When I first read rumblings of the newly-formed “supergroup” collaboration between three artists who have all released incredibly strong albums in the last few years, I was eager to hear what they could cook up together. Imagine the expansive, sunny Laurel Canyon grooves of Dawes, the incisive pianowork and gruff yowl of Deer Tick, and the clever surf-tinged pop of Delta Spirit — all in one group. That seems to me like almost too much goodness for one album to hold.
The first track off the album proves all my suspicions:
STREAM: Me, Me, Me
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Download this track as a free Christmas present from the band, over on their website. Their full-length self-titled debut album will be out in March on Partisan Records. Yes, please.
Another year packed with music has come and gone. Music is a language I can’t create myself but it does me good to know that every hour someone out there is humming a snippet of a melody, returning to their seat at the bar with a head full of lyrics that just occurred to them, or tapping out a drumbeat on their leg in the car. People everywhere are trying to get it right, to get the music out just so they can be. I am glad that they do.
2008 was full of fantastic (and varied) music from all corners of the world for me. I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the quantity of music and the subjectivity that swirls around the ones that make it vs. the ones that no one ever hears. I wish I’d had more hours to listen to (and properly digest) more songs this year. As it is, these are ten albums (plus two EPs plus one carryover from last year) that affected me on a gut level in the past twelve months. These are the ones I listened to over and over, that knocked the wind out of me and made me glad I have ears.
These aren’t “the best.” These are just my favorites.
FUEL/FRIENDS FAVORITES OF 2008
Lucky Nada Surf(Barsuk) I’ve been surprised by the intensity with which I’ve listened to this album in 2008. I guess it’s tapping into the introspective moments of my year as it pertains to “grown-up life,” which Caws sings is like “eating speed or flying a plane — it’s too bright.” The album cover hints perfectly at the feel of the music; the moment where it’s still warm from the sun but the gorgeous pinpricks of light are starting to shine through. I talked today about the cascades of glory on this album, a blazing meteor from this band that’s been around so long. I saw Matthew Caws perform solo last night and he said, “We feel blessed to have a second story,” (post-mid-Nineties buzz band). “It’s the story we always wanted anyways.” I’ve listened to this album a hundred times this year and it still affects me deeply, makes it okay to be fragile — and to be on a vector up. [original review, interview]
Midnight Organ Fight Frightened Rabbit(Fat Cat) Coming from Scotland with their hearts held out for the offering, these two brothers plus two bandmates have crafted an album that is not for the fainthearted, but excellent for the honest. Over gorgeous melodies and with a thick and wrenching Scottish brogue, Frightened Rabbit guttingly dissect the moments of bravery and moments of weakness that go with a relationship ending. Peter Katis (The National) produced this lilting, rocking piece of perfection — unflinching in its intimacy. [original review, interview]
For Emma Forever Ago Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar) I didn’t know when I started 2008 just how much I would need this album. Justin Vernon recorded this achingly vulnerable album in the Wisconsin woods in the dead of cold winter as he recovered from a breakup. The name he adopted means “good winter” in French, and I think the name fits the music as well as that ice-encrusted window on the cover. In winter, things move a little slower, but with more crisply defined edges, and the first time I heard this something was scraped loose inside of me. His music is wrapped in a thin skin but a current thrums powerfully under the surface. This is an album that I am unable to shake. [watch: still one of the most perfect things I’ve seen this year]
Stay Positive The Hold Steady (Vagrant) I think the thing that gets me with the Hold Steady, this year or any past year when they’ve released an album, is that they are unabashed in their belief in rock and roll. Craig Finn is a modern day prophet who flails and explodes with the force of the catharsis of these fantastic sounding songs that they must get out. The lyrics trace some of the most intelligent, evocative stories you’ll hear with characters I feel I know by now (they might as well be breathing). This is an immense album, with the pounding piano that crashes across the songs and the brass instruments slicing through. Gorgeously grand and subversively hopeful. [original review]
The ’59 Sound The Gaslight Anthem (Side One Dummy) If the Hold Steady filter their love for Springsteen through a lens of kids raised on punk and The Replacements, Jersey’s Gaslight Anthem play with an urgency and passion of a pre-Born to Run Bruce, young and hungry. Lead singer Brian Fallon grew up in a home four blocks from E Street, and this band is crafting songs that hold up as well when howled out ragged as they do stripped down to their bare acoustic bones. There’s a wisdom and sometimes a resignation beyond their years.
Ode To Sunshine Delta Spirit (Rounder) Delta Spirit was formed in San Diego when lead singer Matt Vasquez was busking loudly by the train tracks and he met with Brandon Young at two in the morning. The honesty and sloppiness that bleeds through at 2am is captured well on this authentic album with a vintage feel. It basks in the warmth of the surf guitars, the singalongs and handclaps and banging on trashcan lids, the tinkly last-call piano over glasses clattering. [original review]
Dual Hawks Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel (Misra) The cinematic desert beauty and chugging fuzz-rock found side-by-side on this dual album swooped in late in the year to win me over. I saw an acoustic video of Will Johnson, who helms both bands, performing “I, The Kite,” from an album I’d passed over too quickly the first time around. Both bands are Will’s and explore different dimensions of his music — Centro-matic electric like the heat in the air even as the Texas August sun has just begun to rise, whereas the more muted, spacious South San Gabriel has tones of evening and fireflies. This album was written and recorded fast and pure in a handful of days in the studio, and has a feeling of distilled essentials.
