Season’s Greetings music lovers – The Turkey is barely turning into turkey sandwiches and we’re all ready to go again for another holiday season. What can we say we love it, all the twinkling lights, holiday feasts, and of course our favorite holiday songs by our favorite non-holiday indie rock power(not-really-a)couple. “She & Him”.
You don’t have to act all tough – you know you’ve got a holiday album or three on your iPods. Time to update your selection!
PS. Entertainment Weekly Raves “Deschanel’s unfussy voice puts a charming spin on yuletide chestnuts ”Blue Christmas” and ”Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” And their take on the Beach Boys’ ”Christmas Day,” with its gingerbread-spicy surf licks, is sweet enough to cure an eggnog hangover. ” So there’s that too.
Check out these new releases in our Headbanger Listening Station!
Revocation – Chaos of Forms
Exploding out of Boston, these thrashing tech-death masters have unleashed their third album (and second on Relapse) to the masses. Strewn with references to some of the gods in the pantheon of metal-dom, I have no doubt that this will be on many year-end best of lists. If you’ve got eyes, keep them fixed on these guys.
STAFF RECOMMENDED
Check this out if you like Slayer, Necrophagist, and Evile
Architects – The Here and Now
With three albums under their belt, Architects have now come around with a fairly different sound. The Here and Now sees the use of less technical aspects and a bit of a push towards a more post-hardcore, poppy sound. They’re still searching for their exact niche, but it should only be a matter of time until they’ve found it.
Check this out if you like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Bring Me the Horizon, and A Day to Remember
Arch Enemy – Khaos Legions
For over ten years now, Arch Enemy have been able to lay claim to arguably the most infamous female vocalist in metal. Fortunately, Angela Gossow’s pipes have been showing no signs of letting up and she still sounds as horrifying as she did way back on Wages of Sin. The rest of the band has also shown great resolve, with Khaos Legions being one of their best releases in years.
Check this out if you like In Flames, Dark Tranquility, and At the Gates
Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction
Devin Townsend is most famous for Strapping Young Lad, but said band was dissolved way back in ’06. Since, he’s embarked on many endeavors. Deconstruction is the last in a four-album series which began with 2009′s Ki. There’s lots of craziness, with influences ranging from black metal to industrial metal and even a little carnival waltz in one song.
Check this out if you like Fear Factory, Dimmu Borgir, and Dream Theater
STAFF RECOMMENDED
Origin – Entity
In the tech-death world, Origin are certainly a household name. Coming off the heels of their acclaimed 2008 release Antithesis, we are now getting Entity, yet another excellent album. Keep in mind, though, that this is not light stuff. If you like your lyrics discernible, time signatures straightforward, and guitars in standard tuning, this isn’t for you.
Check this out if you like Necrophagist, Brain Drill, and Decrepit Birth
Turbid North – Orogeny
Alaska never exactly been a haven for metal bands. However, Turbid North, a fresh band out of the tiny city of North Pole, could be spearheading something. With a sound somewhere in between groove thrash, and proggy NWOAHM bands, expect to see these young eskimos gain some ground in the wake of their sophomore release.
Check this out if you like DevilDriver, Evile, and Slayer
Check out these new releases in our Headbanger listening station!
Tombs – Path of Totality
Third album from these Brooklyn-based behemoths. They wield a deftly constructed combination of black-, sludge-, and post-metal and come across tighter than on any other release with this effort. Expect Path of Totality to breathe a little cold air into our lives when it gets hot this Summer.
Check this out if you like Isis, Kylesa, and Immortal
STAFF RECOMMENDED
Portrait – Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae
Recently, with bands like White Wizzard, Ghost, and Cauldron, the metal sound of the ’80s has seen an incredibly renaissance. Portrait, a Swedish quintet, are one of those carrying the torch in this movement. On Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae, a sophomore release, they prove themselves able to walk among the godfathers of metal.
Check this out if you like Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden
Scar Symmetry – The Unseen Empire
With several years and four previous albums under their belt, it finally seems like Scar Symmetry are coming unto their own. The Unseen Empire, their fifth release, contains everything you’d expect from the band at this point: down-tuned, Meshuggah-esque guitars, contrasting clean and growled vocals, and the occasional synthesized texture. Don’t expect any surprises, but if you like what the band’s done in the past, you should be satisfied.
