Let's send off the year with an Almanac giveaway, shall we?
As 2009 fades into the sunset, so does the year-long celebration that marked the Merge Records' 20th Anniversary. The beloved North Carolina-based label, which has helped soundtrack nearly the entire second half of my life, commemorated in a variety of ways: with some special releases, a 5-day live music blowout in July, and the massive, subscription-only SCORE! CD service. That insane undertaking finished up last week with the shipment of the final volumes (#13 and #14, for those keeping, um, score), along with a sturdy box to gather them all together. The collected discs are a thing of beauty, indeed...
If you look closely, you'll see 17 CDs and a book: 14 lovingly-curated Merge mix discs, 3 special compilations (Merge remixes, Merge cover songs, and a Scharpling & Wurster comedy album), and the Merge Records Companion book, which pulls together the cover art for every release they've had so far. Impressive is an understatement, especially when you look at the list of those who were invited to create those mix discs: Peter Buck, Phil Morrison, David Chang, Georgia Hubley, Jonathan Lethem, Alex Ross, Zach Galifianakis, Marcel Dzama, David Byrne, Miranda July, Kara Walker, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, and Andrea Zitel. Something new showed up in my mailbox every month this year, like clockwork, and gave subscribers a close look at the Merge-related musical tastes of that varied list of celebrity fans. How the label is going to top this for their 25th anniversary is a true mystery. Sure do hope they try, though.
While I won't be sad to see 2009 in my review mirror (in summary - it sucked), there was one standout highlight: That five-day fest, aka XXMerge, down in Carrboro, NC, where I traveled all the way from my Boston home. Not just the musical high-watermark of my '09, but maybe my life, no foolin'. I spent too much time enjoying myself to properly document it here on the Almanac, but I did twitter a fair amount, and took a whole mess of photos. Can't look at them without wishing I was back inside the Cat's Cradle, hanging out at the OCSC, or on the kickball field. So much freakin' fun.
Alright, enough with making you envious... on to the point of this here post, which was not just to mark the end of SCORE! and Merge's wonderful 20th year, but to pass on a little anniversary present to an Almanac reader: A whole pile of Merge-related merch that I've gathered together with help from the label, and from Algonquin Books. Have a look...
Yes, one lucky sucker will be gifted with the following...
The book: A copy of "Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small", from Algonquin Books. It's a fantastic read, written by John Cook and label heads/Superchunk bandmates Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, with a load of great photos from throughout their 20 year history. I've read a lot of music-related books, and this measures up to the best of 'em, as far as insight into how a label can be run the right way (as well as how so many majors do it wrong).
The art: Five posters, including one from Merge's 10th Anniversary, its 15th Anniversary, and a couple from July's XXMerge (the official XXMerge poster had a limited, numbered print run of 500, one of which will be yours).
The schwag: A handful of buttons from the label and their artists (including a couple of XXMerge ones) along with some Merge stickers, and an "Our Noise" bookmark.
The newspaper: The special Merge-centric edition of the Independent Weekly, the North Carolina-based paper who blew me away with their extensive coverage of the anniversary and the XXMerge bash.
So there you go, probably the best giveaway I've ever thrown down. I'll say this in my best Rod Roddy voice: All this can be yours for the low, low price of sending me an email titled "Merge Merch!" to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com before 12 Noon on Monday, January 11th. Two conditions: Tell me what your absolute favorite Merge-released album is, (note - this condition was added on the morning of January 1st, for my own amusement, no worries if you've already entered without naming one), and also be sure you live in the continental US or Canada, as the postage is already going to set me back a bit (remember, the Almanac runs on love, not pesky ads). I'll pick one random winner that very afternoon.
Ok then, off to your email program with ya. Oh, and Happy New Year and all that best wishes stuff. Oh, and one more thing - Thank you, Merge. For helping me make it through this year, and so many that preceded it. Keep the good stuff coming.
A few Sundays back I once again had the honor of DJing the annual Bazaar Bizarre Boston, a massively multi-vendor crafy-fair that I'd attended many times before I was invited to actually show up and share a personal playlist. For me, it only starts feeling like the holiday season after I've spent an early-December afternoon there, and the fact that I get to provide the shopping soundtrack for a little while gives me more than a transient thrill. As long as they keep on inviting me, I'll keep on doing it.
Since the BazBizBos always arrives near the end of the year, I use it as an opportunity to spin some of my favorite songs of the previous 12 months during my too-short-shift. It was far more difficult to whittle it down this year - I had to cut a number of tracks I really wanted to include. The songs I did play give a pretty clear idea of what you'll find on my favorite albums of '09 list, assuming I ever get that finished.
