Gauntlet Hair/Humor Risk/The Whole Love/Wild Flag

Gauntlet Hair - Gauntlet Hair (Dead Oceans, 2011)

Their drummer may wear a hipster mullet, but, that doesn't distract too much from how good Gauntlet Hair's debut LP is. If all the songs didn't run together so much, I'd wager the record may have even reached great status. Every song pretty much sounds exactly the same. In spite of this, I can't deny that the songs on Gauntlet Hair present quite a unique sound structurally, sonically and stylistically. Guitars and vocals drenched in chorus and reverb mesh with almost club sounding drums playing simple but interesting beats. I give it to these guys for creating something relatively fresh, but hopefully next time they'll play with a little more variety. Regardless, "Keep Time," "Mop It Up" and "Overkill" are jams.

Humor Risk - Cass McCombs (Domino, 2011)

I think I've finally caught the Cass McCombs bug. It's fascinating that he is such a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter, but I wouldn't consider him popular by any means. He's label mates with Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors and now Real Estate, and I don't hear my friends talking about McCombs like they do the others. Anyway, while I thought that 2009's Catacombs and Wit's End, from earlier in 2011, had brilliant and utterly gorgeous moments, those albums also were too slow and boring for me overall (I've heard 2007's Dropping the Writ once, and I feel like that will be my McCombs record once I spend more time with it). Humor Risk is nowhere near as cohesive, but I guess I prefer it that way. Here, McCombs varies in volume and mood, and a few of the tracks, like opener "Love Thine Enemy" and "Mystery Mail," generally rock a little bit more, which I appreciate. This is funny, because my favorite track is a softer albeit upbeat folky jam, "Robin Egg Blue." McCombs songs are typically repetitive, but he seems to take that to another level on Humor Risk, and I don't think I mind it one bit. This gives the listener the space to focus on his stories, though I am still stuck on the seemingly never ending cycle of hooks. It's a plus that McCombs' voice sort of sounds like John Lennon to me. In summary, on Humor Risk, McCombs has added a little fire to his brand of folk/country/rock storytelling, and I look forward to moving both forward and backward with his music.

The Whole Love - Wilco (dBpm, 2011)

I'd say that Wilco's latest, The Whole Love, is sort of a return to form for the band. Now, aside from the fact that I'm not sure that I've ever listened to A Ghost is Born all the way through, but from my standpoint, The Whole Love has to be the best thing Wilco has done since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I'm not saying this record is incredible or anything, let alone consistently good, even (there are one or two really bad songs), but considering their output of late (and I liked Wilco (The Album)), The Whole Love is a huge step up. Almost half of the record is actually fantastic, namely the organ-driven pop of "I Might" and the excellent melodies and warm arrangements that make up the title track. The Whole Love is wonderfully versatile, showcasing beautiful country/folk ballads, upbeat and shameless pop/rock of the highest quality, and, unfortunately, some corny moments that I could do without. Regardless, this record is a welcome, pleasant surprise.

Wild Flag - Wild Flag (Merge, 2011)

Featuring Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney fame and Mary Timony, formerly of 90s indie rock band Helium, you had to know that Wild Flag's debut album was going to be bad ass. Wild Flag sounds exactly like you'd expect: mostly upbeat rock songs with a punk edge and some sprawling, jammy sections. Between the two primary song-writers, Brownstein and Timony, you can easily tell who's songs are who's simply based on the style or tempo. I find that I prefer Timony's due to the thicker guitars (and, her voice less obnoxious than Brownstein's). "Something Came Over Me," "Electric Band" and "Future Crimes" are true jams.

Birthday/Sounds of Sebrings

The two best songs I've heard recently:

"Birthday" by The Sugarcubes, from Life's Too Good (1988)

"Sounds of Sebrings" by Swirlies, from They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons (1996)

The Shadow of the Wind/I Love You, Beth Cooper

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Luis Zafon (2001)
Carlos Luis Zafon's debut novel, The Shadow of the Wind, has it all: mystery and intrigue, thrills, fantasy, friendship, romance, terror, coming-of-age, and an awesomely violent climax. While I didn't fall head over heels for the story, I was really impressed by the likeable characters, the slightly predictible but still fun plot twists and all the other subtle flourishes the book had to offer. I don't really have anything negative to say about it aside from that it maybe could have been 100+ pages shorter. In conclusion, I'm surprised that The Shadow of the Wind is not even more popular than it is. It seems like it should have been a hit.


I Love You, Beth Cooper - Larry Doyle (2007)
I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle (a former writer for The Simpsons) is an obvious nod to all the classic 80s high school comedy films. That's about all there is to say about it. The characters are fun and charming and the story is overtly ridiculous, but not in a negative way. Nothing groundbreaking or innovative at all, just good, tense, immature fun.

