe.’ That’s the constant over the last couple of years - It’s definitely become a bit more orchestrated. I never had cues once… now we’ll say "balloons here, The Strokes here, videos here” and tightening all that up."

"It’s become a team effort to really make a big impact and the shows with that attitude are some of the best we’ve done. Chopping off all the sloppy aspects and still making it a spectacle as well, while still feeling chaotic.”

While the scale has indeed increased, the irony of his core philosophy, “just a guy with a laptop,” remains: “That’s always been the goal, I like the idea conceptually of someone that remixes with a laptop but provides this mini-kitsch arena show. That’s been the goal of the last ten years and more and more we’re realising that idea.”

Gillis’ vision of organised chaos - complete with a dazzling lightshow, impromptu dancers and toilet-paper cannons - coalesces with the spectacle of his music, his unique gift in divining startlingly creative constellations from old stars. It’s been enough to make Girl Talk a household name for the iPod generation and he’s fast becoming (if not already become) one of the most interesting figures in popular music. His indelible juxtapositions and musical recycling are divisive, to the postmodernists, he’s an endlessly fascinating subject; while to the legal system, he’s a notorious plagiarist.

But all this baggage has never been a burden that Girl Talk bothers to bear, at that moment when he launches balloons to the strains of Lennon’s Imagine, he is, to the reams of fans who flock to his shows, a hero. A music lover bones-to-balls, who will again turn the Boiler Room at BDO into his own exhibition of shared passion.

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Girl Talk plays his Melbourne BDO sideshow at The Palace Theatre this Tues 31 Jan as well as touring with Big Day Out across national dates.

'I Know They're Gonna Love It' Review: The Darcys - Aja

2012-01-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

Steely Dan fans can be a fussy lot, but when it comes to covers and tributes, they’re also a starved lot. There’s probably a fairly good reason for this, less to do with their brand of seventies soft-rock falling out of vogue and more to do with the sound musical knowledge it takes to tackle Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s imposing catalogue; that, and some major chutzpah. As it turns out, Canadian band The Darcys aren’t lacking in either.

Touted as ‘the second part of a musical trilogy’ the Toronto natives have just released a song-for-song interpretation of Steely Dan’s 1977 album, Aja. Following on from their impressive self-titled release of last year, their latest is an album-length interpretation of the original jazz-rock fusion masterpiece re-imagined as a *ahem* steely modern update for a new generation. Even its sleeve, a stark photograph angling upwards towards an imposing and intimidating slice of stone and glass architecture, is in yin and yang opposition to the minimalist black camouflaged kimono of the 1977 cover.

It’s art-rock laced with elements of drone, shoe-gaze and electric instruments at their most redolently noisy, drained of the delicious jazz-rock and precision of a turnstile of razor-sharp session players, it instead wraps around darker, atmospheric edges and brooding ambience that accentuates the moodier subtexts of the original, even as it defies its groove-laden clarity.

Peg shirks its exuberant funk-pop origins, mutated and slowing-down the vocal stanzas while upping the tempo into a hammering, crashing drawl. It may retain theperfect Michael McDonald harmonies of the chorus but drops the fizzing pops of the horn section like a stone. The title track is no longer a master-class in jazz-rock fusion, but instead a worthy lesson in atmospheric tension, and obviously, dramatic interpretation. Of course the absence of certain characteristics are still missed, chiefly the irresistible grooves and rhythmic drive. The slick shuffle of Home At Last is instead stretched across its fundamentally melancholic chord changes, and the stop-start flare of I Got The News replaces chunks of organ and brass with cyclic keyboards and wiry guitar, while minimal drums and looped picking lay down a rhythmic backbone.

To borrow a term from the sphere of art criticism, the sound of The Darcys’ Aja is distinctly modernist. Modernist in the way that Radiohead’s The Bends made all other guitar music of the time seem positively archaic. Speaking of the Oxford quintet, theirs is a good musical reference point to Aja’s sonic world. Taking some of its cues from another modern milestone, released twenty years later: OK Computer. With a similar breed of nervous tension and musical inventiveness, its warped, humming sounds and icy washes of guitar are similarly creative. Aja, the song, begins with buzzing finger-picked guitar and a dub-inflected drumline complete with rimshot, before spooked noises come lancing across its surface; complete with Wes Marskell’s doable mimicry of Steve Gadd’s infamous drum solo in its tail-end.

The winding musical passages of these seven songs ably allow the resourceful quartet to inject their own style into the fray without distorting the overall silhouette of the initial tunes. Dwelling in the sprawl of these broad instrumental sections, shading them with swelling dissonance and hypnotic rhythms. In fact, the lingering sonic meltdown is a key weapon in the band’s skill set, think KarmaPolice in its chaotic dying howl, or Mogwai’s alternatively shimmering and shrieking aural assault. The ending of Black Cow adds a new-found sense of grinding dread in a thick haze of organ and squalling guitar, whereas the spiky urgency of proto-I Got The News contains an extended two minute coda that accommodates an undiscovered pulse of circling minor chords.

Any musical update was bound to be vaguely shocking, there’s been at least forty years of musical history and all its fickle trends between the two versions after all, but perhaps more shocking is how spiritually similar they are. Despite the new moods and arrangements, the songs remain anchored by their fundamental melodies, the sterling chord changes and all their rich tonal colours remaining relatively untouched. Any long-time Steely Dan fan (is there any other kind?) would be able to sing along word-for-word and feel at synch, yet be surprised by the number of atmospheric departures. It’s best thought of as surrealism in its purest form, taking the familiar and making it unfamiliar.

The 'Dan were always lyrically subversive too, casting a mischievous disdain for the seventies' excess that surrounded them, and the laconic cynicism threaded so deftly into Fagen’s words remains. However, the subtleties of his sarcastic scorn – so often shaped by a backing of fruitful brass and spindly keys – is instead wrought into a new disaffected tone when sung by Jason Couse. His bruised croon pitched somewhere between an aching throb and a glazed-eyes despondence, at once romancing and a kiss-off. It lends an added dimension to the brooding enigma of even the simplest of lines like ‘they think I’m okay/or so they say.’ Even the nihilist anti-hero of Deacon Blues is powerfully resurrected against a muted breakbeat that eventually blossoms into a colossal wash, Couse’s delivery already sounding broken and defeated, exhausted with a lilt of desperation to it that lends the immortal loser anthem a further elegiac tone. It doesn't work as well on the neo-noir reading of Josie, undoing its vigour with a gloomy (if powerfully rendered) sorrow whose funereal pitch is at odds with party lines like “we’re gonna break out the hats and hooters.”

To state the obvious, the majority of this kind of analysis is taken from the perspective of someone intimately detailed with the familiars of the seminal original - so what of those who have heard neither of The Darcys nor the seventies mavericks? How does Aja function as an introduction to either group? Well, I’m not entirely sure, judged purely on its own merits without a predecessor to simulate, The Darcy’s Aja is a fascinating record and a fitting and consistent evolution of their sound following on from their eponymous 2011 record. There’s plenty to enjoy from even a complete Steely Dan virgin. Except that these aren’t really The Darcys’ compositions, and you can’t truly divorce them of their context.

Much of the power of Steely Dan’s original is tied in with its cultural impact at the time, the zeitgeist artefact of a historical period in which the processes by which music was disseminated as well as received in American popular music held it up as a high achievement in more than just a few usual ways. Tickling both commercial and critical ears, it was an influential blockbuster, inspiring as many groups as it did sell records. The result of which, has meant its acceptance not only into countless ‘best of’ lists but also the United States National Recording Registry.

If there was a sacred cow to slay, Aja easily represents one of the biggest and juiciest.

And slay it, The Darcys do. A feckless tribute album simply wouldn’t have cut it, and that the band had the bravery and the versatility to dirty up its legacy while preserving the fidelity of its fundamental elements, means they’ve dodged the bullet of ‘sacrilege!’ naysayers. Perhaps it’s the twin bias of holding up the original as one of the greatest albums committed to tape combined with one of music’s most underrated acts, but The Darcys’ Aja is already the best thing I’ve heard all year. Sure it’s hardly a busy field at this stage, but what could have been a foolhardy mistake in tackling an iconic classic turned into a hugely intriguing and satisfying listen, with merits and strengths of its own.

The Darcys - AJA by Arts & Crafts

Happy Australia Day: A-Z of Australiana

2012-01-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

Just a random collection of Australian artists and songs to enjoy on our national day

Yeo - Live @ The Butterfly Club (Home Album Launch), Jan 24

2012-01-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

With its dual rows of stiff pews and a slightly raised wooden platform, the front-room of The Butterfly Club retains the air of a church gathering or a musical recital. It’s not your typical venue for a band booking, but then, nor is this your typical gig. How often upon arrival to a venue do you receive a complimentary tea-towel (emblazoned with the artists’ lyrics)? It instantly puts the homely vibe into the launch for Melbourne-based musical maverick Yeo’s latest album, Home, which itself is not your typical Yeo album.

A collection of homespun acoustic tracks, down-tempo Americana and folk-leaning rock, it ditches Yeo’s previous bedroom polished preoccupations with DIY funk, indie pop and rubbery electro for a contemplative set of pure singer-songwriter storytelling. As he explained last we spoke, Yeo wanted the accompanying shows for the internet-only (and currently available for free) release of his third independent record to be “more off-the-cuff.” The Butterfly Club, usually a venue reserved for emerging cabaret and theatre acts, could be none more boutique.

Squishy, even for a seated capacity of fifty, and sweltering, thanks to Melbourne’s current heatwave, proceedings were kicked off by the newly-formed Dr. Wang. A straight-ahead four-piece, they are, ostensibly, the new side-project for Little Red bassist Quang Dinh. Don’t let that association mottle your opinion though, here performing their virgin gig, they are visibly battling with nerves - all heads-down in focus with necks skewed at naught but their fretboards. It takes a spirited cover of Dylan’s This Wheel’s On Fire to draw smiles and sweat. The group nonetheless assuage their jittery presence for a pretty solid five-song set for their first official live performance. Opener Monkey Blues has all the couture of a woozy rock staple, while they check the box every young band should, that of the 3min pop song in the form of Hollywood Boulevard’s four chord catchiness.

There’s little ceremony to Yeo’s entrance, beginning his set already on stage, he sets the casual tone for the evening. With a clean, simple set-up with next-to-no technical emphasis save for the hum of the air-con as he laughs his way through a very bum chord in the first song, and later asks about the sound mix mid-set. In plain white t and denim cut-offs, he maintains genial banter with the crowd in between wiping down his black fop of hair. Despite the relaxed tone, his audience is reverently quiet, save for the quiet singing of the dedicated.

Trading an acoustic guitar for the flexibility of a Fender Squire (with nary a key-tar in sight), there’s no attempt to facilitate the lush backing of Home in the live setting, save for drummer Luke Brennan. He is key to fleshing out the sound, a perfect foil to Yeo’s everyman charm. His light brushes add the much-needed swagger to his guitar strumming, while his vocal harmonies and harmonica (talented lad) wrap around the singer’s alto in fair union. Their dynamism across the set of plaintive numbers is pure, not even a bungled intro or a wrong note on a toy Casio can stem any friction.

When he switches to sticks though, as on the upbeat rock of August28, 1978, his cymbal drowns out the guitar, and much of the melody. Hardly his fault (or the sound guys’) in such a cramped space, but further proof that the tunes with the best affect are those at their most intimate. Namely the bedraggled poignancy of Making Peace With Margaret or No Lines At High Tide. The finger-plucking up-tempo single Selma Blair is an exception to the rule, while Door Frames’ sidling twang and melodic ease are another highlight. In this configuration, Yeo’s tunes may lack some of the oomph of their recorded counterpoints, but lose none of their yarn-spinning impact.

The opening lines of At Rest “drank my scotch to its feet/now I’ll tell you a story, so take a seat” could well be a mantra for the night, if not the album. Laconic storytelling that, stripped back all of Yeo’s studio-bound lustre, focuses on the chaste appeal of familiar guitar chords, a warm voice and some words to enunciate it with. With of course, minor embellishment from his fellow sticksman.

The two-man faux-acoustic set-up won’t work in every setting, and its unfussy charm may be lost on those unfamiliar with the record whose mood it draws from, but for tonight and among such selective company, Yeo breathes calm life into his charming, rustic set.

Oliver Tank - Live @ The Workers Club (Dreams EP Launch), Jan 20

2012-01-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

It was clearly a night for loop pedals…

In support of Oliver Tank (who's just been Introduced) on his first date of his Dreams EP launch tour were local Melbourne artists Kikuyu and Wintercoats, both artists who relied on the distinctive piece of tech to bring their textured solo projects to life on stage.

Upon arriving at The Workers Club, and its distinctive wood-panelled (and patterned) bandroom, Kikuyu – or Sez Wilks to her mum, was already laying down a rhythmic pattern with some ‘cha cha cha’-ing, then coating it with her quaint keyed lines and vocal harmonies.

Her approach to the loop pedal is more subtle than most, before you know it – on the likes of Summer Helicopter and Swimming Blue – she’s constructed a cyclic refrain of voices and pretty micropop. Her set-up is equally modest, an old Italian combo organ held together by blue gaffer tape (‘it matches my outfit’ she exclaims) complimented by the tinny beats of a dinky toy Casio, and of course, her own vocals. Homespun is the vibe, even dressed like a retro-chic version of a fifties housewife, and she’s confident and likeable.

Conversely, James Wallace aka. Wintercoats, is perhaps stronger on record than in person. Sequencing his own violin playing, his string constructions take a long time to slowly form and get going, then even longer to depart. Often overstaying their welcome by repeating a similar set of tricks. Tapping and flicking the body of his instrument for rhythm tracks, or even singing into its hollow body, were the key exceptions; but his beautiful sound was too often swamped by a dense noise of its own looping textures. The lush beauty of Windmill and Delicate Position don’t translate in this busy context, he needs an editor or a fellow string player to shoulder some of the slack.

Of course, it was Oliver Tank’s night, and the sold-out status of tonight’s show includes a swathe of knowing music fans and hipsters (the particularly chatty kind) out to catch his "heartfelt computer music". He casually graces the stage to a roar of appreciation. Opening with an edited version of Past Present Future, a fifteen minute piece originally produced for FBI radio, here condensed to a no-less affecting five. He begins cruising and boobing to his own beat-making, his head down in an explosion of thick, jet-black curls. He might be alone at the stage, but unlike his support acts using similar technical set-ups, it’s not just his music that fills the stage, it’s his presence also.

Despite some awkward dancing, he sounds terrific. Wearing a chunky set of black headphones worthy of a DJ, he’s clearly producing as he’s playing - the soothing alto of his voice sliding through the folds of his polished electronics. Using drum pads, keys, samples, a loop pedal (of course) and live guitar to achieve the blissed out mix he labels ‘dreamwave.’ He’s careful not to overwhelm the warm embrace of his lush beats with unnecessary flourishes, there’s just the right amount of treatment to his voice and even his shimmering guitar is understated.

His music, despite its mechanical construction, possesses a tenderness. It’s obviously enhanced by his simple, gentle lyrics. Up All Night, with its comforting refrain of ‘will you teach me how to dance/real slow,” is like a digital lullaby, while the glitch-pop of I Love You caresses with its deep reverberating bass and restrained click track. It’s at this point that many would be swift to make the ‘Sydney’s answer to James Blake’ comparison (like the lass in front of me who 'checked in' on facebook with this exact phrase). A cut like I Can’t Sleep however, hints his influences may be closer to M83 – complete with the sparingly effective use of guitar shredding, big echoing drum fills and even an obscure spoken-word sample that could have come straight from Saturdays = Youth. Thankfully he’s no more an imitator of Anthony Gonzales’ emotionally-charged electro as he is Blake’s post-dubstep troubadour stylings. Tank has quickly asserted his own methods and sonic voice, while reminiscent of others, its clearly distinctive in its own right. More-so in the live setting, where the ambience of the room allow the space and atmosphere of his dreamy tunes to really breath.

The set also included his spaced-out rendition of Snoop Dogg’s Beautiful. Though its booming rhythms and washes of synth are still lovely, with its awkward semi-rapping (and touchy use of the ‘n’ word), it’s a novelty that Tank can afford to put him behind him now he has a consistently strong set of originals. The other major criticism of the evening is that his set is criminally short. At about half-an-hour, and especially considering it was the launch for said EP, only about half of Dreams was on display. Shorn of an encore, he leaves the crowd baying for more. Not before delivering the rousing track that has propelled him into the spotlight. Last Night I Heard Everything In Slow Motion, segueing from the caressing I Love You , remains the conflation of Tank’s appeal. With subtle auto-tune on his affable voice, it glides towards its climax of delicate string swells, replicated with samples and guitar washes.

Even with a brief six-song setlist that perhaps prioritised quality over quantity, Tank’s position as an emerging talent is crystal-clear. Able to capture the warmth and clarity of his music in the live setting, it won’t be long before he’s playing larger venues with, hopefully, longer running times.

Latest tracks by Oliver Tank

Introducing... Oliver Tank

2012-01-18T23:41:00.000-08:00

A 22-year old wünderkid who produces his own music with a mix of live insrumentation and electronic elements best touted as 'post-dubstep.' No, it's not James Blake - though comparisons to the English artist are tempting... we're talking about Sydney musican Oliver Tank. With an ear for minimalist arrangement, he fuses warm flushes of electronica with his own, gently affecting voice.

Though he first came to the attention of the blogosphere with an unlikely chilled out cover of Snoop Dogg's Beautiful, it was through the triple J Unearthed spotlighted Last Night I Heard Everything In Slow Motion that he confirmed himself as an emerging talent. With subtly manipulated vocal harmonies over a bed of gently chattering beats and some stirring string arrangements, it demonstrated his music possessed an inherent emotional breadth. A sting made all the more potenet when it was chosen to score Get Up's successful marriage equality ad campaign.

He's already been toasted by youth radio stations as part of triple j's Next Crop 2011 and taking out the category for 'The Next Big Thing' at FBI's SMAC Awards; as well winning their Northern Lights competition which saw him heading to Iceland to play a major festival. He's even got the international press in a tizz, playlisted in the UK on XFM and BBC1, and NPR in the US.

