March 2010

Recommended:

Barren Earth - Curse of the Red River: A+
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor: A+
Mulatu Asatke - Mulatu Steps Ahead: A-
Broken Bells - Broken Bells: A-
Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude: A-
Daughters - Daughters: A-
E-40 - Revenue Retrievin': Night Shift: A-
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can: A-
OJ Simpson - OJ Simpson: A-
Triptykon - Eperistera Daimones: A-
The White Stripes - Under Great White Northern Lights: A-

Other Stuff:

Alcest - Ècailles de lune: B+
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh: B+
Delorean - Subiza: B+
Goldfrapp - Head First: B+
Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer: B+
Love Is All - Two Thousand and Ten Injuries: B+
The Living Sisters - Love to Live: B+
The Morning Benders - Big Echo: B+
Scuba - Triangulation: B+
Standstill - Adelante Bonaparte: B+
Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be: B
E-40 - Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift: B
Free Energy - Stuck on Nothing: B
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach: B
jj - jj°3: B
Liars - Sisterworld: B-
Immolation - Majesty and Decay: C+
Negura Bunget - Vîrstele pămîntului: C+


Moved Stuff:


January 2010:
Sigh - Scenes from Hell: B+
These New Puritans - Hidden: B+
Heathen - The Evolution of Chaos: B-
Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR: B-
Infinite Body - Carve out the Face of My God: F


February 2010:
Fang Island - Fang Island: A-
High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine: B+
Massive Attack - Heligoland: B+
Toro Y Moi - Causers of This: B+
Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back: B
Xiu Xiu - Dear God, I Hate Myself: C+

March 2010

February 2010

Recommended:

Pantha du Prince - Black Noise: A
Stam1na - Viimeinen Atlantis: A
Fang Island - Fang Island: A-
Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me: A-
Yeasayer - Odd Blood: A-

Other Stuff:

Ali Farka Tourè & Toumani Diabatè - Ali and Toumani: B+
High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine: B+
Hot Chip - One Life Stand: B+
Massive Attack - Heligoland: B+
Midlake - The Courage of Others: B+
Jack Rose - Luck in the Valley: B+
Sade - Soldier of Love: B+
Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here: B+
Toro Y Moi - Causers of This: B+
Yellow Swans - Going Places: B+
Dark Tranquility - We Are the Void: B
Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back: B
MellowHype - YelloWhite: B
The Watson Twins - Talking to You, Talking to Me: B
Lil Wayne - The Rebirth: B-
Overkill - Ironbound: B-
Xiu Xiu - Dear God, I Hate Myself: C+
Skullflower - Strange Keys to Untune Gods' Firmament: F


Stuff Moved:


January 2010:
Beach House - Teen Dream: A
Los Campesinos - Romance Is Boring: A-
The Magnetic Fields - Realism: A-
RJD2 - The Colossus: A-
Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig: B+
Citay - Dream Get Together: B+
Ihsahn - After: B+
Four Tet - There Is Love in You: C+

February 2010

January 2010

Recommended:

Laura Veirs - July Flame: A+
Beach House - Teen Dream: A
Los Campesinos - Romance Is Boring: A-
The Magnetic Fields - Realism: A-
Owen Pallett - Heartland: A-
RJD2 - The Colossus: A-
Vampire Weekend - Contra: A-

Other:

Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig: B+
Citay - Dream Get Together: B+
Grimes - Halfaxa: B+
Ihsahn - After: B+
Scout Niblett - The Calcination of Scout Niblett: B+
Race Horses - Goodbye Falkenburg: B+
Sigh - Scenes from Hell: B+
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast: B+
These New Puritans - Hidden: B+
Tindersticks - Falling Down a Mountain: B+
Eels - End Times: B
Shining - Blackjazz: B
Spoon - Transference: B
Heathen - The Evolution of Chaos: B-
Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR: B-
Four Tet - There Is Love in You: C+
Freedy Johnston - Rain on the City: D
Infinite Body - Carve out the Face of My God: F

January 2010

Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur: B+

"Change the Sheets"

As I’ve entered my third year of listening feverishly to the music of the 2010’s, I’ve noticed a few patterns. First, to no one’s surprise, the big tentpole releases come out in late June through July. An enormous dump of albums comes in the second week of September. Without fail, some of the year’s heaviest critical hitters come out in time to fudge with music critics’ year-end lists, Rihanna albums only come out in November for some reason, nobody gives a shit about April, and, in the second week of January, a seasoned alt-country veteran releases a hearty collection of soul-melters. In 2010 that veteran was Laura Veirs, in 2011 it was Over the Rhine and this year it’s Kathleen Edwards.

