December 22, 2009

AZLTRON BEST OF 2009!

Filed under: 2009,AZLTRON,best of,Conor Oberst,Franz Ferdinand,hockey,james yuill,julian casablancas,monsters of folk,Muse,Passion Pit,phoenix,Sally Shapiro,The Sounds,Wilco — AZLTRON @ 5:25 pm

Another year, another year end list. Crazy that this is the third I’ve compiled. Has it been three years already? Crazy! Anyway here is my list of the top 30 albums of the year. Granted, I am just one man and I may have not had a chance to listen to every album ever made this year. I am speaking from my bubble of experience so if your fave isn’t on here, it doesn’t mean it sucks, it just means maybe I haven’t heard it. Or that I didn’t like it. Ha! Well get to those mp3′s and enjoy! Never say I never gave you anything.
30. Moby – Wait For Me

This album was a return to the heightened emotionality that makes Moby songs like “God Moving over the face of the water” instant classics. Moby stumbles into some of his familiar potholes of opaque lyrics and repetitive song structure but he continues to move in positive directions.

29. stellastarr* – Civilized

stellastarr* returns with their third album sans major label and with plenty of well written songs. The band takes a lo-fi old school approach opting to forgo a lot of the gloss that stamps most modern rock releases. stellastarr* doesn’t have any out of the park home runs here, but the sheer enthusiasm the band exudes on this album makes it worth a listen.

28. Digits – Hold it Close

Digits combine electronic beats and mellow vocals and synths with all kinds of cut up acoustic and electric guitars. You could call it synth-pop, you could call it electro-acoustic, but mostly it’s just good solid music.

27. Katsen – It Hertz!

Cats keyboards and Kitch are what Katsen is about. Their album of synth-pop, “It Hertz” rides the border of seriousness and satire and along the way the group shows their diverse influences from Kraftwerk, the Cure, Kate Bush and others. “It Hertz” is an unabashed guilty pleasure.

26. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs returned this year to a mountain of hype and turned in a few good singles and some slower keyboard tinged numbers. The ample reverb and slick production heralds a marked difference in the bands sound. Some hailed it as a beautiful transformation, like a butterfly out of a cocoon, from raw to polished, but others just recognized it for what it was, the group aping the popular girl fronted new wave band that others have been doing for years. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs got to the party a little bit late, but at least they kept it going.

25. Little Dragon – Machine Dreams

I was just talking about those female fronted new wave bands that have been at it a while and here we find one, Sweden’s Little Dragon who fuze unique vocals, electronics and a Bjork-like sensibility. Sounding like bossanova meets ambient electronica funk “Machine Dreams” is a laid back psychedelic groove fest that works its way up to a few freak outs. The only downfall is that the tracks tend to get a little repetitive in their structure. Perfect for a mixtape a long drive or a night on the town.

24. Broken Spindles – Kiss/Kick

Joel Peterson of the Faint returns again with his side solo project Broken Spindles. In this adventure he works on combining his good lyrical ideas with his good sound ideas and produces some of his best Broken Spindles songs yet. The vocals are still pretty monotone but the songs feel a lot more cohesive than past releases. If anything the album feels like good ideas that could be expanded upon.

23. Fischerspooner – Entertainment

Fischerspooner marks their return to music land with their third album “Entertainment” and the album is less dancefloor ready and more heady than their previous releases. Nonetheless there are some cool experiments to be found here and a slight return to the approach that helped their first album make a splash to begin with.

22. Danger Mouse & Sparkle Horse – Dark Night of the Soul

Technically this album was never released, but that didn’t stop it from getting out there. With input from David Lynch and guest spots from the Flaming Lips, Black Francis, Iggy Pop, Julian Casablancas and more it’s bound to have something for everybody. Well everybody looking to have a bit a dark good time that is.

21. Crystal Method – Divided By Night

America’s preeminent techno producers return to the keys and the decks to bring you a relatively diverse album with tons of guest spots from the likes of Peter Hook (New Order) Emily Haines (Metric) and Matisyahu. The album hits in ways that “Legion of Boom” only hinted at. The Crystal Method is getting better cleaning up their sound and finding ways to still sound like themselves while adapting themselves to the times. Above all they are proving themselves to be a member of an elite group, techno producers from the 90′s who are still relevant today.

20. The BPA – I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

Norman Cook’s latest incarnation in a seemingly endless list of pseudonyms and band names. This project continues his focus on song structure over the top of his well known big beats. There are a couple stutters (literally) on the album, in particular one about a toad, but the album evens off with some mid tempo tracks and a few spectacular ones. Like the one featuring David Byrne AND Dizzee Rascal. Feels like a bargain huh?

19. Lonely Island – Incredibad

At what point will pop and rap just give up and let the comedians take over the airways? Seriously with Tenacious D, Flight of the Concords and now the Lonely Island putting out releases that are just as strong musically as they are comedically poppers and rappers might want to look for a day job. But then again with nothing to make fun of, those previously mentioned groups might not have a career. Either way, this star studded affair features invigorating guest vocals from Jack Black, Julian Casablancas and Norah Jones in addition to all those SNL Digital Short Songs that everyone loves to sing.

18. Calvin Harris – Ready for the Weekend

Calvin Harris’ disco stylings return with a tad bit more variety and arrangement. Bass pumps, synths soar, Divas sing about shoes and piano hooks will get stuck in your head. Is it as good as the first album? In spots. Is it better than the first album? In Spots. Is it worse in spots? Yes. Is it entertaining from multiple viewpoints all the way through? Yes. Get this for it’s potential in your car speakers as you go out or on a road trip with your friends.

17. Little Boots – Hands

To continue with the streak of British synth pop is Little Boots, who writes songs so catchy that I’m willing to risk others’ perception of my masculinity by listening to them. Seriously in a world where we can have Brittanys and Lady Gagas churned down our throats would it be possible to have one pop songstress who writes and performs all her own songs get popular in the states? Just this once? Please? No? Ok then, more for us.

16. Frankmusik – Complete Me

Completing the triforce of British synth pop darlings is Frankmusik, who has been teasing us with samplers, demos and EPs for what seems like forever finally released a full album. It didn’t dissapoint. Although it was a little more polished and tame than what I’d expected, but this only enhanced the songwriting. Plus his music videos are entertaining.


15. Portugal the Man – The Satanic Satanist

Sometimes you just need some good old fashioned rock & roll. Portugal the Man has that in spades. Take that classic guitar led classic rock sound and update it with a bit of an alternative and r&b take and that’s roughly what Portugal the Man has to offer up on the Satanic Satanist. Put in a pinch of a psychedelic touch and you’re spot on. Every track exudes that classic 70′s anthem feel that you’d expect from Bowie in his heyday. Plus they put on a great show.

14. Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper

Julian Plenti, for the uninitiated, is Paul Banks from Interpol in his solo vehicle. The album is filled with somber tunes that one might expect from the frontman of the well dressed NYC quartet but the instrumentation is a bit more varied and includes a horn section, acoustic guitar, and even strings. Banks does crank it up a notch for a few tunes and rock out on the old guitar, but the melodies and atmosphere of the quieter tracks are where he really shines.

13. Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young

After looking at the Julian Plenti cover and the Julian Casablancas cover one can’t help but wonder, “Which came first?” Surely the gents must know each other. Is Paul Banks mocking Casablancas? Or Perhaps they are both in on the joke. Perhaps it’s just cool to have a dude sit in a room on the cover of your album, like in the Spoon “Transference” album cover. Either way, Casablancas’ first solo outing is a fun romp through influence from The Doors, New Wave, even Flock of Seagulls. The album as a whole is pretty uneven, but the highs are pretty spectacular and earn the record a place on this list.

