In the last few years of my run at HMV, I was given the go-ahead to do special orders for customers, as well as order the occasional import. This came in handy when NSYNC released the single “Bye Bye Bye” some time before the No Strings Attached album; I knew it would be a huge seller despite the price, so I had them order a good hundred or so copies. They all sold out within a few days.
Around that time, I’d been reading all the reviews in the British music magazines and catching up on bands that may or may not break here. One of my favorite finds was a five-piece called Ultrasound, whose sound was a fantastic cross between crunchy guitar-led Britpop (very similar to Kaiser Chiefs, predating them by at least a few years) and seventies psychedelia, with a bit of Pink Floydish prog in there as well. They released a handful of singles and one album, Everything Picture, before breaking up. [They would, however, reconvene twelve years later for a second album, Play for Today, and have just released a new mini-album at the end of 2016.]
It’s a sprawling album, twelve long tracks stretching an hour and a half over two cds (most of the tracks are around six or seven minutes long, with the last track featuring a truly epic freakout that lasts a little over 21 minutes plus a two-minute hidden track!). Due to its length and wide scope, many critics found it bloated and meandering, but despite that, it reached to number 23 on the UK Albums chart, and it’s remained a fan favorite. I for one loved that it was a long album; a sort of The Beatles only with fewer and much longer songs. I dubbed it onto cassette and listened to it constantly whenever I drove around New England.
The single “Stay Young” is one of my favorites from this album. It’s a wonderful rock anthem from the loud-soft-loud school, a twenty-first century rewrite of “My Generation” in a way.
The track “Aire & Calder” is another favorite. I love its driving beat and folksy melody that evokes the feeling of riding a caravan through the British wetlands. [Aire and Calder are two rivers that meet up near Goole and Castleford just outside Leeds; both towns are name-dropped within the song as well.]
The album still holds up well nearly eighteen years later. I can see where the critics were frustrated, as it slides all over the place, changing moods and sounds constantly (again, much like the White Album), but taken as a whole, it remains a strong record from start to finish.
I remember when U2’s breakthrough album The Joshua Tree came out, because it wasn’t just the usual music nerds like me that were eagerly awaiting for it; most of the guys I knew on my high school football team couldn’t wait to get their hands on it! That was certainly a change. Usually the jocks’ tastes in music and my tastes never crossed paths at all.
It could be that the teaser single, “With or Without You”, was such a huge hit that resonated with pretty much everyone. I think there was also the fact that their previous releases — the atmospheric The Unforgettable Fire from 1984, the excellent but far too short live album Under a Blood Red Sky from late 1983 and the amazing War from earlier that same year — were big favorites on MTV and rock radio. And that classic performance at Live Aid in the summer of 1985 had given them a big ol’ boost as well.
I remember not being overly excited about the release at first. Sure, I loved U2, but I wasn’t a hardcore dedicated fan yet. In fact, I was more focused on the new Siouxsie & the Banshees cover album (Through the Looking Glass) that was released around the same time. But I went ahead and bought it anyway, ordering the cassette from the BMG Music Club, and deemed it worthy of repeated listens.
It wasn’t until that summer, around the release of the third single “Where the Streets Have No Name” that the album really clicked with me. I’d started hearing more deep cuts from the album being played on WAAF, WAQY and other New England radio stations as well. The drifting beauty of “One Tree Hill”, the barely restrained anger of “Bullet the Blue Sky”, the pastoral melancholy of “Red Hill Mining Town” (the last of which reminded me of the dead-end feeling I was having about my home town at the time).
The album kicked off such a storm of excitement that their tour ended up being THE EVENT TO SEE. Sadly, I would never get to see them live until nearly ten years later for the PopMart Tour, but my sisters did get to see them down in Worcester for this tour, much to my extreme jealousy. Numerous parts of the tour stops were filmed for what would end up being the documentary Rattle and Hum, released in 1988 complete with soundtrack and new songs recorded on the road. And a little over ten years later, they’d resurrect and re-record one of the b-sides for “Streets” and release it as a single for one of their greatest hits mixes:
I’d revisit the album numerous times over the years: a constant soundtrack during my post-college writing years and even more during the Belfry years; talking with my then-girlfriend about how the album was sequenced into a specific flow of sound and mood; a constant replay when the band released their (almost) entire discography on iTunes; while working on my Walk in Silence project. I’ve never grown tired of it.
