i guess i'm floating: [Recap] Best of September (Updated)

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

[Recap] Best of September (Updated)

September is gone? Usually right around this time I'm one month into another fall semester, midterms coming up in a few weeks, the typical disbelief over how quickly I went from laying on a beach enjoying seemingly endless amounts of summer days to sitting in a classroom waiting for the session to end. Luckily college is no more, I'm moving to Brighton, MA, in a few days, and I can still lay on a beach albeit with a bit more clothing and less sunblock.

September is gone. We're that much closer to a new President, an economic meltdown, frigid northeast temperatures, and a new year. Thankfully despite all the recent turmoil the music turnout has still been pretty solid even in the waning months. Here's a look back on the best that September had to offer.

For starters, nothing hit me harder this month than TV on the Radio. Chris Norton from Tiny Mix Tapes pretty much hit the nail on the head for Dear Science:

"It’s always silly to saddle one, two, or a handful of individual artists in any medium with the “era-defining” tag on the zeitgeist front — not least because our dark, weird decade continues to spin too chaotically to define anything with much certainty — but if any group of musicians offer up a more perfect union of tunes to time and place, this is the one. This is the album of 2008.

As spastic and sporadic the album can be, it's a testament to the strength of Tunde's songwriting and Sitek's musicianship-- how else can lines like "Hey Jackboot- Fuck your war!," "Oh take my hand sweet/Complete your release/Unbury your feet/And married we'll be," and "In the face of death under masthead/Hold your breath through late-breaking disasters/Next to news of the trite" exist on the same remarkably cohesive LP without sounding incoherent?

It's hard to choose the album's best tracks, but "Family Tree" and "Golden Age" are certainly two of them. Here's a Telepathe remix of "Crying" that was included on the deluxe release:

[MP3] TV on the Radio - Crying (Telepathe Remix)

Raving about established acts can be tedious, which is why I try to reserve the real estate for up-and-comers like Brooklyn's City Center, my best September find. Last week I posted two songs that CC had posted on his own blog, "White Shoes" and "Summer School," two creative jams with impossibly catchy melodies and muddy samples--clocks, claps, metallic warbles, and other heavily manipulated found sounds. Here's "White Shoes" again plus another new track I think you'll dig:

[MP3] City Center - White Shoes
[MP3] City Center - Strait

On the Aussie front, the dude from Ruby Suns did a wicked cover of El Guincho's "Palmitos Park" while translating Guinch's spanish into English for us gringos who wanted to know what the hell he was saying.

[MP3] The Ruby Suns - Palmitos Park (El Guincho Cover)

For the Kings of Leon haters who frequent this blog, put away your pitchforks and preconceptions for a second and listen up. Only By The Night may have been a step further in the wrong direction for KoL to pick up some indie cred (or to show off any true musical ambition), but the decidedly timid "I Want You" is worth a listen. Hey, if you can listen to Peter Bjorn & John or Okkervil River and not question the extent of their true "alternativity," you can give this a shot too. This b-side ain't so bad either:

[MP3] Kings of Leon - I Want You
[MP3] Kings of Leon - Woo Hoo

Also on the Aussie front is Snob Scrilla who picked up a Hypeworthy nod from us this month. His old-school style might throw a few people off but his beat production and intelligent wordplay are undeniable. Look out for a breakout LP in 2009.

[MP3] Snob Scrilla - Chasing Ghosts
[MP3] Snob Scrilla - Mr. Officer

So it seems like a lot of people were disappointed by Peter Bjorn & John's mostly instrumental follow-up to 2006's excellent Writer's Block. It wasn't exactly what the "Young Folks" fanatics were hoping for, but despite its flaws it still had some exceptional tracks, specifially "School of Kraut," a semi-traditional rock song that sounds like a cross between The Clash and the Mario Brothers theme song:

[MP3] Peter Bjorn & John - School of Kraut

Final Fantasy had a pretty awesome year, even as a latecomer, with two new EPs totaling 11 new songs. The best of the bunch is by far "The Butcher" from Spectrum, 14th Century:

[MP3] Final Fantasy - The Butcher

One of our notorious favorites for the past couple years has been the under-appreciated Arizona who have a new album coming out next month called The Glowing Bird. They were kind enough to share the song "Colors" with us, a straight forward rocker showing off Arizona's trademark elegant vocal work:

[MP3] Arizona - Colors

As little as we have to say about Arsenal, they made the right move by borrowing Office frontman Scott Masson to sing for their ridiculously catchy track "Estupendo" from their new album Lotuk:

[MP3] Arsenal - Estupendo

Antony and the Johnsons are back in 2008, but consider it a small visit rather than an extended stay. That'll have to wait until early 2009 when they release a new LP. For now, though, they've given us reason to remember them with the Another World EP, specifically the track "Shake That Devil," a song in which Antony calls out his demons for a game of scrabble. Ok, not really scrabble, but we all know Antony likes to play nice, except when he's defending his friends.

