1) The Shins : Wincing the Night Away

This album represents a change of direction for the James Mercer and his little outfit from Portland. At first I didn’t like it. There’s still a pair of traditional catchy indie-pop songs that caught my attention, (”Australia” and “Phantom Limb“) and great pop songs they are. The rest of the album felt uneven but after a few listens, it occurred to me this unevenness is really bold experimentation: “Sea Legs” a Pink Floyd-ish funk song with a great instrumental break at the end, “Split Needle” displays something darker and “Red Rabbits” and “The Comet Appears” the sweet but oddly textured acoustic numbers. All around great music.

2) Pinback : Autumn of the Seraphs

San Diego based Pinback is one my favorite bands of the past decade. Even when they aren’t writing good songs (see “Devil You Know” and “I’m A Pretty Lady”), they sound awesome. The first 6 songs of this album blend together like Sgt. Pepper. While this isn’t the classic that Summer in Abaddon was, it’s proof that Pinback will continue to make great music.

3) José González : In Our Nature

It’s hard to create a unique sound with just an accoustic guitar but this guy has done it. His playing and singing are so very distinct, almost mesmerizing. “How Low”, “Down the Line”, “Cycling Trivialities” and the cover version of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” are the stand out tracks here.

4) French Kicks: Two Thousand

This New York band adds more focus to their new wavish, retro-80s sound. This album is significant progression from “Trial of the Century” mainly because the songwriting and arrangements are better. Only “Hey I Wait” disappoints, the rest of the album is full of some great indie-pop (”So Far We Are”, “No Mean Time”). My favorite song on the album is “Knee High” which builds from drums and a synth to a wall of the classic Kicks sound.

5) Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

IMHO, there’s a room for Spoon in everyone’s catalog. Their music has so many hooks it’s almost ridiculous. With this 2007 release, they seem to be repeating themselves adding horns here and there but why change a formula that works so well.

6) Blonde Redhead: 23

From the opening chords of the title track to the soft intro of “Silently” this records seems to blend together. My only complaint is that it would have been a perfect record if they would have left off the last two songs. “Top Ranking” sounds more like something from an earlier period of the band and “My Impure Hair” just plain drags. Other than that, BR is at top form: “Spring And By Summer Fall” rocks, “Herione” is absolutely lovely and the sound of “Dr. Strangeluv” could only come from this band.

7) Thurston Moore: Trees Outside the Academy

To most people a Thurston Moore solo album will just sound like a Sonic Youth album without Kim and Renaldo singing. To some extents this is true. The basic SY elements of dark, subculture music are here but the songs have more accoustic guitar than you will ever encounter on an SY cut. “Honest James” shines as the best track: a lovely guitar dual. Of course there’s a few token noise songs here to blow your eardrums out but the rest is solid from a solid veteran indie-rocker.

8.) Panda Bear: Trees Outside the Academy

A solo album from one of the Animal Colletive guys and like that group, this album tries to one up Pet Sounds but it does a damn good job. The reverby effects and repetiveness make this album seem almost like an orchestral achievement. The melodies are very catchy and I found myself humming them quite regularly. Play “Bro” or “Take Pills” regularly and you will see what I mean.

1) R.E.M. : Accelerate

The 3 remaining veteran musicians of R.E.M. returned to the sound of Life Rich Paegent and Document to breath life back into a band that was one of the fore-bearers of alternative music in the 80s and 90s. At only 34 minutes, this record is perfectly paced. The majority of the songs are loud, distortion, garage rockers. “Man-sized Wreath” and “Supernatural Superserious” have that pop feel that could only be R.E.M. The title track and “Sing for the Submarine” explored darker territory while “Houston” and “Until the Day Is Done” show that they are still masters of acoustic rock. The highlight of the album for me is “Mr. Richards”, a poetic, political critique of the Bush Administration decorated in a great melodies and metaphors. Like “Exhuming McCarthy”, “Disturbance at the Heron House” and “Fall on Me”, that song will still sound good in 10-15 years.

2) Air France: No Way Down

I discovered this album on accident. This group from Sweden combines ambient sounds, dance beats and symphonic arrangements with just enough vocals to keep it out the instrumental category. Another short record, this one is only 22 minutes, the songs blend into one another. The best song is “No Excuses.”

3) Bob Dylan: Tell Tale Signs

A co-worker told me that PBS was making available a streaming version of this Dylan album when it was released. I listened to it online for about 2 weeks and fell in love. I’m not one of those who thinks that Love and Theft and Modern Times are the awesome masterpieces that critics and other fans declare. However, this release is a great sample of his last 15 years of material. It makes you wonder how some of the version of these songs never ended up on albums. “Born in Time” in particular memorizes the ears here whereas the original version is awful. Other stand outs in clude “Tel Ol’ Bill“, “Someday Baby” & “Dreamin’ of You.”