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Thirty years on, this album is still considered a classic. U2 themselves are celebrating its anniversary with a tour of North America and Europe, playing the album in its entirety. I doubt I’ll be going when they stop by Santa Clara in late May, but I’m sure it’ll be a fantastic show. [For a brief moment I thought hey, maybe they’ll come to Outside Lands!…and then I realized they’ll be wrapping up their European leg about the same time so I doubt they’ll be in the mood for trekking all the way back to California by that time. Wishful thinking, though!]
And finally, here we are at the last quarter of the year!
Phish, Big Boat, released 7 October. The band is positively perky on this album, full of bounciness and silliness that I haven’t heard since Billy Breathes twenty years ago. It’s also more cohesive and catchier than Fuego, their previous outing. And there’s some amazing harmony going on with this track right here.
Green Day, Revolution Radio, released 7 October. Another excellent album from the boys from the East Bay. While it may not be as radio friendly as American Idiot, it’s just as angry and in your face.
BT, _, released 14 October. BT is a fascinating musician in that you’re never quite sure what his next sound is going to be like. He’s a great remixer and his electronica stretches from glitchy to sublime. And then there’s this album, which is essentially an electronic classical album of sorts. It’s stunning and lovely and rates right up there with the work of my favorite new composer, Mason Bates. And of course this got a ton of play during writing sessions.
Bowling for Soup, Drunk Dynasty, released 14 October. BfS is up to their goofy, punky best as always with this Kickstarter-funded album (you should check out the KS page just to watch the video where they forget they’re trying to sell the album and talk about–you guessed it–drinking beer). It’s a strong and solid album all the way through, and a hell of a lot of fun.
Jagwar Ma, Every Now and Then, released 14 October. This album, interestingly enough, reminded me of Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, in that it’s a flawless mixture of melodic indie rock and blissed out dance grooves. And “O B 1” is definitely my Track of the Year, with its ticking ambient/chunky riff mix and infectious beat. The album itself is up there in my top ten as well.
American Football, American Football, released 21 October. WOO! New American Football! Given that their previous album was 17 years ago, that’s a long wait, but it was quite worth it. These guys were part of the original laid-back, wistful, math rock sound that included Low and early Modest Mouse back in the late 90s, so it’s great to have them back.
Jimmy Eat World, Integrity Blues, released 21 October. Glad to see these guys are still going strong after all these years, and still writing songs that stick in my head for hours. A solid album all the way through.
The Radio Dept, Running Out of Love, released 21 October. Yet another Wait–they have a new album out?? release for 2016, and it’s excellent. Dark and weird and groovy and twitchy all over the place — which is what makes me like them so much. Really dug the production on this one a lot.
Sleigh Bells, Jessica Rabbit, released 11 November. I really love their Wall of Crunchy Guitar sound (it’s great for headphones when you’re on a plane or at the gym), and I love the way they slip around their melodies, making them playful and in your face at the same time.
A Tribe Called Quest, We got it from here…thank you 4 your service, released 11 November. YES! Another ATCQ album finally arrives, and it’s a stunner. It might be their last one they release, but it’s a hell of tight one.
Metallica, Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, released 18 November. Ending on a surprising note, considering I’m not much of a metalhead at all, but this is one hell of a great album, the best they’ve done in the past few years. They still have a few songs here and there reminiscent of the more radio friendly Load/ReLoad era, but they’ve returned (finally) to some the best axe-wielding they’ve put on record in quite a while.
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Coming up next week: The End of Year Lists! Favorite songs, and my year-end mixtape!
Blink-182, California, released 1 July. I’ll admit, I’m still a Blink fan partially because Travis is such an insanely great fast-speed drummer. This new album feels like a return to their happier, punkier days of the late 90s-early 00s, and it’s a lot of fun to listen to.
