#3 on the 2024 Bacon Top 31 — Vampire Weekend

January 29, 2025 by Royal Stuart in Top 31, 2024

Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend

I did not expect good things from Vampire Weekend in 2024, and that is 100% on me. I have always been a big fan of the band, and the three albums that they’ve released while I’ve been tracking my Top 31s have all been near the top of the list in their respective release years (Contra at #6 in 2010, Modern Vampires of the City at #3 in 2013 and Father of the Bride at #3 in 2019). But five years had passed since the release of Bride, and apparently that’s just enough time to plant a seed of doubt in my mind that a band can’t possibly continue to succeed at the level they had previously.

I’m happy to report I’ve now learned my lesson: never doubt Ezra Koenig. The man is a genius songwriter, there’s really no bones about it. Only God Was Above Us, the band’s fifth album in sixteen years, is not unlike other Vampire Weekend releases. The jangly guitar, the bouncy rhythms, Koenig’s high-registered clear-as-day lyrics – it’s all here. In fact, the one thing that’s really changed in the past 16 years is everything else. Vampire Weekend stays brilliantly consistent while the world changes drastically around them. I mean, when the band’s self-titled debut album was released in 2008, we were still a year away from President Obama. That is more than a lifetime away from our current situation.

Production of Only God is similar to the last two Vampire Weekend albums. Koenig takes the lion’s share of the songwriting duties, with Ariel Rechtshaid partnering with Koenig on most of the production of the album. A pleasant surprise is former Vampire Weekender Rostam Batmanglij’s production on “The Surfer,” giving a small but no-less important indication that Rostam is still engaged with Koenig and the band, no matter how tenuous a connection that may be.

I had the immense pleasure of catching Koenig with bandmates Chris Thomson and Chris Baio on their late-Spring / Summer 2024 tour. Thanks to the pre-planning by friends of mine, I was overjoyed to get to watch the performance from the floor, just a couple people shy of the foot of the stage in the cavernous Climate Pledge Arena. The trio were joined by a handful of other musicians (violin, keyboards, a second drummer/percussionist), necessary to capture the full Vampire Weekend sound.

They put on a hell of a show. Theatrics, massive mid-show changes in set scenery, intimate shifts in lighting — this was’t just an indie-rock show, it was a a broadway musical, with Koenig commanding the stage at every turn. The band played nearly every song from Only God, and a huge variety of past songs as well, spanning about 90 minutes. After a short break, the band came out and told a short story. “We used to come out and take requests for Vampire Weekend songs that we haven’t already played in the evening and tried to muddle our way through them. On this tour, we’re taking a different approach. We’ll try to muddle our way through other bands’ songs. So, do you have any non-Vampire Weekend songs you’d like to hear?”

They then proceeded to play partial versions of songs shouted out or displayed on phone screens, sometimes quite poorly. “Graceland,” “Creep” (Radiohead, not TLC), “Just Like Heaven,” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” all were attempted to varying degrees of success. Being so close to the stage, I was able to yell out loud enough to be heard by Koenig, and he magically took my suggestion. He and the band then dove into a fantastic rendition of the first verse from “Psycho Killer,” just because I asked them to. They even played a portion of “Hold Up” by Beyoncé, from her phenomenal 2016 album Lemonade (under-ranked at #6 in 2016), which Koenig famously has a writing and production credit on.

I must make a quick tangent here to relate something I just learned that ties all of this together. A lot of you are probably aware that Koenig interpolated a line from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s song “Maps” in a random tweet back in 2011, the entirety of which said “Hold up… they don’t love you like I love you,” which then became the core of Beyoncé’s “Hold Up.” Beyond that, amazingly enough, you can actually hear Koenig’s original demo verse for the Beyoncé hook here in this recording from Koenig’s Time Crisis podcast from back in 2016. In the original verse, he actually had the line “can’t you see there’s not other god above you,” which Beyonce changed to “…no other man above you” in the final version of the song, leaving Koenig’s original line on the cutting room floor. In the audio clip above, Koenig goes on to talk about the origin for that line, which is from a bible verse. Surely it can’t be pure coincidence that, here we are nine years post-altered-line-on-Lemonade and Vampire Weekend’s newest album is called “Only God Was Above Us.” But I digress.

