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The Year’s Best Songs (2010 Mix)

Published by Adam on December 28, 2010

Every year I create a mix of my favorite songs of the year. My rules are that (1) the songs must have been released Jan. 1 or later of the current year, (2) only one song per artist, even if the entire album was genius, and (3) the tracks must flow together. The last rule is more of a guideline — Since it’s a mix, not a Top 10, I don’t order them by most favorite to least favorite, or vice-a-versa.

Below is my mix for 2010, which I call “Psychedelic Grooves.” I’ve tried to include links to audio or video streams where I could find them. Post your own 2010 mixes in the comment section!

The Acorn — Restoration
The swirling acoustic guitar line hypnotizes in this alluring track by the up and coming Canadian indie folk band.
Old 97’s — Every Night is Friday Night (Without You)
The Texas alt-country rock band comes out fists swinging in this punchy send off to an ex.
Broken Bells — The High Road
By far the best song by the collaboration of Shins singer James Mercer and Danger Mouse, this song will have you clapping and singing along in no time. Read my review of the album here.
Crocodiles — Sleep Forever
Psychedelic rock is back, and it’s got teeth. Read my review of the album here.
Ash — Dionysian Urge
Thrilling guitar work from the great Tim Wheeler on one of my favorite tracks from Ash’s amazing A-Z series.
Jimmy Eat World — Coffee and Cigarettes
The Arizona band best known for “The Middle” showed they still matter on this year’s Invented, and this chugging rocker finds them in top form.
Nada Surf — Love and Anger
This underrated indie group released one of the best cover albums ever by ignoring all the standards and playing hidden gems instead. This cover of Kate Bush marks the most haunting of the set.
MGMT — Flash Delirium
This cut from Congratulations is, like the album itself, a bit of a grower. But while it might leave you scratching your head after the first spin, it’s hard to deny this band’s talent for writing compelling music.
Yeasayer — Ambling Alp
Sure it sounds like the ’80s, but Yeasayer play it with such gusto you can’t not like it. Warning: may get stuck in your head. Read my review of the full album.
Gorillaz — On Melancholy Hill
Catchy in a depressing way, this one will have you bobbing your head with a frown. But it will be a really wonderful, “I’m having an epiphany” kind of frown. Review of the album here.
Pete Yorn — Precious Stone
This straightforward rocker shows Yorn at his best. If only all of his self-titled album was this good…
Two Door Cinema Club — Something Good Can Work
Fans of Bloc Party and Death Cab for Cutie should dig this great young Irish band. How does he sing that fast, anyway? Live show also recommended.
Spoon — Got Nuffin
Rockin’ and minimalist. Nuff said.
Trashcan Sinatras — I Hung My Harp Upon The Willows
A haunting ballad from the Scottish veterans. See this band live if you can.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club — Sweet Feeling
This melancholy tune is sure to make you stare thoughtfully out the window.
Wavves — King Of The Beach
Sounds like a surfing outing with Green Day, Blink-182, the Beach Boys and the Violent Femmes. Better than a blister in the sun.

Shoegazers Need Polish, Have Potential

Published by Adam on November 6, 2010

Has this ever happened to you? You’re at a rock show and astonishingly find yourself rocking out to the opening band. So you buy the record, but when you get home and put it on, it’s just not the same. Abby Gogo, a band that plays something between garage and shoe-gaze rock, shows potential but their self-titled debut, available Nov. 30, leaves room for improvement.

The mixing seems off on several tracks, and better production could go a long way to showcasing the band’s talent. If you listen closely, you can hear a strong garage-rock riff underlying opener “Louder than Dreams,” but it’s nearly drowned out by the high-ringing lead guitar. One can’t help but wonder if the track would be stronger if that core riff was better featured. On several other tracks, the vocals are turned down so low you can’t tell what brothers Bon and Jon Allinson are singing.

Abby Gogo’s debut also fluctuates wildly in terms of track length. “Louder than Dreams” is about two-and-a-half minutes, while two later songs are more than seven minutes. This is a band that loves atmosphere, tense buildup and shattering climaxes, so a few of the longer songs are compelling from start to finish. “Torpedo,” for example, alternates between hushed chanting and towering walls of sound to awesome effect. Other songs, however, probably would have been more effective with a little editing.

In the end, the album leaves one with the feeling that Abby Gogo is a band that’s probably pretty rocking live. But the lack of production and quality control on their first LP makes the recorded Abby Gogo hard to recommend. If you’re into bands like The Verve or Interpol, put Abby Gogo on your radar. If they stick together, this is a band that could be great.

Click here for a free MP3 of “Louder than Dreams.”

