Album Review: Destroyer: Kaputt

Destroyer - Kaputt (2011, Merge Records)

Listen:

Grooveshark

Purchase:

Merge

Insound

Amazon

iTunes

I know Dan Bejar mostly from his other band, the so called "Canadian power-pop super group" The New Pornographers. That's not to say that I have not heard of Destroyer. I have previously listened to his most recent albums, Trouble in Dreams and Rubies, and Thief was on my best of 2000 list (which sadly has never been published on this blog). Destroyer released the Bay of Pigs EP way back in 2009. "Bay of Pigs" is the last song on this album. Dan Bejar has, in essence, built two years of hype for this album. Kaputt delivers on that hype in every way. It is a record that manages to encapsulate a feeling of nostalgia, while feeling new and creative at the same time. It is already one of the best albums of a young 2011.

Album Review: The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

The Decemberists - The King is Dead (2011, Capitol Records)

Listen:

NPR First Listen

Purchase (Pre-order):

Band Site

Insound

Amazon

For The Decemberists, you can go back again. After two sprawling, epic concept albums, Colin Meloy and company return to a sound originating from their first few albums. This means more straightforward pop songs instead of massive ten-plus minute songs. The Decemberists' brand of pop has always been different than anyone else's. It has a flare of old-time nostalgia mixed with country, bluegrass, and a multitude of other genres. It gives their albums something of a dated feel, but they are still so progressively modern that it can be difficult to really get a grasp for their music. For example, Their song "The Infanta" was used in the TV show Mad Men, and to my knowledge is still the only modern song used in the show, which is set in the early 60's.

The King is Dead is a solid album, but at this point in their careers (this being their 6th album), it is hard for the band to add new layers to a sound that is already unique to themselves.

Track 1: Don't Carry It All
This could easily a Tom Petty song, just from the intro. It becomes apparent very early that this might be the most pop-driven album The Decemberists have made. This really doesn't even sound like The Decemberists to me. Maybe that's why the song is all about the changing of the season. It's a metaphor for their change in sound.
Verdict: 7/10

Track 2: Calamity Song
I like the little guitar riff in this song. Very lighthearted for such a depressing song. "Calamity Song" is very reminiscent of one of my favorite Decemberists songs, "July, July!". It even matches in macabre lyricism. Who just uses California sinking under a giant earthquake as a throwaway lyric?
Verdict: 8/10


Track 3: Rise To Me
The first slower, subdued song on The King is Dead. I have always thought that Decemberists were very good at these types of songs. This style really fits Colin's vocal style much more than anything fast paced. He really has a voice made for slow, melancholy tracks. He should have just been a country artist.
Verdict: 8/10

My Year In Lists: The 25 Best Albums of 2010

25. Strand of Oaks - Pope Killdragon

I'm finding it increasingly harder to describe this album. Is it a folk album? It could certainly pass for it. Introspective, sprawling songwriting is a staple on Pope Killdragon. It also has shades of progressive rock, metal, and post-rock. It also has a song about Dan Akroyd and his emotions after the death of John Belushi. And it's actually a really good song! Even when he is writing about relatively nonsensical things, Tim Showalter still manages to make captivating music.

Standout Tracks: Killdragon, Sterling, Daniel's Blues, Last To Swim

24. Surfer Blood - Astrocoast

I like to consider this album the antithesis to the surf rock genre. While it definitely shares the sound of the other bands in the genre, the lyrical content plays more like it is mocking the genre instead of glorifying it. Surfer Blood also has more of a punk tinge to their sound. I love the sardonic nature of their lyrics as well.

Standout Tracks: Floating Vibes, Swim, Take it Easy, Catholic Pagans

My Year In Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2010, 50-26

2010 has come to a close. So what's more important than counting down the best albums of the year? I can't think of a single thing. When I look back at this year musically, I have a couple thoughts. A lot of well established artists released good material (Arcade Fire, The National, Kanye West, LCD Soundsystem, for example), Some long awaited rap albums finally saw daylight (Big Boi and Kanye), and punk music had something of a revival (Male Bonding, Titus Andronicus, Tyvek, Let's Wrestle, etc.). Those topics will show up a considerable amount in this list. All in all, it was a great year for music.

50. Liam The Younger - Revel Hidden Worlds

Just a nice, simple, relatively straightforward record.

Standout Tracks: Crossed Water, Lie, Ode

49. S. Carrey - All We Grow

A beautifully lush, low key album from one of the members of Bon Iver.

Standout Tracks: In The Dirt, Mothers, Action

48. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II)

A surprisingly cohesive sophomore album from Crsytal Castles.

Standout Tracks: Baptism, Suffocation, Vietnam

47. Jónsi - Go

Although the absence of a full Sigur Ros limits him a little, Jónsi's still manages to put out a sonically beautiful album.

Standout Tracks: Go Do, Animal Arithmetic, Boy Lilikoi

46. Yeasayer - Odd Blood

Frustratingly top heavy, but the first half is very, very good.

Standout Tracks: Ambling Amp, Madder Red, O.N.E.

My Year In Lists: The Top 50 Songs of 2010

2010 was an interesting year on a song level. While most popular singles followed the same heavily produced, glossy, and manufactured formula, there was a groundswell of great songs being made by bands on the mid to low level spectrum. 2010 had albums from indie stalwarts such as Arcade Fire, The National, and to some extent, Kanye West. While these great albums spawned great songs, there were also bands that I did not expect to have such a profound effect with simply amazing songs. Bands that I had not even heard of, such as Titus Andronicus. Bands that I had forgotten about, such as Caribou, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Damien Jurado. It was a year of comebacks in a way for me, and this list reflects that.

50. Apparat - Sayulita




49. ceo - Illuminata
48. The Soft Pack - Answer To Yourself
47. The Morning Benders - Excuses
46. Avi Buffalo - What's It In For?
45. Les Savy Fav - Sleepless in Silverlake




44. Vampire Weekend - Holiday
43. The Apples In Stereo - Dream About The Future
42. Damien Jurado - Arkansas
41. Los Campesinos! - This is a Flag, There is No Wind

My Year In Lists: My Top Albums of 2010 According to Last.fm

Same rules apply as artists: Everything counts, not just 2010 albums.

10. The Replacements - Let it Be (185 Plays)

The Replacements' best album. This is the album where it all worked in unison for them. It mixed their early works punk aesthetic as well as their later albums pop sensibilities.

9. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More (210 Plays)

An emotionally devastating album. Maybe not in the sense of a complete loss of hope like, for example, The Antlers' Hospice, but more in a sense of not being able to have what you want. A study in broken hearts and busted promises.

My Year In Lists: My Top Artists of 2010 According To last.fm

I thought I would kick off my music lists by showing everyone what I actually listened to this year. This is in no way my top artists/songs/etc of 2010, it is just the raw stats of what I actually listened to during the year. Because of this is will not be secluded to just artists who were relevant in 2010. But still, an interesting way to look at what I was actually listening to a lot in 2010.

10. Japandroids (265 Plays)

Japandroids had a pretty cool 2010, even though there debut album came out in 2009. They began a singles series that produced three really good songs ("Art Czars", "Younger Us", and "Heavenward Grand Prix"). They played a bunch of live shows as well, including Bonnaroo, where I got a chance to see them. For only having two members they generate an intense amount of sounds. They are the spiritual successors to Death From Above 1979.