It will likely be years before we get another Vampire Weekend record, if their history is any indication. I hope when that future album does come out, I remember this feeling from right here, right now: Vampire Weekend can really do no wrong. They’ve proven over five stellar albums that they make nothing but great music, entirely unique to themselves (having broken free of the very early references to Paul Simon and his Graceland album, specifically). I’m excited for a future of more Vampire Weekend music. And I’m guessing you are, too.

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#19 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Phosphorescent

January 13, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

The Full Moon Project by Phosphorescent

The only artist to have ever taken the #1 slot tw ice (and #20 in 2010) in Bacon Review history slots in way back at #19 in the 2022 Top 31. Matthew Houck, the driving force behind Phosphorescent, did something a little different with his 2022 release. Called The Full Moon Project, Houck recorded and released a new single for every full moon through out the year, resulting in more of a “slow-building playlist” rather than a formally-released, purchasable album.

Each song on the project is a cover. Randy Newman, Nick Lowe, Nina Simone, Lucinda Williams, Fleetwood Mac, and Bob Dylan (x2) songs all make the cut. It’s not Houck’s first foray into an album full of covers – see his 2008 album To Willie, an homage to the great Willie Nelson. And he’s done a handful of covers in the interim, the hands down best being “Ya Hey,” which he did live at KCRW back in 2013. You wouldn’t know it by listening to the Vampire Weekend original, from their album Modern Vampires of the City (#3 in 2013), but Houck proves those fantastic Ezra Koenig lyrics weren’t meant to be in a Phosphorescent song.

Houck has an unmistakable drawl, a purposeful laziness in his delivery that forces you to slow your pace, close your eyes and lean in. He conveys the warmth of burning embers in your headphones. On The Full Moon Project, he makes each song his own. Sometimes, like the lovely “Like A Rolling Stone” shown above, it’s not too much of a stretch from the original (I never considered how much Houck could sound like the elder Dylan until now). But other times, such as in his cover of “To Love Somebody,” the Nina Simone song from her 1969 album of the same name, his take on the song makes it seem as if the original never existed.

It’s not clear whether the project is now complete, or just on hiatus. He didn’t release a song on the January 2023 full moon (which occurred back on January 6). But the post with his last Full Moon song, Dylan’s “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven,” released on December 7, 2022, Houck said “I may have to put [the project] on hold for next year, as I gotta make the next proper Phossy record, and man this stuff takes a lotta time! But maybe not too. We'll see what happens come next full moon…” I’ll be sure to update this post if he does record some more Full Moon songs. In the mean time, this current collection of songs and his nine unbelievably great albums that led up to it will tide me over until we get “the next proper Phossy record.”

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20. Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C.
21. I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
22. Too Much to Ask by Cheekface
23. Dripfield by Goose
24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#23 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Goose

January 09, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Dripfield by Goose

Jam bands aren’t my thing. They’re a lot of other people’s thing, but not mine. I understand, intellectually, why people like jam bands, start to obsess about their favorite one, and eventually become Deadheads, Phish Phans, or Gizzard Wizards (these names may be entirely fabricated), finding themselves following their favorite jam band around the world to continually worship at the feet of their chosen god. But unlike the guilt I feel when not listening to Big Thief, I feel no guilt for not having fallen in with the jam band scene.

Goose, from Norwalk, Connecticut, are proving to be the catalyst for a shift in my thinking. Not only is Dripfield, really, really good, but I also got to experience them in their true form this past summer: live, in person, at Thing festival just outside Port Townsend, Washington. Both the album and the experience have left me changed, softer on my stance regarding jam bands, and open and ready to explore more. My jam-band-aficionado friends — you know who you are — are not-so-silently rejoicing.

I’ve not listened to Goose’s first two albums: 2016’s Moon Cabin and Shenanigans Nite Club from 2019. But from what I’ve read, those albums were mere stop-gaps to getting the band back out on the road. In true jam-band fashion, they slowly built a following based on consistently good live shows, almost in spite of their recorded work. Part of that following involved Ezra Koenig, lead singer/songwriter of long-time Bacon Review favorites Vampire Weekend. Koenig likes the band so much, he asked them to create a 20 minute, 21 second-long remix/cover of Vampire Weekend song “2021” from Father of the Bride (#3 in 2019) for their 2021 EP, 40:42.

