Italo Disco at its Finest: Charlie’s 1983 Cosmic Odyssey "Spacer Woman"
This is just too good. Spacey synthesizers, other-worldly vocals, and beats that would get Kraftwerk on the dance floor. I discovered “Spacer Woman” within the flawless italo disco mix, “We Go All Night” created by Sally Shapiro’s producer, Johan Agebjorn. It’s a dark and exotic break-dance track that doesn’t try to be strange…it just IS strange…and beautiful.
Check out some italo disco comps courtesy of ZXY Records.
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Top 10 Albums of 2007: No. 1, LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
Kudos to LCD Soundsystem for doing their musical homework! Oh my God, this record, Sound of Silver is awesome. When it first came out, I heard a song on the radio and I swore it was a unreleased B-side from Talking Heads Fear of Music. How pleasantly surprised I was to learn how James Murphy was the culprit behind this album. Out of the nine songs on this record, hands down, the best three are tracks 4, 5, and 6.
Track 4, “Someone Great,” seems very British to me. A little Blur, a little New Order, perhaps a sprinkling of The Pet Shop Boys? Perhaps? Regardless, this song and the two that follow it, are perfect for late night road trips. “All My Friends,” track 5, has a Martin Hamnett inspired reverb-y crash cymbal, carpal tunnel inducing pianos, late 70s Berlin-era David Bowie guitars, a modest bass line, and a climax that will have you speeding away into the night much faster than you realize. Track 6, “Us V Them,” may make you feel like you are a in a real-time car racing video game. Straight up. This is the Talking Heads-style track I mentioned in the beginning of this post. Complete with handclaps, cowbells, 13th Floor Elevators style rhythms, and Kraftwerk-y Autobahn-ness, if you aren’t careful, you will get pulled over for speeding listening to this song. Maybe you should just burn a copy to keep in your car that you can give to any cops who pull you over. Then they’ll understand…maybe.
Watch your speed and please, buy this album.
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Top 10 Albums Of 2007: No. 2, Liars – Liars
The only consistent thing in The Liars‘ discography is change. The band has mutated it’s sound with every new album since their 2001 post-punk revival debut, They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top. Three years later, they hopped in their demon bus and left that genre in the dust by releasing an album that evoked themes of witchcraft and made use of primitive electronics, a la Silver Apples. Despite the sheer awesomeness of that album, the band ditched the electronics and ventured into even darker territory by bringing back the traditional instruments to create the freaky and meditative tribal album, Drums Not Dead.
On this year’s self-titled album, they continued with their experimental leanings, but brought back the pop-song structure. Praise Satan for this, because along with heavier, quasi-metal guitar sounds, it’s what makes it their best album to date. “Cycle Time” and “Sailing To Byzantium” are spellbinding, evil concoctions that recall the best of King Crimson’s early efforts, while “Leather Prowler” hearkens back to the experimentation of the band’s earlier albums, with greater success. “Plaster Casts of Everything” and “Clear Island” are both urgent and brutal pieces of neo-psychedelia. The former is a rush of everything you love about Black Sabbath, filtered through the visceral, haunting guise of 21st century paranoia. Similarly, the latter is also a heavy track, less suffocating but more ominous with desperate chants, hip-hop-esque mini-verses, pounding drums and chainsaw style guitars.
By drawing from all of their past experiments and re-injecting them with pop sensibilities, Liars may be telling us that they have created their ultimate and definitive sound. But, hey, with a name and discography like theirs, can they really be trusted?
Do yourself a favor and pick up this fantastic album, perhaps a lie detector as well.
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Top 10 Albums Of 2007: No. 3, Justice â€
I’m not a huge dance music aficionado, but when I heard Justice’s single, the crowd-empowering “We Are Your Friends” last year at a Philly club, I knew some exciting new music was on the horizon and that popular music is going to start changing- the crowd was going nuts as if a live band were performing.
Justice is the destroyer of true Rock and Roll. No matter how many leather jackets or tattoos they might wear, it will not equate to the soul lacking in their sound. At the same time, this is electronic party music- and if Daft Punk is the greatest thing since sliced bread, Justice is the jam.
