Owen Pallett - Heartland

Domino Records
2010

This album is almost 1 year old! I'm reviewing it today!

My friend Ian rated this #2 on his top ten albums of 2010. I'm going to disagree with him and say that other than Superchunk's new album, this album was probably the best thing to happen in 2010.

Up until some night towards the end of January last year, err about a year ago, I had never really heard of Owen Pallett, and just heard of Final Fantasy in passing. I think I may have downloaded a few Final Fantasy albums because someone said they were pretty good, but never really listened to them. Turns out, Final Fantasy is just Owen Pallett, and he was on some radio show that was playing on KCUR...I think it was Studio 360? He played a song off of Heartland- "Lewis Takes Action" and talked about how he used an entire fucking orchestra to record this shit. I was blown away by it. I had to hear more!

Anyways, I went home and got this album and listened to it obsessively for about a month. I fell in love with this album. It's so beautifully crafted, each song fits in perfect sequence. It's like all of those Final Fantasy albums that Owen Pallett recorded were just him fucking around, trying to figure out his sound for this album. Every instrument, every loop, is in exactly the right place on this album. This album has a purpose about it; it feels almost like a complete symphony or some shit, complete with movements and stuff.

It's no wonder this guy writes all of the string arrangements for Arcade Fire and pretty much every other band in Canada. Owen Pallett is a fucking genius. His songwriting abilities make Andrew Bird look like an 8th grader. This album netted him a few awards last year, which is cool, but I feel like it should have won every award. I really hope that when he was on tour with the National (I wanted to see that show, but couldn't) he showed them up. I'm sure he did.

5 out of 5 steering wheels

The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt

Dead Oceans
2010

I don't know what it is, but I'm having a hard time writing about this record. Maybe I'm just tired or my head hurts from that awesome dream I had this morning. Holy crap it was so awesome. I'll tell you about it later I suppose.

Anyways, I think I fell in love with this guy last night. Not really in a gay way or anything, but seriously, Kristian Mattson is nothing short of a musical genius. For some reason his music kind of fills that folk void that Sufjan Stevens left behind when he recorded all of that electronic stuff and put on a horrible live show. Anyone go see that shit?

A few people who have heard me playing this either at work or at home were like "who is this? sounds like Bob Dylan or some shit." It's really easy to say that this guy is the "Swedish version of Bob Dylan" but I feel like there's much more than that going on here. Especially on this record. It opens up with the title track, which has this great chord progressions. God I really want to write a review about Shallow Grave because I think I like that record more. This one is really good too, but I think that one's better. "King of Spain" makes a good single, but it's not the best song on this album (the first one is, I think) and there's some other really good songs on here too. "Love is All" is a pretty tune. So is "A Lion's Heart". This record closes out with "Kids on the Run" which is a piano ballad reminiscent of something off of Nebraska.

All in all, this is one of the better records of 2010. Go out and get it.

4.5 out of 5 steering wheels

Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin

French Kiss
2010

Les Savy Fav has been off of my radar for a while, and I don't really know why. Maybe I got burnt out by them. Who knows. Either way, it's been almost 6 months since I cared enough about this band to listen to them. I don't really know why I haven't been listening to them, Les Savy Fav is one of those bands that's right up my alley. Maybe I just haven't been in the mood for something with so much energy and awesomeness packed into a sound. Or shit, maybe I'm just getting too old for this kind of music? Nah.

Anyways, apparently this shit leaked back in July. I really feel like I should keep better track of stuff that leaks on teh torrentz, but that takes extra effort. I wasn't really hyped up to listen to this record, but I figured I'd give it a chance. I mean, Les Savy Fav is a pretty awesome band. Better than most of the stuff that comes out. I'd even say they might be underrated (gasp!) But yeah I guess it exposes how I listen to something obsessively then lose interest and put it down. Or how you want to listen to old man music as you get older.

So yeah, this record. God. Sorry. I guess it's not bad. It's pretty fucking good actually, compared to other records. Les Savy Fav definitely brings it on this album and it's packed full of all of the sweaty, fat, balding Tim Harrington screaming into a mic as you can handle. There's lots of potential for dancing. Great guitar parts. Excellent, cryptic lyrics. Some pop hooks and shit. Fucking fat beats to make you want to rock out. All of that tied up with the post grunge shit you expect from these mo-fos. So what's the beef with this record? Why have I only listened to it a few times and not been obsessed with it?

It's nothing new.

That's why. It's pretty much the same as Let's Stay Friends except for new songs. This album doesn't really change anything. I mean, if you like your bands to stay the same, then this album is pretty good (I mean it is), but it's lacking the new direction to make it fucking great. So, this album exists in the purgatory between being okay and being something awesome. Almost there, but not quite.

3 out of 5 steering wheels.

Magic Kids - Memphis

True Panther
2010

I was listening to KJHK one Thursday afternoon at work and this show called "Ad Astra Radio" was on. I need to keep reminding myself to listen to that show more. Anyways, these guys were on that show that day, along with Fourth of July playing some songs off of their new record. I think that was the night Ariel Pink was in town playing Yes! covers at the Jackpot. We started there and then Peter and I went across the street to the Replay to watch these guys play.

They put on a really fun show. I mean, this pop is so fucking sweet it will make you sick if you listen to it too much. Lots of people think these mofos sound like the Beach Boys, and I guess I could see it, but I think they probably ripped more pages out of Belle and Sebastian. I went home and got their album and I've listened to it a few times through. It's not bad, but I'm not one of those candy pop junkies so I'm not crazy about it. The string arrangements on here are pretty good. It all works well together, but the kicker for me is that I really don't think these guys are doing much of anything new or exciting here. I guess if you are seeking out that retro sound then these guys fucking deliver, but this record doesn't go anywhere we haven't been before.