The Avalanches, Wildflower, released 8 July. When was that last album of theirs? 2000? 2001? Far too long. They’ve lightened up on the sampling (a bit) for obvious financial reasons, and their songs aren’t nearly as weird and goofy as the ones on Since I Left You, but on the other hand, they’ve excelled at creating groovy vibes and insanely catchy tracks like the above.
Lou Rhodes, theyesandeye, released 29 July. Lamb’s lead singer released a lovely solo album featuring some of her best work outside that band. Her style of singing works well in a non-electronic atmosphere here, and she also does a hell of a great job covering The XX as well.
Dog Party, ‘Til You’re Mine, released 5 August. One of my favorite local bands releases their fifth album — the first after drummer Lucy’s high school graduation (!!) and as always, it’s all kinds of fun to listen to. Short econo punk that would make the Ramones and Fuzzbox proud.
De La Soul, …and the Anonymous Nobody, released 25 August. So happy to see these guys back at it…one of the best hip-hop groups around. I’m also impressed by the DIY nature of this album as well: the samples used were recorded using live musicians (their jamming would be recorded and various bits used for the samples), and the entire project was funded via Kickstarter. Even a lot of the non-music packaging and post-production was done either by them or by friends and acquaintances.
Banks & Steelz, Anything But Words, released 26 August. Who knew that the dark, driving alt-rock of Interpol would fit so perfectly with the blistering delivery of RZA? And that these guys met up frequently to play chess? This match-up delivers one hell of a strong punch from both sides and it’s one of my favorites of the year.
The Wedding Present, Going, Going… released 2 September. The Weddoes are back! Another Kickstarter-funded album that was well worth the wait. Full of their trademark dreamy and crunchy riffs on top of lovely melodies.
Wilco, Schmilco, released 9 September. Wilco has always been just this side of weird, and their new album proves once again that they can pull it off and still be fun and enjoyable to listen to. Definitely a band off in their own universe, but they’ve become quite comfortable and agile within it.
Bastille, Wild World, released 9 September. I wasn’t quite sure how they were going to top their fantastic debut album from a few years ago, but they’ve pulled it off by being bigger, stronger, and more experimental with their sounds. They’ve also injected a bit of humor into the mix this time out, which makes a lot of the songs that much more fun to listen to.
Preoccupations, Preoccupations, released 16 September. The band formerly known as Viet Cong returns with a new album that sounds straight out of 1985-era goth that you’d expect to hear on Homestead Records, and it’s a fascinating listen. [Also, the above video perfectly fits with early era 120 Minutes, doesn’t it?]
Against Me!, Shape Shift with Me, released 16 September. One of their most melodic releases that I can think of, and some of their best work as well. The songs feel freer and livelier. Another frequent player during the Day Job as well as writing sessions.
Beach Slang, A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings, released 23 September. Another album that sold me on first listen, even before the album was done. Equal parts Replacements and Dinosaur Jr, there’s a hell of a lot of great pop-punk going on here. Definitely in my top ten of the year.
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Next up, the final quarter of 2016….and of course, I’ll follow up with the lineup for the end-of-year compilation mix and my Top Albums and Songs of the year!
As you can tell, I haven’t quite been sticking to my schedule nearly as well as I’d hoped. I’d blame it on the procrastination or the Day Job or the election or whatever, but it really has been a bunch of things. I started writing this one up last night after doing much of our Christmas wrapping, but had to stop short so I could get working on my editing. I’m hoping in the new year I’ll be a little more on the ball, yeah?
Well hey, here we go with Part 2 of my favorite albums of 2016, and Q2 was filled with a hell of a lot of great albums that I’m still playing heavily months later. Enjoy!
Cheap Trick, Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello, released 1 April. Thought I’d start off this one with an unexpected surprise — I’ve been a longtime Cheap Trick fan [I’m talking “Surrender” era here, so that means I AM OLD] so I was quite pleased to hear that they had a new album out this year. This isn’t the poppy CT from the late 80s, mind you. This is the crunchier, rockier CT from the late 70s – early 80s. One of my favorites of the year.
