VITAL REVERB: BEST OF 2009 — FEBRUARY By Nick McGregor
Forget what you’ve heard about the music industry’s
coming demise:
plenty of record labels have blessed our ears with rock-solid
albums in 2009. ESM waded through the
muck to spotlight the best so far.
: ADVERTISMENT :
: ADVERTISMENT :
Brighton Port Authority
I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat
Southern Fried
ESM Rating: 7/10
British uber-producer Norman Cook (AKA Fatboy Slim) invented a vaguely fictional back-story for his newest venture, Brighton Port Authority, but this electronic spin through incongruent genres like punk, house, ska, and pop needs no convoluted press release. Grizzled alt-rockers (Iggy Pop and David Byrne), young Brit-poppers (Olly Hite and Jamie T), fellow producers (Ashley Beedle), grime rappers (Dizzee Rascal), and sultry vixens (Emmy The Great and Martha Wainwright) help Cook manifest his diverse musical path in 43 cohesive minutes.
P.O.S.
Never Better
Rhymesayers
ESM Rating: 6/10
Punk-inspired guitar and drums meet confrontational hip-hop verses in an uncertain middle on the third album from Minnesota’s P.O.S., known around Minneapolis as Stefon Alexander. Although the majority of Never Better languishes in an unsettling, dreary world all P.O.S.’ own, hard-hitting takes on topics like poverty, trauma, drugs, and racial identity affirm the album’s stark atmospherics. Rock and rap combinations rarely lead to ear-pleasing results, but P.O.S. keeps things left field enough to stand out in the alterna-rap universe.
Dan Auerbach
Keep It Hid
Nonesuch
ESM Rating: 7/10
The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach steps out on his own, while remaining true to the soulful blues-rock that’s brought him so much success. He does stretch lazily into Memphis R&B, swamp boogie, and light psychedelia, but Keep It Hid is still drenched in Auerbach’s bluesy, instantly recognizable fuzz — now served up in heaping piles thanks to new vintage studio Akron Analog. Perfect for Black Keys fans that aren’t concerned so much with that band’s garage stomp as with the alluring weepiness of Auerbach’s songs.
N.A.S.A.
The Spirit Of Apollo
Anti-
ESM Rating: 5/10
Compilations don’t get much more diverse than this one. Everyone from rappers (Chuck D, Method Man, Kanye West, KRS-One, Kool Keith, Ghostface Killah) to rock legends (Tom Waits, George Clinton, John Frusciante) to hot young thangs (Karen O, Santigold, M.I.A.) lend their vocal talents to breezy funk and Latin rhythms, courtesy of North America’s Squeak E. Clean and South America’s DJ Zegon — hence the N.A.S.A.The Spirit Of Apollo’s far-ranging diversity can often get a little too scattershot for its own good, though.
Phosphorescent
To Willie
Dead Oceans
ESM Rating: 8/10
This solemn ode to the fragile beauty of Willie Nelson’s storied songbook comes from unlikely fan Matthew Houck, a young Georgia-based indie folkster. Houck adds subtle modern flourishes to the simplistic beauty of tearful, lesser-known Nelson hits like “Reasons To Quit” and “Walkin’”, and even takes Willie’s famous off-beat vocal phrasings to new heights of hipster cool. To Willie is a splendid way to connect the past and present while honoring an American icon that earns more press for his drug habits than his legendary body of work.
Hot Panda
Volcano… Bloody Volcano
Mint
ESM Rating: 6/10
This endearing Canadian blend of indie pop, glam rock, and New Wave punk charmed its way onto the dour 2009 landscape, thanks to the forward thinkers over at British Columbia’s Mint Records. While the rest of the world mulls over war, politics, and the economy, Alberta quartet Hot Panda delivers a joyful bag of melodic yet unpretentious pop on their debut full-length. A slightly experimental bent and a willingness to toss disparate influences like Daniel Johnston, Talking Heads, and New Pornographers into the mix keeps Hot Panda from sounding too repetitive or childish.
O Pioneers!!!
Neon Creeps
Asian Man/Kiss Of Death
ESM Rating: 6/10
Good old-fashioned melodic punk tinged with hardcore from this Houston, TX, trio of DIY rockers. Clean, driving guitars and steady drumming add depth to the throat-stretching howls of lead singer Eric Solomon. Neon Creeps is just heavy enough to keep the metal-oriented banging their head, while the band’s regular-guy lyrical approach (relationship drama, debt-related stress, Facebook) can appeal to any young adult struggling in the 21st century.
Alela Diane
To Be Still
Rough Trade
ESM Rating: 7/10
Another Californian member of the “freak-folk” movement expands the confines of that restrictive genre with dusty acoustic instrumentation and a crystalline voice, equally full of hope, dread, and mystery. Alela Diane’s bluegrass musician father helped with To Be Still’s sparse, impeccable production, but as long as her harmonies and haunting guitar lines remain pitch perfect, Diane can easily rest on her own homegrown laurels.
Darla Farmer
Rewiring The Electric Forest
Paper Garden
ESM Rating: 6/10
Nashville, TN, seven-piece — who borrowed their unfakeable name from a real local bank teller — creates jubilant carnival rock with a sinister touch of old-time Appalachia. Lead singer Clint Wilson’s androgynous pipes bleat and yelp over potent, highly danceable combinations of horns, strings, and barroom piano, the wildly unclassifiable sum of which adds up to one hell of an American musical jamboree.
The Drones
Havilah
ATP
ESM Rating: 6/10
Shambling, often challenging, yet highly listenable blues-rock from this shamefully underappreciated Australian quartet. The Drones meld trashy guitar riffs, pessimistic lyrics, and radio-resistant six-minute-plus song lengths into their own brand of moody, uniquely Australian prog/punk/garage/classic rock. No easy American comparisons exist, which makes discovering The Drones that much more exciting.
