Is This Thing On?

Been a while; anybody still out there? Here's a list of some things that don't suck. Been a pretty decent summer:

Bon Iver Bon Iver*

Battles Gloss Drop

The Cars Move Like This

Explosions in the Sky Take Care, Take Care*

Foo Fighters Wasting Light

Junior Boys It's All True

Maritime Human Hearts

Release the Sunbird Come Back to Us

Mock Orange Disguised as Ghosts

The Sea and Cake Moonlight Butterfly

Washed Out Within and Without

The Wooden Birds Two Matchsticks

Fringe

Friday Night Lights* (TV) - May not be new to you, but it is to me.

Shark Week

Captain America: The First Avenger

Super 8

Have given in to the realization that Cowboys & Aliens isn't going to be mind-blowingly awesome, but I'm holding out hope it's going to be fun. Let you know after tomorrow...

*If you don't like this Album/Show/Movie, listen to/watch it again, and try harder. If that doesn't work for you, get your head checked.

BTW...

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KanYe's New Album: It's Time to Get Excited

Last weekends "under a rock" post was incomplete. KanYe has a new record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, being released November 22, and, like always, anyone who is a fan of hip-hop (or music in general) should be excited. If you think you need a reason to be (you don't), take a look at the list of collaborators, which includes none other than Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). Twice. I know, West's public schtick is getting a bit old, but listen to "Lost in the World", and try to not be pumped. You can't:

KanYe West: "Lost in the World"

Also, in case you weren't aware, back in August West started a program called "GOOD Fridays". The basic premise involves a free track being released every Friday until Christmas. Not a completely novel idea, but still pretty cool coming from a guy who works within the jurisdiction of The Evil Empire (The RIAA). Not all of the songs involve West, but three of them will be on Dark Twisted Fantasy, including "Lost in the World". Taken along with Cee-Lo covering Band of Horses' "No One is Gonna Love You" on his new album, it seems as though a totally boss trend may be taking root here. Now we just need KanYe to return the favor on Bon Iver's next album...

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Junip (Feat. Jose Gonzalez): "Always"

Junip is basically José González' answer to Justin Vernon's Volcano Choir Project. Almost to a "T", actually. These guys have been playing together off and on since the late '90s, but have never really dedicated themselves to the project until now. No doubt it's been worth the wait, but be forewarned: listening to "Always" will most likely lead to a tormenting couple of months until the 27th of September, when their first full length, Fields, is finally released. Doubt my warnings at your own peril:

Junip: "Always"

You can also head on over to the band's website and download a free copy of their under-the-radar Rope and Summit ep in exchange for handing over your email address, etc., which José González will most likely encase in a small seashell and wear around his neck in an attempt to bolster his vocal prowess.

Junip: "Rope and Summit"

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New (and Semi-New) Music Roundup 3/6/10

The Weekend = get caught up on new music. Gonna keep this short and sweet:

• New Rogue Wave album Permalight was released this week. After extensive listening, I find it to be a pretty solid pop/rock record all the way through, even the semi-cheesy tracks ("Permalight" & "Good Morning"). Favorite track, so far, "Right With You":

• Peter Gabriel's indie cover album, Scratch My Back, is mostly just kinda weird, but his cover of Bon Iver's "Flume" is really, really cool:

• Really looking forward to Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record (out May 4). Check out the first released track, "World Sick":

• Broken Bells self-titled album hits stores next week, and they've released the second best song on the album, "Vaporize", as a single since the last time I mentioned them:

New album confirmations: The National (High Violet, May 11), Minus the Bear (Omni, May 4), Band of Horses (Infinite Arms, May 18).

Gorillaz' (?) new album Plastic Beach is out there floating around in cyberspace. Gotta say the initial listen left me unimpressed. The first single, "Stylo", sounds like it was ripped straight from my favorite Super Nintendo game Top Gear 3000, which is cool, but it doesn't have much else going on. That being said, the video is really cool, if you're into that sort of thing:

• Last but not least, Spoon were on Letterman recently. "Got Nuffin'":

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TGIF: Bon Iver's "Flume"

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Top 25 Albums of 2008

I spent most of 2008 thinking this was a weak year for music.  Putting this list together definitely forced me to rethink my position on that.  Definitely some tough picks to make this year...

25. Nada Surf Lucky

24. Dodos Visiter

23. Sun Kil Moon April

22. Cut Copy In Ghost Colours

21. Helio Sequence Keep Your Eyes Ahead 

20. The Sea & Cake Car Alarm

19. Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew/Brendan Canning 

      Spirit If.../Something For All Of Us...

