It seems that Grizzly Bear are celebrating (spoiler alert) from my naming their recent effort Shields as my top album of 2012 (PROOF) by releasing a new video for the fantastic "gun-shy."
Not exactly strangers to interesting/odd videos, GB have another one on their hands and it delves into the "creative energy of living organisms" and what they "would look like on a molecular level." This is per Australian director Kris Moyes, and you could read more of what he had to say on the band's Tumblr.
Scope it out. Even if you don't care for the video so much just minimize the page, listen, and all will be right in the world.
As a person who wears contacts, I hate it when mine have the same effect as you see below. Just dreadful....
What a tough year....I guess they all are but this one seemed different. I almost did a top 75 because there didn't seem to be a huge different between a lot of albums from the 30s through the 70s but that was taking way too long. So I cut it down to 50.
It was also kind of a frustrating year in which the follow ups to some of my favorite albums in recent years just couldn't keep my attention enough to make this list (i.e., Beach House, Passion Pit, Avett Brothers, Sleigh Bells...).
There were others that I have enjoyed listening to a lot but couldn't find a place for them unfortunately (i.e., Imperial Teen, Good Field, Django Django, Empires, Metric, Reptar, Walk the Moon, Nick Waterhouse...).
Then there were those that I just couldn't do anything with because I have heard them too much over the last year or 2 and it hurt my brain to even type their names into the spreadsheet I was working off of (i.e., The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons). I never even listened to the new Edward Sharpe. I enjoy their live show but other than that feel I might need a couple years off from the band.
There were also some obvious omissions people will call me out on for not including (Fiona Apple), and that's because I never listened to it. Not that I have anything against her, just never really been a huge fan. Used to think she was kinda boring so I supposed that stuck with me. Again, I listen to what I want to listen to or what people send me and I post on that. Maybe it's lame on my part but I don't feel it's necessary to add negative reviews, not why I'm doing this. Some of you may jump on me even more for including the new Dave Matthews Band album. Well, it's actually really good. Best thing they've done since the 90s.
So yeah....some food (or tunes) for thought.
One more thing, as I've read through the lists that have come out a couple of things stood out and wanted to mention since I don't go into detail on these albums on my list, unless I did a post about it previously....
1) Where's the love for Grizzly Bear this year?? I read a couple that said the album lacked a "Two Weeks" or "Ready, Able" type single. I suppose I get this but I feel people may be missing the fact that the ENTIRE album is full of songs like these. If they scattered these songs across a few albums with lesser tunes, these tracks would be heralded as awesome. Don't punish the album because it's stellar from top to bottom, and more accessible as a whole than previous albums.
2) Zero love for the new Yeasayer?? Interesting. I love this album and know a ton of people that feel the same way. The way they continue to expand their sound and adapt has been entertaining, to say the least.
So it's been a little bit since I posted anything on here due to various reasons. My New Year's resolution is to do a better, or at least more consistent, job of posting reviews and whatever else piques my interest.
Comparatively, I'm also behind on my Best Albums of 2012 lists but as in years past, I like to actually post mine AFTER the year has ended. For all of those Best of 2011 lists that came out before the Black Keys released Casino El Camino, did they leave it off of their 2012 lists because they didn't think it was worthy or because it didn't come out in 2012? So the album's fate is either that it wasn't that good or it's in record purgatory. Makes sense....not! (Still bummed Wayne's World 3 isn't happening after all. Maybe....)
I'll mention this again for my Top Albums list but I'm guessing the biggest complaint I'll get will be about some "obvious" omissions. I don't get paid to do this and I just like to rank the LPs and EPs that I have enjoyed. I don't have to listen to anything I'm not interested in. Also, there are albums I come across that I don't necessarily care for and don't ever post anything about them. It's my opinion not to like someone else's music and I don't want to sway someone away from a band or album without giving it a proper chance. Not what I'm here for. Aight?
Talk about "good things come to those who wait!" This old saying has been proved so many times before and the latest time, for me at least, was due to the recent release of Shields by Grizzly Bear. It's been a long 3 years since we last heard from the band with their amazing Veckatimest (my 2009 top album). My most anticipated album of the 2012, Shields comes nowhere close to being a letdown despite the lofty expectations I had for it.
I had hoped to get this out a couple weeks ago as a "Prevaluation" as I listened to it obsessively while NPR was streaming it. I loved it then but I knew it wouldn't be a true evaluation until I had my own copy and was able to really listen to it whenever and wherever I wanted to. May seem weird, I know it does as I type, but I'm glad I waited. Took it to a new level for me.
The band needed to take some time away from each other, and Grizzly Bear itself, after they finished touring for Veckatimest. You could tell in the last year or so that the band was itching to get back into the musical swing as side projects started popping up. About a year prior to Shields release, bass player Chris Taylor released the debut album by his side project CANT. Then earlier this year, singer and guitarist Daniel Rossen released an amazing solo EP Silent Hour/Golden Mile. This really got the GB juices flowing as it had a very similar vibe and Rossen's stellarly unique voice and style were as great as remembered. If you haven't checked it out I highly recommend it.
