There are three responses I receive when I tell people that I'm a music writer: 1) "Wow, I bet you listen to a lot of music," 2) "Hey, can you get me tickets to [fill in the blank]?" or 3) "Cool, so I've got this new CD coming out…"
So imagine my surprise when someone at a friend's party told me, "Yeah, there's nothing really interesting currently happening in music, you know."
I'm not intrigued so much by her disdain or the fact that her statement is an overgeneralization; no, what I find intriguing is that she probably represents a good chunk of the music-listening public.
I promised that I would never compose a "best of" list of any kind because, frankly, these lists are reductive, stupid and made for people who only buy greatest-hits collections. But it would be a mistake not to acknowledge a new vibe in indie music, a vibe that is bold, studied and complex without being overtly intellectual or stuck-up. In other words, this is a rundown of modern music released this year that happily embraces its influences, but remains inventive and interesting.
MARRY ME
St. Vincent
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Multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark's (St. Vincent) former gigs as a touring musician with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens may have paid the bills but, creatively, it's her knack for choral vocal arrangements that bounce from tight melodies that makes her debut album beautifully vibrant.
Key Track:
"Paris Is Burning"
Sounds like:
Cocteau Twins, but with more sonic playfulness.
SE DICE BISONTE, NO BÚFALO
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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Lead guitarist of The Mars Volta, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez delivered this solo effort, originally recorded in 2005, as a soundtrack for a yet unreleased film. The album is largely instrumental, but Damo Suzuki, the former lead singer of prog supergroup Can and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Mars Volta frontman, lend a hand on vocals. Like the best instincts of a Black Mountain experiment, this album lies squarely on the encyclopedic musical backdrop Rodriguez-Lopez fuses with the equally expansive images he creates as a filmmaker.
Key Track:
"Rapid Fire Tollbooth"
Sounds Like:
King Crimson on an Alejandro Jodorowsky film binge.
CEASE TO BEGIN
Band of Horses
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The voice of Horses' lead singer Ben Bridewell is a ringer for that of Supertramp's Rick Davies. Be that as it may, Horses delivers this atmospheric take on country rock with an alternative pose reminiscent of the pushy early '80s Athens, Ga., music scene.
Key Track:
"The General Specific"
Sounds Like:
Uncle Tupelo, if it had stayed together.
YEASAYER
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All Hour Cymbals
For those specifically uninspired by new music, All Hour Cymbals has released what could possibly be the strongest album of the year. It takes its cues from artsy post-punk records with tinges of world-music beats and guitars. The album doesn't "jump the shark" into Putamayo territory, but remains a darkly driven affair filled with intense melodic nuance.
Key Track:
"2080"
Sounds Like:
Joy Division meets Ali Farka Toure.
HEAD HOME
O'Death
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The meeting between Appalachian roots music and its eastern Europe forbearers is like a G8 summit on
Head Home
. The sound is unmistakably American county roots, but negates a formulaic path with broader vocals and orgasmic percussive rhythms. Lead singer Greg Jamie's resounding screeching further deepens the album's notable musical character.
Key Track:
"Adelita"
Sounds Like:
Old Crow Medicine Show after a night of drinking single malt with Flogging Molly.
***image7***NONE SHALL PASS
Aesop Rock
In the heavily compartmentalized world of hip-hop, there still manages to exist fresh beats and skilled rhymes. Unfortunately, indie hip-hop, for all its treasures, spends much of its time on platitudes that describe what it is not: sellouts, etc. The results are unbalanced rants. Aesop Rock dropped this head-bobbing gem that encompasses all hip-hop has to offer without paying allegiance to any particular sound.
Key Track:
"The Harbor is Your"
Sounds Like: What you've been waiting for from hip-hop.
ANDORRA
Caribou
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Brian Wilson-style harmonies meet indie pop rock. Unlike Small Furry Animals, which ambles in similar directions, Caribou builds fast-driving tracks with whispering vocals that float within the melody and beat of the song. The result is hugely imagistic sound that will transport you to another world.
Key Track:
"Melody Day"
Sounds Like:
The Beach Boys, if they actually surfed.
Santa Fe Reporter