#20 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men

We’re breaking into the top 20 of the year with what will probably be a source of frustration for many of you. The #20 album on the Musical Bacon Calendar isn’t available in the States. Yet. Even without an album readily available for purchase, Of Monsters and Men is receiving plenty of hype. And while they’ve released their album in their native Iceland, it won’t come out over here until “early 2012” via Universal.

The 6-person group, with dual lead male / femal vocals, most reminds me of what I’d wished Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros had sounded like. If you shared my feeling that the strength of ESMZ’s single “Home,” which is a great song that reached mass oversaturation, was the complete opposite of the rest of their album Up From Below, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised by My Head is an Animal. (The two bands don’t have any members in common, just a common sound.) Of Monsters and Men have produced a great folk/rock album.

The band was definitely the highlight of KEXP’s coverage of the Iceland Airwaves festival back in October. You should take the time to watch the videos taken during their in-studio performance there. Then you’ll see why they’re worth the hype. I’ll be sure to let you know when the album comes out in your neighborhood in 2012. (According to the band’s Twitter account, they have an EP called “Into the Woods” coming out on December 20, just in time for the cozy winter months.)

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21. Gloss Drop by Battles
22. Showroom of Compassion by CAKE
23. A New Kind of House EP by Typhoon
24. EP by Grouplove
25. Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) by Eef Barzelay
26. TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead
27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

What the hell is the Musical Bacon Calendar?

#21 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Gloss Drop by Battles

Bands often change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, and sometimes they become something so different it’s hard to recognize the similarity. With the stark differences between their debut album, Mirrored, and this year’s Gloss Drop, Battles fits into the “something so different” camp. I wrote about their changes when I had the pleasure of seeing them play at this past summer’s Capitol Hill Block Party:

Between their first and second albums, Battles lost the only member of the band — Tyondai Braxton — who had the gall to use a mic in addition to the rest of his sound-making machinery. So with their second album, “Gloss Drop,” the band employed a number of guest singers, including Gary Numan, Kazu Makino from Blonde Redhead, and Japanese artist/vocalist Yamantaka Eye. Of course, these singers aren’t touring with the three remaining core members of the band, so, to make up for this shortcoming, the band filmed the vocalists singing their various parts, and then broadcast those videos during the performance. It’s an interesting effect that would have been made oh-so-much better if they’d filmed the singers from head-to-toe, life size, giving the illusion they were actually on stage.

But even with the larger-than-life videos of the singers, the effect was interesting once the band started to mix and play with the recorded sounds. We watched in amazement as the videos jumped from syllable to syllable, creating new words out of words not actually spoken, such as “Watch Battles,” repeated over and over again.

The band stuck to mostly to tracks from the new album, of which “Ice Cream,” featuring the voice of Matias Aguayo (who has his own fledgling solo career gaining speed), was the highlight. The band did play “Atlas,” the one underground hit the band has from their debut album. Instead of the expected vocals, sung by the now-missing Broxton, the band employed what sounded like the Von Trapp family to sing the vocals. It still got us all bouncing, but it just wasn’t the same.

The one thing that is the same in Battles is John Stanier’s drumming. The former Helmet drummer, now 43, is still one of the most amazing drummers you’ll ever see. With his trademark double-high cymbal and complicated beats, he alone drives the band forward and is more than enough reason to continue to invest time in the band. I suggest you do so now.

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22. Showroom of Compassion by CAKE
23. A New Kind of House EP by Typhoon
24. EP by Grouplove
25. Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) by Eef Barzelay
26. TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead
27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

What the hell is the Musical Bacon Calendar?

#22 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Showroom of Compassion by Cake

Remember CAKE? You probably liked them once upon a time, perhaps because of the song “Short Skirt, Long Jacket.” You definitely remember “The Distance,” and it’s chorus “He’s going the distance. He’s going for speed. He’s all alone (ALL ALONE!) in his time of need.” But did you know that they’re still going strong?

CAKE completed their contract with the B-sides and Rarities collection they released in 2007, and Showroom of Compassion is their first independent release. Amazingly, although the band has only released 6 albums (with original material) in their 18-year history, Showroom debuted at #1 in the U.S., so some of you out there are still listening.

I love CAKE. Yes, they have a shtick. But it’s a good one. A lone trumpet, the deep monotone vocals of John McCrae, the persistent vibraslap. CAKE is a distinctly American band. And Showroom is a continuation of all of that Americana. If you haven’t heard it yet, click on the link at the top of this entry and buy it immediately.