After multiple EP releases on Ed Banger Records, 2007 brought us the French duo’s debut release “†”. This album is a sweaty hipster party on disc. The thuds of the enormous bass drum never quit as fuzzy notes pan their robotic-Disco with an apocalyptic/religious fever. A typical Justice songs sounds as if it’s blowing out the speakers, no matter how low of a volume you listen. This in turn, gives more insight to Justice’s live set as DJs. The stand-out tracks include the new-ravers’ call-to-arms, “Genesis”, and the majorly successful dance anthem, cleverly dubbed, “D.A.N.C.E.”, which is 2007’s version of “Y.M.C.A.”
Start the party with “†” from Vice Recordings.
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Top 10 Albums Of 2007: No. 4, The National – Boxer
I don’t like top 10 lists at all, they are terribly arbitrary and completely subjective. Regardless, I’m doing my best to be a team player here at the Walrus, and in doing so, I’ve volunteered to comment on The National’s album Boxer.
Throughout this record certain words and themes are repeated, contributing to the relevance of the album’s title. Reoccurring references to birds, war, television, lamenting outgrown recklessness, and the importance of fighting for love are all ideas that philosophically and literally personify a boxer.
With it’s dreamy pianos and syncopated horns, the lilting romantic daze of “Fake Empire,” is an apropos introduction to the record. Unfortunately the second track, “Mistaken for Strangers,” sounds too much like Interpol. That is producer Peter Katis’s fault, as he can be blamed for producing all of Interpol’s albums. Another highlight is “Squalor Victoria.” The punchy drums that begin this track are interestingly juxtaposed against an elegant string arrangement. Lyrically, the song takes the piss out of yuppies in occasionally cryptic verses. Later on the album, “Slow Show” is an intimate confession of anxious love. From soup to nuts, this is a well made record. The production works, the songs are strong, and the experience of listening to Boxer may leave one contemplating a fight strategy for duking it out against their own fake empire.
Insound has this scrappy album for sale if you want to go the distance.
The National – Squalor Victoria
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Top 10 Albums Of 2007: No. 5, Dan Deacon – Spiderman of the Rings
When I caught Dan Deacon’s show at the Starlight Ballroom in Philly, the whole place pulsated with joy and excitement. See, Dan didn’t just perform he conducted. Fans of the future-shock electro-pop wizard joined him on stage as he proceeded to blow everyone’s mind…even the skeptics.
Deacon’s sound is a mixture of hyper-real sped-up vocals and a barrage of noisy synths. Sugary and sweet, Spiderman of the Rings is full of life as it draws influences from Nintendo soundtracks, 70’s Krautrock, Saturday Morning Cartoons and Hardcore techno. Songs like the never ending “Wham City,” with it’s surreal and playful Taking Tiger Mountain inspired chorus and “Crystal Cat” with it’s Looney-Toon style vocals and Devo-on-crack soundscapes are two great examples of Deacon’s ability to warp minds with his music.
Plug-in to Dan’s world, via Amazon.
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Top 10 Albums Of 2007: No.6, Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortedala
Night Falls Over Kortedala is an album about love. It is Jens Lekman’s most upbeat release to date full of Motown Oooh’s, humble finger-snaps, and a spirited horn section. Jens proves himself as a truthful gentleman with songs like, “I’m Leaving You Because I Don’t Love You”. Most songs like this one are about relationships, whether it’s about his own egotistical tainted relationships (”the drop of blood in his glass of milk” on the song “Shirin”,) or pretending to be his lesbian friend’s boyfriend in “A Postcard To Nina”.
The album runs the gamut, featuring doo-wop, funk, Sam Cooke balladry, disco, and of course ultimately Jens’ patented sad-eyed-sing-songy pop.
My favorite track on Night Falls Over Kortedala has to be the white-boy funk of “Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig.” Equally notable is the single, “The Opposite Of Hallelujah”, joyfully recalls Chairmen of the Board’s “Give Me Just A Little More Time.”
Fall in love with Jens and buy Night Falls Over Kortedala from Secretly Canadian.
