REVIEW: Natalie Rose Lebrecht - Warraw

I couldn't find much about Lebrecht (I could only find her album on an Asian site and couldn't read the print), so this post is only about the album and sound itself. She has a Joanna Newsom quality, a strange voice that floats around and contrasts the soft guitar playing, like Newsom's harp. The album itself is a story, or one long track, broken into eleven rest, simply for the convinces of the listener to jump ahead like tracks on a DVD. The album grows and grows, reaching an emotional peak that seems to never let go. It's albums like this that I stumble upon late in the year that makes me angry that I've already made my top 25 of 07 because it would definitely be up there. I'm not sure what her success will be in the future with building a larger listening community....but I'm glad I have it on my iPod.

Here are the lyrics to the first track:

"Psychomancy. My limbs are numb. Bits of knowledge
appear before me as iridescent creatures glowing
in a translucency - a translucent sea. Psychomancy. Air that
we breathe. Bubbles float down. Surreal sounds."

REVIEW: Ravens & Chimes - Reichenbach Falls

ZACH THAT:

On their myspace page under infulences they say, "we like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Deerhoof and Wolf Parade...don't you?" The calling out of Wolf Parade was interesting to me as I listened to the album, because I feel like it's Wolf Parade without the synths and upbeat hooks. Reichenbach Falls begins with a quick accoustic guitar that hints at louder moments to come, and come they do. The album has an earthly feel to it, maybe it's the mandolin or the beatuful female backup vocals. The music is not as experimental or daring as the eye raisesers of 2007 (Panda Bear, Deerhunter, Fiery Furnaces), however its simpicity is the most charming quality. This is an album to listen and enjoy, not to be studied or decrostructed.

TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Here are the top ten albums after all four lists have been ranked. The points were 25-1 in the opposite order in which they were ranked...1st place gets 25 points/25th place gets 1 point. In the case of a tie, which happened, the highest second ranking wins (since they both scored perfect 25's). Here's the list, pretty solid considering four different tastes in music, and very close call for number one...one point difference.

10. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds of Silver (34pts)




09. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover (36pts)

08. Iron and Wine - The Shepherds Dog (37pts)




07. The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City (44pts)




06. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (49pts)




05. Beirut - The Flying Cup Club (49pts)

04. Battles - Mirrored (52 pts)




03. Radiohead - In Rainbows (64 pts)




02. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer (71pts)





01. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (72 pts)

Top 25 Albums of 2007 (Hank)

HANK ALTOGETHER:



25. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha










24. Battles - Mirrored










23. I’m Not There Soundtrack










22. Panda Bear – Person Pitch










21. Okkervil River – The Stage Names










20. David’s Pegasus - David's Pegasus










19. Kanye West - Graduation










18. Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity










17. Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover










16. Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew – Spirit If…









15. Blitzen Trapper – Wild Mountain Nation










14. Paul Baribeau – Grand Ledge










13. Iron & Wine – Shepard’s Dog









12. The National – The Boxer










11. Lupe Fiasco – The Cool

10. Once Soundtrack



9. Wu-Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams



8. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver




7. Feist – The Reminder



6. Sam King - Two



5. The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible


Last year around this time, Zach made me a mixtape just so he could put a crappy radio recording of "Intervention" on it. Months later, Win Butler's hanging out with Springsteen and looks like the indie rock lock for president. Listen to this album to find out why. Earnest emotional pleading. Amazing riffs. The Arcade Fire made the first big indie splash of 07 and with good reason.


4. Dirty Projectors – Rise Above


What a great album sounds like if it was made by your hippie jam-band brother (who grew up listening to the Rat Pack) after he was stranded on a desert island with nothing but Black Flag, music theory, and had recently been turned into a muppet.


3. Radiohead – In Rainbows

ho hum. Another mind-blowing Radiohead album. ho hum.


2. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

Kevin Barnes outdoes himself. Depression so good you can dance to it.


1. Beirut – The Flying Cup Club/Lon Grisland EP


Let's face it, these lists are completely subjective. I don't know if Beirut is the best album of the year or not. All I know is that this was definitely my favorite. I spent more hours than I can count listening to this as my family took a vacation through Poland. Zach Condon's heady concoctions are intoxicating odes to Balkan folk music with a nod to the 21st century. The bottom line with lists is that whatever it is, ultimately what makes the top is what speaks to you. So, thanks Zach Condon.



TOP FIVE SONGS

5 Flight of the Conchords - "Bowie Song"

4 Travis Morrison & the Hellfighters "As We Proceed"

3 Caribou – "Melody Day"

2 Sam King - "We Don't Get the Blues"

1 Georgie James - "Need Your Needs"



WORST ALBUM

Elliott Smith - New Moon

Because every time I hear it, it reminds me that he's dead.

