I listened to Furnace by The Arcade Fire today, and it is probably going to have to make the list. Perhaps the best thing I can say about it is that I can’t think of much to compare it to.
Oh, and since I seem to be the lone dissenter on Smile, here’s another one that I found disappointing–Medulla by Bjork. She is probably the only artist that I listen to who I like less the weirder she gets. I like the concept here of being almost entirely made from the human voice, but nothing about the album really sticks in my head; all it really made me want to do was put in Vespertine.
Freejooky–thanks for reminding me of the Lambchop albums, which I had forgotten about. (When you mentioned them I thought they were 2003 releases, but nope, they came out in February.)
By chance, have you every seen The Magnetic Fields live? They’re (He’s?) playing in Durham next weekend (about an hour away), and I like what I’ve heard (particularly 69 Love Songs) but I’m not a huge fan.
Patty Griffin “Impossible Dream” -She can’t put out a bad album. Rilo Kiley “More Adventurous”- It’s more poppy than their previous stuff, but great. Ray LaMontagne “Trouble”- An immediate and accessible classic. John Wesley Harding “Adam’s Apple”- This was almost released last year as “The Man With No Shadow” but the label folded. Literate, intelligent and punchy. Tom Baxter “Feather and Stone” The Blue Nile “High” William Shatner “Has Been” Jill Sobule “Underdog Victorious” Alison Krauss and Union Station -Lonely Runs Both Ways (Would be perfect except for when AK isn’t lead vocals). Indigo Girls “All That We Let In” Norah Jones “Feels Like Home” Badly Drawn Boy “One Plus One is One” Dick Brave and the Backbeats “Dick This!” Rockabilly covers of Pink, Little Richard, and George Michael. Elton John “Peachtree Road” Wonderful return to his ol’ style. Gisli “How about that”
Trust me, I hated it for months after my wife brought it home. I still kind of hate her voice, but what turns me on to the record is how unconventional it is, even if it’s a completely contrived “kooky” schtick to set her apart from any given other female folkie.
Easily the most disappointing record of the year. Madlib and MF Doom are both incredibly talented on their own; both Quasimoto’s “the unseen” and MF Doom’s “Operation: Doomsday” are two of my favorite rap records of all time. Even stranger, their aesthetics seemed like they would compliment each other - the lo-fi, weed-obsessed, leftfield clever rhymes - but the record is an absolute disaster. To add insult to injury, I remember hearing word of this collab as far back as '01 - we waited three years for this?
I dunno, I like Dan Tyminski’s voice a lot. And their instrumentals are great; I think I like “Unionhouse Branch” as much as “Chocataw Hayride.” I just wish they didn’t insist on doing such miserable songs.
I haven’t heard a lot of albums actually from this year, but of the ones I have heard: AKUS: Lonely Runs Both Ways Neko Case: The Tigers Have Spoken (if only because it’s the first of her records I’ve heard, and Blacklisted is just awesome) Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose
Here’s my review of the 10th anniversary reissue of Jeff Buckley’s Grace. It was wonderful in 1994, and maybe more so now.
Second on Madeline Peyroux’s Careless Love. Having to wait eight years between albums wasn’t so hot, but this will probably be the next album-to-have for a lot of people next year. Great musicians on this, too, with k.d. lang’s bassist David Piltch and session guitarist Dean Parks hiding among the band, and Joni Mitchell’s ex-husband and former bass player Larry Klein at the helm. My favorite song for the upcoming holiday is her version of “This Is Heaven To Me,” which closes the album.
Rufus Wainwright’s Want Two is one I’m still exploring, but I like it a lot. It’s a little more of a torchy, understated vocal-and-piano-with-orchestra album than the last two (read: less rock-driven), but there are some spine-tingling moments throughout. “Crumb By Crumb” and “Peach Trees” are my faves, but the finale of “Old Whore’s Diet” may top everything. “The Art Teacher” is nice if you’re in Indianapolis, as he references J.M.W. Turner in the lyrics, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art has a lot of Turner in their collection (of course, that’s probably me personalizing the album more than anything, but it’s still a sweet lost-love song).
I also love the first half of the new Court And Spark album, Witch Season. Any band that can use the sound of their producer kicking a piano as artistic inspiration for a song like “Steeplechasing” is okay in my book.
Nick Cave & Bad Seeds - Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus
The Auf der Maur album
Tom Waits - Real Gone
The Music - Welcome to the North
Tortoise - It’s all around You
Everything else i’ve grabbed this year has been old school stuff.
Patty Griffin – Impossible Dream
James McMurtry & Heartless Bastards – Live in Aught-Three
Nellie McKay – Get Away From Me
k.d. lang – Hymns of the 49th Parallel
Kate Rusby – Underneath the Stars
Jonatha Brooke – Back in the Circus
Julia Fordham – That’s Life
Joss Stone – Mind, Body & Soul
Josh Ritter – Hello Starling
Damien Rice – B-Sides
Hey, stpauler, can I come by and rifle through your record collection?*
*I’ll skip by the Joanna Newsom, though. Man, I really wanted to like her. Dammit, I should like her. But she sounds like Jennifer Tilly on helium.
I’m not too surprised no one mentioned The Cardigans. Nevertheless, Long Gone Before Daylight is an amazing album. It’s a huge step forward from Gran Turismo, and a night and day difference from the Lovefool days.
If the only song you can think of by the Cardies is Lovefool check out some of their new stuff. It’s hard to describe - kind of an Aimee Mann feel with a slight alt-country twang thrown in. Hmmm, ok maybe that doesn’t describe it at all. Regardess, check it out. Especially “Live and Learn” and “Communication.”
