So I may be cheating a bit with this first one as it was released last year on the continent. But as it took a few months more to cross the Channel, and since I may have slightly forgotten about it while compiling last year’s list, I’m giving it a second chance. One of the reasons I might have overlooked it last time round probably was the presence of this other Danish band (remember Mew?), and what is the possibility of two Danish bands coming up with brilliant albums in the same year? Well, the two of them certainly provide evidence for a Danish sound – and that does encompass more than just the high singing – as Oh No Ono do sound rather similar to the aforementioned, but they do provide their entirely own sound, whether this would be psychedelic rock (Internet Warrior) or pure disco (Helplessly Young). Live they’re equally enticing, partly because they appear to enjoy being on stage even more than any person in the audience could enjoy themselves while dancing to their music. And they’re also one of the opening acts on the forthcoming Affaire Festival in Nijmegen! So please do come early if you want to see Los Campesinos!, because Oh No Ono is definitely a band you don’t want to miss (if not for the music, then for their amazingly handsome guitarists, yup).
It took me quite a while to start appreciating this album, but once ‘The High Road’ really hits you it’s very hard to put this album down. And I’m not the only one to appreciate this fine track by James Mercer of the Shins and Danger Mouse, as it has also been featured on the Match of the Day album for the World Cup. But maybe that ought to cause me to reconsider Broken Bells as they are featured on there among the likes of Glasvegas, Iglu & Hartly and Scouting for Girls – and that’s when I’m not even looking for the bad eggs in there. Ah well, football fans are not a bunch that is well known for their exquisite taste in music and kudos to the person who managed to get at least one decent song on there. I’d have seem them live by now, if it weren’t for the ridiculous requirements to get into the outdoors audience of the Jimmy Kimmel show. Is this the point where someone intervenes with the words ‘That’s Hollywood’?
‘Norway’ is a good contender for track of the year. It’s structure is so simple that it’s simply amazing they can get away with it. But I guess that’s part of the strength of the album: tracks that are so simple that you just can’t help yourself singing along to them after hearing just the first few lines. That and Victoria Legrand’s voice (I believe a breeding programme should be created in order to preserve her talent and create a whole generation of Legrand-like singers). And it’s not just on record, live they are amazing as well, no matter the size of the venue. I’ve seen them in a storage/art room behind the bar of a pub, a proper sized venue hidden somewhere in Hammersmith (anything west of central London I consider hidden) and in an enormous venue like the Roundhouse and each and every time they delivered an amazing set, even being a match to the equally amazing Grizzly Bear in the latter venue. Also, their Record Store Day exclusive EP was pretty neat as well. And I’m not just saying that because it was on blue vinyl.
After seeing him ‘play’ in Ekko in Utrecht, Jamie Stewart scares me. Yes, the sound quality wasn’t all that, but there are ways to deal with that other than shouting at the tech/sound guys as if they have stolen your lunch money and getting electrocuted while trying to fix it yourself. I believe even Angela Seo was slightly intimidated – as were the guys standing in the trajectory of the bottle that was kicked of the stage, a point in the show at which the audience collectively took a step back. Luckily, I’ve also seen him play in London and do know how the new album is supposed to sound like live, which is pretty good. I’ve only really gotten into Xiu Xiu since I’ve started listening to Former Ghosts last year (a super group in which Jamie Stewart is also involved who will release what is going to be the best album of the year called ‘New Love’ in September), and as much as I like ‘Dear God I Hate Myself’, it’s not one of his (their?) best. Fabulous Muscles and Knife Play still top that list, but this is nevertheless a very worthy effort. Now let’s just hope Jamie Stewart manages to actually get through a set without physically attacking the audience next time he’s around (which will be on a tour supporting earlier mentioned Former Ghosts album FYI – and yes, I will now stop plugging albums that have not even come out yet).
Even though this is not The National at their best, it’s still an awful lot better than what most bands dare to put out. Alligator and Boxer still top the list of their best albums for me, and they’re tied as I keep switching back and forth of liking one of those better than the other. But this is supposed to be about their newest endeavour so let’s focus on that shall we? It took some time for me to really get the album, well, it actually took hearing it being performed live – and is there anything better in this world than hearing ‘England’ live in London? ‘Runaway’ turned out to be another gem, as well as ‘Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks’ with that beautiful melancholic “All the very best of us / String ourselves up for love” chorus. I just love how Matt Berninger can make any silly thing sound like the most profound truth. Not that his lyrics don’t make sense, but sometimes he just manages to work in a sentence that appears to me more like a mind fuck than a well thought out lyric. And after seeing him joke around a bit at the Electric Ballroom gig, I think he’s rather enjoying people’s attempts to make sense of his nonsense. I’m just sad that ‘Terrible Love’ now seems to have become their set closer of choice, as ‘Mr November’ or ‘About Today’ seemed so much more equipped to let everyone go home on a high.