The tail-end of 2011 saw the release of his debut EP, Dreams, on Sydney indie label Yes Please. Containing a set of equally blissed-out bedfellows to match Last Night..., a stylistically succint collection of soothing, nocturnal tunes that are as likely to hypnotise as they are to break your heart. Tank's voice gliding over supple beats and ringing guitar, as well as including two deft guest performances from singer Fawn Myers.

Having recently only finished Uni, he's now dedicating more time to production, songwriting and touring. Making 2012 the year to built on his already steady momentum. In fact, he's currently playing a national(ish) tour to launch Dreams, and AMR will be attending The Workers Club tomorrow night to see him play - watch this space.

<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://yespleaserecords.bandcamp.com/album/dreams"&amp;gt;Dreams by Oliver Tank&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>

Past Present Future by Oliver Tank

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You can catch Oliver Tank touring nationally on the following dates:

Jan 20: The Workers Club, Melbourne VIC (with Wintercoasts, Kikuyu) $10
Jan 26: Fat Shan Record Store, Perth WA (With Anton Franc, YLEM, Sam Perry) $30
Feb 3: Bridge Club, Brisbane QLD (with Oh Ye Denver Birds, Anoymeye, Silo DJs) $10+BF
Feb 9: Paddington Uniting Church, Sydney NSW (with Winter People) $10

Kimbra - Two Way Street Remixes

2012-01-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

2011 will go down as the year Kimbra broke, what with the release of her stunning debut Vows, claiming 'Best Female Artist' at the ARIAS, and of course that little song with Gotyé. Rather than rest on her laurels, Kimbra has been spending time in LA recording and mixing for an exclusive release of Vows for the American market, rubbing shoulders with the likes of John Legend and producer Mike Elizondo (who's worked with artists as diverse as Dr. Dre and Mastodon), ya know the usual.

Rather than keep us waiting though, she's released her fourth single, the shimmering Two Way Street, and to celebrate there's a couple of new remixes to wrap your ears around courtesy of AMR pals, Viceroyalty.

First up is dupstep artist PatrickReza who you might recognise from his mix of Lana Del Rey's Blue Jeans. His take on the track isn't quite the smash and grab of a Skrillex or a SBTRKT, but that's actually for the better. Retaining much of the original's sound and shape but injecting some requisite speaker-rattling sub-woofer and a clipping tempo.

Kimbra - Two Way Street (PatrickReza Dubstep Remix) by viceroyalty

Minimalist Aussie Beni however, spins the track into an interesting new formation. Stripped of all but Kimbra's vital voice, then pairing it with a restrained beat and splashes of synth, it takes the giddy joy of the orignal and transforms it into a downtempo, sombre piece - more reflective than reverant.

Kimbra - Two Way Street - (Beni Remix) by viceroyalty

If you're unaware of the source material however (is that really possible if you're an AMR regular?), here's the -now official - live video of Kimbra and her not so-secret weapon: her amazing band, performing a flawless version of the track at Sing Sing Studios.

Introducing... Dry The River

2012-01-17T00:49:00.000-08:00

Introducing... is a new segment for AMR, over the next few weeks, I'll be commiting to spotlighting a series of artists, bands and musicians to watch for 2012. To kick us off for the year is...

Dry The River

Already pinned with BBC's Sound of 2012 stamp of approval, and already selling out shows in their native UK before their debut LP is even available, Dry The River are touted to do what Mumford & Sons did for searingly epic folk-rock two years ago.

In fact, everything that's great about the East London five-piece is contained within Weights & Measures, a song that - since I discovered it laste last December - has been on permanent rotation since.

From the timid-yet-assertive opening phrase "you've made your decision/now get up and leave", to its cathartic climax, its a steadily soaring synergy of buzzing guitars, temperate violin and immaculate three-part vocal harmonies led by Peter Liddle's choirboy falsetto. Its heartstring-tugging chorus of "I was prepared to love you/I never expected anything of you" is rendered with the punch of a rock band, but structured with the harmonic vocal power enough to fill a cathedral.

Written, along with many of the groups' cornerstone tunes, by bandleader Liddle, after having dropped studies in music for a medicine course ony to find his way back to the comfort of singing and writing on acoustic guitar. Backed by Jon Warren (drums), Scott MIller (bass), Matt Taylor (guitar) and classicaly trained violinst Will Harvey; they've since worked their set to fine polish.

Dry The River contain all the usual elements of a folk-rock band: the stirring harmonies of Fleet Foxes, the lyrical heartache of Mumford, and even the spooky atmosphere of Okkervil River - and yet, offer a mixed delivery of style that is distinctly their own. With their debut album, Shallow Bed, just around the corner - they're ripe for world domination.

Dry the River - "Weights & Measures" by Dry the River

Dry the River - "No Rest" (Sample) by Dry the River

tUnE-yArDs - Live @ The Corner, Jan 15

2012-01-15T06:05:00.000-08:00

For one with such a distinctively powerful voice, it’s only fitting that the tUnE-yArDs show begins with Merrill Garbus alone at the mic. Entering the stage solo, her diminutive frame shouldered by a mane of feathered pink tulle netting and bearing oversized, hooped earrings she quickly leaps into a series of chants and hollering. Her bright eyes darting and peering beneath her trademark face-paint (mimicked by some among the crowd), she demonstrates the full elastic range of her singing, at once warming up her commanding vocals and signposting their abilities.

It’s at this point, before segueing with full backing-band flight into You, Yes You, that the key performance aspect of her style is made apparent. Building her rhythmic tracks and vocal textures with a loop pedal, she alternately sequences and structures her beguiling textures before the audience’s very ears. It’s at once a performance and a technical necessity in achieving the density of her songs. Once the loop is built from the ground up, such as the rattling pound of Gangsta or the forward-flick of Killa, she then uses that texture as another voice that is manipulated within the rest of the instruments playing. It’s slightly complex on paper, but in action, she makes it look effortless.

Even as they’re being shaped, her beats and grooves are as infectious as they are gently odd, fashioned from the unlikeliest of sounds: noises, polyrhythms, vocal tics and alternating blaring horns and distorted ukulele strumming. Without ever forgetting the simple autonomy of a sweet melody, or in the case of the sensational Bizness: several melodies, exploding in a technicolour display of vibrant sound. In the flesh, it’s giddily realised.

While Garbus is doing an awful lot, full credit is due to the introduction of a new two-man saxophone section that allow the bustling horn arrangements of the triumphant W H O K I L L (one of last year's best albums), to come to life on stage. As well as the chance for extra percussion on the wonky shuffle of Es-So. Striking a cheese grater and an oven tray respectively – perhaps in a sly nod to the song’s subtext about eating disorder. There’s room for some free-jazz wailing, using the rhythmic platform of Bizness as a springboard. Also effectively substituting Garbus’ vocal harmonies on Doorstep, before a coda that dissolves around bassist/muse/partner-in-crime Nate Brenner’s rubbery bass.

In fact, Brenner’s funky parts gives tUnE-yArDs its balance and form, dovetailing through, with (and sometimes against) Garbus' singing in a unique style of symbiosis. Though, his lucid lines are as likely to curtly break into stuttering or dissonant shading as Garbus’ vocal contortions are. Whether cheekily emulating a police siren on Gangsta, or growling her way through a national riposte on My Country, her lungs match her enthusiasm at every whooping curve. Even after breathlessly barking her way through the muscular chord punches of Powa, she’s still able to hit that pitch-perfect money note at the song’s climax.

That she’s able to maintain her vocal histrionics while juggling make-shift drumming, pummelling her ukulele or managing those ever-present loops; is a marvel. All while fronting a modestly sized ensemble, who generate far more than just the sum of their parts. Most importantly, she appears to be thoroughly enjoying the freedom of her music in the process, generating a cheerful rapport with the audience – it’s not till late in the set that she even needs to banter with them at all. Exuberant, impressive and utterly original, Merrill Garbus is as vital an intrepid kook in concert as she is on record.

tUnE-yArDs - Bizness (4AD) by Ragged Words
Tune Yards - Hatari by musicmule
Tune-Yards - Gangsta by The Recommender

Blood Orange - Live @ the Northcote Social Club, Jan 11

2012-01-12T01:13:00.000-08:00

It was this time a year ago that Devonté Hynes last visited our shores under his old moniker, Lightspeed Champion, in what was touted as being a full show with backing band turned out to be a solo gig, a rather baffling one at that. At its worst it was glorified karaoke, in retrospect, the shy, wooly-jumpered indie kid that attempted to rouse a near-empty East Brunswick Club was one in a phase of transition.

Jump to twelve months on, and several blocks away to the Northcote Social Club, and Hynes is a man in a more assured mode. Namely as Blood Orange, his new musical guise that turns back the clock on the lush, baroque pop of Lightspeed Champion to the slick eighties funk and soul thatscored the neon-lit discos and bars of nocturnal New York City.

First spotted pre-show, mingling front-of-stage during the psychedelic rock slashes of support act Tehachapi, Hynes was bedecked in tattered jeans, a leather bomber jacket and matching cap. Looking like a cross between an outcast from The Warriors and Marlon Brando in The WildOne, his stylistic references are as much cultural as they are musical. His tales of lovesick frustration, delivered with a sticky, soulful croon and a pared-back rhythmic bottom-end, are far-better suited to his one-man shtick of laptop, mic and modest guitar-shredding.

Swiftly forgetting an awkward start, Hynes soon broke the stage/audience boundaries by diving into the crowd – mic-stand and all – to occupy the crowd. A slightly shocked audience, at first splayed at having the fourth wall so clearly shattered, are still full of respect , as if afraid to interrupt his performance. By Forget It, with its breathless pace and catchy refrain of “I am not your saviour” they’re back to treating the room like a dancefloor and less like a space the artist has breached.

Spending the rest of the show flitting between stage and audience, Hynes continued to sweat out a set of sleek and sultry grooves. The loping bass and crisp beats, featuring robotic snares that sound like snapping wood, formed a firm backdrop while Hynes focuses on his guitar shapes stuck in faux-oriental mode (that’s the pentatonic scale, for you music theorists) and his fresh falsetto. Hovering somewhere between a young Michael Jackson in balladeering mode and obscure French pop star FR David (a self-proclaimed influence), his phrasing captures the feathery edges of his voice as he croons in an upper register suited to the female voice, some even sung from the perspective of a feminine protagonist. Lending lines like Champagne Coast’s “come into my bedroom” an androgynous allure. It’s this hint of sexual allure mixed with the dark, bleary-eyed R&B that makes Blood Orange engrossing, but it’s not the first place you’d find an energetic solo show.

Even stripped of the pulsing kaleidoscope projections, it is essentially a glorified performance of one guy overcoming his introverted ways for showmanship. A knees-bent, needling guitar solo to finish the hour-long set was an indulgence too far, but the Blood Orange live show lends his swollen grooves a robust edge with Hynes; the vaguely reluctant lightning rod literally at the centre of it all. It’s a spectacle that is nothing if not interesting.

Champagne Coast by Blood Orange
Sutphin Boulevard by Blood Orange

Yeo - Home: the album, the interview

2012-01-11T17:29:00.000-08:00

“You know… ‘XOXO, Selma Blair.’ And I was just ‘That just happened. Awesome. There’s my first review!” Melbourne-based musician Yeo is recalling his tweet from the Hollywood actress in response to linking her his new single of the same name, “and the song’s got nothing to do with her. I’m not a creep, I’m not just writing about this superstar that I have a crush on. It’s about a break-up, her name is just a vehicle for it.” Driven by deftly-plucked banjo, rolling snare and some speedy acoustic picking, Selma Blair is the first taste of Yeo’s complete stylistic u-turn towards alt-country, folk and classic rock on his third independent record Home (available for free or courteous donation right now).

For many this may seem like standard genre territory, but for anyone familiar with the artist’s previous funk shenanigans, it marks a dramatic one-eighty from his first two albums, the bedroom-bound Trouble Being Yourself and last year’s DIY R&B gem Bag-O-Items. Where they found Yeo exploring his production skill in rubbery home-made soul-pop, Home marks a departure from the mechanical to the organic, shedding any fragment left of his one-man Prince act. Strummed acoustic guitars substitute stuttered, funky bass, squelchy synths are replaced by wonky harmonica and the sleek backbone of funk action has been traded in for whiskey-soaked storytelling.

She Said mourns the ‘time for our friendship to tear,’ across the gentle sprinkling of piano and light guitar. While 10 & A Whiskey deals with relocating, giving away its chief bluegrass influence, but not Yeo’s surprising knack for forging a podding rhythm of sliding blues guitar which then rouses some spacey histrionics (that vaguely recall Pink Floyd’s mellower moments). Elsewhere, the melodic ease of Stitches and Meeting At Sea find Yeo at his most lazily comfortable on record, and certainly his most intimate yet. The new organic musical palette definitely comes as a bit of a shock. Forcing a whole new approach and vernacular in describing it. It firmly posits Yeo as a modal songwriter, a true independent whose style and everyman charm comes through regardless of its genre dressing.

The dramatic singer-songwriter shift was influenced by, and better suited to, a change in writing to a more honest approach to relationship ruminations. Where previously, on the likes of Good Food, Music & Love, he sounded like the party’s most confident lothario; here, the vulnerability of romance sounds far more heart-worn. No Lines At High Tide is framed by lilting cello and lightly brushed drums. She Said mourning the ‘time for our friendship to tear,’ formed by lightly-plucked guitars, harmonica and gentle sprinkles of piano. All delivered in Yeo’s expressive baritone, in fact it’ll take a few phrases into opener Door Frames before you realise it’s not main Decemberist Colin Meloy wooing you. With its final, diving refrain of ‘put this book to shelf’ it sets the reflective tone for Home.

It’s a subtly daring record, not only in sound but also in delivery, released (today, in fact) for free – or through courteous donation – from his bandcamp page, Yeo is then touring the album with a series of stripped-back solo shows at less-than-typical venues across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane (tour dates here).

AMR had the opportunity to catch up with the bespectacled performer to talk about his bold new direction. Bonding over a love of videogames and a mutual distaste for the necessary evil that is the realm of retail, we discussed the origins of his new musical direction, its suitably domestic recording process in regional Victoria, and his views on digital distribution.

It’s been less than a year since Bag-O-Items and there’s been a swift and total transition for Home. So which came first? Was it the desire to make a more acoustic, plaintive record or was it that you thought ‘I’m done with the electronic stuff’?
Definitely not done with electronic stuff. I just had these songs building up inside me, what a lot of people don’t know is, one of the tracks from Home [10 & A Whiskey] was originally meant to be on Bag-O-Items. The record label [Other Tongues] said ‘no,’ because it’s just too far removed from the rest of the material. I just went ‘ok, fine, we’ll save it for a later date.’ Then while the record was out I was still writing on acoustic guitar and all of a sudden I’ve got like fourteen, fifteen songs. I couldn’t put them to bed and I couldn’t see myself turning it into the ‘Yeo-electronic’ thing. So I tried to put it out the way it was written and that kind of scared the crap out of me for a little bit. It just had to be done… and I did it.

So while doing the DIY funk sort of thing, was that a way – of going to the acoustic stuff – of getting away from the crafting in the studio, did it feel good to just pick up an instrument and play?
Definitely. It was a good, good escape. After listening to synths and drum-machines and what have you, absorbing as much of it as I can. I just started listening to stuff that was not that at all – a lot of Okkervil River, Ryan Adams, Townes Van Zandt – that sort of genre. Then it just clicked, ‘ok, this is songwriting in its purest form,’ not relying on tricks or anything. That’s really respectful, another reason I went this way, a few people have criticised my lyrics. I took it on board, I want to be better at that and what better way than to strip it all back? Because there’s nothing to hide behind, in terms of fuzzy guitar lines and synth battles. The first album had a three song section that was just ballads, no beats, and I think that’s kind of where Home is coming from, it’s not completely unprecedented. There was no inkling of that in Bag-O-Items, there was no time to slow down. So because of that, this whole album takes time to slow down.

It’s so much more focused, just voice and guitar, it forces you to listen to those elements, more so than with the funk and you’re distracted a bit “oh, where’s that groove coming from?” The press sheet talks about home-cooked dinners and whisky, the cozy confines surrounding the recording of Home, which you feel, it’s laidback. Can you tell us more about your getaway cottage and how that environment helped the record?
That’s exactly what it was. We took it, Luke Brennan a good drummer friend of mine, we hired a cottage in Daylesford for five nights and recorded the shit out of it. All I did was begged, borrowed, stole as much gear as I could. I had nine songs, I said ‘let’s just see how many we can get through.’ I was expecting five – one a day – but because we were in such a good frame of mind we just went for it. There’s a fireplace, beautiful weather, a half-acre block so we had lots of space between us and any neighbours. Everyone’s really friendly there. Just a good vibe with no pressure, because I didn’t even know at this stage what I was going to do with it. We would record all day, have a break for lunch, then record all the way up to 8.30/9am then stop out of respect for the neighbours. Cook dinner, eat dinner, start drinking... wake up the next day at 11am and do the same thing. We did it rhythmically, happily, very excitedly. We were buzzing with motivation the whole time to do as much as we could. It was beautiful.

The environment encourages and influences the record and its songs. Was that conscious do you think?
I don’t think it was, you know what was conscious: the escape factor. I wanted to get away and do it, because if we tried to do five days of recording in the city, our girlfriends would call us, or ‘just pop down to the shop to get this.’ Distractions would overtake it and interrupt it much more frequently. You’re surrounded by lots of commitments which encroach on what you’re trying to do. So that was the conscious choice, to get away from all that and just continuously work. The country worked and it suits the record.

This new musical world of folk and relaxed rock seems more direct and honest. How much of the material is auto-biographical and how much is fictionalised?
Actually, a lot of it is auto-biographical, there’s maybe three or four which are fictionalised versions of reality. You know how comedians in a sitcom will play a fictionalised version of themselves and a situation will arise? It’s very much the same, my story – what’s happened to me – but I tell it in a completely different time with fictional characters.

