Slow week – aside from the Black Keys and the Roots, the rest of 2011 is all Christmas albums and best-of lists. So here’s another one of my favorite songs from 2011, the best off St. Vincent’s excellent Strange Mercy (although I’m sure Robin Smith would pick a different tune from that album). “Cruel” is deliciously weird like the best Annie Clark songs, but its heart is that wonderful bridge and follow-up chorus and the way Clark’s beautiful vocals and the playful guitar motif work in concert. Great stuff.
St. Vincent – “Cruel”
Still one of my favorite records of the year, Florence and the Machine’s Ceremonials still bites a month after its release. I currently have it at #3 on the year (behind M83 and Wilco), and each song continues to jump out at and surprise me. “Breaking Down” is another highlight, making liberal use of strings and a lovely chord progression in the chorus that sticks in your head. Can’t wait to see the tour for this.
Florence and the Machine – “Breaking Down”
Florence and the Machine’s long awaited followup to 2009′s superb debut Lungs leaked online last week, and early reviews have been stellar. I haven’t had time to really get down and dirty with Ms. Welch yet, but from my cursory time with it Celebrations is just what I want from a Florence and the Machine sophomore record. The focus is still on Ms. Welch’s lovely, ethereal vocals, but the group’s penchant for complicated arrangements and truly epic sounding songs hasn’t weakened one bit. “Lover To Lover” is a bluesier number, with a prominent piano part and the kind of singalong chorus Florence has been making in her sleep.
Florence and the Machine – “Lover To Lover”
What San Francisco indie duo Girls have done with their sophomore record is what everyone hopes to see: get a hell of a lot better. Father, Son, Holy Ghost takes everything that was awesome about Album and blows it up over 52 minutes of superb dream pop and Christopher Owens’ brilliantly autobiographical writings. There’s plenty of six-minute epics, but a song like “Magic” is the purest distillation of what Girls do best – simple, effortless pop music with a soul.
Girls – “Magic”
Nice to see that fame hasn’t gotten to Florence Welch’s head - teaser single “What the Water Gave Me” would have stood out nicely on superb debut Lungs, meaning I’m more than just a little excited at the prospect of her second album. The as-yet-unnamed sophomore record is due out November 7. Can’t wait to hear The Voice again in concert
Programming note: law school is probably going to have some effect on my daily postings, but I’ll try to be as regular as my commitments can make me. It also gives me less time to keep up to date on everything new and improved out there, so as always I welcome e-mails and submissions. Thanks for sticking with us!
Florence and the Machine – “What the Water Gave Me”
Eric Johnson’s perpetually underrated and under-the-radar orchestral rock group Fruit Bats released their fifth album Tripper last week on Sub Pop, and I gotta say every release finds the band capitalizing on their strengths, namely Johnson’s stellar songwriting and the group’s relaxed vibe. “You’re Too Weird” is just one fantastic example, but the rest of the album is golden as well. RIYL the Shins, the Apples in Stereo, Built to Spill.
Fruit Bats – “You’re Too Weird”
Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard
Barsuk 2010
Rating: 8/10
I love it when bands surprise me. For someone who thought Ra Ra Riot were like a lesser Vampire Weekend with a string section after 2008’s so-so The Rhumb Line, I was ready to push through The Orchard and let it down gently. Then I listened to it, and lo and behold, a band I had written off ends up backhanding me across the face with one of the better albums I’ve heard all year. Previous fans of the band will no doubt be delighted to hear that singer Wes Miles still sounds like Ezra Koenig, if a little more prone to falsetto, and that the band’s bouncy brand of pop-rock is still very much in evidence (just check out that ADD bass line on uber-catchy single “Boy”). But whereas The Rhumb Line was all meaty melodies and festival-ready sing-a-longs, The Orchard feels like a proper album of baroque pop – the songwriting is noticeably stronger, the band takes their time around the tunes rather than jumping headfirst into hooks, and the lovely strings of violinist Rebecca Zeller and cellist Alexandra Lawn seem far more integrated into the affairs here rather than the gimmick they at times appeared to be on their debut.
It’s a record that knows that the best way to start an album is not a rookie move like throwing out your best song or first single, but to kick things off with a track that announces a new, determined direction instead. “The Orchard” is just that song, floating along ominous string chords and a pensive bass line without a hint of drums or guitar. The focus is purely on Miles, who sounds like a markedly more assured vocalist throughout the record and never as clearly as he does on “The Orchard.” The strings at the forefront is something repeated throughout the album, from the way they add a melancholy note to the otherwise upbeat “Boy” to the way they arch and dip across melodies, putting their indelible stamp on songs like “Do You Remember” and “Kansai.” The fact that Zeller and Lawn are the centerpiece of songs rather than a touch of color here or a flourish there makes The Orchard everything The Rhumb Line hinted at but never accomplished: the sound of a complete and full band, utilizing an array of sound and talents in a more organic way than many of their peers.
Not to say that the rest of the band suffers in comparison. Drummer Gabriel Duquette is the unsung hero here, laying down a number of intricate beats that always propel things forward but never overwhelm. Like the National’s Bryan Devendorf or Bloc Party’s Matt Tong, Duquette has some impressive chops (check out his subtle work on “Massachusetts”), but uses them more to build a rigid rhythmic framework than show off. Everyone contributes, whether it’s consistently fantastic rhythm work, airtight melodies and subtler hooks, or Miles letting Lawn on the mic for the excellently Fleetwood Mac-ish “You And I Know.” There are a few missteps; seriously cheesy synths midway through “Foolish” mar some perfectly good dream-pop, and the sluggish “Keep It Quiet” ends the album with a whimper rather than a bang. But perhaps that’s to be expected – The Orchard is nothing if not a sharp left turn from the cheery, thumping pop of their debut, and ending it on its most plaintive note is sort of fitting. It’s also everything I wanted from a sophomore effort: sophisticated, confident, surprisingly layered, and endlessly entertaining. It’s always exciting when a band seems to get it and come into their own as a group – with The Orchard, Ra Ra Riot have finally created a distinctive identity all their own.
Ra Ra Riot – “You and I Know”
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Release date August 24, 2010.
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