One quick look at this week’s take (the week before last’s actually) and you’ll see that it’s all about one band, The Hold Steady. Apparently, Drake and I (and many of the critics worldover) disagree a little bit on this one. I’ve never really been a fan of Finn’s singing, (eventhough I used to love The Doors), and though I’ll admit he is a talented lyricist, the album just doesn’t do it for me personally. For a slightly more nuanced review, and not just my Malcolm Gladwell take, check out the words below. -ed.

Drake’s Take: New Releases 07.15.22

The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady | The Hold Steady. Ahem.

Playlist: New Releases 07.15.08

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The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

The Hold Steady have officially gotten bigger in both sound and popularity with Stay Positive. It’s hard to imagine what Lifter Puller fans would make of this album without having the benefit of the gradual build up over the three prior THS releases, Almost Killed Me, Separation Sunday and Boys and Girls in America. Harpsichord, strings, Boston-like solos, talk-box guitar, Craig Finn actually singing more than speaking… it would’ve freaked me out, I know. But the albums and the passage of time for both the band, and fans like myself, make the impossible changes seem rational, inevitable, and completely welcome. Finn continues to write lyrics that make reviewers nervous, but now he’s eschewing the sarcasm for believable sincerity, while remaining authentically gritty, with his tales of good kids reaching for something big, falling hard and getting back up again.

The stunning opener, “Constructive Summer,” grips you from the get go: Me and my friends are like / the drums on “Lust for Life” we pound it out on floor toms /our psalms are sing-a-long songs. Finn takes from the private Catholic school to summer break, “where we can all be something bigger” — climbing the water tower and getting hammered. Catechism is rebuffed in favor of the teachings of St. Joe Strummer, and we’re all like a Dillinger Four song (“Doublewhiskeycokenoice”, which will be quickly moving up their Rhapsody most played list). The lead single, “Sequestered in Memphis,” is up next, and is the perfect Hold Steady song, in the mold of “Chips Ahoy,” with a more literal boy/girl story. Backed on vocals appropriately by Ben Nichols of Memphis’ Lucero (who also sings on “Magazine,”) this one involves a business man who’s one night stand leads to a police interview when it turns out the woman (Sapphire?) is wanted for a crime. The crime appears to be that she’s an accomplice in the murder of a townie, which is laid out in the next song, the tragedy “One for the Cutters.” “One drop of blood on immaculate Keds,” perfectly captures the end of innocence that Craig Finn has mastered in his songwriting. Lines like “Sniffing at crystal in cute little cars, getting nailed against dumpsters behind townie bars,” are followed by the light sounds of a harpsichord, like the Partridge Family. Come to think of it, Danny Bonaduce is a lot like Craig Finn song - the promise of tomorrow loses innocence early (and often)… just missing that chapter of redemption (in that regard, isn’t Texas Ranger slugger Josh Hamilton, Baseball’s current on deck savior, the ultimate THS mascot? If he played for the Twins, one could imagine Finn writing an entire album about him).

There’s not really much to complain about the album. Sure the soaring guitar solo on “Lord, I’m Discouraged” borders on wankery, but it’s in part meant as nostalgiac, recalling those days when we were young and in excess. Sapphire is at rock bottom here, but the next song, “Yeah Sapphire” (where she’s finally given a name,) she’s on the path to recovery. “I was a skeptic at first, but these miracles work,” works wonders to end the song, especially when the song opens with the Catholic tickler of a come-on, “If I cross myself when I come, Would you maybe receive me?”

Of course, the album centers around the infectious title track, and the it follows through of Finn’s statement that The Hold Steady were straight edge for the post-prom crowd. Referencing 7 Seconds and thinking back to his youth, Finn then goes on to reference countless previous Hold Steady songs, enough so that it would require it’s own post. The obvious one, of course, is “Positive Jam,” the song that started off their debut release, and the reference also goes so far as to thank the fan listening:

‘Cause it’s one thing to start it with a positive jam
And it’s another thing to see it on through
And we couldn’t have even done this,
If it wasn’t for you

They saved the best for last, though, with “Slapped Actresses,” which is essentially about John Cassavetes’ film Opening Night, which features Gena Rowland’s character Myrtle being concerned about getting slapped in a scene their shooting for the play within the film. Ben Gazarra’s character replies “It’s a tradition. Actresses get slapped. It’s mandatory you get hit,” which Cassavetes expert Roger Deforest has said:

(T)he term “slap” in this context means that actresses must make themselves vulnerable in their profession, and be “hit” by the reality of love, aging, mortality, beauty, etc., on a level apart from their stage roles. That one sentence “it’s mandatory you get hit” sums up the crux of Myrtle’s dilemma, and serves as the catalyst for her fight to avoid being “hit” by reality.

