08/08 – 08/12:

Thao & Mirah, Thao & Mirah

From the first listen, this was in contention for my album of the year. Folk singers Thao & Mirah bring their very different approaches to a true collaboration, each bringing 5 songs to the table and working with the other to push them in directions they wouldn’t choose on their own. They are aided and abetted by Merril Garbus of the frustratingly-named tUnE-yArDs (Welcome to the internet circa 1999) as producer, who wrote album opener “Eleven” to finish the recording session. This is deeply infectuous music, bringing the skittery, energetic sound of Thao and the dreamy, intimate music of Mirah together together in an unlikely but engrossing set of songs (Garbus’ influence on the sound and in the percussion is so prevalent, powerful and welcome that the record should probably have been called Thao & Mirah & Merril.) Every track is a winner. Can’t recommend this album enough.

Thao & Mirah, “Eleven”


Beastie Boys, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Hey, I’m happy to say I like this. To the 5 Burroughs didn’t do much for me. The obsession with old school hip hop seemed a big misstep. Both because the Beasties had previously been characterized by their willingness to experiment and try new things, making a regression like that seem really weird, and also because it was so dependent on samples from better songs. The best part of every song was the sample from a song as much as 20 years old (Even the guitar riff from Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer” in “Open Letter To NYC”). This, tho’, is not that. This has a quirky new sound to it. While in a sense it’s still something of a look back, at least it’s a look back to more adventurous fare. They play their instruments again, there’s a punk song again, there’s an instrumental. And the production is interesting, sounding as if they may have jammed on their instruments and then chopped up the sessions and made beats out of them. However it was made, I found it much more engaging and interesting than its predecessor, and that’s good news.

Beastie Boys, “Make Some Noise”


The Jam, Sound Effects

I am, obviously, an album person. But if there’s any band that I think of in terms of songs rather than albums, it’s The Jam. They have so many fantastic songs, but I don’t think they have a truly great album. Sound Effects, for example, has the spectacular “Pretty Green” to set things off, as well as hit singles “Start!” and “That’s Entertainment,” and the great album tracks “Set the House Ablaze” and “Scraping Away.” But everything else on it... it’s not bad. I don’t dislike any of the songs. But they don’t really live up to those highlights, and the best song of that era of their career, “Going Underground,” isn’t even on the record. Or any record. The Jam have at least 6 essential songs that never got on any of their albums. They’re one of the hardest bands to collect and appreciate I’ve encountered. The only band I’ve ever recommended starting with the greatest hits package, which has all those elusive singles and most of their best songs. Still, though... “Pretty Green” is amazing, one of the best songs in their discography, and you won’t find it on a hits collection. You just have to dive in.

The Jam, “Pretty Green”


The Mars Volta, De-Loused in the Comatorium

The last time I really enjoyed Mars Volta. Over the years, The Mars Volta and Sparta have mostly proven why they all worked better as At the Drive-In. Sparta is too poppy and bland, and The Mars Volta is so pretentious I want to shake them. “No one wants to hear the same vocal getting slower and slower for 5 minutes! No one wants 4 and a half minutes of bird noises before the music starts! Just make a song!” Together, they balanced each other’s unfortunate tendencies and found common ground in the middle. But when the break-up was still relatively fresh, they both definitely did their best work (Literally. The 3-song EP that preceded this, Tremulant, was superior, as Sparta’s debut EP, Austere, was superior to their first album). I can still enjoy this album with very few caveats. It’s sprawling and epic, and the bloat that would plague them in the future is hiding right at the edges, but hasn’t taken control yet. But I must confess, it’s hard for me to listen to it without mostly thinking about where they came from and where they went instead of focusing on the music at hand.

The Mars Volta, “Intertiatic ESP”


Clutch, Strange Cousins From the West

Every time in their history Clutch as made me worry that they were getting stuck in a rut or too comfortable, their next album has proven me wrong. So it was with Strange Cousins From the West. Following From Beale Street To Oblivion, which seemed tame and familiar next to its predecessors (And featured oddly flat production, which didn’t help) with the exception of the Earth-shattering “Electric Worry,” this album brought it all back. It took some chances, tried some new things, tried some new instruments, even, and generally featured much more engaging songs. The mysterious departure of keyboardist Mick Schaur, who had so enhanced much of their recent work, is unfortunate, but Clutch was a 4-piece longer than they weren’t, so it’s not too jarring over all. Some of my favorite Clutch songs now come from this album, especially “Struck Down,” “50,000 Unstoppable Watts” and “Abraham Lincoln.”

Clutch, “50,000 Unstoppable Watts”


TesseracT, One

I bought this in a hurry as an 11th hour choice for something to listen to on a long car trip. I like having new music to examine in that situation, but this year seems really slow for music releases, and I had nothing at the time. Plus, my metal in-take is at something like an all-time low this year. So, as it turns out, TesseracT is pretty cool. Combining the kind of sprawling, epic atmosphere and build-up of a band like Isis with passages that sound remarkably like Meshuggah, this album is all about mood. The singer has a good clean voice and a good shouting voice. He mostly relies on the clean voice, and it works for the music. There’s a 6-track concept piece in the middle that makes up the bulk of the album. It’s a good listen, and rewards repeat visits as the recurring motifs and concepts become more apparent.

TesseracT, "Deception, Concealing Fate Part 2”


Party Animal, You Can't Win EP
Party Animal is a new hardcore punk band from Das Racist’s Kool A.D., and, uh, some other guys. It can be hard to know what’s going on in a situation like this, really. I got the link off the mysterious Das Racist Illuminati Tumblr, and the band apparently hasn’t existed very long. But, whoever they are, they make early 80s-style hardcore like it’s supposed to sound: fast, sloppy, poorly recorded, and (I hate this word, but it’s true) irreverent. From originals like “You Can Fuck The System But the System’s Gonna Fuck You,” “Oil (I Love Society)” and my personal favorite, “Beer Truck On Fire,” to ridiculous covers of “Let’s Dance” and “When Doves Cry,” the EP blasts right by you before you know it and demands to be heard again. I’ve begun to think Kool A.D. can do anything. Download the EP for free here.

Party Animal, “You Can Fuck The System But the System’s Gonna Fuck You”


Smoking Popes, Destination Failure

I still love this album so much. Smoking Popes’ blend of punk and a more classical vocal land lyrical approach really won me over with the ubiquitous “Need You Around” in the mid-90s, and the album from whence it came, Born to Quit (Their second), was great. But I think it was here that they really made their masterpiece. The vocals never sounded better, the music never sounded fuller, the lyrics were perfect from top to bottom... This is a fine, fine album. The band would later quietly release a covers album before disbanding, only to make a come back a couple years ago that hasn’t quite recaptured the magic of the old days. But I’m glad they’re back, all the same, and even if they never did anything again, we’d always have this one.

Smoking Popes, “Megan”


...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Worlds Apart

The follow-up to what is probably the band’s finest hour, Source Tags & Codes, Worlds Apart starts to get a little weird. Stylistically and tonally, it’s kind of all over the place, expanding on the band’s penchant for songs with a huge roraring section following by a quite, contemplative part only to roar back to life when you least expect it, but also trying new things and, frankly, seeming a bit lost. But it still has its moments, and those moments come pretty often, such as ballad “Let It Dive,” rocker (or as close as they get to rockers) “Will You Smile Again?” and the strange, infectious , sing-songy title track.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, “The Rest Will Follow”


Yup.
--D