That sounds vaguely condescending.

And what dos it have to do with what I said about The Books?

The-Dream - Love King

This is the third in Atlanta producer The-Dream's Love series (trilogy so far, but there may be another addition forthcoming), and I'd say it's the second-best, next to the previous entry Love vs. Money. There's something about this guy that I find to be really likable, and everything I've heard from him so far has been really enjoyable. His production is really bright and jubilant, and lyrics are often pretty funny. He does pop music right. It's nothing to be taken too seriously, but at the same time it always sounds fresh and current and has lots of really nice details and nuances.

The highlight of this album, easily the most memorable track, is "Make Up Bag". The gist of which is that if things ever get really bad between you and your woman, buy her a really expensive purse. It'll work every time. Of course, more important than that is that it has a totally irresistible hook. The one a lot of people talk about here - maybe more people - is "Yahama" which favors the retro-'80s/Prince side of things pretty heavily. It's really good, and definitely I'd consider it the albums other real heavy hitter. While the rest of this album is really good, it falls off a little toward the end and doesn't quite contain as many high points as its predecessor which is why I like it just a little less. Things get a little too serious and heavy-handed on "Abyss", the one place where the album kind of drags a little. "Panties to the Side" is just a little too porn-ish. Plus "Florida University" is just a little too silly/juvenile and would come off as a total novelty track if it wasn't musically up to par with the rest of the record, which it is. Anyway, looking forward to more from this guy.

Rating: 7.5/10

F.I.L.A. is my favorite song on there, I think.

Yeah, that's a good one. Everything up through "Yamaha"/"Nikki Pt 2" is solid.

Wavves - King of the Beach

It's pretty easy to have an opinion about Wavves without ever having listened to any of the music, or having given it more than the most cursory listen. Nathan Williams, the guy behind Wavves, has become a pretty notorious figure in the little indie rock sphere, and not many people like him. It was pretty easy to argue, based on his previous album Wavvves, that all the attention he was getting was undeserved, and when he embarrassed himself in front of large festival crowds he wasn't ready for, the rejection and backlash all seemed fairly just and predictable. But whether or not "anybody" could have done what he did becomes kind of a moot point - as it always does - because he did do it, got himself (or somebody got him) on the map, and put out at least a handful of good songs in the process. Still, it would have surprised no one, including myself, if he'd either quietly faded away or even further embarrassed himself with subsequent efforts, exposing the "sham" that he was all along.

But that's not what happened. Instead, he created an album just mature enough (but still plenty youthful and naive in its own way) and just punchy and catchy enough to get just about everybody to give him a second chance. It's a thoroughly solid record, too. It's simple, but not in an overly obvious or clichéd way (unlike his girlfriend's Best Coast album), and it's approachable, endearing, and fun. You don't have to be too invested to get anything out of it, but it won't start to grate if you spend too much time with it. Much of lyrics, at least on the first portion of the album, seem to focus on Williams' own struggles with his "undeserved" indie-fame and just being sort of unlikable and having people turn on him. So he kind of just gets it all out there right away as if to let you know that he gets it, but he's gonna keep doing his thing anyway. The strength of the two opening songs - "King of the Beach" and "Super Soaker" - just about seem to right all past wrongs. The album hits a lightly weird streak in its mid-section, no doubt a part of Williams' obvious and public weed obsession, but both "Baseball Cards" and "Convertible Balloon" have their own goofy charm and serve to break up the record nicely. Other highlights are the somewhat Animal Collective-ish "Mickey Mouse" and closer "Baby Say Goodbye", a prime example of the bright, sunny beach punk that Williams seems to have perfected here. On the whole, this album is so good, that I'm almost not embarrassed to proclaim myself a fan of Wavves.

Rating: 8/10

Best Coast - Crazy for You

And then we have the other half of this current "indie rock power couple", Beth Cosentino and her band Best Coast. Her career trajectory has thus far been the opposite of her boyfriend's, at least from my perspective. (They both seem to be enjoying increased success and popularity as well as increased internet backlash.) She started off with some really promising 7" singles - "Sun Was High (So Was I)" and "When I'm with You", mainly - but here with her debut album, she's come up short. Her blatant lack of ideas of much personality to speak of really becomes apparent here. It's just one generic turn after another with lazy rhymes and clichés galore. I mean, she rhymes lazy with crazy in multiple times in two separate songs on this album. Granted, one of them is a bonus track - the aforementioned "When I'm with You", a single from 2009 - but the very inclusion of that track is pretty telling about the dearth of ideas and substance here.

