First Half 2008 Music
Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago [Jagjaguwar]
Caribou: She's the One EP [Merge]
El Guincho: Alegranza [Discoteca Océano]
Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant EP [Sub Pop]
Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes [Sub Pop]
Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend [XL]
These are the cream of my crop, with the Bon Iver head and shoulders over everything else. That record inspires the rare feeling of anticipation for each track, every single time I hear it. Like, at the beginning of each, since they generally tend to fade in quietly, I slowly recognize it and get excited, even though I did so for the last song and the one before it.
Re: Fleet Foxes, the EP was a bit of a surprise for me, but the album sounds exactly like what I was hoping for from what I'd heard early on. The Caribou single I've mentioned previously, and Alegranza is almost exactly what I was hoping last year's Panda Bear album would sound like, from early reviews and "Comfy in Nautica," but then I never really got on board with that one. El Guincho's is some kind of crazy sampladelic Spanish party record that just won't quit.
Animal Collective: Water Curses EP [Domino]
Black Mountain: In the Future [Jagjaguwar]
Bruno Pronsato: Why Can't We Be Like Us? [Hello? Repeat]
Four Tet: Ringer [Domino]
Fuck Buttons: Street Horrrsing [ATP]
Hercules and Love Affair: Hercules and Love Affair [DFA]
Junior Boys: Body Language, Vol. 6 [Get Physical]
My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges [ATO]
She & Him: Vol. One [Merge]
These New Puritans: Beat Pyramid [Domino]
Mostly I would consider all these to be very nice. Fuck Buttons, my favorite new live act of the year, are coming back with Mogwai in September. Hercules and Love Affair may be growing on me, or it may just be pleasant; not sure if it's addictive just yet. I listened the She & Him record just about to death back in March and it took a while for me to recover. Still not sure if it's as good as I originally thought it was, but still fine. The Shocking Pinks album/compilation from last year would be a strong entry if it weren't so... 2007.
Grand Archives: The Grand Archives [Sub Pop]
Hot Chip: Made in the Dark [Astralwerks]
Melchior Productions: No Disco Future [Perlon]
Sally Shapiro: Remix Romance, Vol. 1 [Paper Bag Records]
Had really high expectations all around here. Hot Chip are always spotty, both brilliant and maddening, but they're possibly less charming than they've been in the past. I haven't heard Remix Romance too much but there don't seem to be many improvements on Johan Agebjörn's original work, which maybe shouldn't be surprising. At first I'm pretty sure I was big into No Disco Future, but my last couple listens have been less than satisfying. I'll have to give it a few more chances over the next month or so. "Sleepdriving" is maybe the only Grand Archives song I really like.
Atlas Sound: Let the Blind Lead... [Kranky]
Beach House: Devotion [Carpark]
The Black Keys: Attack and Release [Nonesuch]
Blood on the Wall: Liferz [The Social Registry]
Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles [Last Gang]
Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours [Modular/Interscope]
M83: Saturdays = Youth [Mute]
Truckasauras: Tea Parties, Guns and Valor [Fourthcity]
Not sure about anything here just yet.
Black Angels: Directions to See a Ghost [Light in the Attic]
Gas: Nah und Fern box set [Kompakt]
Jamie Lidell: Jim [Warp]
Los Campesinos!: Hold On Now, Youngster... [Arts & Crafts]
Matmos: Supreme Balloon [Matador]
No Age: Nouns [Sub Pop]
Sian Alice Group: 59.59 [The Social Registry]
Sera Cahoone: Only as the Day Is Long [Sub Pop]
Sigur Ros: Album #5 [XL]
Sun Kil Moon: April [Caldo Verde]
Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer [Sub Pop]
Haven't really heard any of these yet. Sigur Ros did not impress upon my first listen at their site. Both Sera Cahoone and Los Campesinos played great sets over the past month. Simon Reynolds and Mark Richardson have boosted my hopes for Gas just devastatingly high, so hopefully they can be overcome.
"Singles are the lifeblood of dance music, but they get curiously little exposure outside of clubs. Specialist mags, websites like Resident Advisor and a few dedicated blogs like Little White Earbuds keep the flag flying, but for casual fans it can be almost impossible to keep track of what's happening in house and techno."
- Philip Sherburne
And I really have been listening to too many guitars and lyrics (read: safe and easy stuff) this year, so between These New Puritans at Chop Suey on June 16 and the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary festival July 12-13, rock music (and folk/country/etc.) and rock writing (unless it's in The Wire) are going out the window.
