Welcome to our first installment of Scores & Highlights. The title is pretty self-explanatory; each month or so we'll hand out grades and, in some cases, mp3's of albums we never got around to reviewing. For this segment, we're going to focus on albums released in January, and hopefully have a February post coming soon.
Black Mountain - In the Future
(Jagjaguwar; 2008)
Grade: 81.0%
[mp3]"Tyrants"
Sounds like: A wonderful hybrid of Sabbath and Neil Young. Should have been recommended back in January.
Blood on the Wall - Liferz
(Social Registry; 2008)
Grade: 75.0%
[mp3]"Hibernation"
Sounds like: Every great alternative/grunge band from the late 80's/early 90's rolled into one.
Chris Walla - Field Manual
(Barsuk; 2008)
Grade: 52.6%
Stream various tracks at MySpace
Sounds like: Gee, I dunno, Death Cab for Cutie.
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
(New West; 2008)
Grade: 68.0%
Stream various tracks at MySpace
Sounds like: Ambitious Southern Rock Opera; or, what I imagine Kevin Drew has in mind every time he writes a song with a little twang.
The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
(Sub Pop; 2008)
Grade: 60.3%
[mp3]"Keep Your Eyes Ahead"
Sounds like: A band equally obsessed with Modest Mouse and 80's pop. Still, it could be worse.
Hello Blue Roses - The Portrait is Finished & I Have Failed to Capture Your Beauty
(Locust; 2008)
Grade: 30.0%
[mp3]"Shadow Falls"
Sounds like: The portrait wasn't the only thing that failed to capture any beauty, though its a nice reminder as to how good Destroyer albums are.
Human Bell - Human Bell
(Thrill Jockey; 2008)
Grade: 58.4%
Stream various tracks at MySpace
Sounds like: Instrumental post-rock influenced by folk and blues. Depending on your perspective, its either as good or as boring as it sounds. I'm going with the latter.
Jeffrey Lewis - 12 Crass Songs
(Rough Trade; 2007/8)
Grade: 50.0%
Stream various tracks at MySpace
Sounds like: Folkie/troubadour musician covering punk rock. Not bad, but wears thin after a while. 6 Crass Songs might have been a better route.
The Mars Volta - Bedlam in Goliath
(Universal; 2008)
Grade: 62.1%
Stream various tracks at MySpace
Sounds like: Their most accessible album since their first, but still a little too over-the-top at times. The best songs re-affirm why you should never count them out.
Radar Bros. - Auditorium
(Merge; 2008)
Grade: 60.3%
Stream the first four tracks at Radar Bros. website
Sounds like: Grandaddy never broke up, they just ditched the electronics and made a vaguely alt/country-ish record.
Sons & Daughters - This Gift
(Domino; 2008)
Grade: 42.2%
Stream various tracks at MySpace
Sounds like: An inconsistent and overproduced mess. Some songs remind me of X, so I guess it can't be all bad.
Thao - We Brave Bee Stings and All
(Kill Rock Stars; 2008)
Grade: 77.7%
[mp3]"Bag of Hammers"
Sounds like: Exuberant pop/rock songstress that's just one commercial away from being 2008's big thing.
Xiu Xiu - Women as Lovers
(Kill Rock Stars; 2008)
Grade: 67.3%
[mp3]"F.T.W."
Sounds like: Xiu Xiu with a full band. Like other Xiu Xiu albums, there are standout tracks, but it's mostly obnoxious. Stay especially far away from their cover of "Under Pressure"
Friday, March 14, 2008
Scores & Highlights:
January 2008
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Fuck Buddies
The Record Bar fucking rocks. The bar that has brought The Fall, Battles, Do Make Say Think, Deerhunter, Radio Birdman, Low, Man Man, Junior Boys, Califone, and Asobi Seksu (just to name a few, and I really mean a few) to Kansas City already has some killer shows lined up for next year.
For starters, there's Health (pictured left), a band that's been buzzing for a little while now. A cursory listen gave me the impression that these guys were like Butthole Surfers on acid, which doesn't make sense considering the Butthole Surfers were on acid. Further listens indicated a heavier Industrial and Jesus and Mary Chain influence, but what do I know. I think I like their racket, that's all that matters. Head over to their MySpace page and decide for yourself, then catch them in concert on February 18.
Then there's Black Mountain, the Canadian stoner rockers that supposedly put on one hella good live show. They have a new album, titled In the Future, coming out January 22 on Jagjaguar. The show takes place March 20, which gives us all plenty of time to grow out our hair before the show.
But the biggest, baddest show of all is the triple bill of Holy Fuck, Fuck Buttons, and A Place to Bury Strangers (pictured right), who apparently did not have to change their name to A Place to Fuck Strangers in order to be added to the bill. Surprisingly, APtBS is listed as the opening band, even after all the Pitchfork hype they've received (so far) this year. Then again, I once saw Holy Fuck at the Jackpot opening for Beans (and acting as his backing band), and they completely stole the show despite having to play to a fair amount of hip-hop heads that were probably not expecting their noisy, looped sound collages. I have no doubt that they'll be perfectly capable headliners. Besides, their debut album, released earlier this year, is pretty decent in its own right. This show takes place March 8, but could very well sell out before then. You've been warned.