Music

< Previous Next >

• Music 01/23/07

  Deerhoof—Friend Opportunity
  Ten more spazzy pop masterpieces from San Francisco's Deerhoof, a band that seems to come out with better albums every year. This time there's half as many songs as their last record, but each of them is immediately catchy and utterly distinctive. On paper it doesn't seem to make sense—sugary Japanese pop melodies, a great sense of humor, and off-kilter rock arrangements—but once you hear the band and (especially) see their live show, you'll be a lifetime fan.
  
  Menomena—Friend or Foe
  What you thought was a piano ballad just got a little weird. A melancholy melody had put you in one mood when all of sudden many different sounds, organic and digital, come sweeping through the speakers. The drums are recorded way too loud. Portland's Menomena are pop songwriters with experimentalist tendencies. or perhaps it's the other way around. Somehow they've managed to record an album that sounds immediately catchy while remaining totally unpredictable.
  
  Fennesz—Endless Summer
  For experimental Viennese sound artist Christian Fennesz, Endless Summer is about as close to a pop album as you're going to get. Consisting entirely of heavily treated acoustic guitar, this album was incredibly influential when it was originally issued in 2001. Surprisingly it briefly went out of print before this newest issue was recently released with two bonus tracks. The title's winking reference to the Beach Boys is a hint to Fennesz's mischievous desire to turn classic pop inside-out. The result is a wonderfully warm, pastoral, ambient album that is truly affecting.

• Music 011007

  Spank Rock—YoYoYoYoYo
  The brilliant dancefloor decadence of Spank Rock's debut was one of the great surprises in music last year. MC Naeem Juwan and producer XXXChange craft a futuristic blend of Baltimore club music, '80s dance, and lyrical hip-hop that revels in the excesses of nightlife without sounding repetitive or trite. The album is hypersexual and hyperactive, and it never sounds better than at 1 a.m. amid a sweaty throng of dancers.
  
  Caetano Veloso—Ce
  Reaching retirement age isn't going to slow down Caetano Veloso. The Brazilian legend has covered a lot of ground over the past 40 years, from Tropicalia experimentation to soft acoustic albums to covering the American songbook. This time around he lends his achingly beautiful yet imperfect voice to an album that embraces a minimalist rock sound with a trio of young musicians backing him throughout. The songs range from stomping rock songs to light and atmospheric ballads, always with the same brilliance that Veloso brings to all his recordings.
  
  Glissandro 70—Glissandro 70
  A studio project of Toronto musicians Craig Dunsmuir and Sandro Perri, Glissandro 70 is a beatific and courageous album that takes cues from the wordless vocals and playful attitude of Animal Collective. Interesting juxtapositions abound as harmonicas and funk guitars knock up against bass pulses and softly strummed guitar codas. You'll put it on as background music but become transfixed instead.

• Music 12/26/06

  CSS—Cansei de Ser Sexy
  This dancefloor-friendly sextet from Sao Paulo sure seem to know how to have fun. Their first single, "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" was an unlikely tribute to the punk-prog band Death From Above 1979 that somehow became an indie dance party anthem in 2006. The art-school irony can be a bit heavy at times but always with a danceable groove that's undeniable.
  
  Aloe Blacc—Shine Through
  It took us a few listens to really warm up to this album, mainly because it is so original that we simply weren't prepared for it. Released on Stones Throw Records, known mainly for underground hip hop, Shine Through is a revolutionary combination of R&B, Hip Hop, Jazz, and Latin music. Remarkably, Aloe Blacc doesn't merely ape each of these genres but makes them his very own.
  
  Sibylle Baier—Colour Green
  An album recorded in late 1970s Germany at home on a reel-to-reel recorder, this music was only meant to reach the ears of family and friends. But that intimacy is the reason why this melancholy, naked, and confessional folk album is so striking, so you can forgive yourself for eavesdropping.

• Music 12/12/06

  Clipse—Hell Hath No Fury
  You can count on one hand the number of classic hip hop albums that have been released in the past five years, but most people agree that the Clipse's first album Lord Willin' is one of them. While greater commercial success have eluded Clipse, due in no small part to the record label drama that has kept them from releasing an official album for four years, they have built a strong following by self-releasing two celebrated mixtapes. Now, their latest album finally sees the light of day, and it's more than worth the wait. The wordplay employed by the duo, usually about the joy and pain of selling cocaine, has only gotten tighter since their last record, and the beats, produced entirely by the Neptunes, are a constant revelation, dark and futuristic percussion that's virtually everything we want from a new hip hop album.
  
  White Magic—Dat Rosa Mel Apibus
  White Magic is a Brooklyn-based folk outfit that has been building considerable buzz on the strength of their first EP released in 2004 and their incredible live performances. Their debut album plays to all of their strengths—sparse and lovely arrangements, the weird and wonderful voice of singer Mira Billotte, and their willingness to take chances, such as starting the album with "The Light," a song without words. Gang Gang Dance's Tim DeWitt is featured on the album, no doubt adding to the strangeness that sets this album apart from the rest of the Freak Folk pack. This is a perfect winter album, so pour yourself a cup of Darjeeling and enjoy.
  
  Anonymous—Inside the Shadow
  Privately released in Indianapolis in 1977, Anonymous was a studio project recorded in a converted garage with a sound that transcends these humble origins. The band comes off like a less druggy Jefferson Airplane at times, eschewing sloppy jamming in favor of meticulous harmonies and impeccable guitar solos. Our pick from the album is "Up To You," a beautiful ballad that sounds like CSNY covering a Big Star song. Yeah, that good. The album is available only from Anthology Recordings, a new music label that re-releases rare and out-of-print music exclusively in digital format.

• Music 11/27/06

  El Perro Del Mar—El Perro Del Mar
  Sarah Assbring, who performs under the pseudonym El Perro Del Mar, looks every bit the 1960s songsmith, right down to her Edie Sedgwick haircut. More importantly she sounds like it, too, with a soft-sans-saccharine voice and a spot-on backing band. After releasing CD-R's of her music since 2004, her debut album has finally landed in the U.S. This beautiful collection of sweet, melancholic pop is often icy and detached, but it will make you feel good in a way that only a well-crafted song—and album—can.
  
  Ricardo Villalobos—Fizheuer Zieheuer
  Technology has opened a lot of doors for DJs of every stripe. Not only has the mp3 relieved the lower-back woes that accompany lugging around heavy crates of records, but it has also obliterated many of the limitations of the vinyl format, especially song length. One DJ who was quick to take advantage of this benefit of the modern age is Chilean-German DJ Ricardo Villalobos. His latest creation is a slow-changing 37-minute beat-driven house song that has Eastern horns and enough dub effects to keep the dancers and listeners happy. There may be a lot of talk about LCD Soundsystem's long-playing Nike running soundtrack, but Villalobos did it first and did it better.
  
  David Crosby—If I Could Only Remember My Name
  We don't throw around the term "lost classic" very often, and we try to see through a lot of the hype that accompanies a reissue when it hits the market. That being said, this album is a bona fide Lost Classic that deserves to be heard by fans of the new folk scene that's so popular right now. Nowadays, David Crosby is more known for being a semen donor and drug fugitive than being an iconic musician, but when he recorded this album in 1970, he was fronting one of the biggest music acts in America (Crosby Stills & Nash). In spite of that, his debut solo album completely flopped upon its release. However, it has become a cult favorite ever since for its beautiful harmonies, the great playing by the ensemble of musicians on the album, and the lonesome, disenfranchised quality of the lyrics.

• 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |

WOMEN: Big Red

MEN: Under Cover