The Top 50 Albums of the Decade – Honorable Mentions

Those of you keeping up with my Twitter feed (@audiooverflow) should be aware that when I decided to compile my Top 50 Albums of the decade for Audio Overflow, I narrowed down the decades huge collection of great music to 118 album that I thought deserved to be nominated.  Then came the difficult task…narrowing that list to 50.  In the process, a lot of great albums that I though for sure would make it in the Top 50 got cut.  But I love these albums!  So in the interest of honoring properly, here are albums 70-51 in my best of the decade list. The honorable mentions, if you will.

#70.  Of Montreal:  Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies:  A Variety of Whimsical Verse (2001)
#69.  System of a Down:  Toxicity (2001)
#68.  Fiona Apple:  Extraordinary Machine (2005)
#67.  A Perfect Circle:  Thirteenth Step (2003)
#66.  LCD Soundsystem:  Sound of Silver (2007)
#65.  Sufjan Stevens:  Seven Swans (2004)
#64.  Fleet Foxes:  Fleet Foxes (2008)
#63.  Midlake:  The Trials of Van Occupanther (2006)
#62.  Tilly and the Wall:  Bottoms of Barrels (2006)
#61.  Tegan and Sara:  The Con (2007)

#60.  Rogue Wave:  Out of the Shadow (2003)
#59.  My Morning Jacket:  Z (2005)
#58.  The Flaming Lips:  Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots  (2002)
#57.  My Brightest Diamond:  A Thousand Shark’s Teeth (2008)
#56.  Conor Oberst:  Conor Oberst (2008)
#55.  The Shins:  Wincing the Night Away (2007)
#54.  Rogue Wave:  Descended Like Vultures (2005)
#53.  Mates of State:  Bring it Back (2006)
#52.  Jaymay: Autumn Fallin’ (2008)
#51.  Bright Eyes:  Cassadaga (2007)

Just a little something to hold you over until the full list, complete with photos and commentary, is posted sometime in the next week.

The Top 31 Albums of 2008 (Pt. 1)

#31: Chris Walla: Field Manual – When I first wrote my review of Chris Walla’s debut album, I described it as a sort of “socially conscious” Death Cab-lite album that would serve as a nice filler while waiting for the next Death Cab album. I stick with that assessment today. With the exception of one or two songs, this album lost my attention by February. That Death Cab album, however, wound up being one of the most surprisingly satisfying albums of 2008!

#30: Magnetic Fields: Distortion – This too is another album that fell off of my radar rather quickly. The Magnetic Fields was one of the first indie bands that I really got into, and like many, I was disappointed with their previous album. Distortion is a much better effort by far. Though it takes some time to get used to the layer of distortion that plagues each track on the album, the songs that go on top of that are nothing short of the brilliance that we’ve come to expect from this legendary group.

#29: The Dears: Missiles – Of all the bands in 2008 that I thought would disappoint me, I never suspected The Dears, whose previous two albums had been masterpieces of moody, indie rock. Missiles ended up getting mixed reviews from critics, many of whom even put it towards the top of their year-end lists. I, however, found Missiles to be a remarkably drab affair with little of the tension and emotional pull of the band’s earlier work. It still wound up being a somewhat decent record, but several miles off from what I feel needed to be achieved.

#28: Tilly and the Wall: O – Who would have thought that a band who made their name by replacing a drummer with a tap-dancer would be able to make the jump from playground tomfoolery to edgy punk rockers? Answer: nobody, and personally, I wasn’t buying it either. I believe I originally gave this album a 5/10 score. Nowadays, I’d be more inclined to give it a 6/10. Sure that’s not saying much, but when you overcome all the nonsense you start to realize that there are some good tracks on O. Not all of them, clearly, but some of them.

#27: Mates of State: Re-Arrange Us – Mates of State made hints on Bring it Back that they were becoming adults but it wasn’t until the release of Re-Arrange Us that we all found out what that would mean for the group. What it meant was ditching the Casio for a piano, shelving shouting and yelling for soft, subtle harmonies, and taking the energy and trading it in for poignancy. Re-Arrange Us is in no way a bad album. But it is severely lacking in almost everything that I used to love about the band. Parenthood definitely makes a person grow up. I just wish they would have held it off for a few years.

#26: Sun Kil Moon: April – Mark Kozelek is a master of making repetitive, mediocre tunes into mesmerizing snapshots of life. He is a true artist, not someone who relies on gimmicks or “it” sounds to creating memorable songs. One gets the sense that deep down, he is aware of his flaws; his lack of compositional flare or his whiny, nasally voice. The remarkable thing is that he perseveres through these shortcomings and even uses them to his advantage in some cases. In the end, what you get is something that is never special, but more than ordinary. April is one of those albums.

