Top Ten of 2009 – There can be only #1

Giant Squid – The Ichthyologist

Concept albums are my crack cocaine. The ability to string together a theme or themes throughout a 60 minute record while enforcing your message takes more than just musical talent. It takes confidence in the material and the ability to deliver a message through sound. This album has a tale to tell..

A boat captain is out to sea. He warns his men of sea nymphs and mermaids. He does his best to brace himself for the inevitable war that the sea will wage upon him. When it does, a whale attacks and his boat is destroyed. His men are killed, his life ruined, and all hope for humanity within this man is gone. He transforms, he becomes something primal, something that lets him survive. But with his survival comes shame and fear. He knows too much about the sea and those that reside within. He understands death and decay. He is no longer human, not quite an animal, but broken and shattered.

Mix in a shark attack, lament, and some self-fulfilling prophecy and you can start to understand this work.

This is a metal album, but don’t let that fool you. Yes, this album is heavy as can be, but the cello’s, the Tom Waits-esque vocal styling, plus guest vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen (who makes an appearance back on my countdown) give this a much fuller sound. Plus we have Matt Bayles producing the whole thing, and that guy has done it all, from Mastodon, Blood Brothers, and Pearl Jam to Minus the Bear, HORSE the band, Rocky Votolato, and Isis.

Best of all, they are local, relatively, hailing from Sacramento and San Francisco. The singer wrote a graphic novel that this album is based upon, and I’d be happy ot track that thing down and see it the visual imagery is as detailed as the lyrical imagery.

Here is the opening track, and notice the trumpets, the build-up, the violent vocals that waver from strong to scared.

And finally, for another side of the story, is “Sevengill”, which references a type of shark. Fans of Murder by Death and similar outfits will love this one.

So why is this number one? What makes this thing stand out above the other nine albums I mentioned already?

Besides the concept album piece, this album changed the way I thought about music this year. 2008 had a ton of great music, especially in the heavy metal genre, but nothing this year really grabbed me by the throat and made me pay attention like Giant Squid. I’m a sucker for prog, and there isn’t any here. I love guitar solos, and there are little to none to be found on this album as well. This band plays well together and the vocal styling is as inviting as it is unnerving. This album shook loose a lot fo things in my brain.

The track “Throwing a Donner Party at Sea” starts off with this Kyuss-influenced bass tumble that transmogrifies into a spiraling trumpet-filled epic poem with a soaring cello line above the whole thing, giving it wings. It’s unlike anything else I own, honestly, and I’m glad I know about it.

Sadly, the one chance i had to see these guys live went by the wayside, as I was moving and the last night I had to spend with my girlfriend was the same night they were playing in a dinky club in Chico, CA. Love over music, any day, but I hope they come back so I can finally hear this thing live. I implore you all to do the same.

Top Ten of 2009 – And then there were #2

Islands –Vapours

Two years ago, I was introduced to the band Islands via some music research I was doing and found their debut album, Return to the Sea, very good, but sort of chaotic. It had a rap breakdown and a ten minute opener and closer. The album they put out in 2008 was focused, in a broad way. Sweeping epic stories filled Arm’s Way, and the theme switched to a dark, grimy place, filled with murder and justice and evil slowly creeping into your life. The themes seemed narrowed down, but the composition was sprawling, which, honestly, I loved.

Vapours rejects both of these and institutes its own reality. Four minute morsels of greatness are sprinkled lightly throughout my second favorite album of the year. Gone are the double-digit closers and multi-faceted songs and instead flow from start to finish, often giving a waterfall effect, going from serene to intense without the slightest warning.

Gone too are the dark stories and, in their place, are intriguing questions about life, and living with yourself. Not to mention, the best love song I’ve heard in years. These are the lyrics from track 6, “Tender Torture”

I’ll be your wave carrying you to shore.
And if your ribs are peeking through your fur,
I’ll feed you some more.

