Blackfield - II: Guitarist and vocalist Steven Wilson seems to have split his pop sensibility off from his "other" band, Porcupine Tree, so they could focus more on delving into darker subjects with heavier music. Blackfield, his project with Israeli singer Aviv Geffen, is more of an outlet for his more, um . . . "upbeat" material. I say upbeat in quotes because it's hard to call it that, exactly, since the songs are still filled with tales of heartbreak and personal woe. But in comparison to the pure angst experienced in recent Porcupine Tree material, where societal ills are front and center, it does indeed feel lighter. Here is where Wilson and Geffen allow their catchiest, most beautiful harmonies to emerge, even while turning out some of the year's best hard rock - if "Epidemic" is not one of the best straight-up rock songs of the year, something is wrong.
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away: Maybe it's a "sophomore slump" of sorts to some - despite it being their third album - since their big break came with Garden State a few years back when Chutes Too Narrow was all the rage. Will they really change your life? I think a lot of people thought they would and are holding this album to that standard. This is not that album. In fact, it's an album made for the people who scoff at such notions and wanted something beyond more of the same from the band. It's mature pop, darker, weirder, a little off-putting - a decided step away from the candy-coated elixir of their first two albums that hooked so many. And it's exactly the kind of move a band needs to make to stand the test of time. Personally, I hope to see many more Shins albums lining the shelves of my CD rack.
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger: Adams has regained the focus he had with Heartbreaker and Gold and turned out one of the strongest sets of music of his career here. What came through after a few spins for me, what grabbed me, is that behind the usual country tinges was a little swagger found in soul and r&b that I hadn't really noticed before. It's not pronounced, but it's there nonetheless.
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet: It might be easy to go on and on about the themes of isolation that waft through Blank Planet's lyrics, but for me, it's all about one thing: the music. Honestly, sometimes the lyrics are a little pedestrian and it's not like this isn't a topic that hasn't been covered a million times before. They're simply excuses for Steven Wilson to lay down some of those gorgeous harmony choruses. But back to the music - Wilson cranks things up a bit here, and, as I said above, he seemingly has split off the pop-side of the band to Blackfield, so Porcupine Tree can focus on the darker, heavier, grittier, and weirder stuff. And we get it all - "Anesthetize" expands to nearly 18 minutes in basically two movements and features some of the heaviest, fastest playing the band has ever done, and then is followed by one of the prettiest songs they've ever done, "Sentimental" (which features the memorable riff from In Absentia's "Trains.") The album is nothing if not an intense song-cycle of despair.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
...and were happy to have you on board Mr. Johnson. Just try to remember, brevity my man, brevity... ;>p
-Glen
2 - Pico
Good job, TJ, it looks like a well-thought out list and you stated your case well. And not just because 4 or 5 of those albums are on my list, too ;&)
Hope we get to see your handiwork more again before too long.
3 - Glen Boyd
Me too Pico.
-Glen
P.S. In the meantime, I'm all bout gettin' me some PT, Blackfield, Adams, and Wilco...
4 - Tom Johnson
Glen: what, this isn't brief enough? ;-)
Pico: this has been sitting in my queue on my site for well over a month. I've been adding bits to it as they came to me. It's literally been slaved-over. I try to just write and publish - the queue is a black hole. Many things disappear into my queue, but not so many survive. This one is lucky.
5 - JC Mosquito
I thought the Crowded House was good as it was, so I'm curious to hear those b sides you mentioned - where could I find them?
Silent House - an allusion to Paul Hester, I'd guess. A sad, yet beautiful song.
6 - Tom Johnson
They're on this version of the "Don't Stop Now" single. The songs are "Stare Me Out" and "Lost Island" - both are good enough to have been on the album. I think they made a mistake not putting them on and just making an epic out of this album - they fit perfectly.
To make the vinyl tracklisting, this is the order:
Disc One
1. Nobody Wants To
2. Don't Stop Now
3. She Called Up
4. Say That Again
5. Pour Le Monde
6. Even A Child
7. Heaven That I'm Making
8. Stare Me Out*
9. A Sigh
10. Silent House
11. English Trees
12. Lost Island*
13. Walked Her Way Down
14. Transit Lounge
15. You Are The One To Make Me Cry
16. People Are Like Suns
There's also a single out for "She Called Up" with another non-album track, "So Dramatic," but I haven't heard it yet (just placed my order, in fact.)
7 - Mat Brewster
Man, I've got to check out that Prezens thing. It is on too many lists to not give it a chance.
8 - MauRiCe
The Rush CD was disapointing. I have been their long term fan, but it was worth the purchase. My girlfriend is all ga-ga about Teddy Brent and his CD so she wants me to purchase that too next week...im gonna be poor due to music purchases
-poor but happy music lovr
9 - Joh
"Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau - Quartet" was awesome. Pat always puts out good music.
Maurice, dont feel bad bro. I live in Detroit and there is only store you can get it at (for Teddy Brent's CD). Anyhow they were sold out when we got there...spent an hour n the ice and cold exc and exc...
10 - Andy723
Maurice and Joh...i got the Fashionable CD on Itunes today after hearing it played over and over and over...how many times can they play 'Vanity' before you hate the song???
11 - Shelly In Burbs
Josh...i waited in line in Ann Arbor for two hours to get a CD and they are all out....
12 - Angela Johnson
Pat Metheny *sigh*. I love that man. I will pick up that Teddy Brent one this week...I heard about it this week from a friend.
13 - Tom Johnson
I think we just got spammed about this TB (no spelling - I don't want it coming up in search engines) guy. Four comments in 20 minutes about some dude I've never even heard of, one of which claims they stood in line for two hours to buy a CD that turned out to be sold out? Uh-huh.