Strange Mercy/Freaking Out EP/In Heaven/Fucked Up Presents: David's Town/Slave Ambient

Strange Mercy - St. Vincent (4AD, 2011)
It seems like the consensus on Annie Clark's latest album as St. Vincent has been that it is not nearly as immediate as her previous two. I would definitely have to agree with this. On first listen, Strange Mercy is sort of a snoozefest, but, once all of those subtle intricacies hit ya, it's quite the impressive record. Vocally, Clark is at the top of her game here, and the music is beautifully grandiose without being overtly dramatic or overwhelming. In spite of the overall soft and somewhat brooding feel, Clark's gnarly guitar chops add an interesting element that weirdly brightens things up a bit. Strange Mercy hasn't hit me as hard as Actor did, but it's certainly no disappointment. "Cruel," "Surgeon," and "Neutered Fruit" are some choice jams.


Freaking Out EP - Toro y Moi (Carpark, 2011)
Chazwick Bundick's output as Toro y Moi has been extremely impressive thus far. His 2010 debut LP, Causers of This was probably the best and most consistent of the first couple "chillwave" releases (including Washed Out's Life of Leisure EP and Neon Indian's Psychic Chasms). Now in 2011, he has far outshined the "chillwave" name and competition with Beneath the Pine, his upbeat R&B masterpiece, released early in the year. NOW, Bundick has already followed that up with the Freaking Out EP, which sounds like something he would have recorded before Beneath the Pine, though I don't think he did. While still smooth, Freaking Out features a louder, slightly more brash sound. In essence, there are five bangin' house tracks here that sound a little bit like early Daft Punk minus the futurism. This is totally fine with me, as the EP rules pretty hard. So stoked for what this dude does next. Maybe a house album with completely live instrumentation? That would rule.


In Heaven - Twin Sister (Domino, 2011)
At first, I was pretty disappointed in Twin Sister's debut LP, In Heaven, especially considering how spectacular 2010's Color Your Life EP was. Apperently it's a grower, because I get it now. Made up of mellow, dreamy mood music ("Stop" is especially good), sparse, disco-inspired gems ("Bad Street"), and gorgeous guitar and synth laden indie pop ("Saturday Sunday" and "Eastern Green"), In Heaven is a varied but consistent and unique statement. There are some duds in the middle, and Andrea Estella's vocals can be a bit difficult at times, but the album is concise enough and the high points are worth doing the work to experience.


Fucked Up Presents: David's Town - various artists (Matador, 2011)
I'm going to start off by saying that this has been quite the year for Fucked Up. Before releasing easily one of the best records to be released in 2011, the band released this little teaser back on Record Store Day: a compilation made up of fake British punk bands that existed in the setting and timeframe (late 70s) of the concept that makes up David Comes to Life. That the band took the time to create these personas, bands and songs is cool enough, but then they go and make sure that the majority of the songs are actually awesome. The ones that aren't are at least really funny (and some of them are even both, like "It's Hard to be a Dad" by Wonderer and "Do You Feed? (The Curry Song)" by Animal Man). I have no idea who all did what on this comp, but I know they worked with some guest musicians, one of them being A.C. Newman on In Good Company's "Harmony's Double." All of these listed are highlights, but Grain's "Light Rain" and The Wavy Originals' "Fake Moments (Of True Love)" are exceptional. What a cool project by probably the absolute most fun band around.


Slave Ambient - The War on Drugs (Secretly Canadian, 2011)
When I found out that Kurt Vile used to be in The War on Drugs, that's when became interested in this Philadelphia band. Their latest, Slave Ambient, was a very nice surprise to me in the sense that I had no expectations, and the album completely rules. It's definitely an interesting take on the folkier side of rock music, with some experimental and shoegazey undertones. Overall, Slave Ambient really just sounds like a louder, Springsteenier version of Vile's music, and "Baby Missiles" in particular sounds like classic Arcade Fire. But, I sure ain't complaining.

Emotional Drumming Mix #1

Hey friends! Here's another mix for y'all. I've compiled the best of the best from my inconsistent Emotional Listening posts from 2009 and 2010 into this 21 track mix. This has been my intention all along, but am just now getting around to it. Download it right HERE.

