onotob

Vol 001, Vol 002

It’s that time again folks. It’s time for me to put a bunch of cool new music in a neat little package to be divided up, hashed and sent to your eager clients to be reassembled and enjoyed. Truly, the sweetness of life.

Last time I sent a bit too much of this so-called cool new music and some of you felt (understandably) overwhelmed. In response to all the valuable criticism I received (you can stop with the criticism now, for real) I decided to limit myself to 5 albums per release. This turned out to be much more difficult than I originally anticipated, as I found myself reshuffling the line up time and time again. Something would sit on the list for a couple of weeks and then BAM!, something like Animal Collective comes along and fucks it all up (by being so awesome).

And so, after much deliberation, we arrive at the list presented here today. I think it’s a good mix of material that will challenge you as a listener, and some that will immediately grab hold of you and cause one of those involuntary smiles that fill our hearts with joy.

Remember, if it feels like a lot just listen to the highlights and delete what doesn’t interest you right away. And now, on to the show.

Animal Collective – Sung Tongs
Animal Collective is, as the name suggests, an umbrella name that covers a fluctuating cast, with Avey Tare and Panda Bear at the core. Their bio on the Fat Cat Records web site claims they came together “with the intention of moving pop music in a direction that would place heavy emphasis on sonic experience”, and boy howdy do they ever. The album opener Leaf House is the bait, the carrot on the stick, that gets you through this entire album. It is simultaneously catchy and experimental, with its cascading vocal harmonies and rhythmic core. This leads us to Who Could Win a Rabbit, which can barely contain its exuberance. It’s so much fun that it doesn’t have to make sense. Now that we’re hooked, we move easily through the next few songs, which range from the mellow acoustic plucking of The Softest Voice to the Latin-flavored childishness of Sweet Road. After this short little ditty we find ourselves at the crossroads. Visiting Friends marks a descent into madness, where all pretense is lost and there ain’t a hook in sight. For the rest of the album we’re falling down the rabbit hole, a strange and pretty musical space that rewards multiple listens and a sense of humor. Highlights: Leaf House, Who Could Win a Rabbit, Winter’s Love.

The Faint – Wet From Birth
A couple of albums ago The Faint were just another 80’s retro act out of Omaha, albeit one with some flare and creativity. With Wet From Birth they’ve created the perfect balance of looking back and moving forward, all while managing to make songs that move hips. The album is consistently strong, from the silky snub of How Could I Forget to the dirty synth sprint of Paranoiattack to the vulnerability of Phone Call. Highlights: Desperate Guys, How Could I Forget, Symptom Finger

Feist – Let it Die
I promised myself I wouldn’t over-hype this album because I want as many people to be able to enjoy it as possible, and nothing spoils a good thing more than overestimating it. So how best to describe this album? What affect did it have on me? I guess one could say that it unfurled in my heart like a thousand-petaled lotus, and by the time I was done listening I felt that I had fallen in love and had my heart broken and come to terms with it in the course of 45 minutes. Leslie Feist’s voice is sublime, and her songwriting is earnest, inventive and beautiful (the coy reversal of the title track is a perfect example). She is comfortable in any genre, and the album happily skips from folk to disco to pop to lounge. This has to be my top album of 2004, and I don’t even make top-10 lists. The only downside is that about half of the albums is comprised of covers. Beautiful though they be, I wish there was more original material to enjoy. I’m reticent to select highlights because they’re all so consistently great that I would hate for you to skip over any of them. Just sit down and listen to tracks 1 through 9. You won’t regret it.

Nellie McKay – Get Away From Me
Nellie McKay was 19 years old when she recorded this album. She can’t be more than 21 now. This little fact blows my mind every time I listen to her debut. The album is equally the product of a musical prodigy and a precocious teenager. But we forgive the vagaries of youth, do we not? We can only hope. The topics range from stalking prospective lovers to drinking to dealing with the death of a cat (which leads to drinking). There’s even a rap song in there. The lyrics are just smart enough (she apologizes for the stupid way she rhymes. It’s meta!), and the production literate enough, to overcome the sound of a young white female jazz vocalist rapping. There’s a lot to love here (it doesn’t get much better than Ding Dong), and her potential is limitless. Highlights: David, Ding Dong, The Dog Song.

Phoenix – Alphabetical
The Frenchmen of Phoenix have produced some of the best pop music ever with their sophomore effort Alphabetical. It’s got everything: crisp production, vaguely sentimental lyrics, vocal harmonies. There’s not to much to dislike, and at just under 38 minutes it’s also rather difficult to get bored. The songs just breeze along and before you know it you’re shaking what your mama gave you to Holdin’ On Together (Maybe you can tell me what “He told me a height could smile / if it’s filled with tears” means.) This often gets me through gridlock traffic with a smile. Highlights: Everything Is Everything, (You Can’t Blame It On) Anybody, Holdin’ On Together.

Posted at 4:18 pm.