Over the course of a semester, sometimes really good albums fall through the cracks. For the Arts in Review page, we try to cover relatively recent records, and sometimes I won’t hear (or even hear about) a really good album until it’s too late. So, basically, this is my second chance. The following are a half dozen really, really good albums (in no particular order) you should go listen to right now. Also, early apologies for the fact that they’re all extremely condensed and thus kind of jumpy.
Dear and the Headlights – Small Steps, Heavy Hooves
Let’s start with the most embarrassing omission of the year so far, Dear and the Headlights’ debut album. They’re signed to Equal Vision but might be the most dissimilar of all the EV bands, playing a much more mellow, melodic style than their label-mates. The band’s style is varied, sometimes folksier, sometimes more anthemic, but always worth tapping your toes to. Vocalist Ian Metzger in particular has a singing style that jumps from Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) to Richard Thompson (Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s) to Casey Crescenzo (the Dear Hunter) to Brandon Flowers (the Killers). Whether he’s whispering or yelling or anything in between, though, his clever-with-a-side-of-childishness lyrics are fully his own.
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This one, an EP, is somewhat excusable, as I reviewed its accompanying full-length (Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?). I gave that an A, and I’d do the same for this one. In fact, I would go so far as to say Icons, Abstract Thee is even better. It represents the same stylistic shift of Montreal has made towards dance-punk and is equally as listenable, but the lyrics are much more straightforward and, because they still document Kevin Barnes’s own marital issues, from falling in love in “Du Og Meg” to where he is now in “No Conclusion,” it’s heart-wrenching even at its danciest.
The Diminisher – Imaginary Volcano
The solo debut of the well-traveled David McDonnell, who has played with the Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel in the past, to name a few, is difficult to describe stylistically. The bass line says 1960’s psychedelia and the electronic parts say contemporary electronica, but the ubiquitous harpsichord suggests something else entirely. McDonnell’s singing is reminiscent of Thom Yorke in its aimless wandering across the vocal spectrum.
Elliott Smith – New Moon 2xLP
If you remember this blog entry, you’ll recall I was initially unsure of what to expect from this. It’s entirely listenable and each track is just as good as anything Smith released in the time period, but much like 2004’s From a Basement on a Hill, New Moon lacks Elliott Smith’s blessing, without which the album seems premature.
Another EP, this one took a little to grow on me. It’s definitely a departure from the band’s more melodic debut, Waiter: “You Vultures,” and it’s paced a lot more deliberately, but this 23-minute electronic epic has its moments. Maybe I’m just a sucker for falsetto.
Dr. Dog – We All Belong
I hate calling things “Beatles-y,” but this album definitely feels like it’s pulled right from the 60’s. While it’s difficult to call anything with such clear influences “ambitious,” We All Belong is at the very least more dynamic than Dr. Dog’s last album, Easy Beat. Catchier hooks, stronger melodies, and there are tons of three-part harmonies, which is always a good thing.