The Love Language
The Love Language
Bladen County
ESM Rating: 9/10
North Carolina’s Stuart McLamb emerged from an alcoholic stupor to hit a home run on this 29-minute slab of power-pop perfection. Distorted lo-fi production — the entire album was recorded alone by McLamb in a storage space — only enhances the swirling joy of top-notch indie music taking the world by storm. Blue-eyed soul, bubblegum pop, and jangle-rock all make appearances on The Love Language, but the album’s feverish tambourines and intoxicating layered vocals buzz with such intensity that you’ll spend more time hitting the rewind button than mulling over pointless classifications.
Southeast Engine
From The Forest To The Sea
Misra
ESM Rating: 7/10
Hailing from the other Athens — Ohio, not Georgia — Southeast Engine delivers their fourth batch of spooky, piano-driven rock, which hints at elements of alt-country and Americana while shying away from sappy Southern idolatry. Lead singer Adam Remnant employs heaps of Biblical allusions to shape the band’s bleak, bluesy sound, and leads From The Forest To The Sea on a journey from weepy penitence to reverential worship.
Various Artists
Dark Was The Night
4AD
ESM Rating: 7/10
Brothers Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National spent countless hours compiling 31 exclusive tracks from a who’s who of 2000s indie rock — Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, The Decemberists, Iron & Wine, Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Spoon, Arcade Fire, Beirut, My Morning Jacket, New Pornographers, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Conor Oberst — all in the name of HIV/AIDS awareness organization Red Hot. As if that weren’t enough reason to purchase the two-disc set, some of Dark Was The Night’s spectacular one-off collaborations may never happen again.
Vetiver
Tight Knit
Sub Pop
ESM Rating: 7/10
North Carolina native-turned-San Francisco fixture Andy Cabic delivers a gentle, rustic batch of Americana-inflected folk on his band Vetiver’s fourth album. Tight Knit could have just as easily streamed from the bucolic ‘70s AM radio age as from 2009’s backward-looking aesthetic, proving that Cabic has achieved the difficult-to-nail-down ability to appeal to young and old alike.
M. Ward
Hold Time
Merge
ESM Rating: 7/10
Portland, OR, balladeer M. Ward has emerged from relative anonymity to become one of the hottest draws in indie music, simply by creating timeless, unassuming, and consistently splendid acoustic rock. Combining elements of Delta blues, country-and-western, ‘60s folk, and ‘70s pop, Hold Time is full of Ward’s trademark breathy vocals and plangent guitar licks. And although his discography now boasts five solid solo albums, Hold Time also dabbles in the sunny romanticism Ward gained fame for on She & Him, his 2008 project with honey-voiced actress Zooey Deschanel.
Weird Owl
Ever The Silver Cord Be Loosed
Tee Pee
ESM Rating: 6/10
Psychospiritual stoner rock from this Brooklyn five-piece summons the countrified stomp of Neil Young & Crazy Horse while nodding to modern masters like Dead Meadow, Black Mountain, and The Black Angels. Lofty subject matter and washed-out synthesizers catapult Weird Owl into the intergalactic stratosphere, but a positive attitude grounded in the urban present (the band recently performed at a Surfrider-New York City Chapter fundraiser) updates the leather-pant and long-hair-obsessed genre for the more community-minded 21st century.
William Elliot Whitmore
Animals In The Dark
Anti-
ESM Rating: 7/10
Rootsy, traditionalist folk-blues from an authentic source — William Elliott Whitmore was born, raised, and still works on an Iowan horse farm that straddles the Mississippi River. Whitmore’s gravelly voice sounds like it’s been drenched in 200 years worth of whiskey, but this young troubadour has turned outward from the earthy subject matter of his past to cast aspersions on the sad state of the modern world. Yet banjos, slide guitars, and knee-slapping percussion ensure Animals In The Dark could have emanated at any point in time since the 1920s.
Black Lips
200 Million Thousand
Vice
ESM Rating: 6/10
These self-described “flower punks” from Atlanta, GA, offer up another slab of drugged-out garage rock that nods fervently to the past while employing the snotty attitude of today. While they’ve gained notoriety for their on-stage shenanigans (urination, vomiting, intra-band make-out sessions), a willingness to press deeper into the depths of early rock ‘n’ roll’s twisted psyche keeps the Black Lips from stagnating, seven records into their career. The only problem with 200 Million Thousand is that it’s quite a bit sloppier and more experimental than 2008's Good Bad Not Evil. That may please diehard fans, but also might turn off recent recruits.
Keelay & Zaire
Ridin’ High
MYX
ESM Rating: 6/10
Cross-continental producers Keelay (originally from Salt Lake City, UT, now based in the Bay Area) and Zaire (originally from Dayton, OH, now based in Hampton Roads, VA) collect oodles of underground MCs from across the country for a throwback hip-hop/R&B/soul showcase that’s light on violent bombast and heavy on Ridin’ High — you connect the dots. Underground legends like Tash from Tha Alkaholiks and Phonte from Little Brother shine the brightest, but other unknowns like Fortilive, Prophit, and Saafir make a much-needed boom-bap impact.
The Whitefield Brothers
In The Raw (Reissue)
Now-Again
ESM Rating: 8/10
Who would have guessed that the genuine instrumental funk article would come from German brothers otherwise known as Poets Of Rhythm? Back before producer Mark Ronson and soul mavens Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings brought retro back into the mainstream lexicon, TheWhitefield Brothers were slogging away in total obscurity, faithfully recreating the psychedelic African sounds that emerged from Ghana and Nigeria in the 1970s. This reissue of 2001’s crucial In The Raw represents the missing link between past Afro-beat master Fela Kuti and today’s funk revival.
