NEW YORK (YBH.ME) – This being a great week for Massachusetts reactionaries, it really should be no shock to find that objects of indie love/hate, Vampire Weekend, have the #1 album in the country with Contra. Even so, I am a bit surprised they made it that big so early in their career. That said, the synchronicity demands some attention…
Vampire Weekend set for a big 2010. Photo courtesy SHANE MCCAULEY
In the same way that MA’s newest Senator prompted Glen Beck to wonder if a dead intern might not be in future for the Senate’s newest alpha, one has to wonder if Vampire Weekend intentionally bared the uncomfortable reality of their collective id in their choice of cover photo. I believe it was Sting who said “Many miles away, there’s a shadow on the door of a cottage on the shore of a dark Scottish lake.”
So, 2010 has already sent an indie hero up the pop chart, causing one to wonder if the heydays of under-the-radar indie rock/rap greatness are over, and if the Heartland Values-types are finally gonna get in on the action. The year’s crop of new releases has some big names front-loading the calendar, so anything is possible. Are these releases big enough to prompt WalMart to make room on their precious shelves? Only time will tell. Either way, here are a few highlights from the recent release calendar to keep on your radar:
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach: Back from the dead is Damon Albarn’s project Gorillaz with a full album of original material. While he had said he was done with the Gorillaz project, and had moved on to both a short Blur reunion, and a nice alt.supergroup outing with The Good, The Bad and The Queen, the new Gorillaz sees new collaborations with old partners (De La Soul and Paul Simonon both appear on this new one), as well as new collaborations with the likes of Lou Reed and Bobby Womack. The first single is out this month, the whole album comes in March.
Spoon – Transference: Another indie band expected to break large, Austin TX’s Spoon launches their first of the new decade after seeing much from their past catalog on many high profile “Best Of” lists from the previous decade. This self-produced album should keep Merge’s years-long hot streak hot for awhile longer yet as the early reviews are positive, if perhaps showing some indications that this is the end of a phase for the band.
EELS – End Times: A return to the racks for Mark ‘E’ Everett’s EELS project, the second such release since 2009′s return. This new one was recorded on 4-track and is generally thought of as true-to-form in that it covers such weighty material as Everett’s recent divorce. Yours truly has long hoped another album for his ‘E’ project might find its way to the surface one day, but given that EELS enjoyed significant success and the poppier E stuff came and went with barely a whimper almost 20 years ago, I am prepared to take the light out of the window and give this new one a try.
First Aid Kit – The Big Black And Blue: While much love went to Fleet Foxes’ debut a few years back, I thought the quickie little cover of their Tiger Mountain Peasant Song by First Aid Kit was where attention might better have been aimed. It could be just me, but family harmony vocal arrangements just seem sweeter than even the best the professional musicians and singers put out. This upcoming album is the Swedish sisters’ first full-length album, and follows up a fun little EP from a year or two back which showed huge potential. They are still quite young, so it may not pay to get too worked up over this debut, but in time, I gotta think these two are capable of jaw-dropping work. Only time will tell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMrqBldlqzA
Owen Pallett – Heartland: Pitchfork gave much love to this first release by Owen Pallett under his own name. Lest ye “Heartland ‘Mericans = REAL Mericans”-types read too much into this album’s title, you might want to check out some of his work under the name Final Fantasy as a guide to what sorts of materials Mister Pallett works with. I am not sure his aesthetic needs will meet your definition of REAL music or GOOD music appropriate for dancing. It isn’t that it is impossible to dance to this stuff, especially if your hips don’t lie about orchestral arrangements, but I am not sure one can both dance and properly take in the lyrics at the same time; and if one is to err, they must err on the side of being good and scrupulous content consumers. You don’t need to buy any new music just to have something to dance to, y’all!
Johnny Cash – American VI, Ain’t No Grave: The final installment of Johnny Cash’s towering final work with Rick Rubin is to see the light of day in early 2010. It is easy to wonder if he would have ever deviated from this stripped-down style had he lived, but I don’t think anyone could make the case he had yet found any limit to its ability to completely re-frame him, and the power of his core approach to music and to the world. The track list for this album is up on Amazon, and looks like it is as good a mix as the other American Recordings albums, and also is said to include his final original work. If you haven’t given these albums a try yet, I am not sure what you are waiting on. You still have time to start with the first one and work your way up to this, the resolution work of a long, wonderful series.
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Rudy Grahn Jr. is a former talk show host turned writer turned analyst who currently writes primarily on the personal on his weblog Rudayday.com. Rudy is also a digital photographer whose work has been featured on PBS, NBC, and web outlets like BoingBoing.com and The Morning News. His nickname “Rudayday” was conferred upon him by John Romano in the 20th Century. Rudy Grahn article archive.