Oh! Mighty Engine Neil Halstead (Brushfire Records) Taking six long years from his last solo release Sleeping On Roads, influential British musician Neil Halstead (Slowdive) comes quietly back with a humble album of acoustic folk melodies that rewards the listener for their patience. This is a slow grower for me, and I find that more hues in the songs are revealed to me the longer I sit with it — a task I am eminently willing to take on. Halstead sings about trying to get the colors right, and with these unassuming tunes I think he does.
The Great Collapse Everything Absent or Distorted(self-released) This Denver collective does things full tilt. They play with seemingly all the instruments they can find, in order to squeeze the earnest beauty out of every melody and every rhythm. They fearlessly meld incisive lyrics with a resilient hope, like on “Aquariums”: “We are aquariums — left outside, but we hold life and a bright light in our glass walls.” With eight official members (and up to 15 on stage) EAOD is a joy to watch, and that joy transmits onto this smart album of sweeping scope. Amidst banjos and casio keyboards, trumpets and pots and pans, this band is ready for a larger stage. Literally. [original review]
Little Joy Little Joy (Rough Trade) It’s as simple as this: Little Joy just makes me happy. Their thirty-minute debut album is short and occasionally rough, it’s kitschy and danceable with Brazilian influences. I like the quiet Technicolor flicker of songs like the Portuguese “Evaporar” as much as the jerky fun of “How To Hang A Warhol,” and all the shades in between. Binki Shapiro’s vocal contributions on this album are especially charming, as she croons out of my stereo like an old-time Victrola. [original review]
HONORARY TOPS (should have been on last year’s damn list): In Rainbows(physical release) Radiohead Because I was overwhelmed and ignorant at the end of 2007, and didn’t give this my undivided attention until someone sat me down in a darkened room and made me really, really listen to it.
The Confiscation EP, A Musical Novella Samantha Crain(Ramseur Records) Also from the excellent Ramseur label, 22-year-old Oklahoman Samantha Crain has Choctaw Indian roots and a dusky earnestness to her alto voice. The five songs here tell a cohesive story (a musical novella indeed) with shimmering, unvarnished truth. [original review]
LISTEN: Once again this year, I’ll be appearing on NPR’s World Cafe with David Dye on January 1st to talk about stuff from this list! We have a lot of fun. You should listen (online, or via your local station that carries the show), and tell your mom to listen too. I know mine will be.
Saturday night was a fantastic night for shows in Denver. I split my time equally between the Hi-Dive and the Gothic and caught a few superb and passionate performances.
First up, Haciendaopened the night at the Hi-Dive, in a sold out show with Dr. Dog and Delta Spirit. I didn’t know what to expect from this band of Mexican-American brothers (+1 cousin) from San Antonio, Texas, but their sound fit in nicely with the serrated retro vibes of their tourmates. Their 6-song demo landed in the hands of Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys (who is quite the producer lately), and their debut album was recorded in his Akron, Ohio studio with members of Dr. Dog. Loud Is The Night is out now on Bomp Records.
Finally . . . I left. No, really. Not out of spite for the wonderful Dr. Dog from Philly, but because the Dandy Warhols were taking the stage over at the Gothic. That’s a story for another day. Luckily, I stumbled across a wonderful local taper who recorded the Dr. Dog set! If I close my eyes, spill a beer on my foot, and turn up the heater it’s almost like being there.
Here’s a quicklike last-minute contest for a show in Denver this weekend, since the last one went over so well. On Saturday night, Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog is playing the illustrious Hi-Dive with the sunshiney sounds of San Diego’s Delta Spirit, and I’ve got a pair of tickets to give away.
People, Delta Spirit has put out one of my favorite albums of the year with their aptly-titled Ode To Sunshine. There’s a raw and vital early ’60s Rolling Stones rock taste laced through those sweet bluesy piano melodies. Songs like “Strange Vine” and “Parade” flirt with the reverb-laden surf guitar of a thousand Southern California beach parties from summers long faded. There’s a yearning and an excitement running through the handclaps and hearty singalong sections of this album that are the domain of the young and the hopeful.
But my favorite description of Delta Spirit might be the one that said they’re “the Violent Femmes gone sepia.” Although they don’t scrape those same depths of streetpunk/outsider yowl that the Femmes always evoke for me, singer Matt Vasquez definitely does let all the ragged edges of his voice bleed in a very real way that keeps the album authentic. This album lovingly revives the sound of vintage America but with a rough-hewn edge, and is absolutely delightful.