I rode out of the city,
without you in my arms.
Under the moonglow,
i was a windblown, cast-down,
carved out watermelon.
Without you in my arms
Without you in my arms.

And i’ve seen some great things,
But i dont want to see anything
If i cant see you.
Kicked open a coconut,
Could’ve shared it with anyone
But i wanted to share it with you.

I’ll be your strings;
If you pluck them,
I’ll sing for you.
And if your hands are feeling tender,
I’ll take them in my own and make them better.

I rose out of the water,
I can hold my breath for only so long.
I push past the breeze from the palm trees,
I’m coming towards you.
I’ve got to have you in my arms,
I’m gonna have you in my arms.

And i’ve seen some great things,
But i dont want to see anything
If i cant see you.
Kicked open a coconut,
Could’ve shared it with anyone,
But i wanted to share it with you.

You send me over in tender torture.
And when it’s over, it’s tender torture.

The song I’ll give as example is “Devout,” a great track told from the perspective of a bank robber that sells out his partner. He feels bad for the guy for believing him so much and then bailing out on him with all the cash.

When this dude sings the “You were so devout…” line, with that drum build up and bass essence…it raises hair. This album also came out on my birthday and it’s still in my car’s CD player.

The song “Heartbeat” is another stand-out, with singer Nick Diamonds calling out fans and critics alike with the use of auto-tune while challenging “I could’ve written more/But you don’t know what to listen for” and “Qued up the major third/But you don’t know you just take my word.” The whole thing is this great tongue-and-cheek critique of critiquing, and the fact that its done with this obvious fad is brilliant.

I really enjoy putting on a record and finishing it feeling like i just met four people. Four people that tried their hardest to tell me a story, especially if that story is a personal one, and a sincere one. This is the most sincere album of this year and the best un-categorizable band I know.

Please, go listen to Islands.

Top Ten of 2009 – 3 is a Magic Number

Porcupine Tree –The Incident

The link at the top will take you to a prior post I wrote about this album, so I’d like to introduce you to somebody.

America, meet Mr. Steven Wilson.

Steven Wilson, meet America.

Enough with that…

Steven Wilson is the renaissance man behind Porcupine Tree, and has been (as well as many other projects) for 20 years. Fans have only recently been popping up in the States, but fame and fortune is not the motivation here.

For people that know me, they now how big Pink Floyd is in my life. Rather, how big Pink Floyd was in my life. It’s tough when bands don’t exist anymore; the classics always hold a place, but the inability to get new material or hear it live cuts the cord from fan to band.

My favorite aspect of Floyd was Roger Waters and Roger Waters survived Pink Floyd, and created a vivacious solo career that helps fuel my fandom of his prior group.

Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree are the Yin to my Pink Floyd Yang.

Waters grabbed me with his ability to sum up the trials and tribulations of being a kid. Family issues, questioning authority, hell, questioning everything.  I learned more from The Wall then I did from Sesame Street. But I never felt like Roger gave me the Adult experience. Nothing graphic, just nothing deeper than hate, love, greed, etc. When I got older, I found the musical element was growing on me, but I couldn’t stay mentally stuck in youth anymore and I was growing out of that aspect of their music.

That’s not to say that those themes aren’t present in PT’s music, but it’s the way Wilson conveys his message, and more importantly, how the audio aspect of the band combines with his message. His music creates the landscape and his words fill in the details, line by line, until this descriptive, complex work of art is left.

Another bonus: The man can play guitar. Epic-ness begins at 2:15:

Like Waters, it’s Wilson’ ability to compose that impresses me so much. When someone has the ear for different parts, layers under and upon layers of sound, it’s astonishing to see it all work. And it all works. Not just his guitar work, which is excellent, but the crafting of the soul of a song.