So yeah, It's not a bad record, but I think I liked the live show more. They really put on a great live show at the Replay and I think that was the best way to experience them. There seems to be lots of bands that come and go at the Reepz that I really enjoy live but would never listen to at home. I guess these guys made that list.

3 out of 5 steering wheels, for a good live performance.

The Album Leaf - A Chorus of Storytellers

Sub Pop
2010

So the first time I listened to this record, I was falling asleep and had it going. I've always dug The Album Leaf since my roommate Chris from freshman year of college played them for me. Perhaps I'm generalizing all ambient/post rock music, but this stuff is really good about making me think about landscapes. Or falling asleep. I'm not saying that's a bad thing either. When I want to chill out I always put on some post rock. Or when I want to work on something. It's not really so much that I'm bored by this music or think it's bad, but I couldn't sit around just listening to the Album Leaf.

So what's this new record like? Well, compared to One Day I'll Be on Time this album seems a bit more upbeat and well, poppy. For a post rock album there's quite a few energetic songs on here, like "There is a Wind." There's lots more instrumentation on here, and it's a somewhat different direction from previous Album Leaf records, which bordered on minimalist. There's still that signature keyboard driven sound here, which is great.

All in all, this is a pretty good record. I think it's growing on me.

3.5 out of 5 steering wheels

Sufjan Stevens - Age of Adz

Asthmatic Kitty
2010

When I put this shit on for the first time, I heard the opening track "Futile Devices" and instantly fell in love with this record....

well, not really. I fell in love with the first track. It's classic Sufjan Stevens, and for some reason the lyrics fucking fit. It has been a long long time.

I got really excited when that All Delighted People EP came out. It was pretty much the classic Sufjan style amped up a bit and dragged out into 12 minute long songs, but you don't really mind since it's awesome.

Anyways, the simple summary of this album is that it reminded me of that Enjoy Your Rabbit album everyone kind of passed off because it was too weird and The Avalanche. Yeah. The Avalanche. The songwriting skills on this album pale in comparison to Illinois with it's heartfelt ballads about serial killers, superman, and pretty much everything about the state of Illinois. Michigan was just as fucking good. I don't know, this album doesn't sound as inspired as the earlier ones Sufjan Stevens wrote. It's like he's trying to figure out what he's wanting to sound like, which is cool and every thing. I dig the electronica. The songwriting though, it sounds about as good as the stuff he put on a record of B-Sides. It's good, but it's not mindblowing enough to make you fall in love with it.

So are there any songs worth listening to on here? Yeah. "Futile Devices" is fucking awesome. "I Walked" is a great combination of Sufjan's great songwriting and his new electronic sound. "Vesuuvius" is also a great song. "Too Much" could be something good, but the lyrics are kinda cheesy. Honestly, there's a lot of forgettable stuff on this album. "Impossible Soul" is 20 minutes plus of Sufjan autotune, and some other stuff going on. It's not that the songs are bad, but they drag on for fucking ever and you get fucking bored listening to them. I guess someone said Sufjan Stevens was kind into minimalist electronica, and it shows on this album. It works sometimes, but other times, you get bored and want to put on Illinois.

So all in all, this isn't a bad record, but it's not what I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't so much of a disappointment that I won't listen to his music anymore (like his live show), but I wasn't really blown away. Like I've been saying, it's been long enough we can forget about all of the hype of 2005. I like to think that this record is just a preview of better things to come, as Sufjan continues to work on new shit maybe something mindblowing will come out in the future.

3.5 out of 5 Steering Wheels

Fourth of July - Before our Hearts Explode

Range Life
2010

I hate saying this, but I never really was all that into On The Plains. I listened to it a few times, because my friends fucking love that album, but it never really topped the list of albums I wanted to listen to. When these guys play I try to make it out to show some support for local music etc. etc.

A few weeks ago I was driving around on a Thursday night (had to think about that for a second) and Fourth of July was doing a live studio performance on KJHK. I thought the two songs they played were pretty damned good, and they had a live show coming up, so I went ahead and tried to find this album so I could listen to it before their show. I passed it off at first and went to see them at the Taproom, spent way too much time outside with my friend Peter smoking cigarettes and I was way tired from getting smashed the night before. It was still a good show because my friends and I had a great time when they played that song "Photograph" which is probably one of the best songs off of On the Plains, and these guys sound pretty killer live, even at the fucking Taproom.

Anyways, I decided to give this record another listen, and I have to say, it's actually pretty fucking good! There's lots of really catchy songs on here! "Friend of a Friend" is a great song to kick off the record to. It's a great rock song. "Providence" really sticks out with the fucking horn part and shit. I really dug "I Don't Want to Lose You" - it has this really catchy guitar solo in it. I really liked the lyrics on "L Train," probably because I can relate to that song. This album has tons of great lines about heartbreak, bitches going to fucking France and leaving people behind here, getting drunk at Free State Brewery, and getting stuck in this town while others have moved on. At least, that's what I pulled out of the record, and I guess I could relate to it. Maybe I should give On the Plains another listen, but for some reason, Before our Hearts Explode does a really good job capturing how this town makes me feel. The songs on this album sum up what it means to live in Lawrence, KS- all of the disappointment, the vortex of this town, watching people you know leave, and getting drunk (at Free State) to forget that everyone you know has moved somewhere else to start their lives.

4 out of 5 steering wheels.