#25: She & Him: Volume One – I’m a bit surprised to see She & Him winding up on so many year-end lists for the simple fact that the music contained on Volume One was in no way inventive, flawless, or even entirely memorable. While Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward have made a respectable album with several catchy songs, one simply cannot ignore the nearly-mediocre vocals or the somewhat juvenile lyricism. Let’s face it, we all have a schoolyard crush on Deschanel, let’s try not to let that cloud our judgement.

#24: The Dodos: Visiter – Sometime in February or March (I can’t really remember when), I was in a musical drought with nothing new or interesting to listen to. Somehow I came across Visiter and, based off of favorable reviews, decided to give it a try. While not entirely perfect, The Dodos have managed to make one of the most inventive albums of the year! Just from listening it’s hard to gauge who their influences are. There’s some definite similarities with Glen Hansard and Animal Collective, but even that is reaching far. The important thing to remember is that what you’re listening to is good. Who it sounds like is secondary. Enjoy it!

#23: The Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath – Redemption is a sweet, sweet thing. Over two years ago, The Mars Volta followed what many would consider to be their best album (Frances the Mute), with one that most would consider their worst (Amputecture). This year, TMV gave us a much more respectable record that, while not achieving the heights of their first two LPs, manages to get things back on the right foot. Here’s hoping that 2009’s TMV album (assuming that they continue to release a record every 18 months or so) blows ‘em all out of the water!

#22: The Little Ones: Morning Tide – This album crossed my desk around the same time that I first got a hold of Of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping. The result, unsurprisingly, was a severe lack of attention paid to it on my part. As the year wound down, however, I discovered just how charming and delightful The Little Ones can be! Morning Tide is a pretty cookie-cutter indie pop album, and many will be deterred by the sheer averageness of it all. However, despite its lack of creativity, Morning Tide is an extremely well-assembled album that contains more than its fair share of potential singles and sing-alongles. I recommend that you all check it out, whether you really want to or not.

#21: The Wombats: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation – Call it what you will – punk, indie, a combination of both – but few can deny the sheer energy that this band exudes at every corner nor the infectious nature of that energy. The Wombats are not nearly as popular here in the States as one would expect, what, with such a marketable sound. I suppose that should tell you a lot about the state of music media in the US of A. But hey, good for Lil’ Wayne. Good for auto-tune!

The Top 31 Songs of 2008

In years’ past, I have made it a point to post my songs and albums together in one long, tedious, and confusing list.  This year, I’ve simplified the process just a little bit.  Don’t get cocky, I did it mostly for myself – but you can still be grateful.  Below you’ll find my Top 31 Songs of 2008 in one glorious list.  I’ve even sprinkled it with some commentary because, well, this is a blog after all.  Enjoy the list and be sure to tell me what your #1 (or Top 5 or 31) are.

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#31: “Got Your Number” by Nadia Oh – It should be known that I fully understand that Nadia Oh is without an ounce of verifiable talent. It should also be known that I’m a sucker for good production and a catchy tune. And my standards have dropped significantly this year. Obviously.

#30: “The Score” by Chris Walla

#29: “Boracay” by The Little Ones

#28: “I’m Amazed” by My Morning Jacket

#27: “White Composition” by Darker My Love

#26: “Dark Leaves From a Thread” by Destroyer

#25: “Crisis 1 & 2” by The Dears

#24: “Walking” by The Dodos

#23: “Valerie Plame” by The Decemberists – Who would’ve thought that one of the most hilarious, catchy tunes of the year would be from a collection of mediocre songs brought to us by The Decemberists?

#22: “Triphallus, to Punctuate!” by Of Montreal – It’s two songs in one, and both songs are equally enchanting, exciting, and lovable.

#21: “Souled Out!!!” by Conor Oberst

#20: “Jager Yoga” by CSS – The title doesn’t sound fun at all. The song does.

#19: “Cath…” by Death Cab for Cutie

#18: “Get-Well Cards” by Conor Oberst

#17: “Kill the Director” by The Wombats

#16: “Courtship Date” by Crystal Castles – I’ve only just recently started listening to Crystal Castles, but I can confidently say that their debut album is one of the coolest things to happen to electronic music in a while. This song is my favorite from the record.

#15: “Txt Me Yr Love” by Wallpaper – If you listen to one song on this list, make it this one. But come on, just listen to ’em all!

#14: “Couleurs” by M83 – I don’t care which country you’re from, that’s an incorrect way to spell “colors.”