All that performing work over a five year span allowed Goose to hone a near-perfect 60-minute set to record for in studio for their 2022 release, Dripfield. The band’s third full-length album is, even by the band’s own admission, their first real album. It has a number of gems, including ”Hungersite,” shown in the video above. A personal favorite is the first track on the album, “Borne,” and the title song is pretty great as well. All three of these songs have the band at their best (despite the visual side of the videos being a touch on the boring side): lead singer Rick Mitarotonda’s smooth vocals and solid, guitar-driven hooks along with multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach’s keyboards rounding out the top end while the rhythm section (Ben Atkind on drums, Jeff Arevalo on percussion, and bassist Trevor Weeks) drive the songs deftly forward.

Hearing these songs as recorded in the studio is nice, but hearing them performed live is otherworldly. The band’s day one headliner slot at Thing festival this past August couldn’t have been better: their set time followed a pair of perfect openers in Sparks and Father John Misty (another Bacon Review favorite), clear skies with a stiff breeze coming in from Puget Sound, and a crowd of thousands enjoying their much-needed freedom after a couple years of pandemic-forced introversion. Goose played eight songs in their 90-minute set, each clocking in at well over 10 minutes long. It was a thing of beauty.

I walked off the festival grounds that night a changed man. I had been shown the light of the jam band experience, and I was left wanting more. That’s the Goose way. Join me in my newfound excitement! Check out their wonderful album Dripfield, and then book tickets to see them when they come to Seattle in April. Maybe I’ll see you there.

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24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#0 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Rostam

December 30, 2022 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Changephobia by Rostam

The 2022 Bacon Top 31 will be kicking off in earnest on Sunday, per usual. I’m here a couple days early to correct a year-old mistake. Back in January, midway through the 2021 Top 31, my lovely wife, Anna, began speculating what my top 5 of 2021 would be. She had the benefit of knowing what picks #16–#31 were, because I’d been publishing those picks daily throughout the first half of January. And she had the added benefit of me having pushed all kinds of music on her throughout the year, so she already had a strong feel for what I’d been liking.

She started rattling off a few names that would land near the top the 2021 list. “War on Drugs for sure, and Big Red Machine. Nation of Language…” — the corners of my mouth start to curl up as she goes through her mental musical rolodex — “Fleet Foxes… Rostam? His new one came out this year, didn’t it?” — and my expression shifts immediately, from a smirk to mild panic.

My mind starts racing… Rostam! I haven’t listened to him in a couple months, but damn Changephobia is a great album… Did we start listening to it in 2021 — when did it come out? I quickly bring up Wikipedia: released June 4, 2021. SHIT. Now what do I do? The rest of the Top 31 is already locked in… there’s no way to fit it in without pulling something else out, and I’m certainly not cutting something from my remaining top 15 of the year to make room for a clear Top 10 album.

So I resolve to amending the list. I’ve had to do it once before, back in 2014, after all. Changephobia will just have to be a #0 for 2021, out of the official ranking for the year but every bit as important as the rest of the list. I knew what I needed to do, but then time got away from me, the rest of the year flew by, and here we are on the cusp of the 2022 Top 31, and I’m finally writing about one of the best from 2021.

You may not know who Rostam is, but if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve heard me talk about him before. His full name is Rostam Batmanglij (رستم باتمانقلیچ in his Iranian parent’s native Persian¹), and he has been all over the Bacon Review since it began in 2009:

He was a founding member of Vampire Weekend whose albums hit #6 in 2010 and #3 in 2013. He left the band prior to their fourth album, but he still produced a couple songs on that album, which hit #3 in 2019.
He produced and co-wrote two songs on Hamilton Leithauser’s debut solo album, which hit #11 in 2014.
He wrote one and produced another song on Frank Ocean’s Blonde (#4 in 2016)
Wrote and produced three songs on Francis and the Lights’ debut album (#21 in 2016)
He and Hamilton Leithauser released a joint album that hit #19 in 2016).
and he produced Haim’s Women in Music Pt. III which hit (#19 in 2020

That is no fewer than eight separate Bacon Top 31 albums he’s been an integral part of, and I left his 2nd full-length album off the 2021 list. Ugh, I hate myself². At least I’m making up for it here. Changephobia is a lovely album. I got to see him perform solo for the first time in August 2022, at Neumos. Despite him lacking a full-bodied stage presence (this was his first show post-covid, and he’s not used to owning the spotlight on his own – look at that laundry list of big names he’s propped up on his shoulders, above), it was a magical experience.