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23. A New Kind of House EP by Typhoon
24. EP by Grouplove
25. Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) by Eef Barzelay
26. TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead
27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

What the hell is the Musical Bacon Calendar?

#23 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

A New Kind of House EP by Typhoon

I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again: if a band has horns, strings, or any kind of orchestration, the chances that I’ll like said band go up considerably. So the fact that I love Portland-based Typhoon shouldn’t come as a surprise. Violins, cellos, trumpets, and other horns are a routine occurrence and a prevalent part of the band’s outsized live presence. It’s not unusual for the band to have 12 people performing on stage at once.

It baffles me how a band that tours with more than ten people can afford to keep on playing, let alone feed themselves. But I applaud those that can make it work, because the rich, full sound they create on stage is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Especially on the smaller stages that indie bands are forced to play, given their audience.

Typhoon play what’s best called “Americana,” or possibly “Roots Rock,” or “Folk Rock,” along the same lines as Seattle’s Head and the Heart or Campfire OK. Catchy tunes, with choruses about things soon being better than they currently are. Kinda like if Annie were a singer/songwriter rather than an orphan in a red dress. Typhoon have been around for more than 6 years, but I’ve only heard the music they’ve put out in the past couple years. If I’d discovered last year’s full length, Hunger and Thirst, before the end of 2010, it would have certainly ended up on the 2010 Musical Bacon Calendar. But I can’t hear everything. Mistakes happen.

While A New Kind of House is only an EP, the five songs found on the album are quite rewarding. The video above is for “The Honest Truth”, which the band also performed on Letterman back in August. You can also hear parts of “Claws Pt. 1” in a “making of” video. And there are even a couple songs from last year’s full-length that made it into video form, “CPR/Claws Pt. 2” and the song that hooked me in the first place, “Starting Over (Bad Habits)”.

Even after six years, Typhoon are only getting started. I don’t think enough people know of them that should, and it’s only a matter of time before that audience finds them. There’s absolutely no reason this band shouldn’t be seeing the same sort of explosive success the Head and the Heart or Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have accomplished. Just you watch.

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24. EP by Grouplove
25. Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) by Eef Barzelay
26. TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead
27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

What the hell is the Musical Bacon Calendar?

#24 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

EP by Grouplove

Allow me to tell you the story of a band that obviously had some talent, put together a fantastic EP, and quickly proceded to explode in indie-rock popularity (if that’s what it can be called). It just so happens that that band has an absolutely horrible name, Grouplove, and unfortunately, only fleeting talent (as judged by me, who has no talent), as proven by their less-than-stellar full-length release later in the year.

So this is an interesting diversion in the usual drivel I spout out here on the calendar. I’m promoting a fantastic EP, but not the full-length that followed. I expected huge things from Grouplove (name aside), but those expectations fell flat. I anxiously awaited the release of their full-length after falling in love with the EP back in January. But when Never Trust A Happy Song finally hit the record store shelves, I just couldn’t bear it. Not exactly sure what happened, but I think it’s pretty rare for a band to not exist prior to this year and manage to come out with a great first record then suffer from the sophomore slump within the span of 9 months.

They did just recently perform on Letterman, so somebody must still be liking them out there. They just aren’t for me. But for the span of a few months, Grouplove’s EP was held high in my playlist. And I guess it still is, because here we are at #24 in the Calendar.

If you like Modest Mouse, Built To Spill, and the like, then you’ll like this EP as much as I did. Back in June I got to see the band at the relatively small Tractor Tavern, and it was a great show. They played a rousing set, and even the new stuff impressed me then:

They played all six songs from last year’s EP, as well as a handful of new songs that will be released on their forthcoming full-length in September. The small Monday-night crowd ate it up, bouncing off the walls to old and new songs alike. The evening came to a rocous conclusion with “Colours,” which has seen modest rotation on KEXP over the past couple months. I was pleased to hear the new songs stand up to the strength of the anthems on the EP. If the rest of the album is built on the songs we heard on Monday, it will certainly end up on a lot of end-of-year lists.

Yup.

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25. Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) by Eef Barzelay
26. TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead
27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

What the hell is the Musical Bacon Calendar?

