#11 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Last Night On Earth by Noah and the Whale

According to Last.fm, I listened to Noah and the Whale more than anyone else in 2011 with the exception of Radiohead. Before logging on to Last.fm to see just how much NatW I had listened to in the past year, I had a hunch they were at #1. But being second to the allmighty Radiohead is a comfortable spot to be in.

Last Night On Earth has got to be one of the most satisfyingly listenable albums I’ve ever encountered. There’s not much new about the songs contained within. Nor is there much that I feel I could hold up as great examples of amazing song writing. Chances are if I tried to compile my favorite songs of the past year, none of these songs would be in the top 20. But on the whole, this album is immensely likable.

Nearly every song is great. Unlike their last album, The First Days Of Spring, which came out in 2009 and topped out at #4 on the Calendar due to the overwhelming sadness of the entire album, Last Night On Earth is fun. It’s electric, it’s exciting, it’s just good pop.

I got to see Noah and the Whale perform recently at the Neptune, and was very excited to see lead singer Charlie Fink performing just as he does in the above video: with exaggerated rock-star moves and poise. I wrote about the performance, and Fink in particular:

On stage, Fink has managed to somehow take on affectations of both [Tom] Petty and [Michael] Stipe, combining them into an amalgamation of awesomeness. He and the band dress in full suits, as if they’ve just arrived from a debate match, which makes their stage presence all that much more impressive. These guys are rock stars, and Fink especially so. He’s come into his own over the past five years, arriving at a persona that’s completely comfortable in his skin, making Stipe-esque rock star movements on stage, leaving you giggling and impressed, PUNCtuating the SYLlables of his SONGS with purposefully POINTed, POPping motions of his HANDS and HIPS.

Fink’s barritone is his Tom Petty connection. Fink’s voice isn’t as nasal as Petty’s (thankfully), but it has the same deep range, and he often uses it to talk his way through a song rather than sing, just like Petty (although with an unmistakably English accent). And with every “Thank you very much” after nearly every song, that voice, that smile, those movements all slowly win you over to his cause.

This album may not win you over the first time you hear it. But if you do download it, give it exactly three listens. By the third go round, you’ll have trouble getting the letters “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N” out of your head and singing “And it feels like his new life can start. And it feels like Heaven” to yourself in the shower. I guarantee.

Next up: the TOP 10!

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12. Codes and Keys by Death Cab For Cutie
13. Valley of the Headless Men by Ravenna Woods
14. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by Beastie Boys
15. James Blake by James Blake
16. Hysterical by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. An Argument with Myself by Jens Lekman
18. The Whole Love by Wilco
19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#12 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Codes and Keys by Death Cab for Cutie

Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Wilco, Radiohead, and now Death Cab for Cutie. I’m now taking a poll, please vote: a) I’m well into middle age and my tastes are becoming less eclectic and more mainstream, b) the bigger names are all managing to produce better-than-average mainstream records, or c) there is a dearth of interesting, catchy indie bands that released music this year, and therefore the mainstream albums just filled the holes.

I think it’s somewhere between b and c, but don’t let me sway your voting. It has been an interesting year for music. While I’ve purchased and enjoyed a number of new albums, this hasn’t been a breakout year for any one new and exciting band in my experience. There are some great new acts on this list, but unlike The National last year and Passion Pit the year before, I don’t have an album or band this year that overshadows all the rest. In fact, here we are at #12 in the Calendar, and I’m still undecided on who should be #1. I think whoever I pick, I’ll still not be happy. That‘s the nature of lists, I suppose.

But I have an album to write about for #12. It’s been a while since I’ve liked a Death Cab album. In fact, I haven’t really been happy with an album of their’s since they signed with a major label and released Plans in 2005. Up to that point, this band could really do no wrong. And while I don’t feel this album rises to the level of The Photo Album, for instance, this is a decent all-around album with a handful of amazing tunes.

