**Today is a SPECIAL day at Dear Christian, I love you... We welcome the addition of music lover, video gamer and all around cool guy TylerB. who will be contributing his amazingly genius take on rock criticism and anything else that passes through that brilliant brain of his. Welcome TylerB! Find out a little more about him below... -PL
Bio: TylerB. has heard the Beatles, Doors and Zeppelin so many times that if he never heard them again in his life he seriously wouldn't notice it. Um, the dude abides.
Top Five Desert Island Bands
"In that if I could take their whole discography to the island, these would be the bands:"
1. Afghan Whigs
2. Spoon
3. Pinback
4. the Walkmen
5. Radiohead
Top Five Radiohead albums:
1. the Bends
2. OK Computer
3. In Rainbows
4. Kid A5. the King of Limbs
New Releases.
Animal Collective - Centipede Hz
Spotify: Animal Collective – Centipede Hz
Review link: AV Club
There are weird albums I can't stand to listen to for more than 30 seconds. And there are Animal Collective albums. I'm not sure why, but I like their brand of weird. Maybe it's because beneath all that weird are some truly talented artists. Or maybe it's because I think Panda Bear (real name Noah Lennox) is ridiculously cute. Either way, this album is weird, but it's fun.
I read somewhere, some blog, questioning if this was going to be the album that catapults Animal Collective into the mainstream. To that I say, un-fucking-likely. I can say with honesty that I barely "get" this band, I do not have faith in the Nickelback listening fans of Anywhere, USA to magically comprehend the weird that is Animal Collective. That could be the music snob in me coming out, but it's the truth. Though I don't see this album (or any for that matter) becoming all that commercially successful (read: mainstream), that's one of the reasons we like them. Not only because they are weird, but because they are the band people don't understand and we do. - PL
Tracks: Moonjock
Stars - The North
Spotify: Stars – The North
Review link: LA Music Blog
I've mentioned before that my particular style of listening to an album for review revolves around listening while doing something else. Sometimes I am riveted and stop doing whatever I was doing to fully listen and sometimes I am bored, not even realizing the album has ended. I am happy to say I was completely riveted by this album.
Clearly it has been some time since I listened to Stars. Their sound is different. So much so, I checked Spotify to be sure this was in fact that same band that I listened to six years ago. And it is. I can't say I'm upset their sound is a bit different. Not better or worse, but different. Think M83 (Saturdays=Youth) meets U2 (Joshua Tree) finished off with Stars (Heart). Track 1, "The Theory of Relativity," was pretty much the jaw dropper that did it for me. It's fantastic. I could listen to it a million times and never tire of it. Ethereal and soft, with an edge. I am very much looking forward to listening to this album many many more times... -PL
Tracks: The Theory of Relativity, Through The Mines, Do You Want To Die Together?
Look ahead.
Menomena - Moms (release date 9/18/12)
I’ve always been
a casual Menomena listener, seen them a few times live, and was always very
impressed with their performances. But when it came to listening to all of
their CDs most of the songs would kind of fade into the background. Certain
songs would come on shuffle and I’d make note of them as being good, but it
would take hearing them out of the context of the album to actually appreciate
the song. I don’t know if that makes sense but that’s how it is with me and
this band.
Which is why I’m very surprised to say that I would highly recommend
giving this album a full listen. This band has always had a lot going on in their songs and this album
isn’t any different. They throw the kitchen sink into the mix with their hand claps, finger-snaps, skronky horn blasts, fuzzy guitar freak outs, etc. But
it’s the way the songs build upon themselves and the way they are assembled to
make such a busy song sound so listenable. I also have to give credit to the
way the album was sequenced that allows for such listen-ability. Four ‘upbeat’
songs in a row, then one slow one, four more upbeat and ending with a ten
minute slow crawl. It’s standard but it works.
I really am surprised just how much I like this album. Maybe I’ve never given their other albums the listening treatment they deserve. This doesn’t sound that much different than any other Menomena album I’ve heard, but for whatever reason, and for the first time I can remember experiencing with this band, they put together a very well rounded and listenable album from start to finish. -TB
Tracks: Plumage, Pique, Capsule
For a complete (and organized) list of new releases for this week and to the end of the year, please visit Album of the Year
NEWS.
1. NEW Further Seems Forever single - Further Seems Forever – So Cold
~WELCOME BACK CHRIS CARRABBA!!! - PL
2. Watch Bob Mould Kick Ass on Letterman - StereoGum
~Proving once again, you are never too old to rock it out! Unless you're Madonna... - PL
3. Muse release video for "Madness" - EW
~Meh. I am unimpressed with what I've heard so far... - PL
Anticipation.
Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra - 9/11/12
David Byrne/St. Vincent - 9/11/12
The xx - 9/11/12
The xx - 9/11/12
Band of Horses - 9/18/12
Dinosaur Jr. - 9/18/12
Menomena - 9/18/12
Dinosaur Jr. - 9/18/12
Menomena - 9/18/12
Mumford & Sons - 9/25
Grizzly Bear - 9/24
Muse - 10/2/12Converge - 10/9/12
Bat For Lashes - 10/16/12
Ben Gibbard - 10/16/12
Pinback - 10/16/12
Further Seems Forever - 10/23/12
Alicia Keys - 11/27/12