[MP3] Antony and the Johnsons - Shake That Devil

Justice premiered a new track but rather than inciting a riot, they took a bit of backlash as people started wondering whether they could really hold up their end of the hype bargain. An 18 minute track offering little much than more of the same? Thankfully they broke it down into segments, here's the best part:

[MP3] Justice - Planisphere (Part 3)

A couple more Justice mash-ups surfaced this month too, including a "Phantom" vs "Confusion" mix that paired the duo with New Order. Needless to say, it's hot:

[MP3] Justice vs New Order - Confused Phantom (Dumb Dan Rework)
[MP3] Kanye vs MGMT vs Justice - Electric Touch

That's all from me, hopefully Nathaniel will add his picks to the list soon. I assure you, though, it won't include anything from Wil Heuser.

UPDATE: Ah yes, unfortunately Wil Heuser won't make this September list because he's too been too busy on a non-stop middle school tour to send me his latest jam. Speaking of busy, unlike the lucky bastard that Connor gets to be this year 'round, I (unfortunately) am one month into the semester and do have lame midterms lurking. While he gets to enjoy being a real person, I get to sulk and be a student but before I go back to the books here are handful of artists that made my September rather pleasant.

If there was one Scottish singer/songwriter that really got me spinning in my kilt this month, it had to be Amy MacDonald. I haven't enjoyed a fresh female artist this thoroughly since Brandi Carlile and her debut took me by storm a few years back, both share strong songwriting skills and a silky voice to deliver their powerful lines. Originally I had a hard time selecting which track to share but with this recap you're gonna get the other one that split my opinion - check out "Mr. Rock & Roll" and then realize all good things come in pairs.

[MP3] Amy MacDonald - Mr. Rock & Roll
[MP3] Amy MacDonald - This Is The Life

In the sports and musical world alike, accomplishing the elusive three-peat is quite the challenge. Canadian one-man-wonder Chad VanGaalen released his third LP, Soft Airplane and has further established a progressive trend in his music: it gets better and better. I've yet to see him live but have an itch that'll only be satiated by an in-person encounter. Until then I can rely on some solid songs to get me by like the newly-posted "City Of Electric Light".

[MP3] Chad VanGaalen - City Of Electric Light
[MP3] Chad VanGaalen - Molten Light

If there was one new act who, I believe, can shake the confines of the L.A. scene and make some ripples elsewhere it's Marvelous Toy. They've got endearing vocals and creative instrumentation that doesn't fit the face of a no-name act but only time will tell if they can fulfill the framework of their potential.

[MP3] Marvelous Toy - Waiting For The Fire
[MP3] Marvelous Toy - The City Is A Washing Machine

Another great September treat came in the form of a new Xavier Rudd album titled Dark Shades Of Blue! The album comes off stronger than anything he's created before but after only a few listens you'll catch on to the depth nestled underneath his warm songs. Rudd cut all the tracks in Aussie's Byron Bay every night before going to sleep under the stars - staring up at the Southern Cross and the Milky Way, his retriever curled up by his side. Although darker, check out the lighter side by jamming "Edge of the Moon".

[MP3] Xavier Rudd - Edge of the Moon
[MP3] Xavier Rudd - Home

Finally, there is a band I fell in love with called Papadosio. Anything I say or any song I would post about my best September find will not do justice to this act.. not at all! Sure, you can get a slight idea of what you're going to hear by checking out a couple of their tracks but this is a band that will only make you a believer if you see them live. Their show is phenomenal and I haven't seen a better sounding live act in a very long time - I've seen 'em twice now and will do so every chance I get from here on out. I would wait to pass judgement until you see them for yourself, they're a force in person and are relatively unknown = small venues/bars, dirt cheap admission (e.g. $5) for you.