Great timing on this concert announcement as the #38 and #14 bands on my 50 Best Albums of 2009 list are coming to Lawrence this spring. Cymbals Eat Guitars are taking Bear In Heaven out on tour as openers and they'll be playing at The Replay Lounge in Lawrence on Friday, April 2nd.
If you ask me the Replay Lounge is quite small for these two bands who are both garnering quite a bit of buzz on the blog scene. I'm guessing this will be moved to the Jackpot when it's all said an done.
I'm not going to re-cap the year in music that was 2009 other than to say it was a bit of a disappointing year in my opinion. Not as many albums I think I'll be listening to in 10 years as there have been in the last two or three years. On the bright side, with the list of great bands that are putting out new records in 2010 growing and growing, things might be looking up pretty quickly.
Without further ado, here's my list:
50. AC Newman - Get Guilty 49. The Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha 48. The Horrors – Primary Colours 47. Cold Cave – Love Comes Close 46. The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin 45. jj – jj n°2 44. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone 43. Mew – No More Stories Are Told Today, I’m Sorry, They Washed Away 42. Bat For Lashes – Two Suns 41. Dirty Projectors – Bite Orca 40. Julian Casablancas – Phrazes of the Young 39. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic 38. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains 37. Elvis Perkins - Elvis Perkins in Dearland 36. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You 35. Old Canes – Feral Harmonic 34. Fever Ray – Fever Ray 33. Wilco – Wilco (The Album) 32. Akron/Family – Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free 31. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – s/t 30. Cass McCombs – Catacombs 29. Kurt Vile – Childish Prodigy 28. Passion Pit – Manners 27. Deer Tick – Born On Flag Day 26. Iran – Dissolver
25. A.A. Bondy – When the Devil’s Loose
Singer-songwriter stuff like this with a country tinge to it is right up my alley. This isn't the first A.A. Bondy album I've enjoyed, but it's certainly the most focused.
24. Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man's Bones
Whenever an Actor feels the need to start making music, I usually run away. This album is kinda haunting, a bit joyous and overall a really good record.
23. St. Vincent – Actor
As much as I loved Annie Clark's last album, Marry Me, she topped it with Actor. There are a lot of layers here that definitely rewards repeat listens.
22. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
A great debut album that shows a band with a ton of promise and the ability to write a great pop tune.
21. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below
If this album didn't have a few songs I just didn't dig, it would have been much higher on my list. Edward Sharpe and his band are responsible for what may be one of the best songs of the year, 'Home'.
20. Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care
I've been a big Junior Boys fan ever since I heard their first album, Last Exit. They haven't done me wrong yet as they've released another brilliant dance album.
19. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
The first of two metal albums in my top 20, Mastodon has continued their streak of nearly flawless albums with Crack the Skye.
18. Atlas Sound - Logos
I wasn't too sure why people were so crazy about Bradford Cox. I fully realize now, after spinning Logos, the genius of this guy.
17. Handsome Furs - Face Control
In my eyes, Dan Boeckner has always taken a back seat to Spencer Krug in terms of songwriting. However, with Face Control, Boeckner's blend of electro-punk hits the mark.
16. Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love
Stephen McBean continues the streak of fantastic albums by the Black Mountain camp.
15. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
As Dinosaur Jr. continues to release amazing new albums 20+ years into their career, it begs the question: why do people still give a fuck about the Pixies?
14. Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth
The latest addition to my top 20 is another Brooklyn band that is beginning to garner a bit of well deserved buzz. The album has been in an almost daily rotation for me for weeks.
13. Girls - Album
One of the strongest debut albums of the year was from San Francisco band Girls. Both 'Lust For Life' and 'Hellhole Ratrace' are candidates for song of the year.
12. Lighting Dust - Infinite Light
Another group comprised mostly with members of Black Mountain. This time McBean is out done by his band members as Infinite Light may be the best BM side project ever.
11. White Denim - Fits
Austin's White Denim is another potentially over-hyped band that I thought I might hate before I heard them. Their album Fits is a scatterbrained rock album that's all over the map but is a really fun listen.
10. Megafaun - Gather, Form & Fly
This is the kind of thing that I really do love: a weird mix of freak-folk, country and psychedelic rock. Seeing these guys open for Bon Iver earlier this year was definitely one of my concert highlights of 2009.
9. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
This is another album that I heard late in the year and just continued to move up and up my list of favorite albums all year. Another best song of the year nominee in 'All the Kings Men'.
8. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
On their debut album, Camera Obscura released one of my favorite songs of the year ('Hey Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken'). This time, they release a truly great whole album with My Maudlin Career.
7. Strand Of Oaks - Leave Ruin
There always ends up being one mellow, acoustic album pretty high up on my list, and this year it's Strand Of Oaks' Leave Ruin. I gotta admit though, this album got as many listens as the rest of the top 10 and it deserves it's spot.
6. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
This album held my top spot for much of the year, but unfortunately I got a bit burnt out with it by the end of the year. I still think it's a fantastic album and it's definitely deserved of most of the hype.
5. Animal Collective - Merriwheather Post Pavilion
The last on my list of albums that were almost painfully hyped. Yet, like Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective's most recent effort truly is great. Some of the catchiest stuff they've ever released and what may be their best album ever.
4. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
This is what a perfect pop album sounds like. It's slick, catchy and full of sheen and shine. Not only that but it's got true emotional and lyrical depth.
3. Baroness - Blue Record
If there is a candidate for an album that I over-rank because it's fresh in my mind (and ipod) at the end of the year, this might be it. I haven't heard a metal album this rich and rewarding in a really long time.
2. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
This was in my number one spot for almost the whole year, and it's still so close my number one's and two's could switch in a few weeks. This is Spencer Krug's masterpiece he has been hinting at with Sunset Rubdown for years.
1. The Antlers - Hospice
Albums don't get much more emotionally stimulating or draining than with Hospice. An album that begs to be listened to from start to finish each time, this album is one that will give you something new you didn't notice each spin. There isn't a single song that will blow you away, but in context of the entire album, they are all brilliant.
Alright, what did I miss? What did I rank too low? What is the list missing that was good? What did I rank too high that was shit? Let me know in the comments.
It's been a while since I've actually written up anything about a show I went to. Usually I forget to take my camera, I drink quite a bit and don't take any kind of notes. Those three combined leaves me with the feeling that I don't have the right to post any sort of "review" of a show. In reality, I'm not really reviewing the performance so much, but more writing about two of the more intense live bands I've seen in a while.
I went to this show to see Baroness. I've written something up recently on their most recent album that you can read HERE. Whenever I'm going to a show, I always try and check up on the opening bands in hopes that I'll see something that I might enjoy. The band that opened the show, Earthless, might have been the worst choice for an opening band ever. They aren't a bad choice because they aren't good, because they are one of the best live bands I've ever seen. They are a bad choice for an opening band because I don't know how anyone could follow them without coming off as limp or boring. Earthless are a three piece that plays a sort of stoner rock jam and metal hybrid. They played what seemed like one long song for their whole 40 minute set, but things never got boring. It was like watching three insanely talented musicians just jam and solo for 40 minutes straight. Their drummer was absolutely insane and I was exhausted from just watching him play. Like I said, Earthless put on one of the best live performances I've ever seen, DO NOT MISS them if you have the chance to see them play.
The headliner, Baroness, is a four piece metal band from Savannah, Georgia. They have two near perfect metal albums already under their belt with the release of their second full-length, Blue Album this year. They also might be one of the only bands that could actually follow an Earthless performance. They played an hour of music with songs ranging from both full length albums and their previous EP's as well. They are a really tight live band and are able to pull off almost all of the sounds and feel they've put to record. Discovering Baroness and digging into their back catalog is responsible for me diving head first back into metal music over the past month or so. I still haven't discovered anything nearly as good as the Baroness albums, but it's been fun trying to find one.
The promising concert dates are starting to roll in for the Lawrence and KC area. Another Jeopardy of Contentment favorite A.A. Bondy will be at The Jackpot in Lawrence on Friday, January 29th. His most recent album, When The Devil's Loose, is another strong effort and certainly will find a place high up on my best albums of the year list.
There are a few other noteworthy announcements that I missed over the last week or so. As always, check HERE for the full concert calendar.
12/03 Spoon/The Bravery/Metric/Hockey @ The Midland, KC 01/26 Yo La Tengo @ The Granada, Lawrence 01/28 The Life and Times @ The Record Bar, KC 01/31 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin @ The Jackpot, Lawrence 02/21 Alice In Chains @ The Midland, KC 02/28 Dropkick Murphys @ The Beaumont Club, KC 03/14 Flogging Molly @ The Uptown, KC 04/03 Tegan and Sara @ The Uptown, KC 04/14 Rogue Wave @ The Bottleneck, Lawrence
I've already gushed about The Antlers album, Hospice, here before. In recent weeks after returning to the album again, it's begun to inch it's way in front of Sunset Rubdown for my favorite album of 2009. Few albums this year or this decade have had an emotional impact on me like Hospice has. It really is an album meant to be listened to the whole way through to appreciate the theme and story it tells. Here is a video for one of the best songs from the album, 'Kettering'. This fan made video pairs the haunting song with photos mostly taken from Flikr pages. It really does the song justice, enjoy...
Another surprise album this year is from British group Wild Beasts. Their second full length album, Two Dancers, is a solid album from start to finish. It's sure to find it's way in my top 20 albums of the year. Here's what's becoming one of my favorite songs of the year, 'All the King's Men', performed live in Juan's Basement from P4K TV.
