2013 so far...

Hi,
Since it's about halfway through the year, it seemed appropriate to write about some of this year's best albums. This year has been notable for a number of great new records by artists that I had previously written off. Also, a few newer artists have impressed me this year with solid efforts. There will be more to come...

David Bowie - The Next Day

Bowie's announcement of his return from quasi-retirement came as a shock to everyone, most of all me. I've been listening to Bowie since before I could speak, so his ten-year absence was particularly baffling for me. In fact, I wasn't the only one who was concerned (check out Flaming Lips' "Is David Bowie Dying?"). When, on his 66th birthday, a new song was released and an album was announced, I was cautiously optimistic. The album, as it turns out, is stunning.

The title track is a powerful opening, with Bowie's rough growl of a vocal and strong apocalyptic imagery. The second track, "Dirty Boys", is a slow, dirty funk track with horns that evoke a junkyard. "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" offers an insightful commentary on celebrity culture. "Valentine's Day" offers a subtly strange narrative about a school shooter with "a tiny face" and "scrawny hands". The finale, "Heat", is an effective appropriate of latter-day Scott Walker's style with a unique spin and the mysterious mantra of "my father ran the prison..." The album has also spawned the two best music video of the year, for "The Stars are out Tonight" and "The Next Day". Prior to this album, Bowie had never gone more than three years without an album. Maybe the absence did him good. I hope it's not as long this time...

The Joy Formidable - Wolf's Law

This Welsh trio's debut album, The Big Roar from 2011, was a pleasant surprise. They offered a potent and streamlined version of shoegaze that was heavy on riffs and hooks. While it was a very good album, it was overshadowed by its awesome single, "Whirring". Their second album doesn't have anything quite as stunning as that track but is much more consistent than their debut. The opener, "This Ladder Is Ours", has a great hook and creates a powerful momentum that is carried throughout the album. "Little Blimp" is their most punky and angular track to date. "Maw Maw Song" is huge and epic while parodying their own sense of scale. I saw them in April at the Phoenix and their energy was overwhelming and infectious. I predict further greatness.

My Bloody Valentine - MBV

I was sure this record would never come out and, if it did, that it would be terrible. I was happy to find that the album came out with only a few days warning and surpassed all expectations. Their 1991 album, "Loveless", is generally considered to be an untouchable classics, which may explain why it took 22 years for a follow-up. The sound that they defined has been often imitated which leaves this record sounding current. This is a stranger and heavier album whose merits are not as apparent as its predecessor's. One of the things I like best about the album is that it gets gradually better and more intense as it progressed. By the time the last track, "Wonder 2" is finished, my heart is always racing. That track is a peculiar mix of drum n bass percussion, a catchy vocal, thick guitar noise and something that sounds like an organ. Both Kevin Shields' and Belinda Butcher's vocals have a timeless quality that is as effective now as 20 years ago. Shields' guitar playing has progressed considerably since Loveless and this record contains sounds and textures I have never heard anywhere.

Kanye West - Yeezus

"Hurry up with my damn croissants!" It's hard to say much about this album since so much has already been written about it. After going through Kanye's discography, I feel like I am now fully indoctrinated in the cult of Yeezy. Yeezus didn't impress me much on the first listen but has grown on me since. This album sounds like the future, a bleak future admittedly. Stunning production work from Daft Punk on four tracks, work that far exceeds the quality of their own album released this year. For Kanye fans, his albums form a meta-narrative, describing in painful and uncomfortable detail the artist's life and times. To me, that story is a tragedy of refusing to accept the essential unfairness of the world. As a man who was already abnormally attached to his mother (see "Hey Mama" and "Mama's Boyfriend"), his mother's death from a cosmetic surgery that he had paid for marked a line in his life and work. Listening to his upbeat and optimistic early albums offers a huge contrast with the material recorded after his mother's death. A cruelty and sourness crept into his lyrics that have only grown in the five years since her death.  This album demonstrates this in full force, highlighting his narcissism and complicated relationship with women while stripping everything down to its bare essentials. At the same time, he intermingles this with often unpleasant observations on American racial politics.

Depeche Mode - Delta Machine

A significant contrast to Yeezus, Depeche Mode's new album offers visceral pleasures without requiring any high-level analysis from the listener. This is Depeche Mode's tightest, best-sounding set of songs since Songs of Faith and Devotion. The standard lyrical conceits of oppression, guilt and kinky sex are here in full force but are delivered with such enthusiasm as to still feel fresh. Dave Gahan's voice is an unstoppable force of nature, both seductive and strident. His songwriting contributions, such as "Secret to the End" and "Should Be Higher", offer many of the albums best moments. His songwriting voice is now beginning to rival that of traditional Depeche Mode songwriter Martin Gore. The vinyl version of the album has four bonus tracks that, rather than feeling tacked on, serve to extend the listening pleasure of the album.