One of the best parts of spinning songs for the browsing masses is when people come up to ask what's playing, or to see if there's a way they can see the whole playlist, and it happened a few times during my slot. I always say "I'll have the them listed on the Almanac very soon", and this time "soon" ended up being "later" than I'd hoped. So here it is, a bit overdue, but with bonus commentary on each song: The songs that comprised my 1-hour set for 2009 Bazaar Bizarre Boston, with links to the MP3s if they're made freely available by the band or their label. At the bottom you'll find a link to a .zip file containing all the shared tracks...
Bradley's Almanac Bazarre Bizarre Boston 2009 Playlist (aka "The BazBizBosNac09 Mix")
I tend to be buried in emails from bands, regardless of geography, and after falling in love with City Breathing this year, I was frustrated to find they'd emailed me a year and a half ago but were lost in the inbox shuffle. Oh, the wasted time I could have spent listening to them. Well, I'm making up for it now. Download all three of this Brooklyn trio's releases (a 2008 full-length, the 2009 EP that includes this song, and a brand new one that is a bit of a Christmas present) at their website.
Naturally, those introductory emails come from a lot of Boston-area bands, and rarely does the music involved strike me as instantly and deeply as The Novel Ideas did a couple months ago. They ended up becoming a major part of my autumn soundtrack. Dynamic, multi-layered production, memorable melodies, male/female vocal interplay used perfectly. The word 'tasteful' comes to mind, but not the boring, stifled side... there's a restraint involved that's remarkable. For example - slide guitar tends to turn me off, as it can be over-used and over-mixed. But this band knows exactly how much (or, rather, how little) to sprinkle into the occasional song. Same with the harmonies, the gorgeous strings, with every other instrument. The song shared here is the opening track from their new full-length, "The Sky is a Field", which you can download or stream for free at their website (along with their 2007 debut). As I type this, I'm listening to the second half of the track "Julian Carax", and swooning.
It was a hectic year for this Minnepolis duo (who play live as a five-piece), with multiple tours and a proper re-release of their excellent debut, "Cars", on Afternoon Records in July. I was lucky to have them as part of my only 2009 "Almanac presents" show at TT's in May, and this is my favorite song from the album (shared exclusively here on the 'Nac with permission from Afternoon).
Another 2009 discovery, Seattle's Michael Lerner, thanks once again to Merge Records. If you go by the official Merge Companion, Telekinesis' self-titled debut is the final Merge release of their wonderful first 20 years. Hard to imagine a label with a better batting average. Can't wait to hear what Lerner has up his sleeve for a follow-up.
How this band, after a decade together, retains the spark of songwriting creativity that resulted in what may be the best Boston-made album of the year is a magical mystery. I'm just damn glad they've still got it. They've always been spoken well of among friends (hell, I was in a band that had a temporarily-titled song called 'The Beatings'), but for unknown reasons they'd mostly avoided my radar. This album finally, thankfully, fixed that. I promised myself I'd dive into their back catalog when I got sick of "Late Season Kids", but it feels like that will be a long time coming.
A reason I had to put the "what may be one of" qualifier in front of "the best Boston-made albums of the year" is HtH's second full-lengther, "Colonial Drones". I don't like to throw the word epic around, but this one deserves it with a capital E. I adored their debut, but now it feels a little like a warm-up for what was to come - avoiding a sophomore slump with a sophomore soar.
Oh, and my favorite memory from DJing the Bazaar Bizarre this year, aside from Brendan putting on those headphones? Jon 'Jonnie Spaceman' Bernhardt momentarily recreating his dance moves from the "Blank Passports" video in front of me at the DJ table. Kills me just thinking about it.
Now I generally don't agree with much of the nominees list for the Boston Phoenix's Best Music Poll (nothing against those listed, there's just too much missing), but this one they got right. Taxpayer's "Don't Steal My Night Vision" not only deserved to be on that list, but of those nominated, they probably should have taken home the prize. A total triumph of no-frills, hook-filled, guitar-based rawk. Just when you think that's been done to death in this town, Taxpayer comes along and breathes a little new life into it. This song is my fave from the disc, but isn't available as a freebie. Instead, here's the album's opening track, "We Have Arrived" [MP3]
This Slumberland combo releases a debut album filled with songs that could have been singles, and then follows it up with an EP that contains possibly their best track yet. Despite the fact that the guitars are dialed down to let the synth shine. Bodes well for their next full-lengther, it does, but don't go gettin' totally keyboardy on me, kids... keep those distorted layers alive.
It's been a notable year for bands fronted by strong, confident female voices (Ume, You Could Be A Wesley, Heartless Bastards, Screaming Females, the next band on this list, a bunch more), and San Fran's LoveLikeFire sits high among them. Their latest is "Tear Ourselves Away", which has only seen a UK release so far, but will hit US shores early in the new year. So, yes, that will likely put them on both my '09 and '10 faves lists.
