David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights – Left By Soft
Rating 5.5 out of 6
Leader and front man of a legendary band in New Zealand called The Clean exhibits his strong song writing ability and penchants for crafting very melodic guitar hooks. Dreamy yet grungy textures make for modern day Jangle Pop masterpiece. His vocals are sweet and the NZ accent is not as overwhelming as some of his contemporaries. Notice the fuzzed up technique on track 2 “Way Down Here”. Take note of more subtle and spacey guitar of “A Break in the Weather”. Pretty and down tempo “Pop Song” is anything but yet a perfect shimmering example of how smoothly this guy crafts songs. I don’t know if the US has ever seen someone as fully immersed in learning the beauty of New Zealand Rock as yours truly (at least my age anyway), so I can admit my review may be subjective but this is a fella’ I wish more of the music heads were aware of.
Songs “Diamond Mine” and “I’ll Climb Up That Hill” are other highlights on one of my favorite listens of the year.
The Donkeys – Born With Stripes
Rating 4 out of 6
San Diego band has an effortless way about them that sounds a little like Pavement and Modest Mouse, but not as slacker and laconic for those who bristle at the thought of the dissonance. The Country fried freak folkers and maybe some Jam banders may dig this act as well. “I Like the Way You Walk” is a good starting point to see if you will like them as much as I. “Ceiling Tan” is a really cool track that has some Widespread Panic feel to it. “Oxblood” is very approachable track that is short and to the point and a fine barometer for seeing if The Donkeys have any legs for the listener. “Valerie” is a more subdued number that again has me feeling the Widespread influence.
The Antlers – Burst Apart
5 out of 6
The Brooklyn Shoegazers have an autumnal quality about them with a really pretty opening song “I Don’t Want to Love”. The tingling and icy vocals of front man Peter Silberman may be too much falsetto for some, but it is a fantastic study rock album. “French Exit” has great synth textures and subtle cadence that is very low key but quite melodic. “Parentheses” is their Thom Yorke impression as I think Radiohead fans might like or think they are derivative of their favorite blip rockers. I tend to think they are cleverly tipping the cap to an influence and still doing their own thing. “Rolled Together” is hauntingly beautiful and moody as all get out. “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out” is a strong number that shows some dynamic vocal quality of an impressive indie singer. Again the delivery is not for everyone but this album while more down tempo than I normally go, is a very impressive LP for the music lovers of this world.
The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
Rating 4.5 out of 6
Folk fans and the Lady A fans out there should be aware of the unbelievable cohesion of 2 exceedingly talented singer songwriter’s voices providing synergy. Joy Williams and John Paul White apparently met while in Nashville when both were having some trepidation about launching solo careers. While not a couple apparently, you wouldn’t be able to tell as it feels like vocal beauty that can only come from a kinship founded in romanticism. It seems that their work has greatly benefitted from the choice of collaborating. These guys have a very Robert Plant and Allison Krause quality about them. This album is one that should appeal to many generations as it is quite outside of my world of abrasive rock that I normally speak about. Songs like “20 Years”, “I’ve Got This Friend”, and “My Father’s Father” are the starting points to see if this pretty Folk album can wow you as much as it wowed me.
The Generationals – Actor-Caster
Rating 5 out of 6
This New Orleans Indie duo channels the platform stomping of the glam era in an incredible opening song called “Ten-Twenty-Ten” that will firmly be one of my favorite tracks of the year. These guys then break out the organs and jangle it up in a very Vampire Weekend sort of way with “I Promise”. They dial up the synths for “Yours Forever”. Reverb laden Clash-esque guitar lines prevails on the bouncy track “You say it Too”. “Goose & Gander” has that same Paul Simon guitar plucking that Vampire Weekend borrows so pleasantly. The vocal may be bit whinier than some like, but the track “Dirty Mister Dirty” is another fine example of the clever jaunty piano driven indie pop these guys convey. “Tell Me Now” is probably is bit too bubbly for those who despise the drum machine indie poppers of the world but again those who like the genre will be quite satisfied by the playing. Fans of Peter, Bjorn, and John, and other emotive indie pop will be sure to love.
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