In keeping with my New Years resolution, here’s the albums I’ve picked up since my last post:
- Black Keys’ Rubber Factory – A very solid album, rarely do I find myself skipping a track when this comes up on a shuffle. This band knows what they want to do, retro- blues rock, and they do it well. Given my recent purchases, it is refreshing sometimes to hear a low-fi rock album without a sample, loop, or synthesizer.
- Vampire Weekend’s Vampire Weekend and Contra – Put simply, I love both of these albums. They’re collections of short, smartly arranged up-tempo songs. Take the Pixies, replace the outsider angst with hipster urbanity and the punk guitars with layered synth, and you have Vampire Weekend. My current favorite band.
- Joe Cocker’s With a Little Help From My Friends – I think listening to the Black Keys got me on a retro kick, manifesting itself in Cocker’s 1969 album. I felt foolish about 2 seconds after I downloaded the album, seeing as I could probably pick it up for a dollar at any used music store. But, the album is great–there’s some deep tracks here I’d never heard before and really enjoy (like “Sandpaper Cadillac”). So, go ahead Joe, enjoy the royalty and have a glass on me.
- The Brew’s At Showcase Live (June 16th 2010) – This band came recommended by an ex-student; I downloaded a freebie off of Internet Archive (I pledge to buy an album at some point in the future, karma people). After 4 or 5 listens, I’m pretty sure I’d like the studio material better. The live stuff gets a bit jammy/Phishy for my tastes, although I’m going to tag any band that plays 3 minute solos with a Paul Reed Smith as Phishy. After effects of going to Clark University.
- Arctic Monkey’s Humbug – I bought this album with a sinking feeling in my stomach. Their last album, Favorite Worst Nightmare, was one of my favorites from grad school. After a quick preview, I pretty much knew this one wouldn’t live up. The liner notes highlight how the Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme produced the album–and it shows. Arctic Monkey’s frenetic energy is subdued with a QotSA kind of deep pump. It doesn’t work quite as well for me, but I’ve only listened to the album once. We’ll see.
Alright, so that’s what I picked up this month, along with a few old Kanye singles. The National, Arcade Fire, and Deerhunter all remain on my radar. I’m thinking of picking up Kanye’s latest album next week. Pitchfork gave it a perfect 10.0, and for those that don’t know Pitchfork, that’s about as likely as snow in Florida.
