10.26.2010

Caribou


Caribou
Swim
Merge, 2010

I really don't like this. To me, this is almost unlistenable. However, the opening track "Odessa" is amazing. Really, really amazing. It almost makes up for the remainder of the record. Almost. It's like an early 80's dance track and Daniel Snaith's voice is tolerable, which is not the case for the rest of the tracks here with vocals. "Odessa" shows how great this album could have been if Snaith would just reign himself in a bit and not confuse creativity with grandiosity. It's probably one of my favorite songs this year even. Too bad the rest of the album is s**t. Yuck.

10.20.2010

All the Saints


All the Saints
Fire on Corridor X
Touch & Go, 2009

Seriously. I have found my new favorite band. For the moment. I first heard this band on a split with These Arms are Snakes and thought, "Hmmm...maybeee..". Then I bought Corridor X. Well played, sir. It's dark and slightly scary, but not in a nerdy way. It's more like if Washington Irving or Flannery O'Connor had played in a f***ing rad rock band. Okay so maybe that's not the best argument against being nerdy. But it's true, and holy s**t, it works. It's got a touch of American Gothic to it (or maybe that's just because I was driving through bumf**k Virginia when I first listened to it). They bill themselves as psychedelic rock, but don't let that fool you. This reminds me slightly of TAAS, but a bit more laid back and just straight forward rock. It's really impossible to explain so I'm just going to stop now. This is killer.

10.04.2010

The Thermals


The Thermals
Personal Life
Kill Rock Stars, 2010

My brother actually introduced me to these guys a few years ago. He gave me The Body The Blood The Machine, and for the most part I really liked it. I felt like it started off really strong, but kind of lost my attention towards the end. I enjoyed the whole anti-religion thing and what not, heavy-handed as it was. Then I obtained a copy of Now We Can See, and, well.. eh. So my expectations weren't exactly high when I decided to pick up Personal Life. Holy s**t. I was blown away. This record is everything that I always felt like this band could be but were either holding back on or felt like they were too cool to make. It's not blasphemous and aggressive like Machine. It's about love. All about love. And it f***ing rocks. It's definitely poppy, but it works for these guys. Seriously, there's a song on here that reminds me of Television's "Marquee Moon". Yeah. This is definitely going on my favorites of 2010 list.