Like the disclaimer: ‘the names have been changed to protect the innocent’
[laughs] totally, it’s the way Coppola did Apocalypse Now, he ‘covered’ Heart of Darkness. Did it his way, in a different time, some of my songs are like that. They still talk about experiences that are actual, but I take a more extreme route to describe the feelings

It doesn’t have that raw awkwardness in accounting: ‘this is what happened.’
I’ve done that before and that either really speaks to people, the dry tone ‘oh my god, that’s what happened to him!?’

Your Damien Rice moment…
Yeah! Or people go ‘nah, he’s too honest” So putting a buffer zone with a story is good.

You’ve always had a knack for contained narratives, and the likes of Stitches and She Said are essentially storytelling - what was that the driving force to the songs here?
I think the fact that it’s personal was the driving force, She Said is about a friend of mine who basically gets shunted by her family. I’d never seen that or experienced that first-hand, seeing it and seeing the heartbreak involved – I wanted to tell that story. Get it into a package, so you’d feel the rejection I guess. It always stems from a single idea and you want to get that idea across by telling a story, people listen to that, but if it’s rambling on you can lose your focus and your audience. I try and keep it contained.

Getting away from the songs, this has been a big shift for you in not only sound, but

distribution. You’ve dealt with the CD process with the label, but now with this set of songs you’re delivering them on the internet for free. There’s been an overriding trend towards making the internet a primary point of distribution. What is it about that model that inspired the decision to release Home for free?
I’m actually not sure I do like it, but I think you can’t fight this monster anymore of trying to get people to pay for music. Even when Bag-O-Items came out, a week later a friend told me they saw it as a BitTorrent. I went ‘Ah, what’s the point?! Why did I even put this out!?’ you know? Then the record label issued me a statement, saying I was indebted to them. I don’t know if that’s ever going to pick up further than that, I’m not really sure how many more albums I’m going to sell. So this time, I didn’t want to wait for a year, the songs getting old, before I put it out. I think everyone should still be made aware of this body of work. It’s not insignificant, I put ten months of hard work into it. It’s also very different, so why the hell not chuck it out there and show people? Then I considered charging for it, but then that’s just one more step that is coming between someone listening to it and not listening to it. So I just pulled it out. I feel this elation that I don’t have to hound people only for them to say “I got no money on me right now… I’ll get it another time.” It’s about cutting the crap and saying ‘have it. if you listen to it, great, if you’ve got the time.”

It’s a tricky thing, the liberation of music. All the discussions surrounding the value of music today. Do you feel a little like your hand has been forced?
I don’t feel like it’s been forced because I feel so good about it. I just wanted the attitude of ‘hey everyone, just take this. Thank you, for giving me your time’. It’s really nice, so I want to do something back. After Other Tongues collapsed, automatically I become independent again and I have to spend everything myself to get it out there. So I don’t want to wait for another label because that could take a long time. The wait between Bag-O-Items and [debut album] Trouble Being Yourself was so big, I lost a lot of momentum. It’s five years, a long gap between first and second album. So I said ‘no, this has got to come out.’ I don’t care if the timing is bad. I just did it. It’s coming out, for free, you either have enough time to listen to it, or you don’t or not interested. No hating either way, just thank you for checking it out.

That’s a very egalitarian view on it. Especially the immediacy of it, are you worried about how it will be received?
Shit scared, yeah.

Because of the change in sound?
Yes, that, and some people are still old-school and like a physical thing to have. Even though most of us transfer it to digital, to change distribution format as well as style is scary. You can look at it and question ‘don’t you think your music is worth pressing?’ Of course it is, but I can’t afford it, it’s a very expensive process right now. Additionally, a lot of people might huff ‘oh, he’s changed his sound now. That’s it, no more funk-pop.’ I’m not done though, the next album is very electronic. I’ve already started the songs, I’m loving it, I’m so positive about music right now.

That sort of answer my next question too, that Home is not a permanent stylistic setting, but another in a series of creative chains?
That’s right, I’m really proud of how I got it sounding. Doing this kind of record is always harder to get to a finishing point than a ‘production’ kind of record. The mixing process is so difficult compared to doing it ‘in the box.’ So I was really happy with the sonic result.
Some people have even said to me I’m better at the other style of music, I think ‘thanks for listening anyway.’ I’m just happy I was able to give it away. In the past I’ve been so keen on – not money – but trying to battle and survive as a working musician, all of a sudden I care less about that and more about just getting it out there.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://snackswithyeo.bandcamp.com/album/home"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Home by Yeo&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

2011 End-of-Year Celebrations: TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2011 (Part 2)

2012-01-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

10. TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light

For all the art-rock gusto surrounding discussions of TV on the Radio, they seem to obfuscate that they can be a powerfully direct band and their fourth LP is perhaps their most approachable. Its message is simple: in the face of a fucked-up world at the end of its frayed tether, it’s important to take stock in what matters. Chiefly: love. That artsy title might not get to the heart of the matter, but the likes of You, Will Do and, most explicitly, Your Heart make it clear “With the world all falling apart/I’m gonna keep your heart.”

Where the Brooklynites’ honed their brand of horn-abetted art-funk on predecessor Dear, Science, they’ve slowed down for a contemplative set that sounds more comforting without damaging their rich scenery. The twin falsettos of Tunde Adibempe and Kyp Malone voice both alliterated poetry (Second Song) and inner-city mistrust (No Future Shock), with Dave Sitek’s adept production continuing to colour their rich sound with painterly detail. Most impressively on the record’s refined centrepiece, Killer Crane, where glowing piano chords meet slowly inked orchestral washes and metronomic banjo plucking.

It’s not all grace and tenderness, the wiry dance paranoia of Repetition and stomping crunch of Caffeinated Consciousness find the dancefloor beneath the emotional debris, but the lingering sentiment is of a band that cares. A feeling made all the more poignant when bassist Gerard Smith lost his fight with lung cancer. In retrospect, it hasn’t defined Nine Types of Light, and those who caught their recent visit to our shores can confirm their live show remains a relatively undiminished unit of funkified exorcism; but his contribution to another innovative, beautifully realised record is a fitting epitaph.

TV On The Radio - "Will Do" by Interscope Records

9. Dads – Man of Leisure

Dads was a side-project designed, by Tom Iansek’s own admission, to achieve nothing more than commit old songs to tape while simultaneously testing out some new gear in the process; but when those tests are done by one of Australia’s most accomplished up-and-coming songwriters - the results are so much more.

In its most partisan, Man Of Leisure does indeed recall Iansek’s day-job as one-half of Melbourne’s brilliantly diverse Big Scary. Sister focuses on a spring-heeled drum pattern against idle buzzing chords in a sibling dedication befitting of the duo, while the sepia-tinged instrumental Bron could have been a Four Seasons interlude.

However, it’s the unrestrained departures to rich, florid soundscapes that really shine. Opener Life, Oh Life begins with chaste acoustic guitar but soon takes in layered harmonies, twinkling counter-melodies and a widescreen polish that belies its DIY recording. Equally powerful are the shimmering guitar and vocal explosions of So Long, like one cathartic howl that recalls Jeff Buckley’s emotional ascendancy. So too White Knight, with Iansek channelling the purest of his choral singing voice over a plucked guitar awash in toasty reverb.

The record is flush with such intimacy, you can practically hear his lips parting to deliver the abstract lines of the beautifully sparse The Ocean, or in the toxic wail of desperation in Song For Two (Sung By One). As the aching Dreaming of Falling To Your Death flickers into the slow cathartic march of Sleepwalking, it’s worth remembering that this the musical product of one man and his equipment. Exhibiting the kind of virtuosity in sound, intent and delivery that would take others many, many records to master, Iansek nails it in one.

Life, Oh Life by musicyourdadsmake

8. Big Scary – Vacation

Vacation may not seem like it to the uninitiated, but it’s a bold statement for a debut album. After the Four Seasons project honed their chops as well as earned them an audience, the question hanging over the band was which of their many competent stylistic tangents would they pursue? Lead single Mix Tape and opening cut Gladiator seemed like natural extensions of the duo’s diverse skill, crafting an explosive scale-tastic pop number in the former, and a crunchy but sensuous slick of garage rock in the latter. Both were instead a bit of a bait-and-switch, accessible lures towards an album that is best classified as ‘a grower.’

Sparser, more disciplined sounds characterised the true heart of Vacation. The hushed hypnotic tone of Got It, Lost It, the slow-burn remorse in Bad Friends, the Saint-Säens- meets-trip-hop melancholy to Of Desire – moody moments that reflected strummer Iansek and drummer Jo Syme’s dexterity and maturity in the studio. A set of vulnerable tunes that reflect the fragility and uncertainty in being thrust into their new-found lives as touring musicians. It’s secreted away in lines like Rolling By’s “I feel I’m growing old too soon” or Leaving Home’s self-addressed “Brace yourself your life’s about to change/how, you don’t even know.” These inquisitions seem a mile away however on the heady rock licks of Purple, an ambassador for their vigorous live show and serving to remind of their lovable unpredictability.

That’s perhaps the most exciting thing about Vacation, as much as it has reservations about where they’re going – and with the inclusion of a new, subtler version of Falling Away, where they’ve been - there’s few definite signposts as to their next creative destination. Even as they shoulder the role as one of the nation’s most important and enjoyable emerging acts with poise, there’s really no knowing where Big Scary will go next, and that’s precisely what we love about them.

Bad Friends by bigscary

7. Wild Beasts - Smother

Smother is the album that proves that its predecessor Two Dancers was not the exception to the rule, but the first in a chain of serious creative leaps. In just three years, they’ve evolved from the acerbic post-punk dandies of Limbo, Panto to a svelte purveyor of breathtaking aural elegance.
Softening their acerbic barbs for intimacy, their sparse rhythmic atmosphere and intellectual gaze now scoring songs seeped with a neo-noir eroticism. Their bookish minds preoccupied with topics of temptation, allure and, as Loop The Loop has it: “design of desire.” While coyly wondering, “Oh, don’t you think/That people are the strangest things?”
They’ve once again moderated their flamboyance to cunning effect. The familiar configurations of chiming guitars, swelling bass and beats are misshapen, looped and displaced into surreal new entities. Enchanting and seducing while at once achingly beautiful and quietly alarming.
Even Hayden Thorpe’s once eccentric falsetto, is now draped lavishly across the warm splashes of Albatross or shrewdly peaking with discomfort on Plaything. The perfect complement found in co-vocalist Tom Fleming, whose brassy grain is as slow and soothing as a warm embrace on Deeper and Invisible, roused and defiant on the raw Burning.

As it reaches its conclusion, with the mesmerising closing curtain of mini-epic End Come Too Soon, Wild Beasts cement their reputation as a brave, uncompromising unit with nothing short of magnetic atmosphere, poignant voices, exacting lyrics and great tunes.

Wild Beasts - Bed of Nails by forerunner

6. Snowman – Δbsence

Released posthumously upon the dissolution of the ever-evolving Perth-via-Europe collective; Δbsence is a hauntingly effective swansong. Evoking the band’s demise like vanishing memories, through a series of spookily tangible impressions whose grand arrangements and vividly realised ambience seems to smear like a fading polaroid. The musical equivalent of seeing something from the corner of your eye, only to vanish as you turn to see it.

It’s precisely the kind of record that promotes those waifish, vague descriptions (that music writers so secretly relish) that don’t necessarily say anything about the music, but capture its mood.

Opener Snakes & Ladders soundtracks that limbo point between awake and asleep, while Hyena is motorised by fevered tribal drumming and warped Eastern scales. Elsewhere, White Wall glowers with brooding power and Séance drips like a limp, fevered dream. Cold, eerie precision underscores warm, enveloping texture as vocals drift between layered chants and spectral, wordless melodies.

Conversely the instrumental Δ propels towards a fusion between a buzzing synth heart and a swaying melodic phrase into a dark cloud that swallows the horizon. It gets the job done in six minutes, but it could conceivably stretch forever. Its cinematic allure best encapsulates the group’s artistic achievement. A conceptual work whose cohesion as an overall piece is far stronger than its individual tracks. An utterly unique sound world that smoulders with hypnotic menace, inscrutable but potently affecting.
Snowman - Snakes & Ladders by theQuietus

5. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Before deeper digging revealed it as the new project for ex-Mint Chicks guitarist Ruban Neilson and his Portland based backing, UMO originally emerged as an unknown quantity, making the music all the more striking. Skewing sixties psychedelia, wiry guitars and a keen sense of production clouded by a claustrophobic, hedonistic fug equally besotted to hip-hop as it was garage.

Neilson’s vision of ‘alien beatnik music’ presented an utterly engrossing chicken-and-egg conundrum to the taste-making blogosphere: which came first - the sound or the songs? What’s elemental to a hit like How Can U Luv Me? – is it the spry, flange-flecked stab of the guitar, or the popping bass and flower-power drum pounding? Or maybe the kaleidoscopic tinged, summer-of-love flavour that colours it while simultaneously recalling such a period? The playfulness inherent in Thought Ballune and Jello and Juggeranuts are as much in recreating a summer-of-love vibe as they are in conjuring their own. The mutated soul of Little Blu House and panicked tactics of Boy Witch sound as fatigued by chemical excess as they are energised by it. The real answer then, lies somewhere between, returning from a drug-fuelled trip with wonderful melodies, playfully strange pop still dripping from its acid-fried adventure. It’s an addictive kind of ear candy, at just nine cuts at half-an-hour, but also a sharp, fully-formed debut that’s as much a declarative mission statement as it is an experiment into enigmatic histrionics. As suitable to a taste-maker’s iPod as it is the obscurest corner of the junkshop vinyl collector’s.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Ffunny Ffrends by MODESTMODUS

4. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L

I first recall hearing about Merril Garbus, aka tUnE-yArDs in association with Dirty Projectors, whom she was supporting on an American tour at the time. Apparently she was of a similarly kooky musical disposition, and though they shared the eccentric vocal patterns, their methods – live loops, beatific polyrhythms and ukelele in place of spindling guitars – differed, they achieved equally engrossing results. Like most, my proper introduction came about through Bizness, from that striking vocal hook at the beginning it gradually expands into an overwhelming plateau of life-affirming colour and textural intricacy. Complex and vibrant, it may well be the song of the year. That the remainder of W H O K I L L lived up to the brilliance of that initial exposure, without ever shallowly repeating itself was the real surprise.

From her origins, the humble lo-fi recordings of BiRd-BrAiNs, few could have predicted the imaginative explosion to follow. But decamping to a new location (Oakland, Florida), along with bassist/partner/muse Nate Brenner was the catalyst for a fertile creative period. Their push-and-pull dynamic between vocal acrobatics and his earthy bottom-end providing the key to a whole spectrum of ideas and arrangements. While Garbus’ assured observations of her new surrounds leaked into topical matter regarding dominance, power – both real (Powa) and illusory (Gangsta) – and in Garbus’ own gymnastic singing: contortion. The key line from Riotriot finds the knotty mix of blaring horns and electronic squiggles dying away for the declaration of “there’s a freedom in violence that I don’t understand/and like I’ve never felt before.”

There’s a similar rush in the freedom to W H O K I L L’s dotty flights of fancy. The careening Gangsta, where rattling distorted bass run headlong into a muscular loop that fuses hip-hop’s serious urgency with entertaining experimentalism (a police siren impersonation anyone?). You Yes You dances about loose-wired guitars and shuffling drums in a series of vocal whoops and harmonies, while Es-So’s multiplication of hollers bounces off of its central pulse, its percussive hits like fireworks. Even the deceptively sweet girl-group harmonies of Doorstep, or the jittery rhythms of My Country shift and grow with each listen.

The joys of tUnE-yArDs aren’t purely esoteric, its topical candour about gender, image and body are plentiful, but so too is its passionate delivery and pure rhythmic groove. Garbus’ authoritative growl demanding attention even as her flexible synthesis of organic and manipulated sounds reels you in. Her identity is her full-throated command, a fearlessly admirable voice that's at once her defining idiosyncrasy and a voice worth listening to.

Tune-Yards - Gangsta by The Recommender

3. Kimbra - Vows

What’s there to say about Kimbra that hasn’t already been felt by all who come under her vibrant spell? Well, I could wax all smug about how AMR has been touting Kimbra’s brilliance from very early on, but the fact of the matter is that she was certified stardom with or without my – or anyone’s help. Appearing with Gotyé on Somebody That I Used To Know didn’t hurt, but it happened to be just another element to her stratospheric momentum – not its sole contributor.
It’s worth reminding that Vows is the summation of a pain-staking three-and-a-half years’ hard work, from just a twinkle in the eye of the girl plucked from her native town of Hamilton, New Zealand to the ARiA-dominating, chart-topping vindication of its release – the drive and focus has always been the musical talent and vision of Kimbra herself.
Vows confirms not only her way with a winning tune, but also with an impressive grasp of the strengths of the album framework to showcase them. Short of being a series of talent-busting singles, Vows takes the listener on a visionary journey from colourful neo-pop to more reflective, internalised material. Lyrically and musically, Kimbra is gifted with the wisdom and sincerity to wax intelligently about romance and its spheres of influence that far outstrips the knowledge and experience of most people her (ripe twenty-one years of) age. Let alone the abilities to articulate and communicate them into such rich musical tapestries.
The heralding singles, the effortless quirk of Settle Down and confetti joie-de-vivre of Cameo Lover present its joys and triumphs, while the smoky heartache of Withdraw or uncertain The Build-Up portray its gut-wrenching defeats. Between, there’s sparkling revelry (Two Way Street), slow-burning rumination (Old Flame) jazzy temptation (Good Intent), neon-lit enthusiasm (Call Me) and, of course, a primal, instinctual reading of Nina Simone’s Good Intent.
It would all be naught however if Kimbra didn’t possess such scintillating vocal abilities, bringing her dazzling genre-hopping to life as much as the production work of refined craftsman, Francois Tetazand the meaty, low-end punch of M-Phazes. The full emotional spectrum of her creations are brought to bear through her virtuosic singing.
So what truly separates Kimbra from the scores of talented female singers out there then? Well, to quote my original review, she’s got that intangible seperates the performers from the artist. “At a time when it seems that female performers are regularly relegated to being sex symbol jukeboxes or behaving like fey, neutered school-children, Kimbra shatters those female poppet boundaries. In one fell swoop she’s graduated from bankable songstress to artist, one with a rewarding career ahead of her.