#25 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) by Eef Barzelay

There are some voices out there that really just do it for me. Robin Pecknold. John Roderick. Thom Yorke. They could sing the Maxwell House song and I’d quickly open my wallet and buy the special collector’s edition deluxe 45 (“With unreleased b-side ‘Dr. Pepper song!’”).

Until late last year, I hadn’t realized that Eef Barzelay was also in that camp. Eef is the brains and voice behind indie alt.country/rock band Clem Snide. He performed Journey’s “Faithfully” as part of the Onion A.V. Club’s “Undercover” series. Solo. On a ukelele. And I practically melted.

That single song inspired Eef to launch a Kickstarter campaign, funding (4 times over) the recording and pressing of a 6-song Journey cover album. For a pledge of $150+ to the campaign, Eef vowed to learn, record, and send to you a cover of any song of your choosing. 38 people shelled out the dough, resulting in 38 covers of songs, all performed by Eef in his fantastic, down-tempo twang.

And that is how we’ve arrived here. Today’s album is a collection of 15 of those 38 songs, made available for a “Name your price” download (ie: FREE) by Eef on his Bandcamp page. On it you’ll find the Eurythmics, Dylan, the Bee Gees, even Nine Inch Nails. Some of it is definitely tongue-in-cheek, some of it just puts a smile on your face as you sing along, but all of it is worth a free download. How can you say no?

Best of all, he covers one of the best songs ever ever written: Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In The Aeroplane Over the Sea.” If you thought the song hit all the right emotions in the original recording, give Eef’s version a listen. But make sure you’ve got a tissue nearby.

(I’d like to extend a hat tip to one of my favorite music blogs for pointing me to this album back in September. I’ve always liked Clem Snide, and finding this album made my year. Thanks Heather!)

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26. TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead
27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

What the hell is the Musical Bacon Calendar?

#26 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead

OK, this is a weird one.¹ I had a different album in at #26 not 5 minutes ago, but after having listened to that album one more time, I decided I couldn’t possibly recommend it to anyone. Love is fleeting. So I was left reaching into the bin of throwaways for something else to go here. Enter a mostly OK remix album of Radiohead’s least-popular album ever.

TKOL RMX 1234567 is a collection of remixes by other artists and music producers of the songs found on The King of Limbs, Radiohead’s album from earlier this year. One or two of the remixed songs from the 19-song two-disc album actually sound better than the original to my ears, and would have been a perfectly fine addition or replacement of the song on the full Radiohead album.

Notable names like Caribou, Four Tet, Modeselektor and SBTRKT all take a crack at creating something new from the original Radiohead tapes. The “Bloom” remix by Blawan (No. 6 on disc 2) is the most interesting song on the album, with its almost backward-masked, Fever Ray-like bassline.

But you don’t need me to explain this album to you. By now you’ve figured out whether you like Radiohead or not — this isn’t a Radiohead album, really. Well, then, by now you’ve figured out whether you like electronic dance music or not. And this is most certainly that. So, if you like Radiohead, do check it out. If you like dance music, definitely check it out. Beyond that, I don’t know what to tell you.

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27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

What the hell is the Musical Bacon Calendar?

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1. Yeah, that video is very very odd. It‘s not even meant to be a music video, I don’t think. It just happens to be a video of shots of Glasgow, put to a couple songs from the album. Unfortunately there aren’t any videos made by Radiohead for this album. But this Glasgow video is strangely appropriate, don’t you think? ↩

#27 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface

Spencer Krug is not for everyone. The prolific musician is the key component to many bands you may have heard of, such as Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, and Swan Lake. But as the “weird one” in these bands, a lot of people are put off by his voice, his lyrics, his style. Thankfully, his distinctive persona is exactly perfect for me.

Lately, Krug has been concentrating on his solo work, under the name Moonface. Relying almost entirely on electronic drums, marimba/marimba-like synth, and Krug’s voice, Moonface has more in common with Keyboard Cat than he does with the indie rock world. The first Moonface release was Dreamland EP: Marimba & Shit Drums, a 20-minute EP with only one song, released in 2010. Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped is a 5-song album that builds on what was started in the EP, this time with the addition of the organ (but not a vibraphone, obviously). It has Krug’s distinctive voice built on top of repetitive, droning electronic melodies, each one building to a crescendo of noise that make the album an adventure in listening.

