Grimes, Genesis
Birds & Batteries, The Machine & the Vampire
Bettie Serveert, Sunday Morning
Puppies and Trains, Behold a Pale Puppy
The Black Angels, Bad Vibrations
Bjork, Vertebrae by Vertebrae
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Theme From 45 Eugenia
Black Box Recorder, Child Psychology
Blake Babies, What Did I Do
Pyyramids, Animal
Blonde Redhead, Ballad of Lemons
Bitesize, I Forgot My Mantra
Young Magic, Sparkly
Zoe Boekbinder, Serrated Spoon
Blondie, The End The End
Olivia Broadfield, Push
Blue Skies for Black Hearts, Ambition
Boyskout, Ecstasy
Old Monk, Sacred Birds
Bosque Brain, Train Song
Misty Boyce, Slow Burn
Elk Bell, All Fall Down
Boyracer, Chanteuse
The Breeders, Full on Idle
Liftoff, Shine
Brilliant Colors, Short Sleeves at Night
Brassy, Work It Out
Big Deal, Mai Joy
Bratmobile, You’re Fired
Basia Bulat, The Shore
Hindi Zahra, Our Soul
Kate Bush, How to Be Invisible
The Butchies, Not Like Mine
The Lovely Bad Things, I Just Want You to Go Away
Camera Obscura, Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken
Cadallaca, Fake Karaoke Machine
Tigertown, Still Breathing
Call and Response, Misty Moon
Cat Power, Cross Bones Style
Errors, Holus-Bolus
Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps, Strong Shoulders
Carissa’s Wierd, The Piano Song
Yael Meyer, Shed Their Fear
Catatonia, Sweet Catatonia
Care Bears on Fire, Heart’s Not There
Neko Case, The Needle Has Landed
Chairlift, Make Your Mind Up
Joel’s Hit Show, Episode 144, 14 March 2012 Playlist
March 14, 2012Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes “Bones for Tinder”
March 11, 2012I’ll admit my ignorance of not knowing a thing about Justin Robinson. Apparently he came to power as part of Carolina Chocolate Drops, a band name that’s hard to get away with. In any case, on tracks such as “Bright Diamonds,” you get some folky, stringy stuff with female backing vocals. It’s very good singing, writing, and music with none of the pretense you tend to hear these days.
“Butcher Bird” is fine. I really like “Nemesis or Me!” The strings are similar to Julie Choi’s “Sorry Song,” although the melody does unfortunately remind you of Plain White T’s “Hey Delilah” from time to time.
A good story accompanies “Vultures.” Musically this would work better in a rockabilly style. It sounds kind of restrained as is, especially the drummer, who seems poised to go off at any moment but can’t because of how the song is composed.
“The Phil Spectors” is more accessible, commercially. The vocals are mixed a little bit higher, and the strings don’t compete with the rest of the song. Although I wouldn’t expect to hear it on a Top 40 radio station anytime soon, this would sneak into a Triple AAA format fairly well.
Elika “Always the Light”
March 11, 2012Elika is a they — not a she. And they opened for Asobi Seksu, the sexiest robots around, so that’s quite the pedigree right there. The lead singer doesn’t have the diva thing going on — nor does she have the ethereal vocals you often find with this type of music. Instead, you get a half-Madonna, half-Liz Phair style of singing with the requisite synths and drum machines.
Tracks such as “Stay Beside Me” provide a nice bridge opportunity for those interested in dance music but are otherwise scared off by the too many perceptively random sounds they encounter most of the time.
Madonna fans will also like “Count Your Steps,” which has a similar melody as “What It Feels Like for a Girl.” I also like “No One Gets Lost,” even if I disagree with the premise.
The other track I really like is Trials. It’s more of an indie pop song in the Dot Allison vein. This is a hard record to hate.
Foxy Shazam “The Church of Rock and Roll”
March 11, 2012I saw these guys at Slim’s when Free Energy opened for them. I loved Free Energy, and I could see why Foxy Shazam were great. I’ve never heard a studio recording before but do know they are awesome live. And they’re on I.R.S., which is just fun because that’s another zombie brand back to pleasure us, like Lucky Supermarkets.
“Last Chance at Love” has a beat similar to some Superdrag ’90s classics, such as “Hellbent,” plus falsettos. That’s all you need for a good time. Also fun is “(It’s) Too Late Baby.” If White Stripes were as crazy as they pretend to be, they could be Foxy Shazam. Luckily for you, they don’t have to be.
As I alluded to earlier, you just never know what to make of these guys once you’ve seen the live. “Wasted Feelings” sounds like if Prince fronted a heavy metal band that was opening for the Talking Heads. Is it a novelty? Well, what about this band isn’t a novelty?
“The Streets” was also fine. Go see them live. In the meantime, listen to the album and dream.
