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
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Check This Shit Out!
P4K Love and More
Just a few minutes ago, I was perusing theTimes New Viking Guest List that was posted on Pitchfork to see if they had any interesting anecdotes about their tour with Yo La Tengo. They did mention the tour, but what I found even more interesting is that they plugged Lawrence, Kansas' very own Love Garden Sounds! Honestly, its about time. Love Garden is a pretty bad ass record store, with a great selection and very affordable prices to boot. Congrats to them on their first (from what I can recall) Pitchfork mention, and thanks to Times New Viking for the plug.
Speaking of Kansas and Pitchfork, former Kansas natives Blood on the Wall received a very favorable 7.8 score/review from the online publication on Monday, upstaging the venerable Chan Marshall and receiving a Recommended status (which is just below the coveted Best New Music status). Blood on the Wall have two "homecoming" shows in the next week, the first on Tuesday with Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk, and the second on Wednesday at The Record Bar with The Jim Button Band (which yours truly hopes to attend). Swing by one of the shows and congratulate them on their good reviews, and don't forget to pick up the album, Liferz, which is out now via The Social Registry.
Speaking of Baby Birds..., remember my last Check This Shit Out post where I talked about the big CHOMP WOMP COMP to-do at the Jackpot? Well, the compilation is available for FREE at the CHOMP WOMP site, and I HIGHLY recommend you high tail your little ass over download it. The Panda Bear-esque "Eating With Horse", by Baby Birds, is a highlight, as is the instrumental "Tracer" by Oregon as a Shape (Gaurav Bashyakarla of Boo and Boo Too) and "Bong Rips With Burial" by DJ Iggy Baby's project, Norrit (which wins the award for Song Title That Best Describes the Range Life Staff on a Saturday Night, and is so good we're streaming it on our player).
Lastly, The New Amsterdams have a show at The Record Bar tomorrow (Friday) night with Making Movies, and Ad Astra Per Aspera is playing a benefit for the Gadugi Safecenter out at the Jackpot in Lawrence. Fuckin' rock!