"Two Way Street (Live At Sing Sing)" FREE DOWNLOAD by Kimbramusic

2. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Three years after their eponymous debut solidified them as the harmony-laden folk-rock act of choice for the discerning music lover, Fleet Foxes once again deliver an imperious set that lends a sense of genuine authenticity to their vital blend of folk, country, mountain blues and mythical yet contemporary chamber music. Like many successful follow-ups, Helplessness Blues reaps the rewards from the risks it takes, allowing further extensions of influence and instrumentation into their musical architecture. The official addition of multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson (formerly of hardcore act The Blood Brothers), comes with more strings, flutes and most notably: a jaunty clarinet part on Bedouin Dress and the frenzied avant-garde sax noise on the final act of The Shrine/An Argument.
The latter is the group’s magnum opus, one of two in fact, alongside The Plains/Bitter Dancer that both show the influence of seventies progressive rock creeping in, with winding instrumental passages and fluid changes hinged to a grand design. Two towering artistic achievements that, far from being indulgent, are the group at their most creatively unrestrained, allowing their imaginative synergy to stretch into exciting new territory.
Centered by Robin Pecknold’s pure, distinguished tone, which in solo flight positively soars to glorious altitudes; or (f)locked in super-tight formation, golden harmonies befitting of a cathedral, act as the key natural dynamic of their composition. His lyrics however, have undergone a subtle alteration, his rich narratives now charged by a flowing tentativeness and hesitation.
It’d be difficult to glean from the golden results, but the recording of Helplessness Blues was plagued with difficulties. Pecknold declaring its creation took “a long time due to illness, scheduling, creative doubt, reassessment, rewriting, new songs etc. etc.” Those demons rear their heads in subversive ways. The jig and bounce of Battery Kinzie is merry, but its main meter is thrown slightly off-centre in the verse by an extra beat and dark lyrics: “All my fingers rotting/I woke up a dying man.” Additionally, the frenzied Simon & Garfunkl acoustic stomp that ends Sim Sala Bim and the roaring dramatic shifts of The Shrine/An Argument demonstrate an aggressive side to the band left previously unseen.
This struggle is one of the prevailing themes of the album, which Pecknold describes as, “between who you are and who you want to be… and how sometimes you are the only thing getting in the way of that.” It shapes some of the record’s quietest moments, the three serene stanzas of Blue Spotted Tail are flooded with questioning pathos and philosophy. While Someone You’d Admire’s lyric declares “I walk with others in me, yearning to get out” only to finish on the conundrum “God only knows which of them I’ll become”
The title track however, snatches victory from the claws of uncertainty. A heroic, defiant testament to self-belief and perseverance that culminates in an orchestrated fantasy of living off the land in an orchard with his flaxen-haired maiden. Its moving beauty all the more so in its contrast, with Helplessness Blues as a whole, they’ve blotted in more darkness which only serves the light to shine through ever more brightly.

02 - Bedouin Dress by chrisdeets

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

No-one would soon forget the whole myth-making behind Bon Iver’s inception, namely ‘man escapes to log cabin for winter, emerges with intimate masterpiece’ but it’s worth reminding of where Bon Iver has been to appreciate how far they’ve come.
Yes, ‘they’, while there’s no doubting Justin Vernon as the creative gravity around which all things orbit, not least in his instantly recognisable, enchanting singing - but album number two is the blossoming of Bon Iver as a unit, a band. The stark, raw moments of his ravaged soul-bearing on his debut transplanted to a lush, expansive environment that articulates his emotional expressions in a way that For Emma only hinted at.
There are moments tucked neatly in the album’s folds that harkens to Vernon’s various moonlighting since his debut; whether it was flirting with his soft-rock fascinations with Gayngs, his experimental tendencies with Volcano Choir or simply flaunting it with Kanye West in Hawaii. All those collaborations obviously eased the transition. Aiding in delivering his sonic starting points – influenced by jazz, soft-rock and MOR Americana – to translate the principles of the Bon Iver sound into an expansive new palette, with a wealth of key contributors helping to enunciate it.
Minnesota, WI being the best example, with Greg Leisz’ expressive pedal guitar shimmying beneath Mike Lewis’ honeyed tenor sax, while Colin Stetson lends his throaty bass sax to punctuate the chordal shifts.
The augmentation of his ensemble inspired by allowing more space into the textural layers, as well as room for his unashamed reference points. Touchstones that you wouldn’t typically associate with the toast of the indie quarter, namely Richard Buckner, Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams (Hinnom, TX’s “I got out of La Grange” quotes her Fruits of My Labour). A bold move, the controversy mainly surrounding album finisher Beth/Rest, that it may be nothing but an ironic, recreation of eighties soft-rock indebted to Bruce Hornsby’s bright ivories or, worse, Phil Collins. It was no pastiche however, Vernon defending “why would you spend time on recreating something you don’t actually like?”
While sonically, it’s worlds apart from the torch-bearing rawness of a Skinny Love or Re: Stacks, spiritually – for those really listening – it matches their emotional profundity. Or as Vernon had it “simplified down to the essence of a guy singing with an acoustic guitar – except it’s a guy with a Korg M1.” It’s the final destination in a mind-map of tempered feelings tied with geographical location, a travelogue of places both actual and fictional. Something which also describes Vernon’s lyrical technique. For every obscure or hyper-realised turn of phrase – there’s Michicant’s ‘resting in a raze the inner claims I hadn’t breadth to shake’ or Perth’s ‘to fide your name/it’s something fane,’ take your pick – there’s a piercingly direct line that rings, like Holocene’s “at once I knew/I was not magnificent,” with shattering emotional clarity.
While their personal significance may be reserved for Vernon solely, they still signify much. What I said of For Emma three years ago still apples, “even as its melodies and riffs mine their way into your subconscious, hummed or sung in your private moments, they're always at the edge of full understanding making them all the more evocative.” It’s a microcosm for the album’s bittersweet tone, just as beautifully exquisite in its sadness as much as it’s joy. Like the best songwriters, Bon Iver are able to transform the intensely personal into something altogether mythical, mysterious and universal. Even at its most puzzling, you feel the poignant anchors of reality still apply. After all, these are words that were as pain-stakingly crafted as their aural surrounds.
The fact is, you could go on forever about Bon Iver, Bon Iver, how it’s length hits that sweet-spot between fulfilment and just shy of satisfying, begging you for another spin. How the fathoms of its secrets slowly surface after multiple listens. How brilliantly it works in conjunction with the For Emma material in the live setting. But it essentially proves that Bon Iver is not a one-trick pony, that as timeless and decade-defining as For Emma was, it’s no longer the record that stunts the legacy. Bon Iver, Bon Iver is an adventurous expression of artistic vision and intent that valiantly transcends the commercial moorings of the modern industry: digital downloads, ringtones, album charts, sales, contracts… Grammy's. It does precisely what I said powerful, sensuous music should do (in my lengthy preamble): good crafted songwriting, honest expression and a creative means by which to convey them. The best album of the year not only enacts this invented dogma, it luxuriates in it, the stirring and the sublime deeply penetrating every detail.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver by boniver

The full visual montage of the Top 20 Albums of 2011

2011 End-of-Year Celebrations: TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2011 (Part 1)

2012-01-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

20. Jenny Hval - Viscera

Some minimalistic guitar notes and sparse machine noises open Engines in the City, then the sexually charged couplet: “I arrived in town/with an electric toothbrush/pressed against my clitoris.” This is the beginning of Viscera, and it sets the stark tone for a darkly surreal yet equally beautiful trip. Dropping her Rocket To The Sky moniker, the Norwegian native’s first set under her own name channels the spirit of folk reverence; her voice gently plaintive in in abstract poetics or ringing with crystalline beauty in bright harmonies. Her music is warped with arch experimentalism, her songs as sensual as they are provocative, as likely to unspool into a sea of noise as they are ascend into a delicate ether. The majority of them unwind slowly over six to eight minutes, like a strange new flower blossoming, but always with a charged sense of character, narrative or emotional effect. Truly a singer-songwriter for (and of) the modern age.

blood flight by jennyhval

19. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. II: Judges

Stetson’s reputation moonlighting as indie’s horn-blower of choice (he’s played with LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire and Bon Iver) doesn’t even begin to touch on his abilities. From the raspy pounding rhythms of Red Horse to the trilling powered arpeggios of A Dream of Water, Stetson is singlehandedly reinventing how to approach and play the saxophone. It doesn’t even take a deeper understanding of the saxophone to appreciate the skill and wizadry on display, and it almost beggars belief when the liner notes claim ‘all songs recorded live in single takes with no overdubs or loops.’ It almost beggars belief. There’s no doubting there’s an elitism to praising an avant-garde soloist’s concept album as one of your favourites of the year; but far from being the kind of record you’d flaunt in a chin-stroking contest to gain the upper hand; Judges is the sound of a master challenging himself as much as the listener. Don’t let the wordy titles or Laurie Anderson’s guest poetry deter you, or you’ll miss out on an engrossing, spell-binding listen.
Judges by Constellation Records

18. Wilco - The Whole Love

Though the brilliance of their individual strengths remain appreciated - Nels Cline’s expressive guitar work, Glenn Kotche’s deceptively genius drumming and of course Jeff Tweedy’s lovable roguish croak – The Whole Love once again reminds why Wilco excel as a collective unit. Playing to a broader array of their strengths, with more allowances to the experimentalism of their art-rock past; whether subtly in the sixties organ and buzzing bass of I Might or explicitly, as on ambitious opener Art of Almost. They're perfectly capable, and comfortable, with breezy alt-rock also. See the pop shapes of Dawned On Me, ragtime jaunt of Capitol City or even the graceful twang of twelve-minute closer One Sunday Morning for reference. Its variety and subtley aren’t immediate, but it’s purely the product of a group perfectly in synch – musically and artistically. They remain one of America’s, if not music’s, most treasured acts.

Wilco - I Might by nduran

17. Halloween, Alaska - All Night The Calls Came In

For album number four - the band’s first effort bankrolled by their fans through the Kickstarter funding platform – the mission statement was to make it sound like more of a band effort. Recorded in just a week, the results crackle with the energy achieved only through four musicians playing in a single room. Though the heart of their lush composition remains, namely the synth-bound polish and eloquence of band linchpin James Dier, it’s sleek sound is one that’s played – not generated. The lucid key changes and snappy backbeat of Dance By Accident as well as the steadily-building hum of Analogue from cosy refrain to noisy climax, are characterised as much by their collective energy as they are their studio sophistication. From the crisp upbeat inflections of Empire Waist and Dead Air to the languid 3:1 and nocturnal Tables, their organic lineage nods towards the ambient pop of The Blue Nile as well as the free-form art ensemble of late Talk Talk. All Night The Calls Came In finds Halloween, Alaska at their most tidily immediate.

The Jealous Ones by ambledown

16. Mutemath - Odd Soul

After spending two albums trying to exercise their love for brittle math rock to bend to the smooth curves of groove and funk, Odd Soul finds the New Orleans three-piece striking upon a definitive alchemy. A successful collision between the seemingly alien spheres of blues, prog and rock with a knack for electronic flourish and big choruses. It’s deft fusion flickers between reference points like controlled fireworks, Allies fizzes like Jamiroquai fronting Led Zeppelin, while the title track sounds like The Black Keys raised on a love of psychedelic keyboards. It all merely serves to show how the group have struck upon something truly original. In cherry-picking from all ends of the musical spectrum, Odd Soul risks falling foul to its desire to blend familiar accessibility with instrumental excess, but succeeds in its focus and discipline towards generating a muscular groove. These guys can play (and sing, Paul Meany’s got a soulful wail to rival the best of ‘em), powered by one of the best rhythm sections you’ll hear all year. Possessed of a super-tight synergy more commonly found in seventies funk groups, it powers their tunes and ideas which drag seemingly nerdy or outdated genres usually reserved for men in mid-life crisis, into a shiny new context. If nothing else, it marks a career-defining arc for the band’s genre-hybrid output.

MuteMath "Prytania" by LibbyCM

15. Mastodon - The Hunter

Calling The Hunter the metal album of the year is to do it a mild disservice, but ‘most eclectic heavy rock album that punctuates cross-over appeal without compromise’ doesn’t have the same ring to it. While many would have expected – and been content with - Crack The Skye Part 2, Mastodon instead again proved restless innovators. While its forebear remains a titanic prog-metal masterpiece, its successor – free from the burden of a convoluted conceptual structure – refuses to bow to any one mode and instead possess the freedom to splay into many successful stylistic tangents. A sonic smorgasbord informed as much by the blood-fuelled rush of brutal metal riffage, as it is the heavy psychedelic fug of intelligent space-rock. Mastodon are a talented tri-headed monster of shred-tastic power, with both brains and brawn; and zero fear to exercise both.

Mastodon - Curl of the Burl by Roadrunner Records

14. Gotyé - Making Mirrors

Discount the national dominance of Somebody That I Used To Know for a moment, and it’s almost difficult to remember that Making Mirrors is the end-result of a half-decade wait to follow-up the still beloved Like Drawing Blood (coming just outside the top ten spot for triple j’s hottest 100 Australian albums of all time may I remind you).
In short, Making Mirrors is a triumph. A natural evolution and successor to the Gotyé sound while being a shining reflection of its creator. Wally De Backer’s fascination with sound and arrangement charges his excursions into sophisticated, rewarding pop music and the key word here is ‘exploration.’ Whether its digging through old curios for that perfect sample of inspiration, re-discovering a bold love of eighties sounds, or even exploring the reaches of his voice – that yearning upper register that expresses both melancholy regret (Eyes Wide Open) as much as revelry (In Your Light). His sonic landscapes are able to transform a near-obsessive attention to detail into universally enjoyable moments.
And there’s a lot of them. The crunchy Beatles-lite guitars of Easy Way Out, the floating bob and weave to the percussion and brass on Smoke And Mirrors. There’s the vibrant pulse to the Motown dedication, I Feel Better and stretching his voice – quite literally with pitch-shifted manipulations - to include a sinister(ish) parable of techno-fascination in State of the Art. Many of these stylistic tangents work so well in isolation, but also contribute to the record’s overall mood and tone. Unified by De Backer’s organising principles, a perfectionism that equates to pop sophistication.

I Feel Better by Gotye

13. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Lightning doesn’t always strike twice, nor did King of Limbs have the same explosive impact that In Rainbows did four years prior, despite being released in the same immediate way over the internet with zero promotional fanfare. But this is still lightning we’re talking about and no-one bottles it quite like the Oxford five-piece. Trace the history books all you like, but few make releasing new music an event quite like Radiohead.
The equality of accessing The King of Limbs before the critics could colour it, meant that the reception to the album was as varied as the sounds emitting from it. It’s eight tracks clearly divided in two halves, the first was clattered with polyrhythms, orchestral subtlety and a love of eclectic beat-making. The latter half however, led by semi-single Lotus Flower was some of the group’s most tranquil and unfettered yet.
Despite varying criticisms (a pretty brisk listen, teeters close to being a Yorke solo-record-as-Flying Lotus-love-letter), it remains another thrilling chapter in one of music’s most interesting and influential tales. Would King of Limbs matter if it wasn’t released by Radiohead? Absolutely. But just try gleaning such restlessly creative material from someone without their vision or experience.

Lotus Flower - Radiohead by Porchnight

12. Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning

Wilson is clearly an individual who spends more time producing fine music than he does sleeping, between fronting Porcupine Tree, writing a new Blackfield record, cultivating No-Man and the newly birthed Storm Corrsion (a side project with Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt) – he somehow managed time to release and tour his second solo record. A grand double-album at that, which again offers a stunningly detailed portrait of the man’s many musical modes.

Flush from his duties producing an remastering the King Crimson back catalogue, it’s clearly had a severe influence on shape and outcome of Grace For Drowning. Similarly to Fripp’s ringleader approach to Crimson, Wilson enlisted a impressive list of prog-savvy players to realise his vision, with him as distinct musical auteur. It would take such a talented revolving ensemble to ensure its sonic landscape, a staggering milieu of free jazz, noodling improvisations, atmospheric work worthy of film scores, textured electronics, spidery metal guitar riffs and beautifully evocative pianos.

It takes a few listens to survive such dense material - not least the sprawling eccentricities of the epic Radier II (clocking in at 23:21) - but from the achingly beautiful (Deform To Form A Star, Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye), to the archly bombastic (Index, Sectarian); it’s a collection worthy of Wilson’s staggering oeuvre and contributes even more highlights to his already prolific oeuvre.

Steven Wilson - Raider (edit) (full track from Grace for Drowning) by Kscope

11. ARMS - Summer Skills

A product of both last year’s digital EP (of which three of its five tracks made the final cut) and time spent holed up in a Brooklyn studio with Shane Stoneback (Vampire Weekend, Sleigh Bells, Cults); Summer Skills solidifies a period of transition. It marks the sophomore conversion of ARMS from the solo project of Todd Goldstein to a full-bodied rock band.
If Kids Aflame was the sound of a bedroom-bound pop maverick, then Summer Skills is the giddy flight to the crisp suburban streets. The lo-fi indie origins flourishing into a widescreen wash of warm summer tales and winsome melodies. Probably best narrated by the fidgety guitar and fizzing energy of heralding single Fleeced. Goldstein’s syrupy tenor and natty songcraft now abetted by ‘noise guru’ Dave Harrington’s bank of analog synths, robust basswork and harmonies from Matty Fasano and, most viscerally, the chattering, percussive style of drummer Tlacael Esparza.
Drawn together by a focussed determination, their tasteful sonic palette also affords various musical detours. Each passing listen providing further rewards; as well as a new favourite track. Is it the freewheeling rush of Dog Days? The chunky rainbow textures of Glass Harmonica? Or simply the swooping upward inflection of “there’ll be time, too” on the falsetto chorus of the reclining title track. Whether at their most calming or their most thrilling, ARMS act as a stunning reminder of the pure power of the guitar band. Bursting with vibrant energy as well as ambition and attitude.