12. James Yuill – Turning Down Water for Air

Sometimes it’s awkward for some artists to move back and forth from folk rock territory into electronic beats. James Yuill is not one of those artists. He assimilates electronic elements and beats into his beautifully written acoustic songs. Fans of the Postal Service or even derivatives like Owl City will find a lot to like here.

11. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight

Franz Ferdinand took a break after whipping out their second album “You Could Have it so much better…” and the break has done them well. While their sophomore album had some nice high points, it was too wired, too anxious, too spikey. With “Tonight” the group mellowed out and recaptured some of that timeless cool that made them ones to watch in the first place.

10. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

In their search to define themselves as something other than Air’s back up band or the French Strokes Phoenix found a sound that they can truly claim as their own. “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” has elements that have marked their previous releases like the slightly roughed up sounds of “It’s Never Been Like That” and the electronics of “Alphabetical” except this time it sounds like they were melted together and shot out of a canon. Wait, make that a Cadillac.

9. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band – Outer South

Conor Oberst and Co. return with an even more egalitarian mix of songs where Conor doesn’t even sing lead all the time. He lets his stalwart bandmates take the reigns multiple times and the songs really benefit from it. This feeling of brotherhood that must inherently be within this group really adds to the cohesiveness of the sound as well. When this band is cooking, they crank it up to 1000. Take a listen, I dare you.

8. Sally Shapiro – My Guilty Pleasure

There’s no guilty pleasure for me here at all about Sally Shapiro’s latest release. Everything about this release, from the ambient opener to some of the jazzy jams that erupt toward the end of the album is awesome. To this day I can’t believe that I missed when this album came out over the summer. Dang you day job.

7. Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk

Conor Oberst cannot get enough of collaboration. Uniting with M. Ward, Mike Mogis, and Jim James the quartet produced some of the finest folk-rock of the year. Avoiding nearly all the pot holes that “supergroups” fall into perhaps by making sure that they play all the parts on the album to keep them humble by pointing out their weakpoints. Which is ironic since there’s not many weak points that you can find here. Like Oberst’s Mystic Valley band this band oozes euphoria when they’re all together. Oh, also they’ve got some bangin harmonies.

6. Muse – The Resistance

Muse’s latest effort feels like bits and pieces of their previous albums glued together. The electro stomp of “Uprising” and radical Queen flourishes on “United States of Eurasia” wouldn’t be out of place on their previous album “Black Holes and Revelations”. “Unnatural Selection” right down to the track title could fit right in on “Origin of Symmetry”. Then somewhere along the way an orchestra drops in on the band and things get really classically bombastic. The great thing about all this though, is that Matt Bellamy and company are so talented that they can take this rag tag collection of tunes and turn them into a masterpiece.

5. Echo & The Bunnymen – The Fountain

Echo & The Bunnymen rose from the ashes again this year to compile their best album in over ten years. Most critics will continue to write them off as shot, but The Fountain features a vigor and life that we haven’t seen from the group in quite a while. Not only that, but the songs are tight and full of hooks and even a bit of play with their song structure. Don’t expect another Ocean Rain, but to compare it to the 1987 self titled would be appropriate and I thought that album was criminally underrated. Which is how I imagine this album will go down too. That aside, The Bunnymen are back in a big way. Definitely one of the best of the year.

4. Wilco – Wilco the Album

Those Wilco fans who felt there wasn’t much to chew on with “Sky Blue Sky” sure got a mouthful of tasty layered Wilco on their latest release. From the opener “Wilco the Song” which is all about the comforts of listening to Wilco songs, to “You & I” featuring Feist, the album is full of equally energetic and expansive songwriting. Jeff Tweedy and Co. are having a blast and that translates even to the recording.

3. Passion Pit – Manners

Passion Pit delivered on their great expectations from their EP which was almost universally loved. The songs on Manners are sure to be the sugary Cafe Mocha to the processing center of your brain as they are covered in saccharine synths and freaky falsetto that are sure to wake you up and make you move. Even Corporate America is catching on.


2. Hockey – Mind Chaos

Hockey has some of the most fully formed classic sounding rock and roll I’ve heard in a long time. These chameleons have been paying attention, imbuing their tunes with flourishes reminiscent of The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and others. The next time you run into somebody telling you that no one makes good rock & roll anymore, make sure you throw this CD at them. Hard.

1. The Sounds – Crossing the Rubicon

The Sounds took a lot of risks with Crossing the Rubicon, opting out of a lot of the Kitch that was found on their previous album “Dying to Say this to You” and went for broke with honesty and earnestness. Kind of like how The Killers changed their sound with Sam’s Town. The earnestness paid off in spades as there’s not an unlistenable track to be found here. As much as it would make me feel uncomfortable to see sorority sisters singing their songs, I think The Sounds deserve some top 40 success.

AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

January 9, 2009

A Flurry of Dirty Disco Youth Remixes!

Filed under: 2008,best of,catchy electro,Daft Punk,Dance,Digitalism,Dirty Disco Youth,Justice,Mr. Vega,Punks Jump Up — AZLTRON @ 5:00 am

Dirty Disco Youth is the project of Phil Speiser who resides in Hambug, Germany where he spins his prodigiously hard mixes.

AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

January 7, 2009

The First AZLTRON Mix of 2009!

Filed under: 2009 mix,before i explode,best of,division kent,Emil friends,first,holiday for strings,Peter Bjorn John,Pic Vicious,pretty good dance moves,Red Light Company,Solid Gold,The BPA — AZLTRON @ 9:41 am

I’ve been collecting a bunch of cool songs to put in a mix, and I figured now is as good a time as any to put them out there.

AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

January 4, 2009

Exclusive! 10 Questions with Thieves Like Us!

Filed under: best of,best of 2008,catchy electro,Daft Punk,Fischerspooner,Justice,Kitsune Maison,New Order,Post Punk,thieves like us — AZLTRON @ 3:53 pm

10 Questions with Thieves Like Us (#2 Best album of 2008!)
By: Aaron Z. Lee

Thieves Like Us is an electro band that’s two thirds Swedish, and one third American that creates indie electro pop that’s akin to a sonic mix of New Order and Daft Punk. I corresponded with their singer, Andy.

1. You’ve said that Play Music is your autobiography. What kind of events and experiences do you draw from to write a song?

Most of the songs on the album were about breaking up. The three of us were living in Berlin. I had gone there expecting a crowded German metropol… I hadn’t even done my research that the town had been bombed. And I thought everything would look like Christiane F. But. The town was empty. People were only listening to techno. No pretty girls would talk to me. The music scene sucked. But, there was this promise, that you could make something in Berlin. AS, it wasn’t a “finished city” like NYC or Paris. The three of us were all down, I suppose. Bjorn and I hated everyone and everything. I was binge drinking. Every day. Starting at noon. All through the night. Luckily Pontus stepped in. He wasn’t on this mad romp in substance abuse like Bjorn and I were. I had met a sexy Austrian girl. she sang in Sex In Dallas. Which I thought were shit. But she was good in bed. And seemed to love me. I was acting stupid. And I freaked out one night cos of the booze. She just split up with me. And then, I think most of the songs were about losing. We are a band of losers. I think Miss You is the only up song on the album. That one is about being a waitress in a nightclub and also about Angela and David Bowie (I had a dream about them). I don’t want to keep writing about losing, though.

2. The sonic vocabulary you guys employ on Play Music is like a rediscovered language of electronica, beyond New Order, where do you guys look for inspiration?