M83, Junk, released 8 April. Where 2011’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming was the sound of 70s LA glitz and 80s cinematic vistas, Junk seems to take the idea of the one goofy track from that album (you know, that one about turning into frogs) and expands on it. The end result sounds like a mix between 80s kids shows on PBS and theme songs to Love Boat episodes. And yet somehow it works without being cloying or embarrassing. Even if the album cover does look like a Happy Meal box.
Lush, Blind Spot EP, released 15 April. One of the best shoegazey bands of the 90s returns after twenty years for a tour and a new EP, and it was well worth the wait. It’s just as lovely and shimmery as their previous records. Yet another constant play during my writing sessions.
Wire, Nocturnal Koreans, released 22 April. Essentially a mini-album of leftovers from the sessions for their previous album (2015’s self-titled), but nonetheless there’s not a wasted track here. They’ve settled quite nicely into their current iteration as an indie-rock band with a sparse yet powerful sound.
RWBY Vol 3 soundtrack, released 3 May. I found this online animation series quite by accident back in 2014 (I think I saw the Vol 1 soundtrack on eMusic as an endcap suggestion), and I quite enjoy it. The soundtracks are great as well, very Paramore-ish and a lot of fun to listen to during my writing sessions.
Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool, released 8 May. “Doot doot OH HEY we have a new album out. Here you go.” And the fans trip all over themselves downloading and liveblogging it! Heh. Seriously, though, it’s a great album. Haunting, gorgeous, tense, and dreamy. Another writing session soundtrack!
Nothing, Tired of Tomorrow, released 13 May. I do likes me some crunchy alternative metal, especially if it’s as melodic as Nothing is. I’d never heard of this band before hearing this album streamed on NPR.com, and within two songs I definitely had that HOLY CRAP I NEED THIS response. And once this was out, I quickly downloaded it along with the rest of their available albums and singles, because I loved it that much. One of my top ten albums of the year.
Mark Pritchard, Under the Sun, released 13 May. On the other end of the spectrum we have some lovely quiet ambient electronic from one of its best producers (and one half of Global Communication, whose 76:13 I still listen to on a regular basis while writing). The album feels haunted at times — kind of hinting at being alone on a desolate world, come to think of it — but it also has its moments of light humor (“Hi-Red” sounds a bit like Mark playing with the settings on his keyboard more than anything else) to balance it out.
Beth Orton, Kidsticks, released 27 May. Beth is one of those ‘off in her own universe’ songwriters, but without the weirdness that sometimes derails Tori and Bjork. Her music has also retained that not-quite-electronic sound that she captured so well back on 1996’s Trailer Park, letting it sound both natural and ambient at the same time.
Garbage, Strange Little Birds, released 10 June. Probably my favorite album of theirs after their self-titled debut back in 1995. There’s some great guitar crunch going on here, and Shirley Manson can still belt it out effortlessly. One of my top ten favorites of the year.
The Shelters, The Shelters, released 10 June. As my sister said to me, ‘Dig that Rickenbacker sound!’ These guys picked up where Jet left off some time ago with the Swinging London-influenced sound, and I couldn’t be happier. That this was released on Capitol makes absolute sense; they would have fit in quite nicely next to the Beatles as a great 60s guitar combo.
The Temper Trap, Thick As Thieves, released 10 June. This band has grown to be one of those ‘I haven’t heard it yet but I’ll definitely download it’ bands of mine, and their newest has not let me down. The title track is in my top ten favorite songs of the year as well.
DJ Shadow, The Mountain Will Fall, released 24 June. The always amazing DJ Shadow brings forth an album that features less samples and a lot more hard sounds, giving his already experimental vibe a grittier edge. I’ve been putting this one on during my writing sessions when I need an angrier vibe. [The above track is NSFW lyrically, but they sure do fit the video, given the present political atmosphere.]
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Coming soon, Part 3, in which we check out some excellent late summer tunage!
