On their third full-length, The Littlest Viking explore an array of musical styles with a forceful punk attitude while embracing the precise technicality of twinkly math rock. Feelings & Stuff is not the most cohesive record, but what the duo lack in consistency, they make up for with a ferocity similar to a Tiny Moving Parts show with more memorable songs. Continue reading
There’s never really a bad year for music. There are always going to be great albums from popstars like Lorde or underground masterpieces like Mount Eerie’s new album. When it comes to deciding a personal top ten, it becomes a mix of what releases seemed most significant and what I returned to the most. Where there were excellent albums from Kendrick, Japandroids, and Kesha, these were the albums that defined my year. Also, shoutout to Run the Jewels. RTJ 3 would’ve made the list, but they leaked it Christmas Day 2016, so too bad.
TWIABP continue to carry the torch they helped ignite in the emo revival. Always Foreign sees the band inching forward where Harmlessness left off. It’s the band’s most politically-minded release-to-date. “Marine Tigers” and “Fuzz Minor” are scathing social commentaries delivered by an impassioned David F. Bello. The band also doesn’t shy away from creating indie-rock with a sense of grandeur, as “Infinite Steve” and “Faker” see the band embracing post-rock the size of which the band hasn’t grown to before. With the songs “The Future” and “Dillon and Her Son,” TWIABP don’t shy away from Blink-182 style pop-punk, making this the most diverse set of songs TWIABP have ever released.
Earlier this year, I made an effort to keep track of every album (regardless of release date) I listened to in 2017. I gave up around May, but maybe I’ll try again for 2018. By the time I called it quits, I’d listened to 122 albums, and upon reviewing the list, I did see a bunch of albums I did really enjoy but forgot about. My best-of list will feature my top picks of albums that stuck with me from the time they came out until now, but these honorable mentions were also pretty great albums that I feel deserve some recognition. In no particular order, some of the other great albums from 2017 are:
Lil Peep-Come Over When You’re Sober (Part One)
The morning I found out about Lil Peep’s death was strange. I’d liked some of his songs, but his music hadn’t really grabbed and held me like it had for others. I still felt sad, mainly just seeing someone younger than me die of an overdose. I went back and listened to this album again that day, and I was surprised by how much it resonated with me. Lil Peep is the sort of artist I wish I had when I was fourteen, because it’s relatable and catchy. It really makes me upset that I wish I could’ve seen what else he could’ve done, not just for music, but for young sad kids that I do see a lot of myself in.
Black Kids’ first album in nine years was a lovely return to form. It’s an easily danceable indie-rock record with a bunch of quotable lines. “Iffy” and “Obligatory Drugs” are perfect examples of how Black Kids maintain the same energy that could’ve left them an indie one-hit-wonder. Continue reading
In 2012, I was still a baby in the world of indie-rock. I still listened to Marilyn Manson pretty religiously. Eminem’s Slim Shady LP was still relatively prominent on my iPod Classic, and I mostly listened to Green Day above all else. I was a senior in high school. The world at my fingertips, I was pretty picky about what I deemed fine for my ears. Still, that was the year I began listening to Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, and Lou Reed: gateway bands. It was also the year Celebration Rock was released. It seemed every major music publication discussed this breakthrough Japandroids record. Armed with one of the best band names in rock, I figured these guys couldn’t be bad. Celebration Rock was an absolute gamechanger. I was fascinated by how two people could make such full sounds with great lyrics. It became a staple of my first semester of college. Even though my friends weren’t as enthused with lines like “Give me that night you were already in bed/said ‘fuck it’ stayed up to drink with me instead,” I was enthralled. Celebration Rock is the type of record you believe you’re living when you’re just starting college. Continue reading
There are plenty of duos that may as well stand for the whole band: Lennon & McCartney, Page & Plant, Axl & Slash, the lineage goes on. Even though these pairs tend to overshadow their rhythm sections, with few exceptions, people rarely consider these pairs to be the complete band. Of the Beatles, Zeppelin, and Guns N’ Roses, Guns is probably the only act you struggled to name all the members because there are 5, not 4. Of course, the power duos never stopped existing. Marilyn Manson, Fall Out Boy, and Modern Baseball are all bands that have two distinctive figureheads for their bands.
Even though each of those bands are special and have aspects that make them stand out, there’s a certain credibility to bands that cut the size of those lineups in half. Two pieces aren’t exactly new to rock music, but since the early 2000’s, a band can pull the simple trick of consisting of only two members, and critics are bound to have some sense of respect for it. Now, we can sit here and argue the merits of abandoning a bassist, but the fact of the matter is: most two pieces are pretty good. Here’s a list of the essential two pieces throughout rock history. Continue reading
Last night, the saviors of rock, Japandroids, played the title track from Near to the Wild Heart of Life, on The Late Show. The duo hits the road next month with Craig Finn from The Hold Steady.
In Dylan Thomas’s 1952 poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” he writes:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
While Thomas would die the following year, his poem has endured from the way it captures the endurance of an eternal youth. It’s been referenced by emo bands, Oscar nominees, and Rodney Dangerfield. Japandroids’ Near to the Wild Heart of Life is the perfect adaptation of Thomas’s “Rage Against the Dying of the Light” poem.
It got me all fired upto go far awayand make some ears ring with the sound of my singing babyso I left my homeand all I hadI used to be good, but now I’m bad.
no known drinkand no one drugcould ever hold a candle to your love
Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn has shared the first single from his third solo album We All Want the Same Things, “Preludes,” via NPR. The album will be released March 24, and Finn will also tour with Japandroids ahead of the album’s release.
Japandroids have blessed us with the title track from their new album due on January 27 of next year. The song is much more textured than any Japandroids song, but it still captures the same energy of the Canadian rockers. Near to the Wild Heart of Life is probably going to be a good one.
The band posted this teaser for the album coming in 2017.
Burger-A-Day 