More music...

Hello again. I apologize for the one day delay. Christmas parties have a way of derailing even the best of intentions. The Tony's party could derail the U.N. (whether the U.N. have good intentions or not is debatable). I shall try to work through the Monday haze to help you, dear reader(s), make sense of this music thing. So, what's going to happen with music this coming year? Can we continue to survive on sugar fixes? Do we really need any more anemic mediocrity from this guy (oh, how the mighty have fallen!!!!)? Can I stand any more tepid aping of David Crosby's back catalog? No, on all accounts, but I do enjoy the following...

Russian Circles- Station (Suicide Sqeeze)
Russian Circles are a three piece from Chicago that deal in sweeping, majestic post-rock instrumentals. I know, the term post-rock means nothing these days but it fits these guys. I was a bit dissappointed with this album when it was initially released. I felt it lacked the immediate crunch and effectiveness of their first cd, but man, is this one a creeper. The hooks are buried much deeper, making for far greater appreciation when they finally sink in. Mike Sullivan's notey guitar falls in the math-rock category. However, this does him a great injustice as he never gives in to the notes-for-notes-sake trap that so often accompanies this style. The crunch of their debut is still present, but it's the epic sweep and emotional range of highlight Verses that really resonate. A very rewarding listen for those willing to stick with it.

Love Is All- A Hundred Things Keep Me Up All Night (What's your Rupture)
Speaking of sugar fixes...While not as strong as their debut, I still can't stop myself from listening to this. Imagine insanely catchy pop songs filtered through a steady diet of late 70's British punk rock smothered in layers of reverb and your mostly there. Sure, Josephine Olausson doesn't always sing in key. Hell, sometimes she doesn't even sing near a key. Spunky exuberance, spikey guitars and wailing saxophone make singing in key irrelevant. Olausson and her band somehow manage to make urban disillusionment and lonliness sound like one hell of a good time.

Torche- Meanderthal (hydra head)
So, I know this might be a stretch, trying to pimp out what would appear to be a cross between a metal record and a third grader's art project, but hear me out. I won't go so far as to say Torche are reinventing the wheel. I will say that this release will be felt for years to come as a very bright signpost of what can be done to make pop music (that's right, I said pop music!!!)...well...sweeter!!! Much, much sweeter. These guys manage to make a marriage of Melvins-like heavy sludge and impossible to deny pop hooks work like a dream. Listen to Healer or Across the Shields and try, just try, to stop humming them!!! Metal has never sounded this damn catchy. The future is now, and if this is any indication of what can be done to spruce up a stale genre, count me in.

Whew. Font disaster averted!!! Thanks DP. So, that's about all I have for highlights this year, unless I dive headlong into telling everyone that will listen about the many joys to be had in the remastered Creedence Clearwater Revival catalog or discussing the merits of a few extreme metal releases that no one wants to hear about. We'll see what happens next week. Thanks to TPBP for letting me do this. Hopefully I won't soil their sterling reputation. Support your local record store. Oh, and (maybe) welcome back to the states, Aaron!!!