A part of me wants to dismiss Voyageur based on the law of diminishing returns. But that’s unfair, because I’m discrediting Edwards’ work for something that I could just as easily blame on label manipulation. Besides, Voyageur’s got some pretty savvy tunes. So here are the facts you need to know: Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer/songwriter who has been writing music since 2002. Voyageur marks her career’s tenth anniversary, and it seems to be poised to be her most successful record yet (for which we’ll talk about a little later).

As a songwriter, Edwards lacks the quirk of Laura Veirs or the confidence of Over the Rhine’s Karin Bergquist, but she carves out a personality for herself as passionate and self-depreciating. “I’m moving to America,” she asserts at Voyageur’s beginning, but then cuts herself off by admitting her boasts as “an empty threat.” On “House Full of Empty Rooms,” she is critical of herself as she mulls over the breakup that consumes her throughout the album. “I’m far from perfect,” she concedes. “I’m far from anything / But when we were together, I swear I made you happy.” In such moments, Edwards is uncompromising and Voyageur’s instrumentation follows suit. As “Change the Sheets” builds to a euphoric climax, Edwards grieves, “Here’s the truth / I swear I was fun,” before a momentous chorus carries her sorrows to an album highlight. Even at that point, though, Edwards can’t help but dig at herself. Her request at that chorus? “Change the sheets and then change me.”

However, the problem with Voyageur is that such excellent moments come within the first few tracks, leaving the album’s second half open for Edwards to downplay her strengths with plaintive acoustic guitar strums and plinking pianos. Not that these tracks that smooth out the flow of the record are particularly bad, but they compromise distinctiveness for comprehensiveness, approaching the bland anonymity of Marissa Nadler or, as Stephen Thompson of NPR puts it, “the sort of lovely, undemanding sleeper that tends to disappear amid strong reviews and low sales.” It is in these moments when Edwards’s double-tracked vocals bear striking resemblance to Laura Veirs’s, drawing comparisons that only further devastate Edwards’s identity.

And let’s be honest for a moment: A huge reason why Kathleen Edwards is being recognized now as opposed to ten years ago is because she’s recently started dating Bon Iver mastermind Justin Vernon, who coproduced the album. But, to be fair, aside from the guitar solo in “Going to Hell,” he leaves no clear mark, let alone evidence of him trying to steal the show. Instead, Vernon plays a thematic role on Voyageur, in which Edwards wrenches herself from the arms of a lover and into the arms of someone new. That fervency is what makes Voyageur unique, and it’s obvious Edwards’s emotions are best expressed when the music matches her intensity. The highs of the album provide that in spades, but, overall, it finds itself somewhat lacking. Voyageur makes a solid case for the solvency of Edwards as a songwriter, but too often feels like a stopgap rather than a statement.  

           

Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur: B+

We Begin at the End (Again)

What a year. Not to just say that in an obligatory manner, but this year truly was an elevation from last. I rated almost twice as many albums, changed formats to something more palatable and finally got to do a year-end list my way, albeit with significant setbacks (Eh, nobody’s perfect).

I can’t help that my ambitions can exceed my ability, (read: tolerance to sit at a computer and write about music for hours and hours and hours at a time) but rest assured that 2012’s going to be just as incredible with perhaps even MORE music accounted for. And to think I might actually write about them this time! Wouldn’t that be something? Starting today, I’m going to be keeping abreast of the music of 2012 with reviews and such of the like. By my estimation, I already have about nineteen albums in the cannon to listen to over the next three months. So, needless to say, I’ll be keeping myself busy. Look forward to it.