I had the pleasure of seeing Krug perform as Moonface earlier this year at an underattended show at the Crocodile. As I wrote of Organ Music:

Moonface is a bit of an under-the-radar project for Krug,¹ as noted by the sparse crowd that gathered at the Crocodile Saturday night for his show. Either the new album isn’t achieving the level of acceptance that Krug’s other projects have, or — my preferred assumption — it just hasn’t yet reached his core audience.

Well, I’d like to ammend that statement now by saying that, just maybe, the album has reached his core audience, but his core audience just isn’t as big as I expected it to be. And that’s perfectly fine. I’ll happily attend small shows at small venues with small crowds. Feels like he’s sitting in my living room, playing exactly what I want to hear.

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28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

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1. The video above is a fan-created video for the song “Fast Peter.” To my knowledge, not a single artist-approved video has been released for any Moonface song. ↩

#28 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher

Seattle is a great town for music, but you probably already knew that. #28 on the list is the perfect example of this, because I first heard Ben Fisher busking on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the weekly Ballard Farmers Market. Just him and his guitar, standing on the sidewalk, playing songs that he wrote, collecting tips and selling copies of his self-recorded debut, Heavy Boots & Underwoods.

The farmers market is great for busking, and consequently there’s always something fun to hear and see there. But, up until hearing Ben, I had never been swayed enough to purchase anyone’s CD right there on the spot. I struck up a conversation with him after having heard him play a couple songs, and found out that he had just recorded a KEXP in-studio session, was about to do a residency at the Columbia City Theater, and had recently completed recording his CD, which he had funded through a recent successful Kickstarter campaign. My $10 quickly leapt out of my wallet.

I brought the CD home, and couldn’t stop listening to it. Ben has a folk music style similar to The Tallest Man on Earth (who appeared on last year’s Calendar), who in turn is quite a bit like Bob Dylan. And while his music is quite a bit like theirs, Ben’s voice is very much not like either of those performers. Deep and resonant, with a slight twang that I can’t quite place, Ben’s voice seems ripe to sing about drinking problems and broken-down trucks. He also sings a lot about the Northwest, and Ballard, in such a way as to make them feel like they’re your neighborhood, whether you live here or not.

Ben is working very hard to make a name for himself. Seems like I hear his name mentioned at least once a week in the various local blogs I read. Keep an eye on him, as you’ll undoubtedly be hearing his name in more nationally-recognized locations soon enough.

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29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

#29 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

The Rip Tide by Beirut

Zach Condon, former child prodigy and current indie rock band leader, is in his prime. After his band Beirut debuted five years ago with the phenomenal album Gulag Orkestar, they’ve continued to crank out warm, multi-instrumental, world-music influenced folk music year after year. Beirut appeared at No. 9 on 2009’s Musical Advent Calendar¹, where I said:

It’s safe to say Beirut is quite unlike any other current band I listen to. I hear hints of other bands (Neutral Milk Hotel, DeVotchKa), but they are only the tiniest of glimmers. And it’s precisely that sound, unlike anyone else, that I believe will make them appealing to a wide audience.

And it’s still true. Condon’s voice is sing-songy, with lots of virbrato, a somewhat less-classically trained Morrissey. And he plays the trumpet, ukelele, guitar and keyboards equally well — I don’t throw the word “prodigy” around lightly. And backed by a rotating crew of fine musicians that amply follow along to Condon’s musical whims, this band has plenty going for it.

But I’m sure that description isn’t inspiring anyone to go online and purchase every album Beirut has released. And while The Rip Tide isn’t their absolute best, it has an uncanny ability to capture my mood quite well. All I’ve done with this review is prove how difficult it is to write about this band and make them sound appealing. So I’ll have to leave you with this: trust me. Think about all those times in the past where I’ve not led you astray. Now’s the time when I cash in on that good will and just tell you to listen to the damn thing. You can thank me later.²

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30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

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1. The “advent” became “bacon” in 2010, for a number of reasons you can read about here. ↩

2. This video, however, named after Condon’s home town of Santa Fe, is not really something I can vouch for. It’s funny, but trying a bit too hard. ↩

#30 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.

This year saw the end of one of rock’s greatest bands. When R.E.M. first came together in 1980, indie rock was yet to be a “thing.” Along the same lines as more recent bands like Death Cab for Cutie or the Decemberists, R.E.M. started in rather lo-fi beginnings, and slowly transformed into the grandiose, stadium-draw rock legends they are today.