Bjorn and I were sampling our favorite records. And I had two really expensive old delay pedals. I don’t know. At that time. We wanted to sound like some late seventies kraut record. I think now… hmmm. We are listening to a lot of seventies stuff. I think Hate it Or Love it by 50 cent is a great example of a song which combines this sixties soul feeling with some modern keyboards. I also think V-2 Schneider and Sound and Vision on the Low record by David Bowie are a really cool fusion of 60s soul and “THE FUTURE”. So, I guess we want to combine the past with the far future.

3. How is it to work with bandmates who are from different countries? What unique influences do each of you bring to the music?

Bjorn and Pontus are more pop or up than me. If it weren’t for them, I think every song would sound like Broken Heart by Spiritualized. Bjorn is always researching some older obscure music, to look at. Pontus. He. I think he had listened to alot of R and B and soul. He started drumming at 8.

Bjorn and I aren’t real musicians. Or we were just hobbyists. We were both big fans of the edge. He saw u2 in 1992 in Malmo and I saw them in 1992 in Denver.

4. While you were in Germany DJing you confused clubbers by mixing into some hip hop and rap into the mix. Can you describe their reactions?

But back then. In 2003…. They hated it. I was working in a hip hop club in nyc as a bus boy. I would take a plane on the weekends sometime to Berlin and play the same songs. This was 2003 before everything was up on the web. So a song would come out in the states and not get released in Europe until six months later. It was like having secret weapons. But a lot of people hated hip hop and r and b. They are so serious. Hmmm. I remember somebody in Berlin getting really angry. Grabbing me by the head and telling me not to play Nigger Music. Fuck. I used to say we were trying to wipe out fascism by playing all those snooop songs.


5. When you were recording the album in Berlin, London, New York City and Stockholm was it all together as a group or did you record parts and send them to each other via e-mail?

It was mostly as a group. I had very little to do with Desire and Miss You actually. I wrote the singing parts after the backing tracks were done.

6. Do you remember the moment that you as a group decided that you could make music that was better than the stuff you heard in nightclubs night after night?

Hmmm. Well that must have been my first month in Berlin. I saw some really silly guy get up with a cd for a backing track. People loved it. I hated it cos it was so tongue and cheek. I was listening to Blonde Redhead a lot. And I think I had this idea for a kind of slightly galmerous but tragic disco band. THat would be us. Hopefully we will morph into the bee gees and make some momey soon.

7. Your songs are so minimalist yet so funky, one of the best examples is the infectious jam “Miss You” that’s one part 80’s rap and one part new wave, how do you make songs so danceable with so few parts?

We work on an Akai MPC. Which has limits. Which is good. It’s like Dre’s “STILL DRE”. It’s pretty minimal. Or xxplosiv. I think these are good examples of how to compose.

8. I love the spoken word on “Program of the Second Part”, it’s like reading poetry to the Blade Runner soundtrack. Where did the idea of spoken word in this interlude come from?

We had the instrumental first. And I think I was too proud, somehow. I wanted lyrics for everything, so I wrote a poem for it. I always want our lyrics to be printed. Lyrics are important. Language is important. Poetry is important. That song is maybe about watching time fade away.

9. The Video for “Program of the first Part” works so well with the footage from the Tron movie, did you guys write the song with that in mind, or did it all just fall in place?

Hmmm. It was probably in the back our heads when we made the tune. So, a gift from God maybe.

10. What’s in store for Thieves Like Us in 2009?

We are making a second record, which we want to have out before the end of the year. And hopefully we will tour a lot. If we can get some extra finances, I’d like to see us pimp out our stage show with some lights and special effects.

AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

January 1, 2009

Bug Lung Baby’s Trilobite Trash Review, Listen for free at RCRDLBL!

Filed under: best of,bug lung baby,jonathan visger,Mason Proper — AZLTRON @ 8:06 pm

Jonathan Visger of Mason Proper once again strikes out on his own, this time under the moniker of “Bug Lung Baby”. The new EP released under that name is entitled “Trilobite Trash” and it is a further exploration of the strange sonic world of Mr. Visger. This time around there is a less sparse soundscape and a warmer ambiance to the music. There are driving rhythms, bendy guitars, funky bass, and disembodied vocals sprinkled throughout the EPs four tracks.

The First track “Nuetral Man”, kicks off with a bouncy beat and the lyrics “All your friends are joining rival gangs, but you’re a nuetral man,” creating a pleasingly pleasant and ironic atmosphere for the message of calamity from inaction to form inside your skulls. From there the hypnotically catchy tune “Palinopsia” grabs you right from the beginning and takes over with it’s almost chanting lyrics that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. From there we are treated to the twinkling opening melodies of “Paper Crane” that give way to a shuffling beat that could easily score any kind of vehicle in motion, from taking the train, to walking, to riding a bike (Double Seated Perhaps?) with this tune it would most definitely be a fantastic adventure. The last track “This Life” starts off with almost ceremonial vocals before giving way to manic melody and a kind of grandoise sonic production similar to Mason Proper’s “Safe for the Time Being” only with less drama and more of a feeling of triumph.

With the quantity and the quality of the work that Jonathan Visger and Mason Proper have released this year, I think it’s fair to say that they’ve had quite a bit of triumph in 2008.

Jonathan Visger – Books About Nothing

To Download the Trilobite Trash Ep from RCRDLBL Click Here

AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

December 24, 2008

AZLTRON Top 30 Albums of 2008 (10-1)

Filed under: 2008,best of,boo hoo,Brian Eno,David Byrne,longwave,M83,Mason Proper,the faint,The Killers,The Notwist,thieves like us,Walter Meego,year end list — AZLTRON @ 10:10 am

This year has been a surprising one for music. After last year I thought to myself, “How could this year possibly be better than last year for music?” And you know what? Album after album I was shocked, no musical lull in sight. Nothing but quality as far as the eye could see. Well, quality in terms of the albums I was looking for. In particular, bands that released somewhat unimpressive sophomore albums came back this year with some intense and riveting releases. Bloc Party, The Stills, The Killers, and Longwave all regrouped and recalibrated to create releases that will please initial fans as well as fans of their new directions.

Without further ado I bring you the AZLTRON Top 10 Albums of 2008.

10. The Notwist – The Devil, You & Me

The Notwist released their first album since their 2002 stylistic breakthrough Neon Golden this year. This album features a more linear song structure, less blips and clicks, and it is all the better for it. The best songs are built off of acoustic guitar chords and Marc Acher’s saccharine voice. Added into the mix occasionally are emotionally charged tremolo strings and minor key flourishes. A listen to the album from beginning to end runs a full emotional gamut from uncertainty, to sadness, to elation. The Notwist have done it again.

The Notwist – Gloomy Planets



The Notwist Myspace

9. M83 – Saturdays = Youth

M83 came back this year in a big way. Anthony Gonzalez continues to plug away after the departure of Nicolas Fromageau and the towering sound of M83 has never been more accessible. Emotionally charged piano instrumentals to full on 80′s pop songs surge and percolate throughout the entire album. If there is a director out there trying to ellicit intense emotion from viewers using only music, there’s not an album out there that can reduce a listener to tears and then convert those tears to joy by the end of the album.

M83 Myspace

8. Boo Hoo – Hypermarché

Boohoo has crafted an album that combines two of my favorite genres, delicate indie pop as well as touching electro pop. Normally you’d think that bleeps and blips next to glockenspiel and acoustic guitar and heavenly melodies wouldn’t normally work. Normally, you’d be right. Boohoo combines them together in such a way where it makes sense somehow that solo acoustic guitar song should come right after an electro twee jam. It’s a further testament to the album that the topics of the songs revolve around television shows, tabloid magazines, and of course grocery stores. Fans of Peter Bjorn & John and Jens Lekman will find a lot to love here.