But, besides a promise for the future, there is something I must mention that unfortunately may become a requisite of the yearly Modicums. You see, in order to prepare for them, I have to stop any submissions to my lists at the beginning of November, so the lists that I post don’t represent the recommended records and songs that come out in that glorious month and the one that follows. So, here I’ve posted my updated list of Greatest Albums and Songs of 2011. (The singles list actually wasn’t changed by year’s end, but I’ll include it for posterity.) Also, I’ve listed the recommended albums of November and December. And, because I’m self-depreciating, I’ve also enclosed a list of the records that I had intended to listen to but never got around to. Hope you enjoy the new submissions (and slight order changes), and have a great New Year. The weather’s been so nice lately, it would be pretty hard not to.

Oh, also, in case you were wondering, the live album of the year was Shining’s Live Blackjazz and the worst album of the year was the new Nickelback record. (My apologies Lulu anti-fans.)

CYM’s 50 Greatest Albums of 2011:

1.   Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones

2.   Cunninlynguists – Oneirology

3.   La Dispute – Wildlife

4.   Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow

5.   Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact

6.   Over the Rhine – The Long Surrender

7.   PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

8.   Tom Waits – Bad As Me

9.   Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres

10. Moonsorrow – Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa

11. E-40 – Revenue Retrievin’: Overtime Shift

12. The Twilight Singers – Dynamite Steps

13. Danny Brown – XXX

14. Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place

15. The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

16. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

17. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost

18. G-Side - iSLAND

19. James Blake – James Blake

20. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Here We Rest

21. Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver

22.  Delicate Steve – Wondervisions

23. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Lenses Alien

24.  A$AP Rocky – LiveLoveA$AP

25. Destroyer – Kaputt

26. Septic Flesh – The Great Mass

27. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life

28. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light

29. Balam Acab – Wander/ Wonder

30. The Dear Hunter – The Color Spectrum: The Complete Collection

31.  Shabazz Palaces – Black Up

32. Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde

33. Miranda Lambert – Four the Record

34. The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck

35. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

36. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

37. Little Dragon – Ritual Union

38. The Weeknd – House of Balloons

39. When Saints Go Machine – Konkylie

40. Trivium – In Waves

41. Richard Buckner – Our Blood

42. The Psychic Paramount – II

43. Vektor – Outer Isolation

44. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo

45. St. Vincent – Stranger Mercy

46. Killer Mike – Pl3dge

47. The Go! Team – Rolling Blackouts

48. Mark McGuire – Get Lost

49. Prefuse 73 – The Only She Chronicles

50. Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers – Teenage and Torture

CYM’s 50 Greatest Songs of 2011:

1.     Tyler, the Creator – “Yonkers”

2.     Frank Turner – “Glory Hallelujah”

3.     Lil Wayne – “6’7’ (feat. Corey Gunz)”

4.     Cunninlynguists – “Enemies with Benefits (feat. Tonedeff)”

5.     Lana del Rey – “Video Games”

6.     James Blake – “Limit to Your Love”

7.     Gang Gang Dance – “MindKilla”

8.     James Blake – “I Never Learnt to Share”

9.     The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”

10. Girls – “Vomit”

11. La Dispute – “King Park”

12. Thomas Giles – “Medic”

13. Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”

14. The Weeknd – “House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls”

15. M83 – “Midnight City”

16. Gang Gang Dance – “Glass Jar”

17. Destroyer – “Bay of Pigs (Detail)”

18. Over the Rhine – “Infamous Love Song”

19. Egyptrixx – “Recital (A Version)”

20. Lady Gaga – “Judas”

21. Bon Iver – “Perth”

22. Das Racist – “Michael Jackson”

23. Girls – “Honey Bunny”

24. Beastie Boys – “Make Some Noise”

25. Spank Rock – “Nasty (feat. Big Freedia)”

26. Hayes Carll – “Grateful for Christmas”

27. Gucci Mane – “Brrrr (Supa Cold)”

28. Tom Waits – “Hell Broke Luce”

29. Jay-Z & Kanye West – “Niggas in Paris”

30. Gang Gang Dance – “Adult Goth”

31. Paul Simon – “Love and Hard Times”

32. St. Vincent – “Cruel”

33. Little Dragon – “Ritual Union”

34. Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)”

35. Shabazz Palaces – “Swerve… the reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)”

36. The Go! Team – “Buy Nothing Day”

37. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Belong”