Changephobia is a great follow-up to his 2017 debut, Half-light, which was my #2 album of 2017. If you’ve not heard either album, I urge you to do so. Hit play on the video above to hear his voice first hand (and don’t miss the who’s who of guest stars in that video: HAIM, Charli XCX, Wallows, Kaia Gerber, Remi Wolf, Nick Robinson, Bryce Willard Smithe, Samantha Urbani, Demi Adejuyigbe, Seth Bogart, Huck Kwong, Ariel Rechtshaid, Matt DiMona, Ghazal Hashemi, Carter Howe, Julian McClanahan, and Chris Paloma all make an appearance in the back of that cab).

If listening to his original music doesn’t cut it, then listen to these two non-album covers he’s done: Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York,” which I had on repeat all Christmas season this year. The man is a genius, and I can’t wait to hear what he does next.

And that is how we finally wrap up the previous year here on the The Bacon Review. This is a one-person operation over here, desperately needing a systems manager / editor. Until I magically get a budget and an ability to hire, mistakes will continue to be made, but I’ll do everything I can to stop them from happening! In the veritable words of Matthew Wilder, “Ain’t nothing gonna break-a my stride, nobody gonna slow me down, oh no, I got to keep on moving.” See you on Sunday to start up the 2022 Top 31!

^{1. Isn’t that language just beautiful to look at? I love Arabic script, and may someday learn to write a language that uses it just so I can make calligraphy with it.↩}
^{2. The technological reason that led to the omission is just plain dumb: I use a smart playlist in Apple Music to pull together all the albums I download for a given year. The 2021 version had two new rules applied to that playlist that I thought would help me greatly: I told it to exclude anything with “single” or “ep” in the name. Guess what two letters appear next to each other in the word “Changephobia.” Worry not, the 2022 smartlist does not have those rules repeated.↩}

#3 on the 2019 Bacon Top 31 — Vampire Weekend

January 29, 2020 by Royal Stuart

Father of the Bride by Vampire Weekend

When I first heard Father of the Bride, Vampire Weekend’s fourth album, I wasn’t into it. Rostam (Batmanglij, whose solo album Half-Light was #2 in 2017) had left the band, and I was letting that fact cloud my enjoyment of what lead singer/songwriter Ezra Koenig had been able to put together on his own. It was too catchy, too poppy, too giddy, and it didn’t offer enough diversity upon first listens. But over time, I kept reaching back for it, without really knowing why. Then, somewhere around the 10th time through the album, I realized I knew all the songs, I would happily sing along to most of it, and I had nothing but positive feelings about the album. It had somehow turned a corner in my head, and then never looked back.

The first three Vampire Weekend albums were collaborative efforts between Koenig and Rostam, and they were all fantastic (their 2nd album, Contra appeared at #6 in 2010 and Modern Vampires of the City appeared at #3 back in 2013). When Rostam left the band, it clearly hit Koenig hard, as there was a six year gap between when their previous album came out and this new one. But the wait has proven worth it.

Nearly exactly like Bon Iver (discussed back at #9), Vampire Weekend’s first four albums have been unbelievably good. Like Bon Iver, their first album came out in 2008, and their most recent fourth album came out in 2019. Both bands have produced a fantastic, if limited, body of amazing music in that time. Just four albums, in 12 years time. This isn’t scattershot, push a bunch of stuff out there and see what sticks. Instead, this is studied, worked and reworked music, signs of an artist / group of artists never being satisfied with their work, and not knowing exactly when to stop. It makes you wonder: how much would you like the work if they’d stopped working on it five months prior? What about five months after? Somehow, they find that magic formula and release it just when it strikes gold.