Boo Hoo – Gokutensoku

Boo Hoo Myspace

7. The Killers – Day & Age

The Killers hung up their Vegas suits and synths and grew moustaches. Their music morphed into christian country tinged post punk imitations of Bruce Springsteen in an attempt to prove that they weren’t a one trick pony at the new wave revival ranch. They accomplished this mission with their sophomore release Sam’s Town and even unleashed an epic single to rival anything they’ve done in When You Were Young. But where were the sleek synths and dance rhythms that drew so many people into their music in 2004? They were present, but with about a pound of sawdust draped over them. On Day & Age, they haven’t abandoned their new found dusty direction, but they’ve enhanced it with everything that they know they do well with a pinch of a spicy something new. Now, not only huge guitars, smooth synths, and dancebeats mark the album but saxophone and steel drums make an appearance as well. The Killers have reabsorbed their best influences and show of some new influences to make an album that is undoubtedly all killer and no filler.

The Killers Myspace

6. Mason Proper – Olly Olly Oxen Free

Mason Proper had a busy year this year; releasing not only their Shorthand EP, Jonathan Visger’s North South EP, but also a brand new full length entitled Olly Olly Oxen Free. The first song The Fog is a great rallying point for the rest of the album because it seems as if all the musical elements in this release are floating around in the atmosphere as a phosphorescent gas that they’ve somehow managed to capture and contain in a magical cauldron of musical goodness. Every element in their songs seems buoyant somehow, guitar riffs ring in the air and the vocals increase the precarious altitude of each song like helium in an untied balloon. Like riding in a glass elevator, Olly Olly Oxen Free is meticulous, utilitarian and spine tingling. Look down all you like.



Mason Proper – Point A to Point B

Mason Proper Myspace

5. David Byrne & Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Where else are you going to find two artists who are not only veterans of popular music but legends in thier own right, who continue to redefine the boundaries of what their music entails? Nowhere. David Byrne and Brian Eno have crafted a masterpiece here. Christening this new work as electric gospel. The term fits perfectly, the work here is largely uplifting major chords and David Byrne somehow manages to create an uplifting message out of lyrics like “I heard the sound of someone laughing, I saw my neighbor’s car explode”. Rife with bass percolation, soothing harmonies, and clever lyrics, you’ll be hard pressed to find an album this diverse that can please so many people.

Everything that Happens Will Happen Today Official Site

4. Walter Meego – Voyager

Walter Meego’s Voyager is a cornucopia of electronic pop goodness. The first track Forever acts as the guy who starts the wave at a big stadium concert. It makes a big feel good splash that carries through till the end of the album. Justin Sconza’s helium tinged vocals accent perfectly the heavily phased bass processed synths. This album feels good to listen to. This isn’t just a feel good party starter, undoubtedly if you’re looking to get a party started you won’t find a better primer than Walter meego but, just as much attention is paid to the atmosphere and melodies as it is to beats. I’ll leave you with this: listen to Keyhole, it will blow your mind.

Walter Meego – Keyhole

Walter Meego Myspace

3. Longwave – Secrets Are Sinister

Longwave came back in a big way this year. Longwave was previously dropped from RCA after the departure of two of their band members. Even when they were unsigned and the future of the band was uncertain, Steve Schiltz and company strove to continue recording and playing. The Indie Label Original Signal

intelligently picked up Longwave and put out their latest album Secrets are Sinister which is such an incredible return to form you have to hear it to believe it. All the shoegaze elements from The Strangest Things are not only present, they are turned up to eleven. The guitars soar, the bass grinds with foundation shaking ferocity and Schiltz’s uplifting lyrics in the face of certain doom and gloom makes this one of the best releases of 2008.

Longwave – Satellites

Longwave Myspace

2. Thieves Like Us – Play Music

Few artists these days can transport you to other worlds through just a few notes. Thieves Like Us does just that. We as the listeners are transported, after just a few finely produced arpeggio notes, into a world of not only late night debauchery and good times but also a land of neon grids and nobility. There is a majesty to the way that the electronic elements combine here. The synths just don’t play over the beats. They crash over them like waves on a rocky shore. The songs play out like an epic play. At times the beats kick in with reckless abandon, but the song after will masterfully describe the cost of living that way. The persistent bass throbs like a hangover after a heavy night of drinking or it pounds in your mind like a guilty conscience. It’s the songs that come after the more heady dramatic ones that stand out though, the songs of reconciliation, of coming to terms with what has transpired and making the best of it. These songs make Play Music an intensely emotional album and a collection of songs that I would be proud to have score the soundtrack of my life.

Theives Like Us – Miss You

Thieves Like Us Myspace

1. The Faint – Fasciinatiion

It’s been four long years since The Faint released a new full length album. But, luckily as soon as the bass on Get Seduced kicks in, you know the Faint are back and we are in for a treat. Todd Fink’s astute observational lyricism is this time directed at all kinds of sociological structures. From tabloids to religion, to the origin of the universe, to arguments with others and even arguments within yourself. Whenever I describe The Faint to people who have no idea what electronic/indie/punk is, I always say that their songs are very direct, very confrontational but also extremely intelligent, and Fasciinatiion has undoubtedly solidified that notion inside my skull. The Faint pick up right where they left off with Wet From Birth and without warning surge into uncharted territory like the rap-esque Fulcrum And Lever, to the razor sharp ballad Fish in a Womb. Every note of Fasciinatiion has been looked over, every effect finely tuned after endless tweaking. The album is wrapped in a warm blanket of sonic experimentation that will make it a gem for decades to come.

The Faint – Machine in the Ghost

The Faint Myspace

For More Top Albums of 2008 Click Below



AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

AZLTRON Top 30 Albums of 2008 (20-11)

Filed under: 2008,best of,catchy electro,Dance,My Dear Disco,Natalie portman's shaved head,new year,The presets,the stills,The Ting Tings,the walkmen,top10,Wesley the robot — AZLTRON @ 9:57 am

Welcome to the second installment of the AZLTRON Blog’s top 30 Albums of the year! Here are some albums for your listening/reading pleasure! Here is the link to Part 1.

20. Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head – Glistening Pleasure

This creatively named band feels like a joke band started between a few friends that somehow along the way they shocked each other with how good they became and decided to take the show on the road. The concepts featured on the album are just as ridiculous as the band’s name and their album art. With love songs sung to the father of your girl citing the things you do when he’s not in the room, to odes to facial hair and atrocious 80′s styles, you’re bound to find yourself laughing just as much as you find yourself dancing.

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head – Me + Yr Daughter

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head Myspace

19. The Banshee – Your Nice Habits

Genova, Itlay band The Banshee’s album “Your Nice Habits” is full of jittery post-punk-pop ready to get you wherever you need to go in a hurry. It’s hard to not physically speed up whatever you are doing while listening to them. This feeling is certainty helped by producer Luke Smith (Former member of equally as Jittery defunct band Clor, and producer of yet another fidgety band Shit Disco) who also helps guide the band into quirky Gary Numan synth territory. While there’s not exactly a lot of new ground forged here, the record is unabashedly fun and you can tell the band is having fun too. This record is proof that Italians may indeed do that better.

