Since I can’t manage to do much else this weekend, having apparently obliterated a nerve in the midst of such strenuous activities as stretching when I woke up yesterday morning, I slowly clawed my way to the keyboard to throw out a few finds before I pass out from not being able to breathe. They’re all from folks I’ve written about before, so shouldn’t be too surprising — I’d hate to startle you and have you end up in the same state I am. #eldercare
First up comes the lead single from the Dodos’ upcoming album Certainty Waves, which will be the seventh for the San Fran duo. It’s been three years since their last one, Individ, which for whatever reason didn’t resonate with me as much as previous favorites (several of which have appeared on year end lists here). It’s not like they changed up their formula and adopted the dreaded synthesizers I lambaste so often. Then and now frontman Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber layer guitars and atypical rhythms up to surprising levels, balancing the noise with Long’s warm voice and lyrics. It’s worked really well in the past, but didn’t connect quite the same last time out. We’ll see if things hit differently this go round — step inside the “Forum” and see what you think:
Next comes two more songs from the upcoming debut from Big Red Machine, which as I wrote about a few weeks ago is the fusion of gents from beloved indie gems — Justin Vernon from Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner from the National. They’ve already released four songs from the album online, so with these two I think we’ve got a pretty good idea what the album will sound like, and thankfully it’s every bit as pleasant as you’d expect from those two alma maters. They continue to mine the electronics-infused vein both bands have been exploiting lately, while balancing the bloops and chill with Vernon’s angelic croon, which remains as bright and warming as a blast of sun through the clouds in the middle of winter. “I Won’t Run From It” is the favored of the new pair, another spare pairing of acoustic and that voice — give it a listen here:
Batting third we’ve got an odds and sods compilation of unreleased stuff from recent discovery Pile, the bombers from Boston I wrote about back in January after stumbling upon them in the midst of my annual scan of other folks’ best of lists. I didn’t quite agree with the album that landed them there, but it piqued my interest enough to go back through their older material and I’m sure glad I did, as they frequently call to mind fave thrashers Jesus Lizard. The first cut from this collection (due out next month apparently) is more subdued then some of their other stuff, but showcase how effectively the band builds tension in their songs (AND how compelling a voice frontman Rick Maguire has). I’m excited to see them when they come to town in a few months — I might not be able to hear after it, but if that’s the case it’s been a fun run. Enjoy it while you can:
In the cleanup spot we’ve got a couple aging veterans, two albums that’ve been around for twenty years and walked very different paths (the thought of Ben Gibbard hanging out with the wild-eyed Keith Flint is pretty comical actually), but whose impact was felt far beyond their niche communities in the intervening years. The two albums are Something About Airplanes from Death Cab for Cutie and Fat of the Land from Prodigy, whose histories and resonance are recounted by Stereogum and Pitchfork, respectively, from their weekly trips in the wayback machine.
As suggested, the two bands couldn’t be more different — Death Cab were the soft, sensitive band from Seattle who quietly and earnestly tried to make you fall in love with them with their lovely lyrics and melodies. Prodigy were the hard, bombastic band from Britain who loudly and belligerently tried to make you move (ZFG for falling in love with them) with their bludgeoning beats and non-sensical (and occasionally insipid) lyrics. Despite those differences, both albums had outsized impact on the population and have continued to for over twenty years — Death Cab became the poster children for the sentimental set, soundtracking untold dozens of shows and movies as the sonic synonym for angst and unrequited love; Prodigy fostered the first tsunami of electronica with fellow Britons the Chemical Brothers, helping create the wave that laid waste to the country in the late 90s/early 2000s (and is still doing so with second wave acts like Skrillex, Steve Aoki, etc). Both articles are worth a read and albums worth a listen, if for some reason you haven’t done so dozens of times already. I disagree with Pitchfork’s panning Prodigy and look back more fondly on Fat than they do — the lyrics may be inane/misogynistic, but those beats are hard to deny even now. “Diesel Power” was always one of my favorite bangers — check it out here:
We’ll close with a pretty ditty from the soundtrack to The Fundamentals of Caring, a charming little movie with the ever-winning Paul Rudd we found on Netflix recently. The song (and broader soundtrack) is done by Guster frontman Ryan Miller, a formerly beloved band that has gone down that dark path of synthesized pop in recent years, much to my chagrin. (I used to love these guys and they’re three of the funniest, nicest people to boot, having interviewed them several times over the years in my former life as a paid scribbler.) This song calls to mind some of the band’s old strengths, Miller’s endearing voice and disarming lyrics, so often on display in their heyday. All that’s missing is the juxtaposition with fellow singer Adam Gardner, whose bass always balanced Miller’s more nasally tones, and drummer Brian Rosenworcel’s hand percussion and it could have been from the trio’s early albums. It’s a nice reminder of those outings and a nice listen regardless, so give it a spin (and give the movie a try too — who doesn’t like Paul Rudd?!?):