Sapphire and the other characters who lose their innocence can only be saved by being slapped here, making getting hit a wholly positive jam.

Free album stream from AOL
Download: “Nude with Boots” [mp3]

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More on the radar this week:
American Teen - Music from the Motion Picture
Benji Hughes - A Love Extreme (in Rhapsody a week early) / “You Stood Me Up” [mp3]
Daedelus - Love to Make Music to
Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a Sound
UNKLE - End Titles…Stories for Film
Bajofondo - Mar Dulce
Sunset - Someone Else’s Déjà Vu / “When Perfect Flames Expire,” “The World Is Awaiting” [mp3]
The Twilight Sad - Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards it Did
Pas/Cal - I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura / “Glorious Ballad of the Ignored” [mp3]
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Magic Tour Highlights
Negativeland - Thigmotactic
The Dark Knight - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
David Banner - The Greatest Story Ever Told
John Mellencamp - Life Death Love and Freedom / Free album stream from AOL
Drakkar Sauna - Wars & Tornadoes
Icy Demons - Miami Ice
The Grascals - Keep On Walkin’
ABN - It is What it Is
Lucky Dragons - Dream Island Laughing Language
The Boy Bathing - A Fire To Make Preparations
Roedelius - Inlandish

tags: music, album review, the hold steady, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody

I’m embarassingly late with this edition of the “Take”, so late in fact that I’ve already been lapped by Drake this week (he was on the track team, what can I say). In my defence though, I figured you weren’t missing out on too much, because other than the latest from Ratatat, (who are playing MHOW on July 15 and just announced another show at Terminal 5 on September 27), last week was a pretty lean one. -ed.

Drake’s Take: New Releases 07.01.08

It’s a short week, with a short list of albums, to be handled with a short post. Ratatat’s latest is in Rhapsody a week early, making at least one album I can recommend, as the latest Earlimart is at best borderline, and beyond that, this week’s crop is a wasteland.

Playlist: New Releases 07.01.08

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Ratatat - LP3
Stream / Purchase [mp3] (Free if you act by midnight, July 4)

Still relatively fresh from their success with 2006’s Classics, the Brooklyn duo Ratatat return with this continuation of their unique take on electronica. This time out, there’s a little less rock guitar (although, the Brian May-inspired guitar leads appear throughout, as in the case of “Mirando”) and the mood is decidedly more mellow. They rhythms are a bit more complex, and there’s far more analog synth sounds to be had, making for a fascinating journey my first time through the album. After this one listen, I know I’m going to need to hear over and over.

Download: “Mirando” [mp3]

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More on the radar this week:
Earlimart - Hymn and Her / “Song For” [mp3]
Serj Tankian - Lie Lie Live
Golden Animals - Free Your Mind and Win a Pony / Free album stream / “Try on Me” [mp3]
We Versus the Shark - Dirty Versions / “Mr. Ego Death” [mp3]
Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony / Free album stream from AOL
Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II (in Rhapsody a week early)
Jay Brannan - Goddamned / Free album stream from AOL / “At First Sight” [mp3]
Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony / Free album stream from AOL
John Mayer - Where the Light is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles
G-Unit - T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight)
Tickle Me Pink - Madeline
Reliant K - The Bird and the Bee Sides
Reissue
Van Morrison - A Night in San Francisco
Van Morrison - Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast
Van Morrison - The Healing Game
Van Morrison - A Night in San Francisco
Van Morrison - No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece
Van Morrison - Enlightenment
Miles Davis - The Musings of Miles

This week Drake weighs in on the latest from Shearwater, (one my most anticipated releases of 2008), as well the debut LP from local boys made good, Fleet Foxes. - ed.

Drake’s Take: New Releases 06.03.08

What a difference a week makes.

This first week of June is full of delectable delights for the ears, as a good three or four of them will undoubtably see some year end list action. Because I’m particularly fond of the new ornithological treat from Shearwater, many releases get the shaft, but I only have so many words in me per day. Other fine releases include the debut from Seattle’s own Fleet Foxes, a double-album featuring Will Johnson’s two bands Centro-Matic and South San Gabriel, the latest from Aimee Mann (featured last week,) The Futureheads, Oppenheimer, Ladytron and Sloan (in Rhapsody a week early!) If things work out, I’ll touch on a couple more in the coming days.