Follakzoid - II

This self-described "cosmic music band" from Chile offered one of the best surprises so far this year. I am often wary of groups that revive a particular period in music, in this case German experimental rock of the 1970s, but Follakzoid do it successfully through their full commitment to the music. The "motorik" momentum and mumbled vocals are present but executed with skill and passion. Listen to and buy the album here.

Primal Scream - More Light

I wrote about this album in my beginners guide to Primal Scream. This is still maybe my favourite album this year. I just got the vinyl which makes the album sound just that much better!

Kate Boy in concert

Kate Boy Concert Report
June 9, Wrongbar

This concert is a bit difficult to write about since, while it was a solid performance, it was the briefest concert I have ever been to. The group played for about 35 minutes. Kate Boy are a group of Swedes with an Australian ex-pat for a singer. The group's name refers to an androgynous imaginary fifth member. Despite this odd concept, they deliver fairly poppy electronic music that is reminiscent of The Knife's more song-oriented material. This was my first visit to the Wrongbar and, while it's a small venue, the sound was good and the staging, with a blue light on the front of the crowd, seemed appropriate for the type of music being played.

To date, the group have only released three singles, hence the short set. They presumably ran out of material after playing about seven songs. Unsurprisingly, they played their three excellent singles as well as a few other solid songs that, I imagine, will appear on a debut album at some point.  The singer, Kate Akhurst, was dressed up in her standard outfit of a black baseball cap, black sleeveless top and black leather wristbands. For a singer in a new band, her performance was extremely confident with especially forceful vocals on "The Way We Are". Electronic acts can often be dull performers but this group seemed pretty active throughout with a bass player and several types of live electronic percussion. The variety of drums were prominent throughout, reminding me of some of Peter Gabriel's more percussive material. They ended with their best track, the powerful "Northern Lights", which left the crowd wanting more. Overall, a brief but promising start for a group we'll definitely be hearing more of. Make sure to check out the tracks I linked to above!

Hamster Jams

Hello again,
Exercising is healthy and occasionally fun, but for those of us who gym it can feel like being a hamster running in a wheel. The only difference is that most of us have headphones in our ears while running in place. I have very peculiar music tastes when exercising and I thought I would share some of them. The main requirement for a successful hamster jam is that it be diverting, but it also helps if it is fast and loud.

Peter Gabriel - The Rhythm of the Heat / MIA - Bird Flu
These songs are all about the drums and fit together well. The Peter Gabriel song first came to my attention as a sample of it was used on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. It's a bit of a slow build but the momentum of the track is very motivating. Once the drums hit, it's pretty much a signal to go totally crazy. The MIA song is one of her best and is characterized by heavy drums and some weird kid vocals. I have no idea what the song is about and I think I like it better that way.

Bloc Party - Helicopter
The best song off of their only good album. Awesome opening line: "Note to self...empty." The Bloc Party have one of the best rhythm sections of any contemporary band (something they've forgotten in recent years) and they kill it on this track. Watching them play it live, it looks like their tiny drummer's arms are going to fall off. Unrelenting.

Purity Ring - Fineshrine
A newer duo out of Edmonton, their debut album is uniformly solid but this track stands out for me. Maybe it's because of the use of the word "sternum". The song has a persistent thick groove with a very strong melody. Reminds me of some of the better songs by The Knife. Would love to see them live.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Throw away your Television
One of the best and heaviest Chili songs. All the elements come together on this track for complete awesomeness. While the song has a funky bassline, they manage to give the track a punky feel, especially with Anthony Kiedes' random exclamation of "Oi, oi, oi!" This song also features one of John Frusciante's greatest, effects-laden guitar solos. If you don't feel excited after hearing this, you're not listening right.

M83 - Steve McQueen
Music for running up a mountain at a 90 degree angle. So much kick drum! Anthony Gonzales' unapologetically impassioned and very French delivery makes the overly earnest lyrics work. Would be perfect for an 80s training montage. The video, part of a series about a group of telekinetic children, is pretty great too. Like a less creepy version of Akira.

Delerium - Euphoria (Firefly)
This track was a minor Can Con hit in 1997 but has stuck with me for some reason. Delerium was a couple of Skinny Puppy-affiliated guys attempting middle-eastern influenced dance-pop. Many of their songs sounded like Ray of Light era Madonna knock offs but this one worked somehow. I loved this song even when all I was listening to at the time was mid 90s alternative rock. Their also-excellent track with Sarah McLachlan, Silence, was a bit of a hit as well.

Plan B - Ill Manors
I've always found that British hip-hop is angrier and more intense than its American counterpart and this track is no exception. Plan B is pretty huge in England but is virtually unknown here.  As a rapper, soul singer, producer, director, writer and actor, he has a packed resume. This song and the album by the same name are an odd choice for exercising. The music is powerful and highly motivating but the lyrics about urban poverty, desperate youth and the follies of austerity make for a pretty depressing listen.