City Reign are an exciting young band from Manchester, UK. Their first single, "Making Plans," was released back in September 2010. New single "Out in the Cold" will be released on January 31 via their own Car Boot Records label.
I had not heard of City Reign until they sent me a preview of "Out in the Cold," but I think they're due for a tremendous breakthrough. The band plays a brand of earnest, energetic rock not heard often enough anymore. Songwriters Mike Grice and Chris Bull met at a Ryan Adams concert and eventually named their band after the Adams song "City Rain, City Streets." Their catchy, guitar-based songs are propelled by a formidable rhythm section, comprised of bassist Michael Glaze and drummer Sam Jones.
Of the two singles, at first I was immediately drawn to "Making Plans," with its chugging riffs, kinetic drumming, and interwoven backing vocals. Lead singer Chris Bull's voice bears an uncanny resemblance to Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble on this track, although Bull sounds significantly more polished and mature than Woomble did at the beginning of his career.
"Out in the Cold" is actually the catchier of the two, and is a strong follow-up single. Its chorus - "So why won't you let me go?" - is absolutely infectious. Like any good hook, once it's stuck in your head you will find yourself singing it over and over for days. It should resonate strongly with fans of bands like Oasis.
People always seem to say, "I wish there was better music on the radio these days." Folks, this is what you're looking for.
City Reign has a bright future ahead, and I am very excited to hear what's next from them.
Iron & Wine performed selections from their upcoming record, Kiss Each Other Clean, for NPR's First Listen series. Host John Schaefer said the band played the album in its entirety front-to-back, but I don't think that's what actually happened. The performance starts off with "Tree By the River," listed everywhere as track 3. The band did not play leadoff single "Walking Far From Home" single, but did play b-side "Biting Your Tail." So while it's probably not the entire album, it's still a nice sample of what to expect on January 25.
1. "Tree by the River"
2. "Big Burned Head"
3. "Biting Your Tail"
4. "Half Moon"
5. "Monkeys Uptown"
6. "Mouth of the River"
7. "Summer in Savannah"
8. "Godless Brother in Love"
9. "Rabbit Will Run"
10. "Me and Lazarus"
11. "Boy With a Coin"
12. "Naked As We Came"
Great Lakes Swimmers are a Canadian indie folk band, formed circa 2003 by singer/songwriter Tony Dekker. They first caught my attention (and probably a lot of others' in America) after "Your Rocky Spine" was featured in an episode of Showtime's Weeds. The band's most recent album, Lost Channels, was released in 2009.
For who knows how long, this song had been sitting amid the dozens of links I keep on my computer's desktop. I just got around to listening to it while doing some end of year clean-up, and it seems shockingly appropriate now.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Gonna Make it Through This Year: Download (right click and "Save Target As...")
With only one day left in 2010, it's time to check in on the release schedule for 2011. The new year looks to be full of new music from great bands. Just the first quarter alone features confirmed releases from Iron & Wine, R.E.M., Bright Eyes, the Decemberists, and Cake. New albums from the Strokes and the Get Up Kids may also be released within the first three months of the year.
Rumored or confirmed:
Blind Pilot - TBD Bon Iver - TBD Bright Eyes - The People's Key (Feb 15) Cake - Showroom of Compassion (Jan 11) Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys (spring 2011) The Decemberists - The King is Dead (Jan 18) The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules (Jan 25) The Good, the Bad, and the Queen - TBD Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (Apr 12) Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean (Jan 25) Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (May 10) Beth Orton - TBD R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now (Feb 7) Radiohead - King of Limbs Red Hot Chili Peppers (summer 2011) The Shins - TBD The Strokes - Angles (March 22) Young the Giant (Jan 25)
Better late than never, eh? In the inevitable winter music dropoff, i.e. the time between mid-December and - oh, I don't know - let's say March (don't get hung up on the timing; I'm just making this up as I type), it seems most musicians avoid putting out new releases. Maybe they think no one is paying attention during the holidays. Or maybe it's because everyone needs a break, and what better time to take one than Christmas? Nevertheless, this gives me some time to catch up on music I missed earlier in the year.
I overlooked Expo 86, Wolf Parade's third LP (and their last one, if the band's "indefinite hiatus" is a permanent one), when it came out on June 29, 2010. I was underwhelmed by its predecessor, At Mount Zoomer, and although I acknowledge that album is probably a grower that needed more time, it didn't get me excited for the band's next release. Perhaps because of that (or maybe because I happened to be getting married in June), I barely paid any attention to the album's leadoff single, "What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had to Go This Way)."
For anyone who hasn't heard of Wolf Parade, the Canadian band is comprised of dual lead singers/songwriters Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, drummer Arlen Thompson, and guitarist/percussionist Dante DeCaro. Krug, who plays keyboard, had been involved with several other bands, most notably Sunset Rubdown. Boeckner, guitarist, also fronts husband/wife duo Handsome Furs. Thompson has been involved with Arcade Fire, and DeCaro was a guitarist and songwriter for Hot Hot Heat. So they're sort of an indie rock supergroup. The band first gained attention with their 2005 debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, with At Mount Zoomer following in 2008.
Expo 86 opens with the crazy rantings of Spencer Krug. (The guy could be brilliant - at least everyone says he is - but I don't know what the hell he's singing about.) Something about a hammock, dreamcatchers, scorpions, and jumping over mountains like a gazelle. Yeah. The thing is, though, the song rocks. But even when it seems ready to explode into a storm of ferocious drumming, guitars, "oh oh ohs," and "na na nas," it almost disintegrates into nothing. For over a full minute in the song's midsection, it's as if Krug and the band forgot what they were doing. It's all just tension-building, though, for the eventual eruption into the song's titanic, energetic closer.