“Home is a Fire” (above), “You are a Tourist,” “Portable Television,” and especially “St. Peter’s Cathedral” and “Some Boys” — these are all great songs. Most bands can’t get more than two on an album, and Death Cab has managed five, in what I would have termed their “winter of songwriting” before Codes and Keys came out. It appears they’re moving into Spring. And if heartbreak begets great music, then Summer has got to be around the corner, considering lead singer Ben Gibbard and every man’s dreamgirl Zooey Deschanel (of many movies such as “Elf” and “Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” the quite funny sitcom “The New Girl,” and alt-country band She & Him) called it quits after two years of marriage earlier this year. All I can ask is that they make an album equally as good as Codes and Keys, and I’ll be happy.

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13. Valley of the Headless Men by Ravenna Woods
14. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by Beastie Boys
15. James Blake by James Blake
16. Hysterical by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. An Argument with Myself by Jens Lekman
18. The Whole Love by Wilco
19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#13 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Valley of the Headless Men by Ravenna Woods

Before Labor Day 2011, I had heard good things about Ravenna Woods but had not been able to give them a listen or see them live. Then I was coaxed along to see them by a friend at Bumbershoot, about which I wrote:

This was my first time to experience the music of this trio, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I was absolutely floored. These guys were the most original act I’d seen all weekend, and maybe even all year. With a very sparse set up of guitar, keyboard/xylophone and percussion, the band was able to create a totally unique sound, using the sparseness of their music and the accoustics of the room to their advantage.

Lead singer Chris Cunningham (not the famous music video director) has a finger picking style of guitar playing that is extremely intricate, and somewhat unbelievable to watch live. Hearing it on their albums, I thought to myself “that’s got to be digitally created.” But seeing Cunningham’s flying fingers ride up and down the neck of his guitar, he’s proven to me he’s one of the most underrated talents performing today. Watching him play these complicated melodies on his guitar while singing on top of it is simply jaw dropping.

You’d think there’s only one way to play drums for an indie-rock back, but drummer Matt Badger is here to prove you wrong. Armed with only two floor toms, a ride cymbal and a tambourine, Badger coaxed more unique sounds out of his kit than those with twice as many pieces might. And for most of the show he played standing up, painfully bent over his kit, wailing away on the tops, sides, rims, and any other place he could reach with his sticks. The best way to describe his style would be “tribal,” but the image that that word inspires may be a bit off. Think Tom Tom Club, but more complicated.

There’s that word again, “complicated.” All of this makes it seem like Ravenna Woods is geared for the math rock crowd, but that’s simply not the case. The songs themselves are very melody driven, even if they do have the occassional prog-rock rhythm change in the middle.

Then I got to see them again in November, allowing me to elaborate on my previous review:

I didn’t have much to say back then about the third guy in the band, Brantley Duke, mainly because I was a bit dazed from the whole performance. For this past Saturday, I was positioned directly in front of him, and got to witness the deftness with which he switched instruments first hand. From the xylophone, to a hand-carried floor tom, to keyboards, all while singing up backup, he definitely holds his own. While Cunningham and Badger may be more showy, Duke’s the quiet force that holds the band solidly together.

Their performance at Neumos wasn’t too much of a departure from what I saw at Bumbershoot two months ago, but I have no problem with that. This time, however, their overall sound struck me differently. Their wide-ranging instrumentation and complicated rhythms reminded me of another trio I’m quite fond of: Menomena, out of Portland. Mix that with the complex harmonies of bands like Local Natives, and you start to get a picture of Ravenna Woods’ sound.

Some reviews seemingly write themselves, and some I can just throw together from past reviews. While I don’t go into this specific album in the reviews above, the same is true of both full-lengths Ravenna Woods currently has available. Pick up Valley of the Headless Men and give it a listen. If you like it, be sure to grab Demons & Lakes as well. Then check these guys out live, and be floored.

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14. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by Beastie Boys
15. James Blake by James Blake
16. Hysterical by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. An Argument with Myself by Jens Lekman
18. The Whole Love by Wilco
19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#14 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by Beastie Boys

What the Beastie Boys have been able to accomplish doing the same thing for 25 years defies common sense. Creating very intelligent, highly derivative, mocking, biting, white-boy hip hop year in and year out cannot be easy, but Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock always seem to be having the most fun possible doing pretty much anything.

In their 25 year span (30 if you count the pre-hip hop days, when the Beasties were a hardcore punk band), they’ve only released eight studio albums, seven of which have gone multi-platinum. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two does not disappoint. It’s a representation of a group of boys that have finally reached adulthood. Not to say they’ve lost the fun — not at all. They just know their limits, they know where the line is, and they get right up on it without crossing over.