If I just kinda pop this thing in the stereo without paying direct attention to it, it'll chug along pretty inoffensively for the most part, and I guess I don't mind it too much. Often, though, I'll just be struck by how paint-by-numbers it sounds, either the chord changes, the lyrics, or her vocals. She does a pretty good job with some of these styles, I guess, but they've been done so many times and so much better by so many others before her. There are a couple of moments here and there when I start to think she might be doing something right, but those are mostly just a song ending here or a little vocal thing there. Nothing that ever seems to add up to much. So maybe it's a better-than-average record, but I don't really think there's much of anything special here.

Rating: 6/10

Mount Kimbie - Crooks & Lovers

A strong contender for my favorite album cover from 2010, unfortunately the album itself isn't quite so striking. Another entry into post-dubstep or whatever you want to call this most recent aesthetic pervasive in a lot of new electronic music. It's a little bit of that chilly, urban Burial-type sound but here there's a good bit of added warmth in the worn, lightly noisy samples. Blatant cut-and-paste sampling and generally fairly laid back beats. Occasional quirky vintage sounds running up against modern beats and sampling techniques. Really all sorts of different sounds are blended into the hazy stew, but it maintains this same vibe throughout.

I've never been struck by any standout tracks on it, and nothing in particular about Mount Kimbie's overall aesthetic has ever really struck as particularly interesting. They're definitely riding near the front of this current electronic wave, but as I've probably mentioned many times in many other places, the whole thing doesn't really do a lot for me for the most part. Melodically, rhythmically, and texturally, I'm not particularly moved by it. It's nice atmospheric music, good pleasant mood stuff. Even though there are a lot of repetitive, clipped vocal samples, somehow they never manage to get irritating, and I guess I should give them credit for that. I suppose the subtle craft on display here shouldn't be taken for granted, but I wish the sum of their efforts was a little more compelling.

Rating: 6.5/10

Autechre - Move of Ten

Here is Autechre's second full-length of 2010, a sign that, maybe, they're becoming a little more prolific with age? I remember reading somewhere that they had decided to simplify their recording and production process so as not to spend so much time laboring meticulously over every little detail. I believe that this has been their approach since Quaristice, meaning that Untilted was their last release of fussed-over minutiae. Maybe then it's no coincidence that I prefer it to everything they've put out since, including this? But that's not to say that this feels lazy or tossed-off. I actually think I like this particular release more than the two that preceded it.

Autechre's one big weakness, to me, is aimless, tuneless, synth noodling, something that I felt Oversteps had a little too much of. This one leans a little more on beats, I think, and has a little more of a classic Autechre feel. It's focused more on what they do well, chugging, unusual rhythms, with a lot of interesting twists and turns embellished with stray, fascinating sounds. So that also means that there's nothing really new here, but it's more Autechre and it's good Autechre. That's still a welcome thing in my collection and my listening rotation.

Rating: 7.5/10

Thee Oh Sees - Warm Slime

Being too prolific can definitely work against a band, and in Thee Oh Sees case it's probably caused them to be set aside along with a bunch of other lo-fi bands that people were only listening to in 2008-9. I certainly haven't checked out everything they've put out since then, but thanks to some positive words here and there, I decided to give Warm Slime a shot. And while it isn't as good as HELP, it's a solid, worthy album and a fun, brisk listen.

Nearly half of the record is taken up by the opening title track which starts out sounding similar to a lot of their typical retro-garage rock material, but then it falls into a lock groove and becomes a sort of primitive Krautrock/"Sister Ray" extended jam. It's a neat experiment, but probably not the highlight of the record. That would be "Mega-Feast", the penultimate track that clocks in at a mere two minutes and twelve seconds. It's just another tense, heavy, reverb-laden slice of what Thee Oh Sees do best. It's not changing my life, but I never get tired of listening to it. That goes for the record as a whole.

Rating: 7.5/10

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

I listened to The Airing of Grievances a few times, just enough for me to decide that it wasn't bad and that maybe I could like it, given more listens. I never got around to giving it more listens, though, and before I knew it this album was out so I decided to spend some time with it, instead. It's taken a long time for this one to grow on me, and it really hasn't grown on me much.

I don't know the exact formula for what's going on here, but it's sort of Springsteen/Pogues/drunken sing-a-long stuff, filtered through emo/Modest Mouse, and built around some kind of Civil-War-themed concept. It doesn't exactly strike a chord with me, but the more I listen to it, the more I kinda want to sing along to this nonsense so I guess it's pretty effective in that respect. It's just too earnest, too dramatic, and too long. And not my kinda thing.

Rating: 6.5/10

The Besnard Lakes - Are the Roaring Night

This record is pure comfort food. The guitars, the melodies, the big, expansiveness of the sound, sort of remind me of some of my favorite rock as a kid. There's some grandiose classic rock in here along with a tinge of '90s alt-rock and a smattering of tasteful updates to be more indie-palatable. There's a little bit of At Dawn-era My Morning Jacket, some Built to Spill, some Neil Young, you know, that particular kind of good guitar stuff. And they've improved their take on this since their previous album, staying pretty much on target for the duration of this one.