Oh hey! It’s that time of year again. Time for me to wax poetic about my favorite tunage that came out in the last twelve months. Time to yap about the purchases I’d made, the stuff I listened to in various parts of my universe. Time to talk about things personal, creative, and so on. I figure I’d split it up this time out, over the course of a few weeks, and give you the usual year-end Best-of Lists at the end of it.
It’s been quite a year of change, folks. Some awesome, some good, some not so good, some mindbogglingly craptastic. It’s been…interesting, to say the least. But musically, there were a lot of really strong albums that came out that I’m sure will stay in my rotation for some time to come. Here’s a quick overview of stuff that came out in the first quarter!
David Bowie, ★. Released 8 January. I’ll be honest, I’ve been a slow-burn Bowie fan. It took me a long time to appreciate his music, and I’m quite sure it’s due to the Commercial Radio Disease. You know the one — stations play the same five core songs to the point of torture so the passive listener doesn’t really want to invest in checking out the deeper cuts. It took me until 1997’s Earthling to actually pay attention to his music more. January’s Blackstar was a wonderful final release from him. He knew instinctively that this was his last album, and he wasn’t about to go away without a curtain call. It’s disturbing, fascinating, brilliant, and touching all at the same time.
Shearwater, Jet Plane and Oxbow. Released 22 January. Shearwater is a band you don’t hear on the radio; they’re a band you hear about via word of mouth and the music blogs and magazines. I first heard of them via listening to a streaming of 2012’s Animal Joy. They’ve got a unique indie rock sound that’s hard to pin down, their singer doesn’t really sound like anyone else, and their music is a bit hard to describe. But that doesn’t matter, because they’re just that good. Jet Plane and Oxbow got a hell of a lot of play for me this year, both as background music during my Day Job and during my evening writing sessions.
Massive Attack, Ritual Spirit EP. Released 29 January. I’ve loved everything Massive Attack has done since I first heard “Teardrop” in 1998, and this quick release was worth waiting for. Tricky is back in the fold once more on a devastatingly dark track — the kind they do exceptionally well. Another release that got heavy play during my writing sessions.
The 1975, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it. Released 26 February. The kind-of-creepy album title aside, I was completely floored by their follow-up to their poppy debut. The album originally reminded me of Primal Scream in their Rocks period — heavy on the Stonesy rock and British flavor — but it really grew on me. “Somebody Else” was consistently one of those songs I’d hear on the radio and think ooh, I like this….who is it? …and be pleasantly surprised when I remembered, and that I already owned it.
Yuck, Stranger Things. Released 26 February. When this band released their debut album in 2011, they had a different singer and sounded like an even messier Dinosaur Jr. Now they’ve turned their fuzz down some and sound a hell of a lot like Superdrag at their indiepoppiest, and I have no qualms about that at all. This is a lovely album worth checking out.
School of Seven Bells, SVIIB. Released 26 February. It’s touching that when guitarist/keyboardist Ben Curtis passed away in 2013, the rest of the band felt it necessary to finish off the album they’d been working on, and it’s a beautiful piece of work full of positive energy. Yet another album on writing session heavy rotation.
Paper Lights, Great Escapes. Released 15 March. I’ve been big on DIY this year, for obvious reasons. I first heard of Paper Lights via NoiseTrade in 2013, where the band had uploaded one of its EPs. I’d ended up on their mailing list, and was pleased to find out they had a new album out this year. It’s a wonderful album of relaxing dreampop.
Hooverphonic, In Wonderland. Released 18 March. I will always buy a Hooverphonic album, regardless. They’ve always been one of my favorite bands ever since I first heard “2Wicky” in the back room at HMV all those years ago. They’ve gone through numerous lead singers since then (the new album features multiple vocalists this time out), but they’ve always written great pop tunes that balance perfectly between alternative rock and synthetic pop.
Bwana, Capsule’s Pride EP. Released 25 March. I don’t think I’ve ever chosen an super-underground release as one of my favorite albums of the year, but this is definitely on that list. [One needs to get a Tor browser and go to a specific website in order to download it, as it’s not available for sale or downloadable anywhere else. That’s how underground it is.] A brilliant mashup of jittery techno and soundbites from the movie and soundtrack of the classic anime movie AKIRA, it not only got me through numerous writing sessions, but also through multiple plane rides!