Heat & Hot Water by ARMS

The Top 20 so far... stay tuned for Part 2.

2011 End-of-Year Celebrations: 2011 In Memorandum

2012-01-04T03:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's the new year and yes, AMR has yet to unveil the annual Top 20 Albums of the year, but just to tease out the anticipation just that little bit longer, it's best to provide some context. Though all those terrific artists did a perfectly good job, think of this as a more personalised preamble that paints a broader picture before we hone in on the finer details.

That, and it's worth reflecting on just what a strange, extreme year for music it was. Maybe it’s the seachange that is the ceaseless turning of time through yet another decade, maybe it’s the further fragmentation and cross-pollination of popular music through media and live mediums, more likely it was a combination of all of the above, but there’s no denying it – 2011 was a funny year.

As much defined by its bizarre headlines and musical extremes as it was by the solidity of its sounds: from the woefully impossibleto ignore rise of Rebecca Black to the controversial cross-over success of Odd Future and Lana Del Rey. There was the resolutely WTF collabs (take a bow, SuperHeavy and Loutallica) that pockmarked throughout, then news that we’d lost some of the greats – either through eventual exhaustion (R.E.M., LCD Soundsystem, The White Stripes) or from literally shuffling off this mortal coil (R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron, Amy Winehouse, saxophonist Clarence Clemons, TVOTR bassist Gerard Smith et al.).

It seems that through all the extremities, the music that mattered most was the sensuous. Those that really meant something for me personally were those that stuck close to the principles of powerful music: good songwriting, honest expression and a creative means by which to convey them. From the new blood who dazzled (James Blake,The Weeknd, Unknown Mortal Orchestra), to the old pros (Wilco, Radiohead, Kate Bush, Beastie Boys) to the slew of artists who made myths out of the ‘sophomore slump’ (Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Arms, Gotyé, tUnE-yArDs) – there was always the sticking power of a great record behind their success.

That’s before mentioning the groundswell of national talent that Australia is currently enjoying. Capitalising on the momentum of twentyten, many Aussie artists found their footing both creatively and commercially, there’s something vindicating in seeing long-time AMR faves Big Scary and Kimbra suddenly hogging a lot of the limelight. In addition to triple j establishing their Unearthed digital radio station allowing for a wealth of new content, with even more amazingly promising acts working their way through the buzz feed – Ghoul, Alpine, Brous, San Cisco, Oliver Tank, New Navy, Strange Talk, Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, Eagle and the Worm, Ball Park Music, Spender, The Trouble With Templeton, Snakadaktal etc. etc. *phew* plenty of bands to looking forward to watching grow, and plenty more just beneath the soil waiting to push through.

So what else did this year do or not do? Well, It has to be said, that personally, I thought it was a rubbish year for hip-hop, where nothing seemed to stick. Despite a late appearance from The Roots (with the excellent Undun), it was a year instead characterised by up-and-comers or purists who made few concessions to crossover appeal or too many. Of course, the elephant in the room is Kanye and Jay-Z’s much-touted collab Watch The Throne; but It simply didn’t scale the heights it should of, containing all of the braggadocio of Mr. West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (still agreat record) but none of its intriguing anxieties. Meanwhile the main alternative was the bleak, sinister Goblin from OFWGKTA’s ringleader Tyler The Creator. An album whose soundworld intrigues me, but whosemisogynistic game of is it?/isn’t it? fantasy repels me; moreso than any compulsion to draw me in. Proving equally masculine/teenage-angst friendly was Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino. His style and flow is positively indebted to Kanye West, blurring the lines between talented mimicry and unashamed rip-off. His blockbuster-reaching sound drawing the focus away from Glover’s smarts and more towards boyish couplets about sleeping around, his insecurities – or worst of all – his penis. Quite.

It’s worth mentioning the huge resurgence of R&B recently too, finding more of its genealogy in soul than in plastic pop production. Beginning early with the dubstep/soulful machinations of James Blake and trickling down to Jamie Woon’s fixation with the period of the nineties where Babyface reigned supreme; then there was the claustrophobic clarity of blogosphere darling The Weeknd, the soulful rhymes of his pal Drake, and yet another free mixtape sensation Frank Ocean. Releasing Nostalgia Ultra for free to avoid the red tape wrangling of his label, singing soulful grooves over big-name samples like The Eagles and Radiohead to critical acclaim.

Another genre with a rather inflexible if pervasive label, was that of ‘dream pop’ or ‘chillwave,’ certainly bloomed across 2011’s twelve months. The romantic notion of the bedroom producer transcending his habitual confines by crafting spacious jams that floated across, as much as occupied, space. Washed Out lived up to his band moniker with waves of twinkling keys and warm beats while Active Child employed harp and choral vocals to develop a sort of slow-mo choirboy hip-hop. Memory Tapes’ brand of pop was marked with tangible nostalgia while Youth Lagoon called it The Year ofHibernation. It’s kind of indistinct music, but for a soundtrack to simply bliss out to – it was a welcome staple of 2011.

On an even more ambient tangent, this past year contained some wonderfully evocative releases. Julianna Barwick occupied The Magic Place of shimmering vocal textures, Grouper returned with not one, but two, albums of feedback-drenched folk abstractions and Tim Hecker’s slow burning Ravedeath, 1972 defied momentum even as it suggested destruction in a series of provocative titles such as Studio Suicide, Hatred of Music and most bluntly No Drums. The imaginary soundtrack of A Winged Victory For The Sullen provided the heartache, while Leyland Kirby released several records under his own name and as his alias The Caretaker. Meanwhile, Flumina marked a mercurial meeting of minds between prolific composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and electronic texturalist Fennesz.

At the other end of the spectrum were the beat-makers, providing turntable thrills, sampling revelry and dancefloor designs. Glaswegian DJ Hudson Mohawke released another EP of warped Americanisms, while his protégé Rustie nearly outclassed him in the mutated references stakes with his big-beat debut Glass Swords. Across the pond, Com Truise delivered a near-perfect eighties synth LP while Kuedo blended his experience as a dubstep producer with a love for Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack on Severant. TOKiMONSTA offered another side to her nocturnal persona with some lighter, vocally-guesting beats, then the likes of Bibio and Oneothrix Point Never did their best to unmake their genre roles with eclectic influences of the surreal in the former and old TV commercials in the latter.

Needless to say, there’s a whole wealth of acts, songs, events and albums that shaped the last twelve months, but simply isn’t the room to mention them all. Like always, there were some disappointing records (chiefly Coldplay, Death Cab For Cutie, Incubus and, surprisingly, Björk), then there’s so much more space that could be dedicated to the healthy blasts of rock (Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, …Trail of Dead), the rogues of Americana (Okkervil River, The Decemberists, Akron/Family, Bright Eyes, Destroyer), those ever-talented mistresses (Laura Marling, Feist, Camille) and many more great albums besides (Elbow, M83, Grouplove, Girls, Gang Gang Dance to name a few.

What were those items of musical excellence precisely? Well that, my dears, will be revealed very, very shortly.

2011 End-of-Year Celebrations: Artists' Best Of 2011

2011-12-25T05:48:00.000-08:00

There's been so much great music this year that there was no way that AMR was going to get to all of it, so what better way to represent the broader spectrum of the year's sounds than by asking the great artists who make it? Reaching out to a bunch of cool people/acts/shakers and makers, the Rant simply asked what their picks for 2011 were. Here are their respsones - in vaguely alphabetical order

Melbourne's Alpine are as fresh as the snow that caps those same mountain ranges, their axeman Christian (second from left) chooses his top 5 tracks of 2011.

Grouplove - Colours

"I heard this track in the van on our way to a show and it was the most perfect song for how brightly the sun was shining that day. They played after us at Splendour In The Grass, and they were incredible. They’re like a combination of Pixies and Modest Mouse, but with better diets."

Radiohead - Lotus Flower

"I actually saw the parody of this video before I saw the real one. I loved this track so much. Thom Yorke has the best falsetto ever, and it’s so cool to have an entire song that sits in that range again."

Lana Del Rey - Video Games

"This song is incredibly cool, its over the top orchestration, the pouting and how it just plods along and repeats that amazing chorus over and over. Love. Real love."

Kimbra - Cameo Lover

"I had to work out how to play this song for a student recently and it is an incredibly intricate, well-written bunch of chords. We love Kimbra. She’s going to take over the world."

Jay-Z & Kanye West - Lift Off (feat. Beyoncé)

"This song is so cool and it's in 6/4! I can't think of a hit in 6/4 since Sheryl Crow's Strong Enough. Great Song."

Young, talented, and bridging some fascinating gaps between electronic and organic sounds, it should come as no surpise then that Albert Salt likes him some great, ambitious-sounding stuff himself.

"2011 proved to be a very exciting year in music with new releases from some of my favourite artists, including Radiohead, Jack Conte, Justice, Gotyé and Death Cab For Cutie. Here's an assortment of things that made this year great."

1. Radiohead - Staircase

2. Justice - Audio Video Disco

3. Gotyé - State Of The Art

4. Radiohead - Codex

5. Hanz Zimmer - Bane Chant (Dark Knight Rises)

6. Justice - On and On

7. Jack Conte - Long Long Time Ago

8. Jinja Safari - Hiccups

9. Metronomy - The Bay

10. Radiohead - Little By Little

triple j presenter, breakfast provocateur and part-time dancefloor killer: Alex Dyson, waxes sycophantic about one of the year's most enduringly popular debuts

"Foster The People's Torches is, for the majority of the album, getting away with things. Whether its using the same simple riff for an entire song in Pumped Up Kicks, or singing the sappy-on-paper lyrical hook "oo la la, I'm falling in love" on I Would Do Anything For You, there are plenty of opportunities for the album not to work. However, through either sheer luck or the simple genius of Mark Foster and his people (that's Mark Pontius and Cubbie Fink), it comes off every time. Instead of being cliché-ridden, it saddles up those same clichés and rides them off into the Californian sunset in one of the most interesting, catchy and consistently brilliant releases of 2011."

The guitar-pop splendour of ARMS was originally the work of Todd Goldstein (second from right), then he got a bunch of talented buddies to cement a full band line-up for this year's excellent Summer Skills. Cue love for spacious electronic abstractions.

"Nicolas Jaar is a 21-year-old kid who makes some of the most beautiful, strange, sexy electronic music I've ever heard -- his full-length Space Is Only Noise is a patchwork of intake-breaths, ping-pong balls, and carefully programmed drums humming beneath Nico's low-key vocals, and I can't get enough of it. In the interest of full disclosure, ARMS' keyboard/noise guru Dave Harrington plays in Nico's live band and also with him as an excellent duo called Darkside, but that close-to-home-ness has only driven me deeper into Nico's world, and I am forever grateful. One of the things about Space Is Only Noise that excites me the most, is its sense of potential - this kid is an artist of the highest order, and is clearly just getting started. I can't say enough nice things about this gorgeous oddity of an album. By far one of my favorite things this year."

Melbourne's best musical duo, Big Scary (©Forever. Al's Music Rant) had an epicly successful year touring, playing and releasing their critically acclaimed debut album. The pair tell us what tickled their eardrums in the last twelve months. First up is strummer Tom Iansek,

"My newfound love of hip-hop-pop started with Dizzee Rascal, continued somewhat with Kanye and now cemented with Spank Rock. I can't understand why I like it (and why it still can't lead me to develop an appreciation for Aussie hip-hop). Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is A Fucking Liar. posesses thoughtful and creative production, buckets of 'tude: "just two tits in a bra, just two licks on my balls" and catchy as shit. Definitely one of my favourite releases this year"

and here's Jo Syme's musical high-lights of 2011.
"Most exciting new artist: Lana del Rey. Video Games is like a Hollywood drama in four minutes. Totally loved discovering No Age's Everything In Between, although it wasreleased 2010 I only heard it a few months ago. I also finally started listening to Nick Cave in all his forms. I watched Grinderman at Hombake, and obviously I'm in awe. How can a band be both hilarious and genius? Favourite albums came from The Vasco Era, eponymous debuts from Step-Panther, James Blake and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. As well as The Antlers' Burst Apart, Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Real Estate - Days, Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo and The War on Drugs....and I stress out that I've probably forgotten others!"

Radical Adelaidian mavericks Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! know what it takes to write an off-kilter pop tune, so five of their six strong line-up selected one that mattered most to them this year

Florence & The Machine - Shake It Out (By Caitlin Duff - Vocals)

"This is my favourite song of 2011 for two main reasons: the ebbs and rises of the song are so emotionally driven, and Florence's voice and vocal techniques are used both sparingly and overwhelmingly in equal parts. The second reason is the lyrics. For me, 2011 can be summed up in the sentiment those lyrics create, "It's hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake him off!". A song to dance or to cry to."

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Ffunny Ffriends (By Nathaniel Morse - Guitar)

"If this single is anything to go by, UMO are a band involved with textures. The amazingly original and idiosyncratic sounds they achieved are dumped over the standard pop song structure to devastating effect. I have no idea what the lyrics are, and I don't care. There's something better being conveyed here, that refuses to be revealed in any one element. Listen to it as a whole, preferably while drunk."

St. Vincent - Surgeon (By Samuel Stearne - Drums)

"Annie Clark is a huge heroine of mine and Surgeon is the best representation of what she's all about. Odd, bright, quirky indie pop played with unbelievable attention to detail. She's a beast on the guitar, too. The sky's the limit for this super lady."

Surgeon

Radiohead - Bloom (By David John Williams - Guitar)

"I can't get enough of this song. While a level of criticism has been laid against King of Limbs for its length and inaccessibility - which I can understand to some degree - Bloom demonstrates their further explorations into texture, melody and arrangement. The way it swoons, attacks and recedes drives me absolutely nuts."

Toro Y Moi - New Beat (By Josh Flavel - Bass)

"Quite simply a brilliant little number that ticks all the boxes. While it’s clearly the main synth line hook that you notice the first time, it's the clever arrangement of the supporting instruments that give it a huge replay factor. The interesting use of vocals for both dreamy harmonies and rhythm roles is a big winner for me, coupled with that slick funk bassline. There’s really no wondering why it’s my favourite/most played track of 2011."

The Minnesota-based and criminally underrated Halloween, Alaska mix pop nous with fine synth textures. Band linchpin James Dier (far right) proffers "three excellent self-titled albums from 2011"

Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi
"The record is fantastic, as is the band. We supported them on a UK tour in October/November and it was a thrill to watch Anna knock people on their asses night after night. Totally commanding."

Cepia - Cepia
"Minneapolis' best-kept arty-electronic-soundtrack-to-your-aspirational-life secret. Huntley [Miler] is also a really great mastering engineer, which is actually too bad since it probably keeps him from making more records like this."

Megafaun - Megafaun
"We've been friendly with the Cook brothers long enough to follow the entire evolution of this band, and it truly has never sounded better. Eternal hope for so-called 'Americana' music."

As someone who's been following the fuse for a while, it was awesome to see 2011 as the year Kimbra exploded. The talented Ms. K took time out of her world-domination schedule to give us some of her top cuts of the year.

Mini Mansions - The Room Outside
"This is definitely one of the most exciting bands of the year, it's like Queens Of The Stone Age (as it features their bass player Michael Shuman) meets Queen or Silverchair, with a Paul McCartney vibe too. The changes in this song are wonderful and the guitars sound huge. I think they're the much needed rock band we've all been missing."
The Room Outside
Wild Beasts - Plaything
"I love this album and especially this song for the charming vocal performance and sparse but interesting drum production. There's a kind of Antony & The Johnsons vibe, but with more driving arrangements. I like how this song makes me feel kind of uncomfortable."
Plaything
Bilal - Cake and Eat It Too
"From one of my favourite releases of the year. I love the gospel style chorus and the off-time lazy drums so that you can never quite lock into the beat. It's got so much swagger and I'm in love with his voice. This track takes him away from the more straight up R'n'B and into a more psychedelic D'angelo territory."

Thundercat - Daylight
"This track blows me away. The vocals are so sexy, I love all the lush sounds mixed with the sloppy drums, and crazy funk synths. There's a great fusion of jazz and old school soul but what sets it apart is the modern production by Flying Lotus. The whole album is killer."

Beyoncé - Love On Top
"Six key changes in the space of 3 minutes and 20 seconds. Need I say more? It makes me so happy."

Fleet Foxes - The Shrine/An Argument
"This song is one of the most emotional songs I've heard in a really long time. The cathartic vocal melody is so heart wrenching and I love how this song works more like a series of different acts, rather than one whole song. This song really shows a more aggressive side of Fleet Foxes which wasn't as prevalent in the previous record."

The ubiquitous Kins got several mentions in the recent Good, Bad & James Blunt Awards, now frontman Thomas Savage (second from right) has his own awards to give

"My Favourite Film Clip of 2011 is without doubt Big Scary’s Gladiator. A+ for having no fears of expressing some radical personality."

"Favourite Beats goes to Portland, Oregon’s Starfucker, for their album Reptilians. Somebody spilled lame all over it prior to duplication of the master copy, which I was quite thankful for."

"My Favourite ‘Missed the boat on that one’ is Deerhunter's 2010 release: Halcyon Digest. They partially produced it themselves, which I assume is why it seems to sound as though they’ve sacrficed some production techniques due to a wild vibe chase. Favourite 'Before I Was Born But Only Just Discovered' is Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights. What can I say? Gah. Favourite Album Of 2011 has to be PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake. It’s a seemingly effortlessly perfected record; and I completely agree - England needs a big shake."

