by: Sam Farzin, KUCI Music Director
Ty Segall - Lemons [Goner]
OC-boy toy Ty Segall returns with a band-album, as opposed to his last record which featured Ty Segall: the One-Man Band. Garage fuzz filled and on Goner. It makes me feel nice inside to know that a local dude is riding a high wave. California metaphor.
Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another [4AD]
Ex-mclusky-ers (lower-case on purpose, duh) Falkous and Egglestone rock out in a clearly mclusky-esq ue manner, and not at ALL worse for it. very very good songs, very very good music, punk rock with brains but also a tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of everything great about mclusky. mclusky? mclusky. I love mclusky.
Silk Flowers - Silk Flowers [PPM]
Alternately Neu! and Joy Division. Generally minimal, often affected, more often rhythmic anti-dance jams.
Those Darlins - Those Darlins [Oh Wow Dang]
"Vivian Girls meets Handsome Family" seems to be the goal here as many other commentators have noticed. Successful!
Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange [4AD/Kranky]
Yet another disc from the most consistent "noise-poppers." That is a good term. I like it. I wonder how big my ego would get if I made an EP so good that 4AD and Kranky had to go halfsies to release it. (I am aware one is their UK label and one is their US label.)
Tiny Vipers - Life On Earth [Sup Pop]
Sweet voiced somethings melancholic but beautiful.
Ohbijou - Beacons [Last Gang]
Cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute
Hermit Thrushes - Slight Fountain [Joyful Noise]
Weird folk dudes spazz out to Captain Beefheart and harmonize beautifully. Neat stuff!
V/A - PDX Pop Now! 2009 [Self-Released]
Another year, another beautifully made Portland tunage assemblage. Lots of cool stuff going on here, a lot lot lot of neato bands that are good someone get me a thesaurus.
The Builders & The Butchers - Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well [Gigantic]
Punchy acoustic-y musics with conviction and momentum. Dudes are buds with The Decemberists. This makes sense.
The Pharmacy - Choose Yr Own Adventure [Don't Stop Believin]
Super-duper classique rock but also super-duper weird and fun popness. Meshed together. So you'll have the silly chorus and then blam! The riffage. Some wicked chops too.
The Drones - Havilah [ATP]
Kiwi band of melancholic lounge-punk. Not really lounge and not really punk, but like...Nick Cave-y. But not like, trying to emulate Nick Cave. Maybe like, young Nick Cave (Birthday Party?), in a cave? A lounge-cave. A bar/lounge that looks like a cave (but not La Cave). Excuse me while I write a business plan.
Japanther - Tut Tut, Now Shake Ya Butt [Wantage USA]
Idea: Bar/Grill/Lounge with an interior designed to look like a natural cave. Neolithic themed food. Bartenders wear loin-cloths. "Dino" burgers.
(Pop-punk lo-fi fun-times with weird [and one exceedingly long] spoken word sample "songs").
The Daredevil Christopher Wright - In Deference To A Broken Back [Amble Down]
Really fragile but not overtly emotional but quite emotive indie-"pop." It's almost too delicate to be pop. It's really nice and good and well-put-together.
Absentee - Victory Shorts [Memphis Industries]
Like a bummer British Calvin Johnson fronting a very british indie-pop almost band. Wait is that Arab Strap? Sort of. But they're Scottish.
Xu Xu Fang - Seven Days Now [Self-Released]
LA-dudes make really moody and atmospheric rock-and-roll songs, and they do it as well as can be done. Winner!
Dent May - The Good Feeling Music Of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukelele [Paw Tracks]
Way tongue-in-cheek poppy-as-F ukulele based tunes with a lot of fun sounds. That is the worst blurb ever.
White Rabbits - It's Frightening [Gigantic]
Fun indie-pop with an emphasis on percussion and booming-ness. I am losing steam (and listening to Shellac [hard to write about indie-pop when doing so it seems]). No, this is the worst blurb ever.
Royal City - Royal City [Asthmatic Kitty]
Jim Guthrie's (ex-Islands, presently of Human Highway) pre-Islands band of folk and sometimes alt-country jams: never boring. A downright beautiful package of songs from across the bands existence. My computer is burning my legs (through my jeans [it is on my lap {curly brackets are curly}]).
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