4) Torche: Meanderthal

This music isn’t for everyone. It’s pretty heavy but it’s the perfect combination of melodic and hard for me. “Grenades” feels like it could be the anthem of a new generation, “Sundown” a Jawboxish slow epic and the short instrumentals (”Triumph of Venus”, “Little Champion”) like every song on the album let the band showcase their technical chops. Only the last 3 songs are longer than 3:30 minutes. Watch out for the long octave solo in “Fat Waves.”

5) Cervantes: Making Friends and Enemies

Perhaps this decade’s most underrated act in San Francisco, Cervantes (formerly Dumbwaiter) has undergone a number of personnel changes over the years but the core members and songwriters remain to help the band reinvigorate and reinvent themselves each time. This album represent the pinnacle of their effort. The guitar work, the angst-driven vocals, the creative song structures and the hat-tips to their influences forge this record. This is one album that should be in your collection.

1) Neko Case: Middle Cyclone

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood seemed a little off and it didn’t warm up to me the way Blacklisted, and Furnace Room Lullaby did but this record was on rotation in my music player for countless weeks. Radio friendly tracks like “This Tornado Loves You”, “People Got A Lotta Nerve” and “Red Tide” have a sleek, polished feel that could some day make them Alt-Country classics but the real gems here are the acoustic, non-traditional songs like “Polar Nettles”, “Fever”, “Vengenance is Sleeping” and the title track. These numbers weave in lovely harmonies, melodies and lyrics that are nothing more than memorizing.

2) Islands: Vapours

This album actually surprised me. Islands, a montreal based band, followed their remarkable 2005 debut Return to the Sea with a disappointing, overproduced and swollen album Arm’s Way. Vapours doesn’t revert to the sound of Return to the Sea. It’s more like a new beginning. It pulls the best sounds from the 80s and lays them on top of some very cleverly crafted indie-synth-pop tunes. This is fun music and each time I listen to this record I marvel at how well these songs are arranged. “Tender Torture”, “Devout” and “Switched On” are my favorites.

3) U2: No Line on the Horizon

I was talking to a guy at a campout this summer who described U2 as the “Beatles of our generation.” This pisses music critics off. When at the beginning of Rattle & Hum Bona said, “This song Charles Mason stole from the Beatles and now we’re stealing it back” wasn’t he implying that U2 was good enough or better than the Beatles and thus claiming their spot as the top rock act of all time? Oh, the nerve. As clique as it sounds, U2 does know how to reinvent itself very well and on this record they did it again while maintaining their core unique elements: Edges infinite guitar notes, Larry Mullen Jr’s creative rock drumming and Bono’s soulful, rock vocals. Great songs: “Breathe”, “Magnificent”, “Fez”

4) Morrissey : Years of Refusal

It’s not that obsessed with my 7th grade heroes, it’s just that they are still putting out great music. Morrissey returns from the melodrama of Ringleader of the Tormentor with an album that has much heavier, rock influences. His new band is tight, full of punk/pop hooks, raw and energetic. Of course, the lyrics are great too. Only one voice can successfully belt out lines like “It’s not your birthday anymore, did you really think we meant all of those syrupy, sentimental things that we said yesterday”.

5) George Jones Musicor Recordings Box Sets (1965-1971)

While this isn’t “new” music, these two box sets were released this year and are must haves for any fan of old country. They are appropriately titled Walk Through This World with Me and A Good Year for the Roses after two of his biggest hits of the era, possibly of his career. You’ll find plenty of saloon jumping honky tonks and soothing “lost my wife” ballads (literally, one is called “When The Wife Runs Off”). All of these are decorated with beautiful piano parts, thick female background harmonies, whiny slide guitars and one of the greatest voices in country music. Due to pressure from his manager and a changing country scene, this was a very productive period for George. The sheer size of these 2 box sets is a tribute to that: 10 Discs, 320 songs and 12 hours and 38 minutes of music. Not every song is a gem but that’s why there’s a next button on your mp3 player. However, there are songs here that you can’t miss: “Love Bug”, “I Cried Myself Awake”, “No Blues is Good News”, and one my all time favorites, “You’re Still On My Mind.” Country gets a bad rap from a lot of folks these days but this box set is simple, American music at its finest.

Singing a classic with his more mature, less nasally voice…

Been rocking the new Morrissey. It’s much harder, more punk-pop style but still filled with all those wonderful Morrissey-isms:

Thank you Drop dead
Something is squeezing my skull
Something I just cannot describe
There is no hope in modern life


And here’s one of the classics. For heterosexuals only. Check out that shirt!

One November Spawned a Monster

Don’t let the clown scare you:

Some classic Beatles…

A little afternoon Hank for ya.