Purveyors of 'Tchaikokroksky,' [Me] are currently galavanting about the UK, and six-string maestro (re: guitarist) Damian Tapley (far left) takes the time to plug his new favourite live act

"Would have to say one of my fave records is Kasabian - Velociraptor!. I had no idea how absolutely huge they were until we supported them in Nottingham. They did 2 x 10,000 shows there, and the population of that city is only 800k. They also played O2 Arena in London for two nights, and their live set is absolutely phenomenal. Velociraptor! is their fourth record and it's a very strong record; seeing them play makes me think of a headline band at Glastonbury. A true stadium act, amazing crowd skills and extremely nice guys. Big Day Out 2012 audiences will know what I mean. Oh, and here's a picture of them slaying Nottingham."

Busily putting the finishing touches on his debut album (due early next year), Spender drops by to talk up Merrill Garbus' musical abilities

"My favourite album of 2011 would have to be tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l. I was waking up in a friends kitchen over a big mug of coffee and a bastard of a hangover when on came 'this' song (lead single Bizness).

I'd been in the middle of re-working one of my own compositions that shared similar elements, so my ear instantly pricked up during the intro. I remember the feeling as soon as I heard Merrils' voice. At first I thought it was a man - perhaps an alto - singing. I was so excited, it was so raw and great and exactly what I want my own stuff to be like.

When the announcer said it was a woman I fell in love!

It was also the first time I was able to use the shazaam app to great success. I bought the single on iTunes right there and then. I sent it out to a bunch of muso/producer type mates and had a really mixed bag of feedback. Which made me like it even more as people don't normally respond to that type of thing. w h o k i l l came out a month or so later, and it wasn't long before it was always on in our house. Sometimes I hear elements of Arrested Development's brilliant debut album (1992's 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the life of...) which was a huge record for me when I was growing up.It still makes me feel excited about music and ideas, it's just so unrestrained and direct, something I really miss about most modern music."

When Otto there, the red-hooded one above, isn't crafting epicly cathartic post-rock with sleepmakeswaves, he's listening to some pretty sweet atmospherics himself. Here are his some of his favourite records of the year.

"I know this has been done to death by now, but I have to share my continued fascination with and appreciation of Bon Iver's latest record. Every new listen reveals some new aspect - a shade added by a particular instrument, a lyric which unravels a meaning."
"I have also really enjoyed Russian Circles' Empros, an energetic and atmospheric blend of sludgey/prog metal and post-rock, and Tunnel Blanket by Texan powerhouse This Will Destroy You. They call it 'doomgaze' with their tongues in their cheeks. They can call it whatever they want, but when I give the record some time and attention it rewards me with its crushing emptiness and energy."
Mladek by RussianCircles
Killed the Lord, Left for the New by GirlieAction

The Trouble With Templeton is the moniker for one Thomas Calder, who delivers chilling, borderline-prodigious alt-folk, and whose choices indicate a variety of musical influences.

"On a good day it’s incredibly difficult for me to pick my favourite releases in any given time frame, but having to choose from a year like 2011 is nearly impossible. The past twelve months have been filled with so much great music over so many differing genres, the best I can offer is just a slice of my favourites list (In no particular order)"

Tom Waits – Bad As Me
"It’s impossible not to get excited by a release from one of your all-time favourite artists; Tom Waits never fails to amaze, and totally blow my mind."

Death Cab For Cutie – Codes and Keys
"Another great addition to their incredible catalogue, DCFC are constantly trying new things, and always producing beautiful records."

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – Wolfroy Goes To Town
"This man could sing one note for 45 minutes and I would probably find a way to love it. Will Oldham is a genius."

Laura Marling – A Creature I Don't Know
"I love her voice, I love the theatricality of the music, I love this album. Enough said."

"and just some other favourites I have to mention: A.A. Bondy - Believers, St. Vincent - Strange Mercy, Jay Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne and, of course, Wilco - The Whole Love."

New Zealand's other great feminine export, electro-pop chanteuse Zowie, talks her top tunes from the last twelve months

M83 - Midnight City

"Amazingly dark and moody but so pretty at the same time. Anthony Gonzalez is a fantastic song writer, along with his musical lab partner Justin Meldal-Johnsen. It has dirty synths layered up with pretty sparkle on the top - and dreamy atmospheric vocals ending with the perfect sax solo."

Spank Rock - Car Song (feat. Santigold)

"'Bitch gonna be my Vicky Vale!' The lyrics are dirty on Spank's side and then mixed with Saantigold's soothing vocals, it's a great fit for this track and so cheeky - the elements sound almost like a big band with the cool live guitar throughout. It really is the perfect car song or date song."

PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Maurder

"This song is dark but still so weirdly happy. You could imagine it in Sweeny Todd while Johnny Deep and Helena Bonham Carter make finger pies. I love her unique vocal delivery. Lots of vocal layers while the double clap beat is perfectly killer."

White Lies - Holy Ghost

"This haunting track has stuck with me since the album came out earlier in the year. That New Order synth, and production by the amazing Alan Moulder. The BVS in the chorus are so hooky and what I tend to sing along with the most. When I listen to it I picture it being right in so many films - which I love."

Björk - Mutal Core

"I was just shown this track a couple of weeks ago. It's so fresh and the heavy beats that burst in and out thrashing all over the place! They are Ninch Inch Nails-esque, all crushed and rhythmically exciting as it anxiously builds. At the two minute mark, it goes into the most amazing spooky feel. The 5/4 signature is exciting, particularly at the end when it bursts into the huge beat. Unreal! Wish that bit went on for longer. A very clever track - it's nuts."

A huge thank-you to everyone who participated, stick around too - 'cause although it's running a bit behind schedule, the top 20 Albums of the Year (according to Al's Music Rant of course) are coming up. Watch This Space.

2011 End-of-Year Celebrations: The Good, The Bad & The James Blunt Awards

2011-12-16T23:59:00.000-08:00

The moment the true AMR fan waits all year for, it's the 5th Annual GB&JB ceremony. As is usual with this kind of list there's some serious awards for artistic achievements and some serious satire for the contrary, there's some old categorical favourites, there's some new ones, and there's a lot to read.

So don your best digital frock or tux, kit up in your best musical acumen, 'cause it's time to toast to 2011.

BEST ALBUM TITLE

Spank Rock - Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is A Fucking Liar

Not particularly clever, granted, but you have to admit the electro-rap duo have some balls to brand their sophomore effort with such a bold name. It does sound a bit like the tantrum of an underpreciated indie outfit, but you have to give props for its humour; plus I like imagining their label trying to convice them to change or soften the title. Shame then that the F bomb got censored, nevertheless it says a lot about the shallowing of today's industry, even if its with the bluntest of words.

Runners Up: British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall,
Grouplove - Never Trust A Happy Song

WORST ALBUM TITLE

Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

Though it's technically a digital-only EP, I can't help but give this horribly titled release the gong. I still maintain that it sounds like the winner of a 'let's devise a Coldplay cliché' competition, either that or the group felt that Liam Gallagher was too distracted by his own musical pissing contest to bother publicly bullying them about their choice of song names. Pity that actually, would have liked to get his particularly humouros brand of bile on their soporific choice of song name.

Runners Up: The Living End - The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating,
Ke$ha - I Am The Dance Commander And I Command You To Dance

BEST EP

Ghoul - Dunks

Even a cursory glance at the list of EPs released this year proves it was a field crowded with talent. Particularly closer to home, where many new acts the likes of Brous, [Me] and Oliver Tank tested the musical waters with confident, consistent releases. However, standing it's ground from as early Februrary was Sydney outfit Ghoul, whose Dunks was an excellent taste of the group's knack for mixing experimental nous with tangible songcraft. From 3Mark deftly cribbing Burial's claustrophobic sounds with Ivan Vizintin's haunting croon, to Dreambeat echoing Hail To The Thief-era Radiohead with thrilling accuracy; it was a smart concoction of influences and sounds complete with a thrilling live show that faithfully recreated their deft constructions, as well as flaunting new ones. If you haven't already, you should have your ears and eyes squarely placed on them - definitely ones to watch as they ready their debut for 2012.

Runners Up: Brous - Brous, [Me] - Naked

BEST 'MINI-LP'

Kins - Dancing Back And Forth, Covered In Whipped Cream

At twenty-five minutes, it's not quite an 'extended play' and just short of an album, but conceptually Dancing Back And Forth... has all the richness and produciton of a full record. It was also the perfect introduction to Kins, one of Melbourne's best-kept secrets and lovely people to boot. They have since departed for the UK to work on what will no doubt be a stellar first album. In their absence, we have still have this mini-lp, a hypnotic journey of metronomic rhythms, spectral guitar and enigmatic yet accessible tunes. Get in early before they're 'the next big thing'

MOST DISAPPOINTING LACK OF FORM

Death Cab For Cutie - Codes And Keys

I tried so hard to like this album, more than any other this year, but with each listen it left me unsatisfied, leaving no lasting impression on me. In isolation there's a handful of high-water moments, the sparkle of You Are A Tourist or the slow-motion balladry of Unobstructed Views, but nothing that reaches the emotional and cathartic benchmark of their previous work.

To be clear, it's not a bad record just a bland one, I don't want to commemorate their seventh record as the point that DCFC 'sold out.' I still believe Benjamin Gibbard to be one of the great songsmiths of his generation, but it's a position that's harder to defend with each passing release, each considerably more middling than the last.

To keep the argument focussed without straying into the whole 'Zooey' territory (after all, they just split, cut him some slack, etc.); but it feels like the group have lost their spark, that 'something' that was so vivid on Transatlanticism when they still fought for something to prove. Sure, some bands come and go, some change for better or worse, but few have been so close to my heart and now seem so distant... except for weezer... but don't even get me started on weezer.

Runner Up: Blackfield - Welcome To My DNA

BEST SOUNDTRACK

Cliff Martinez & Various Artists - Drive OST

I have a confession to make, I haven't actually seen Drive... but it should speak to the quality of Cliff Martinez' evocative score that it still works so well divorced of its cinema counterpart. His hazy synth-work is buffered by a selection of carefully curated, eighties-indebted electro numbers. From College and Electric Youth's warbling synth anthem A Real Hero to the starry-eyed _____________, it's a potent collection.

Runner Up: Lyle Workman - Win Win Soundtrack

BEST VIDEOGAME SOUNDTRACK

Portal 2: Songs To Test By

One of the year's most subversive, humourous, brilliantly realised titles also happened to have a killer soundtrack. A lush array of minimalist electronics but also hefty dramatic movements, it's a perfect mood-setter for the game's devilish puzzle-come-narrative melodrama. Best of all? It's cheekily credited to the Arperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory and made available for free from developer Valve's website. Ace.

Runner Up: Koji Kondo - Legend of Zelda 25h Anniversary

BEST BEST OF

R.E.M. - Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982-2011

The last hurrah from one of America's most influential and momumental acts was given the daunting task of working their dense, three-decade career into a two-disc overview. No easy task, but this honestly-titled compilation makes swift work of it. Cherry-picking from their IRS catalogue years, working through their invincible Warner Bros. period, before reinstating the long-maligned Shiny Happy People back into the R.E.M. canon. There's even liner notes from Berry, Buck, Mills & Stipe themselves plues room at the end of forty cuts for three new post-humous releases in A Month of Saturdays, We All Go Back To Where We Belong and Hallelujah. It's as definitive a 'best-of' as you could hope from the curtain fall of a band with such a rich, illustrious career as R.E.M.'s.

Runner Up: Ben Folds - Best Imitation Of Myself

BEST LIVE ACT

Big Scary

AMR's beloved Melbourne duo's strength has always lied in their diversity, and it's no different when it comes to their live show. They began the year with a sweatily tight set for Australia Day at the Espy, then later officially launching their Four Seasons compilation complete with costume changes and a killer support line-up (the gonzo garage of Step-Panther and the inimitable Kins). Strummer Tom and drummer Jo proved a solid support act themselves, gigging alongside the likes of The Grates, Liam Finn and Gotyé over the course of the year. Finally, they capped it off with a special show for debut LP Vacation at St. Kilda's Ormond Hall. The stately surroundings aren't your typical band venue, but they perfectly suited Big Scary's sterling recreations of slow-burners Bad Friends and Got It, Lost It; as well as the widescreen pop of Mixtape and Falling Away. Never repeating or stretching themselves, Big Scary always ensure you leave a show enjoying it as much as they do.

Runner Up: Kimbra

BEST NEW FESTIVAL

Harvest: The Gathering

Putting aside grumbles about excessive queues and a counter-intuitive ticketing system for drinks, Harvest still managed a truly successful birth. A great location, good noise seperation, minimal timetable clashes and even heavenly weather conspired to make Melbourne's The Gathering the perfect place to take in an astonishing line-up. From the brassy joy of The Family Stone, to the wiry art-funk of TVOTR and long-time Australian absentees Bright Eyes, it was a day full of brilliant sets and moments. Not least in the always-excellent Flaming Lips and The National offering a stately evening soundtrack. If for no other reason, Harvest should be commended for wooing the legendary Portishead to deliver an imperious set that previously only Europe was enjoying.

BEST GIG

Steely Dan, Live @ Rod Laver Arena

The major thrill of this show was that it really shouldn't of happened. Though Fagan & Becker have been known to ocassionally hit the live circuit, their comfortable doing so in their native region only. It seemed that they would never again return Down Under, but then - lured out by a spot for Day on the Green, they decided to extended their Shuffly Diplomacy tour to include a few headline shows for the first time since visiting out shores in 2007. Fears that the old dogs had exhausted their tricks were quickly dissipated, not only did Fagan look and sound better than he had in an age, but they were backed by a band with killer chops. Pulling out all the big hits (Reelin' In The Years, Peg), fan favourites (Aja, Kid Charlemagne) as well as some personal highlights (My Old School, Showbiz Kids); for men in their sixties, they played with all the stamina of an outfit at least half their age.

Runner Up: Portishead @ Harvest: The Gathering

BEST LIVE ALBUM

Sigur Rós - Inni

Released during an extended hiatus while Jónsi eked out a solo career, Inni serves as a stark reminder of the Icelandic quartet's celestial powers in the live arena. A no-nonsense set filmed and recorded at the close of their 2008 world tour, it intriguingly finds the band operating as a four-piece again (without their trusty string quartet-come-support act Amiina), their first shows doing so since the turn of the decade. From the iconic submarine-ping opening of Glósóli to the previously unreleased shimmer of Lùppulagið, it's a career-spanning setlist that proves Sigur Rós are majestic, with or without the frills.

Runner Up: Mastodon - Live At The Aragon

BEST MUSIC DVD

Foo Fighters - Back And Forth

It's easy to think you know the Foo Fighters story back-to-front: ex-Nirvana drummer records solo album, hires touring musicians and finally achieves world domination through arena-friendly rock. But there's far more depth to the story and James Moll's near-exhaustive documentary really goes into the details and does them justice. There's revealing interviews with Grohl regarding everything from Kurt Cobain to band in-fighting, as well as a wealth of rare footage and a back-end that covers the recording of this year's vibrant LP, Wasting Light. It's a polished, engaging portrait of a band, and a backgroud, that many thought familiar.

Runner Up: Sigur Rós - Inni

BEST RE-ISSUE

Nirvana - Nevermind

Speaking of familiarity... though it surely encourages a few more rotations in a certain someone's coffin, the inevitably lavish reissuing of one of music's most legendary records is more than just a money-grab. Though it was available in a number of editions, it was the five disc 'Super Deluxe Edition' that was the definitve listen. Containing several mixes of the record, from the greenhorn rehearsal recordings right down to the long-rumoured original Butch Vig mix of the album, there was something for even the most obssessive fan. Though packaged with frills, namely a live performance and all the requisite B sides, the overriding point here is of the lasting power of the original. The point at which the alternative became the mainstream and the landscape of music both populist and outsider changed forever. It's an anniversary worth marking - fan-baiting collections and all.

Runners Up: U2 - Acthung Baby: 20th Anniversary,

Pink Floyd's 'Why Pink Floyd?' Re-issues

BEST EXCUSE TO SPEND HALF YOUR RENT

Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning Deluxe Edition

There's been an upward trend in artists offering special editions direct to the fans from their websites or through pre-order options, but no-one does them quite as beautifully as Steven Wilson; and for his sophomore record as a solo artist, he went all out. The double-album comes in a 120 page hardbound book with reams of long-time collaborator Lasse Hoile's eerie artwork, as well as a blu-ray with a 5.1 mix for the audiophiles, and a whole extra disc of demos and out-takes. A concise, well-conceived package that demonstrates Wilson's passion and dedication to the album format and its presentation.

Runner Up: Rufus Wainwright - House of Rufus

BLOGGER'S BEST FRIEND AWARD

Soundcloud

You may not realise, but there's always been a bit of a conundrum for AMR in how to get from the written word to people actually listening to the tunes you scribble about. It used to mean a nasty process of hotlinking to less-than-legitimate sources or worse, piggybacking off other net dweller's bandwith. Sure, a YouTube or Vimeo clip is pretty every now and then, but it's a little clunky in the long run. Then along comes Soundcloud and makes everything easy again. Like all good, free things on the internet - it probably won't stay that way, but for now it's the easiest way for a blogger like me to go 'Hey, how great are Vessels and their brand of atmospheric post-rock?!' and then just do this:

Meatman, Piano Tuner, Prostitute (feat. Stuart Warwick) by Vessels

BIGGEST CLAIM TO AUTHENTICITY

Foo Fighters including a piece of the original analogue tape for Wasting Light

Grohl and Co. decided that the best way to move foward after packing out the largest arenas on the planet was to record their seventh studio album in a garage, on analogue tape. Well, that's mincing words a little, as 'in a garage' really meant in Grohl's home - a cosy mansion in Richmond, Virginia under the auspices of a multi-million producer and a deadline they set. But hey! It's 2011, and most get their music digitally, let alone know that it used to be recorded to a dinky old format like analogue tape. Rock on for realism! and so forth...

