The name of the album, Funeral Car, says it all. Desert City Soundtrack never got the press they deserved. And if you missed seeing this band’s incredible live show you missed out on sheer madness.
Sandwiched between Jimmy Eat World’’s two most accessible albums, Futures was a darker look into the band’s songwriting. To me it seems like this album was the most uncomfortable one for the band to make and perhaps that is why it harbors such intriguing results.
David Bazan may be a lot of things but he doesn’t stray far when it comes to subject matter. And Control is his most brutally honest look into religion and the struggles that come with it. This is Bazan’s crowning achievement in my opinion.
I can not express how much I love this man and April is the best album of Mark Kozelek’s career. That spans all his solo material and of course the amazing Red House Painters catalog. I know it is a ridiculously strong statement but I’m sticking to it.
Survival Is For Cowards (still one of my all time favorite album titles) was the swan song of the underrated emo band The Casket Lottery. The album was the band’s most polished and mature release which made the group’s demise all the more puzzling.
Recorded by Steve Albini for over 50 consecutive days, this self-titled affair is a testament to The Form’s determination and perseverance for perfection. I think they got it right.
Anthemic pop/punk filtered through influences like Guthrie, Bragg and Springsteen. Sink Or Swim was The Gaslight Anthem’s amazing debut and quickly thrust the band into a spotlight they most definitely deserved.
I love this album. It’s the perfect late night summer album especially if you spent your time around the water a lot which I certainly did back then. And it is still the Minus The Bear album I reach for the most. But, I will admit that I have a love/hate relationship with the band for two reasons. First, I’ve seen them live twice. Once they were simply amazing. The next time they were absolutely terrible. Second, I think the band (through no fault of their own) has inspired a ton of shitty unoriginal bands. But hey, give them their due, this album still rules!
I can remember hearing the demos for No Matter Where We Go and being absolutely floored. Posi pop/punk hardcore anthems that many may try to replicate but they just fail miserably. Latterman just had that special something that we all look for in a band. RIP.
This album makes the list, if for nothing else, the sheer amount I listened to it. But of course, that’s not all. Barry’s live show is an experience all should have. Rivanna Junction was the Avail frontman’s debut solo album and shows a side to Barry that has never really been seen before. This is not polished music. It’s dirty and imperfect…much like Avail was. This is a brutally honest album from a brutally honest man.
I have been only a casual follower of Brian Bond before receiving his latest release, Fire & Gold, earlier this year. I downloaded his Ten Thousand Songs EP last year and admired his band, Communipaw (with brother PJ), from afar but that was the extent of it. Nothing could really prepare me for what I was about to hear on Fire & Gold though. Two years in the making, Brian Bond’s Fire & Gold is a stunning pop masterpiece by a relatively unknown from New Brunswick, New Jersey, a place more touted for its punk bands. Apparently, anonymity suits Brian Bond well.
Brian Bond is not your typical acoustic singer/songwriter. He moves freely never limiting himself from song to song. Bond’s expansive pop reach leaves no rock unturned on Fire & Gold. Yet there is a bold intimacy achieved throughout Fire & Gold’s extensive reach. Bond’s lyrics are incredibly touching and ripe with sentiment. Instrumentally there is a remarkable depth here as Bond adds almost psychedelic elements to his compositions. Bond even explores the orchestral, as he is backed by a string quintet for one song. His songwriting, while polished, possesses such innocence and warmth that washes over and envelopes the listener. Fire & Gold achieves a striking charm that is impossible to dismiss and only grows stronger with each listen.
Brian Bond is that rare artist that practically begs (and deserves) to be heard by a much wider audience. Fire & Gold is a magical listening experience and it seems to only scratch the surface of where Bond could be heading. The album marks the beginning for one of the most promising singer/songwriters I have come across in years. Brian Bond should be anonymous no more.
Genre: Singer/Songwriter/Pop
RIYL: Jeff Buckley, Ken Stringfellow, Jeremy Enigk, Mark Kozelek, Sufjan Stevens
Label: Self-Released
The North Country
02%20The%20North%20Country.mp3
House For An Easy Heart
03%20House%20For%20An%20Easy%20Heart.mp3
Keep Your Eyes On Me
Sun Kil Moon is the band led by Mark Kozelek, formerly of Red House Painters. April is technically Sun Kil Moon’s third album but just the second that includes original material. 2005’s Tiny Cities preceded April and was Kozelek’s take on eleven Modest Mouse songs. The album was probably some of Kozelek’s least affecting material. Which certainly came as a shock, especially considering how brilliant Kozelek’s solo AC/DC covers album, What’s Next To The Moon, was. So, in reality April follows up 2003’s Ghosts Of The Great Highway which officially introduced Sun Kil Moon to the world.
If you thought Ghosts Of The Great Highway was sprawling (clocking in around an hour), April’s 74 minute running time will redefine your definition. It’s no surprise though. Kozelek is never one to rush his songs. Five of April’s eleven tracks reach above the seven minute mark. With Kozelek, patience has always been a virtue needed as a listener. Kozelek’s songs unfold slowly and effortlessly, never trying to force a feeling. They exist in that perfect, natural moment and that is what makes a great deal of his material so incredibly timeless. As a listener, if you patiently allow yourself to join him, well, chances are he’s already won you over.
Kozelek has a remarkable way with tone. It is such a simple and useful tool for a singer/songwriter yet so many seem to never grasp the concept. Kozelek certainly does though. His expansive songs might move at a glacial pace but they enthrall with an inviting warmth and aching beauty. His lyrics are often haunting as they long for people and places that have sadly passed. In Kozelek’s words, there is a great understanding of life, love and the forces that surround us all. April is the gentle push/pull of life at it’s most fragile and longing.
Close to seven months after the album’s original release I still find new things to love about April with each passing listen. Not only is April a definite contender for album of the year but it just might be the crowning achievement in Mark Kozelek’s impressive discography. And for a guy who has released so many amazing records, the depth of that statement is truly remarkable. But whether you start with April or somewhere earlier in Kozelek’s career is of no consequence to me. Just as long as you start somewhere.
Genre: Indie Rock/Singer/Songwriter
RIYL: Neil Young, Bonne ‘Prince’ Billy, Jason Molina
Label: Caldo Verde
Moorestown