Likewise, Krug's "What Did My Lover Say" is a monster of a song. It snakes into your head and feasts on your brain. Because, you know...snakes are really just zombies with sharper fangs. Anyway, the band has pulled off somewhat of an amazing feat by crafting a song that is infectious without actually being catchy.
Random Thought, by the way: If Spencer Krug's voice is as distinctive as everyone says, why is it I can't tell him apart from co-lead singer Dan Boeckner? If anyone actually commented on these posts, I might get slayed for that comment, but at least it's honest. The dudes sound the same. You can usually pick out each guy's songs, though, as Boeckner's aren't insane. Maybe inscrutable, but not batshit crazy. Naturally, this lets us create a handy cheat sheet for when you find yourself listening to or discussing a Wolf Parade record:
Trust me, the insane/not-insane cheat sheet is usually foolproof. It has gotten me out of countless conversations where I just wanted to say, "Man, I don't know who the fuck is singing on 'Ghost Pressure.'"
Case in point. While Krug does his best Bowie impression on "What Did My Lover Say," Boeckner's "Palm Road" reminds me of Springsteen. Now, if you had to fit Bowie and Springsteen into our cheat sheet, where are they going to go? Yep. By the way, "Palm Road" doesn't actually sound anything like Bruce, but his spirit is there. Or the mythology of his spirit. Something like that. I grew up in Jersey; I'm allowed to make random Boss-comparisons. (Or maybe that means I'm supposed to avoid them?)
That being said, Boeckner contributed some of the truly standout tracks on this record, including the wistful yet upbeat "Yulia," rocking stomper "Pobody's Nerfect," and soaring "Little Golden Age."
Overlooking this album was a mistake. Expo 86 is a triumphant success, combining elements of each bandmembers' work in their various side projects into a unified whole. Hopefully the band's hiatus is not a permanent one, as Expo 86 shows they were just starting to find their groove.
What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had to Go This Way):
Bright Eyes has released "Shell Games," the first song from his/their upcoming album, The People's Key, in stores February 15, 2011 from Saddle Creek. You can grab the song for only the price of your email address, or head over to label's website for preorder options, two of which include non-album tracks "Singularity" and "The Real World."
I try to avoid writing "best of" lists, as I find it difficult if not impossible to say that one record is "better" than another, especially considering they all have divergent styles, motivations, and goals.
Furthermore, there's only so much time in a year, and I like to actually listen to these albums more than once! I understand that major music news outlets have teams of people creating their lists, but I'm blown away when I see individual people making Top 50 lists for a single year. Fifty albums? That's an album a week. I buy a lot of music, but I'd think an album should have some staying-power before it gets considered for a best-of list.
It makes me wonder how honest those lists really are...or whether other music fans are just adding albums because of one great song (or, possibly, because everyone else says it's good). That's why you won't find Mimicking Birds, for example, on my list. I love "Burning Stars" and "Cabin Fever," but I haven't heard the rest of that album. Likewise for the New Pornographers, Shout Out Louds, Freelance Whales, and others. Unfortunately those albums fall into the black hole of best-of lists: Not heard in 2010 and not eligible for 2011.
With that too-long disclaimer out of the way, here are my favorite albums released in 2010:
20. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Highlights: "Cousins," "Holiday," and "Giving Up the Gun."
19. Rocky Votolato - True Devotion
Highlights: "Sparklers" and "Red River."
18. Warpaint - The Fool
Highlights: "Composure," "Shadows," and "Baby."
17. Glen Phillips - Tornillo Highlights: "Better Off Here" and "Let it Pass."
16. Eels - End Times
Highlights: "A Line in the Dirt," "Mansions of Los Feliz," and "Gone Man."
15. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Highlights: "Wide Eyes" and "Cubism Dream."
14. Secret Knives - Affection
Highlights: "Wicker Park" and "The Northwest States."
13. The Black Keys - Brothers
Highlights: "Tighten Up" and "Everlasting Light."
12. We Are Scientists - Barbara Highlights: "Nice Guys," "I Don't Bite," and "Central AC."
11. Joe Pug - Messenger
Highlights: "Bury Me Far From My Uniform," "Unsophisticated Heart," and "Speak Plainly, Diana."
10. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Highlights: "American Slang," "Orphans," "The Diamond Church Street Choir," and "The Boxer."
9. Wolf Parade - Expo 86
Highlights: "What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had to Go This Way)," "Yulia," "Cave-o-Sapien," and "Little Golden Age"
8. Gold Motel - Summer House Highlights: "Safe in L.A." and "Summer House."
7. The National - High Violet
Highlights: "Bloodbuzz Ohio," "Conversation 16," "Sorrow," and "Terrible Love."
6. Spoon - Transference
Highlights: "I Saw the Light," "Written in Reverse" and "Got Nuffin."
5. Guster - Easy Wonderful
Highlights: "Hercules," "This Could All Be Yours," "Do You Love Me," and "Do What You Want."
4. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Highlights: "Swim Until You Can't See Land," "Nothing Like You," and "FootShooter."
3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Highlights: "Deep Blue," "The Suburbs," and "Ready to Start."
2. Ra Ra Riot - The Orchard
Highlights: "The Orchard," "Boy," "You and I Know," "Shadowcasting," and "Too Dramatic."
1. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - III/IV
Highlights: "Breakdown into the Resolve," "Star Wars," "The Sewers at the Bottom of the Wishing Well," "P.S."
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