As I mentioned before, I have a deep love forGB and Vecaktimest is one of my favorite albums of the last 5 years. Their albums have always had a way of meandering around which is part of the reason they were so great. There was an odd balance, or lack thereof. Shields is easily the band's most cohesive effort to date. Seemingly a big reason for this, Droste and Rossen wrote songs for each other for 1st time on this album. Between Taylor's and Rossen's solo efforts and this new more collaborative effort, Shields just feels more complete than anything else they've released. It reminds me of The Beetles in that you (basically) had 4 solo musicians all working together in a band. As time went on, each had their own songs and ideas and it sometimes caused their albums to be all over the place. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Beetles fan and am not knocking them. Just saying that GB has seemingly evolved in the opposite direction. As time has passed, they have become more of a single unit than 4 moving parts going in a similar direction.
Prior to the albums release we got to hear opening track "Sleeping Ute" and then "Yet Again." Both were great teasers for the epicness that was lying in the weeds waiting to invade our ears. As much as I loved "Two Weeks" from Veckatimest I was a little worried they would stray too far towards that poppier vibe. Those worries were quickly laid to rest as Shields strikes a great balance. I can't get over how seemless the overall flow of the album is. It's almost as if they aren't so much songs but chapters in a book. They are all focused differently but come together to tell a story that you can't put down and want to read again before it's even finished.
Two of my favorites from Shields come at the tail-end of the album in "gun-shy" and "Sun In Your Eyes." Both have quickly become favorites of mine from their entire catalog. "gun-shy" opens with a hypnotic dreaminess before Droste pipes in with "The sky keeps staring at me, frozen in the tracks" followed by a ghostly Rossen with "Nothing else to see." This back-and-forth carries on throughout and closes with a reversal of sorts. Taylor leads with his own ghostliness this time followed by Droste, and then they sing on top of each other in a marriage of vocal awesomeness.
(Sandwiched in between is "Half Gate," which is no slouch itself. Droste's voice is at the epitome of its utmost gorgeousness.)
"Sun In Your Eyes" starts off with a door closing? Then Rossen comes in on a cloud of mellow over a simple drum beat and some keys. The is where the epicness comes to throw down. The band brings an almost orchestral feeling that brings your senses to life in a whirlwind of noise. Things mellow back down but with a notion that you're about to get bombarded again. And you do. Just when you think the song is coming to a close you are quickly reminded that this is Grizzly Bear. Rossen eases back in with a more intensely building mellowness, which has the sole purpose of tying us over until one of the greatest final minutes of an album in recent memory....Rossen and Droste playing off each other's voices over booming instruments. Keys close it out. Utterly phenomenal.
Now that my senses are completely in awe, I must return my media player's Play icon back to its proper state of Pause.
This morning, Here We Go Magic premiered the video for "Hard To Be Close" off A Different Ship, one of my favorite albums of 2012. What better way to visualize the literalness of the song title than with the awkwardness that accompanies 3 dudes in a small elevator? Exactly. Now, what about when that elevator gets stuck? Perfection. I would blame karma, stemming from the dude that reminds me of a mousy version of Party Boy from Jackass for wearing a turtle neck....that's like the new "breaking a mirror."
But....did it really get stuck? One of life's great questions I suppose...
I recently dropped a Prevaluation of Yeasayer's excellent new album Fragrant World, and today they provide us with a video for the 2nd song off of the album, "Longevity." The video is about as trippy as we have come to expect from these guys but this time the trippiness comes from the rapid aging of singer Chris Keating. It's a little creepy, especially why eating lunch, which I recently discovered the hard way. Nonetheless, a great tune and a solid video by Yeasayer.
I found it a bit ironic how the band wastes away within about 3.5 minutes considering LMFAO was featured in the advertisement that preceded the video. Does anyone expect them to last much longer than that? Ok ok...that's cold but they have "one-hit wonder (album I suppose)" stamped all over them....says this guy.
So Benjamin Gibbard, aka Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie but going by Benjamin, has a solo album coming out October 16th. He recently dropped the first single "Teardrop Windows" to give us a taste of what to expect. Based solely on this tune, me thinks this solo album will keep closer to his Death Cab roots than veer itself towards a long-desired Postal Service follow up.
From the title, you might expect something closer to the pre-Zooey-Ben...I almost giddily did. While the lyrics seemingly want to go there, musically it leans a little closer to the recent Death Cab release, Codes and Keys with poppier overtones.
Still, most Death Cab and Gibbard fans will likely enjoy this tune as it's not a far cry from what they have come to love. Check the song out below and see for yourself