Playlist: New Releases 06.03.08

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Album: Shearwater - Rook

The bird-crazy band Shearwater (a type of seabird) are like ornithological troubadours, even usurping Andrew Bird and his winged whistling as the avian du jour. Jonathan Meiburg (ex-Okkervil River) writes songs that soar, keeping to their bird-theme, and Rook (a kind of crow,) much like Arcade Fire’s more inspirational moments. But I think a more apt comparison for this album would be the transcendental moments of Jeremy Enigk’s solo debut album Return Of The Frog Queen, with it’s dynamics and myth-based storytelling.

Rook, for it’s part, starts off very dark, with a boat being overtaken by the sea (“On the Death of the Waters”) and what sounds like an apocalypse of sorts with the title track (“Rooks”). A rook is often believed to be a symbol of death, so the opening line of “Rooks” is rather frightening: “rooks laid in piles by the side of the road, they were crashing into the aerials, hanging from the laundry lines…” Couple that with “we’ll sleep until the world of man in paralyzed” and it has me thinking of the end of times. Along those lines, Rook is an interesting choice of bird for this album, as it’s kind of the shearwater’s land-loving cousin (shearwaters, outside of breeding season, live in the open waters, some scavenging fishing boats for food). It’s this balance of sea, air and land that encompasses the release, and the third song “Leviathan, Bound” [this is probably my favorite track on the album -ed.] suggests that the album is about the ecological battles our population is currently losing. Man’s battle against the Leviathon is often portrayed as a battle to have reign over the earth, and the hunter that appears here and later in “The Hunter’s Star” appears a doomed metaphor for mankind, who finds himself in “a world that will never return again, and no sound escapes from the night to come.”

As a point of emphasis, the eerie instrumental “South Col” is accompanied by a passage from former French envoy to the court of Kabul, Rene Dollot, describing the stark landscape in Afghanistan:

The lunar landscapes of the Hindu Kush,
as if borrowed from prehistory,
seem still to wait for the arrival of the animal world,
or perhaps to announce it’s end.

I’ll admit that I came late to the Shearwater bandwagon — too late, for instance, to even chime in on the brilliance of their previous album Palo Santo — in part due to the theatricality of Meiburg’s voice, which straddles the difficult point between a stylized Scott Walker and a more histrionic Antony Hegarty (Antony and the Johnsons). It takes some getting used to for some, but when it all finally clicks, the songs take to the sky.

Lyric Sheet (pdf)
Download: “Rooks” [mp3]
Download: “White Winter Hymnal” [mp3]

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Album: Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Our very own Fleet Foxes have made quite the stir leading up to this excellent debut, which is kind of funny given that their very nature is very anti ’stir.’ Much of their sound has a freak folk base, but far more reliant on pop’s basic structures than any current entity in that tragically named genre. Between the reverb and the incredible vocal harmonies, it’s hard to not play the Pet Sounds card, but the folky guitar strums send us in the direction of CSN&Y. Actually Akron/Family meets early My Morning Jacket is the first modern comparisons I could think of, continuing with the lazy critic game of connect-the-dots (that I find myself often employing late on a Tuesday afternoon,) but the point being that they sound like a seasoned, fully-formed band in their songwriting and sound, not that of a typical debut. Band Of Horses‘ debut sounded similarly polished, so perhaps it’s little surprise that Phil Ek, the producer BOH’s releases, is the man twiddling the knobs here. He’s now the man to go to for reverb in the NW, that’s for sure. All that reverb contributes to a pastoral feel for Fleet Foxes, and as far as a lazy summer day listen, you can’t do better than this on your back porch in the coming months. The chorus to “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” in particular has me already longing for some lemonade. If it would only stop raining…

Free album stream from AOL

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More on the radar this week:
Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks / Free album stream from AOL
The Futureheads - This is Not the World / “Broke Up The Time” [mp3]
Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers / Free album stream from AOL (Reviewed last week)
Sloan - Parallel Play (In Rhapsody a week early!)
Oppenheimer - Take the Whole Midrange and Boost It / “Stephen McCauley for President” [mp3]
Ladytron - Velocifero / “Black Cat” [mp3]
The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale / Free album stream from AOL
Radiohead - Greatest Hits (AOL album stream)
Ed Harcourt - The Beautiful Lie
Harvey Milk - Life… The Best Game in Town
The Virgins - The Virgins / Free album stream from AOL
Daptone 7″ Singles Collection, Vol. 2
Bitter:Sweet - Drama
The Gang - Zero Hits / “Sea So” [mp3]
Weezer - Weezer (The Red Album)
Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia
The Pinker Tones - Wild Animals
Paper Rival - Dialog / Free album stream from AOL
Reissue
Gary Numan - Pure
The Traveling Wilburys - The Traveling Wilburys - Vol 1 / The Traveling Wilburys - Vol 3
Minus the Bear - They Make Beer Commercials Like This

It’s Drake, a week late, more or less. This time, it’s my fault (blame the holiday). Personally, I would have made a bigger mention of the new Ting Tings record, which I like quite a lot. I’ve heard good things about the new Wedding Present record, but not actually heard it myself. Whereas, I’ve also heard bad things about the new Donna Summer album, but ditto on the not hearing it for myself. -ed.