Plus — if we’re gonna go on looks, I’ve always remembered (with a smile) the way that Amrit wrote that Vasquez looks like he unwinds between shows at The Peach Pit.
NEW CONTEST — WINNER GETS: - One pair of tickets to Delta Spirit & Dr. Dog @ Hi-Dive (Sat. 9/27) - Delta Spirit’s Ode To Sunshine CD - Copy of RAGGED Magazine (www.raggedmag.com)
To enter, please EMAIL ME with DELTA SPIRIT SHOW as the subject line, and I’ll decide on a random winner over my coffee on Saturday morning. Because of the short notice, I’ll probably call you to let you know, so please include a phone number if you’re cool with that. I promise not to crank call or drunk dial you.
A few weeks ago I was hurredly walking down a crowded DC street at lunchhour when I got a ravingly excited phone call from my friend Bodie. Bodie had just seen new Rounder Records signees Delta Spirit the night before, opening for Matt Costa in Boulder, and was calling to yell at me with delight about how much he enjoyed their set.
The good-natured abuse reminded me of how Delta Spirit had turned in an enjoyable set on KCRW’s Morning Become Eclectic last month. Read my previous mention to get to know this band with a growing buzz, then stream their excellent golden indie-country set here:
I had a full day interview here on Friday. Now that’s eight hours straight of me talking about myself coherently and winningly. This is a draining endeavor, no matter how exciting the job or how good of a fit. I did mostly okay except for one specific question where I recall clearly starting to veer into Miss Teen USA territory (“such as“). Hey! Turns out if you don’t know the answer, continuing to talk is not going to help you find it, oddly enough.
In between the real-life stuff going on, I’ve been listening to these songs:
Strange Vine Delta Spirit I just got news today from Rounder Records that they’ve signed Delta Spirit, who I allegedly saw with Port O’Brien at Noise Pop in March but regrettably actually missed due to sensory overload at the time. But I remember reading a review a few days after the festival that Amrit from Stereogum had penned that completely intrigued me: “Matthew Vasquez’s vocals are powerhouse stuff, and his Dylanistic harmonica and melodies worked well over Delta’s roots-rock roots. ‘Strange Vine’ was a standout, riding the sway of old mid-tempo, ’50s-styled r&b rock, with vocal lines ala Alec Ounsworth or Julian Casablancas depending on how the light caught it.” I want to listen more to these guys – they’ve got a great sound and a lot of promise. Their 2007 release was aptly named Ode to Sunshine, and will be re-released by Rounder.
I’m Glad The Black Keys If you’re the grizzled, bluesy force of nature known as The Black Keys, and you’re just sitting around Dan’s house on a Thursday, why not record a Captain Beefheart cover and post it on your MySpace for free download? Why not indeed. Just a few days old, this cover is fuzzy and dirty like it’s being sung through a dusty microphone someone dug up in the garage, then looped back through a decades-old set of crackly speakers. But you know, it’s also just about perfect for some really late-night drunk slow dancing – sad and regretful but with some heat behind it too. Attack & Release is out now, The Black Keys are playing Red Rocks with My Morning Jacket in August, and then next day will be out in San Francisco for Outside Lands.
Never So Strange Morning State The harmonies and vocals on this particular song evoke straight-up ’50s power pop, but there’s also a tenser undercurrent of that good ’90s rock running through it that you know I’m a sucker for. Atlanta’s Morning Statecooks up a jubilant blend with a kick to it. They’ve played shows with Dr. Dog, Peter Bjorn & John, and White Rabbits, all of whom are fun bands that we like round these parts. This is a fun band. Their new album You Know People I Know People is out tomorrow on Indie Outlaw.
Time Can Be Overcome The Constantines Said The Gramophone intrigued me (as they always do) with a fictional vignette Sean constructed around this song, involving a South Korean man in an isolated high-rise apartment: “[He] bought an electric guitar thirteen years ago and every night since then he has spent learning a single song. He does not feel this is slow or fast; it is just right. One day he will play the song, play the whole thing. Meteorites will hammer the city and tsunamis will rise and his heart will come to life in his chest.” Really, I couldn’t ask for more than that. This is a terrific, terrific slowburn of a song. From the Constantines‘ recent release Kensington Heights (Arts & Crafts).
Measure Of The Same Birds of Avalon Kids heading out and paying the big black-market bucks to see The Raconteurs recently on their tiny-club tour were greeted by the psychedelic retro-tinged sounds of Birds of Avalon as openers. A five-piece band from Raleigh, North Carolina, BofA formed from the ashes of previous ’70s garage rock incarnation The Cherry Valence. They actually have a guitar player named Cheetie Kumar, which frankly is reason enough to go see them — also the way she shreds that thing ain’t bad. Their new The Outer Upper Inner EP is out now on Volcom.
Name: Heather Browne Location: Colorado, originally by way of California Giving context to the torrent since 2005.
"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel." —Hunter S. Thompson
Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.
Name: Heather Browne