Here's the track list:

1. "Corduroy" - Pearl Jam (1994)

2. "New Music Machine" - Cornelius (1998)

3. "Soon" - My Bloody Valentine (1991)

4. "Women's Realm" - Belle & Sebastian (2000)

5. "Anywhere With You" - Saves the Day (2003)

6. "No Action" - Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1978)

7. "I Don't Mind" - Buzzcocks (1979)

8. "Milk Man" - Deerhoof (2004)

9. "Burn in Hell" - The Jazz June (1998)

10. "Catapult" - R.E.M. (1983)

11. "The Laws Have Changed" - The New Pornographers (2003)

12. "Baby You're a Rich Man" - The Beatles (1967)

13. "St. James St." - Hey Mercedes (2000)

14. "Cheat" - The Clash (1977)

15. "Crutch" - Pinback (1999)

16. "Little Dipper" - Hum (1995)

17. "Pilot Can at the Queer of God" - The Flaming Lips (1993)

18. "A Name" - Joan of Arc (1998)

19. "Black Out" - Pavement (1995)

20. "Make Out Kids" - Motion City Soundtrack (2005)

21. "Gene Autry" - Beulah (2001)

Mirror Traffic/Araby 7"/Days

Mirror Traffic - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (Matador, 2011)
It's interesting to me that, in spite of its middling reviews, 2008's Real Emotional Trash (which actually was completely awesome) was Stephen Malkmus' coming out party as a true guitar god. People are dumb. He's always ruled at the guitar, that's just when he decided to let go and totally shred. Now, on Mirror Traffic, things have chilled out a little bit, and what we have here is an excellent guitar pop record. Just like the Malkmus + Jicks records before Real Emotional Trash. Great chord progressions, leads, melodies and the clever lyrics we've come to expect from the guy, along with exceptional performances from his bandmates, Mirror Traffic pretty much has it all. "Stick Figures in Love" and "Forever 28" only scratch the surface of this album's list of highlights. Way to go, Stephen. You are still one of the true greats.


Araby 7" - Minks (Captured Tracks, 2011)
Here are two more songs from Minks, Captured Tracks' second best band, and they are just about on par with the best songs from their stellar full length released earlier in 2011, By the Hedge. Title track "Araby" doesn't surprise, sounding a slightly more polished a la Wild Nothing, and a little like The Cure or jangly New Order. But, B-side "Little Fawn" features guitar, melodies and bgv's that sound much more in line with The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (if not being completely derivative, which is okay by me). Minks continue to show impressive songwriting chops, and it seems like they're only getting better.


Days - Real Estate (Domino, 2011)
After seeing Real Estate live in July, I was expecting Days to come out of the gates and instantly be my favorite record of 2011. Well, it hasn't happened yet, and while I'm not even ready to admit that I prefer Days to 2009's self-titled debut (even if it is the more mature, fully realized album), that's not to say that it is anywhere near a disappointment. To be completely honest, the only thing about Days that doesn't overshadow Real Estate is that the standout tracks don't stand out quite SO much. This record continues to grow on me (incredibly easily, too), and I'm not sure that they'll be able to top this take on moody, jangly indie pop that lands somewhere between The Feelies and, yes, 2000-2001 Death Cab for Cutie (just listen to those chimey guitars). "Green Aisles," "It's Real," "Out of Tune" (in spite of being the A-side to a 7" last year) and "All the Same" are without question some of the greatest songs of the year.

The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent

"The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent" by The Magnetic Fields, from Holiday (1994)

Pretty much the perfect song for today.

The Answer is Always Yes/Freedom

The Answer is Always Yes - Monica Ferrell (2008)
Monica Ferrell's debut novel, The Answer is Always Yes, is a coming of age story revolving around New York City, drugs and an 18 year-old dude's desire to be cool. Unsurprisingly, this all adds up to a tragic ending that in some ways shocks but mostly is underwhelming. The main character was a complete loser in high school. He was interested in philosophy and classical music amongst other nerdy mediums, his single mother is completely overbearing and uncultured, and he was basically socially inept. Through obsessively studying New York City weeklies before moving onto the campus of NYU, he desperately tries to turn things around and become the coolest kid on campus. Eventually he acquires an intelligent, dramatic girlfriend, a fake ID, and later, a gig as a promoter at one of the hottest night clubs in the city. He gets wrapped up in the Ecstasy scene in the mid-90s, and I'm sure you can guess where it goes from there. Ferrell does a good job with the details of an annoyingly unbelievable plot. The inclusion of footnotes from a fictional outside source (which, I never really understood the real purpose of) was an interesting touch, but also completely unnecessary. Ferrell's writing style seems purposely high-brow and quirky, thus quite pretentious and utterly irritating. The characters were strong, and like I mentioned, there were some interesting ideas, but the frustrating aspects of The Answer is Always Yes certainly outweighed the good.