Get more Jens Lekman on Walrus:
Jens Lekman Covers Paul Simon Video and Mp3
Jens Lekman- Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig
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Top 10 Albums of 2007: No. 7, Iron and Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
I am definitely trying to embrace diversity more in my life and after one listen to Iron and Wine’s The Shepherd’s Dog, it is obvious that songwriter Sam Beam is doing the same with his music. His previous efforts have been soft acoustic albums that rarely stray from their formulaic palette. However, on this album Beam branches out and incorporates a wide variety of musical ideas and it definitely pays off.
The sitar driven “White Tooth Man” is Beam’s biggest departure and the most rewarding. Haunting double-tracked vocals are the song’s centerpiece and the performance is so flawless, that one would think Beam was born to play this particular kind of music. The Bluesy “Wolves” is another successful departure, as is the honkey-tonk flavored “The Devil Never Sleeps.” The album ends with one of the most beautiful ballads written this year, “Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” a sincere tune with heavenly piano and string arrangements.
Indeed, diversity can be a great thing and The Shepherd’s Dog proves that.
Pick up the album at Amazon.
Iron and Wine – White Tooth Man
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Matthew Herbert: A True Brian Eno for the 21st Century
I have never been a huge fan of much electronic music. Mostly I prefer pioneering artists like Brian Eno or Lime when I don’t feel like listening to guitars. However, there is a contemporary artist who I have a certain soft spot for, especially when I feel like dancing. Matthew Herbert is no joke. Full stop. Apart from his background in classical piano and his supernatural sampling instincts, Herbert has been commissioned to produce/remix tracks for artists like Björk, REM, John Cale, and Serge Gainsbourg.
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NSFW EXCLUSIVE: New Spank Rock/Benny Blanco/Amanda Blank Video, “LOOSE”, again. We Ain’t Scurred!
We posted it before, but imeem.com pulled it because it was too explicit. Someone reposted it on youtube, but that is likely to be gone soon, too. We got the file, and ‘we ain’t scurred’. Check out Bangers and Cash’s “LOOSE”, and cop it on Amazon.
Top 10 Albums of 2007: No. 8, Panda Bear – Person Pitch
Panda Bear’s Person Pitch could easily be compared to a somewhat rocky, but ultimately strong long-term romantic relationship. The album, like any truly loving relationship, has it’s fair share of peaks and valleys.
The self-proclaimed panda-man combines exotic instrumentation with mantra-like vocals to create one of the most moody albums of the year. Imagine a wobbly Pet Sounds or a psychedelic pop album performed by the ghosts of Native American chiefs. “Comfy In Nautica” and “Take Pills” are positive, heart-warming sing-alongs that lead into the high-point of the album, “Bros,” a Phil Spector-esque song that incorporates themes of love and psychosis. Conflict arises on the following track, “Good Girl/Carrots,” but is quickly combated with lyrics like “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Sure, Person Pitch can be turbulent from time to time, but no matter how rough it gets, it will always manage to warm your heart.
Make-up and break-up by picking up the album over at Paw Tracks.
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Top 10 Albums of 2007: No. 9, Caribou – Andorra
Once known as Manitoba, Caribou aka Dan Snaith, has been making experimental pop music for years now. His past albums, 2 as Manitoba and 1 other as Caribou, have been a smorgasbord of electronics, 60’s psychedelia and shoegaze. However, it’s this year’s album, Andorra, that has proven to be his best vocal album to date.
This album is truly a cohesive blend of amazing pop songs featuring sedated harmonies, electronic flourishes and unrelenting, yet highly finessed rhythms. The lack of cohesion is the weakest element, as songs end without providing closure for the listener.
On the other hand, it has become evident that Snaith has grown immensely as a vocalist. His harmonies are given more emphasis, than on earlier recordings, and for good reason. On songs like “Melody Day” and “Desiree,” Snaith’s vocals soar high above the kaleidoscopic sound, and acts as the sweetest ingredient in Andorra’s psychedelic sundae.
Purchase the sweet sounds of Andorra at CD Universe.
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