The Banshee – Kicks Up

The Banshee Myspace

18. Falcon - Falcon

Falcon emerged on the scene with an incredibly original concept. All of their songs have already been written, and they are a new band. “How is this possible?”, You might ask. Well, it’s because these songs were written by a songwriting prodigy named Jared Falcon that three of the band members went to school with. He recorded the songs on a simple four track recorder which the band then studies and fleshes out. If the intense guitar effect and drumming of the band seems familiar, it’s because the drummer and guitarist of Longwave are also in the band. Beyond the concept and all star line-up, it’s the songs that shine through for Falcon. Each song shines with an introspection and optimism that could only be written by an extremely talented youth.

Falcon – Listen In

Falcon Myspace

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17. Woven - Designer Codes

Woven is a band out of L.A. that fuses electronic and rock so well, I was confused when I first listened to their music. It was so good, I felt like I had heard it before somewhere. I don’t know if I’d heard it during a movie, or a commercial or whatever, but their stuff is so cinematic that I think I should be hearing their stuff in commercials and movies. Waves of keys, guitars, and vocals wash in and out over otherworldly pristine pop. It’s like the band time traveled from the future to show us what rock will be like in 50 years.

Woven – Fragments

Woven Myspace

16. The Presets – Apocalypso

The Presets have always been a gritty electro dance band. Once in a while they let some of their pop/dance stylings escape from their bag of tricks. Like on their excellent songs “The Girl and the Sea” or “Summer of Love”, but for the most part they prefer to be dirty and rowdy. On their new release Apocalypso, The Presets have cleaned up their act, and their music is all the better for it. The vocals soar, choruses richochet inside your head, where they’ll stay for days, and the beats and grooves have never been better. You’ll be hard pressed to find better party starters than “Yippiyo-Ay” and “My People”. There are even songs featured here that are actually pretty in spots (This Boy’s In Love). In a strange turn of fate, the beast has become the beauty.

The Presets Myspace

15. The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing

If there is one band that is poised for mainstream crossover success and deserves it, it’s The Ting Tings. Jules and Katie have all of the fun and intelligence of the best indie-dance music and all of the accessibility of the best of Rihanna or Katie Perry, all without listeners having to hide it as a guilty pleasure. From the opening strums of “Great DJ”, you know there’s something special going on here. From guitar riffs, to microkorg melodies, to ample use of Cowbell, it’s all here. It’s hard to believe so much fun comes from just two people. They’re also phenomenal live.

The Ting Tings Myspace

14. The Age of Rockets – Hannah

The Age of Rockets is a NYC three piece composed of producer/frontman Andrew Futral, drummer Saul Simon Macwilliams, and guitarist/keyboardist Bess Rogers. Their album “Hannah” could easily soundtrack a movie about touring around the world on a cloud. The vocal harmonies ring out here as the richest assett featured througout. That’s not to say this is an accapella album in the least. There are all kinds of supplemental instrumentation, from guitars, to pounding drums, to glitchy beats, to gentle keys, to violins being gently plucked. The album is largely a mellow affair with poignant lyrics scattered througout. It’s remarkable that three people could make this big of a diverse sound and it’s that expansiveness and attention to detail that makes “Hannah” by The Age of Rockets one of the best albums of the year.

The Age of Rockets – Avada Kedavra

The Age of Rockets Myspace

13. My Dear Disco – Dancethink LP

My Dear Disco is a band out of Michigan that fuses together dance-punk, jazz-funk, and many other styles into one cohesive digestible whole. The septet churns out dance hits that are on par with any club banger that you’ve heard this year while at the same time they contain musical and lyrical content that is equally enjoyable as well as intellectually stimulating. On every track you can feel the enthusiasm of the band bleed through to every note. Even though the band has significant instrumental might, their secret weapon is lead singer Michelle. Who has a duality equal to that of Clark Kent and Superman. Off stage, she’s personable and intelligent, but up on stage she lets loose with that glorious voice of hers with the might of a superhero. With the costumes they wear while on stage, being musical superheroes may not be far off.

My Dear Disco – Amsterdam

My Dear Disco Myspace

12. The Walkmen – You & Me

The Walkmen have released a much more pensive album this time around with “You & Me”. They keep a tight leash on their wild, singular energy, careful to only let it out of the bag on a few occasions. This tension and release throughout album makes the both the quiet and loud songs better. Not to say that their other releases aren’t intimate at times, but this album feels the most personal out of all of their records. Like when Hamilton Leithhauser laments that he lives at the same address on “In the New Year”, the music conveys the urgency and optimism for him to redirect his life. The Walkmen have always had a formula that has fit a wintery retrospective pretty well. The most sublime example is the romantic reconciliation of “Canadian Girl”. The old school rhythm and ear warming guitar chimes will have you smiling in no time.

The Walkmen Myspace

11. The Stills – Oceans Will Rise

In a year filled with comebacks, The Stills provided one of the most dramatic. I’m not saying that their previous release “Without Feathers” was a bad record by any means, it just didn’t feel like them. But, this album marks a return to their hypnotic guitar stylings and inspired drumming. Their previous album felt like they were reaching for a bunch of different sounds. “Oceans Will Rise” feels like they’ve remembered who they are. Also, they’ve not lost some of the stylings they picked up on their previous record, they’ve applied them for sensational effect. Pianos roar and resonate and Tim Fletcher’s vocal delivery will have you hanging on every word. There’s even some stadium appeal here with the fantastic single “Being Here”. It’s time to remember all the reasons why you liked The Stills in the first place.

The Stills Myspace

For More Top Albums of 2008 Click Below

AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

AZLTRON Top 30 Albums of 2008 (21-30)

Filed under: Beck,best of,Black Kids,Bloc Party,Cut Copy,desmond tutus,Flight of the Conchords,indie,My Dear Disco,ruby isle,The Kindness Kind,tuckshop,unicycle loves you,year end list — AZLTRON @ 9:27 am

Well here it is, the wrap of the best albums of 2008. Here are the links to part one and part two.

30. Black Kids – Partie Traumatic

Black Kids were kind of the Gnarls Barkley of this year, except… without the high powered up and coming producer and and dependable veteran performer. They did however come out of nowhere with a killer single named I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You, despite the title being ridiculously long and well… ridiculous as well, it caught on like wildfire and the kids ate it up like hot cakes. The band uses a bag of tricks including funky guitar solos, warbly synths, cowbells and a Robert Smith-like warble. The rest of the album is full of rich pop tunes and a Robert Smith-esque warble detailing tales of adolescent woes and throes of passion. If you’re looking for a non-stop androgynous dance party look no further than Jacksonville Florida’s own Black Kids.



The Black Kids Myspace

29. Beck – Modern Guilt

Speaking of Gnarls Barkley, Beck teamed up with that prodigious producer DJ Danger Mouse for his latest release Modern Guilt. The atmosphere that Danger Mouse brings to the album fits perfectly with the multi-layered stylings of Beck. In fact, many are calling this album Beck’s first album that’s moved forward stylistically since his seminal release “Sea Change”. While “Guerro” and “The Information” did look back back for inspiration I felt that there was some innovative work there that marked progression. The fact that Modern Guilt doesn’t use too much superfluous instrumentation or loops and for the most is composed with ample reverb and less is more composition makes the album Beck’s most raw and intimate release since Sea Change.

Beck Myspace

28. Bloc Party – Intimacy

Bloc Party’s latest release Intimacy is something of a return to form for the band from their experimental conceptual sophomore album A Weekend in the City. Its like the catchy tunes off of Banquet fused with the jarring emotional content from A Weekend in the City with a pinch of electronic wizardry that can be traced back to the Chemical Brothers and even the Bravery in some spots. There are arpeggios fueling ultra fast ticking drum beats, and even keyboard horns fueling stuttering vocals. There are a few songs where the formula works out a delicate balance of ferocity and melody like the perfect song for the subway Your Visits are getting Shorter and the Cure influenced melody of Letter to My Son. This is the most aggressive collection of songs Bloc Party has ever released. I could see many of these songs playing over loudspeakers during heated UK Soccer games.