Runner Up: Sigur Rós including a piece of material from the outfits they wore on-stage with the purchase of Inni

MOST COLLAGEN

Lana Del Rey

It would be remiss to discuss music in 2011 without mentioning the girl born Elizabeth Grant, particularly as the way things are going she's going to remain a talking point well into 2012. With but two singles to her name, that'll be Video Games and Blue Jeans, Del Rey swiftly became the focal point that stoked internet-wide arguments concerning faux retro-chic, authenticity, female empowerment and - oh yes - the 'natural abilities' of her lips. Whether you think she's the vapid machination of some insiduous power-brokers, or simply a pop star who's playing all the right cards, there's no denying that she's the pin-up-girl girl for the 'real vs fake' debate that continues to rage around popular music. My advice? kick back and enjoy the fireworks, particularly when her debut Born 2 Die drops early next year.

MOST WIDESPREAD NEW MUSICAL TREND

Music videos for every track on your album

It's certainly not the first time it's been done (previously and most notably with Daft Punk's Discovery) but this year proved a vicious return for the 'video accompaniment' pet projcet. TV On The Radio kicked it off with the Nine Types of Light movie, then Bon Iver re-issued his double-epnoymous record on iTunes with verbose visuals. PJ Harvey followed suit, announcing that her critically lauded Let England Shake was getting a 'visual intepretation.' But Björk trumped them all with her Biophilia project that took in a whole iOS app's worth of videos, games and interactive media. A glimpse into the the future of the industry perhaps, or simply a trending gimmick?

THE IN RAINBOWS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FREE MUSIC

The Weeknd - House Of Balloons/Thursday

Internet freebies are just another part of the music landscape, while it continues to alarm the labels and record execs that fret their dirty dollar dwindling, for the rest of us it's a libertarian movement worth celebrating. It doesn't often mark the rise of a visionary new artist quite the way it has for the [sic]-touting moniker of Abel Tesfaye. Casually dropping House of Balloons for gratis back in March, it quickly wormed its away across the internet 'til The Weeknd was a name fêted across the blogosphere. Thursday further capitalised on his momentum, his success cemented by the surprise cameo from fan-turned-collaborator Drake. Combined, their mix of claustrophobic soul and neo-R&B was proof that there's a worthy career in giving away your music for nothing, The Weeknd is another sign of the seachange in the music indsutry - oh, and his mixtapes are still very much yours for the taking.

Runner Up: Stereogum Presents... Stroked: A Tribute to Is This It,

SPIN's Newermind: A Tribute to Nevermind

THE UNLIKELY AWESOME SOLO ALBUM BY A DRUMMER AWARD

Nearly Oratorio - Showers

Simon Lam is the impossibly precise sticksman for the aforementioned Kins, as well as moonlighting for locals The Ocean Party and I'lls', yet he still finds time for a swell side-project in the form of Nearly Oratorio. Rinsing layered vocals with woozy rhythmic backdrops and ambient swells, there's shades of James Blake, Bon Iver, and the long-dormant Magnet. It's shimmering, beautiful stuff and evident of a man whose talent threshold lies beyond the drumstool.

THE 'EVERYBODY HURTS' MONTAGE AWARD

R.E.M.

Say what snide things you like about their seriousness, and launch all the curdled opinions you will about their later albums; there's no denying the fact that R.E.M. were one of the great bands of their time. It would take more justified words than a meagre end-of-year award (or previously on AMR, a full blog tribute) to measure their influence and importance. Know that there will never be another quite like them, a group who invented the very idea of the American indie band, then went on to redefine its borders and meaning as their career wore on. Personally, it's sad to see a band who, above all else valued integrity, should bow out at a time when it is becoming an increasingly rare quality in professional music. That they should depart that same industry with such grace, and a still untarnished musical legacy, is our reward as much as theirs.

Runner Up: Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon split after 27 years of marriage

HARDEST SONG TO ESCAPE

Gotyé - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)

Though it was a tight race, the award has to go to Gotyé's all-consuming, ARIA dominating duet. From the moment that iconic video accidentally leaked (by accident? yeah, sure), it seemed to take only a matter of hours before it came an inescapable pop phenomenon. Even with the spite lying at the heart of its lyric, it was Mr. De Backer's honesty, catchy writing and production splendour that resonated with what seemed to be the entire nation. Sure, there were as many overplayed songs on commercial radio (Moves Like Jagger or Dynamite anyone?), but none deserved the exposure as much as Somebody... You can be sure that bookies all over the country are already dulling the odds that'll it'll top triple j's Hottest 100... speaking of unsurprising winners...

Runner Up: Rebecca Black - Friday, LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem,

MOST INEVITABLE AND UNSURPRISING NEWS STORY

Powderfinger top triple j's Hottest 100 Australian Albums Of All Time poll

The cultivation of their career may have passed from triple j to the commercial likes of Triple M and Nova in its winter years, but when it came time for the popular vote pollers to show their allegiances, Powderfinger reigned supreme. Though it wasn't quite the stir that Angus &Julia Stone's crowning was for January's Hottest 100, there was still those corners of the cultural commentary that mistook Odyssey No. 5's top spot as a coup. A proven track record instead proved it quite inevitable, the Brisbane boys have featured no less than twenty times in the world's biggest music poll, and along with frontman Bernard Fanning, have topped it on four (nearly consecutive) occasions. Whether you love or hate the result, you can't deny it as sheer evidence that the larger majority of our nation are in the fomer camp.

Runner Up: Dubstep pisses everyone off

BEST LYRIC

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

The title track to Fleet Foxes' second album is a thing of remarkable construction: a self-contained narrative that shifts in two parts, a beautiful balance of voice and guitar, their trademark harmonies rising like zephyrs off the basic three chord progression. The masterstroke is the way the song blossoms from its deceptively simple origins, into a fully orchestrated fantasy of owning an orchard and living off the land - the simple pleasures. The words themselves cleverly deal with bandleader Robin Pecknold's own anxieties about doing, and being, the best one can. He's noted that 'the prevailing themes of the album is the struggle between who you are and who you want to be... and how sometimes you are the only thing getting in the way of that." It's all there, the yearning wrung from lines ringing with everyman pathos. 'If I know only one thing, it's that everything that I see/ Of the world outside is so inconceivable often I barely can speak/Yeah I'm tongue-tied and dizzy and I can't keep it to myself/ What good is it to sing helplessness blues, why should I wait for anyone else?'

Runner Up: Kimbra - Two Way Street, Bon Iver - Holocene

WORST LYRIC

"Everyday I'm Shufflin"

You're off the hook Ms. Black. I'm going to re-neg on a key section of my comedy show (that's Al's Music Rant: The Difficult 2nd Album ladies...) and defer humour for cultural cringe. Did you know that LMFAO's wretched Party Rock Anthem was the most downloaded song on iTunes this year? Well, of course you did, because large portions of western culture - the indoctrinated club-goers and curious alike - went and sourced it in droves. In the process they turned what was once a recognisable line from Rick Ross' rap anthem Hustlin' into an idiotic reference to a Melbourne-based dance fad. It's emblamatic of the kind of derivative numbskullery that chart-bothering posers are so capable of. Though the regurgitative memes do some to take the sting off, there's no denying it's now a catch-cry for empty symbolism and artistic bankruptcy alike. Can you smell the vitriol?

Runner-up: The entirety of Rebecca Black's Friday

BROADEST ACCENT

Dananananaykroyd

The euphimistic gong for 'Best Scottish Band' just keeps keeping on (it's a strange history, don't ask...) and this year marks the first time it goes to a posthumous act. The group possessed of a name that every journo must Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V to get right may have called it a day back in September, but the hyperactive six-piece still found time to finish a series of live commitments before calling it quites. They also released the kinectically charged There Is A Way including Think And Feel and Muscle Memory, some of their career-best work. Best remembered in their own final words: "For a band called Dananananaykroyd we've done more than we ever expected or possibly even intended."

JAMES BLUNT TURKEY OF THE YEAR AWARD

[some context: this award is not necessarily for the worst album of the year, but instead to recognise a unique achievement in artistic failure. As it's title suggests, it's doled out to a group or act who may be supremely popular but whose missteps desreve a lashing.]

Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu

Lulu is exactly the kind of album this award was designed for. So terrifically awkward that you constantly wonder if it's an elaborate joke, or really just the sound of two once-great artists disappearing permanently up their own backsides. It's bizarre existence truly beggars belief and almost single-handedly eradicates the memory of Metallica's return-to-form on Death Magnetic, while almost confirming for all but the true diehards that Lou Reed may have well and truly lost it.

You may be in the larger majority of people who have heard more about the album than the music itself, but rest assured, all those narky reviews are scarily accurate (none more so than the JB meme doing the rounds). So here's another similarly depracating take on it: it's like someone stole Lou Reed's xanax, then left him to ramble into a mic while Metallica had one of their sloppiest rehearsals to date. Don't believe the kooks who call it a misunderstood masterpiece, well unless you consider embarassment a virtousic trait.Oh, and it's worth mentioning that there's a whole two disc's worth of hilarious agony to survive. However, I really do reccomend that you get a nice bottle of wine, pop this in the stereo and have a good old cringe/chuckle/vomit/blank stare of disbelief. If nothing else, at least then you can say, when it crops up a few more times in the obscure pages of music history's annals, that you've heard it. It also handily acts as a microcosm for all the bat-shit insane cross-overs that definied 2011 - Jack White and Insane Clown Possé, the bonkers SuperHeavy, Alice Cooper and Ke$ha and Skrillex defiling The Doors to name a few.

I wonder if whoever got their sadistic dream to see Loutallica come to fruition knows what they're going to do with their other two wishes?

Don't act so suprised James, we still hate you.
James Blunt: NOT the greatest artist in the world today.

2011 End of Year Celebrations: The Best (and Worst) Album Art

2011-12-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

As is now AMR annual tradition, we kick off the end-of-year celebrations with a gallery of the year's artwork, which like the music it is accompanying, continues to evolve... or in some cases devolve.

As the industry edges closer and closer to digital distribtuion, the record sleeve is becoming more and more a package, one by which too many use to quickly judge its contents. Unfortunately this has meant an increase in the correlation between indistinct or rushed covers, but what's the point of working so hard on all that great music if you're not going to present in a way that validates it. Good album art should be something you want to look at beyond the confines of your iPod, but in some cases, maybe its best that it remains to reside there...

THE GOOD

Cults - Cults

A deceptively simple photograph that captures the pair of Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion in a state of 'rocking out.' Its classic feel ensured by the grainy black and white, and in capturing a pure energetic state so many music lovers are familiar with, its conveyed kineticism captured in a perfectly frozen moment.

Washed Out - Within and Without

Containing the class and sleek efficiency of a perfume ad, the look of Washed Out's debut cover still manages to capture a moment of intimacy that dovetails with a clean eye for visual design. the three stanza staggering of the band name in particular. It's overbearing clash of ruffled white sheets against perfecty fleshy pink seems to match an equilibrium in a balance of overall cleanliness. It's clinical and romantic all at once.

Mastodon - The Hunter

Despite changing from the regular work of Paul Romano and his kick-ass work for their covers, Mastodon have lost nothing in converting to some new blood. Don't let the precision fool you, this is in fact a sculpture, the product of one AJ Fosick (and here he is crafting it). The psychedelic totem acts as a great visual metaphor for the metal titan's sound: deft construction towards a fearsome totality and surreally engaging in its sheer presence. It only helps that its emphasised by the bold scarlet border and the band's new Viking-friendly logo.

The Weeknd - House of Balloons
Who said free music had to have cheap design? When the blogosphere-sensation Abel Tesfaye needed a singular image for his free internet mixtape-come-debut, he made some smart choices. Evoking the classic vinyl jazz sleeves of the '40s and '50s, but mixed with a thoroughly modern design sensibility. It's got the artist, the album and even the tracklist all there, and a smartly framed image that's arty, slightly erotic and intriguing. A great formula used again for it's colourful follow-up Thursday.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

The eye easily dismisses this watercolour landscape at first, probably because it could also ironically have been the cover of For Emma, Forever Ago (considering the whole log cabin mythos); but upon hearing the album it becomes clear why its such an appropriate vista. The tracklisting and themes have a lot to do with the abstractions of memory, and how they tie to geography. With lush details curtailed by pooled spaces, or even a blank canvas at its edges. A bit like the way we remember things eh? Woah, deep man etc. etc.
(EDIT: turns out it's actually a watercolour, augmented by physical elements, which is what gives it that mysterious quality. It's hard to explain so just watch this...)

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead

Band member Conrad Keely has supplied the sleeves of his group's records with impossibly detailed art - usually created with ballpoint pen - and this may well be his nerdiest, most progtastic and wonderfully eccentric yet. In actual fact, it depicts the cast of Keely's accompanying graphic novel; which probably only serve to add fule to the detractors' fire. You can't fault the man's imagination, obsessive sci-fi comic fascination and all...

Rainbow Arabia - Boys and Diamonds

Though the musical contents of the husband-and-wife duo isn't as celebratory or eclectic, it's presented in a lovely little piece of papercraft. The minimal font and heihrarchy given to the artist and album titles mean that the image gains full dominance, a fitting centrepiece and a lovingly pieced moment of celebration.

Com Truise - Galactic Melt

Another image that acts as a clever metaphor for its artist's soundworld. It must have been tempting to go with an image that plays up that spoonerism-tastic name, but instead we get a loving - though not overly garish - nod to eighties graphic design. A muted orange of organised lines literally melts over some geometric shapes, in much the same way the electronic shapes and textures swell and morph across their palette of samples and loops. Props for the Battlestar Galactica-inspired font too.

Dads - Man of Leisure

The side-project for Big Scary's Tom Iansek takes the risk of the visual pun and comes out a winner. The placement of elements is clean and simple, with a bold effective logo at top which juxaposes wit the stylish centre lettering; which in turn highlights the humour of that central image. This man does not care, and it's cool. In an alternate world, where The Big Lebowski's The Dude is a real person, he's tearing his hair out because the image for his solo album has already been done to perfection.

Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I

This is just a terrific illustration. Vibrant colours and great character design meet, while managing to tell a story. It could be the cover of a gothic children's book, as it stands, it's a compelling sight to behold while listening to the dusty, epic yawn of Earth's imaginary soundtrack.

Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting

Sometimes, you just can't beat a striking image, devoid of labelling or image manipulation. Despite our brain telling us how the look was achieved - a girl underwater - it is still open to a number of interpretations. Is she falling? crashing, even? resting? At peace or unease? How did she get there? Where is she? An image that engages thought even as it logically gives you all the answers you need.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

What seems a decidedly alien construct is in actual fact a real building, one of many bizarre war memorials turned historical husks now littering Yugoslavia known as 'Spomenik' (have a read here, it's fascinating stuff). That might tarnish the magic a little, but it's no less a brilliant choice for album art, it's a surprise it hasn't been done until now.

THE BAD

Boy & Bear - Moonfire

Why cater to the cool nature of that title when you can settle for a stock nature phot that screams 'I use my instamatic iPhone app to disguise my photography skills.' Bland, bland, bland.

The Answer - Revival

When photographers double-book their shampoo commercial commitments with their rubbishy American rock cover direction... they improvise.

Mediaeval Baebes - Illumination

Mediaeval Baebes (sic) don't need your chivalry! They have their own brand of ridiculously photo-shopped, over-costumed, tart-like sense of male fantasy to cosy them up at night! So what if they lost all sense of feminitiy and integrity on the way to the Playboy mansion's renaissance fair!

Johnny Hallyday - Jamais Seul

No, I don't know who Johnny Hallyday is, but I can only assume he's a coked-up grandpa reverse-engineered from the lovechild of Johnny Depp and Robert Downy Jr., conceived during their own 'lost weekend.' You go J.H.

Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist

"Hey, have you heard the new Jane's Addiction record?"

"They have a new album out!? I didn't even know"

"Sure they do, it's the one with the plasticine freak studying in his room on the front"

"...that's a shame, I guess I won't be listening to the new Jane's Addiction record then"

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

You know what? If this was really Gaga's freakish existence, I'd do her and everyone a favour and drive her at like 500km an hour down the dustiest desert highway I could find, then skid her into a gas station, leap to safety from her scrawny metal frame as she literally screeched into oblivion; then pull out my shades upon the bask of the imminent fireball explosion - turn to the camera and dryly quip, "well... she was born that way."

Owl City - All Things Bright And Beautiful

It's as if Adam Young, Mr. Owl City himself, was petrified that greater white America wouldn't get the memo that he was a clean-cut Christian act. So he telegraphed the message loud and clear by naming his new album after a hymn and emblazoning it with a picture of a meadow... because that's what Jesus would have wanted.

William Shatner - Seeking Major Tom

Thank you so much Mr. Shatner and your crack team of 'designer' (that's one) for your silly, silly new album sleeve. Surely even Bowie himself is surely chuckling too hard to notice that that you've cribbed his song's character.

Chris Brown - F.A.M.E.

Never mind the busy, offensively bothced spraypaint and graffiti montage; what exactly are you abbreviating there Chris? You know it should mean something? You can't just put full-stops between the letters of fame because it looks cool, right? I'll resist the temptation of pointing out that it could spell Fists And My Ex and we'll move on...

The Limousines - Get Sharp

It doesn't matter how much effortless chic you put into the design of this cover, or how beautiful the model is modelling the spit bubble. You know why? Cause it's still a disgusting close-up of a spit bubble!

LMFAO - Sorry For Party Rocking

...apology not accepted.

NSFW IMAGES AHEAD

Steel Panther - Balls of Steel

Ok, we see what you did there. Though I'll give you points for inventiveness with the faded price tag sticker that's rubbing off, everything else is just beating the 80s hair metal irony point home with a Thor-sized hammer. At least even the blindest of your followers could spot one of your works a mile off.

No Emotion - Shit Is Bad... But Diarrhea Is Worse

A terrifying glimpse into a future where all obvious medical advice is communicated through poorly executed, puerile albums like this one.

Arrington de Dionyso - Slow Dancin' Under The Moonlight

No, just no. There was obviously a serious communication breakdown somewhere here, how else do we end up with this monstrosity? A self-harming angel mopes and masturbates while watching public sex, as committed through the random scribblings of a sadistic four-year-old.

2011's Out. For. Ever!

