So your mother just won a $500 gift certificate to Tower Records at the New York Arts Foundation Benefit dinner raffle. Having sworn off music years ago in favor of NPR to and from the grocery store, she has decided to lay the “shop-to-you-drop” music lovers orgasm of a gift certificate on you for 28th birthday. For a moment you feel as if a tear is forming in your left eye- after all $500 of CD’s is a decent stack. Even at Tower’s ridiculous $15 a piece price tag that will yield nearly thirty-five new albums. After purchasing the standard stuff- alterna-rock standards like Sublime, The Smashing Pumpkins, live Nirvana, The Presidents of The United States etc. (I’d advise against), you find you still have another 20 records to locate and your mind is now completely blank. What to do? Although this may not have been the best year I can remember for memorable five star masterpieces it’s easy to think of twenty off-beat classics that never received the attention that they rightfully deserved. To be just this list has been segmented by genre and not by any other hierarchical ordering methodology.
- Stereolab “Emperor Tomato Ketchup” (Elektra)
This record by the veteran British leaders of the deeply layered pop-synth movement is every bit as lively and refreshing as everything that they have before. Bouncy melodies and expert harmonizing between the primarily vocalists make this 60 minute plus effort a must have for cocktail parties that might spin out of control or just an apres shower dance session.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - The Cardigans “Life” (Minty Fresh)
More lounge that synth, this now wildly popular Swedish pop band quietly made its debut in the U.S. with “Life” a jangley slice of retro lounge bliss complete with brass, strings xylophone and the pristine sugar-sweet vocals of lead singer and resident cutsey Nina. Although their latest record has been a radio staple, “Life” is the better record with 14 impeccable pop gems built for bell bottoms and funky glasses.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Komeda “The Genius Of Komeda” (Minty Fresh)
Komeda can best be described as the perfect fusion of the prior two bands. Ironically enough also from Sweden (the country responsible for cheesy kitsch-disco bands like ABBA and Ace of Base) Komeda use that same poppy element but add to it Stereolab’s penchant for deep keyboard melodies with The Cardigans Esquivel-esque xylophone meandering. The final product is a delicious portion of lava-lamped Macarena.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - The Josephine Wiggs Experience “Bon Bon Lifestyle” (Grand Royal)
Josephine Wiggs is the founding bassist of the much beloved band The Breeders. During the downtime between Breeders record she has put together surprisingly elegant and darkly-cool record. The twelve tunes on this record combine the sexy richness of a candlelit lounge with a perpetually driving sense of movement. Josephine’s sultry vocal whisperings and tightly executed instrumentation make this one of the years biggest surprises.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Luscious Jackson “Fever In Fever Out” (Grand Royal)
On this, their third record, Brooklyn’s hippest chicks thread yet another seamless tapestry of melodic dance floor cool. Using samples and rhythms grafted from 70’s funk and R&B, the babes of Luscious sing the kind of songs that harken back to the groovy nightlife that we missed on those Saturday nights that we spent in front of ‘The Love Boat’ and ‘Fantasy Island.’ This record personifies cool.
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- Mark Eitzel “60 Watt Silver Lining” (Reprise)
The latest offering from American Music Club lead singer Mark Eitzel may very well be the sexiest most maturely poetic effort of the year. An album filled with brass and strings and narrated brilliantly by the deep breathy vocals and lyrics of Eitzel, “60 Watt Silver Lining” is an album filled with Eitzel’s incredibly insightful reminiscences about love, fear and the fragility of being human. Truly a record to hear in front of a raging fire while seducing the one you want to love.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Vic Chestnutt “About To Choke” (Capitol)
Years ago Vic Chestnutt awoke to find himself paralyzed from the waist down after a drunken car accident. He would never walk but this Athens, GA native succeeded in maintaining the incredible art of singing and song-writing he had begun before the accident. ‘About To Choke’ is a daringly introspective effort which provides the artist to talk intimately about his life, but he does so in such a candid matter-a-fact manner that the lyrics take on a reality most artist will never touch. This is a post folk guitar driven record fusing Beck feedback isms with heartfelt crossings.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Red House Painters “Songs For A Blue Guitar” (Supreme Recordings)
For six years this sparsely beautiful band has been carving slices of naked emotionality. Based around a simple guitar, drums and bass format the House Painters excel because of the profoundly stark and clear vocals of lead singer Mark Kozelek. Kozelek like Mark Eitzel has perfected the art of turning intensely personal narratives into universal themes anyone who has ever been in love will understand. On this, their fifth record, the House Painters succeed in creating a richly sophisticated slate of songs that nestle comfortably under your skin where they will fondly remain.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Palace “Arise Therefore” (Drag City)
Will Oldham, aka Palace, is perhaps the best songwriter of our generation. He writes songs set in the nearly mythical world of the American pastoral countryside. This is a place where there is still a range, with horses- not WalMarts. On this record he uses a drum track instead of real drums and accompanies these odd melodies with his own often wavering fragile vocal stylings. The resulting masterpiece is a rural country landscape pocked with a cast odd characters and Faulknarian insights.