Back on Christmas Day, a podcast that I love called Song Exploder released an episode featuring Koenig, talking about the making of the song “Harmony Hall”. I recommend giving it (and every other episode of the podcast) a listen, because it provides so much insight into the struggle, joy, pain, and elation that goes into writing music, as spoken by the artists themselves. Without listening to it, I never would have paid attention to the lyrics of the song:

Anger wants a voice, voices wanna sing
Singers harmonize 'til they can't hear anything
I thought that I was free from all that questionin'
But every time a problem ends, another one begins

It’s actually a quite dark song. The main line of the song, “I don’t wanna live like this, but I don’t wanna die,” is actually a reprise of that line from a previous Vampire Weekend song, “Finger Back” from Modern Vampires of the City. So much is said in that sentence: I’m not depressed or sad enough to kill myself, but I really don’t like how my life is currently. It’s a problem I think most everyone can relate to, and it’s that kind of turn of phrase that Vampire Weekend, and Koenig in particular, is great at.

Father of the Bride is not your typical Vampire Weekend album. But Vampire Weekend is no longer your typical Vampire Weekend. I’m glad Koenig was able to move on in such a great way, after his critically successful third album resulted in the departure of his songwriting partner. I’m anxious to see where they both head next.

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4. Two Hands + U.F.O.F. by Big Thief
5. Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten
6. I Am Easy to Find by The National
7. 5 + 7 by Sault
8. Giants of All Sizes by Elbow
9. i,i by Bon Iver
10. Kiwanuka by Michael Kiwanuka
11. The Destroyer (Parts 1 + 2) by TR/ST
12. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish
13. Cheap Queen by King Princess
14. Anima by Thom Yorke
15. Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Parts 1 + 2 by Foals
16. Gallipoli by Beirut
17. My Finest Work Yet by Andrew Bird
18. Four of Arrows by Great Grandpa
19. Designer by Aldous Harding
20. Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey
21. Our Pathetic Age by DJ Shadow
22. Juice B Crypts by Battles
23. Pony by Orville Peck
24. Hyperspace by Beck
25. Eraserland by Strand of Oaks
26. Dogrel by Fontaines DC
27. You’re the Man by Marvin Gaye
28. Big Wows by Stealing Sheep
29. 1000 gecs by 100 gecs
30. In the Morse Code of Brake Lights by The New Pornographers
31. Radiant Dawn by Operators

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#30 on the 2018 Bacon Top 31 — Angélique Kidjo

January 02, 2019 by Royal Stuart

Remain in Light by Angélique Kidjo

Those who know about these things may find it debatable as to where rock ’n’ roll began, but they all agree that the roots of rock ’n’ roll are a combination of African musical tradition with European instrumentation. White musicians have appropriated African rhythms into their music since before the dawn of rock ’n’ roll in the mid-1900s. And a few of those musicians have done so to their own great benefit, namely the Talking Heads in the late 70s / early 80s (and David Byrne beyond), Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel in the 80s and 90s, and all the way up to Vampire Weekend in the late 2000s / early 10s.

Enter Angélique Kidjo, a three-time grammy-winning Beninese (via-Paris and finally New York City) singer / songwriter. After a long and fruitful career of writing her own music (starting in 1981 with her debut Pretty) Kidjo has taken her music in a new direction, latching onto the seminal Talking Heads album Remain in Light and recording a track-for-track remake, pulling what was a rock ’n’ roll album back over to the African roots it always hinted at. If you didn’t recognize the David Byrne lyrics in these songs, you would most definitely be fooled into thinking these songs began with Kidjo in Africa.

According to Pitchfork, Kidjo first heard “Once in a Lifetime,” the big hit from Remain in Light, at a college party after escaping Benin for Paris in 1983. The song lodged itself in her brain, but only 35 years later did she seek out its source (even after having been championed by David Byrne in the 90s). She heard the full album and was moved by its continued political relevance, 30+ years after its debut. So she spun it for herself, and created this masterpiece.

It’s exciting to hear these songs in a brand new way. Remain in Light is one of my favorite all-time albums, and Kidjo’s renditions breathe new life into it. While this was my first exposure to Kidjo, I feel that’s a result of me not paying attention. For instance, here’s Kidjo with Ezra Koenig on stage at Austin City Limits during her 2014 PBS special, performing Vampire Weekend’s “I Think Ur a Contra”. Brilliant. Give this album a listen, whether you’re familiar with the original or not. You will not be disappointed.

