The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You (2009)

On the road once again, for the last time for a while. Being at home has been so good - Wellington has been rockin, being settled in one place has been balm for the travel-weary soul, and for the past few weeks I have just been a thousand percent happy. (That's heaps.) 

And I'm discovering new music again, including this little gem. Recommended to me by a friend in Costa Rica I have only just got around to checking it out. And I've, like, totally got a crush on it.

The opening, title track is all pure vocals and clean brotherly harmonies: a gentle piano-driven ballad. It's a sweet start to the album, with a catchy chorus, and I love that it's a perfect 5 minutes in length. It launches into the sweet, banjo-lifted 'January Wedding'; a light-hearted little ditty that I can't get enough of. 'And It Spread' is another catchy little tune, with a bit of a pop vibe to it. There's another infectious little nod to the pop sound in the bridge of 'The Perfect Space' - in an otherwise uncomplicated song, it never fails to makes me smile. And all this pop stuff happens before we even get to 'Kick Drum Heart', which sounds exactly as the title says it should - all fun drumbeats and cutesie pianos, it's just delicious. Nearer the end of the album 'Slight Figure of Speech' draws in some of that really fun Brit Pop sound, mixing it up with dextrous vocals (the album was produced by Rick Rubin who's worked inter alia with the Beastie Boys, and you can really hear it here...) and a riff that's very Violent-Femmes-circa-Blister-In-the-Sun. Infectious.

The album lurches from sentimental acoustic ballads to pop to punk to pure hoe-down bluegrassy goodness (witness 'Laundry Room') but it all works and it just feels so right. And they do something I've been looking for a band to do for a while (and I confess my beloved Bright Eyes did not manage it as well as I'd hoped with The Peoples Key): they've seamlessly integrated a modern organ-driven sound into good old fashioned American folk songs. It never detracts from the undisputed guitar- and banjo-driven nature of the album, but it complements it beautifully, as does the strategic use of strings throughout.

It's not always overly complex music. In fact it's often charmingly uncomplicated, but it's a beautiful marriage of some fun genres, all faithfully underpinned by a folk-country sound. It's an honest album, and it's a rollicking good time.

I did think that Okkervil River was my find of the year, but with one month to go, this album is definitely giving it a run for its money. I have been hooked from first listen. It makes me happy. A thousand percent.

You Can Call Me Al

Paul Simon's 'You Can Call me Al' (1986) was blaring through Sir Breadwins when I stopped in for a coffee on the way to work this morning. The sunshine was sunshining, I'd got all zenned up at yoga, I'm kind of in love with Wellington right now, and life was just looking pretty damn sweet. And at that particular point in time Paul Simon managed to do what I've been searching for a song to do for the past few weeks: filled me with ridiculous unadulterated joy. It is such an excellent track and just look at the video -- 80s epitomised, complete with cream sports coat, choreographed horns dance, earnest eyebrows, and sweet, sweet pink walls. Yes! I bet you can't watch this without your right shoulder having a little chair boogie. Just superb on so many levels.





And, perhaps more importantly, the track brought back an excellent memory of being somewhere in front of a main stage, somewhere out on the East Coast, at some point in time, listening to a new wave synth band covering it.... At first I thought it might have been Cut Copy in 2008, but further thinking (and google) revealed that it was of course Miami Horror in 2010. These guys are great, and this is just such a great cover. I wonder if it's a coincidence that he's wearing a sweet cream sportscoat...

On another note, my foray into google for a Friday morning drew some interesting critique of Cut Copy for borrowing liberally from the 'Call me Al' riff in 'Take Me Over' -- have a listen. The end may be 'Call me Al', but I can't get past the opening bass riff: pure Fleetwood Mac 'Everywhere'.

The Decemberists, Picaresque (2005)

It has not, it's fair to say, been a great week. I woke up on Monday morning... well actually like most of the country I woke up on Monday morning with an egregious hangover after we won the World Cup. But I woke up on Tuesday morning with a pretty kick-ass plan in life. By Thursday afternoon all of that was, shall we say, "pear-shaped." In short, I've needed some playfulness this week, and this is just the album for it.



From the first almost aggressive drumbeat of the excellent opening track, 'The Infanta', this album is completely infectious. It's all organs and keys and piano accordians and thundering drums and epic shanties, and it is just superb. But while it's accessible and upbeat, it's certainly not all cutesy and carefree: it also carries a wonderfully dark edge, dealing lyrically with some occasionally downright despairing subjects (withness the haunting track 3, 'Eli, the Barrow Boy'). The complexity of this quite clever lyrical treatment blends beautifully with the interesting sea-shanty-esque vibe that The Decemberists do so well. The very good second track, 'We Both Go Down Together' is another great example of this juxtaposition, beautifully full of pulsing accordians, and with a major chorus to lift to the song, and 'Sixteen Military Wives', an old favourite of mine, is a riotously fun song about war casualties. As ya do.