Bloc Party Myspace

27. Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords

Think “Tenacious D” for the indie rock crowd. Brett and Jermaine bring something special to the table here with their high low harmonies and clever songwriting. All the songs here have been played before on their hit HBO series, but they’re here with renewed vigor. Some songs even have new parts. Like on the homage-hit “Bowie” the end of the song explodes in a “Let’s Dance!” fashion. Likewise, “Robots” puts on it’s dancing shoes for a “Robo-Boogie” segment. They rifle through a lof different genres and crazy ideas and are talented enough to pull them off musicall and lyrically. If you’ve never heard of the before, prepare to listen to nothing but them for an entire month. For real.



Flight of the Conchords Myspace

26.

Ruby Isle – Ruby Isle

Ruby Isle is the flagship property of the Kindercore record label. The lineup is composed of the all-star cast of former beat maker for “We are the World Trade Center”, Dan Geller, rock wild man Mark Mallman, and drummer Aaron Lemay. If you’re looking for an album to get the party started regardless of the crowd Ruby Isle has something for everbody. It’s true it’s dance music, but the ever present guitar riffs and and crazy synth is enough to even get grandma to do the twist. There’s a couple uses of great guest vocals, like the uber low voiced youtube phenomenon Tay Zonday, and the powerful reworking of “Solsbury Hill” featuring Amy Dykes. If you’re looking for a band to play a kicking set during the apocalypse, look no further than Ruby Isle.

Ruby Isle – How it Hurts

Ruby Isle – Hey Hey Hey (That Kid’s Okay) La Chanson Remix

25.

Desmond & The Tutus – Tuckshop

I recieved Desmond & The Tutus album “Tuckshop” in my inbox and was immediately intrigued. First off they are named after a famous African holy man that I was not aware of (Thanks Wikipedia!). Secondly, the band is from South Africa. Although all the members are white. This was kind of a let down until I listened to their music. There are few releases that I listen to all the way through beginning all at one time, but the uplifting nature of their guitar rock compositions and borderline satirical lyrics made me listen to this thing the whole way through. From criticizing electro loving geeks (hm) to the best song about swimming I have heard ever. There’s a lot to love here.

Desmond & The Tutus – Peter

24. The Kindness Kind – The Kindness Kind

The Kindness Kind is a new band out of Seattle, Washington who employs careful guitar work over beautiful piano melodies topped off with the excellent vocals by Alessandra Rose and a pinch of electronica to make some of the most listenable indie pop this year. The Highlight of their self titled album “Houndstooth” starts off with gentle feedback before the jazzy keys and bendy synths are rocketed forward by the paced drums, that navigate the song through several soaring melodies. If you’re looking for a complex but extremely listenable new indie rock band to love, The Kindness Kind should be first on your plate.

The Kindness Kind – Houndstooth

23.

Unicycle Loves You – Unicycle Loves You

If you’re looking for an album released this year that was as filled with youthful elation as much as it was filled with talented instrumentalists and vocalists, look no further, Unicycle Loves You is for you. Each one of their songs explodes in catchy accessible pop with layers of guitars and keyboards atop bangin’ beats. If I had to use other bands to describe their sound I would say they’re like all the fun songs by the Arcade Fire, channeled through The Cars and the Stokes all peppered with a pinch of Lou Reed. That said, there are so many rocking pop songs here that it would be a crime if these guys didn’t get more popular. Long live Unicycle Loves You!

Unicycle Loves You – Highway Robbery

22. Microfilm – The Slingshot Orchestra

The Slingshot Orchestra has made a distinct progression from their previous release. This time opting for a more lush sound rather than the minimalist german techno sound that people might know them better for. But fear not, there are beats and synths galore here. In addition to those glorious tones, there are also strings, piano, and plethora of other instruments that might sound completely natural but are actually synthesized and played by the band, but you’d be hard pressed to know that just by listening to them. In short, if you’re looking for a tasty slice of electro/synth pop pie, you better order up The Slingshot Orchestra.

Microfilm – Teenage Symphonies

21. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours



Cut Copy’s 2004 release “Bright Like Neon Love”, became one of the sleeper hits for me in the year following. Which led me to be really anticipating their new release “In Ghost Colours”. On “Neon Love”, they showed that they were capable of combining garage rock and electro in a powerful way, but on “In Ghost Colours” they’ve somewhat abandoned that idea in favor of some really poppy electro songs. It marks their progression as a band that they use guitar more for melody than for a slamming riff. All this talk about style changes and guitar might confuse you as to whether or not you can dance to the album. The overwhelming answer is “Yes!”.

Cut Copy – Far Away (Ruby Isle Mix) <-- A Convenient Tie In!

Cut Copy Myspace




AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

December 23, 2007

AZLTRON Top 40 Albums of 2007 Part 4 11-1

Filed under: arcade fire,best of,Bloc Party,Electro,garage rock,indie,indie pop,indietronica,Justice,klaxons,LCD Soundsystem,Radiohead,Rock — AZLTRON @ 12:30 am

Well, this is it, the final culmination of the year into a nice condensed, almost soup like formula, read for your speedy and enjoyable consumption. Whether you’ve been reading along with me for most of the year or just found my blog today, I’d like to thank you and wish you a great new year. Oh, and a bit of advice, take the songs you find here and put them into a play list on your ipod/zune/zen/whatevs, then get some good running shoes. One plus one equals doing a body good. It’s what I’m doing, so I thought I’d send out an invite you you fine folks as well. Alright, without further babbling, onto the top 11.

11. Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future

With the amount of hype leveled at them by NME, the Klaxons could have suffered a massive backlash, but they didn’t. This is because their music is different, it might not be the rallying cry, flagship of a whole new genre (Nu Rave) that NME wants it to be, but it is definitely distinct and worthwhile. There are similarities between some Klaxons songs and typical rave music, but they are only in the spare sound effects laid upon the throbbing bass and breakneck beats. While the jagged guitars and angular synth hold down the dance rock, the vocals in particular deserve some attention. From soaring cryptic choruses to the kind of vocals you’d expect possessed monks to be chanting as they stumble towards you in the woods at night, the voices complete the strange world that the Klaxons are trying to evoke. NME may have actually been right about something, we should really get someone to check the temperature of hell.

Klaxons – Golden Skans

10. Mason Proper – There is a Moth in Your Chest

Mason Proper was another pleasant surprise that popped up this year. This group from Michigan has incredible depth, as they can pull off everything from meaningful experimental ballads to the perfect synthesis of keyboards and guitars for a full force thrash down dance party. Their guitar riffs explode seemingly effortlessly moving in and out of hard rocking and ethereal synth supported vocals seamlessly. The range of sounds offered up on There is a Moth in Your Chest, is huge, and is always full and satisfying. Mason Proper’s immediacy and readily apparent songwriting genius has garnered them comparisons to The Pixies, rightly so, but to paint a better sonic picture add in a bit of The Faint, some Devo, and a pinch of the Shins, and you have a cocktail for one of the year’s best new bands. The energy in their songs is constantly throbbing, like that kid in class that can never sit still, and the feeling is contagious.