Check this out if you like In Flames, Meshuggah, and At the Gates
So you’ve all probably downloaded it by now – but i’m sure like us you’re wondering “Hey! When can i get my hands on a physical copy!?” Well… on April 4th, we’re gonna have both Vinyl and CD copies available. And if you pre-order now, you can save a few bucks. That’s pretty cool.
Here’s what the Telegraph had to say about the Album, which has received pretty much positive reviews across the board:
As the title somehow suggests, The King of Limbs has a percussive undertow, constructed on nervous, skittery rhythms that draw on North African and jazz sources, chopped and skewed by computer-era cut and paste sensibilities. For all their movement and agitation, the rhythm tracks are tip toe light, Phil Selway’s microbeats laterally tied to Colin Greenwood’s strolling, silvery, spacious basslines, the bottom end vibrating with sub sonic shudders. On top, Thom Yorke’s vocals float with sweet tunefulness.
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or Pre-order: $7.99
or Pre-order: $12.99
(Because we’re a little soft on content this week, I’m going to wedge this in.) Steve Coogan is one of my favorite comedians thanks to shows like “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “I’m Alan Partridge” and “Saxondale.” I recently invested in The Steve Coogan Collection, a thirteen-dvd (but not entirely comprehensive) box set of Coogan’s television work. About half the material was unfamiliar to me, including The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon, a highlight in the set.
The show is basically a variety show spoof featuring a one-off Coogan creation, Tony Ferrino, a former Eurovision winner from Portugal. Like all Coogan’s best work, the comedy comes from how well-realized and nuanced the character is. Ferrino is conceited and insecure. The program is a self-aggrandizing tour of the man and his music. Each song is a wonderful approximation of vacuous pop-music.
Why would this be of any interest to you, dear reader? Well, I’m not sure that it would be, but in doing a little research, I happened upon a charity performance that pairs Ferrino with Bjork. We all love Bjork, right? Check it out:
We’ve had plenty of people weigh in on the best music of the past year, reinforcing my conviction that 2009 was a superlative year for aural fetishists. However, let us not forget the dross, for there has also been a whole lot of crap. In recognizing some of the worst these past twelve months have had to offer, be grateful you have discriminating tastes. Some people eat this shit up.
Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot
The debut from this “supergroup” is the sonic equivalent of Roger Moore’s performance in View to a Kill, in which a 57-year-old Moore phones in an awkward farewell performance as James Bond, a role he should have given up fifteen years prior. Sammy Hagar (Van Halen), Marc Anthony (Van Halen), Joe Statriani and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) are clearly trying to carry the Led Zepplin mantle but simply come off as a terrible bar band. Even if you love Joe Satriani and Hagar-era Van Halen, this album has nothing to offer you but incompetent riffs and the death-rattle like rasps of a man who used to be able to carry a tune.
Asher Roth – Asleep in the Bread Aisle
With any other album on this list, if you were to say to me, “Herb. I know it’s not your thing, but I like it,” I’d let you have it. Lord knows I listen to plenty of stuff that other people despise. The exception is this musical abomination by Asher Roth, who’s break out single “I Love College” is lazy, derivative and repugnant. The kind of lifestyle Roth celebrates with his music is characterized by merry ignorance, lecherous sexuality and milquetoast wit. Roth is the embodiment of the worst qualities of mainstream music and the manufactured personalities it produces.
Owl City – Ocean Eyes
Tacky. Saccharine. Overly-sentimental. Garbage. Ocean Eyes is a Postal Service record filtered through a Family Circus cartoon. Every song is a polished-to-nothing and empty-headed epic-ballad that makes Captain & Tennille sound like Black Sabbath. I feel a little bad writing this, because I believe Adam Young, who is Owl City’s sole member, is a sincere songwriter. Unfortunately, he gives me a severe allergic reaction.
Various Artists – The Michael Jackson Remix Suite
The crass commercial exploitation that follows a celebrity’s death is as likely as the wetness that follows rain, but as often and inevitably as the macabre exercise occurs, it never loses its capacity to disgust. There were a number of releases in the wake of Michael Jackson’s death that exemplified this, but none more so than The Michael Jackson Remix Suite, a collection of profoundly boring remixes of Jackson’s hits that have sapped the originals of their vitality and charm. If the goal of this album was to reflect via Jackson’s songs what Jackson did to himself, mission accomplished. Like the former King of Pop, these songs are grotesque, unnatural caricatures that have been sedated to death.