And by 'next band on this list', I meant UK trio Sky Larkin. It's pretty hard to find a weak track on their debut, "The Golden Spike", and I was gutted that they weren't able to schedule a Boston-area date during their East coast visit in October. So close, and yet so far away. Next year, promise?
The best way to hear a sample Sky Larkin song is to download the post-album track "Smarts", which was offered up for free (along with an acoustic version of excellent album track "Matador") right here - you'll just have to add your name to their mailing list. And after you hear 'em, you'll probably have no regrets about doing that.
Since the 2006 debut EP was released, waiting for a full-length from Boston's Dylan In The Movies has required no small amount of patience. In fact, it's taken so long that the official domain name has expired. But when I first heard this new song earlier this year, Brian Sullivan earned whatever patience is necessary. It's a stunner, and is also the upcoming album's title track. Keep an eye out for it to be released, at last, in spring 2010 on American Laundromat, and an ear out for guest appearances from Tanya Donelly (who co-wrote a track) and the Watson Twins.
Ok, so I'm going to step out on a little limb here and declare this my favorite song released by any Boston-based band this year. Maybe any band anywhere, period. Exclamation point. There, I said it. "Not Wrong" gets me every single time, like it was a puzzle piece made to perfectly fit a space in my head I didn't even know I had. This one isn't available for free online, but you can download the album's also-charming third track "Cold Hands" [MP3].
That voice, that album cover, this song. Another album ending up on a lot of other "best of" lists that I have absolutely no argument with. My favorite track ain't free, but this one is: "People Got A Lotta Nerve" [MP3]
How great is it that in the year 2009 I can add another solid Superchunk seven-inch to my stacks of wax? And that it measures right up to those that came before it? So, so great. As much as I hope this foretells an eventual album in the works, I might be satisfied with a concentrated dose like this (and the recent "Learned To Surf" EP) every once in awhile. Just never stop. No MP3 for this one (go buy it), but stream that EP over here.
Yes, "There Is No Enemy" is their strongest album in years. Yes, it still sounds like Built To Spill, but it's more focused, more confident, catchier than the last couple records. Plus, hey, there's a Bill Hicks mention in "Planting Seeds". And yes, they're still on a major label, so no free MP3 for you.
Another discovery I can attribute to an unsolicited email, and the linked song was this one, "Coriander". Hooked me right away, and I was glad to discover upon its release that the rest of this Cincinnati band's second album measured up. I was crushed to miss their opening set before Wye Oak at TTs in May, but hopefully they'll return to Boston in the new year so I can make up for that mistake.
Yes, the band name is intentionally unwieldy, but their beautiful songs more than make up for it. Mostly instrumental so far, they promise some vocals on their first full-length, which should be out in the new year. For now, they'll send you an MP3 of the wonderful song above (from their debut "Put Your Slippers On" EP) in exchange for your email address right here, and also offer up a holiday present in the form of a home demo over here.
Wouldn't be a proper Bazaar Bizarre set without a holiday song, now would it? Thankfully, Boston's The Hush Now helped fill that requirement by offering up this new track as a free download just before the BazBizBos. Keep an ear out for their second full-length, "Constellations", early in the new year.
Unfairly or not, there's that uncontrollable part of me that shies away from listening to or writing about quote/unquote 'buzzbands'. If I hear too much hype before I actually hear any of the music, well, I may not ever hear it. Silly, I know, but hey... there's just so much other stuff to listen to. Does it mean I miss out on things I might love? Sure. Do I feel sheepish if I eventually connect with one of them? Yeah, it happens. But not a whole lot.
It almost happened with Londoners The XX, but I got lucky. Until a couple months ago I'd heard and read their name all over before I heard single song. Hell, I think I knew more about their lineup change than what they sounded like at some point. But one late-Autumn workday I was streaming some internet radio and heard a song that truly moved me. Not right away - it worked its way into my brain as it played, so I barely had time to check the band name before it faded out - and yes, it was The XX. Over-exposure aversion overcome, and all it took was a single track, their "Basic Space". One album purchase and three full listens later, I knew that song was no fluke. I loved it all, I love this band.
Enough to wait nearly two hours in the early-December Boston cold last Friday to get into their very first area performance, an in-store at the Newbury Street location of Newbury Comics. 200 wrist-banded souls braved the line, and I'd guess maybe 50 of us could actually see the band down the long rows inside the store. But we could all hear it, and that's what mattered. Six songs and 25 minutes later, back out into the cold we went. Worth it? So completely worth it.
The in-store set was a precursor to that night's sold-out show at the Paradise, opening for Friendly Fires. The band's second trip to Boston is already booked at the same venue on April 2nd - another (hopefully warmer) Friday night, and likely another sell-out - when they graduate from openers to headliners. Opening duties will be handled by Sweden's jj (making their first U.S. appearances), and tickets can be had right here or at the Paradise box office to save on fees.
