For the love of music
Tim Fite - Under The Table Tennis Simply the best protest record I've heard in I don't know how long. Not that all records based on social and political anger are successful by any means, but sometimes I think it's disheartening that given the sheer number of heartbreaking and infuriating things we're faced with every day, that more musicians … [Read more...]
Top Musical Moments of 2010: Iceland Airwaves It is very popular to drink until you vomit in Iceland. I saw this at many show and clubs. It was awesome. The Postelles Who are cute! The Postelles rocked it in a really killer venue that was like an old theater on a lake called http://idno.is/ Coachella 2010 Bobby Womack onstage with … [Read more...]
Sam McLoughlin & Alison Cooper - Natural / Supernatural Lancashire (Disposable Music) This is the sort of record that just makes you stop in your tracks whenever you put it on. Sounding in parts like a lost Roger Eno session, an instrumental Vashti Bunyan album and an obscure twin record to The Wickerman soundtrack, Disposable Music has … [Read more...]
1. The Sword - Warp Riders I like me some good heavy metal music. I also like a good science fiction film. So when The Sword released this heavy metal science fiction concept album, I was first in line to snatch it up. I bought it on vinyl and would recommend you do the same. The artwork is beautiful, the music is even better, and it … [Read more...]
Bottomless Pit - Blood on the Bridge The other records on this list are in no particular order; I've enjoyed them all a lot. But the Bottomless Pit album is exceptionally, intimidatingly good. It’s a denser record than its magnificent predecessor (Hammer Of The Gods), and it has taken me longer to appreciate. Partly this is because it … [Read more...]
10. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record (Arts & Crafts) If there were one thing that we can surely blame Canada for, it would be the role it played in birthing some of the most unprecedented rock bands in the past decade. Broken Social Scene formed in Toronto, Canada during 1999 and started a wave of artsy grunge rock that … [Read more...]
20. Faun Fables – Light of a Vaster Dark (Drag City) With the release of their fifth album Faun Fables continues to wow and astound with a sound that, while familiar, retains a wholly unique quality. Dealing with thematic elements that include the cycles of light and dark in nature, how those cycles affect our lives and our sense of place in the … [Read more...]
30. Wolf Parade – Expo 86 (Sub Pop) Canada’s premiere indie supergroup boasts an impressive lineup: Spencer Krug of Sunset Rubdown, Moonface, Swan Lake, and Frog Eyes; Dan Boeckner of Atlas Strategic and Handsome Furs; Dante DeCaro of Hot Hot Heat and Johnny and the Moon; and Arlen Thompson, who’s worked with Arcade Fire. The critic’s … [Read more...]
40. The Walkmen – Lisbon (Fat Possum Records) The Walkmen's sixth album is not a pick-me-up. It won't accompany your morning jog or a make-out session with your favorite girl. The starkness of this band's production and the desperate plea of singer Hamilton Leithauser's voice is best suited for late-night listening with a glass of whiskey and a … [Read more...]
50. Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me (Drag City) How do you summarize something in a few hundred words when it takes Joanna Newsom over a thousand? How can a few minutes read fulfill over two hours of precisely composed songs? Well, it can't, and this is the tragedy of Joanna Newsom in today's musical headspace. Ys kind of surprised everyone and … [Read more...]