Top 25 Albums of 2007 (Zach)

ZACH THAT:

25. Lupe Fiasco - The Cool












24. Beirut - The Flying Cup Club










23. Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch










22. The White Stripes - Icky Thump









21. The National - Boxer










20. Akron/Family - Love is Simple











19. White Rabbits - Forth Nightly










18. Marisa Nadler - Song III: Bird on the Water











17. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future











16. Clientele - God Save the Clientele












15. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover











14. Alaska in Winter - Dance Party in the Balkans










13. Silverchair - Young Modern











12. Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog












11. Wu Tang - 8 Diagrams

10. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds of Silver




09. Radiohead - In Rainbows




08. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity




07. Papercuts - Can't Go Back




06. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible





05. Battles - Mirrored

The common response when talking to people about this album is, "Yeah, but can they do it live?" Yes, they can. It's a fun head scratcher of an album, only to be fully enjoyed when one stops analyzing its components and lets the overall product creep into the skull, taking over the space for a math rock dance party.

04. Jonquil - Lions

This was my indie selfish move of 07...not letting any of my close friends know about Jonquil. Oh, how many sleepless nights, just wanting to send it to one person. I only laughed more when the months after it's release melted off the calender without any Pitchfork review or mention. Well, my resolve paid off and if you are like the many who haven't heard of Jonquil...this is your Holiday present. The album plays at Beirut's stadium of sound but handily defeats them at their own game...and unlike Condon it's a team effort. (Still love Beiruit, see #24).

03. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer

Oh, another Zach list....another Of Montreal album. I've been killed time and time again for my claim that Of Montreal is better than The Beatles (please do not leave a comment of this point...just say I'm wrong and continue to read please). Another fantastic upbeat album by Barnes who had his life thrown in the gutter....again...how many times can this guy get hurt? If each painful moment contributes another album...then someone out there hurt him...hurt him Cherry Peel bad...unlike Pitchfork's claim that this Of Montreal's best album....it goes Cherry Peel, Satanic, and then Hissing Fauna. But, with this said, great album...and I dare you to find a song on here that doesn't make you want to dance...a little....or a lot...I dance a lot to my number three.

02. Mother Mother - Touch Up

Poor Mother Mother. If it wasn't for such an impressive number one album this year, they would have hands down taken the crown. I can honestly say that I've never heard music like this in all my life. It's the return of the acoustic guitar, as it slashes through folk, punk, and soft rock. The songs are roller coasters...up and down we go from danceable jams to some of the sadest music of the year. The end result is a fantastic album that is the most underrated of the last few years, not just 07...please, do yourself a favour and listen to them, over and over, again...or for the first time.

01. The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City

Take one of the best contemporary rock bands of the last five years and look at how their sound grew over those years. Gallowsbird's Bark was all rock, Blueberry Boat could be the most revolutionary album of the decade, Rehearsing My Choir was a concept album so well executed that the story and music enter each other-creating one entity, and Bitter Tea focused on the power of post recording effects/techniques to maximize sound. Released one year after another since 2003, all their albums were leading to Widow City, an the album that is the culmination of experimenting through four albums. I'm not saying this is the best Fiery Furnaces album, but it is definitely the most focused, overall mind blowing work of music from start to finish that they have packaged. For those who don't "get" their sound...I'm so sorry...hopefully one day the clouds will part and you will finally see what it is they are all about: musical perfection.

TOP FIVE SONGS:

05. Jonquil - Whistle Low

04. Battles - Atlas

03. Wu-Tang - Wolves

02. Dan Deacon - Wham City

01. Sunset Rubdown - The Mending of the Gown



WORST ALBUM:

Architecture in Helsinki - Places Like This

-?-WHY RECORD ANY OF THIS-?-

Who Do You Blog?

HANK ALTOGETHER:

 Okay, let's face it, this whole blogging business is hit or miss. It's great to get the free tracks from musicians but equally disturbing to find your 14 yr old sister's wordpress page or when you meet that person who is really ego-centric and then you find out that they blog about their pets. It's a slippery slope. And its made even more slippery when it comes to something as subjective as musical taste.

That's when its nice to find someone who you really appreciate making a nice transition into the blogging community. Witness the rise of Carrie Brownstein - former Sleater-Kinney ax-slinger, current NPR blogger.

The blog, Monitor Mix, is only a couple weeks old and by Brownstein's own admission is a deeper look into how music and culture fit together. Or just on culture in general. Witness her take on the last episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Bloggers in general can't get away from ourselves. The ties between the form and journals, the arbitrary and subjective nature of the content, the unabashed belief that what you're saying needs to be shared, each one of these factors make blogs a risky and rewarding read. The start of a great blog, like Brownstein's, is the authenticity of the author and the reader's ability to trust what they have to say. So, Brownstein's former life in Sleater-Kinney makes her posts credible. The access to her personality that her writing keeps her readers hooked in. Just read her post about how she doesn't get Radiohead.

