Fanfarlo – Reservoir
The songs on Reservoir have the feeling that at any moment you’ll escape off to another place other than the one you’re a part of now. At a few points the songs break open and you visit those places, but you soon return to the battle for that escape. It’s safe to say that Reservoir is my #1 played album this year because I can’t stop listening to it! This album creeps up on you slowly. You hear one of the singles online, can’t get it out of your head. You check out the album and you find yourself cueing it up frequently. Next thing you know you’re looking at the playcount on iTunes and you’ve spent the better part of the last two weeks listening to it.
This album also was the first of MANY artists that I discovered on thesixtyone. If you’re not familiar with it thesixtyone is one of the best online sites to discover new music. Check out InTransit Audio, and add me as a friend on thesixtyone to see what it’s all about.
P.O.S. – Never Better
stand like a man made of concrete and sediment like/ fuck your skin nobody needs it theres/ Bones and muscles and blood/Whats realer than fat and tendons?/Its raw no soft tissue to draw your eyes to it so far flesh aint the truest at all lets rip into it/
-Purexed
Big beats, ambitious rhymes, and balls. Big Balls. I’m generally a fan of anything that makes it out of Rhymesayers because they seem to have the best bullshit detector in the business. Never Better keeps right with that tradition- no crap and exceptional song writing. Did I mention Doomtree did the beats on this album? They’re multifaceted and span from traditional hip-hop fare to “I think we’re under attack” bass frenzy. Albums like this make me wish I grew up in Minnesota, well kinda.
tUnE-yArDs – BiRd-BrAiNs
Tune-yards make music that is hard to describe. Primal and poetic are two words that pop into my head. She has an incredible voice and uses it to create auditory landscapes that are intriguing and beautiful.
Modest Mouse – No One is First and you’re Next
Issac Brock can do no harm in my book. Seriously- that stubborn, sarcastic, cynical, son of a bitch has the world figured out and his social commentary always seems to be dead on. Plus- him and his band must be some of the hardest working people in music. They seem to be on tour constantly and still find time to record quality music on a regular basis.
Happy Fucking Congratulations Modest Mouse… keep up the good work…
Pearl Jam – Backspacer
Do I own this album, no. I stopped buying Pearl Jam albums a couple years ago. I never found myself listening to them. So how could an album I’m not even acquainted with be on my best of? Simple. I see Pearl Jam play live every chance I get and more material means more live shows! There is a re-occurring thing that happens everytime I see them play live, I fall in love with a song on the album prior to the one they’re touring on. So no doubt when I go and see them after they put another album out I’ll find something on Backspacer that I’ll really love.