Metal doesn't get talked about too much here, but it's not a genre that I overlook. A lot of what gets recommended to me I can't get into because of the screaming vocals. There are a few bands that are able to nicely blend screaming with singing and those bands are the ones I enjoy the most. Truth be told, everything I love about Metal can be found in the second full length album by Georgia band Baroness. It's heavy and intense but yet it's really beautiful at times as well. All that and the fact that there are actual melodies as well and I'm sold. I would be surprised if this isn't in my top 10 albums of the year, it really is that good.
Below you can watch the video for 'A Horse Called Golgotha' off Blue Record:
It's been a long time since I've done one of these worth noting. St. Vincent will making an appearance in Lawrence on February 15th at The Bottleneck. St. Vincent is Annie Clark who has previously played with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens touring band. Annie herself is quite accomplished in here solo career as St. Vincent though. 2007's Marry Me (which is extra noteworthy since it's name was taken from the greatest TV show ever, Arrested Development) and this years Actor are both worth checking out.
Here's the video for 'Marrow' from the album Actor:
It's certainly an interesting enough back-story: Actor Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields form the band after canning plans to do a musical monster/ghost love story for the stage. When they realized how much money the whole thing would cost they decide skip the play and keep going with the music part of it. To be honest, whenever an actor decides to start making music, it's usually horrible. There are certain exceptions (although I'm having problems thinking of many other than She & Him and, of course, This) but overall it's pretty consistent. When details began to surface about the Dead Man's Bones project and the addition of the Silverlake Children's Choir it began to sound more and more intriguing.
I'll admit the band name, album concept and early October release date make it all seem a little like a holiday album. Something that will be fun to bust out a few times before Halloween each year. It will be that album too and there is nothing wrong with that. After spinning it at least a dozen times in the past few days I'm seeing that after the cuteness wears off there are some fantastic songs in here. The Children's Choir will really be a make or break point for a lot of people on this album. I was hesitant about a choir too until I actually heard it. The kids really do add a lot to the songs and they never overshadow any of the album.
I've included a few of the best songs below from the record. You'll see the band is a bit all over the map with their style. 'My Body's A Zombie For You' sounds like Arcade Fire making a Halloween tune and should be on every Halloween mix from here on out. Dead Man's Bones proves to be more than an actor delving into the music world as Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields really did end up putting out an overall great album from start to finish. If you want to get this, make sure you get it before Halloween, but I'd imagine it will get plenty of play afterward as well.
I feel bad plugging another 96.5 The Buzz sponsored show two posts in a row, because frankly, the station sucks. Other than the two hours each Saturday that Robert Moore has his show and Resurrection Sunday, the station isn't worth listening to. But they are having another "Halloweenie Roast" concert this year and the lineup is strange but intriguing: Jet, Flock of Seagulls, The Raveonettes, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears and White Rabbits.
Yes, Flock of Seagulls...
Now if you know me then you know me then you know I love the music from the 80's and not in a cheeky, ironic way either. I really think that the music of that decade will be looked back on as being as good as any other decade. Flock of Seagulls are a perfect example, most people only know 'I Ran' and they should. It's a fantastic and iconic pop tune but it's not nearly as good as one of my favorite songs of the decade, 'Space Age Love Song'. Watch the video for 'Space Age Love Song' below, although the video hasn't aged very well, the song has and it's is a way better Flock of Seagulls song then the more famous 'I Ran'. I originally was just going to post the audio, but 80's videos are so fantastically ridiculous that I included the video too.
Enough about A Flock of Seagulls because most of the rest of the lineup is just as interesting.
The Raveonettes: A fun boy-girl duo that I've never seen live but have always enjoyed on record.
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears: These guys make new soul/funk music that sounds 40 years old and in a good way.
White Rabbits: A great indie rock band written about here many times before.
The concert is Wednesday October 28th outside and inside of The Beaumont Club. The headliners below will be playing outside while a few different local bands will play inside. Tickets are approximately 10 bucks and go on sale tomorrow morning. I'll be there and I'll be leaving after A Flock of Seagulls are done playing.
Despite the crap that actually flows over their airwaves most of the time, 96.5 The Buzz actually gets some pretty good bands to free shows in KC. This time Passion Pit will be playing an all ages show ($5 charge for minors) outside at The Beaumont Club on Thursday night. Local bands Audiovox and The Roman Numerals will open along with some band called Owl City. Passion Pit have hit the relative big time as far as indie bands go. They seem to be at that level of notoriety where they might get booked for SNL. Also, if you don't remember that far back, Kevin wrote about them over a year ago HERE.