Imagine every song is a pizza. The topping bar is there, and you have every choice of topping you could ever want. Go ahead, grab some cheese and pepperoni. Who doens’t love that? Ok, maybe add some onions. Oh, do you like olives? Me too! Ok, now let’s throw on the anchovies…

In essence, this is the model of staleness in music today. Everyone will stuff down a pepperoni pizza, and that’s what the labels give you, they give you regular, similar, easily-duplicated “pop”peroni pizza.

Wilson is a master chef, and throws everything he can into the mix and comes out with a gourmet meal. It’s a risk because not everyone is gonna like it and most people won’t even give it a shot because it looks too complicated and fancy.

Waters. Wilson. Not that different, eh? One plays psychedelic bass and the other proggy rock. Both scraggily hair British intellectuals with  flair for the dramatic. It all makes sense now…

God, I hope they don’t play at Bonnaroo this year. It would break my heart…

Top Ten of 2009 – #5 and #4

This man is a God.

Meet Devin Townsend: guitar virtuoso and metal master. This Canadian skullet-wearing frontman has put out nearly a dozen albums under his name and half a dozen with the band Strapping Young Lad, one of the best in the past few decades. He has produced everyone from GWAR to Becoming the Archetype and has created a style of production similar to the late, great Frank Zappa.

This man breathes talent.

This year he bestowed upon us loyal subjects a double-dose of Devin. After taking a musical hiatus for a few years, he stopped drinking, stopped smoking, had a baby (well, his wife did), and cut all of his hair off. Unlike Samson, his powers increased as he wrote over 60 songs that he is spreading out into  four album epic, the first two of which were released earlier this year, which brings us to the number five album of the year…

The Devin Townsend Project – Addicted

This is actually the second album, and its just slightly under it’s predecessor, but through no fault of its own. Let me back up…

Addicted is the most grown-up metal album I’ve ever heard. Townsend didn’t just stop drinking and then write amazing music about being sober. He stopped his vices and started learning from them, started creating productive music. Townsend is one of the few fathers of modern metal that understands that the genre is stale when it sticks to its roots. Like everything, a bit of spice and variety will bolster the tunes to new heights, and part of that is lyrical subject matter.

Devin drops mature knowledge like

I don’t want to save my soul now
I don’t want to lose control
And even if it takes a lifetime to learn
I’ll learn.

All while shredding and making his amp scream. Honestly, this style of music is not for everyone, and it’s tough to explain to those not familiar with his prior work. And it’s the little things that make this album work so well: The bleeding from one track to another, the female vocalist (Anneke van Giersbergen), the infuzing themes from prior albums and material, and of course the subtle production is unparalleled.

To hear a grown man (in his 40’s now) scream “Stay away form me pornography!” in an attempt to cure the things he can’t wrangle his soul from is powerful, even more when you understand that he’s not doing this for the money or the fame. He’s a musician’s musician. And speaking of musicians, the fourth album of the year has one of the wackiest line-ups I’ve seen in years.

The Devin Townsend Project – Ki

Devin took a kid working in a Guitar Center, and a dude that played drums for bands like Heart and Jefferson Airplane, and cranked out a work of fucking art. He added another female vocalist, brought in a keyboardist, and wrote, mixed, recorded, produced, and birthed Ki.

This album is more than a collection of songs and thoughts: it’s a stream of consciousness. It begins so soft, so slowly, until about halfway down the album explodes, and this angry father/husband/man expresses his rage.

The album opens with “A Monday” which is a nice, breezy little tune to start things off. it lets the listener know that a ride is about to being and to hang on.

The second track, “Coast”, speaks for itself.

“Gato” and “Heaven Send” are the biggest standouts, with groovy bass lines wiggling in and out. A subtle call and answer string along the latter track, which includes a shift from chill to chaos, with musical volcanoes going off all around you.

This track is followed by a three minute free-form jam session between the band members, this slides perfectly into “Winter”, another instrumental track that chills you out even more. Then, out of nowhere, an Elvis country jam called “Trainfire” erupts into a hormone fueled message about the perils of sex and booze addiction.