38. St. Vincent – “Surgeon”

39. Thrice – “Anthology”

40. WU LYF – “Heavy Pop”

41. Tyler, the Creator – “Window (feat. Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, Hodgy Beats & Mike G)”

42. Cunninlynguists – “Murder (feat. Big K.R.I.T.)”

43. Patrick Wolf – “The City”

44. Pistol Annies – “Hell on Heels”

45. Battles – “Ice Cream (feat. Matias Aguayo)”

46. Wilco – “One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)”

47. Wild Flag – “Romance”

48. When Saints Go Machine – “Kelly”

49. Ill Blu – “Meltdown”

50. Florence + The Machine – “Only if for a Night”

November / December Recommendations:

Action Bronson & Statik Selektah - Well Done

A$AP Rocky – LiveLoveA$AP

Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow

The Dear Hunter – The Color Spectrum: The Complete Collection

G-Side – iSLAND

Steve Hauschildt – Tragedy & Geometry

Miranda Lambert – Four the Record

Los Campesinos! – Hello, Sadness

Thee Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler / The Dream

Vektor – Outer Isolation

Albums Missed:

Big Dee – Regifted Light

Circle of Ouroborus – Eleven Fingers

Country Mice – Festival

Curren$y – Muscle Car Chronicles

Endless Boogie – The Skinless Ogress Revolution, Which Feeds on Human Sacrifice

Escort – Escort

The Fall – Ersatz G.B.

Hammers of Misfortune – 17^th Street

Lil B – BasedGod Velli

Lil B – Black Flame

Lil B – Blue Eyes

Lil B – Gold House

Lil B – I Forgive You
Lil B – Keep Your Eyes Open 2

Lil B – The Silent President

Mouse on tha Track – Swagga Fresh Freddy

Sandro Perri – Impossible Spaces

Bruno Pronsato – Lovers Do

Rome - Die Æsthetik der Herrschaftsfreiheit

The Skull Defekts – 2013-3012

Sloan – Is That All I Get? Sloan: Live 20.09.1993

Sun Araw – Ancient Romans

Sun City Girls – Gum Arabic

Cliffie Swan – Memories Come True

Trucebaldazzi – Odio la Scuola

We Begin at the End (Again)

The Modicums 2011

Best Album:

Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones

Honorable Mentions:

Kate Bush  - 50 Words for Snow

Cunninlynguists – Oneirology

La Dispute – Wildlife

Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact

PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

Moonsorrow – Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa

Over the Rhine – The Long Surrender

Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres

Tom Waits – Bad As Me

Best Song:

Tyler, the Creator – “Yonkers”

Honorable Mentions:

James Blake – “I Never Learnt to Share”

James Blake – “Limit to Your Love”

Cunninlynguists– “Enemies with Benefits (feat. Tonedeff)”

Lana Del Rey – “Video Games”

Gang Gang Dance – “MindKilla”

Girls – “Vomit”

The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”

Lil Wayne – “6’7’ (feat. Corey Gunz)”

Frank Turner – “Glory Hallelujah”

Best Vocal Performance on an Album (Male):

Jordan Dreyer – Wildlife (La Dispute)

Honorable Mentions:

Danny Brown – XXX

Kno, Deacon the Villain & Natti – Oneirology (Cunninlynguists)

E-40 – Revenue Retrievin’: Overtime Shift

Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones

Tom Waits – Bad As Me

Best Vocal Performance on an Album (Female)

PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

Honorable Mentions:

Erika Anderson – Past Life Martyred Saints (EMA)

Karin Bergquist – The Long Surrender (Over the Rhine)

Annie Clark – Strange Mercy (St. Vincent)

Merrill Garbus – w h o k i l l (tUnE-yArDs)

Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres

 Best Vocal Performance in a Song (Male)

Tyler, the Creator – “Yonkers”

Honorable Mentions:

Kno, Deacon the Villain, Natti & Tonedeff – “Enemies with Benefits” (Cunninlynguists)

Jordan Dryer – “King Park” (La Dispute)

Lil Wayne – “6’7’”

Natti – “Get Ignorant” (Cunninlynguists)

Tom Waits – “Hell Broke Luce”

Best Vocal Performance in a Song (Female)

Matana Roberts – “Pov Piti”