#13: “Id Engager” by Of Montreal

#12: “Grapevine Fires” by Death Cab for Cutie

#11: “Bye Bye Bye” by Plants and Animals – The best “Bye Bye Bye” since JT had Jheri Curls.

#10: “The Devil, You & Me” by The Notwist – One could make the argument that this is the greatest song The Notwist has ever written. I might be inclined to agree.

#9: “Oxford Comma” by Vampire Weekend – The first several times I listened to VW’s debut, this one just didn’t stand out among the afro-pop stylings of “Mansard Roof” or “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.” After a year or so of letting it sit, this one is the stand-out for sure!!

#8: “The Escapist” by The Streets – Mike Skinner’s latest is a fun romp through the ususal, though it lacks a bit of the emotion that I enjoyed from his previous record. “The Escapist,” however, is more than enough reason to pick up this album. The rest of the songs ain’t bad either.

#7: “The Re-Arranger” by Mates of State – The “Biggest Disappointment of the Year” award may go to the Mates’ newest record, but you simply can’t deny the heart put into the title track.

#6: “Market Girl” by Headlights – It started the year as one of my favorite tracks and showed more resiliency than any other song on this list. Do yourself a favor and check out this catchy tune.

#5: “To Pluto’s Moon” by My Brightest Diamond – Shara Worden is a genius – we all knew that. But “To Pluto’s Moon” is not only her crowning achievement of 2008, but perhaps her entire (brief) career. It’s hard to imagine her being able to being able to top such an honestly heartbreaking song.

#4: “Dita Dimone” by Pop Levi – If 2008 has done anything for me, it has reaffirmed my love for pop music. This list, and others to come, are filled with great pop music. This just happens to be one of the best songs of the year, not to mention one of the best pop tracks.

#3: “Ill Willed Person” by Jaymay – Early on, “Sea Green, See Blue” was my favorite. Nowadays, I simply can’t get enough of Jamie Seerman’s “other” track. “Ill Willed Person” is such an emotional and truthful song that you simply can’t hate it.

#2: “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” by Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes has been this year’s IT band, and I feel that a lot of that hype is undeserved. While putting together a solid album, the band has also revealed a lot of flaws and gaps in creativity. This song, however, is one thing that they did right; very, very right.

#1: “Kim & Jessie” by M83 – It was my favorite song of 2008 when it released. It is my favorite song of 2008 now. It will probably be my favorite song of 2008 in 2009, 2010, and pretty much every moment until the world ends in 2012 (the ancient Mayans’ call – not mine). The simple truth is that Anthony Gonzalez has a masterpiece on his hands. I simply could not get enough this year.

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Now the big question is “When will that albums list be up?”  The good news is that it’s compiled and ready to be go.  That bad news is that I’m not telling.  🙂

Go ahead and enjoy that tense anticipation.  

Perfect Summer Soundtrack – Week 2

In our continued mission to give you, the reader, something good to listen to in almost any situation or mood, we have been kind enough to begin our Perfect Summer Soundtrack feature.  Every week, we’ll give you music to get you through all of your summer activities, be they tame, exciting, or somewhere in between.  We always have you covered!  You should know that by now.

The Picnic Playlist

Quite the conundrum we have here, ladies and gentlemen.  For as great as picnics are, there’s almost so way to take your computer to the park with you to jam on this playlist; unless, of course, you live in one of the handful of cities with municipal wi-fi.  In which case, lucky you.  But assuming you don’t, you’ll have to either resort to downloading (be it illegal or iTunes…I won’t judge) or spending a ridiculous wad of cash getting all these songs together.  Personally, I’d opt for the downloading route.

So without any further ado, I give you the picnic playlist; a collection of 20 songs that will make even the most mundane, bologna sandwich taste like a bitching Quizno’s Black Angus sub!*  And if you’re lucky, and happen to be going on a picnic with a member of the opposite sex, you might as well go ahead and pack some rubs.  This playlist will totally get you laid.**  Enjoy!

*Results not typical.
**Results extremely typical.

Week 1 – Rooney’s Self-Titled Debut (Beach Trip, Road Trip, Skateboarding)

(6/12/08) Mates of State w/ Headlights – Houston, TX

So Mates of State strolled through town last night, their first trip through in a few years, and I was pretty pumped as I had never seen them before.  However, I was just as excited to see Headlights, a band whose first album was my #9 album of 2006, and whose second I reviewed pretty fairly as well.  But disappointment was in the air.  Though I do enjoy Some Racing, Some Stopping very much, I was dumbstruck by the fact that Headlights didn’t play a single song (not one) from Kill Them With Kindness, an album I consider to be better, song for song.