And then the album mellows back out, going from slow to molasses, the entire time keeping the sweeps, keeping the intensity, and keeping the themes alive. It really is a thing of beauty.

The man is no stranger to trying new things, as the flute solo and brass swing section of his last album with Strapping Young Lad will tell you. This album features an acoustic version of “Cum On Feel the Noize”, with new lyrics and a new attitude, and he, of course, named it “Quiet Riot.”

It saddens me that guys like Devin Townsend aren’t household names. Rarely do such honest musicians come out and share so much art with the public. And when he puts out such experimental material, his meat-head metal fans give him shit for not playing what he used to play, not able to accept change and growth in their artists. The fact that this guy took a leave of absence, changed his life, and put out music better than he ever has before is a testament to his talent, his work ethic, and his creativity. Because of that, his two albums sit firmly in my top five albums of the year.

Top ten of 2009 – #666

Mastodon – Crack the Skye

I’ll let one of the guitarists explain the idea behind this mammoth album:

There is a paraplegic and the only way that he can go anywhere is if he astral travels. He goes out of his body, into outer space and a bit like Icarus, he goes too close to the sun, burning off the golden umbilical cord that is attached to his solar plexus. So he is in outer space and he is lost, he gets sucked into a wormhole, he ends up in the spirit realm and he talks to spirits telling them that he is not really dead. So they send him to the Russian cult, they use him in a divination and they find out his problem. They decide they are going to help him. They put his soul inside Rasputin’s body. Rasputin goes to usurp the czar and he is murdered. The two souls fly out of Rasputin’s body through the crack in the sky(e) and Rasputin is the wise man that is trying to lead the child home to his body because his parents have discovered him by now and think that he is dead. Rasputin needs to get him back into his body before it’s too late. But they end up running into the Devil along the way and the Devil tries to steal their souls and bring them down…there are some obstacles along the way.

Catch all that?

Simply put: this album is not your typical “Oh dude, let’s grab a six pack and listen to some solos!” kind of album. There is some heavy, heavy material throughout this entire work and the music is varied enough to keep you from getting bored or over-sludged.

Brann Dailor (drums) continues to be the example of how to use a drumset. It’s hard to imagine the state of metal without this band, and without these guys in this band. Anytime you have a singer paying bass, I’m interested. Anytime you have a guitarist with a tattoo covering the entire side of his face, I’m interested. And whenever your live show is a great combo of music, lights, and awesome video, I’m triple interested.

I feel somewhat bad for this Atlanta-based quartet. On one hand, they are the face and future of heavy metal in America. With Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and all of the great bands from the 80’s taking their straps off and putting the sticks down, a band like Mastodon is primed to take the mantle. But with that comes so much pressure.

A few years ago, these guys were on Relapse Records, a legendary metal label that launched dozens of amazing bands. Now, they are one Warner Brothers, and immmediately the fans start to change, the venues start to change, the feedback and recpetion starts to change….but the band didn’t change. And that’s the key.

Crack the Skye is the next step for a band that has already written some iconic tunes. Starting with the single “Oblivion”, the track starts off slow and steady, giving the drummer time and space to flex his vocal range, before the guitarists come in to take over singing duties and he can get back to destroying his kit. Singing is the correct term, as the growling, shouting, and overall screaming flowing throughout prior releases is now partnered with subtle melodies and aggressive crooning. The fact that these guys hail from Atlanta gives insight into their influences, with sturdy bass lines and steady riffs, ala Lynyrd Skynyrd. Don’t get it wrong, it’s still heavy and aggressive, but it’s not frantic or sloppy.

The shining jewel of this album is the final track, “The Last Baron”. Standing at an even 13 minutes, this track is the spaceship that takes you through the Mastodon universe. Lift off begins with Troy Sanders begging us “Please, please take my hand, please take my soul so we can always be around” then exclaims how the world can be saved with the gem-encrusted skull of the Wise Man’s staff.