Freedom - Jonathan Franzen (2010)
I'm not surprised one bit by how much I loved Jonathan Franzen's latest novel, that which will probably be considered his crowning moment, Freedom. While it will always be his mastery of both the simplicity and complexity of the english language that will keep me reading and rereading Franzen throughout my adult life, I can't deny how much I loved Freedom for how insanely fucked up it is. I won't give away the juicey details, but these characters (or at least 90% of each of them), are deranged and terrible people, who were so much fun, albeit difficult, to read about and invest in, even if I was rooting against each of them for the majority of the book. However, these characters end up displaying redeeming qualities that express a wonderful, realistic hope that was lacking in Franzen's other incredible novel that I read earlier in 2001, The Corrections. This was surprisingly refreshing after all of the awesomely disturbing events (if you thought The Corrections was depressing, you're in for a real treat here) that lead up to this gorgeous conclusion. And, I don't even usually like happy endings! With Freedom, Franzen delivers another knock-out punch, and it definitely deserves all the hype it has received.

Cosmos Factory EP/Again and Again/Lenses Alien

Cosmos Factory EP - Brain Idea (Mexican Summer, 2011)

Chicago's hilariously named, hip new band, Brain Idea, came across my radar, unsurprisingly, thanks to my boy Travis. Their 2011 EP, Cosmos Factory, sounds like a snottier, spacey version of The Bats' 80s and early 90s material, which is welcome to my ears. While the EP doesn't quite throw that knockout punch, it certainly shows a ton of promise. The clean and chimey guitars, distorted drums, bratty, almost late-70s punk rock vocals and slightly ambient backdrop of the songs clash in very enjoyable ways, and make Cosmos Factory quite unique, even if it is easy to cite the band's obvious influences. In spite of its nine minutes in length, EP closer "See YRself" is easily this band's jam of jams.

Again and Again - Brilliant Colors (Slumberland, 2011)

On first listen, it was seeming like I was going to like Brilliant Colors' latest, Again and Again, substantially more than Vivian Girls' 2011 LP, Share the Joy. The two records don't sound all THAT different, seeing as they were recorded, released and caked in reverb by two different jangly pop punk bands made up of three girls each. While Again and Again features a higher level of consistency in quality, and I just like the overall feel of that record a little more, Share the Joy still features the better songs (even if there are some I don't like all that much). The Vivs aren't the focus here anyway, but still, all I can really say about this record is that if, like me, you really like Vivian Girls, then you'll probably enjoy Brilliant Colors too, like I do.

Lenses Alien - Cymbals Eat Guitars (Barsuk, 2011)

It's pretty popular to be playing 90s throw-back rock these days, but it's refreshing to hear Cymbals Eat Guitars' take on the style on Lenses Alien, the follow-up to their hyped 2009 debut. Like Why There Are Mountains, there's a little Smashing Pumpkins, a little Dinosaur Jr., and maybe even a smidge of My Bloody Valentine on Lenses Alien. That being said, the record also has a blatantly modern if not futuristic element to it. In spite of the obvious 90s references throughout, it still sounds like a product of 2011, and I'm not sure if that's due to the pristine production or the structural complexity of the songs (which, of course, is right up my alley). This clashing of musical decades, along with the subtle keyboards, gnarly guitars, poppy melodies and intricate songwriting make Lenses Alien quite a special album.

Iceblink Luck/Summer of Love

"Iceblink Luck" by Cocteau Twins, from Heaven or Las Vegas (1990)

One could say the vocals during the verses are obnoxious, but, man, this chorus is one of the best I've heard in a while. Plus, can't go wrong with those awesomely 80s synths and guitar and bass tones.

"Summer of Love" by The Fresh & Onlys, from Play It Strange (2010)

Quietly one of my absolute favorite songs from last year.

The Sandman

The Sandman (DC/Vertigo, 1989-1996, 2003)

by Neil Gaiman

Back in March I began reading Neil Gaiman's critically acclaimed and extremely popular comic series, The Sandman, took my sweet ass time with it, and finally finished it today. While it did not come close to touching the likes of 100 Bullets, Bone, or even Y: The Last Man for me, The Sandman was still a fascinating, unique, thought provoking and enjoyable reading experience.

Gaiman's eerie and bizarre fantasy series details the trials and tribulations of main character Morpheus, or Dream (there is exception with the short story collections where he often plays more of a supporting role), of the ever-present family known as The Endless (which also includes Desire, Death, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny).

Each book and short story has its own unique charm and feeling (working with so many different artists had a lot to do with that), which helps the series to never get boring or feel like a chore to read. Of course, some books I liked better than others, like the grim fairy tale stylings of A Game of You, the twisted Dream/Delirium tag team journey of Brief Lives, and Seasons of Mists' eerie predominant setting of hell as opposed to The Kindly Ones, which was way more grandiose and frustratingly confusing and nonsensical than it needed to be.

While I wasn't won over any by Gaiman's prose, the plots and characters amongst many other elements in this series were much more enjoyable than those in his novels that I've read. The comic format seems to be much more Gaiman's forte, and it'd be nice to see him return with another long term series instead of wasting his time on these overtly imperfect novels.