Despite that, the band put on a great show.  Tristan took over most of the vocal work, and really the only song that Erin sang lead on was their big hit from the new album, “Cherry Tulips.”  Seeing the band dance around with such energy and vigor was really fun, and really helped get a crowd who wasn’t all that familiar with their music into the show.  Of course, this dancing came with a downside.  Erin accidentally knocked over her beer, and began to unknowingly dance in the puddle that formed.  The front row got splashed (I got a drop or two), but she was kind enough to apologize afterwards.  Their best song?  Probably “Market Girl,” which is still one of my favorite songs of 2008 thus far.  BTDubs, my camera isn’t the best…so getting a good picture was tough with them moving around so much.

Real quick, I gotta get through this second band, Black Joe Lewis.  A really energetic 7-piece band complete with baritone sax, alto sax, trumpet, you know…all the good stuff.  And the band had a really good sound; kind of like a classic rock mixed with James Brown.  But to me, all of their songs sounded the same.  It was as if they had one song, with different riffs.  The crowd ate it up though, so good for them.

So…Mates of State.  What is there to say?  The band played perfectly, and managed to play a wide range of their music without focusing too much on their newer stuff.  You don’t really get a feel for it when you’re listening to their albums, but the band is incredibly talented.  Seeing Kori tear up two keyboards simultaneously while singing, and Jason do the exact same thing on drums…well, it was impressive.

The band brought along a couple of multi-instrumentalists with them.  They guys played strings on all of their new songs off of Re-Arrange Us, but they also played guitar, trombone, percussion, and whatever else the song called for.  My favorite song that the band did was either “Fluke” or “The Re-Arranger.”  Both were performed with such energy and passion that singing along and resisting the urge to stand perfectly still came incredibly easy.  I’ve been waiting for the band to come through Houston for a while, and I was in no way disappointed.  After 18 songs, which being Mates of State songs, were all pretty short, the band waved goodbye and left the stage.  Then I went home.  I was exhausted.

If you went to the show last night, let me know what you thought.  Leave a comment below!

Mates of State: "Re-Arrange Us"

It’s a strange thing nowadays to see a husband and wife musical duo.  It’s even stranger to see one that has consistently avoided the cliches and pitfalls that seem to shadow the small, but never-dying classification.  Mates of State have managed to dodge many of those cliches simply due to the uniqueness of their music.  A guy on drums, a girl on vintage keyboards, each trying to outpace, or out-shout the other definitely makes for an interesting listen.  But after a good decade of making music with a single satisfying formula, the group is finally trying to re-arrange things.  The end result is undoubtedly a solid album, but one that longtime fans may find a bit alienating. 

On their previous album, Bring It Back, Kori Gardner set aside her Casio and her Electone keyboard for a few songs, perhaps most notably on the brooding parenthood ballad, “Nature and the Wreck.”  On Re-Arrange us, they rarely make an appearance.  For any other band, featuring a piano as the most prominent instrument is nothing special.  For Mates of State, it’s shocking.  The fact that most of the songs on the album are all piano-based has sort of a domino effect on the rest of the instrumentation.  Naturally, a piano is not going to pack as much punch, or bite as a tinny synth would.  This causes Jason Hammel to tone things down on the drums, vocals aren’t yelped as often as they normally are, harmonies are lusher, and string instruments are added in to flesh things out.  Again, if this were Coldplay, we’d expect nothing less.  But hearing a Mates of State album that’s lacking in the band’s trademark energy is nothing short of strange.

There are, of course, moments where the band seems to be at least attempting to recreate their classic sounds.  “Now” features Hammel singing, “Now, now, now, now, now, now, now. Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!” during the chorus, but even such playful lyrics seem restricted.  It’s as if the band it trying to burst out of their shell, only to voluntarily pull back.  “The Re-Arranger” could possibly be the band’s best song to date, however, with lyrics that beg to be sung along to and harmonies that will melt your heart.  The uptempo song flies through its verses, only to come to a half-time drum beat during the chorus.  It’s here where the song truly shines, with the couple singing, “You should try to shake it off/ And if you really want to shake it off/ you gotta re-arrange, re-arrange us!”  The bridge explodes with the band declaring “Re-arrange us!!!” at the top of their lungs, over surprisingly deep instrumentation.  This is the high point of the album, however, and everything else just seems to pale in comparison to it.