2011-12-06T23:49:00.000-08:00

So, we're about to get into the craziness that is the AMR end-of-year festivities, but before we do, I'd like to show you all a comprehensive list of all the EPs and albums I've listened to (in full) over the past twelve months. As in previous years its desinged both as a digtal reminder and database for myself, on top of that it should also act as both an an indulgent way to show off my credentials; as well as give you some insight into the sheer volume of proper listening that goes into the forthcoming awards, thoughts and musings.
In retrospect going through this list, it makes me realise how much I HAVEN'T covered, for instance there are no physical reviews to show for some of my favourite acts such as Big Scary, Wilco or my beloved Steven Wilson. I could say in my defense I was too busy listening to them (entirely true), but the realisation is that the limitations of a blog one by just one person means you can't cover absolutley everything (particularly when that person is working a forty-hour a week full-time job that has nothing to do with music).
There's also links to previous posts, reviews and articles that are related to these recordings before they're divvied up for humourous ceremony (The Good, The Bad & The James Blunt) and then finally into a definitive Top 20 Albums of the Year ('cause that's how we do things round here). So *deep breath*...

EPS

Alex Turner - Submarine

Brous - Brous

Childish Gambino - EP

Cynic - Carbon-Based Anatomy

Emperors - Sam

Further Earth - Kingdom

Gayngs/Doomtree - Affilyated

Ghoul - Dunks

Guineafowl - Hello Anxiety

The Hidden Venture - Baldessin Sessions II

Hudson Mohawke - Satin Panthers

[Me] - Naked

RAC - Vol. 2

Okkervil River - Golden Opportunities 2

Oliver Tank - Dreams

Olympic Ayres - EP

San Cisco - Golden Revolver

Sekap Sempurna - Sekap Sempurna
Snakadaktal - Snakadaktal

Tessa and the Typecast - Lemons

Tokimonsta - Creature Dreams

Xenograft - Exit

ALBUMS

Active Child - You Are All I See

Akron/Family - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinjuku TNT

Amiina - Puzzle

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - The Tao Of The Dead

The Antlers - Burst Apart

Arms - Summer Skills

Arperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory - Portal 2: Songs To Test By

Architecture In Helsinki - Moment Bends

Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See

Austra - Feel It Break

Ball Park Music - Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs

Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Comittee Part Two

Biffy Clyro - Revolutions // Live At Wembley

Big Scary - Vacation

Big Talk - Big Talk

Björk - Biophilia

The Black Keys - El Camino

Blackfield - Welcome To My DNA

Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves

Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still

Boy & Bear - Moonfire

Bright Eyes - The People's Key

British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall

Camille - Ilo Veyou
Cant - Dreams Come True

Childish Gambino - Camp

Cold War Kids - Mine Is Yours

Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

Com Truise - Galactic Melt
Cults - Cults

Crystal Fighters - Star Of Love

Dads - Man Of Leisure

Dananananaykroyd - There Is A Way

Death Cab For Cutie - Codes And Keys

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

Delicate Steve - Wondervisions

Demdike Stare - Triptych

Destroyer - Kaputt

The Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction

The Devin Townsend Project - Ghost

Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!

EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints

Erland & The Carnival - Nightingale

Esben and the Witch - Violet Cries

Fatty Gets A Stylist - Fatty Gets A Stylist

Faux Pas - Lostworks

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Floating Me - Floating Me

Florence and the Machine - Ceremonials

Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia Ultra

Friendly Fires - Pala

Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules

Gil-Scott-Heron & Jamie XX - We're New Here

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost!

Gotye - Making Mirrors

Grouper - AIA: Alien Observer/Dream Loss

Grouplove - Never Trust A Happy Song

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

Halloween, Alaska - All Night The Calls Came In

Holy Ghost - Holy Ghost!

Incarnations - With All Due Respect

Incubus - If Not Now, When?

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders - Hurtsville

James Blake - James Blake

Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting

Jason Graves - Dead Space 2 Original Soundtrack

Jenny Hval - Viscera

The Jezabels - Prisoner

Jill Scott - The Light of The Sun

Jolie Holland - Pint of Blood

Jolly - Audio Guide To Happiness Part 1

The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place

Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow

Kimbra - Vows

Kins - Dancing Back And Forth, Covered In Whipped Cream

Kuedo - Severant

Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know

Laura Veirs - Tumble Bee

Lou Reed and Metallica - Lulu
Lyle Workman - Win Win:

Lunatic Soul - Impressions

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Malajube - La Caverne

Mastodon - Live At The Aragon

Mastodon - The Hunter

Megafaun - Megafaun

Memories of Machines - Warm Winter

Memory Tapes - Player Piano

Metronomy - The English Riviera
Mister Heavenly - Out of Love

My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind

My Morning Jacket - Circuital

No Joy - Ghost Blonde

Noah & The Whale - Last Night On Earth

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Okkervil River - I Am Very Far

Opeth - Heritage

Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia

Pearl Jam - Live On Ten Legs

Phideaux - Snowtorch

The Psychic Paramount - II

R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now

Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Rainbow Arabia - Boys and Diamonds

Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'

Real Estate - Days

Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Richard In Your Mind - Sun
Rival Schools - Pedals

Robotanists - Robotanists does Radiohead's The King of Limbs [in 24 hours]

Russian Circles - Empros

Rustie - Glass Swords

Salyu - s(o)un(d)beams

Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

Sigur Rós - Inni

Sleepmakeswaves - ...And So We Destroyed Everything

Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde

Snowman - Δbsence

Solkyri - No House

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

Step-Panther - Step-Panther

Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning

The Strokes - Angles

TesseracT - One

Theophilus London - Timez Are Weird These Dayz

Thomas Giles - Pulse

Thrice - Major/Minor

Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972

Tom Vek - Leisure Seizure

Toro Y Moi - Under The Pine

tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L

TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light

The Trouble With Templeton - Bleeders

They Might Be Giants - Join Us

Tyler The Creator - Goblin

U.S. Royalty - Mirrors

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Vessels - Helioscope

Washed Out - Within And Without

We Are The Ocean - Now Go And Live
The Weeknd - House of Balloons

The Weeknd - Thursday

A Winged Victory For The Sullen - A Winged Victory For The Sullen

Wilco - The Whole Love

Wild Beasts - Smother

WIN WIN - WIN WIN

Wye Oak - Civilian

Yeo - Bag-O-Items

Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting

Young The Giant - Young The Giant

Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

Review: TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light

2011-12-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

Another review from triple j magazine, this time the lead review on TVOTR's fourth LP

TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light (Interscope)

Has it really been three years since the all-conquering urgency of DearScience? Its contents championed by the blogosphere, beloved by purveyors of intelligent music and in turn built substantial anticipation for its follow-up. During that down-time, side-projects emerged to sate the faithful that – although serviceable – couldn’t hide what they were: fragmented parts of a greater whole. In particular, multi-intstrumentalist/production linchpin Dave Sitek’s Maximum Balloon, which sounded like TVOTR only with a turnstile of guest vocalists.

It’s with relief and open arms then, that after Tunde Adebimpe’s leisurely half-spoken opening on Second Song, that the Brooklynites instinctively click into a spirited pulse encouraged by Kyp Malone’s wiry guitars and some dishy horns.

Keep Your Heart and You follow, each a deft blend of touching romantic sentiment and partisan groove. Lines like “you’re the only one I ever loved” might suggest the band have gone soft, cozying up to the tenderness always inherent in their skilful drama but underplayed. But then along comes the electric command on No Future Shock to rush the apocalyptic dance floor “do the no future/shock, don’t stop.”

While these horn-abetted art-funk jams are immense fun, it’s the kind of thing the group could knock out in their sleep. More impressive is the album centrepiece Killer Crane. Using orchestral washes, the lightest of metronomic guitars (is that banjo?) to form a slow-building grace. Meanwhile, the record’s back-end contains searing highlights, among them the grimy New CannonballBlues, the bubbling attack of Repetition, and finishing with the insistent stomp of Caffeinated Consciousness.

If there is criticism to be levelled at Nine Types of Light, it’s that it doesn’t stray far from the musical blueprint of its predecessor; Dear Science Pt II if you will. It matters little, TV On The Radio once again sound like leaders, innovators. Their inspirations nigh-invisible, yet their own influence: impossible to ignore.

TV On The Radio - "Will Do" by Interscope Records
TV On The Radio - Caffeinated Consciousness by ronnierocket

Album review dump

2011-12-06T14:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a lil' collection of some of the short 'n' sweets that graced the reviews pages of triple j magazine over the course of the year, have a nibble.

Richard In Your Mind - Sun (Rice Is Nice)

Following swiftly on from the acid-washed playground of last year's My Volcano, our nation’s very own underground Flaming Lips (is that an oxymoron?) deliver their third set of kaleidoscopic pop. Sounding less daring, but more confident, Sun delivers a set of hazy tunes threaded with a borderline-obsession with the titular gas giant. Cuts like Mountainhead, lead single Vision and the ironically cheery She Took The Sun Away trade their sample-based brand of organised chaos for mellower moods without sacrificing the psychedelic pop saturation that defines their appeal.

Richard In Your Mind - Vision by FBi Radio

The Get-Up Kids - There Are Rules (Other Tongues)

There Are Rules is not a bad album, it’s just not the reunion album that Get-Up Kids fans were dying to hear after the influential emo-popsters called it a day in 2005. Despite the recognisable yelps of vocalist Mat Pryor and the vague traces of their earlier urgency in the likes of Automatic and Birmingham; the electronically dense buzz and distorted bass that colour the record are the work of an entirely new breed of band.

Automatic by The Get Up Kids

The Antlers - Burst Apart (Inertia)

Ignore that explosive title, the group that birthed the emotionally wrought Hospice seem to be pulling their cathartic punches. For all intents and purposes, this is 'the difficult second album.' The spooked EveryNight My Teeth Are Falling Out nearly peaks, but others - like Tiptoe - are content instead to simply meander in a shimmering haze. They once possessed, despite the po-faced semantics, an emotional point; but now their affecting edge is blunted. The Antlers still have their place in the world, but it’s no longer in hushed, revered tones.

The Antlers - Parentheses by Frenchkiss

Mister Heavenly - Out of Love (Sub Pop/Inertia)

Another supergroup emerges to ease the six degrees of seperation.

“Geez, can’t three guys just play together without someone mentioning the term supergroup?”
“No,” is the short answer, and if you wanted to be inconspicuous - you wouldn’t hire Michael Cera as your touring bassist.

With a line-up sourced from such indie linchpins as Man Man, Islands and Modest Mouse; Mister Heavenly deliver natty pop that contains DNA traces of its collective members’ respective day jobs. Centred around a love of fifties doo-wop and kooky urgency, Out Of Love is a pleasant, worthwhile diversion, but a diversion all the same.
Mister Heavenly - Bronx Sniper by christhenlee

Review: The Trouble With Templeton - Bleeders

2011-12-05T01:15:00.000-08:00

The Trouble With Templeton - Bleeders (Tiny Monster)

It seems that musical prodigies are almost de rigueur in the Australian music landscape these days, thanks to the spotlighting of the likes of triple j Unearthed and their focus on young, unsigned talent –there’s a fair few musical kids out there whose talent outstrips their years.

That being said, how many can you name who, at the ripe age of twenty one, are delivering chilling troubadour ruminations worthy of the UK’s rich folk heritage? Enter one Thomas Calder, operating under the Twilight Zone name-checking The Trouble With Templeton. Despite hailing from the typically sunny Brisbane, his sincere grain and earnest guitar-plucking are closer to a chilly English sensibility of moody folk.

In fact, if someone had told me that The Trouble With Templeton’s Bleeders was actually a lost album from the nineties boom of UK singer-songwriters - I’d have had no trouble believing it. In fact, tell someone it’s the new record from the lesser-known (but brilliant) Tom McRae, and they wouldn’t even blink. It’s mature sound traces a line straight back to England’s criminally underrated singer-songwriters the likes of Ed Harcourt, Stephen Fretwell or – at a stretch – Damien Rice.

Even if these names are drawing a blank, there’s plenty more to TTWT (cool anagram bro) than a re-enacted musical history lesson. It’s writ large in the record’s title track and lead single: a spine-chilling melodrama that perfectly spearheads Calder’s ambition and thrilling voice. Replete with asuitably macabre video filled with gothic affectations. For better or worse, it easily remains the record’s watershed moment. Though the remainder of his debut matches the song’s mood, namely hushed melancholy that surges into a barely-contained brooding intensity, it fails to match its epic scope.

Luckily, Calder’s sharp lyricism and wealth of ideas carry the songs when their stripped-back or thin production occasionally falter them. I Wrote A Novel squeezes vocal breathing for a rhythm track alongside writerly couplets , “I wrote a novel about it/grammatically it’s full of holes. My speciality has never been/knowing where them commas go.” Someday Soon follows with a mournful gospel procession underpinning the ravaged soulful croon and simple guitar strides. 30 Something even manages to entertain some doo-wop with some twee results (and cheeky lyrics: “I’m happy, feeling crappy/with what I don’t do/how about you?).

Finishing with the bruised Tired, the impacting mood is often melancholic - comfortable in its vulnerability - but ultimately cathartic and brimming with potential. If The Trouble With Templeton is the impressive stockpile of Calder’s ideas, then Bleeders is the often impressive, occasionally brilliant debut attempt at executing them. If he can produce this kind of world-weary acoustic revelry in his youth, it’ll be fascinating to see where the bruised experience of time (or some broken hearts) will take him creatively. Definitely one to watch.

<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://thetroublewithtempleton.com/album/bleeders"&amp;gt;Bleeders by The Trouble With Templeton&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>

Review: They Might Be Giants - Join Us

2011-12-05T01:05:00.000-08:00

They Might Be Giants - Join Us (Idlewild)

They Might Be Giants, or TMBG to their friends, are perhaps pop music’s most well-known cult act. They’ve been running unimpeded for three decades now, under no-one’s creative demands but their own, producing an overwhelmingly prolific body of work in the process. A prodigious history that includes fifteen(!) studio records, at least three children’s albums, and one very catchy TV theme tune (Malcolm In The Middle trivia fans); and yet, as treasured as they are to their fans they equally are an alternative musical cornerstone that many remain blissfully unaware of.

Join Us, the group’s first ‘serious’ album since 2007’s The Else, makes no concessions to the uninitiated. It’s a product clearly tilted towards the converted, adding another eighteen tracks to the group’s already heaving back-catalogue, but at its heart it may well be the band’s most all-encompassing and accessible set since the turn of the decade.

The core creative bureaucracy of TMBG, Johns Flansburgh and Linnell, have revived the economic simplicity of their singular style. Specifically, brilliantly arranged and crafted pieces disguised as kooky, inventive three-minute pop songs. Something the pair churned out regularly in their nineties hey-day, and is not a craft they’ve ever really neglected, but Join Us finds them back to their most delightfully succinct. There’s not a second wasted in the record’s 47 minute running time, and only one track strays from the sub-three minute dogma.

This sheer efficiency is camouflaged however, by the pure fun and celebrated weirdness of their strange subject matter. Where else but in their playful musical world will you hear jubilant wordplay about stating the obvious (You Probably Get That A Lot), to verses sung from the perspective of a raindrop (Cloissoné), or voiced film noir script annotations (Protagonist).

It would all seem wilfully quirky if it wasn’t for the robust musical vehicle that drives it all. Influenced by the twin poles of their American power-pop forebears (Big Star, Supertramp), as well as the genre-shifting English masters (The Beatles, Bowie). Chiefly, the influence of their beloved New Wave eccentrics XTC, whose way with pairing humour and pathos has been passed down to TMBG through a sort of musical genetic heritage.

Essentially, it’s a love of melody, craft and arrangement paired with a zeal for classic instrumentation. It’s all there in the likes of Let Your Hair Hang Down and When You Will Die, as they swirl around ‘the Two Johns’ cascading harmonies accompanied by choppy, upbeat guitar in the former and spritely brass and a band roll-call in the latter. Elsewhere, TheLady and the Tiger begins with a red herring lazy rap before featuring a round of nasty brass that’ll stick in your head for days on end. Meanwhile, Dog Walker balances their way with experimentation and parody with auto-tuned vocals, broken beats and lines like ‘showdown at the battery farm.’ Then the final track, You Don't Like Me, has the audacity to take a list of 'likes' as its lyrics, “you like shadow puppets/Woody Harrelson/reading in the bath/ Nirvana and baseball caps,” finishing the record in a shimmy of stylistic panache.

The results will do little to sway those already immune (or ignorant) to their idiosyncratic charm, but for those already won over, Join Us is a brilliant reminder of their unique appeal.

They Might Be Giants - Can't Keep Johnny Down by musichype

Review: Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

2011-12-05T00:19:00.000-08:00

Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation (Fat Possum)

If you’re looking for a simple way to grade your enjoyment of Youth Lagoon, it’s in direct correlation to how much you flinch at the label ‘dream pop.’ Nothing? Ok, how about ‘chillwave?’

Make no mistake, a glance at the musical heritage of Trevor Powers – the man behind the moniker – reads no differently from the recent swathe of lone Americans producing warm pop from the lo-fi confines of their bedrooms. Not such a surprise, the clue’s in the title. But even for those who struggle to distinguish Washed Out from Active Child, The Year Of Hibernation represents an accessible entry point to a genre filled with intimate rewards.

That seems like a bizarre recommendation, but Powers uses genre broadstrokes – nostalgic lyrical territory, swooning melodies, hazy production and vocals that are as naive as they are distantly fuzzy – to great effect. At its best – namely the soft ebb of Cannons or the blossoming warble of Daydream (of course there's a track called Daydream...) – it uses contrast to great effect. Rhythms punch through with distinction against a cloud of keyboard splotches, while guitars ring out as if played in the next room. It leans – perhaps too heavily – on a structural tendency to swell into enveloping, wordless choruses, but intimacy is the goal here. If the sonic equivalent of a warm, fuzzy blanket sounds appealing, then there are few artists better to rug up with.

Youth Lagoon - 'The Year of Hibernation' by SpunkRecords