Originally I read the doors opened at 6, but this is what's on the Buzz's website:
8pm - Doors 9pm- Audiovox 9:35pm - Roman Numerals 10:25pm - Owl City 11:25pm - Passion Pit
Here's a couple of Passion Pit videos in case you need motivation for this show. Both these songs can be found off their full length album, Manners. First is a live performance of 'Sleepyhead' from pitchfork.tv:
Although it's one of my least favorite tracks on a promising collaboration between Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), it's still pretty cool seeing all three of them on stage together. The rest of the album is still sinking in but the lead single 'Say Please' is a little to Willburyish for me. Recorded under the name Monsters of Folk, the album is out as of yesterday, so pick it up.
Last night I caught Ben Nichols of Lucero at a solo acoustic performance at 1819 Central Gallery in KC. Lucero was in town opening for Cross Canadian Ragweed at The Crossroads and although I wasn't able to make it to the show, I did catch the pre-show solo performance and I'm really glad I did. Ben came in with a guitar and a handle of Jameson and took requests for almost an hour in the corner of the Art Gallery. It was a fantastic performance and the lady friend was able to catch a few snapshots of Ben on my phone.
If you've never heard of the Indiana band Murder By Death and are fan of the music promoted on this site, there is a good chance you are missing out on your new favorite band. Their sound could be described as the perfect mixture of Punk-Rock and Americana, with one of the most engaging vocalists around today.
Here's a better description from the bands record label, Vagrant:
"If you're not yet familiar with MURDER BY DEATH, the best way to describe them is probably "Americana-noir." Their latest album, Red of Tooth and Claw is like a modern version of Homer's Odyssey where the characters aren't as noble. Frontman Adam Turla's voice has been likened to Nick Cave and Johnny Cash, and he's backed by a talented band (including a cellist!) that fully understand how to convey the grit and drama of the Old West through their music. Any fan will tell you they're absolutely captivating live, very in tune with their instruments and their craft. Since the early 2008 release of Red of Tooth and Claw, they've done several headlining tours (both in the US and overseas; the most recent US tour this past spring was mostly sold out), they're working on a split 7" covers series with a number of artists (so far, Amanda Palmer, William Elliott Whitmore and O'Death have shared wax with them for the project, with more to come), they've also begun writing a new record. And though it's not a Vagrant release, they've also worked with sci-fi/fantasy/horror writer Jeff VanderMeer to create an instrumental soundtrack to go along with his forthcoming novel Finch. Also, fun fact: their song "Comin' Home" is featured in a recent trailer for the new Quentin Tarantino film Inglorious Basterds. TONS of cool stuff going on in that camp, and I urge you to check them out if you haven't heard them yet: http://www.myspace.com/murderbydeath"
I had the chance to check them out a few years ago at the Bleeding Kansas festival and although I hadn't heard of them at the time, their performance led me to check out anything they had put to record. Their most recent effort, 2008's Red of Tooth and Claw, is a great place to start.
They'll be at The Bottleneck in Lawrence tomorrow night and I can only imagine they've gotten even better live in the years since I've seen them. This is definitely a show not to miss.
Posts
Bear In Heaven:
Great timing on this concert announcement as the #38 and #14 bands on my 50 Best Albums of 2009 list are coming to Lawrence this spring. Cymbals Eat Guitars are taking Bear In Heaven out on tour as openers and they'll be playing at The Replay Lounge in Lawrence on Friday, April 2nd.
I'm not going to re-cap the year in music that was 2009 other than to say it was a bit of a disappointing year in my opinion. Not as many albums I think I'll be listening to in 10 years as there have been in the last two or three years. On the bright side, with the list of great bands that are putting out new records in 2010 growing and growing, things might be looking up pretty quickly.
It's been a while since I've actually written up anything about a show I went to. Usually I forget to take my camera, I drink quite a bit and don't take any kind of notes. Those three combined leaves me with the feeling that I don't have the right to post any sort of "review" of a show. In reality, I'm not really reviewing the performance so much, but more writing about two of the more intense live bands I've seen in a while.
The promising concert dates are starting to roll in for the Lawrence and KC area. Another Jeopardy of Contentment favorite A.A. Bondy will be at The Jackpot in Lawrence on Friday, January 29th. His most recent album, 
Metal doesn't get talked about too much here, but it's not a genre that I overlook. A lot of what gets recommended to me I can't get into because of the screaming vocals. There are a few bands that are able to nicely blend screaming with singing and those bands are the ones I enjoy the most. Truth be told, everything I love about Metal can be found in the second full length album by Georgia band Baroness. It's heavy and intense but yet it's really beautiful at times as well. All that and the fact that there are actual melodies as well and I'm sold. I would be surprised if this isn't in my top 10 albums of the year, it really is that good.
It's been a long time since I've done one of these worth noting. St. Vincent will making an appearance in Lawrence on February 15th at The Bottleneck. St. Vincent is Annie Clark who has previously played with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens touring band. Annie herself is quite accomplished in here solo career as St. Vincent though. 2007's 
It's certainly an interesting enough 