Big History “All at Once”
March 11, 2012It’s an EP. “Wardrum” is first and provides vaguely mid-’90s vocals and synths reminiscent of La Bouche, mixed with Austra to keep you feeling cool. “Every Bone” has very prominent guitar added to the mix, fitting of the modern generation’s desire to have everything in everything. This isn’t noise, though. Everything is shuffled together nicely. We failed in the ’90s trying to do this with Republica and Kenickie, but if they want to try again with a less-sassy vocalist, I’m fine with “suffering” through it.
The title track is in the middle, and the synth melody is occasionally reminiscent of the Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle.” The random sample of chattering children lead me to believe that this must sound pretty good when you’re high.
“Wolf Blood” is the weakest track but still good. The last track is “Baby” and has good synths. The whole EP is great, and I’d like more.
Various Artists “Chronicle (Original Soundtrack)”
March 11, 2012The movie sucked, but the soundtrack is pretty good. You may recognize some of these songs as having profanity, but they’re all edited out here. Thanks, Fox. Generally the rockier stuff is up front, and the dancier stuff is in the back. Here are some highlights:
- A B & the Sea are at their power pop best with “Bone Dry”
- The purple crowd will enjoy Congorock’s Scrawny-licious “Sirius”
- STRFKR sounds like they always do on “Bury Us Alive”
- As a Class Actress fan, I enjoy the steady synths of “Keep You”
- The M83 song is also OK but more like loud M83 than good M83
Grace Woodroofe “Always Want”
March 11, 2012The quick description is that Grace Woodroofe is an Australian Adele who doesn’t chain smoke. Same wise-beyond-her-years voice and all that. So there’s definitely an opportunity for her to make it.
“I’ve Handled Myself Wrong” is the first track and sounds like the Laura Gibson record I just reviewed. It’s that kind of week, I guess. Also in this vein is “Transformer.” All the songs do sort of sound the same, but she’s still new at this, so I can cut her some slack.
If you wanted to listen to Portishead without feeling like you had to take drugs to enjoy it, then “Oh My God” does the trick. Vocally it is very similar to “All Mine,” but the accompaniment is much more comforting.
The title track sounds like Fiona Apple mixed with a little Jennifer Trynin. The last track is “Quicksand.” This album really flies by. That must be a good thing. At any rate, “Quicksand” provides some promise and has some male backing vocals to provide some needed texture. This is a pretty good effort, from front to back.
Cate le Bon “Cyrk”
March 11, 2012I’ve played her stuff on my show before, but someone else had reviewed it. I always end up playing artists whose names I can’t pronounce. It really puts me to work.
And that’s fantastic because “Puts Me to Work” is a great song on this record. Also good is “Julia,” which is a waltz and has an organ of some sort and inexplicably makes me think of my pre-algebra class I was in when I was 10. I can’t explain it. It’s inexplicable.
I absolutely love “Fold the Cloth.” The synths and mixed-too-high guitar make for a really good time. This one is great for old school Stereolab fans. Love. Love. Love. “Through the Mill” is also pretty good.
The last track is “Ploughing Out Part 2.” It is better than “Ploughing Out Part 1,” which is right before it. I don’t know why she didn’t just make one big-ass song, but who am I to judge?
Ani DiFranco “¿Which Side Are You On?”
March 11, 2012I can’t stand Ani DiFranco, but I have a ton of respect for her. And when no one was reviewing this, I figured I could suck it up and show a little objectivity. But honestly an Ani DiFranco record is the last thing you need a review for anyway.
DiFranco is more of a storyteller than an angry woman these days, but I imagine her fans have equally matured as well. “Life Boat” is the first track and supports this concept. We’re told a story about a loss of innocence, but it’s not angry. Instead, you get a pretty good story for only 4 minutes, and the distorted guitar is better than what we usually get with most of her efforts. There are small hints of Johnny Marr and Santana there. It turns out to be Adam Levy on guitar. He’s good.
The title track is really long and has banjo at the beginning. When I was in high school I used to start English questions with an upside-down question mark as well. I guess this is just a coincidence. In any case, it’s an election year, and DiFranco is political, so this song sort of writes itself. And if everyone in DC is going to be polarizing, then she can be, too, right?
“Amendment” has a strong feminist bent, even for a DiFranco song, but even for her the lyrics are more poignant. You can’t get anything done while listening to this record because it’s too engaging.
Other tracks that stand out are “Promiscuity,” “J,” and “Hearse.” I want to punch holes in these songs’ premises, but I can’t in good faith. Honestly, at this point I am just disliking DiFranco out of consistency. All the annoying things she used to do she doesn’t do anymore, but I am a man, so therefore I am stubborn. The rhetoric that makes her famous is the same rhetoric that lets me continue to say I can’t stand her.
Today's featured shit 