Recent albums of interest:
The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
Brooding rock soaked in reverb, The Twilight Sad construct epic tides of shoegaze that smash against razors and shattered mirrors. James Graham's lyrics paint vivid pictures of memories that cannot be purged and of a tomorrow that's always swollen with apprehension. The Twilight Sad evoke the guitar-and-drum-drenched awe of Sigur Ros and fellow Scottish lads Mogwai, but TTS strain different sensitivities; in lieu of maximizing the apex of a crescendo (as Sigur Ros and Mogwai do so extraordinarily), TTS hit the peak briefly, then come down, as if tempting some incomprehensible fate, only to realize, No, I'm not ready to submerge myself into that chasm.
Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters is the band's debut offering (released in 2007 on Fat Cat Records) and a very solid, consistent record. Earlier this year the band released the compilation Killed
My Parents and Hit the Road. The comp features three covers, "Modern Romance" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Half a Person" by The Smiths, and last but not least "Twenty Four Hours" by Joy Division. The band tours the US with Mogwai beginning 20 April.
That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy - The Twilight Sad
And She Would Darken The Memory - The Twilight Sad
Telefon Tel Aviv - Immolate Yourself
Insulate yourself from everything and lose yourself in the detached and mercurial galaxy of Telefon Tel Aviv's bittersweet final album. The electronic duo of Joshua Eustis and Charles Cooper released this album, which is sure to be one of the finer releases of 2009, in February. One week after its release Cooper's body was discovered, a victim of an apparent suicide. Immolate Yourself's songs don't stand well as solitary figures, but as an album, the songs weave an enchanting and mysterious trail. Think early '80s New Order using 21st music technology. This is a really good album… a grower.
You Are The Worst Thing In The World - Telefon Tel Aviv
Autechre – Incunabula
The sound: intergalactic protozoa dispersing through unidentified fields of foreign bodies, processed by Rob Brown and Sean Booth, aka Autechre, using various electronic components. Electronic music: changed forever.
444 - Autechre
Nirvana – Nevermind
This album only gets better with time, which is odd because I resented Nevermind in many ways, especially after Kurt Cobain's suicide. Nevermind became Nirvana's antithesis once In Utero hit the world, and even more so post-Cobain. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" forced the front man onto a stage he wasn't prepared for, thanks in large part to MTV, who played the now-iconic video incessantly, and In Utero was a clear retaliation against everything that Nevermind had become. Juxtapose the two albums and the contrasts are striking, especially in regards to production. The sound of Nevermind is clean and pristine, crafted brilliantly by Butch Vig and mixed by Andy Wallace, while In Utero is dirty and abrasive, with Steve Albini masterfully capturing the band's corrosiveness. But in the 18 years since Nevermind's release (18 years!), the context of the album and Nirvana has changed. Time has stripped that album of the pessimism and cynicism that fueled Cobain's descent into In Utero, and when consumed as a classic article of rock music, Nevermind stands as one of those rare, staggering works of precision and perfection.
xx
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