Honorable Mentions:

Erika Anderson – “Marked” (EMA)

Karin Bergquist – “Infamous Love Song” (Over the Rhine)

Merrill Garbus – “Killa” (tUnE-yArDs)

Ashley Monroe – “Hell on Heels” (Pistol Annies)

PJ Harvey – “On Battleship Hill”

Best Guitar Performance on an Album

Steve Marion – Wondervisions (Delicate Steve)

Honorable Mentions:

Heri Joensen & Terji Skibenæs – The Lay of Thrym (Týr)

Erik Nelson – Outer Isolation (Vektor)

Sidi Tourè – Sahel Folk

Markus Valhala – New World Shadows (Omnium Gatherum)

Dustin Wong – Do Whatever You Want All the Time! (Ponytail)

Best Guitar Performance in a Song

Henri “Trollhorn” Urponpoika Sorvali – “Kuolleiden maa” (Moonsorrow)

Honorable Mentions:

Nels Cline – “Art of Almost” (Wilco)

Ruban Nielson – “Nerve Damage!” (Unknown Mortal Orchestra)

Robin Pecknold – “Sim Sala Bim” (Fleet Foxes)

Sidi Tourè – “Taray Kongo”

Markus Valhala – “Nova Flame” (Omnium Gatherum)

Best Bass Performance on an Album

Steve Terebecki – D (White Denim)

Honorable Mentions:

Frank Chin – Outer Isolation (Vektor)

Michael Benjamin Lerner – 12 Desperate Straight Lines (Telekinesis)

Cameron Omori – Dye It Blonde (Smith Westerns)

Tim Payne – No Devoluciòn (Thursday)

John Stirrat – The Whole Love (Wilco)

 Best Bass Performance in a Song

Stephen Bruner – “Is It Love?” (Thundercat)

Honorable Mentions:

Flea – “Goodbye Hurray” (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Mick Harvey – “The Glorious Land” (PJ Harvey)

Michael Benjamin Lerner – “I Cannot Love You” (Telekinesis)

Toni Mäki – “An Infinite Mind” (Omnium Gatherum)

Toro Y Moi – “Still Sound”

Best Percussion Performance on an Album

Joshua Block – D (White Denim)

Honorable Mentions:

Nick Augustino – In Waves (Trivium)

Jeff Conaway – II (The Psychic Paramount)

Jeremy Hyman – Do Whatever You Want All the Time! (Ponytail)

John Stanier – Gloss Drop (Battles)

Matt Thomas – The Big Roar (The Joy Formidable)

Best Percussion Performance in a Song

Matt Thomas – “Whirring” (The Joy Formidable)

Honorable Mentions:

Nick Augustino – “Capsizing the Sea / In Waves” (Trivium)

Joshua Block – “At the Farm” (White Denim)

Charles Hayward – “You’re No Good” (About Group)

Joe Manning – “Dirt” (WU LYF)

John Stanier – “Ice Cream” (Battles)

Best Other Instrument Performance on an Album

Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges [Bass Saxophone]

Honorable Mentions:

Dave Guy – No Time for Dreaming [Trumpet] (Charles Bradley)

Emmanuel Kunnuki & Olugbabe Okunade – From Africa with Fury: Rise [Trumpet] (Seun Kuti and Egypt 80)

The Prague Philharmonic – The Great Mass [Orchestra] (Septic Flesh)

Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres [Saxophone]

Ian Williams – Gloss Drop [Keyboard] (Battles)

Best Other Instrument Performance in a Song

John Parish – “Let England Shake” (PJ Harvey)

Honorable Mentions:

Dave Guy – “How Long” [Trumpet] (Charles Bradley)

Matana Roberts – “Rise” [Saxophone]

Colin Stetson – “Judges” [Bass Saxophone]

Ian Williams – “Ice Cream” [Keyboard] (Battles)

Flutist in “River to Consider” [Flute] (White Denim)

The Modicums 2011

Greatest Albums of 2011: #1: Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones

Original Review Here

Greatest Albums of 2011: #1: Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones

Greatest Songs of 2011: #1: Tyler, the Creator - "Yonkers"

Listen Here

Greatest Songs of 2011: #1: Tyler, the Creator - "Yonkers"