Five Best Releases of the Spring
Josh Stinton
Issue date: 5/13/09 Section: Music
Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion-Boasting lush arrangements and spectacular sonic clarity and dissonance, MPP is the best sort of album; it is not seasonal. Play "Summertime Clothes" when you're sticking to your mattress in the summer or "Bluish" when you lie awake at night thinking about that girl you met in your 9:00 Monday morning class. It is a beautiful album.
Woods: Songs of Shame-It is comforting to know that there are still really cool psych-rock bands out there that owe a lot to Neil Young. The cool thing about these guys though, is that they sound incredibly unique and like a world-weary Neil Young, write songs that tap into the most delicate parts of the human brain.
Wilco: Ashes of American Flags DVD-Sure there are some songs on here that I detest (see: "The Late Greats") but there is a lot to love. Nels Cline's guitar work is absolutely incredible and numbers like "Via Chicago" and "Wishful Thinking" are still inspired lovelorn ballads that sound significantly improved by Jeff Tweedy's confident voice.
Japandroids: Post-Nothing-Here's an interesting band. Like a more fractured, less accessible Strokes, these guys ape the hell out of 70's art-rock. Japandroids are very funny and arty, which goes back to when Television was angry at people for complaining about their "dic----tion."
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (self-titled)-I love it. Like MPP, it is an anytime, anyplace, sort of album. If you dig My Bloody Valentine, and you don't want to hear the overpowering sonic destruction, give this a listen.
Woods: Songs of Shame-It is comforting to know that there are still really cool psych-rock bands out there that owe a lot to Neil Young. The cool thing about these guys though, is that they sound incredibly unique and like a world-weary Neil Young, write songs that tap into the most delicate parts of the human brain.
Wilco: Ashes of American Flags DVD-Sure there are some songs on here that I detest (see: "The Late Greats") but there is a lot to love. Nels Cline's guitar work is absolutely incredible and numbers like "Via Chicago" and "Wishful Thinking" are still inspired lovelorn ballads that sound significantly improved by Jeff Tweedy's confident voice.
Japandroids: Post-Nothing-Here's an interesting band. Like a more fractured, less accessible Strokes, these guys ape the hell out of 70's art-rock. Japandroids are very funny and arty, which goes back to when Television was angry at people for complaining about their "dic----tion."
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (self-titled)-I love it. Like MPP, it is an anytime, anyplace, sort of album. If you dig My Bloody Valentine, and you don't want to hear the overpowering sonic destruction, give this a listen.
Be the first to comment on this story