One thing that I have always
stressed to music listeners is to try out new music, even the music that isn’t
going to necessarily change someone’s life or become someone’s favorite new
album. I’m an advocate for keeping up with the music scene. There is so much
going on in music that goes unlistened to because it’s not being broadcasted
everywhere or widely distributed amongst listeners. Thanks to the
oversaturation of the market, people need to be wowed. Thanks to the radio, the
same music is circulated for years; my mind is boggled when people cling to
music from 10 years ago because it’s easier to stick to the reliables rather
than going outside their comfort zone and recognizing that today’s scene has
something for everyone, whether it be a song or a whole album. It legit saddens
me when someone tells me their favorite band is Fort Minor. Like, wtf.
So, as I
try to reestablish my writing chops and apply for jobs, I will be writing a few
different series of posts in the coming weeks. This one, that I have hastily
thrown together, will focus on album releases from this year, with the intention
being that others will read, maybe even just read of the titles of the albums,
my thoughts and ratings of these albums and look them up. I’m usually a more “overall”
kind of music consumer, so I’ll focus on things like, where does this album fit
in 2016, what it sounds like, who it sounds like, general themes, and choice
songs to check out. I’m a pretty open listener of different genres, but, I’ll
mainly focus on alternative, rap, punk, global, and a few odds and ends. 5
albums will be talked about, with one getting more attention than the others. I
take no responsibility for offending anyone by making fun of their taste with
off-hand comments about artists.
Cloud Cult- The Seekers
The story
of Cloud Cult is a pretty well known one for those that even remotely know
them. It’s a story that defines their music so much. The lead singer, Craig
Minowa, lost his son tragically in 2002, and to try and recover from the loss,
he has written album after album trying to comprehend it, resulting in some of
the most beautiful albums one can listen to. While Advice from the Happy
Hippopotamus may be their money album, Light Chasers and Love are personal
favorites of mine.
Their sound
is perfectly crafted by an army of 8 band members wielding a small orchestra of
horns, strings, and “the standards.” Going from mania to somber to achingly
touching, Cloud Cult have the power to energize and move an audience. Even if
they don’t get too much attention, the earnestness of their work I’m sure makes
an indelible mark on their listeners. They record on an eco friendly farm, so
the planet is not harmed in any way during recording, which is nice to know.
The Seekers
is an appropriate album title for the album and almost a summation of what the
band is all about. Cloud Cult always seems to be searching, searching for recovery,
for understanding, through tornadoes, through the mind, through the universe
and every single galaxy, they are searching. Each album they send out this
signal of love and hope with everything they can muster that it reaches its destination,
most likely to his son if the lyrics in Come Home are anything to go on (asking
his baby to come home). This is an album of someone struggling with accepting
the past, of trying to cope with the horrid nature of existence and move on.
Nothing drives the emotion more than Minowa’s vocals that both convey fragility
and resonation. Twinkling piano, sweeping violin, and an uplifting mood follow.
No song on the album touched me
more than the song, Time Machine Invention. In it, he expresses his wish of
wanting to go back in time and change it. Not just to correct a wrong, but to
avoid “chasing the tail” and spending so much time worrying and forgetting to
live. God, that’s something we all can relate to. Sure, horrible things happen,
but the things I regret the most are spending so much time wallowing instead of
taking the necessary steps to recuperate.
The Seekers is an essential 2016
listen because, while it’s not a commercial product, it shows that the music scene
still has heart, honest to god heart that isn’t overproduced or manufactured,
but pulled from somewhere real and painful.
Listen to:
Come Home, Days to Remember, Time Machine Invention.
Rating:
7/10. Perfect album for someone who has lost someone.
Sunflower Bean- Human Ceremony
For those that like their psychedelic sunny and light,
Sunflower Bean is for you. They write songs that are ready made for the radio
but don’t sound like you’d be a douche for listening to them. You cannot listen
to Come On without feeling a little bit cool. That driving drum and playful
guitar begs you to put a pair of sunglasses on. The alternating female/male
vocal dynamic is really refreshing in these songs, in that neither overpower
each other and create this perfect balance. His vocals are very scuzzy, while
hers are overwhelmingly pleasant (check out Oh, I Just Don’t Know for the
contrast). These guys are a band that is situated in that lower middle tier of
the indie listening ladder, meaning that you’ll probably hear them on college
radio, but are obscure enough to impress your friends about this cool band you
know. Check out if you are a fan of The Vasolines.