I was a huge fan of Zebra when I was in junior high. I remember hearing “Who’s Behind the Door?” on WAAF — and seeing the video on MTV — and being totally blown away by the music. I loved the sound of synthesizers back then, especially if they used the strings setting. [I’d later get into Giuffria a year or so later for the same reason.] I even got to see them live, when they opened up for Loverboy at the Worcester Centrum — my very first big arena concert.
I bought the cassette of the self-titled debut album right about the same time, and I nearly wore it out within a year.
Decades later, and I’m listening to it on mp3, and it suddenly dawns on me — this album sounds almost exactly like a Porcupine Tree album.
Think about it: both lead singers are guitar virtuosos who write beautiful and complex melodies. Sure, one sings in falsetto half the time, but never mind. Plus the keyboards play a strong and vital part in the music, giving it a darker ambience. There are a few shorter pop songs here and there, but there are also some lengthy prog-jam pieces in there as well. It’s no wonder that I became such a huge PT fan in the late 90s.
I still pull out this album every now and again and give it a listen. I’ll listen to album two, No Tellin’ Lies, every now and again as well, but this first album will always be a particular favorite of mine.
The always excellent Johnny Marr, who I’ll be seeing in October!
I’ve been tempted to do another “blogging a band” series like I did with the Beatles a while back. The original one was a lot of fun, as I was not only able to give the songs and albums a good solid listen, I was able to better understand their place in musical history — both their own, and within the larger scene. And as a bonus, I was also able to learn a lot of new songs on my guitar!
I probably don’t know any band nearly as well as I know the Beatles, but I do own a lot of complete (or nearly complete) discographies of plenty of bands, or they’re easily available for streaming somewhere if I don’t. I’ll be relearning their oeuvre right alongside you!
So, what do you think? Here’s a shortlist so far of favorite 80s/90s bands I could possibly do:
The next release from Depeche Mode in the 90s was a much darker affair…
But first, I’d like to make a little side trip to late 1991 and Wim Wenders’ fantastic epic, Until the End of the World. One of my top ten favorite films, it’s a road movie about a woman whose presence changes the fate of nearly everyone around her, while she herself is trying to figure out her own. It takes place at on New Years’ Eve, as 1999 changes over to 2000 — not just the end of the year, but the century and the millennium as well. For the soundtrack, Wenders reached out to numerous bands and musicians and asked them to write a song in the style they believe they’d have eight years from then.
DM’s donation was a religiously-tinged blues ballad called “Death’s Door” that hints at the prodigal son returning (much like William Hurt’s character in the film). It’s a great soundtrack worth picking up, and if you can find a copy of the film (it’s available for streaming on Amazon), it’s well worth checking out.
After that, the band remained quiet for some time until February 1993, when the new single “I Feel You” was released. Upon first listen, it sounded like the band had retained their fuller, stronger sounds and melodies, but had continued with their darker themes and moods. Like many previous pre-album singles (like “Strangelove” and “Personal Jesus”, it sounded vastly different than anyone had expected, right down to the opening screech of feedback.
Also gone was Dave Gahan’s perky goofball image; he was now grungy and longhaired with a dangerous sex swagger. [It was revealed sometime later that this partly due to his worsening drug addiction.] In fact, within the first minute of the video, we no longer see the band on banks of keyboards; only Andy Fletcher was behind the keys. Alan Wilder was now drumming, and Martin Gore was playing a Cash-like twang that would become the motif of the entire track.
Songs of Faith and Devotion arrived not six months later but almost exactly one month after that first single. There’s a rough tension throughout the album, not unlike listening to The Beatles’ white album (a description given to it by Alan Wilder himself)…the music is full of powerful anger, and Gahan’s singing has taken on an irritated growl (inspired by the LA alternative bands he’d been hanging with by that time). There are more organic samples here — live drums and guitars laid down and sequenced — and hardly a clanging pipe or popping firework anywhere at all. And tensions within the band had grown to such a degree that Wilder would quit the band at the end of the supporting tour.