There’s not much more I can say about the album. It’s the Beastie Boys at their best, and if you’ve liked anything they’ve done in the past 25 years, this album should be in your ears.

Also, take 30 minutes out of your day to watch the above video. It‘s titled “Fight For Your Right revisited,” and honestly has nothing to do with the Beasties’ debut album. It barely stars the Boys at all, but it has everybody else. I’m not joking when I say “everybody.” Every single person in this video is a name-worthy celebrity. (For instance, that’s Elijah Wood and Seth Rogan in the still image). And it’s good fun, just like the band.

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15. James Blake by James Blake
16. Hysterical by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. An Argument with Myself by Jens Lekman
18. The Whole Love by Wilco
19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#15 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

James Blake by James Blake

We’ve reached the halfway point! From here on out, the listenable longevity(™?) of these albums gets exponentially greater. #15 came to me first via my brother. “Thoughts on…James Blake?” read the email. I hadn’t heard of him. “James Blake is just…different.” Rare is the day that my brother finds the new music before I do, but I always appreciate when anyone reaches out to me about something new that excites them.

The hype machine was in high gear that fateful day back in February, because while I hadn’t yet heard of Blake, I couldn’t escape hearing about him for the rest of the day. Featured on iTunes, all the major blogs were talking about him, and it seemed as if every other tweet in my feed was about him. This new, barely defined brand of music from some young kid (22) out of London.

I watched the above video for his song “Wilhelm Scream” and was mesmerized. I couldn’t quite figure it out. So I downloaded the album and let the sparse, heavily-digitized vocals — sort of a fuzzed out Bon Iver — just wash over me.

I love that people continue to push the limits of how music sounds. You hear bits and pieces of things you recognize, but as a new whole it makes no sense to your virgin ears. James Blake is something new, for sure, and if you’re a fan of music to sleep to, then you should buy this immediately. But also, if you’re interested in expanding your musical horizons, interested in experiencing something different in your music library, then you should also buy it immediately. You won’t regret it.

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16. Hysterical by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. An Argument with Myself by Jens Lekman
18. The Whole Love by Wilco
19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#16 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Hysterical by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

I used to try and believe that “the sophomore slump” didn’t really exist. That’s not to say I didn’t think it was possible for bands to have a fantastic first album and then a terrible second album — that happens all the time. I just didn’t think a band that makes that terrible second album could ever recover from the blow. For me, “the sophomore slump” always meant: successful album, terrible album, successful album, which is why I thought it didn’t really exist. But here’s Clap Your Hands Say Yeah to prove me wrong.

Their debut album was phenomenal. But, like me, you probably wrote CYHSY off entirely after their lackluster 2nd album Some Loud Thunder. During the post-album slump, Alec Ounsworth, the lead singer, went and recorded a great solo album that ended up on my 2009 Calendar. I wrote then:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah haven’t really panned out to be the second coming of Talking Heads that I thought they would be. “Some Loud Thunder”, the follow-up to their eponymous debut, was a bit of a let down in 2007. And excepting an appearance at a couple festivals and on Jimmy Fallon, the band hasn’t done much since.

I clearly did not expect much of anything more from CYHSY. Which is why Hysterical, released this past September, was such a pleasant surprise. It kills. The band has thoroughly brushed off the dust and poor reviews from the past 4 years and have gotten back to the bouncy brilliance of their debut. In early November I got to see the band perform in Seattle’s newest venue, the Neptune. As I wrote then, it was fun:

The band played many, many songs from their fantastic debut. And the crowd would go wild accordingly during those moments. They even played “Satan Said Dance,” one of those long-forgotten favorites. But it was the new songs where it felt like Ounsworth and company were really enjoying themselves.

If you liked the first one, you’ll like Hysterical. Enjoy.

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17. An Argument with Myself by Jens Lekman
18. The Whole Love by Wilco
19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#17 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

An Argument with Myself by Jens Lekman

There seem to be quite a slew of EPs that were released this year in lieu of proper full-length albums. Is this a trend? Or maybe a dry spell? Either way, if it means the artists I enjoy listening to are putting out more rather than less music overall, then I’m quite happy with it. And when its in the case of the artist that is here at #18, I’ll take anything I can get.