Listen to:
Come On, Oh, I Just Don’t Know, 2013
Rating:
6/10 Could turn into the next IT band with a strong follow up. Sunny, breezy,
easy to like.
Walter Martin- Arts & Leisure
Listening to the former band member of The Walkmen’s new
album is like going over to a friend you haven’t seen in forever’s house and
having a sententious conversation over espresso. As the album title alludes to,
the album brings up art, travel, and self deprecation a lot. It’s such an easy
going album that he mostly restricts the sound to that of a guitar, spare drum,
and his voice. I’m not kidding when I say it’s like talking to a friend. He
talks about the shitty jobs he had before he became rich, talks about where he
went in Amsterdam, wishing he was Michelangelo, and the usual topic of
conversation, “man, I’m getting real old.” In all honesty, it’s a very
inconsequential but fun listen. His last album was a children’s album that was
accompanied with a few choice guests. Martin doesn’t seem to want to reinvent
the wheel anymore; The Walkmen have provided him with enough rock’n’roll living
and he’s content with entertaining the family he has accumulated with novel
stories, chat a little, and I’m personally happy to hang out.
Songs to
listen to: Jobs I Had Before I Got Rich and Famous, Old as Hell, Charles Rennie
Mackintosh.
Rating: 4/10
Inconsequential but very pleasant and friendly.
The Lavender Flu- Heavy Air
Man, this album took a solid day to get through! Not because
it was bad, but because it’s a 30 song album and isn’t a very easy listen,
which is oddly rewarding for a hardcore music listener. This is a freaky kind
of album. Lavender Flu is a group that is centered around the ex guitarist of The
Hunches, an underground garage rock band from the early 2000’s, Chris Gunn. The
group and album are actually pretty hard to get background on, but, all I know,
is that Chris Gunn is considered a heralded obscure guitarist, an omnipresent element
throughout the album. It’s a very guitar heavy, dark album that is punctuated with
instrumental tracks that range from screechy to enlightening. In fact, I’d say
that although this sounds like a group of friends getting together for a very
high level jam session, Heavy Air is a refreshing, maybe inspirational, listen.
It’s almost as if the album constantly tries to suffocate the listener than
letting them breath and see the sun for a few tracks so they remember how reinvigorating
the fresh air can be. I’m going to throw out some buzz words to describe it
since it goes through so much in it’s long runtime: technically proficient,
distortion, overlapping vocals, weird, Dinosaur Jr, strangely beautiful, like
seeing a flower bloom in a drug den.
Songs to
listen to: My Time (one of the my favorite songs of 2016!), The Lawn, Those
That Bend
Rating:
Super hard to rate. I personally loved it, but can’t see a lot of people giving
it a chance. Long listen, but perfect for those that love that lo-fi Bevis
Frond era of noise music and wish you could be there for it when it grew up.
7/10
Mavis Staples- Livin’ On a High Note
Mavis
Staples has been around for a long time. As part of the Staple Sisters, she made
her debut in 1967, becoming both one of the most celebrated popular gospel
groups of that time period and the soundtrack for the civil rights movement.
After the separation of the sisters, she went on to have a successful solo
career that has averaged out at least two albums a decade since the 60’s. With
so much so mileage on her career, you would think an album in 2016 would be
that dark introspective release that many older artists put out at this age.
However, that is not the case. Staples has never sounded more vibrant and
blessed in her entire life! Every song exudes positivity and a gratefulness for
still being able to do something she loves. Each song has been written
specifically for her by some very notable artists, such as, Justin Vernon,
Benjamin Booker, and Nick Cave. This is truly a community effort and a great
show of respect for a subtle icon.
Also, side
note, she was proposed to by Bob Dylan and turned down. Hey Bob, that Nobel
Prize is a pretty neat silver medal, right?
Songs to
Listen to: High Note, If It’s a Light, Jesus Lay Down Besides Me
Rating: 6/10
Very positive, lovely album that is propelled higher due to my insistence that one
shouldn’t always be cynical.
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