In case the rock you’ve been under for the past few years doesn’t have internet and you haven’t heard of PS22′s chorus, they’re an elementary school chorus in Staten Island that blows every other elementary school chorus out of the proverbial water. They had previously covered one of my favorite songs from last year (Phoenix’s Lisztomania) and now they’ve covered my favorite song from this year so far (Beach House’s Zebra).
Top ten lists at the end of the year are so overdone. So instead, I’m going to give you FOUR lists this year. Starting with this one. This is primarily due to the amount of good music that has come out this year so far. Picking a top ten at the end of the year would be impossible. (If PS22 would put this on an album that would be on this list too.)
Let’s get the self-titleds out of the way:
Broken Bells | Broken Bells
The Shins? Great. Danger Mouse? Great. With their powers combined, they are Captain Great. (Early 90s Saturday morning cartoon reference? Anybody?) A great album. If you like the Shins. And Danger Mouse. If you dislike either of those, there’s a good chance you won’t like this. But listen to it anyway.
Fang Island | Fang Island
I’m a sucker for an awesome lead guitar. This album is the definition of awesome lead guitar. Vocals, percussion, and everything else takes a back seat to the guitar-driven nature of this band. When it starts out you might think to yourself “This sounds exactly like Ratatat.” And you’d be correct until 66 seconds into the first song. That’s the point of no return. It’s like flying into a black hole; at some point you’re going to get sucked in and not be able to escape the guitar-riff induced confusion. But it’ll be awesome and worth it. My only disappointment comes when I realize I can’t jam along to it because these songs aren’t in Guitar Hero… yet.
Now for the rest…
Local Natives | Gorilla Manor
Let’s cross the chasm between Fang Island and Local Natives. Take harmonies and falsetto from Fleet Foxes, drumming from The Dodos and something from Band of Horses, I’m not sure what. “Shape Shifter” has become one of my favorite songs but maybe that’s because I’m a sucker for grandioseness. Some songs seem a little out of place as the album progresses but none of it is unwelcome. Just unexpected.
Vampire Weekend | Contra
I’ve already covered this one. So I’ll keep this brief. Listen. To. It. Because of all the awesomeness. If you spent all of 2009 being irritated by Vampire Weekend what with their preppy lyrics and upbeat pop, it’s time to let it go and move on to Contra. They’ve evolved to something no less preppy or upbeat yet more mature. And besides, I dare you to find anyone else that would rhyme “balaclava” and “horchata.”
The Magnetic Fields | Realism
To be honest, Realism is the first Magnetic Fields I’ve listened to with any regularity. It took a few tries to get a hold of it. The vocals are weird, the sentiment is weird… everything is just… weird. (What’s with “zzzzzz”?) But I’ve grown to like this album. Folksy yet odd. “You Must Be Out Of Your Mind” is downright catchy.
Beach House | Teen Dream
It’s the cover up there that looks like I left a blank spot by accident. Squint. You’ll see it. Blatantly channeling the 80s has never worked well but it works here because they’re not trying at it, they’re just good. My only complaint is that I wish Zebra was moved somewhere near the middle of the album. It’s like hitting a home run with no one on base. That said, it’s still a home run. (Baseball metaphor! Now this post is complete.)
In short, a preppy Paul Simon’s Graceland with newer technology. This album brings Vampire Weekend to a new level. They’ve surpassed their “we’re purposefully annoying with our yachts and polos” stage and moved on to a “we’re actually talented” stage. Are the lyrics depthful and soul-searching? No. But neither was “you can call me Al.” Ezra Koenig sometimes delivers them with a little too much nonchalantness though. You sometimes get the feeling he’d rather be off polishing the MV sticker on his BMW.
With the vast differences yet continuous thread between their debut and sophmore albums if they’ve succeeded in nothing else they’ve at least piqued my curiousity to see what they’ll do next.
Really, the only thing that bothers me is the length of the album. Does a 2:30 song really exhaust the limit of their instrumental and/or lyrical capabilities? If so, they’re going to burn out by the next album. If not, give us some more to enjoy please. I don’t want an album to end just when I’m getting into it.
last.fm
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