Catch all that?

Mastodon has a touch of the fantastic with their lyrics. They have an entire album surrounding the Moby Dick novel, and another telling the story of climbing a Blood Mountain and fighting yetis, cyclops, and more.

But the whole reason “The Last Baron” works is because the album works.  Mastodon has this knack for combining an album’s entire conceptual thoughts and feelings and dispersing them at just the right intervals throughout the setlist. You take this 40 minute ride and at the end is the craziest loop-d-loop you’ve ever heard, with the time signature change of the year. Not quite a breakdown, but a curveball that tames this spiraling beast of a song, having just complete a mini Math Metal moment a few minutes prior.

Long story short: It will crush your soul.

And that, my friends, is a good thing.

Both of these videos were taken by me from Coachella 2009. Enjoy!

Top ten of 2009 – #7

The Mars Volta – Octahedron

Thank Baby Jesus for Thomas Pridgen.

A few years ago, a group of buddies and myself all drove out to the famous Yoshi’s jazz club in Oakland to see a fabulous horn player (Christian Scott), but ended up asking “Who the hell is that drummer?” the entire set. Turns out, it’s the Bay Area’s own Thomas Pridgen, who ended up replacing Jon Theodore behind the kit for The Mars Volta last year on their strong outing Bedlam in Goliath.

Pridgen’s drumming is the glue that holds this band together. Omar Rodriguez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala are as “Jimmy Page and Robert Plant” as any other duo since the 70’s, and they may finally found their John Bohnam.

This album is a powerhouse with a slow burn. It starts off deftly, with no music, tiny synth sounds, and soft, acoustic melodies. Skip in five minutes and the drums hit, then the rocking starts. And it doesn’t stop until the final track.

“Teflon”, the second track, is a great example of Mars Volta machinery at work. While Cedric tells us to “Let the wheels burn/Let the wheels burn/Stack the tires to the neck /with the body inside,” the rest of the band is exploring the space and range around his vocals, filling empty space with trippy psych-synth and non-repetitive fills and riffs…until the end when Cedric’s chants become explosive and the guitars swirl like a swarm of angry bees. Furiously overcharged Orange amps produce some of the best sound in music today.

“Cotopaxi” picks up right where their first album, De-Loused in the Comatorium, left off, and we are all better for it. This track really showcases the strength of an entire ensemble working together. Sadly, the song writing process for the band is sort of odd, as the main two write and compose the tracks, then tell the bandmates what to play. This is supposed to be the last album they record in that fashion, and it makes me look forward to their new material even more.

The greatness of this band is impossible to explain until you’ve seen them live. The energy and passion put into their art form is nearly unparalleled, and while the footage isn’t amazing, I do have some to share with you. It’s from Bonnaroo earlier this year, and it’s indicative of other live Mars Volta events.

This album one of the first of the year that had me glued and was actually keeping me from getting around to a lot of other things. Strangely, almost all of their albums have that effect on me, but it’s a treat to see a band’s sixth studio effort (five albums and one EP) be more memorable than their last and even more promising of things to come.

Top Ten of 2009 – Numero Ocho

Brand New – Daisy

Released on September 22nd (my birthday), the Long Island wailers gave me the best present I could ask for. One of the most raw and promising  bands of my generation put out another tome of rugged riffs and screaming confessions. Brand New’s singer, Jesse Lacey, really brought out his skeletons and smashed them to pieces. I appreciate artists that are not afraid to put out the opposite of what’s expected. I don’t mean flashing skin or going “extreme”, I mean hearing a guy talk about life and love and loss without it sounding fake or soft. Bands like Alkaline Trio do this extremely well, and as  a male listener, it relates on a different level than most music I listen to.