Drake’s Take: New Releases 05.20.08

Another week, another pipin’ hot fresh batch of releases for your delicate ears. This week features the sophomore release from Islands, the latest from sludge purveyors Mudhoney, and more from Joan of Arc, Blackstrap, Retribution Gospel Choir, French Kicks, The Wedding Present, Free Kitten, The Ting Tings, and back from a long layoff, the queen of disco Donna Summer.

Playlist: New Releases 05.20.08

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Album: Islands - Arm’s Way

A few times a year, I’ll mentally start making best of the year lists, and invariably imagine upcoming releases that will slide into my eventual top ten, based on expectations alone. Of course, not every album can meet those lofty expectations and instead turn out to be fine instead of great. There was every reason to believe that Islands sophomore release was going to impress: their debut (Return to the Sea) was a strange pop masterpiece, and they signed to Anti - the label to be on currently for critical success. Arm’s Way is certainly ambitious in scope, containing plenty of twists and turns. Unfortunately, it’s like a musical without a backing story to lead you through the album’s entirety. There are still flashes of genius, like in the songs “The Arm,” “Creeper” and “In the Rushes,” but for an album that requires a lot of concentration, the rewards aren’t as rich as they should be given the heights reached in their scattered debut. It’s a solid album, to be sure, but can I be blamed for wanting more?

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Album: Mudhoney - The Lucky Ones
Album: Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff: Deluxe Edition

The sounds of indie rock circa ‘88-’91 have enjoyed a resurgence, as demonstrated by the recent releases of No Age, Wye Oak and the slew of bands from the era making comebacks (The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., The Breeders, Sebadoh, et al). Perfect time for Mudhoney to get their shit together and release something with teeth, sorely lacking from their last two releases. All it takes is one listen to “I’m Now” and you know the Iggy Pop sludge rock that we all know and love is back in full force. That song is followed by a couple more good-to-great numbers and then it sort of gets muddled until the ending, with stomper “New Meaning.” Lucky Ones really only suffers in that it’s paired on the shelve next to the deluxe edition of their classic Superfuzz Bigmuff, which still burns with the heat of a thousand dirty heaters in the basement of my brain. “Touch Me I’m Sick,” “You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face)” and “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More” sure take me back to studying in the stacks at UW’s libraries, buzzed on bad Boones and cough syrup. Just hearing it again makes my nose burn with the smell.

Full Album Stream from AOL
Download: “I’m Now”
From Reissue: “In and Out of Grace (Live in Berlin)”

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More on the radar this week:
Joan of Arc - Boo Human / “A Tell-Tale Penis” [mp3]
Blackstrap - Steal My Horses and Run
Retribution Gospel Choir - Retribution Gospel Choir
French Kicks - Swimming / “Abandon” [mp3]
The Wedding Present - El Rey / Free album stream from AOL
Free Kitten - Inherit / “Seasick” [mp3]
Donna Summer - Crayons / Free album stream from AOL
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing / Free album stream from AOL
Indian Jewelry - Free Gold!
Windsor for the Derby - How We Lost / “Maladies” “Hold On” [mp3]
Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head / Free album stream from AOL
Foxboro Hottubs - Stop Drop and Roll!!!
Sybris - Into the Trees
Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet - Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet
Curt Smith (Tears for Fears) - Halfway, Pleased / Free album stream from AOL
The Takeover UK - It’s All Happening EP
The Dresden Dolls - No, Virginia
Douglas Armour - The Light Of A Golden Day, The Arms Of The Night
Foxboro Hottubs - Stop Drop and Roll!!!
French Kicks - Swimming
Explorers Club - Freedom Wind / “Do You Love Me?” [mp3]
Bun B - II Trill / Free album stream from AOL
Danielia Cotton - Rare Child / “Testify” [mp3]
Band Of Heathens - Band Of Heathens
Mason Jennings - In the River / Free album stream from AOL
Annihilation Time - Annihilation Time III: Tales Of The Ancient Age
Reissue
Mogwai - Young Team (Exclusive in Rhapsody a week early)

This week Drake fawns over the latest from No Age and takes a closer look at the new EP from his perennial favorites, Animal Collective. -ed.