Or rather, were yesterday. Because R.E.M. is no more. They announced their breakup back in September, six months after the release of their final studio album, Collapse Into Now. Every new album from R.E.M. hints at albums past, which is part of the reason their new stuff never seems to hold up as well as Document or Life’s Rich Pageant. Why would the remake sound as good as the original? But I love newer R.E.M. every bit as much as older R.E.M. So much so that I hold their 1996 album New Adventures in Hi-Fi up as the quintessential R.E.M. album. (If you haven’t yet heard it, stop reading and do so, NOW.)

It’s too early to tell how Collapse Into Now will stand within the R.E.M. catalog. But when comparing it to other, non-R.E.M. albums from the past year, it’s definitely one of the best. You can hear most of the songs from the album via YouTube, where the band has posted a music video for 10 of the 12 songs. But I recommend picking up the album. Too much of music listening today is about the single, that one song. But enjoying a full album is an experience that no one should go without, and this album is a perfect place to start.

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31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

Introducing the 2011 edition of the Musical Bacon Calendar. Every year, December 1 seems to come out of nowhere, leaving me scrambling to put together my list for the year. And every year, as I look over the year’s albums that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, I’m surprised by the wealth of albums to choose from. The answers to questions that you may have of me (such as “How do you have so much time to discover 31 albums, let alone listen extensively to with enjoyment, over the span of the past year?”) elude me every bit as much as they do you. But enjoy, I have, and now I must share.

2011 has been a great year for music. Happily, the definition of what good music can be continues to evolve, and while I don’t pretend to listen to every new album that came out in 2011 — far, far from it — I do listen to quite a bit. There may be a number of albums out there that you see mentioned on other Top XX albums of the year lists, but I am only one person, and the Musical Bacon Calendar is purely my own opinion. I do listen to and tolerate a number of musical genres, but you’ll not find many — if any — country, pop, or hip hop albums in this list, so it may feel incomplete at times. But I hold firm of the belief that every album on this list is great in its own way, and I do recommend every single one of them.

So, without further adieu:

#31 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

It would take a lot for Okkervil River to match their former glory. The indie rock band’s 2005 and 2007 albums (Black Sheep Boy and The Stage Names respectively) were fantastic albums from start to finish. Story-based song structures, with a repeated chorus somewhat difficult to come by, make the Okkervil River of old a wonder to listen to but difficult to sing along to.

I Am Very Far, which came out in May of this year, takes the band in a new direction. Unlike their previous works, this album does not tell multiple sides of one 45 minute story. This is a collection of great songs, each with just a touch of ground previously covered. I don’t find “Wake and Be Fine,” above, to be the best representation of this album, but the video is damn fine. Download the album to hear what’s even better than this.

If you’re new to Okkervil River, this album may be your best entry into the band. And if you’re an old fan, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the direction the band is moving in (especially if The Stand Ins, their album from 2009, didn’t do it for you). Either way, it’s a great album, and a good start to this year’s list. More tomorrow!

merlin:

Jonathan Coulton - “Nemeses” (ft. John Roderick), 2011

What a wonderful record.

What is it about John Roderick’s voice that makes me more obsessed for his works over others? I really wish I could define it. Here he is, singing with the mountain man himself, Jonathan Coulton, on Jonathan’s song “Nemeses” from his new record Artificial Heart.

Fascinatingly dark video for The Rural Alberta Advantage’s “Tornado ’87,” from one of my favorite albums from the past year, Departing. Not sure what it means, but I like it.

They Might Be Giants - Cloisonné

I don’t know if I’ve ever liked a They Might Be Giants song unironically. Sure, I love their kids stuff, and Flood is one of my favorite albums of all time, but I don’t think I could ever turn around and recommend it to anyone. But this song is here to prove me wrong. Wonder if the rest of their new album Join Us is as good as this is.

Pretty much exactly how I felt when I first heard this song last year. Congrats to Yellow Ostrich on their very first official Barsuk Records music video!

Watching the previously mentioned Battles video sent me down a long dark path of watching more videos by Daniels. This video, for “Simply Math” by Manchester Orchestra, is particularly moving, as the lead singer’s life story flashes before his eyes during a car crash.

Fantastic new video for Battles’ “My Machines,” directed by Daniels

One of my favorite bands, Noah and the Whale, performed an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and here’s the video to prove it. Love these guys. Keep an eye out for their third album, Last Night on Earth, to make an appearance on the Top 31 of 2011.