Downtown Guitarist Seeks Own Path

Published by Adam on October 12, 2010

Six years ago, I wrote a glowing review in The Eagle of a band called Downtown. Backed by all-star rock producers Flood, Alan Moulder and Toni Halladay, and featuring a melancholy sound that recalled some of the best alternative rock from the late 20th century, Downtown seemed destined for success.

But we didn’t hear much about them after that.

Now Eric Brendo, the band’s guitarist and co-songwriter, is striking out on his own. A debut EP, Over the Dunes and Into the Cave, was released this summer, and Brendo tells me a long-player is due next year. He is in the midst of an October tour and plans to tour again once the LP is released.

This month’s run of shows “has been great,” and “creatively is stronger than the last tour,” says Brendo. “I’ve met some incredibly talented musicians and filmakers along the way and [am] staying really busy.”

The chances of another Downtown collaboration are “pretty slim,” says Brendo. “We toured for a bit after the Downtown release and I was doing some solo shows on the side and trying to expand as a songwriter.” Initial Brendo gigs took place mainly in New York City, but “then the touring addiction kept haunting me,” he says. So Brendo, originally from Detroit, hit the road. He spent “a year or two in L.A. and wound up living in Austin somehow, which has been beneficial in many ways so far.”

On Over the Dunes, Brendo continues to show a knack for the kind of moody, bass-laden grooves that were so core to Downtown’s 2004 debut. He wrote the songs and plays most of the instruments, though co-producer Howard Wulkan played as well. Catchy opener “Hazy Love” could have been a Downtown song, while closer “Ashes” surprises with a rootsy, acoustic twist.

If there’s one thing that’s missing from the EP, it’s a clear single — that one sparkling number guaranteed to bring down the house. On his upcoming full length, fans “can expect a little more [beats per minute] on the tracks and I’ll just be sorting out whether to fit in some of the stripped down open-feel stuff and go for what serves the album,” says Brendo. He plans to issue “a wide variety of albums over the next 5 years” and also hopes to contribute work to films.

For more info on Eric Brendo’s record and tour, click here.

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Crocodiles Sharp on ‘Sleep Forever’

Published by Adam on October 3, 2010

If you were to combine the dark, twisted fuzz of The Raveonettes with the “We know we’re good” bombast of Oasis, you’d probably end up with something a bit like Crocodiles.

But forget the comparisons (another popular one on the ‘net is The Jesus and Mary Chain). On their new LP, Sleep Forever, this San Diego band provides 35 minutes of fresh and filler-free rock ‘n roll. The choruses are big, especially on the title track, with lyrics that are simultaneously bleak and psychadelic. “When you die you don’t really die/You just paint yourself across the sky,” singer Brandon Welchaz roars over Charles Rowell’s static/melodic guitar on “Billy Speed.”

Some have bemoaned the slower tracks — the pace drops to a heartbeat on track four, “Girl in Black,” before coming back to life on a track that — ironically enough — is called “Sleep Forever.” But if you switch off your iPod’s shuffle and swallow the album the old-fashioned way (in one dose), it all comes together.

Check out the video to the rockin’ title track below:

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Review: Autolux – Transit Transit

Published by Adam on August 11, 2010

After a deafening six-year silence, Autolux return with a new album that builds upon and evolves the dark, distortion-filled rock ‘n roll of their 2004 debut.

The California-based band has garnered comparisons to ’90s alt-rock greats like Sonic Youth, thanks to its members’ ability to infuse noisy rock with real pop sensibility. The group’s forte is dissonant guitar underpinned by driving drums and a steady bass. Bass guitarist Eugene Goreshter is the lead singer, often sounding like a deranged Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie fame). Drummer Carla Azar also ably contibutes vocals to a few tracks, sometimes trading off lines with Goreshter.

More than half a decade after their first LP Future Perfect, Autolux has reined in some of the noise. Goreshter’s vocals in Transit Transit show more melodic range, and the band seems less afraid to offer up the slow and mellow. While several of the tracks sound in the same vein of their original material (“Census,” “Audience No. 2”), they’re interwined with songs that remind of the Beatles (“Spots,” “The Bouncing Wall”), Earlimart and the Raveonettes. But while the influences show, there’s never a doubt that this is an Autolux album.

You can stream all of Transit Transit on the band’s MySpace page. My current favorite is “Highchair.”

If you like it, the MP3 version of the album is currently only $5.99 on Amazon.

Category: Music

The Year’s Best Songs (2010 Mix)

Shoegazers Need Polish, Have Potential

Downtown Guitarist Seeks Own Path

Crocodiles Sharp on ‘Sleep Forever’

Review: Autolux – Transit Transit

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