Album Round^UP: Hangin’ around meat lockers

Album Round^UP: Hangin’ around meat lockers

Every week I meticulously scour the week’s new releases to bring you the best of what’s coming. Note that any comments below are pure opinion based solely upon my impressions of any available previews. (When in doubt, don’t take my word for it – trust your own ears and nothing else!)

Here’s what’s on tap for this week:

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FEATURED ALBUMS – The weekly cream of the crop.

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Destroyer – Bay of Pigs EP

STREAM The A-side track

I must admit to not being familiar with the previous work of Destroyer, the indie-pop project of Canadian singer/songwriter Daniel Bejar. Wikipedia tells me that his music falls into the category of “chamber pop” (whatever that is, it sounds terribly boring.) Bejar himself describes this latest work as a foray into “ambient disco.” Whatever, I say: Genre categorizations usually fail to posses any longstanding meaning, and so is the case with this two-track EP. At the centerpiece is the thirteen-minute epic “Bay of Pigs,” a sprawling electronic number featuring spaced-out, retro-style synths and – true to the “ambient disco” description – segments of danceable two-step beats. This one isn’t meant for dancing, however: Bejar’s multilayered production and stream-of-consciousness lyrics make “Bay of Pigs” a lengthy, introspective journey through the mind of a narrator pondering his life as various scenes from his past dance across his mind’s eye. And whether you buy the EP (which I’d highly recommend) or just take a listen above, it’s a journey well worth undertaking.

Rite Hook – E. Ye A. Ssume D. Aamage

STREAM Samples

It’s really difficult for me to pinpoint exactly why I like Rite Hook’s brand of underground hip-hop. The emcee himself has a couple of problems with his flow – you can tell that his breathing is a little off in parts – but his fast-paced spitfire raps betray a superb talent for his chosen medium. His voice sounds a little unrefined, but for the most part it fits with the backdrop of samples, beats, and scratches (yes, there’s ample turntablism on this disc) that a given song’s DJ/producer cobbled together. And while the raps themselves can be a bit amateurish – I’m thinking specifically of the choruses here – Rite’s verses are generally top-quality. In other words, while this album may not be the breakout hit that Rite Hook may have been looking for, there’s just too much potential here to ignore. Thus, I’m plugging it up here at the front of this week’s Roundup. Take that for what you will, but this one definitely deserves a listen for those of you who like to stay at the forefront of the underground.

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MORE FEATURED ALBUMS – Something about the previews for these albums struck me in a good way.

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As Tall As Lions – You Can’t Take It With You (Melodic indie-rock with some wonderful songwriting.)

Broadway Calls – Good Views, Bad News (The best pop-punk I’ve heard in a long while.)

Division Day – Visitation (Dreamy experimental rock. Spacemen 3 goes alt-rock.)

Final – Reading All the Right Signals Wrong (Brooding experimental dark ambient.)

Giving Tree Band, The – Great Possessions (Lovely, twangy, slightly proggy Americana.)

Informatik – Arena (EBM/synthpop. Sounds a lot like old-school Depeche Mode, in a good way.)

MUTEMATH – Armistice (Post-rock that’s alternately precise, genre-bending, and energetic. Excellent sophomore release.)

Paul, Sean – Imperial Blaze (More of the same groovy dancehall/reggae, but Paul’s flow has decidedly improved.)

Popes, The – Outlaw Heaven (If ’70s classic rock originated in a backwater town in Ireland, it’d sound something like this.)

Smith, Jonah – Lights On (Southern-flavored indie rock from this powerfully-voiced singer-songwriter.)

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THE REST

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Antlers, The – Hospice (Indie rock. Hipster-bait.)

Applescal – Slave’s Commitment (Ambient/IDM, similar to Boards of Canada.)

Benson, Brendan – My Old Familiar Friend (Decent, lo-fi-ish alt-rock.)

Big Twins – Project Kid (Pretty good East Coast gangster rap.)

Breathe Carolina – Hello Fascination (Electropop.)

Boulder Acoustic Society – Punchline (Indie-folk. More hipster fodder.)

Burch, Paul and the WPA Ball Club – Still Your Man (Actual, authentic folk/Americana. Not my thing, but may be yours.)

Carson, Clyde – Bass Rock (Hip-hop.)

Cave Singers – Welcome Joy (More boring indie-folk.)

Chino Grande – Slow It Down (Radio-friendly hip-hop.)

Choir of Young Believers – This Is For the White in Your Eyes (Indie-folk. Good when they try not to emulate every other band in the genre.)

Clan of Xymox – In Love We Trust (Dated-sounding electrogoth, if that’s your thing.)

Craig, Johnny – Dream Is a Question You Don’t Know How to Answer (Pretty good alt-rock.)

DeGraw, Joey – Say Something Strong (Bland folksy pop-rock.)

Daniell, David – Sycamore (Instrumental post-rock.)

Fresh Daily – Gorgeous Killer in Crimes of Passion (Indie hip-hop.)

Ghost vs Sanne – Hold This Girl (Radio-friendly indie-pop.)

Giant Squid – The Icthyologist (Hard-edged prog-rock.)

Hay, Colin – American Sunshine (Folk-rock.)

Henry, Joe – Blood from Stars (Folk.)

Hollenbeck, John – Eternal Interlude (Prog-rock.)

Jaimz, Steevi – My Private Hell (Glam rock.)

Marsland, Adam – Go West (Two discs of pop-rock that should’ve been trimmed down to one.)

Maxwell, Nathan, and the Original Bunny Gang – White Rabbit (Decent folk-rock from the Flogging Molly bassist.)

Merchant, Jeff – City Makes No Sound (Baroque-pop with some nice moments.)

Mount Eerie – Wind’s Poem (Lo-fi dreampop with electronic influence.)

Pissed Jeans – King of Jeans (Lo-fi garage rock.)

Ramona Falls – Intuit (Unremarkable folksy indie-rock.)

Rasheeda – Certified Hot Chick (Bland female-fronted hip-hop.)

Scher, Dave – Flash Forward to the Good Times (Indie rock.)

Sirens Sister – Unspeakable Things (Punky garage-rock.)

Sister Hazel – Release (The creative energy from these guys is long-gone; what’s left is just bland post-grunge.)

Six Organs of Admittance – Luminous Night (Psych-folk with some good ideas.)

Soldout – Cuts (Danceable indie-electropop.)

Zuckerman, Josh – Got Love? (Meh pop-rock.)

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