Here's the audio from last Friday's intimate in-store, and some thoughts to follow...
Yes, despite losing a member, the band seems to have picked up two off-duty teen heartthrobs, although it was unclear what their tasks entailed beyond brooding (Pattinson was clearly not hired to help offset the band's collective paleness quotient). And about that transformation from quartet to trio? To my ears, it really doesn't seem to have impacted the band sonically. Yes, there were moments where guitarist Romy or bassist Oliver had to lean over to Jamie's electronics table and push a trigger or two, but if anything it added to the human element of the performance (which also deserves a comment - the fact that Jamie reproduces the beats by hand, rather than relying on loops or backing tracks, really adds a lot to their live experience). What I love about them - the spare, almost fragile webs they hang their songs on - it's still there, and maybe moreso. If they were your typical layered, shoegazey band, losing a member would be worrisome, but the XX? No worries whatsoever.
For the most part, the 6 songs closely resembled their album counterparts, though the joining of "Night Time" to "Infinity" was a real treat (and hey, is it just me, or is there a not-so-subtle homage to Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy" in that transitional guitar-line? And while we're at it, yes, the "VCR" verse = Bowie's "Heroes"), and the live version of "Islands" is made even more sparse by withholding the almost-danceable beat that kicks off the album version until the later half of the song.
For those who like to look as well as listen, YouTube user (& 'Nac reader, heya Jane) JaneInMa recorded the whole set from the front on video.
Additional Audio: Stream songs at MySpace and at their own site, where you can enter your email addy to get access to a download of the "Basic Space (Sampha Remix)" Mp3. For more audio action, here's a XX Hype Machine search.
Video: There are official clips for both "Basic Space" and "Crystalised". Check out an excellent live video of "Basic Space" recorded at Monkeytown in Brooklyn back in August, before the four became three. And in addition to Jane's in-store video linked above, try a YouTube search.
Upcoming tourdates: After spending the winter in Europe, the band returns to the U.S. in April for some headlining shows with jj, then jumps on as support for Hot Chip. Check P4K for their entire current itinerary.
the fine print... If anyone has an issue with these live Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info is in the 'nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav, edited, and shared as 256kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
When I pull together my list of favorite albums of Oh-Nine (*spoiler alert!*) Wye Oak's "The Knot" will be on it. Hell, I knew that after just a couple of close listens. The Baltimore duo of Jenn & Andy deftly avoided a sophomore slump by taking the qualities that made their 2008 debut ("If Children") so mesmerizing and adding an extra layer of emotional depth. If their first record was a promise made, the second was a promise kept.
I've been quite lucky to see them a few times this year, not just here in Boston, but once down at the XX Merge label anniversary shindig in July, where their rich sound filled up the massive Memorial Hall at UNC. They looked so small up on that stage, though their songs were anything but. And as good as they are in any setting, I was glad to see them again up here in Cambridge shortly after, where I could get up close and let their waves wash over me.
That chance comes again this weekend when Wye Oak returns to Allston's wonderful Great Scott on the 6th, with openers Hands and Knees and St. Claire. Courtesy of the fine folks at World Music/CRASHarts, I have two pairs of tix to hand out for the Sunday night show, so fire off an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com, and make it quick... I'm taking entries for two short days. Title your note "Wye Oak!", and get it to my inbox before Noon on Friday, when I'll randomly pick two winners and email them right away. That'll give 'em the rest of the weekend to tease their friends with the extra guest list spot. The less fortunate ones? Well, they can grab tickets of their own right here, or over at Great Scott.
A few Sundays back I once again had the honor of DJing the annual Bazaar Bizarre Boston, a massively multi-vendor crafy-fair that I'd attended many times before I was invited to actually show up and share a personal playlist. For me, it only starts feeling like the holiday season after I've spent an early-December afternoon there, and the fact that I get to provide the shopping soundtrack for a little while gives me more than a transient thrill. As long as they keep on inviting me, I'll keep on doing it.
Unfairly or not, there's that uncontrollable part of me that shies away from listening to or writing about quote/unquote 'buzzbands'. If I hear too much hype before I actually hear any of the music, well, I may not ever hear it. Silly, I know, but hey... there's just so much other stuff to listen to. Does it mean I miss out on things I might love? Sure. Do I feel sheepish if I eventually connect with one of them? Yeah, it happens. But not a whole lot.
When I pull together my list of favorite albums of Oh-Nine (*spoiler alert!*) Wye Oak's "The Knot" will be on it. Hell, I knew that after just a couple of close listens. The Baltimore duo of Jenn & Andy deftly avoided a sophomore slump by taking the qualities that made their 2008 debut ("If Children") so mesmerizing and adding an extra layer of emotional depth. If their first record was a promise made, the second was a promise kept.
