Mini Reviews!

[ola]

This is the best thing the band has done since Soft Bulletin.

I second this. I'm going to try and get both the hairy and vinyl versions, I always make up good excuses to spend money on that stuff.

[Frunobulax]

The hairy version is hilarious and awesome. The megadeluxe coming out in December will probably not be purchased here. Embryonic should not be on vinyl - there is simply no need for warmth in this record, as it is already embracing and affirmative.

[ola]

Embryonic should not be on vinyl - there is simply no need for warmth in this record, as it is already embracing and affirmative.

Hmm, interesting point.

An album that I was a latecomer to, recently appreciating:

Adrian Orange & Her Band - Self-titled

The "afrobeat-meets-lo-fi indie-rock" observation made by one reviewer is a good place to start when describing this. Adrian Orange started out as a Microphones protege (under the name Thanksgiving), and went on to release a ton of music and tour all over the place, all before he hit his twenties. On this album he performs Thanksgiving-style songs (with his trademark wailing, wobbly, and sometimes cracked + desperate baritone voice), backed up by a gang of other accomplished musicians playing everything from sax to West African-influenced drums/guitar/horns. Several familiar NW people play and sing on this, including members of the Microphones, Desolation Wilderness, and LAKE.

[Frunobulax]

Love The Microphones and Thanksgiving. Don't forget to mention that Adam Forkner (of White Rainbow, Yume Bitsu, Rob Walmart, VVRSSNN, and sometimes Microphones fame) produced and played on this album.

[Frunobulax]

Welcome Nowhere by Thanksgiving.
A collection of dolent, often introspective songs from the then 18 Adrian Orange. Each one weaves an interesting tale of lonesome woes, love, or just being near trees and lakes. Released on Phil Elverum's label, Welcome Nowhere proves to be one of the most enduring folk albums of the past decade. Also worth checking out if you like this one is The Ghost & The Eyes w/ Trees in the Ground, Outside the Window, an EP on States Rights Records.

[Seymour_Glass]

Transference - Spoon

Okay, lemme start off by naming the three Spoon records this reminded me most of: Kill the Moonlight, for the basic songcraft, Gimme Fiction, for some of the production tricks, and Get Nice! (The bonus disc from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga) for the general lack of fuck given about what you think. This is definitely the most experimental Spoon album there is. it's seriously like they took a bunch of demos and messed with them in the production booth, skipping the part where they record the "real" version of the song. Tiny Mix Tapes called it their Kid A, and that's about as good a comparison as one can make. It's nowhere near as poppy as Ga, being their 'shunning the limelight' record, like Kid A was. But it's fun and interesting to listen to, and it's still Spoon through and through.

[Seymour_Glass]

Did I mention it's my new favorite?

[Seymour_Glass]

The Suburbs by The Arcade Fire is in my opinion the best album they have ever released, and maybe my favorite of this year thus far.

[Seymour_Glass]

David Comes to Life by Fucked Up

The Merrimack to Titus Andronicus's Monitor, in the sense of loudass indie punk teeming with ideas and emotions. The album is a rock opera, chronicling the story of David, a guy who works in a lightbulb factory in 1970s England. He meets a girl named Veronica, and they fall in love, but David never lets go of the feeling that the other shoe will drop. it does, and she's killed in an explosion, and the narrator, named Octavius, blames David and is generally way less objective than any narrator should be. The story is crazy and difficult to follow at first listen. Thank god for those guitars, those chiming melodies swathed in distortion and layered on top of one another. You'd think that a hardcore band with three guitars would sound cluttered, but these guys know how to work arrangements. The frontman, Damian Abraham, may be limited in vocal technique, but he finds ways to work around his voice, so it doesn't seem like a monotone holler. And the stylistic shifts throughout the record, from pop punk to earsplitting noise, work perfectly within the individual songs and especially within the context of the whole album/narrative. And the story does warrant analysis. I've had an hour long conversation about the dynamic between David and octavius. I think I'll be hard pressed to find another album this year that comes close to this one.

Also, I saw them, and they were crazy awesome. And a friend and I talked to the frontman for a good twenty minutes before the show. He's far too pleasant.

[Seymour_Glass]

Also, I should say that The Monitor by Titus Andronicus is my favorite album.