Ten years ago I was enrolled at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. It doesn’t feel like a long time ago, but looking over my haphazardly-compiled best-of-the-decade list, I’m forced to consider the range and scope of the experiences that I will forever associate with these fantastic albums. It’s been a hell of a decade.
Apparently 2003 was a particularly great year in music for me. It occupies about half this list. Also, the second half of the decade only provided me with two albums. Is that a consequence of my growing cynicism? I’d like to think it’s simply a matter of these albums not having had a chance to resonate as deeply as something like Pig Lib, which was a daily source of comfort and inspiration during a tough time.
If I were to reconsider this tomorrow, I think about half the list would stay the same. Contrary to what some might say (Casey Rea, I’m looking at you), the aughts have been a fertile decade for music. (At least the first half. The second, I think, may belong to television, but I digress.)
My favorite album’s of the decade:
Deltron 3030 – s/t (2000) – The best thing Dan The Automater, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien or Kid Koala have ever done is this early-millennium masterpiece. The production is staggering and Del is in fine-form. This is a genre-transcending hip-hop record.
Super Furry Animals - Mwng (2000) – I was pleased to see Casey The Contrarian include Rings Around The World on his list, but I’m going to have to side with its predecessor, Mwng. With their former label bankrupt, the band had a lot to prove. Rather than play it safe, SFA released an all-Welsh home-brewed triumph. They put it out on their own and managed to parlay its acclaim into a deal with a new label.
Daft Punk – Discovery (2001) – Possibly my favorite album on this list, Discovery raised the bar. Infectious, upbeat, moving and witty, there’s not really anything that compares. It towers over the rest of the band’s catalog as well as the rest of the French House scene.
Steve Malkmus – Pig Lib (2003) – With his solo debut, Malkmus demonstrated that he’d be just fine without Pavement. With Pig Lib, he almost made you forget about his former band. Everything about this record is seeped in excellence.
Norah Jones – The Fall
Still friendly and folksy, Norah Jones [ tickets ] has made another good album, her first venture toward an electric pop-rock record. It is also her breakup tome, with 10 of the 13 songs solidly addressing the final stages of a romance, the dripping confusion of a break-up’s aftermath and the predicaments that come with re-entry into single life.
The reflections on “The Fall” come from her real-life breakup with longtime bassist and romantic partner Lee Alexander, and for the first time in her four-album career, her first-person voice dominates. Jones’ songwriting is full of questions and remorse, her head spinning from ruminations about the next chapter. Alternately, she’s ruined, lonely, needy and, on “Man of the Hour,” finding solace in her pet dog, the theme of the album’s artwork. (Read the Full Review)
Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
Ladies and gentlemen, Them Crooked Vultures — the second-best band John Paul Jones has ever been in! The Led Zeppelin guys never made much of a splash in the supergroup scene, unless you’re the kind of die-hard fan who still busts out those old records by the Honeydrippers or the Firm. But when John Paul Jones got the hard-rock supersession itch, he didn’t mess around. For Them Crooked Vultures, he hooks up with Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), two of Zep’s smartest disciples. If these three 800-pound gorillas want to bash out an album as willfully weird and slapdash as Them Crooked Vultures, who can tell them not to? And if they do a song called “Elephants” where they basically crunch every riff on Led Zeppelin II into seven dizzy minutes, why not? (Read The Full Review)
John Mayer – Battle Studies
As Pat Benatar once said, love is a battlefield. That’s the main point John Mayer wants to convey on his fourth studio album. It’s called Battle Studies, and militaristic song titles expand on the theme: “Heartbreak Warfare,” “War of My Life,” “Assassin.” That last one is the set’s most ambitious track — an obsessive groove building louder toward clatter and buzz for five minutes, insulated by Middle Eastern background wails as Mayer likens both parties in an apparent one-night stand to killers performing a night’s mission. But the album’s tone is already set in the first two numbers, both prominently featuring broken hearts; by the third – a duet with Taylor Swift, who enters only briefly, toward the song’s end – his heart has been split in half. (Read The Full Review)
David Rawlings Machine – A Friend of a Friend
For more than 12 years, the Nashville-based musician has toured, written and recorded with Gillian Welch, exploring the well-worn byways of country, bluegrass and stringband music while making the old-timey sound new. As a hired gun, he’s played sideman to artists following in Welch’s wake or creating their own: Sara Watkins, Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, Guy Clark, Mark Knopfler and Jay Farrar, among others. So his debut as Dave Rawlings Machine is either a case of him stepping up, or everyone else stepping back. Welch herself appears on almost all of these songs, either singing harmony or playing guitar, as do several other musician friends. But Rawlings takes the lead on every track, as a singer and picker.
