Every year I do a list of favorite releases from the past year. It’s a hold over from my days as a fanzine editor, where I used to do a Top 10 list of favorite stuff that I came across between issues.
This year I decided to make a change. I decided to say just what I think and feel about a release and ignore the old professional music journalist in me that demanded at least a modicum of objectivity.
This list is in no particular order as each one is tops in its own way. Unlike in years past I could not name a “Record of the Year” I’m not too interested in making those kind of declarations anyway.
Ben Weasel and His Iron String Quartet – These Ones Are Bitter
It seems like every review I read about this release talked more about it being digital-only than about the actual, you know, music. And that’s odd because the idea of distributing music online is not exactly a new concept; it’s just one that’s gaining more traction from artists like Ben Weasel for the simple reason that it’s cheaper and more efficient. That’s a good thing because I was able to download it from Emusic as soon as it was available.
These Ones Are Bitter is, simply, a great fucking album. A big step up from 2002’s Fidatevi, which I thought had pretty sketchy production and not as good songs. One of the reasons I think this is a better record is that, by all accounts, he took a longer time making it, having recorded it with donated studio time, which allowed him to create more fully realized versions of songs.
Musically, it’s not too different from what you would expect from Ben Weasel: singalong Ramone’s style punk rock with Weasel’s trademark nasal honk. Much of this record can be compared in spirit to Screeching Weasel’s 1991 release My Brain Hurts with simple song structure and simple leads, which is perhaps best exemplified in “Let Freedom Ring” “Happy Saturday” and “Jeanette”. Weasel and back-up musicians that consisted of members of Akaline Trio and the All-American Rejects also explore a bit of more modern Social Distortion territory in tracks like “Got My Number” and “First Day of Spring”.
The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse
On a purely creative level, this is the best record I heard all year. While the band apparently resists being labeled “post rock”, the shoe fits and I will use it for convenience and clarity. The Besnard Lakes are best at creating mood and using all the tools at their disposal (multi-layered arrangements, sound samples, reverb) to evoke that mood. More, they effortlessly mix genres like ‘60s psychedelic, ‘80s new wave and industrial, creating a compelling sound that demands more than just passive listening.
Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
One of these days I’m going to write something about post rock being the new prog rock. And I will not look very good in it because I do like a lot of the music flying under the post rock banner, either willingly or otherwise. This release by the Explosions in the Sky is a perfect example: One of the things this band is good at is creating imagery through sound. They are the reason the visualization feature in Windows Media Player was invented.
“The Birth and Death of the Day”, begins with a slow burn, climaxing with a screaming guitar that flies over top of the rest of the instrumentation like a fireball roaring through space.
The concluding track, “So Long, Lonesome”, is the opposite: It’s a quiet, gentle piece with a twinkling piano that evokes the image of a candle burning down to the bottom and flickering out.
Bishop Allen – The Broken String
I’ve been following Bishop Allen since I saw their set at NXNE a few years ago. The Broken String is their second full-length, which comes off their cute gimmick from 2006 where they released a CD EP each month for the entire year. I’m only familiar with a couple of songs from those releases as I only downloaded the freebies they posted to their website each month but I noticed couple tracks showed up on this full-length.
“The Monitor”, which kicks off the record, is from the June or July release, or neither, I’m not entirely sure and I’m too lazy to look it up right now. But regardless, it’s a fantastic song, with a haunting vocal line and arrangement, and somewhat obscure lyrics about the USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy and which was used in a famous battle during the American Civil War and later lost at sea.
“Corazon”, another standout, and which was one of my favourite songs of 2006, shows up here with a slightly different arrangement than what appeared on the EP. It’s another slightly off-kilter song that appears to be about the singer’s piano. My only gripe is that the bass drives me nuts at times; it is a little too staccato, when the song really calls for a more fluid sound.
Bishop Allen mine similar territory as fellow New Yorkers Interpol and The National, but with less emphasis on the darker Joy Division-ish elements and more on the hooky pop.
Kat Goldman – Sing Your Song
Kat Goldman is described in her bio as “one of Canada’s best-kept secrets” and I’m wondering why that is. She is certainly one of the more talented singer-songwriters in Toronto today.
I came across her music completely by accident; I don’t know about you but sometimes when I’m on the Web listening to new music, I click link after link of artists’ sites or MySpace pages and somehow came across an MP3 of “Weight of the World”, which I became completely taken with. I did some reading and got a not-entirely-clear picture of her story. She was in a bad accident a few years ago where she almost died. If I read correctly, she was in a bakery when she got smoked by a car that crashed through the window and pinned her against the wall.
I don’t know how this experience informed the songs on this release, as there isn’t a track that overtly talks about it, but it’s hard to imagine that her perspective on life and her work hasn’t been affected. So in some respect this sophomore release is really a second debut. Or not. I’m just glad I stumbled across it.
Aside from “Weight of the World”, some standout tracks for me were “Baby You Gonna Fall In Love” with its warm ‘70s-style production and full-voiced piano accompaniment, “Driving All Night” and “Red Canoe”.
Jack DeJohnette – Peace Time
This release, for me, is not only one of my favorites from last year, it’s also one of the more perplexing. I am first to admit that I don’t understand it, but I do really like it. It consists of one 60-minute track that is like a meditation; it’s quiet, measured and filled with nuance.
Instrumentally, it’s just piano, flute and what sounds like a didgeridoo. I don’t know for sure as the personnel isn’t listed on emusic, where I downloaded it (that’s a flaw that I hope they correct in future iterations), or anywhere else for that matter. All I know is that I like listening to it and after it’s over I kinda wish it wasn’t.
Favorite Shows
I didn’t make it out for as many shows as I used to. Maybe I’m getting old. Having said that, not very many shows stuck out for me this year. Some standouts for me were a Dodge Fiasco show at the Dakota in early spring, the Subhumans (UK) at the Reverb, Tim Barry at Holy Joes, although it was the biggest sausage fest I’ve been to since I saw Art Bergmann at a club in Victoria many years ago; speaking of the Dakota, I saw NQ Arbuckle play a few very enjoyable sets there, in particular one where they played with Rich Hope and Carolyn Mark.
The show I had the most fun at was the UK Subs at the Kathedral. I even got to meet Charlie Harper after it was all over. I bought a T-shirt to mark the occaison, which I rarely do.
Song of the Year
“Is There a Ghost?” by Band of Horses. Man, what a moody, evocative song.
The “How to Save a Life” Award for Most Irritating Song of the Year
“The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani. Of course, now that I’ve written that, I’ll hear it everywhere I go for the next week.
What’s Missing
Two bands I love, Bad Religion and the New Pornographers both put out new releases, which may have made this list if I had picked them up by now.
Update
How could I have forgotten to mention that I got to see The Tennessee Three? I even got to meet WS Holland, Johnny Cash’s drummer for many years, who played on both Live at San Quentin and Live at Folsom Prison, who played on the session for the Million Dollar Quartet back in 1956, which featured Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. Shaking the hand of the man who lived through so many legendary moments was a truly memorable experience.