So this album already made an appearance in both other lists, so it must be good! And I absolutely agree. I’m a sucker for songs that exceed the five minute barrier, so this album is a real treat for me. I love the balance between the more dance punk based tracks and the electropop downbeat ones. All killer no filler you could say. So there’s no ‘Someone Great’ or ‘Tribulations’ on this album, but I think that overall it is an equal to the two earlier releases by James Murphy and friends. That point is best signified in a live setting, when all three albums just blend into a perfect mix of all that DFA goodness. As others have mentioned, this album relates more to the work of the Juan Maclean, and that’s probably got do to with Nancy Whang taking up a bigger role in some of the songs, such as ‘One Touch’. ‘You Wanted a Hit’ (which almost touches upon the glorious ten minute mark) and ‘I Can Change’ are the two tracks that bring this album to its high for me. ‘Pow Pow’ is what keeps it out of the top three.
Yes, I’m slightly cheating again. But is it really cheating if there are no clear rules for making this little feature in the first place? There’s just that name – album countdown – that might imply that EPs are not welcome here, that they are what vuvuzelas are to festivals to this blog. But as with vuvuzelas, this Zola Jesus’s EP is pretty hard to ignore. It’s just six tracks long, but oh, they’re all so incredibly good. I already loved last year’s album The Spoils, though that was a bit flawed in that it was just too lo-fi. Home recordings can be absolutely great, but that album just took it too far. Luckily, it did ensure the right amount of publicity for Nika Roza to be able to record this EP in a proper way. There’s this sense of impending doom and anxiety that keeps hunting you throughout the sextet of songs that makes one almost scared to put this record down, while there’s also that spark of hope in lyrics as “But at the end of the night, we’ll be together again” in opener ‘Night’. I’m completely enchanted by this EP – it even beats most full length albums of this year. And she’s also coming over to pay the Netherlands a visit, together with Xiu Xiu and with/as Former Ghosts, together making this already my most anticipated gig of the year. And they’re making me wait till 20 November. The waiting’s unbearable already.
I absolutely love this album! I almost feel bad about my number one being a better album than Infinite Body’s as this is just so amazing, and it seems go so unnoticed – luckily for my number one he made a near perfect album to ensure the first place on my list (and is that enough to get your attention so you come back for tomorrow’s number one? I promise it will be REALLY good!). Infinite Body is the solo endeavour of California’s Kyle Parker who used to make a lot of noise as Gator Surprise, but decided to start making this beautiful music in stead, and what an awfully good choice that was. He apparently still has a full time job working in a movie theatre (he’s the guy getting you the popcorn) and barely has enough equipment to perform live. All the more reason to be amazed by what he manages to create on this LP. Oh, just wake me up with the sounds of ‘A Fool Persists’ and know that nothing could ruin my day – had I only considered this on 11 July. His music seems to relate to what Fuck Buttons do, but less harsh, though still noisy, a bit like Fennesz. It would deem it very appropriate for a Stanley Kubrick film. Or just any other occasion as you should just give it listen. Or two. Or listen to it infinitely as I now tend to do.
1. Perfume Genius – Learning (Turnstile)
I’ve been in love with this album ever since I heard the first demo’s of ‘Lookout, Lookout’ and ‘Learning’ and the album wasn’t even near actually existing. And that’s been some time now, and I still simply can’t get enough of those tracks. Mike Hadreas has such a fragile voice, and manages to get the piano to match this fragility, but his lyrics reveal a much darker side. Songs with a twist, not like the earlier mentioned Xiu Xiu, but more in Pulp way – and that’s always a good way, isn’t it? Just take ‘Lookout, Lookout’ as it tells the story of Mary Bell : “Mary, Mary Bell / With an uppercase M / All the neighbors know / What your mother sells / But you carved out a name for yourself. [...] Keep your wits / He will not be missed / He didn’t have a family to begin with.” It gets even juicier if you’d know that the lead character of this song was just eleven at the time.. But it’s not all just storytelling, Perfume Genius also is the aggressor (Learning: “No one will answer your prayers / Until you take off that dress”) and the victim (Mr Peterson: “My work came back from class / With notes attached / Of a place and time / Or how my body kept him up at night”). All sung with the same rather sweet voice, strangely reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens’ ’John Wayne Gacy Jr.’. A psychological roller coaster, this album, and one of those rare albums that you’d like to label ‘perfect’. And can anyone please enlighten me as to the role Caralee McElroy has played in the creation of yet another one of my favourite albums? I think she might just be my new favourite music person.
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