The new album sounds more adventurous, such as "The Greatest," a weird punk rock hootenanny. It's a bit more exploratory like the psychedelic "Gemini." The band clearly had a few more options and instruments to experiment with which can be seen by the additional members in their touring band. But overall, I think they found a pretty good vibe for an album and avoided the dreaded sophomore slump.
Read MoreSophomore albums are always tough. There's too much expectation and too much to lose. Usually you're left disappointed as the songs sound like the first album, just not as good. But our faithful Father John Misty has made one of my favorite albums so far this year and expanded on his lyrical and songwriting abilities to bring together a gorgeous and sarcastic album on love.
As you may have read or already know: Father John Misty, real name Josh Tillman, first struggled to make somber, depressing music under his own name, became the drummer of Fleet Foxes, left the band, created Father John Misty, made Fear Fun, got critical acclaim, got married, made I Love You, Honeybear, got even more critical acclaim.
Read MoreThe Maccabees, a pretty well known band in the UK pretty well forgotten in the States, released their third album, Given to the Wild, in 2012. The album won NME's Best Album of the Year. It was listed as #15 in my Top 25 Albums of 2012, and now that I'm listening to it again, I think it deserved to have a higher ranking.
The album is an original. I can't think of any apt comparisons other than Bombay Bicycle Club's So Long See You Tomorrow (especially the atmospheric intro tracks that flow right into the second) sounding somewhat similar, but the BBC album pales in comparison.
This album is all about love - that which we follow, idealize, grab and grasp for, then take for granted and ultimately lose.
Read More“As I’m getting older, chip up on my shoulder, rolling through life to roll over and die.”
Mac Demarco’s first line on the title track (and my #2 Top Song of 2014) of his album Salad Days perpetuates the strange dichotomy between Demarco’s public persona and his writing as a singer/songwriter.
One one side, there's his public persona - goofy, humorous, playful, idiotic, likable, and crude (instead of a band prayer/pep talk, I envision Demarco and his buddies playing the “Penis” game prior to stepping on stage). There's his ridiculously and I presume intentionally stupid documentary, Pepperoni Playboy, that has amassed over 500,000 views. His music videos are beyond comprehensible. His live shows are messy and completely enjoyable. I saw Demarco at The Great American Music Hall in SF, and Demarco broke his strings on three separate occasions, once asking his bassist to do a cover of Coldplay while he restrung his guitar. “Let Her Go” was played completely out of time, and Demarco laughingly stated so after they got through it. Demarco and Co. were in the middle of one song, and a fan jumped on stage, put his arms around the bassist and took a selfie. The bassist smiled happily for the camera. The show was more like a circus act, and I loved it. Demarco’s crazy persona was in full force.
Then there’s the other side.
Read MoreVampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City is a gorgeous landscape of bright colors and sounds mixed into dark tones that will age with time. Lead singer and songwriter (along with Rostam Batmanglij), Ezra Koenig, is no longer singing about a fucking oxford comma - he’s gotten older and wearier and its effect is apparent. In the first track, “Unbelievers,” Koenig sings, “Got a little soul / The world is a cold, cold place to be / Want a little warmth / but who’s going to save a little warmth for me?…Want a little grace / but who’s going to say a little grace for me?”
His pessimism turns into an obsession with death for the remainder of the album.
Read More2012 starts and ends with Frank Ocean. Channel Orange is an album that I will play until the day I die. It’s beauty - naked and fragile at times yet full bodied and confident in others - is unlike any other album to compare to in the past decade. Ocean’s falsetto on “Thinkin Bout You” wails in sincerity. His epic “Pyramids” runs a wild gamut of funk, R&B, hip-hop, and electronic elements. I always find it an amazing accomplishment to have a song that’s over 6 minutes (this being 9:53) that I can listen to constantly.
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