Sixteenth Post: Shellac, "1000 Hurts" (2000)

"Shellac of North America. Catalog number TG211CD. Audio compact disc. 44.1 kHz sample rate. 16 bit word length. Samples represented in twos complement binary. 8-14 expansion. Set reproducer for reference level. 1,000 hertz."

And with that, Steve Albini, Bob Weston, and Todd Trainer proceed to play some of the most dark, fantastic noise rock ever put to record. "1000 Hurts" is the third album by Shellac, a Chicago-based group featuring, most notably, the guitarist/vocalist/producer Steve Albini (formerly of Big Black). This album is, in my opinion, Shellac's best work: they abandon their longer songs, focusing their energy into tightly contained tracks, practically bursting with tension.

This album likes to straddle noise rock and more traditional styles of rock very uncomfortably. It's primal, but intellectual. It's catchy, but noisy and harsh. It's signature style comes from this dichotomy. When the skeletal beat of "Mama Gina" kicks off, most listeners would be bored, but there's a great sense of anticipation; mostly because the band spent the last two tracks beating the shit out of you. It's a style that has been copied a lot since the release of this album, but its roots are firmly in this group.

If you like Albini's recording style (no bullshit, no frills, very little overdubbing), this album has it in prime form. From the heavy thud of the bass to the scraping guitar tone, this album is intent on showing you just how fucking angry these guys can be with the minimal amount of interference.

I should mention that this is Shellac's darkest album to date. Occasionally they'll bust out their sense of humor, but the humor here is pitch black. It focuses on disenchantment in relationships and in life, leaving brief respite from the assault. 

This album also has one of the best songs of all time on it. "Prayer to God", which opens this record, is an absolutely amazing track. The crunching guitars scream out sharp, odd chords with a simple, violent drum beat. The bass only amplifies the violence. I'm not going to spoil the lyrical content, but Jesus Christ, Albini holds nothing back. By the time the last repetition comes around, the simple statement sung is not a request but an order, and from the way he sounds, you'd be insane to not follow his directions. 

If you're not convinced yet, the title of this album is a pun. 1,000 hertz, "1000 Hurts".

This thing is fucking brutal. It's fantastic, weird, violent, and important. Link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6qNb3m-SOI - ("Canaveral")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0jw5qBgUuo - ("Prayer to God")

http://tinyurl.com/jmknxnx (MEGA)

Fifteenth Post: Destroyer, "Destroyer's Rubies" (2006)

Destroyer is the main musical project of Dan Bejar, singer-songwriter extraordinaire. "Destroyer's Rubies" is one of the best albums to come out of this project, if not the best. It marries Bejar's fascination with music of the 60s and 70s with his own unique and poetic voice.

Destroyer has always been about fusing easy-to-digest pop sensibilities with something unmistakably more - by that, I mean there's a kind of temptation to read Bejar's lyrics as straight poetry. It's heady, self-referential, and very easy to get lost in. But, for all their wonder and glamour, it's pop music: it's about love, places seen and unseen, relationships. But Bejar's delivery, always dramatic, elevates it to a theatrical place, giving all these human situations beautifully framed qualities.

"Destroyer's Rubies", and every Destroyer release, has an unmistakeable brand on it from Bejar's voice. There are whispered lines, howled ad-libs and almost drunken slurs. His voice is idiosyncratic and unforgettable. However, the instrumentals are especially gorgeous on this album. They eschew traditional song format to pare with the winding stories Bejar tells.

Take "Rubies" - the track goes through many forms, eventually landing on Bejar and his acoustic guitar. "Painter in Your Pocket" takes the opposite approach, starting with a simple guitar line and building a beautiful tapestry around a simple multi-tiered chorus repeating until the end.

This album stands out in Destroyer's catalog as one where traditional rock tropes are toyed with and molded into a distinct new shape. In prior releases, baroque and chamber pop took the lead, but the distorted crunch of guitars in the opening of this album lets you know you're in for something different. And something just as worthwhile.

