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Tag: brit pop

Top Rock Albums of 2009

Published by Adam on December 30, 2009

I started reading High Fidelity by Nick Hornby a few days ago. It’s a clever British novel about a guy named Rob who owns a record shop and has an awful history with girls. One of the characters, Barry, is big on making top-five lists. In that spirit, I present my top five albums of 2009.

I make the disclaimer that I don’t like every genre and haven’t heard every album that came out this year. It’s quite possible you like five or more other albums more than my picks. These are just my fave five, and I highly recommend you give them a listen.

  1. Glasvegas – Glasvegas

    The debut LP for this great Scottish band has stayed on my iPod pretty much all year, and considering my Nano only holds 2GB, that’s saying something. This band convinced me that combining distorted guitars with a retro ’50s sound and nursery rhymes is a really good idea.
    (Video: “Geraldine”)

  2. Pete Yorn – Back & Fourth

    3. I always liked Pete’s music, but it wasn’t until Back & Fourth that he really became one of my favorite musicians. This somewhat obviously named fourth album ironically contains his strongest and most clever lyrics yet. It’s also his most focused, clocking in a tight 42 minutes. For more of my thoughts on this one, see this blog post from July.

    (Video: “Don’t Wanna Cry”)

  3. Peter Doherty – Grace/Wastelands

    4. The tabloids make him seem like a total waster, but listen to Pete Doherty’s music and you realize the guy’s got some serious talent. This excellent solo album teams the ex-Libertine with Blur’s Graham Coxon and producer Stephen Street.

    (Video: “Last of the English Roses”)

  4. Malajube – Labyrinthes

    5. Probably my most obscure pick for the top 5, this Québécois band plays apocalyptic…no, maybe post-apocalyptic…oh whatever, they’re good. They sing in French, but their music will hold you even if you don’t know what they’re saying.

    (Video: Porté Disparu)

  5. Brookville – Broken Lights

    6. Opening bands often disappoint, but when I saw Brookville open for the Trashcan Sinatras, my ears perked up like Mr. Spock (sorry, just watched Star Trek). The band’s latest is a mellow but constantly compelling album filled with equal helpings of rock and soul. Plus, how can you not like enigmatic break-up lines like “If you really love me, then you’ll let me make the great mistake of leaving you.”

    (Video: “Great Mistake”)

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Ash Album Under Construction

Published by Adam on November 11, 2009

For a little while now, I’ve been meaning to gush in this blog about the awesomeness of one my all-time favorite bands, Ash. If you haven’t heard of this Irish outfit, it’s probably because you’re from the U.S. I only learned of their greatness because one of their albums (Free All Angels — still my favorite) was on display at a Borders back in the early 2000s. Since then, I don’t think they’ve had a single release in the U.S., except maybe a song about clones in a Star Wars videogame.

That’s all changing with their new project — The A-Z Series (a title that sounds cooler in the UK because they pronounce Z like “Zed”). Breaking from the traditional record publishing mold, Ash plans to digitally release 26 singles, one every two weeks, for the next year. A subscription costs $20, but the band so far is letting people sample all the songs in full before buying.

The group just released the C single, “Arcadia,” last week and it’s one heck of a catchy rocker. If they don’t break through with at least one of these 26 singles, I’m going to be very depressed with the record-buying public. So what are you waiting for? Head over to www.ash-official.com now!

Update: Also, check out this article about Ash from The Guardian!

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Bloc Party Burns Down 9:30 Club

Published by Adam on March 24, 2009
Bloc Party at the 9:30 Club
Singer Kele Okereke tells crowd to "Get involved!"

Bloc Party played to a sold-out show last Sunday at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. The show was ace, as they say in England.

For those who don’t know, Bloc Party is a really innovative British band that mixes punk with some crazy dance beats. When they’re good, they’re good, and they played nearly all of my favorite songs at the show (including several I didn’t think they’d play, like Flux, Ares and Tulips). The band was also quite charismatic, cracking wry jokes the whole way through.

Bloc Party’s first album, Silent Alarm, won almost universal acclaim from critics, but their two followups (A Weekend in the City, Intimacy) have received more mixed reviews. The main issue with the band, in my opinion, is they write three kinds of songs: 1) Super Awesome  2) Pretty Good and 3) Boring.

Silent Alarm has more Super Awesome songs than the other two albums, however it also has its fair share of Boring songs. A Weekend in the City has only a couple Super Awesome songs, a handful of Pretty Good songs, and a lot of Boring songs. I like the new album, Intimacy, a lot better. It’s got a few Super Awesome, a lot of Pretty Good, and only one or two Boring tunes. I guess what I’m saying is that the best songs are on Silent Alarm, but Intimacy is the most solid album all the way through.

Also, Silent Alarm and Intimacy have way more loud/fast songs than Weekend. Believe me — loud/fast is where this band excels. That’s the kind of song they’ve been playing live lately, so go see them now! Before they go soft!

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Adam Bender | adambenderwrites.com | watchadam.blog