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- Lilys “Better Can’t Make Your Life Better” (Che/Primary)
The Lilys are band with an ever evolving line-up and overall sound. About the only thing that stays the same on a Lilys record is singer/songwriter Kurt Heasley. On this record Heasley pays tribute to that whole Kinks/Beatles British pop of the late 60s and early 70s. Heasley plays the Mod shaggy-haired Brit with flawless accuracy and has actually written better songs than those written by the Kinks in the 70s. This is an excellent album and one to go for when you get nostalgic for that old Kinks record you sold for 50 cents when you got rid of turntable.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Zumpano “Goin’ Through Changes” (Sub Pop)
Zumpano is to The Beach Boys what Lilys is to the Kinks- an impeccable tribute. Zumpano play sing-songy pop ditties centered around a very retro musical keyboard beat. Zumpano is some of the happiest music released this year, recalling directly The Beach Boys ‘Pet Sounds’ in its lyrical innocence and musical playfulness. ‘Goin’ Through Changes’ is a music from your eighth grade dance, but told with a sincere nostalgia sure to have you toe-tappin’ out the door back to adolescence.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Witch Hazel “Landlocked” (Flydaddy)
Hailing from Kent, Ohio (four dead in Ohio) Witch Hazel is an orchestra of pop proficiency adding a full spectrum of brass and strings to a standard retro format. ‘Landlocked’ is filled with gentle vocals and bouncy guitar riffs which are then lightly dusted with proud horn solos and the rhythmic shaking of the tambourine. In the end Witch Hazel has woven a rich canopy of pretty sunny summer afternoon music as elegant and sophisticated as any pop record this year.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Epic Soundtracks “Change My Life” (Bar None)
Epic Soundtracks is one of the few indie rockers to use the piano as his primary instrument. Like a really hip Billy Joel, Epic sings the kind of personal tales best heard in smoky lounges with a big brandy sniffter for tips sitting on top of the piano. In a deep brooding voice Epic topical songs about the daily life of an aging pop star renewing his youth through song. ‘Change My Life’ might be an easy record to miss, but one you’ll be glad you didn’t let slip by.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Richard Davies “There’s Never Been A crowd Like This” (Flydaddy)
Davies is one half of the now legendary one record wonder Cardinal. On his first solo record he picks up where he left off with ten flowery falsetto pop songs drawing on The Beach Boys as a primary influence. His short tales about such characters as Chips Rafferty and Stewart Granger create an almost Dickensian web of unknown fictitious souls who wander through the crowded of our big cities. As refreshing an uncomplicated as a great record Richard Davies has definitely expanded the realm of ever growing pop world and one that would be difficult not become seduced by.
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- Mazzy Star “Among My Swan” (Capitol)
The much anticipated follow-up to Mazzy’s second and most successful record, ‘Among My Swan” stands as another chip off a wonderfully fragile ice sculpture. The formula is the same slow sultry Veltvety guitar lines and patient tambourine taps are accompanied by the pristine and sensual vocals of the beautiful Hope Sandoval. Like a gray summer day on a remote beach where mist blows endlessly off the ocean, ‘Among My Swan’ is another slice of mood music best suited for the most romantic scenario you could imagine.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Cocteau Twins “Milk & Kisses” (Capitol)
Nearly fifteen years ago the Cocteau Twins virtually invented the genre that has grown slowly into the world of the Ethereal. It was the oceanic non-sensical moanings of singer Elizabeth Frazier that defined the movement, and it is remarkable to hear that same crystal clear vocal style is still as fresh and innovative as today as it was in the beginning. Although not the strongest of the bands nearly ten full length and at least as many EP records over that period, ‘Milk & Kisses’ is still a solid album best saved for clear blue icy cold winter days.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Ida “I Know About You” (Simple Machines)
This might be the surprise record of the year. A follow up to a very sparse debut record two years ago, Ida has transformed themselves into one of the most sophisticated and thoughtful pop bands in music today. The trademark male-female vocal harmonizing and delicate guitar strumming creates such a powerfully quiet and emotionally intriguing blend of music that it would be hard for even the least romantic individual not to be become immediately entranced. Slow rolling instrumentalism and poetic lyricism make Ida’s breakthrough record one of this years best efforts. - Morcheeba “Who Can You Trust?” (Discovery)
Morcheeba just may be the sexiest, darkest trip-hop band since Portishead. Combining everything from a Indian sitar rhythms to buoyant brass solos, Morcheeba puts you right in the heart of some ultra-swank East Village club where you find yourself inadvertently swaying to the deep head bobbing beats. British singer Skye Edwards “Billie Holiday” cool glimmers throughout the record as her rich vocals caress your speakers gently. With all the “here today gone tomorrow” trip-hop acts Morcheeba seems destined for greatness. I predict they’re around for the long haul!
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- Heatmiser “Mic City Sons” (Caroline)
Heatmiser is basically the full band rock project of budding solo crooner Elliot Smith. In this four piece rock format Smith leads the bands through eleven upbeat melodic ditties interspersed with a few softer acoustic ballads. Heatmiser play songs based around an ordinary four piece rock format, but adorned sweetly by the gentle but mot wimpy vocals of Elliot Smith. A great record for those long road trips when gazing out the windows at beautiful landscapes becomes almost commonplace after a while- these songs will help makes some of those moments last.
Buy this cd now from Amazon.com - Silver Jews “The Natural Bridge” (Drag City)
Silver Jews first record was collaboration between singer David Berman and college friends from Pavement on guitar, bass and drums. The roster is completely different this time around except for Berman singing and writing, but the result is every bit as effective. Mellow cynical life slices told so matter-a-factly by Berman in his lazy sometimes off key midwest drawl, have once again shed immaculate light on the preoccupation’s of the slacker intelligentsia. With lines like “after the game the benchwarmer can’t get a ride” Berman creates a world not unlike the ultra-cool world brought to big screen by Richard Linkletter in “Dazed And Confused.” Sometimes a little silver sounds a lot better than any amount of gold.
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