Caribou: She's the One EP [Merge]
El Guincho: Alegranza [Discoteca Océano]
Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant EP [Sub Pop]
Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes [Sub Pop]
Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend [XL]
These are the cream of my crop, with the Bon Iver head and shoulders over everything else. That record inspires the rare feeling of anticipation for each track, every single time I hear it. Like, at the beginning of each, since they generally tend to fade in quietly, I slowly recognize it and get excited, even though I did so for the last song and the one before it.
Re: Fleet Foxes, the EP was a bit of a surprise for me, but the album sounds exactly like what I was hoping for from what I'd heard early on. The Caribou single I've mentioned previously, and Alegranza is almost exactly what I was hoping last year's Panda Bear album would sound like, from early reviews and "Comfy in Nautica," but then I never really got on board with that one. El Guincho's is some kind of crazy sampladelic Spanish party record that just won't quit.
Animal Collective: Water Curses EP [Domino]
Black Mountain: In the Future [Jagjaguwar]
Bruno Pronsato: Why Can't We Be Like Us? [Hello? Repeat]
Four Tet: Ringer [Domino]
Fuck Buttons: Street Horrrsing [ATP]
Hercules and Love Affair: Hercules and Love Affair [DFA]
Junior Boys: Body Language, Vol. 6 [Get Physical]
My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges [ATO]
She & Him: Vol. One [Merge]
These New Puritans: Beat Pyramid [Domino]
Mostly I would consider all these to be very nice. Fuck Buttons, my favorite new live act of the year, are coming back with Mogwai in September. Hercules and Love Affair may be growing on me, or it may just be pleasant; not sure if it's addictive just yet. I listened the She & Him record just about to death back in March and it took a while for me to recover. Still not sure if it's as good as I originally thought it was, but still fine. The Shocking Pinks album/compilation from last year would be a strong entry if it weren't so... 2007.
Grand Archives: The Grand Archives [Sub Pop]
Hot Chip: Made in the Dark [Astralwerks]
Melchior Productions: No Disco Future [Perlon]
Sally Shapiro: Remix Romance, Vol. 1 [Paper Bag Records]
Had really high expectations all around here. Hot Chip are always spotty, both brilliant and maddening, but they're possibly less charming than they've been in the past. I haven't heard Remix Romance too much but there don't seem to be many improvements on Johan Agebjörn's original work, which maybe shouldn't be surprising. At first I'm pretty sure I was big into No Disco Future, but my last couple listens have been less than satisfying. I'll have to give it a few more chances over the next month or so. "Sleepdriving" is maybe the only Grand Archives song I really like.
Atlas Sound: Let the Blind Lead... [Kranky]
Beach House: Devotion [Carpark]
The Black Keys: Attack and Release [Nonesuch]
Blood on the Wall: Liferz [The Social Registry]
Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles [Last Gang]
Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours [Modular/Interscope]
M83: Saturdays = Youth [Mute]
Truckasauras: Tea Parties, Guns and Valor [Fourthcity]
Not sure about anything here just yet.
Black Angels: Directions to See a Ghost [Light in the Attic]
Gas: Nah und Fern box set [Kompakt]
Jamie Lidell: Jim [Warp]
Los Campesinos!: Hold On Now, Youngster... [Arts & Crafts]
Matmos: Supreme Balloon [Matador]
No Age: Nouns [Sub Pop]
Sian Alice Group: 59.59 [The Social Registry]
Sera Cahoone: Only as the Day Is Long [Sub Pop]
Sigur Ros: Album #5 [XL]
Sun Kil Moon: April [Caldo Verde]
Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer [Sub Pop]
Haven't really heard any of these yet. Sigur Ros did not impress upon my first listen at their site. Both Sera Cahoone and Los Campesinos played great sets over the past month. Simon Reynolds and Mark Richardson have boosted my hopes for Gas just devastatingly high, so hopefully they can be overcome.
"Singles are the lifeblood of dance music, but they get curiously little exposure outside of clubs. Specialist mags, websites like Resident Advisor and a few dedicated blogs like Little White Earbuds keep the flag flying, but for casual fans it can be almost impossible to keep track of what's happening in house and techno."
- Philip Sherburne
And I really have been listening to too many guitars and lyrics (read: safe and easy stuff) this year, so between These New Puritans at Chop Suey on June 16 and the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary festival July 12-13, rock music (and folk/country/etc.) and rock writing (unless it's in The Wire) are going out the window.
Labels: Music
Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2008
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