A great album full of lyrically-clever, well-crafted songs, it also draws heavily on the accordian, which I love. Nearer the end, 'The Mariner's Revenge Song' does slip a little into the oom pah pah accordian that I so judged (and still do) Beirut's first album for, but in The Decemberists context this just sounds of sea-shanties and scalliwags. It makes me want rum.

And on that happy note, I'm off to the pub.

12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music

This is quite seriously depressing. But we created it. Which actually makes it much more depressing.

Bright Eyes - Shell Games

Can't get this song out of my head right now. Beautiful vid too.

Cut Copy, Zonoscope (2011)

I remember seeing Melbournians Cut Copy live several years ago and being instantly drawn to their upbeat electrosynthpop*. Listening to this album somewhere over the Indian Ocean was no different -- they're a bit out of my comfort zone, but from the first pulsing electric drumbeat this album took me right back in.

When I first saw them, synth pop was at its height, it was still shiny and exciting, it reminded all self-respecting 80s kids of their childhoods, and we all secretly loved that MGMT song. For me personally, synth definitely got a little overdone and it now has to actually be really good for me to really enjoy it. With this album, Cut Copy prove that electrosynthpop** can still be done well.

This album has plenty of depth and texture and, crucially for me, doesn't solely rely on the synth for its entertainment value - some piano peeks through in tracks 2 and 6, and there's a delightful orchestral undertone to track 8, 'Alisa'. 'Where I'm Going' is a guitar-driven beauty, and competes with the similarly excellent (and yes, also guitar-based, anyone sensing a theme?) 'This is all We've Got' for my favourite track of the album.

I like this album for its whimsy, for not taking itself too seriously - in fact that's what I loved about this genre once upon a time before it actually did start taking itself too seriously. It was, I confess, hard to get through this full album without my mind wandering, but every time I was tempted to get a little bit bored, Cut Copy found a sneaky new way to make me surprise me and make me smile.

They might not have meant it to be, but this is a delightfully fun, Saturday afternoon kind of album. I like.

* may or may not be an actual genre

** but if I say it heaps, maybe you'll believe it is

The Thomas Oliver Band, Baby, I'll Play (2011)

Where ya been, Ren?! AWOL, that's where. Now hush with your questions; I'll wander aimlessly all over the world if I want to.

I've been writing this particular entry for a couple of weeks now. I'll start by saying I love what these guys do. I first struck them when they did the music for this excellent video , promoting the beautiful Southern region for the RWC. I'm a Southerner from way back, and although they're actually from Wellington, TTOB have just nailed this sound. I always get a teensey bit homesick watching this.


But - and it's a big but - I admit I was a little nervous about this album. I love TTOB's bluesy rock style, but having seen them live a number of times I've sometimes (sometimes!) felt they get a little indulgent on the progressive rock side and that that detracts from their awesome bluesy rock-y--ness. I've felt in the past that there can sometimes (sometimes!) be a bit of a tendency to get a bit too Dave Matthews on it all. (Let it be said, there is definitely a time and place in my heart for Dave Matthews, but the Thomas Oliver Band is just so good in their own right and I love their raw bluesy stuff so much more.) (As an aside, I believe The Ethnomusicologist compared them with Bon Jovi.) (Which I happen to think is unjustifiably harsh.)

ANYWAY, the short point is, I am utterly pleased to report that this album hits the sweet spot of that dirty sound that I love, without venturing too far into softer prog rock. I confess to having a bit of a *crush* (yes, I am 13, whatever) on Thomas Oliver himself - there's something doggedly and self-assuredly attractive about him, and frankly I'm convinced he's a bit of a genius. I just adore watching him play the lapsteel. There are also few things in life more satisfying than a beautifully strummed acoustic guitar, and Thomas Oliver knows how to rock one.  At the end of the day though, these guys just write great songs, they play them well, and they know how to entertain. Highlights of this album for me are the title track, actually the first 3 tracks in a row are all really good, and sentimental though it may be (do what I want) after 2 months offshore there was nothing quite like landing back into beautiful New Zealand to 'The Strangest Feeling I'm Home'. Perfection.

There are a few moments in this album where the direction tends towards the softer prog rock side than I'd ideally go for (track 9, for example) - that said, they are few and far between and the album as a whole retains its integrity. I might be biased, but I reckon the one thing that could lift some of TTOB's stuff into the sublimely fantastic would be the occasional loose saloon style piano. I'm just sayin'.

I was prompted to reinvigorate this entry after I saw TTOB play on the Auckland waterfront yesterday afternoon. Sunshine, some lovely lapsteel, good friends and a weekend delivering on all kinds of excellent promises -- it's fair to say it was a superb combination and I was having a pretty good time. But not as good a time as this guy....

In short: love 'em, think they're great, love them best when they do their dirty blues stuff, think there's more room for more excellent music like this out of this great country.