Mason Proper – Light’s Off

9. Plastic Operator – Different Places

If you can’t tell by now, I like surprises. Plastic Operator came to my attention after surfing some music blogs and I got turned onto their myspace because they were compared to Styrofoam and the Postal Service, and me be the connoisseur of contemporary synth pop that I am, I couldn’t resist. I have to say the reviews that say that the London two pieces’ album Different Places is the most complete synthpop experience since the Postal Service’s Give Up are absolutely correct. From the opening 8-bit Melody of “The Pleasure is Mine” to closer “The Long Run”, every song hits the spot. Plastic Operator is definitely a band you’re going to want to put into your new music folder.

Plastic Operator – Folder

8. Justice – Cross

Justice provided the most anticipated dance album of the year and under a mountain of hype actually delivered. Their unique Daft meets trashed production style has been a hallmark of the electronic music of the year. Producing one of the year’s longest lasting and most remixed singles of the year “D.A.N.C.E.” as well as other dance floor scorchers like “New Jack”, “Phantom” parts one and two, and the undeniable, unforgiving fury that is “DVNO”. I don’t think I’ve ever been hit so hard with slap bass or string samples before in my life, and one thing is for sure, I’ve never enjoyed them more.

Justice – DVNO

7. Air – Pocket Symphony

When I picked up Air’s Talkie Walkie I really wanted it to be, like one of my favorite albums ever, but as much as I liked the mathematical piano, and the amazing atmosphere, it all seemed like a lot of well made, well prepared, well seasoned tofu. This time around with “Pocket Symphony”, each song is rich with its own wonderful ‘flavor’. The wonderful instrumentals and minimalist vocals are back in all their glory, but this time there are shades of everything from hope, wonder, awe and melancholy. There are even excellent guest vocalists on the album, like the inimitable Jarvis Cocker, who delivers some of that aforementioned melancholy. One thing’s for sure, after this album’s over you’re going to realize two things, that Air has the best instrumentals ever, and that you want to listen to the album again.

Air – Left Bank

6. (We Are) Performance – (We Are) Performance

I’ve been looking for work from these artists since news of them came to me through NME. They debuted their song “Love Life” along with Editor’s “Bullets” back in 2005. Since then I’ve heard little from them, one single called “It’s Bad and It’s Just Begun” came to my attention last semester, but it was this semester that I saw the name “Performance” on his computer and I demanded that he send the album to me. Apparently they had had issues with the label but did put out their debut this summer. Everything from the two songs that I had heard had been polished and perfected to form a series of the most bombastic, catchy, dramatic and dancy songs imaginable. Their sound is a sublime mixture of the Human League style backing vocals and Cure-ish intellectual yelping. Joe Stretch provides some of the most innovative vocal hooks I’ve heard since, who knows when. To add another layer of awesomeness to (We Are) Perfomances’ repertoire, is that they’re actually from Manchester and are continuing the tradition of producing excellent and addictive music. I couldn’t think of anyone better to carry the Mancunian musical torch.

(We Are) Performance – Live a Little

5. Interpol – Our Love to Admire

Interpol’s latest effort starts off the quietest of any of their releases and gently expands like a stream moving into a river. The well dressed quartet keep you rowing into the unknown until the river takes a fast turn over a waterfall, after which you’re left alone in an unknown land. From there, the sound only gets deeper, more expansive, and more isolating in the way that only Interpol could provide. The production on this album is fantastic, each instrument is almost lyrical in creating song after song, and Paul Banks’ vocals have never sounded better. Interpol may not have an abundance of up tempo rockers this time around, but they make up for it in the sheer might of their more refined sound. The single “The Heinrich Maneuver”, as good as it is on it’s own is so much better in the full context of the album. Interpol have made their best cohesive album to date. Each song draws you in not only for repeated listens of that song but of the whole album as well.

Interpol – Pace is the Trick

4. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

Neon Bible is a peculiar album, you see, because when I first listened to it, I loved the songs that everyone else loved on the album and found the slower songs kind of monotonous and boring. Although, something happened in the time from when it was released to now. Now all of those slower songs have revealed their full meaning to me, and now all the incredible power of the lyrics and the simplicity is apparent to me. So now when I listen through the album, I hear catchy enjoyable songs framed by these towering epic songs, that are all veering in the same direction. They evoke all the terror and hope that everyone experiences today. It feels like each song is a reaction to Armageddon, do you rejoice? Do you do all the things that you were afraid of doing? Do you repent? Do you take cover? The album ends with one of the most emotionally powerful songs of the year, “My Body is a Cage”, which sounds like the story of a man conflicted, who has a hard road to travel. If Funeral was filled with wide eyed wonder, Neon Bible is filled with the discovery and disillusionment of adolescence, and it makes for a compelling listen.

Arcade Fire – The Well and The Lighthouse

3. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver

On the opening track “Get Innocuous”, James Murphy and company choose to, instead of punch you in the face “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” style, begin to remove all the furnishings of your home until you are pulled into a hypnotic groove vacuum. I’ll put it this way, if any song could work with just a seven minute long repeating clip from inside the millennium falcon moving at light speed, it would be the Sound of Silver opener. At the end of that song, you’re transported fully inside the disco ball and treated with track after track of the wry wit of Mr. Murphy and the funk he replaced your furniture with. There’s not a misstep to be found on the album, “North American Scum” proves that LCD Soundsystem still has the mastery over the build build build build release dance song structure; it also proved that Nancy Wang has great back up vocals. The song “Someone Great”, shows that even if a song has a syncopated rhythm and bells augmenting the vocals, it can still be heartbreakingly lovely. LCD even sharpen up their out of left field piano pop numbers with the unforgettable “New York I Love You But…”. The highest achievement has to be the perfect combination of dance rock bliss and pure pop perfection that is “All My Friends”, which is undeniably the best single of the year. If you haven’t climbed into that disco ball yet, you better get to it.

LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends

2. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala

There has always been something extremely enjoyable about Jens Lekman’s music, whether it’s his charming unconventionality or his time warp production techniques. When I first heard his song “You are the Light” on MTV U while I was running on a treadmill at Alfred, I was hooked by the faux vegas singer vibe and floored by the sarcastic handclaps made by the singer who was in full medieval armor. His last album, “When I Said I Wanted to be Your Dog” was certifiably unique and enjoyable but there was an edge in his sound that needed to be developed, it needed more of that lyrical wink, the earnest guy in a ridiculous situation and the retro musical styling. That is precisely what Mr. Lekman delivered this year with Night Falls over Kortedalla. The lyrics are tighter, the music is more powerful, and the songs have never been more signature of Jens. From the over the top Vegas strings, to 50′s back beat doo wap samples, to actual beats, Lekman delivers.

Jens Lekman – A Postcard to Nina

1. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Where to start… Spoon one of my all time favorite bands, it seems that anything they release is going to get a mention from me. The thing is though, if they weren’t so consistently awesome, my fascination with them would die down. Even their b-sides are better than the majority of other songs out there today. On Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Brit Daniel and company don’t miss a beat, coming right out of the gate with a song with probably the most identifiably hooks ever, “Don’t Make Me a Target”, and when the riotous piano breaks out, forget about it, you already know this album’s going to be a winner. Even the red herring, “The Ghost of You Lingers” is an enjoyable piano ballad dripping in reverb and would be perfect in a boxing movie or on a jogging mix tape, don’t forget to jump with your arms outstretched in a victory pose when you get to the top of the library steps. All of the familiar guitar rock is still present and leaps out at you in a relentless fervor ala “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb”. For fans of the hyper rhythmic “I Turn My Camera On”, there is “Don’t You Evah” which once again satisfies that need for a delicious groove. The singles material is what’s got Spoon the initial attention on this album, but it’s the core songs, the ones that aren’t going to get all the attention, that are the ones that make Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga album of the year. “Rhythm and Soul”, “Eddies Ragga”, “Finer Feelings”, are all incredible growers, the lyrics will jump out at you and demand that you sing along on the second listen. The album also has the best closing song of the year, with “Black Like Me”, can anyone else see the sun set when the viola plays? Long story short, it feels good when the underdog wins.