It's all catharsis up until the last couple of tracks. Highlights are a little difficult to pinpoint, but "Albatross" is definitely one of them. If you're going to like any of this, you're probably going to like all of it like I do. "Light Up the Night" may drag just a tad, but it helps calm things down a little to set the stage for the excellent closer "The Lonely Moan", a sort of gentle fade out that still manages to leave a lasting impression. I could see this being a go-to record in the future when I've got the itch for something in this vein.

Rating: 8/10

i'm glad you're still keeping up with this.

Thanks. I still have a lot left, but I'm trying to ramp it up a little.

It should be my kind of thing but it's just not. I still like the first song but as an album, thanks but not thanks.

Serious question I've been meaning to ask: Is that J Mascis playing guitar on the first song or did dude just nail his tone/style in an uncanny fashion?

agree with both your reviews on that one. i tried a few times.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Neon Bible was pretty bad. At least that's how I remember it. Arcade Fire was becoming increasingly overexposed for the amount of good music they'd actually given the world (Funeral and their first EP), and a couple of years ago it was seeming like they were already wearing out their welcome. It's kinda surprising - to me at least - that they managed to come back six years after Funeral with an album this sprawling and ambitious and not fall flat on their faces. On the contrary, it does quite a lot to redeem them.

I guess they'll never reach those soaring emotional heights of Funeral again, but thankfully they're not dragging us through the muck this time around and badgering us with heavy-handed social commentary. There's still commentary here, but it's a more affable, relatable kind. Not ham-fisted attacks on politics and religion, but general musings on life that may or may not incorporate those topics with a little more subtlety. It manages to fill out its lengthy running time with nothing that really feels like filler, and adds several worthy entries into the band's canon. It is, of course, a little too long and sprawling, but given that sprawl is a central theme (and the name of a song in two parts), that's easily forgivable. Even if I'm kind of "over" Arcade Fire's sound - thanks in large part to the numerous followers they inspired - I still really appreciate and enjoy this record, and I'm really glad they got things back on track.

Rating: 7.5/10

Just so I get this straight because you've said similar things in the past: Are you saying that you are "over" the Arcade Fire's sound because they are more popular now or because there are bands out there that are inspired by them?

Neither, but way to try to trap me with that question and peg me as some kind of shallow elitist snob who hates anything popular.

I think I kind of laid it out in that first paragraph there. It's just a case of too much of something in too short a time. They were the big thing in the mid-'00s. They sort of rode in on the tail end of the dance punk revival thing, adding their own Springsteen-ish, anthemic twist, and then that had a tangible influence on indie music for the next few years. Then they join the ranks of their own lesser imitators by releasing a disappointing follow-up. I just got a little tired of Arcade Fire! And I know I wasn't alone. Sure, popularity and their influence play into that, but they aren't the sole reasons. It's still a little too soon for me to get nostalgic for the fall of 2004, and there have been other things that I've been more interested in. And there were at the time, too. Some things from 2004 I still love every bit as much as I did then (Animal Collective, Joanna Newsom, Mastodon's Leviathan, Les Savy Fav's Inches, Of Montreal's Satanic Panic, Vetiver), and others feel more stuck in that particular time (Devendra Banhart, The Go! Team, Comets on Fire). It's subjective, of course, and I don't know why you want to take issue with this particular thing except that you perceive it as snobbery. It isn't.

Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People

It's a good thing that Sufjan Stevens took such a long break from releasing actual songs. After the steady stream of music he released from 2003's Michigan to 2006's superfluous Illinoise outtakes record The Avalanche and all the Christmas EPs in between, there was a little bit of a Sufjan Stevens glut in the market. By the time this 70-minute "EP" hit, a good four years later, I was actually ready and eager to hear something new from him. (Yet by following this so closely with The Age of Adz, I think Sufjan-burnout may again be induced.) And I've enjoyed it for the most part even if it isn't up to the level of his better albums.

I can see the logic in clearly labeling this as an "EP" despite its extended running time. For one, it seems to primarily be a vehicle for the release of the title track, containing two lengthy versions of it. For another, it feels like a transitional, stopgap kind of release, cleaning out the closet in preparation for the direction forged on The Age of Adz. But it hangs together pretty well and is a unique collection within his catalog. It further demonstrates his departure from singer-songwriter into more ambitious, heady pop composer territory. This is a warmer, more "rock" record than the electronic, comparatively cold Adz, and sometimes I prefer it. But it is a bit long and a tad redundant with a good twenty minutes being taken up by the two (fairly different) versions of "All Delighted People" and seventeen-minute closer "Djohariah" dragging on a bit too much. In between those are a some more familiar-sounding Sufjan tracks, and "From the Mouth of Gabriel" which points more in the direction of Adz, all of which are very good. A part of me wishes that he had just released this in 2010 and given us a little more of a break before putting out The Age of Adz, but I guess the volume of music probably isn't the real problem I have with it. While I respect it and enjoy it to a large degree, I'm just not totally on board with his new direction.