Brand New isn’t for everyone, but I don’t know a lot of casual fans of theirs. Pretty much just the die-hard support these guys and they’ve been pleasing their constituents for years. I had the pleasure of seeing them at the Warfield in San Francisco a few years ago and was stunned. Sometimes deeper music is tougher to play live, as pyro tricks and fog machines are counter-productive to relating about issues. But this band thinks about the music as a live piece of art first and foremost, then scoops it out onto an album.

The best qualities of this album, however, are the slower moments. The hardest thing to do in music is to be quiet and powerful at the same time. To stress subtlety. It requires restraint as well as force. That sort of musical harmony sums up a band like Brand New. They are able to take the sweet with the sour and provide the id, ego, and superego for those willing to experience it.

Top Ten of 2009 – Number Nine

And So I Watch You From Afar – S/T

Out of nowhere, this band emerged into my computer. I gather intelligence from across vast galaxies of digital space, and it’s hard to say which rover brought me back this Moon rock. But that rover is gettin’ a raise.

Take instrumental rock. Take all the good that comes with the best bands that perform it. But take all the droning out and replace it with guitar solos.

I love a good post-rock band, but generally you get with some explosive moments surrounded by subtlety. The subtlety is back on the bus with this band and instead, again, its been replaced with guitar solos. Not just solos, but fuckin’ good ones. This is not a band afraid to play their music, and I say that in a time where being different is almost impossible.

The album contains some of the best uses of funny song titles in recent memory, including “Tip of the Hat, Punch in the Face”, “If it Ain’t Broke… Break it”, and my favorite, the opener, “Set Guitars to Kill.” And that they do, from the start to the finish, and with only one track under four minutes and most over six, this isn’t about short fuses and quick impulse rock. It’s as methodical, complex, and thought-out as your Mogwais or your Flaming Lips or Appleseed Cast…it’s just aggressive and heavy….heavier than just about anything else I’ve listened to this year that didn’t come from an Eastern German metal band.

I’ll let Cuzin Mank fill ya in, the best way he can, and I suggest watching the attached Youtube vid of some of their awesomeness.

Top 10 Albums of 2009

Since I have my own site, I may as well have my own countdown.

This was an excellent year for music. Every genre I enjoy had powerhouse albums and new comers alike. I am going to dedicate a post a day to each album I feel really summed up this year or just gave me the best piece of art.

#10

Blakroc – Blakroc

This album makes no sense…on paper.

Take The Black Keys: Ohio-blues rock popular amongst bearded journalists and their moms. They’ve stepped into the limelight with commercial spots and late night TV appearances, heavy touring schedule, and many festival stops. Now take that band and mix in some of the most succesful rap artists of the past two decades (RZA, Mos Def, Ludacris, Q-Tip, Raekwon, Jim Jones) putting words over the duo’s rock and blues.

It actually works out very well.

Immediately, one of the best emcees to levae this Earth, Ol’ Dirty Bastard lays down some insight into the female persuasion and the core of romance and relationships:

She used to tell me how much she loved me and how much she need me
How she can’t wait to get home and rub me, and hug me and squeeze me
And after that, she just popped that bubbly, and touched me and teased me
Whe she was mad, she would push and shove me, and fuck me and feed me
I gotta admit, I would spoiled and rotten, dirty down to the core
And I’m insane, almost to the point where I really don’t want it no more
But never that, I got back on track, and I had to put it together
Because without ’em, my world is gone, so slip away, I won’t let her, I tell her

Most impressive is the ability of The Black Keys to keep their sound in this merger. Usually, you find the rock band stepping back, cutting out solos, free-form jam, and anything else they may do if they had the studio all to themselves. On the flipside, the fact that all these rap dudes saw this as a good idea and really put some heart into the collaboration just makes for a really tight package.

This makes me wonder why so many rap-rock products end up so poorly when this one worked so well. Maybe it’s that need for both sides to see the good side of both worlds and let one another bring their piece to the studio. Instead of saying “Hey, you rap after my solo” maybe it’s “Listen to this, write some lyrics, hit record” and I think that’s why this was such a success.