As a result, Monitor Mix is a pithy and exciting read. Not just posting about events. Nor bemoaning the death of her former band. Brownstein makes the insanity of culture seem accessible and chock-full of real-life significance. Call me a sucker for old-style criticism, which helped dictate taste and explain why certain cultural happenings were significant not only in the realm of culture but also in the lives of the writer, but it's something that bloggers should aspire to. Culture has unfortunately been hewn subtly away from our everday lives. YouTube's great, but if you can become part of the cultural landscape just for crying about Britney Spears...it shows how much criticism and cultural producers have become increasingly put on the backburner in favor of an instant response. Not to mention video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero which put the power of music right into the hands of the fans (Brownstein wrote a piece on this for Slate, by the way). Which isn't to cast stones on folks putting up videos of their cat drinking milk. We just need to figure out away to respond to this. Is it any wonder then, than that blogs have developed and proliferated to the extent that they have? The beautiful thing about Brownstein's blog is it helps wade through the junk and makes you think about the way that you wade through it as well.

James Baldwin once wrote: "The intangible life is a real life...the insatiable dreams of a people have a tangible effect on the world." It's up to bloggers, critics, and fans to figure out how these dreams work tangibly in the world. Or at least attempt to figure it out. Good thing we got Carrie Brownstein on our side.

TOP TEN SOUNDTRACKS OF ALL TIME

ZACH THAT:

Let me clearly state what it is exactly that I’m ranking. Not the best score…or the best record to listen to that is considered a soundtrack. What I’m looking for is the use of music within a film that changed/added to the overall quality of the picture. The score will be included in the ranking if it appears on the album…however, lone score soundtracks will not count (see Star Wars). With this said, allow me to count down.


10.) O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000)

The music adds so much to this grey and honey yellow landscape, allowing the viewers to tap their toes to the slide guitars and folk upbeat swing that populates this soundtrack. Man of Constant sorrow is right up there with the best single tracks in a film and with the likes of Alison Krauss, how could the Cohen brothers go wrong?

9.) High Noon(1952)

Ok, shoot me (no pun there), there is only one real song on the soundtrack, but it’s so damn good I had to include it on the list. Tex Ritter’s “Do Not Forsake Me O My Darling” plays throughout and never gets old, rather builds into something more then a tonal backdrop, it becomes part of Gary Cooper, who he is and what he has to do to survive.

8.) Aladdin (1992)

Fun soundtrack…my favorite Disney film…the song “One Jump Ahead” has been stuck in my head for fifteen years, so they get points for that. If you didn’t have fun listening to the songs from this film, ask yourself…do I have a soul?

7. American Graffiti (1973)

Billy Holly, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, The Flamingos, Buster Brown, and The Crests featured in a film about driving in cool cars and listening to equally cool music…enough for me.

6.) The Graduate (1967)

Surprise, surprise. Another soundtrack list with The Graduate featured. Well, I’m sorry, it’s great. “Sounds of Silence” gets me every time and half of the film was cut montages dictated by S & G’s originals. When the music seems to act as script pages, moving the story forward, that’s always impressive.

5.) Apocalypse Now (1979)

Watch the opening sequence then argue with me. If you’ve seen that jungle, ceiling fan, and Sheen’s face over top “The End”, you know what I’m talking about. Plus, Coppola had access to all The Doors masters and has a lot of the F Bombs never before heard on any of their albums due to the record companies decisions.

4.) Magnolia (1999)

This will be the most controversial of all my picks. It’s hard to pick this over Boogie Nights (another P.T. Anderson soundtrack classic) and that scene with everyone singing the same song seems to irk some people. Not me. I love Aimee Mann on this soundtrack. “Wise Up” (now everywhere on TV) was an excellent set piece for the film and “Momentum” is underrated. This is just one of those personal favorites that appears in list, but I’m man enough to point that out. Jon Brion makes an appearance as well, and he is the indie Phillip Glass…so there you have it.

3.) Blue Velvet (1986)

Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” contributes to what I consider the greatest musical scene in the history of cinema. If that’s not enough for you, the actual song Blue Velvet is beautiful on top of beautiful, and Angelo Badalamenti created sounds to attach to the lurking evil underbelly that hides behind all of Lynch’s films.

2.) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

This is not just my Wes Anderson fandom getting in the way here…this is a masterpiece. Suicide to Elliot Smith, Nico in slow motion, The Clash, ice cream store playing Peanuts music, Bob Dylan, go carts and Paul Simon, The Velvet Underground, NICK DRAKE (My favorite), and the best work by Mark Mothersbaugh to date. That is my case, take it or leave it.

1.) The Harder They Come (1972)


Jimmy Cliff plays a musician recording an album. This album is the soundtrack we hear. This is one side story to the film but the music that follows is perfection. The scene where Cliff records the title track, displays his love for music and more importantly the power of music. I agree with Cusak in High Fidelity, at my funeral I want Many Rivers to Cross to be played and if you’ve heard the song, you know why. I recommend everyone see the film, buy the soundtrack, and embrace the greatest marriage of song and moving frame of all time.