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31. This One’s for the Dancer & This One’s for the Dancer’s Bouquet by Moonface

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#6 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

January 07, 2017 by Royal Stuart

Lemonade by Beyoncé

There’s a first time for everything. Yes, here at #6 is Beyoncé. If you’re questioning why, then that must be because you haven’t listened to Lemonade yet. This is a force of an album. Rolling Stone gave it ★★★★★, a rating the (somehow still relevant after all these years) magazine has given to only 22 other albums in its history.

I think you could have guessed that I didn’t used to be a Beyoncé fan. I didn’t actively dislike her or her music, I just didn’t pay attention to her and her music. Of course I’d heard some of her songs, but before Lemonade I would have been hard pressed to name even one. I had forgotten that she was the former “centerpiece” of 90s phenomenon Destiny’s Child. What drew me to her? It was the hour-long video that went along with the release of the album. I missed it when it aired on HBO on April 23. But there was enough of a rumbling out there caused by its release that I sought out the video and watched it a few weeks later.

And that was all it took. One sitting, an hour long, running through all 12 of the albums tracks, with a stellar video performance for each one. From that point on, “Hold Up” — the 2nd song on the album — was stuck on repeat in my head. I bought the CD / DVD version of the album (yes, the CD, because it wasn’t available in vinyl or on the streaming services I subscribe to at the time), and then listened to it on repeat for a few weeks straight.

Every single song on this record kicks ass. It has guest appearances by a ton of people, like Jack White, The Weekend, James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Diplo, and Ezra Koenig. It’s decidedly sparse in places, and pops in all the right ways. The lyrics are often pissed off and vulgar. In all ways, this album should be considered a stretch by Beyoncé, pushing her out of her pop music safe zone. Instead, it’s her best work yet, and it kills. You have not lived until you’ve heard this album. Get on that.

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7. Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
12. Amen & Goodbye by Yeasayer
13. Sea of Noise by St. Paul & The Broken Bones
14. You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
15. Painting Of A Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit
16. Why Are You OK by Band Of Horses
17. Not To Disappear by Daughter
18. Sunlit Youth by Local Natives
19. I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
20. ★ by David Bowie
21. Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights
22. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
23. LNZNDRF by LNZNDRF
24. Puberty 2 by Mitski
25. Light Upon the Lake by Whitney
26. A Corpse Wired for Sound by Merchandise
27. Away by Okkervil River
28. case/lang/veirs by case/lang/veirs
29. Love Letter for Fire by Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
30. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld
31. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

#19 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

December 13, 2016 by Royal Stuart

I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam

The two gentlemen at #19 have been featured on the Bacon Top 31 a combined five times over the years, as Hamilton Leithauser is the former front man for (now defunct) The Walkmen (#26 in 2010, #9 in 2012, and his solo album was #11 in 2014), and Rostam is the longtime producer and cowriter for Vampire Weekend (#6 in 2010, and #3 in 2013). So you know their first album produced together is also going to make it onto the Top 31.

Leithauser’s gravelly, strained croon combined with Rostam’s excellent production — along with their own instrumentation and a litany of backup performers — creates for a solid rock and roll album. The two first worked together on a couple songs on Leithauser’s awesome solo album, and this is the first time they’ve created an entire album together.

If you’re a fan of either of these mens’ amazing back catalogs, then you should seek out this album. They’re also coming through town in January, playing two shows at the Tractor on January 21. I’m heading to the late-night show. Will you be there?

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20. ★ by David Bowie
21. Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights
22. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
23. LNZNDRF by LNZNDRF
24. Puberty 2 by Mitski
25. Light Upon the Lake by Whitney
26. A Corpse Wired for Sound by Merchandise
27. Away by Okkervil River
28. case/lang/veirs by case/lang/veirs
29. Love Letter for Fire by Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
30. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld
31. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

Vinyl Jacket — Safari

July 12, 2014 by Royal Stuart

Sometimes an encounter with a band feels entirely random. Take Vinyl Jacket, for instance. I was quietly enjoying the new We Were Promised Jetpacks single “Safety In Numbers,” and, as SoundCloud does, it continues unabated into something else once the song you’re listening to ends. Thank you, SoundCloud, for pointing me to Vinyl Jacket. The song above, “Safari,” is about as catchy a tune as you can ask for.