Spoon – Finer Feelings

AZLTRON MUSIC BLOG

December 19, 2007

AZLTRON Top 40 Albums of 2007 Part 3 20-11

Filed under: ambient,best of,Chromeo,dance mix,Electronic,garage rock,Good Music,indie,indie pop,win,year end list — AZLTRON @ 7:20 pm

Well, here we are, at part 3 of my year end blow out. I’m coming into the home stretch here with the albums that I continually came back to over the course of the entire year. Without further ado I’ll escort you through yet another list of ten superb albums from 2007.

20. All Teeth and Knuckles – Club Hits to Hit The Clubs With

If there were ever a perfect ironic, post-hipster, club ready album released, All Teeth and Knuckles would already be two steps ahead of it. The beats border on indie, punk, rap, and electro while still retaining the feeling of those crazy guys who lived down the hall from you sophomore year, who’ve since moved out, but still invite you to their rocking parties off campus. What I’m trying to say is that the music is as much hilarious as it is badass. From the interludes of the squeaky voiced guy from the P-Funk, to a song literally titled “Fuck Your Jacket”, “Club Hits to Hit the Clubs With” is a Win.

All Teeth and Knuckles – The Real San Francisco

19. White Williams – Smoke

Another artist that has popped up in the category of almost dance, almost pop this year is White Williams. You can hear influences all throughout his music. Often times his rhythm section takes on a Bowie-like syncopation pattern, or his bass will chug not unlike an LCD Soundsystem bassline. Made from island rhythms, off note guitar melodies, aural soundscapes and an undeniable white boy funk, White Williams has crafted one of the most fascinating albums of the year. From the moment you hear the spacey sounds and driving bassline of New Violence you’ll be hooked, and when the sighs hit around 0:41 you’ll be as satisfied as Mr. Williams sounds.

White Williams – New Violence

18. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga

Several things happened as Bright Eyes progressed as an artist from my perspective. First off, he did the Digital Ash/Digital Urn album that drew me into his songwriting world and I figured out that while overtly emotional there was nothing annoying or whiny about most of his work, and that it was actually smart. Then, I got into Son Volt and Wilco and other Alt. Country bands. Lo’ and behold, Cassadaga is Bright Eyes’ best realization of alt country aspiration yet. The only thing I’d question is that “Reinvent the Wheel” was left off the LP. Songs like “Four Winds” and my personal favorite “If The Brakeman Turns My Way” buoy the album, but “Reinvent the Wheel” is undeniable.

Bright Eyes – If The Brakeman Turns My Way

17. Digitalism – Idealism

I have to admit it took some warming up to Digitalism for me, I think I wasn’t impressed with the singles off the bat and that impression stuck with me. It wasn’t until I heard the driving guitars of “I Want I Want”, that made me go “Woah, guitars? Who are these guys?” and I dove through the rest of their album finding other gems like, of course, “Idealistic”, “Anything New”, and the best song to listen to in a convertible while speeding, “Pogo”. Of course I’m going to like the songs with vocals better than the instrumental, sample based, and ambient works, but the fact that there is a wide variety gets more respect from me than if they just released 12 pop songs.

Digitalism – Pogo

16. People Noise – Ordinary Ghosts

People Noise is a welcome suprise, composed of Zeke Buck formerly of VHS or Beta and Matt Johnson formerly of Boom Bip, joined together they made one of the best rock albums of the year. Drenched in reverb and washes of keyboards every note is tangible and rewarding to listen to. It kind of cracks me up that when Zeke Buck left VHS or Beta all of the mystique and addictive riffs left too, leaving “Bring on the Comets” sounding like a clunky hybrid of the two Killers albums. That said, the lush soundscapes that were once hidden behind French house riffs are now in the forefront. From the absolutely thrashing rock riots to the beautiful ballads “Ordinary Ghosts” will make you wish Zeke had left VHS or Beta earlier.

People Noise – Harrison Bergeron

15. Simian Mobile Disco – Attack Decay Sustain Release

Taking their album name from the settings on an analogue synthesizer, SMD shows you what a good Moog can do. Several of the year’s most banging singles came off of this album as well as one of the most talked about music videos of the year (Hustler). Guest vocalists like Ninja from the Go! Team and Barry Dobbin from the the discontinued Clor make some of the albums highlights really shine. I’m sure half of the reason I listen to “Love” is because I want to hear some new Clor tracks and the other half is that great slap bass sound. The pinnacle though, is the hard hitting electro ballad “I Believe“. After listening to this record you will believe too, in Simian Mobile Disco.

Simian Mobile Disco – I Believe

14. Midnight Juggernauts – Dystopia

With all of the retrofitting of catchy synthesizers to fit funked up French fried beats, it seems impossible that anyone could pull off anything like that in a truly live performance. Australia’s Midnight Juggernauts prove that it is possible. With a sound that’s one part David Bowie, one part Justice, and one part Gary Numan’s Minimoog synthesizer from 79, the basslines and roaring synth will have you begging for more in 45 seconds flat. If anyone out there was going to make a remake of the Rocky series, except it was a musical on acid, they might want to consult the Midnight Juggernauts because they have a lock on the otherworldly dance sound that floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

Midnight Juggernauts – So Many Frequencies

13. Chromeo – Fancy Footwork

Everybody’s favorite Montreal based synthfunk band returned this year and proved to be in better form than ever. There literally was not a better album to have in your car in this summer. The majestic electro soul of the intro captures the greatness of the album yet to come. Once the hits start rolling the just don’t stop. The song structures from their last album have been juiced up and the choruses are so insanely catchy that they’ll be there until next year’s best of lists. From “Tenderoni”, to “Fancy Footwork”, “To Bonafied Lovin’” Chromeo will make you believe in a place where Jheri Curl never went out of fashion and everyone still wears asymmetrical sunglasses and neon jackets.

Chromeo – Opening Up (Ce Soir On Danse)

12. The Rakes – Ten New Messages

The thing that keeps bringing me back to The Rakes is that their music is so urgent. Vocalist Alan Donohoe perfectly ascribes the feeling of being intelligent and out of control at the same time. It’s the idea of the emotional versus the logical and the Rakes’ music is dripping with that give and take. The ballads highlight this unique approach to the love song, “Little Superstitions” and even more so “Leave the City and Come Home” lay out a relationship situation perfectly, and the protagonist knows what he should do, the logic, but his emotional side won’t let him. For as much as I’m talking about the cerebral, there are definitely brash rock outs on this album, some are even a little angry. The best of them is the unstoppable “Time to Stop Talking”, which is a shock to The Rakes’ cerebral system to end contemplation and begin fevered action.

The Rakes – Time to Stop Talking

11. The Octopus Project – Hello Avalanche

The smörgåsbord of sounds offered up on this album are more than enough to make it the instrumental album of the year, even though not all tracks are instrumentals. From tremolo vibes to fuzzed out electronic beats to perfect garage rock riffs, this album has something for everyone. There’s even a theremin all throughout! A theremin! When was the last time any band, any band, used a theremin? We’ve probably got to go back to the 60′s for that one. The genre bending tendencies of this album soar through ambient, easy listening, indie pop and IDM. If The Octopus Project ever scores a movie, I’ll be the first in line to see it. Until then they’ll have to remain the soundtrack of my life.

The Octopus Project – Ghost Moves

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