Albums 50 –
41
===
50.
Gordon Downie: Battle of the Nudes (Wiener Art)
Eh. I don’t know. Whether
you buy this album or not is really your choice. At this very moment, I don’t
think it’s that awesome. I don’t even know what I think, really, only that
I was floored at some point with it, and every once in a while, I get floored
again. The thing is, it’s so all over the place, so terribly inconsistent,
that I want to throw it out, were it not for a few songs that remind me I
should actually listen to the whole thing. Wow, I guess this is making for
a horrible recommendation. But I don’t know what else to say about it. It’s
great pop in some places, it’s not in others, at one point it almost goes
goth, and in sum, it’s all over the place, with threads of genius throughout,
though none of them tie this pretty mess together. It is good though, seriously.
49.
The Microphones: Mt. Eerie (K)
It’s brilliant, and completely
unlistenable unless you’ve got a big chunk of time and are mellowed out to
the max. But there’s a big problem here. The album itself, if you do sit down
and power through it, is thoroughly impressive. But Phil can’t be the weird
nature-boy forever. His concert, which we reviewed,
shows that if he doesn’t make some changes to his concept-album track, we
just won’t care anymore. So while this album is worth owning in a lot of ways,
it doesn’t make frequent returns. It’s up to Phil to decide whether he’s going
to do things different, or just get us frustrated.
48.
Enon: Hocus Pocus (Touch & Go)
Ok. So a lot of people hate
this album. I did at first, too. But that’s because we came at it with our
expectations, not because it wasn’t good. In fact, I would contest, after
several listens, that this is actually a fairly strong album, with plenty
of high points, but in a more low-key atmosphere. Yeah, we all wanted more
spazzing. Yeah we were praying that Schmersal would resurrect Brainiac. Well
fuck us, because that’s not what’s going to happen. Now, our misguided characterizations
of this album are partly our own fault, but the reason it didn’t do so well
was also because their wasn’t quite as much effort put in on this one as was
put into their best work, High Society. Basically, you can’t toss off
tunes if those tunes don’t spaz or sound spontaneous, and that was the big
misstep. Nonetheless, I will say to this day that it’s worth owning.
47.
Calla: Televise (Arena
Rock)
Not a significant departure
from what they’ve done, and certainly not free of filler, nonetheless Calla
have always made good late-night listens, and this is no exception. Full of
brooding atmosphere and angular guitar stabs, the group’s strength is in Aurelio
Valle’s vocals and their labored construction of each song. Remarkably restrained,
but with enough moments of catharsis to make you lift your head should you
begin to nod off, it’s another solid effort, even if I’m waiting for the band
to do something different.
46.
Steve Malkmus & the Jicks: Pig Lib (Matador)
Nothing too different from
Malkmus, but at least it sounds good. Every song here is good, but a scant
few are anything above that, even if “(Do Not Feed the) Oyster” is one of the year’s better tracks. Like I said in my review, it’ll suffice
for now, since Malkmus has needed to rebuild before he can provide us with
something as striking as his work with Pavement. For now, there is a fork
in the road, and Malkmus absolutely must do something different. Otherwise
we’ll just give up caring for him any more.
45.
Songs: Ohia: Magnolia Electric Co. (Secretly
Canadian)
My review basically takes
care of this album pretty thoroughly, but to recap: excellent alt-country-rock,
usually lush and complex, if not thoroughly inventive – it’s most reminiscent
of Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s earlier stuff. Molina’s voice still has
the perfect balance of melancholy and defiance, and his arrangements are consistently
pleasing. A couple tracks, however, with less effort put into them than into
the others, and the plain awful track “The Old Black Hen” drop it
at least 15 spots. Nonetheless, the greater part of this album is consistently
excellent, and worth a buy at a used bin. “Almost Was Good Enough” is still one of my favorite tracks ever.
44.
Centro-Matic: Love You Just the Same (Misra)
Much like Pernice Brothers,
but slightly more complex, Centro-Matic is solid indie rock. Their vocals are raspy,
their guitars jangling, and their bass lines a little too simple to carry
them higher than this on the list. Still, the stripped down tracks “All
the Lightning Rods” and “Reset Anytime” prove how powerful
this band can be with just a few elements. They know how to write a great
melody, and their production is perfect. With a good bit of energy throughout,
they make the album perfect for a dawn’s drive into nowhere, and despite their
relative simplicity, can still knock you pretty hard and make you hit that
repeat button again and again.
43.
The White Stripes: Elephant (V2)
Don’t believe Spin – this
is not, in any way, the album of the year. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t
even belong in their top 40; hence its place here. But it is an undeniably
good time. Despite Jack’s inability to resist solo indulgences, despite Meg’s
still-over-simple drumming, The White Stripes have in no way failed to prove
yet again that less can be more. Plus, Jack is a beast on guitar, and their
melodies are the cutest things never to have come out of the 60’s. Though
populated by a couple weak tracks, the effort as a whole retains the genuineness
of their previous three efforts, and with a little bombast, pushes them over
the finish line into “really good album” territory. Not a huge deviation,
but it’s too much of a classic sound to fuck with that much anyway.
42.
The Clientele: The Violet Hour (Merge)
You’ll notice a trend here.
A bunch of albums on the lower end of this list (though they are all at least
good, if not very) suffer from the qualification “not inventive.” The Clientele suffer from this as well, but their hazy folk arrangements,
mysterious and ghostly, are still far different from anything else on this
list. Appropriate for all quiet times and winter months and summer nights,
this album is pure nostalgia, executed with solid songwriting and lovely atmospherics.
Ambling along at a comfortable pace, it’s not challenging, but supremely calming
and soothing. A pretty, pretty album.
41.
The Soft Pink Truth: Do You Party? (Soundslike)
Though it hasn’t really aged
well (hence its position on this list), Do You Party? still makes for
a deliciously naughty listen. Very untraditional in its arrangements and sampling,
it’s made to be lascivious, gender-bending, and an all-out good time. Drew
Daniels knows how to mix up his elements and follow a cohesive theme throughout
his album. Good for party mixes, and good just for freaking out and cross-dressing
in your room, this is solid techno with inventive flair and thematic cleverness
all the way through.