Sounding seemingly like a mix of Yeasayer and Vampire Weekend, Vinyl Jacket is four guys from small town England playing songs that sound as if they originate from a sunny equatorial country. They only have seven songs released to date (three recorded in 2013 and released in the UK in April of this year, and four more released as two separate singles, also in the UK, from 2011). No word on when a full-length album will come out, or if they’ll be properly distributed here in the states, but I’m clamoring for more.

I hope they can expand their sound to cover more ground, but I’m dubious that’s possible. Perhaps they’re only one-hit-wonder material. Fingers crossed that that’s not the case.

#1 on the 2013 Musical Bacon Calendar

December 31, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Muchacho by Phosphorescent

Some albums make you want to dance. Some make you want to laugh, or to cry. Or to blast as loudly as possible. Or wake up/fall asleep to. And then there are the albums that make you want to do all of those things. Muchacho is that kind of album. This isn’t an album — it’s a soundtrack for life.

Phosphorescent is Matthew Houck. Originally from Athens, Georgia, Houck has been making and playing music as Phosphorescent for over ten years now. Muchacho is his sixth record in that span. I didn’t discover him until his last album, 2010’s Here’s To Taking It Easy, which landed at #20 on that year’s Calendar. (Although looking back at that list now, I should have put it no lower than #11. Damn.)

You can define Houck’s music as country, acid rock, southern rock, or alt.country, but he’s somewhere in the middle of all of them. Keyboards, horns, violins and lap steel guitars play heavily throughout all of his music, and that’s no different for Muchacho. Houck’s voice is like a worn out tee, falling apart at the seams, the most comfortable thing you own. He has the perfect amount of laziness in his delivery, drug along reluctantly by the music laid out before him. Verging on a yodel but never quite getting there, he can sound like sad old dog or a wounded one, backed into a corner, depending on the story he is trying to tell.

And those stories, those yarns, are amazing. Typically about heartache and sorrow, the tales Houck tells can hit you in the deepest parts of your insides. Yet somehow the music isn’t depressing — it’s encouraging. His is a life lived hard but fruitful, a life best avoided but fantastic to vicariously live through.

As a fine capper for this year’s Calendar, you should now listen to Phosphorescent’s cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Ya Hey,” which Houck performed live on the air at KCSN (California State University, Northridge) on October 3. “Ya Hey” was the best song on Modern Vampires of the City, the #3 album of the year, and hearing it performed in Houck’s quiet drawl puts a dark, melancholy twist on the upbeat song. This could have very easily been a Houck original, it’s so different from the Vampire Weekend version.

2013 has been one hell of a year, a life-affirming, fucked up, killer of a year. For personal reasons, I can’t say I’ll miss it. But the music that’s come out of it, and the enjoyment it will bring me for many many years to come has made it much easier to bare. That music will undoubtedly remind me of the ups and downs of the year, and that will be just fine. As time goes on, the memories will smooth out, and the music will shine even brighter. Phosphorescent’s Muchacho will be with me the whole way.

Coda

When I write about each of these albums I tend to have them playing in the background. Tonight, as I went to flip this record over, in the middle of writing this article, I dropped it onto the top of the record stylus and put a big scratch down the middle of my favorite song, “The Quotidian Beasts.” Strangely fitting. It still plays, but with a terrible hiccup in every revolution.

I ordered a new copy immediately.

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2. Trouble Will Find Me by The National
3. Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend
4. The Bones Of What You Believe by Chvrches
5. The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You by Neko Case
6. In Focus? by Shugo Tokumaru
7. Psychic by Darkside
8. AMOK by Atoms for Peace
9. White Lighter by Typhoon
10. Hummingbird by Local Natives
11. If You Leave by Daughter
12. Pedestrian Verse by Frightened Rabbit
13. The Silver Gymnasium by Okkervil River
14. The Next Day by David Bowie
15. Reflektor by Arcade Fire
16. We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic by Foxygen
17. Lanters by Son Lux
18. Howlin’ by Jagwar Ma
19. Impersonator by Majical Cloudz
20. Dream Cave by Cloud Control
21. Mole City by Quasi
22. Phantogram by Phantogram
23. Julia With Blue Jeans On by Moonface
24. Uncanney Valley by The Dismemberment Plan
25. Event II by Deltron 3030
26. Wise Up Ghost by Elvis Costello and The Roots
27. Us Alone by Hayden
28. Pure Heroine by Lorde
29. Shaking the Habitual by The Knife
30. False Idols by Tricky
31. Let’s Be Still by The Head and the Heart