For nine songs over 40 minutes, Rawlings proves fascinating company — a good man to share a front porch with. As a performer, he makes good use of his distinct, reedy tenor (imagine a twangier Loudon Wainwright). And he has a spry, jumpy guitar style that lends his arrangements some bounce. As a producer, he keeps things loose and lively, mixing covers with originals. A Friend of a Friend plays like a rough, intimate live album instead of a polished studio affair. (Read the Full Review)
LCD Soundsystem – Bye Bye Bayou (12″ Single)
Like a strong, expertly crafted cocktail downed right before what is sure to be one hell of a dinner (new album, hint hint!), LCD Soundsystem’s single “Bye Bye Bayou” (an Alan Vega cover recorded for November’s Record Store Day spinoff Vinyl Saturday) is a slippery buzz-opener that sneaks up on you in the weirdest of ways. While LCD would seem to be unconcerned with racking up any more cool-kid tokens (they have enough by now to cash in for a lifetime supply of plastic spider rings and vampire teeth), “Bayou” simply lifts Vega’s already very cool original out of the swamps, swapping the Cajun paranoia for dead-eyed heavy funk. (Read Full Track Review)
Jerry Garcia – Let It Rock
For Jerry Garcia, 1975 was a seminal year that found him splitting time between recording Blues for Allah with the Dead, directing The Grateful Dead Movie, and forming the Jerry Garcia Band–his long-running side project.
The Jerry Garcia Band — Garcia, his constant collaborator bassist John Kahn and drummer Ron Tutt — played its first show with Nicky Hopkins on piano in August 1975. The ultimate session player, Hopkins’ credits include work with The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Jefferson Airplane to name a very few. While Hopkins residency was brief with the Jerry Garcia Band, it played an important role in the group’s shift away from big jams toward song-oriented material. (Read the Full Review)
Starline Rhythm Boys – Masquerade for Heartache
Dust off those shitkickers, Burlington. Your blue-collar heroes ride again. Rooted in rockabilly, the Starline Rhythm Boys have been shaking honky-tonks for a decade, evoking an era of checkerboard floors and poodle skirts. Their latest, Masquerade For Heartache, finds the trio plugged into Charlie O’s — that Capital City citadel of sin — where guitarists Al Lemery and Danny Coane lead a jukebox jubilee. All that’s missing is the chicken wire, as the Boys resurrect salty anthems (“Red’s Place”) and 10-gallon covers (“Trucker from Tennessee”) to rowdy effect.
Anchored by Billy Bratcher’s strolling bass, Heartache is a vintage buffet. Western boogie? Check. Hillbilly blues? Yep, it’s all here. And if Coane’s lyrical twang sounds just a bit south of his native Montpelier, blame it on the Narragansett — beer sweetens the masquerade. (Read the Full Review)
Doom – Unexpected Guests
The early news of DOOM compilation Unexpected Guests positioned it as a field report from the indie MC’s late-decade wilderness period, spanning a half-committed star turn (2005′s Danger Doom collaboration with Danger Mouse) to this year’s bullish return to form on Born Like This. And it is… except when it isn’t– “Rock Co.Kane Flow”, taken from De La Soul’s The Grind Date, actually finds DOOM doing something of a victory lap in 2004 after his essential triad of Take Me to Your Leader (released under the name King Geedorah), Vaudeville Villain (Viktor Vaughn), and Madvillainy (Madvillain). “Rock Co.Kane Flow” is a fantastic symbiosis of DOOM’s many playful styles, but the beat itself feels weightier than what we’re used to from De La and the stakes higher (ahem) than what we’re used to from DOOM when he guests on a track. The other high(er)-profile collaborations on Unexpected don’t always fare as well– while “Da Supafriendz” spotlights a nerdy side of Vast Aire that often goes overlooked amidst Cannibal Ox’s doomsayer image, “Fly That Knot” is the second hopelessly corny track DOOM’s done with Talib Kweli (see also: “Old School” from The Mouse and the Mask) and most of the blame lies with Kweli’s increasing ineptitude at hook-writing, it’s clear these two share more camaraderie than chemistry. (Read The Full Review)