Rating: 7/10

Man, I am way behind on keeping up with your reviews here.

I think the Autechre review is spot on. Can't believe how long those guys have been putting out music. I like the record, but I don't know how much I will go back to it, only due to having so much other music in that vein (to include Autechre releases) that I happen to like just a little better.

I have tried with Arcade Fire so many times (my wife's favorite band) and I'm sorry, I just don't like it. I can't even pinpoint what it is that I don't like honestly, it's just the whole thing doesn't do it for me in any way.

I wasn't trying to trap you, I just read that line and wanted some clarification as to where your head was...I'm sort of of a similar mind where I really liked the debut, thought the follow up sucked and think Suburbs is pretty good.

The fact that you (predictably) got very defensive pretty much tells me all I need to know though.

Oh come on. Your question had a very accusatory tone. "Are you saying that you are "over" the Arcade Fire's sound because they are more popular now or because there are bands out there that are inspired by them?"

So if it's A) "because they are more popular now" then I'm some anti-populist, elitist snob who dislikes things simply due to the fact that too many other people like it.

Or if it's B) "because there are bands out there that are inspired by them", I'm basically in the same boat. I just don't like them because they caught on and had a noticeable impact.

Maybe you can explain how that wasn't trying to trap me or paint me in a negative light before I got all "needlessly defensive" and "told you all you needed to know".

God, it's been over a year since I started this, and I still have a bunch more to go. I definitely won't be doing this again, but I still want to finish it for some reason. I should probably abandon it, but...


Sun Araw - On Patrol

Typically I give everything a few more listens than I've given this before trying to write about it, but I just can't take it anymore. This is one of the most empty, boring, plodding releases I've ever forced myself to listen to. Why force myself to listen to anything? I generally don't bother with things that I don't think I'll like, and that's why I don't have a more even balance of positive and negative reviews. I tend to think of most of this stuff as above average, even if it doesn't really float my boat. But not this.

I don't know what this is. I've seen it dubbed as "psychedelic", possibly with "rock" attached to that, but this absolutely does not rock in any way. It's sort of a murky, lazy homemade dub that's mostly devoid of grooves and awash in reverb and gurgling bong-like sounds, making its minimal repetitiveness downright painful. But people seem to really like it. It's gotten a lot of positive reviews and recommendations in a variety of places by people who tend to like a lot of things I like. To me this sounds like early '00s "New Weird America" acts like No-Neck Blues Band and Sunburned Hand of the Man at their absolute worst. Like when only a couple of the guys from the group just got wasted in one of their lofts and started jamming around some ill-conceived "mystical" concept. Anytime they actually manage to hit on a pretty cool vibe, like on "Conga Mind", they manage to sabotage themselves somehow, in this case by adding lackluster vocals and not quite managing to have the song develop or go anywhere. But I guess they're staying pretty true to themselves in refusing to do anything too interesting. If your life is way too exciting, you have trouble sleeping but don't like music that's actually soothing or has melodies, or you're typically confused and disoriented and need some kind of (funkless, stumbling) metronomic constant to keep you (mushily) grounded, then I guess is for you. For everyone else, save yourself the seventy-four-and-a-half minutes it takes to listen to this thing.

Rating: 3/10

Another one I've decided to stop listening to...


Girl Talk - All Day

I've never liked mash-ups, and so I've generally ignored Girl Talk. But, hey, this is an officially free album so I thought I'd give it a shot. It made for a fun first listen while I played "name that sample" with all the rock/pop stuff (I know hardly any of the hip-hop songs), but of course the novelty wore off pretty quickly. Apparently this was really difficult to make and took him a really long time, but all it really amounts to is one big rap-rock megamix.

Rating: 4/10

Curren$y - Pilot Talk

I don't listen to a lot of hip-hop, obviously, so I wouldn't have a whole lot to go on as far as naming the best hip-hop album or artist of any given year. Even still, of the handful of 2010 hip-hop albums that I did listen to, two of them were by Curren$y, and both of them are really good. I suppose I could say that he was one of the best things going in hip-hop in 2010 by virtue of the fact that he was one of the best things going in music, period.

There's just something really likeable about him. He sounds unassuming and laid back, but he displays a lot of skill and savvy. All of Ski Beatz's production is great. This doesn't sound like the kind of record that wants to take over the world (compared to Kanye, nothing does), but it's the kind you'd want to hang out with. There are a few flaws, like the dubious Snoop Dogg guest spot, but overall it's totally endearing. I probably like it just a little less than the sequel that came out just a little bit later, but they're both definite keepers.

Rating: 8/10