?STAY POSITIVE?
by The Hold Steady
It?s getting tiring to explain to nonbelievers that although the Hold Steady sounds unabashedly like classic rock, it?s classic rock of the poetic, hyper-earnest, story-song breed, not classic rock you can mumble through while playing Rock Band.
But if there was any doubt as to whether their Springsteen-biting steez would hold up for yet another go-around, it was singlehandedly destroyed by ?Constructive Summer,? an album opener about kids making the most of the season by climbing water towers and listening to the Clash. If this kind of thing were supposed to get old, it would have happened three decades ago.
KEY TRACK: ?Constructive Summer?
?VISITER?
by The Dodos
The music begins modestly, with a twangy banjo and the steady thump of a kick drum, but eventually gives way to one of the most visceral, blood-coursing albums of the year. ?Visiter? is a testament to the physicality of music?the entire operation rests on the shoulders of a foot-stomping guitarist who doesn?t use a pick and a metalhead drummer who fashioned tambourines into his shoes for an added layer of racket. Following skewed tribal patters, the drums?they?re big and loud?hit a primordial chord deep within, tapping into something instinctual. Against the echoes, Meric Long?s front porch fingerpickin? and sun-baked tenor make for some of the most wonderfully botched-up love songs we?ve ever heard.
KEY TRACK: ?Paint the Rust?
?RIP IT OFF?
by Times New Viking
Whereas punk was born of kids trying to make their limited means sound enormous, its vanguard now lies in kids with expansive resources trying to sound as though they?re limited. There?s no AutoTune powerful enough to tame the jumbled sloganeering of Times New Viking?s first disc for Matador, where a plague of hiss, noise and violence clouds every silver lining. But really, ?Rip It Off?s? unintelligibility articulates the mushy headspace of prolonged adolescence better than a few sharp phrases could. The epiphanies are intoxicated and the manifestos half-baked, yet there?s romance behind every misstep. The storied case of Noise v. Melody, thankfully brought up on appeal, once again.
KEY TRACK: ?Drop-Out?
?CONOR OBERST?
by Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst probably isn?t the first name that?s going to come to mind when you think about who?s who in the contemporary music scene. Without any of the fanfare that comes along with the release of any new album nowadays, Oberst struck out on his own to record a solo album, and we don?t know if it was a matter of lowered expectations or what, but it contained the best material he?s written in about seven years. It?s his most stripped-down effort yet, full of simple country-ish songs, no gimmicks and no bloated, overly ambitious arrangements?just a rapidly maturing songwriter coming to grips with having figured out what he?s going to do with the rest of his life.
KEY TRACK: ?I Don?t Want to Die [in a Hospital]?
?THE RHUMB LINE?
by Ra Ra Riot
In the tradition of all the string-laden, multi-membered, life-affirming outfits that have come to define indie-rock as of late, Ra Ra Riot weave together intricately orchestrated songs with lyrics that touch on the serious side of things. But because they spotlight their vigorous melodies above all else, the music evokes emotion without ever feeling superficial or deliberate. It?s a feat that takes on added significance after the band lost their original drummer in a drowning accident while recording the album. ?The Rhumb Line? is a powerful tribute?proof that music can speak for itself.
KEY TRACK: ?Can You Tell?