Take, for example, the tragically cliche “Jigsaw,” a modern-day “I Got You Babe” if there ever was one.  The couple trade lyrics back and forth, about each other of course, resulting in something fairly disappointing.  “Blue and Gold Print” is a solid ballad that features Gardner singing, “And I know when the kids are all grown we will still have this blue and gold print.”  This is all a far cry from “Ha Ha” or “Whiner’s Bio,” unfortunately, though one can’t necessarily blame Mates of State for growing up, having kids, and becoming well-rounded adults.  It’s just that the music isn’t always as interesting as it has been in the past.  “Get Better,” for example, is a really beautiful song, and one of the album’s best, but its emotion seems a little two-dimensional.  Do we really need to add a string reprise to accentuate the serious nature of the song?  Were the lyrics not enough?  

I suppose it can all be attributed to growing pains.  Mates of State are a talented group, capable of much more than their past successes would leave many to believe.  Unfortunately, Re-Arrange Us seems like an album that is caught in transition; stuck awkwardly between the flamboyant extremes of Team Boo and the subdued beauty of “Nature and the Wreck.”  The band seems eager to break free from their childish past, but at the same time reluctant to just leave it behind and move forward.  As such, many of the songs on Re-Arrange Us lack any sort of drive or energy to push them forward, and the album can get pretty sluggish towards the end.  

It’s a huge disappointment for me, being a huge fan of Team Boo and the more outlandish moments of Bring It Back (“Punchines,” for instance).  But even I can admit that not all of the songs on Re-Arrange Us are bad.  In fact, with only a few exceptions, the album is pretty strong.  It may not be what many were expecting, and some may even throw up their hands in frustration, but that doesn’t keep Re-Arrange Us from being somewhat satisfying.  At the very least, even the most hardened Mates of State fans should be able to get a few weeks worth of listens out of it.  Whether or not that’s going to be enough, is entirely up to you.

Key Tracks:

1. “Get Better”

2. “Now”

3. “The Re-Arranger”

4. “Blue and Gold Print”

5. “Lullaby Haze”

6 out of 10 Stars

Buy from Amazon  |  Buy from Insound  |  Download from iTunes

Moods – Whimsical

A few weeks back, I posted my “Goofy” playlist.  This week’s playlist is “Whimsical.”  What’s the difference?  Well, for starters, when I think of whimsy, I think childlike or playful.  Goofy can be an assortment of things, but whimsy is always fun!  And who doesn’t love fun?

Video of the Week – Week 70

So most people already know that Mates of State is one of my favorite indie groups out there, what, with their endless whimsy and lovey-dovey songwriting.  Who couldn’t love them?  Well, they’re set to unleash a brand new album on us in just two short weeks, and if the sound of their first single is any indication, this is going to sound totally different than their previous work.  So sit back and enjoy this song; a sneak peek, if you will, to what will probably be a must-buy album.

Mates of State – “Get Better,” from the album, Re-Arrange Us.

Moods – Goofy

Have you ever been in one of those goofy moods where seemingly everything is funny? Where you feel more hyperactive than normal, and all you want to do is have a good time? Yeah, I get those sometimes. When such a thing happens, I usually try to encourage that mood with an equally goofy soundtrack. More often than not, that means I’m going to pop in The Sunlandic Twins by Of Montreal. But in the interest of variety, I’ve assembled what I feel is playlist that is goofy enough to stand on its own. Hopefully it will keep you in that goofy mood of yours.

All I Want For Christmas Is…

Hey folks! I normally don’t make it a habit of writing about random news articles unless I feel that it’s pretty important. That being said, you should definitely perk up about what I’m about to tell you.

Going on right now, Polyvinyl Records, one of my favorite indie labels, is having a Discography Sale on all of their artists. What this means is that you can buy (almost) every CD in an artist’s discography that’s available from Polyvinyl Records packaged together for a huge discount. This means you can get “every” album major artists like Of Montreal, Architecture in Helsinki and Mates of State for super unrealistic prices. There’s also albums available from lesser-known artists like Headlights (one of my faves) and Saturday Looks Good to Me. Here are some of the deals available right now:

Of Montreal (8CDs and 2EPs) for $70– Including: Sunlandic Twins, Satanic Panic in the Attic, Aldhils Arboretum, Coqelicot Asleep in the Poppies, The Early Four Track Recordings, The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy, The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flowers, Hissing Fauna…Are You the Destroyer?, Icons, Abstract Thee, and If He is Protecting Our Nation…

Mates of State (3 CDs, 2 EPs, and 1 DVD) for $40 – Including: Two of Us (DVD), All Day, Team Boo, My Solo Project, Our Constant Concern, European Tour CD.

Thos are just my favorites. CLICK HERE to visit the Polyvinyl Store and check out all the other awesome deals they have (including all their 2007 releases packaged together for $80). I may pick up that Mates of State one because the only one I have is Team Boo, and that would make a perfect Christmas gift for somebody.

What are you getting?