Jens Lekman hasn’t released an album of any sort in four years (the stellar Night Falls Over Kortedala was released in 2007). And while An Argument with Myself only has five songs, it’s solid through and through. Lekman’s song style is very similar to Belle & Sebastian — story-based narratives that typically paint a picture of sadness through black comedy. And the songs are sing-songy as a typical Belle song as well.

Jens is from Sweden, but rarely does his barritone voice reveal the truth. He has a great grasp of humor on stage, so much so that the last time I saw him perform, he actually had a stand up comedian open up for him. But the songs really do speak for themselves. With titles like “An Arugment With Myself” and “So This Guy At My Office,” they’re just begging you to hit play.

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18. The Whole Love by Wilco
19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#18 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

The Whole Love by Wilco

It’s always surprising when a band that you’ve written off as “only for the superfans” is able to come back into your everyday playlist with something new. I can think of very few instances when this has occurred (R.E.M. and Underworld come to mind). And now I can add Wilco to that list, with their fantastic album The Whole Love, released back in September.

This album grabbed me right from the start, with the 7+ minute “Art of Almost.” (until I’m given permission by the creator to host the above video, which is of “Art of Almost,” please go directly to Richie Wireman’s Vimeo page to see this amazing video and hear this amazing song). I was disappointed at first that the rest of the album wasn’t as experimental as this first song, but after a few listens it was clear that the experimentation was just more subtle than the heavy-handed first song. If you stopped listening to Wilco pre-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, then you should skip song one. If you liked pre-YHF Wilco, LOVED YHF and the next couple albums, then you’ll get hooked like I did. If you like later Wilco, then you’ve already bought this album and don’t need me to tell you to buy it.

Wilco were the final band to play at Sasquatch! this past May, and this was my first opportunity to see them live. They did not disappoint:

…as the final band to perform at Sasquatch! 2011, the 2+ hour set from the band more than made up for any earlier transgressions. The band was in fine form, and even though a small portion of the crowd stuck around through the end of the set, they proceeded to give those remaining a rousing performance. Playing songs ranging from across their 15-year collection, the band stretched nearly every song to it’s long-form capacity, throwing in amazing guitar solos and jams throughout the set. “Via Chicago” was a highlight for me, with it’s crazy crashing sounds repeated violently throughout the song, while lightning crashed in the distance behind the stage.

You know what to do now.

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19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#19 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

My Goodness by My Goodness

Two-musician bands — one on drums, one on guitar — seem to be quite the popular arrangement of late. White Stripes (god rest their souls), The Black Keys, and Wye Oak all fit that mode, along with My Goodness, who come in at #19 on the Musical Bacon Calendar.

From Seattle, this duo really packs a punch. You’d be hard pressed to find a 4+ person band that rocks as hard as Joel Schneider and Ethan Jacobsen. The band has been playing all over Seattle for at least the past year, and I was able to catch them twice this year, once at the Capitol Hill Block Party, and then again headlining their own show at Neumos back in early November:

Red LED lights beating down, smoke machine choking the air with a thick fog, and the bass drum turned up to the point of making your nipples stand on end all combined for some of the most powerful rock duo work I’ve not witnessed since seeing the White Stripes oh so many years ago.

But while their debut album is very good, and a great investment of your $10, it was the new stuff they played that had me truly impressed:

It’s always a great sign when a band can play multiple never-before performed new songs and have the crowd continue their frenzied-pace banging and bouncing as if they’ve heard those songs all their lives…The two songs they chose to play at the end of the set were entirely new, and the most powerful songs of the night. Joel Schneider’s guitar seemed to get even louder, his dancing and jarring movements around stage got more pronounced, and Ethan Jacobsen’s bass drum became — implausibly — even more ear splitting. It was phenomenal.

So run out and buy My Goodness, and then set aside another $10 for when the band’s next release comes out in 2012. It will be worth it.

(I feel compelled to say that you will not see the phenomenal new Black Keys album El Camino appear in this year’s list, as it came out December 2, which disqualifies it from the 2011 list.)

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20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
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?

#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