Drake’s Take: New Releases 05.06.08

This week is all about the latest Sub Pop starlets No Age, as the punk-meets-90’s shoe gaze sonics release what might just be the album of the year (it’s still too early to coronate). Elsewhere this week also sees the latest from Elvis Costello, The Last Shadow Puppets, Matmos, The Morning Benders, Neil Diamond, an EP from Animal Collective, and the return of Old 97’s (in Rhapsody a week early).

Playlist: New Releases 05.06.08

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Album: No Age - Nouns

Merging the styles of Loveless, New Day Rising, and Slanted and Enchanted, No Age’s (proper) debut on Sub Pop is taking the critical world by storm, and with good reason. Even though the LA punk duo is by all estimations still getting it’s bearings, Nouns seems to hit a sweet spot that’s been missing… sloppy DIY punk delivered via My Bloody Valentine guitar swirls, all encased with a tape-loop hiss that all together sounds far more accessible than you’d think it would. Songs like “Teen Creeps,” “Sleeper Hold” and “Brain Burner” create their own genre of punk-shoegaze-noise-rock anthems that sound familiar, like a hazy rememberance of what 1991 sounded (like before Nevermind came and squashed it). To that end, the vocals are buried, putting the sound at arms length, like those hard to reach memories (one of those hard to reach memories is Overwhelming Colorfast… another is early Don Fleming productions).

Of course, any discussion of the band No Age seems to be predicated on the recognition of the setting in which the band was born, namely the community surrounding the all ages venue The Smell. Much like Seattle’s The Vera Project, NYC’s ABC No Rio and Berkley’s 924 Gilman, The Smell is more than just a place to see shows, it’s a resource (and a vegan cafe). It seems it’s the politics and DIY ethics that propel Nouns beyond just a fine debut and push it into the realm of SCENE. Considering it’s only the duo’s debut, I hope their backs can withstand the weight of “NEXT”. It’s interesting, in that regard, that they opted for “Eraser” as the single instead of the obvious “Teen Creeps,” possibly not wanting to follow too closely down that pre-paved ‘Teen’ road.

Free album stream from AOL
Download: “Eraser” [mp3]

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Album: Animal Collective - Water Curses EP

It seems with every Animal Collective album, there’s an EP to follow, collecting odds and ends from the previous albums’ sessions, and containing at least one nugget worth it’s purchase. Water Curses contains perhaps the best ‘nugget’ to date, with the bubbly title track, already one of my favorite AC songs. “Water Curses” takes on a watery sound, floating with dense electro flourishes, a technicolor wonder that probably felt too light to fit in with some of the harsher sounds that inhabited Strawberry Jam. For all the accessibility of the title track, the rest of the EP stretches out in all directions away from that starting point. For an album, it would approach annoying quickly, but in the safe setting of an EP, it makes for a nice ride around AC’s crazy block.

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More on the radar this week:
Elvis Costello - Momofuku
Old 97’s - Blame it on Gravity
The Lost Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement / Free album stream from AOL
Matmos - Supreme Balloon / Free album stream from AOL
The Morning Benders - Talking Through Tin Cans / “Crosseyed” [mp3]
Pattern is Movement - All Together
Sasha The EmFire Collection: Mixed, Unmixed & Remixed (Free AOL album stream)
mr. Gnome Deliver This Creature (Free album stream via Fanatic)
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark / Free album stream from AOL
Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra - Miles of Styles
The Republic Tigers - Keep Color / Free album stream from AOL / “Buildings and Mountains” [mp3]
Meho Plaza - Meho Plaza / Free album stream / “I Sold My Organs” [mp3]
Sinkane - Color Voice / “Autobahn” [mp3]
Armin Van Burin - Imagine
Sierra Hull - Secrets
Gentleman Auction House - The Book of Matches / “The Book of Matches” [mp3]
The Brakes - Tale of Two Cities / Free Album stream
Awesome Color - Electric Aborigines / Free album stream from AOL
Kayo Dot - Blue Lambency Downward
Lykke Li - Little Bit / “Dance Dance Dance” [mp3]
Spark is a Diamond - Try This on for Size
Shy Child - Noise Won’t Stop / “Astronaut” [mp3]
Wildbirds & Peacedrums- Roll With You
Scott Kelly - The Wake / “The Ladder in my Blood” [mp3]
Everest - Ghost Notes
Hammock - Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow
The Birthday Massacre - Looking Glass