It’s a very apt title, as religious themes pop up all over the place. It’s not an album about praise, though…it’s about the limits of faith and devotion, both in life and in spirituality. The critical response to the album was highly positive, however, and though its singles are rarely chosen for airplay nowadays, it’s an incredibly solid and deeply emotional album worth checking out.
Second single “Walking in My Shoes” is the track that would get the most airplay, as it’s the most melodic and most typical of the band’s sound. That’s not to say it was written to sell units, however, far from it. It’s a bleak song using the ‘walk a mile in my shoes’ metaphor as only Gore and DM can do it: don’t you dare judge me until you feel what I’ve gone through.
Third single “Condemnation,” however, was a completely leftfield hit on both sides of the Atlantic. While “Death’s Door” hinted at a hymnal, this one is purely gospel choir, and it’s a deeply moving and lovely track.
Fourth and final single “In Your Room” featured the band venturing even further from their digital sound as well as their previous image: the video features numerous visual cues from their previous videos made with Anton Corbijn, twisted just that little bit to hint at a wish to be freed of them. Even the mix used here (the Zephyr Mix) is almost all analogue, showing DM as an almost purely rock band now instead of a synth band.
Even the album tracks like the gospel-by-way-of-Led-Zeppelin “Get Right with Me” and the turbulent irritation of “Rush” feature a band going all out in spirit and emotion. Taken as a whole, the album definitely mirrors the real-life tensions the band had been dealing with during the writing and recording, as well as the expectations laid upon them to recreate something as phenomenal as Violator. It would nearly break them. Wilder would depart at the end of the album’s tour, and once the tour was over that December, they would go their separate ways. Dave Gahan would attempt suicide in late 1995 and nearly die from a drug overdose in spring 1996. Gahan survived and persevered, recovering from his heroin addiction and turning his life around.
By early 1997, they were back with a new, even stronger and more cohesive album, Ultra.
Josh Stewart & Dan Snyder, 1850. One of the free albums I downloaded from NoiseTrade, it’s a spooky post-rock album with atmospherics that remind me of Global Communication and Boards of Canada.
Paper Lights, Great Escapes. Dan Snyder is also the man behind this band (I got one of his earlier EPs from NoiseTrade and bought this one when it dropped). I seem to really enjoy quirky one-man-band groups (Decomposure is another). This album’s quite relaxing; I often listen to it during my editing sessions.
Big Jesus, Oneiric Sampler EP. These young’uns have no right to rock this hard and melodic. Another NoiseTrade find, and I’m totes going to buy the album when it drops. They’ve got that fast grunge sound that reminds me of Helmet, balancing it with a bit of soaring guitar noodling reminiscent of POD. Expecting great things from this band.
The Avalanches, Wildflower. Apparently its de rigeur now to let a decade and a half go by between albums? Heh. A welcome return to a band that’s inventive, fun, and oftentimes a bit silly.
The Temper Trap, Thick as Thieves. A very strong third album from this Aussie band, it sounds much heavier and crunchier than their previous albums.
Garbage, Strange Little Birds. Been a fan since their first album, and this new one is just as excellent as the rest of them. I’ve been playing this one a lot during the day, but I’m sure it’ll get more play during my evening writing sessions soon enough.
Paul Draper, One EP. It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard from the former Mansun lead singer, but it’s well worth the wait. I’m really hoping he comes out with more tunes soon!
Minor Victories, Minor Victories. Rachel Goswell from Slowdive, Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai, and Justin Lockey from Editors? A cat kaiju (nekaiju?) video? HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE A BAD THING.
And one more, this from about nine years ago…
Blonde Redhead, 23. I’d been hearing the title track popping up on KSCU every now and again, and I kept forgetting how much I loved the song, so I put the album on my mp3 player. It ended up being my falling-asleep music on the plane out to Europe a few weeks back, and man, I couldn’t have picked a better album! A mix of 4AD moodiness and noise-rock hinting at Silversun Pickups. Totally worth having in your collection.
Walk In Silence 