2012 Musical Bacon Calendar
2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
2010 Musical Bacon Calendar
2009 Musical Bacon Calendar

#3 on the 2013 Musical Bacon Calendar

December 29, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend

The top three. This year it was tough to put in order. It pains me to have to put this lovely album at #3, because it is SO GOOD. On the flip side, I love that three albums as good or better than this one were released this year.

Vampire Weekend have now released three studio albums in the last five years, and every single one of them has been great. But if you disagree, if you’ve tried to listen to their self-titled debut from 2008 or 2010’s Contra and decided this band isn’t for you, I urge you to try again. Modern Vampires of the City is the product of a band that has matured. You will not recognize it as you have previous Vampire Weekend albums. No longer can their sound be compared to other bands or other sounds from years past. Their sound is now their sound, and they are at the top of the mountain, shouting, victorious.

Lead singer, lyricist, guitarist and co-songwriter Ezra Koenig’s playful phrases display a mastery of history, culture and the English language that is unequaled anywhere in pop music. Koenig and the rest of the band — guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and co-songwriter Rostam Batmanglij; drummer and percussionist Chris Tomson; and bassist and backing vocalist Chris Baio — have crafted an album of twelve songs that is an absolute joy to listen to, one that is equally youthful and wise, one I will undoubtedly be reaching for ten, twenty, forty years down the road.

The band came through town as the headlining act on 107.7 The End’s Deck the Hall Ball, and I was there to take it all in. They were the capper of a full nine-hour day of music, and they proved why they earned top billing. Each song played, from all of their albums, had the crowd up and moving about, smiling happily from ear to ear. Koenig, somehow seemingly appropriate for the occasion, was dressed in a matching pants and button-down navy blue with white polka-dots pajama set. He played the whole 1+ hour set dressed that way, but never once seemed ready to hit the hay. It was brilliant.

This album is that rare beast that is universally loved. Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 when it was released in May, it has been favorably reviewed by nearly every publication that talks about popular music. Both Rolling Stone and Pitchfork have ranked it the #1 album of 2013. Perhaps owing to the earned media it is enjoying, the band has only produced one true music video from the album: “Diane Young,” shown above. There are a couple official lyric videos out there as well, for “Step” and “Ya Hey” (my absolute favorite from the album, although really any one of these songs could be my favorite).

Modern Vampires is a tour de force, an album unequaled in loveliness. You must hear it before making judgment on this band. You will not be disappointed.

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4. The Bones Of What You Believe by Chvrches
5. The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You by Neko Case
6. In Focus? by Shugo Tokumaru
7. Psychic by Darkside
8. AMOK by Atoms for Peace
9. White Lighter by Typhoon
10. Hummingbird by Local Natives
11. If You Leave by Daughter
12. Pedestrian Verse by Frightened Rabbit
13. The Silver Gymnasium by Okkervil River
14. The Next Day by David Bowie
15. Reflektor by Arcade Fire
16. We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic by Foxygen
17. Lanters by Son Lux
18. Howlin’ by Jagwar Ma
19. Impersonator by Majical Cloudz
20. Dream Cave by Cloud Control
21. Mole City by Quasi
22. Phantogram by Phantogram
23. Julia With Blue Jeans On by Moonface
24. Uncanney Valley by The Dismemberment Plan
25. Event II by Deltron 3030
26. Wise Up Ghost by Elvis Costello and The Roots
27. Us Alone by Hayden
28. Pure Heroine by Lorde
29. Shaking the Habitual by The Knife
30. False Idols by Tricky
31. Let’s Be Still by The Head and the Heart

2012 Musical Bacon Calendar
2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
2010 Musical Bacon Calendar
2009 Musical Bacon Calendar