18. Girl Talk Feed The Animals

17. The Killers Day & Age

16. Headlights Some Racing, Some Stopping

15. Grand Archives Grand Archives

14. MGMT Oracular Spectacular

13. KanYe West 808s & Heartbreak

12. Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend

11. Ben Folds Way To Normal

10. Beck Modern Guilt

  9. Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

  8. Ratatat LP3

  7. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes

  6. French Kicks Swimming

  5. Sigur Rós Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

  4. Minus The Bear Acoustics

  3. M83 Saturdays = Youth

  2. Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago

  1. TV On The Radio Dear Science

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New Music: Bon Iver's Blood Bank

It's been over a year now since a guy by the name of Justin Vernon (better known as Bon Iver) locked himself in his father's cabin for 3 wintry months, and, using little more than an acoustic guitar and a remarkably distinct voice, recorded For Emma, Forever Ago. A truly haunting and unique album, Emma would most certainly be a shoe-in for the top slot on my 2008 list if TV on the Radio hadn't also made a record this year.

In the 12 months since the self-release of Bon Iver's debut album, Vernon and his music have been catapulted into the limelight by the internet hype machine. Emma was eventually re-released by major indie labels Jagjaguwar and 4AD in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, and showered in critical praise. So, presumably, it will be a different ball game when Vernon's second release as Bon Iver, Blood Bank, comes out in January. True, it is only a 4 track ep, but there will be at least some anticipation to deal with. This is certainly not a self-release by an unknown artist, and, to me, how newer artists deal with these circumstances is one of the most interesting things about music today. Does the artist stick with what works? Do they tweak a few things? Do they take a stab at the magnum opus that they always wanted to create? For some, especially those on major labels, these decisions can be career-makers... or the complete opposite. Because Vernon chose to release an ep rather than a full length album, it would be a stretch to claim that this release will actually have such a dramatic impact, but I certainly don't think the fact that this will be the first new material he's produced since his enormously popular debut is lost on Vernon, either.

Upon a few initial listens, Blood Bank is a somewhat surprisingly faithful continuation of Emma. Don't get me wrong; my surprise doesn't stem from some desire for a change in approach. I certainly wasn't expecting Vernon to pull "a Radiohead", and I wouldn't mind hearing three more lps full of Emma-like tracks, anyway. But after seeing Bon Iver perform live this summer, I was fully expecting any new material to be geared more towards the full band that Vernon had surrounded himself with. After all, he seemed to adapt Emma's content as such in a live setting, and most artists in similar circumstances produce music that utilizes (or accommodates, depending on how you look at it) the new band members. That's not to say there aren't any attempts to venture from the confines that were so well established on Emma, but I don't think there's anything here that could be labeled as experimentation, either. Vernon knows exactly what he wants and what he's doing, and the result definitely won't be mistaken for anything other than Bon Iver.

Aside from going electric on the opener, the first two tracks, "Blood Bank" and "Beach Baby", are vintage Bon Iver. The title track is a slow burner that begins with nothing more than vocals and a driving chord progression, and gradually builds by incorporating auxiliary percussion that evolves into a full kit off in the distance. Immediately afterward, lazy strummer "Beach Baby" sleep-walks in, wearily carrying on until it seems to finally collapse into a deep slumber.

Both are excellent tracks, but both also definitely suggest business as usual for Bon Iver, which is why the 2nd half of the ep is what will most likely steal the show for most fans. Listeners may be surprised (unless they happened to catch a live performance in recent months) to find that "Babys" is anchored by an almost unnerving piano track, only occasionally accompanied by acoustic strums. There's no doubt the introduction of a piano makes sense, and it sounds really good, but its ambition also pales in comparison to that of the final track. Entitled "Woods", the closer sounds completely different from anything previously offered up by Bon Iver. In fact, most people have never heard anything like it before - unless, that is, you've heard Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek". If you have, it really is hard not to compare the two. Admittedly, that may have a lot to do with the fact that both tracks are made up of so few elements, but what is there creates a similarity that is immediately recognizable. It's certainly not a bad thing; both songs, consisting of only voice and vocoder, can't very well be described as anything less than stunning. That being said, even if you're a fan of Imogen Heap and you've already worn out "Hide and Seek" (as I have), Vernon has the capability to immediately take ownership of whatever he puts his voice to. I suppose that, depending on the individual's tastes, this could be a great thing to some and the opposite to others, but the bottom line is this: If you're a fan of Bon Iver, you are definitely going to dig on Blood Bank. In fact, the only real complaint I foresee fans having is the lack of another six or seven tracks. Could be worse.

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