If you're looking for an excellent singer-songwriter album with fantastic vocals and lyrics and beautiful instrumentals, give this thing a shot. Link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nzc-VDqxBU - ("Your Blood")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KDtJjzJWS0 - ("Rubies")

http://tinyurl.com/znewdqd (MEGA)

Fourteenth Post: Animal Collective, "Feels" (2005)

Okay, I don't usually start posts like this, but if you haven't heard this album you're missing out. Seriously, this thing is so fucking good, it's like if the Beach Boys took a ton of acid and decided to make kick-ass experimental pop songs while using a shitty de-tuned piano. If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will.

Animal Collective is the musical quartet (sometimes trio) of Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deakin. This album, "Feels", features all of the band's members, and involves outside artists coming on for collaboration, such as Eyvind Kang and Doctess. This album followed their most stripped-down album so far, "Sung Tongs", and comes before one of their pop-iest albums, "Strawberry Jam". This album is the blending of those two worlds while incorporating even more jaw-droppingly beautiful psychedelic sounds than ever before.

That's the first thing many people notice about this album: the textures conjured up here are incredible. In the opening track "Did You See the Words", bubbly giggles rise from the swirling, reverbed background while guitar and synth ascending lines fill in the gaps, and finally a simple drum and piano line bring the entire song together with a quietly propulsive energy. That's only the first forty-five seconds. Every song incorporates its own flavor, from the giddy, breathless "The Purple Bottle" to "Loch Raven" and its restrained melancholy.

But that's not all, not by a long shot: this may be Animal Collective's best written album. There are fantastic lyrics abound, abandoning the nonsensical lines of some of "Sung Tongs", favoring beautiful imagery ("words cut open", "my cherry dream boat") and the occasional painfully blunt and hard-hitting lyric ("this mess is mine", "there will be time to just cry", "I'd like to spread your perfume around the old apartment", "I will not give up on you").

The vocal performances here are also worth noting: Avey Tare is giving some of his most impassioned deliveries, shouting on "Grass", just about whispering on "Loch Raven" and crafting beautiful Beach Boys-esque harmonies on just about every track here. One standout moment for me is Panda Bear's contribution on "Loch Raven" - his background vocals are fucking haunting.

The melodies here are gorgeous and insanely memorable. Every song is crafted so well, nothing feels accidental or malformed. This is in part to how distinctive this album is in not only Animal Collective's vast catalog, but the music sphere in general. It's a mature album from this band, one with a lot to say and a lot for the listener to uncover.

Before I close out my little spiel, I'd like to talk about "Banshee Beat", a song that just recently totally clicked with me and may be the best Animal Collective song (other contenders being "Fireworks", "For Reverend Green", and "Bluish"). The song features a slow, morose opening set against swelling layers of guitars and crackling noises, Avey singing quietly and uncharacteristically bluntly. As the rhythm begins to swell in the background, the song picks up ever so slightly. Avey seems to be picking himself up little by little. As the vocals begin to rise in pitch, the background harmonies skitter around like voices in his head. The low drum line in the background propels the song forward. And the last few minutes contain of the most beautiful moments I think the band has ever made. I get the stupidest grin whenever the "swimming pool" line comes on. It's a fantastic song.

Anyway. Great, great fucking album. Link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqvBoFpgXQA ("Grass")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXfwc0RDHBQ ("Did You See the Words")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP2OdUgWCbY (Live in Oakland feat. "Loch Raven")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj-0vMrZJbo ("Banshee Beat")

http://tinyurl.com/hr6464b (MEGA)

Thirteenth Post: Touché Amoré, "Stage Four" (2016)

Touché Amoré is one of the big success stories of modern post-hardcore. They blew up in 2011 with their album "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me", and then followed that up with the excellent "Is Survived By" in 2013. Their mix of screamo/emo lyrical and vocal performance paired with a more melodic version of late Dischord Records post-hardcore instrumentals proved to be a winning formula. Much of this success can be attributed to Jeremy Bolm, the lead singer, whose tear-stained journal lyrics and pained howls are pretty captivating.

This new album of theirs doesn't exactly push things in a more extreme direction, instead focusing on melody and atmosphere. At first, this seems like an odd choice, as the album focuses almost exclusively on the death of Bolm's mother to cancer (hence, "Stage Four"). After repeated listens, though, the takeaway of the album, and the reason behind the sound shift becomes clear: this is an album about letting go, however painful it may be.

Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of moments of raw, vintage TA sound. For example, the track "Benediction" - the verses are sung with clean vocals in Bolm's middle range, an odd choice as the song describes the lead up and days after the funeral. But as Bolm jumps into the chorus, which is a word-for-word transcription of the song sung at the funeral itself, he switches into an explosive, heart-wrenching scream. It's a beautiful moment and a really interesting juxtaposition, one of my favorites on the album.

This album is great for many reasons, but one of the best being how uncensored the entire thing feels. There are moments here where the lyrics paint Bolm as a coward, a fool who took things for granted, and he runs with these moments to make his grieving process feel universal. Take "Rapture", the last single to come out from this album. As Bolm yells, "I was comfortable", he forces the listener to examine the smaller things that hold them up in their life. In "Eight Seconds", the last lyrics of the song describe the phone call he received when he learned his mother passed: she died while he was onstage, running from responsibility. This song is followed by "Palm Dreams", which was the first single announced from the record, in what I'm assuming is a deliberate and dark choice.

Of course, the entire thing would be painfully unlistenable and disappointing if the instrumentals didn't back all of this up. And for the most part, they do. While I enjoy the more raw feeling of "Is Survived By", this album definitely has highlights. The main riff of "Rapture", for instance, is beautiful and perfectly fitting. The recurring theme on the album, heard mostly in "Skyscraper", is also pretty gorgeous. The entire thing does have a somewhat similar feel to it: tracks don't have that distinction that "Is Survived By" had, instead focusing on major-chord progressions and a more "safe" feeling.

I have to admit, though, this is a tough album. Sitting down and listening to it is fucking depressing. It explores many of the facets of losing a loved one, and exceptionally well. It's also an album worth replaying: I've heard it more than a few times since I picked it up last night and I hear new things each time. Without spoiling it, listen to the entire album: the last thirty seconds of "Skyscraper" are new, not heard on the single version, and really elevate the album into something pretty special. This is an interesting and worthwhile progression for Touché Amoré, one I think many people will respond to. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxqw2k8BbMU ("Rapture")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9dVDKYsmu0 ("Displacement")

Twelfth Post: Lori McKenna, "The Bird & the Rifle" (2016)

I've noticed that a lot of people will say they'll listen to anything except one genre: it's usually hip-hop or country, depending on who you're talking to. I've always thought it's a bit unfair to pigeonhole an entire genre based on a preconceived notion of it, so I wanted to make a post on one of my favorite country albums this year.

Lori McKenna is something of an unknown modern songwriting legend: she's been co-writing and helping more well-known country artists for years.  This year, she even won a Grammy for her work in co-writing. Her music has always had less bombast than the people she wrote for: it features restrained, comforting, and occasionally bitingly sad portrayals of people living quiet lives. What makes her songwriting remarkable is how well she conjures a time and place. It harkens back to older country icons while incorporating modern ideas beautifully.

This is all present in her latest album, though it has a sadder streak to it. The album is highly personal but very universal, as good country music usually is. Each track portrays McKenna's wounds from the relationships of her past, her life now, and the future she envisions for herself and for her children. In "Humble & Kind", she tries to pass on lessons of humility to her audience, possibly her family. "Wreck You" and "Halfway Home" are heartbreaking songs detailing relationships past and present. A personal favorite, "All These Things", is a bit more cheerful, talking about helping one another by being the thing they need, whether they know it or not.

The record sounds beautiful as well, mainly due to the production from Dave Cobb. Cobb is easily one of the best producers of modern country music, ranging from this album to Sturgill Simpson to his own compilation (which is excellent), "Southern Family". The work on "The Bird & the Rifle" is standout: it incorporates rock elements under the beautifully laid out guitar and strings, the drum lines are understated and McKenna's voice is fluid and natural. It's a very warm-feeling album, reminiscent of the days in the sun referenced in the lyrics.

"The Bird & the Rifle" is one of the best albums this year, and even those who don't think they like country should definitely check it out. There's something here for just about everybody, and I highly recommend it. Sorry for the lack of posts, by the way. I've been moving into college and doing a whole bunch of shit besides updating this thing.

One of the best country releases of 2016. Link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYTeAEi4Re4 ("Wreck You")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yefqMWaipck ("All These Things")

http://tinyurl.com/zwkdc75 (MEGA)