The Bacon Review

An annual Top 31 countdown of the best albums of the year

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April 18, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Most likely you’ve already watched this video by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis that was posted yesterday, but in the off chance you haven’t seen it: watch and be amazed as you find yourself reaching for the mouse as soon as it ends to hit “replay.”

This song, “Can’t Hold Us” featuring Ray Dalton on the chorus, is off of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s fantastic album The Heist, which was #8 on last year’s Musical Bacon Calendar.

April 18, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, macklemore, ryan lewis
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April 08, 2013 by Royal Stuart

The National. With a single song, they’ve doomed every other release from 2013 to be “good, but not as good as that new album by The National.” Their new album, Trouble Will Find Me, comes out May 20. Prepare yourself.

April 08, 2013 /Royal Stuart
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April 06, 2013 by Royal Stuart

I know next to nothing about Polly Scattergood, but “Wanderlust” and the corresponding video above are pretty great. Her 2nd album, Arrows, is due out on Mute “this summer.”

April 06, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, polly scattergood
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April 06, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Primal Scream is getting back to its roots with the song featured in the video above. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was originally b-side from their 1991 album Screamadelica. The song’s called “It’s Alright, It’s OK,” and it’s from their upcoming new album More Light, due out on May 13.

April 06, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, primal scream
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April 03, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Hmmm. And now: the Flaming Lips with Bon Iver in a NSFW video for “Ashes In The Air” from last year’s collaboration album …and Heady Fwends. No words.

April 03, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, flaming lips, bon iver
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April 02, 2013 by Royal Stuart

This is Efterklang, a trio from Copenhagen, with a fun video from the band’s 2012 release, Piramida, for their song “The Ghost.” I’m not familiar with this band, but I do like this song quite a bit — with a somewhat latter-day Peter Gabriel sound — and the humor outlined in the video hits all the right notes as well.

April 02, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, efterklang
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April 02, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Here’s everyone’s favorite Daptone Records revivalist Charles Bradley with “Strictly Reserved for You,” a new song with classic sensibilities. I love this video. It’s got a great look to it, and doesn’t allow Bradley’s campy “Screaming Eagle of Soul” bit to push things too over the top. This song is from Bradley’s new album, out today, titled Victim of Love.

April 02, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, charles bradley
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March 31, 2013 by Royal Stuart

This video is not new. It’s of my favorite Bruce Springsteen song: “Highway Patrolman” from the seminal Nebraska, originally released in 1982. The video was directed by Sean Penn, made of clips from his writing and directorial debut, The Indian Runner, from 1991, which is based on the slim narrative outlined in Springsteen’s song. The film stars David Morse (St. Elsewhere’s Dr. Jack Morrison and Treme’s Lt. Colson) and an early Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from LOTR, among many many other roles you’ve seen him in). I was only 8 years old when this amazing album came out, but I didn’t discover it until about 5 years ago. I was only a junior in high school when this movie came out, so it’s no wonder it never hit my radar until just now. But here we are, thirty years since the release of the album and twenty years later since the movie, and my interest is piqued. It’s safe to say it’s going to be a disappointment, because of my love of this musician, this song, and these actors. Fingers crossed it’s actually pretty good.

March 31, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, springsteen, sean penn, viggo mortensen, david morse
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March 31, 2013 by Royal Stuart

I’m going to try and not read too much into this Memento-esque video for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs first release from their upcoming new album, Mosquito, due out April 16.

March 31, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, yeah yeah yeahs
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March 28, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Here’s Thom (Yorke) and Nigel (Godrich), two fifths of Atoms for Peace, doing a live DJ / video show at Le Poisson Rouge. What I would give to have been at (or to see in the future) this show.

March 28, 2013 /Royal Stuart /Source
watched, atoms for peace
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March 25, 2013 by Royal Stuart

A couple years late to the party on this one. Boy, an über-cute hipster duo from Switzerland and Germany, released their all-english album Mutual Friends in 2011, and it only saw it’s US release in February of this year. “Little Numbers,” above, is from that album. Here’s to hoping the album is full of good little songs like this.

March 25, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, boy
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March 25, 2013 by Royal Stuart

mmmm, Jenny Lewis. Rilo Kiley haven’t released any new material since 2007’s Under the Blacklight. And while the new song shown in the video above, “Let Me Back In,” may sound new, it’s actually part of a new rarities and b-sides compilation the band is releasing on April 2. No new material, but still… something. Maybe they’ll go on tour, realize they never should have broken up, and write some new material.

March 25, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, rilo kiley
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March 25, 2013 by Royal Stuart

I’m gonna put this right here. Decades, with “Tonight Again.” Not sure what to think of it, but this definitely sounds like something I’m going to want to hear again later.

March 25, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, decades
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March 25, 2013 by Royal Stuart

I love Noah And The Whale more than I probably should. Their new album (and apparently a movie of the same name created by lead singer / auteur Charlie Fink) called Heart of Nowhere comes out May 6.

March 25, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, noah and the whale
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March 24, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Sigur Rós have a new album coming out on June 17/18, 2013 called Kveikur. Above is the first video from the new album, for a song called “Brennisteinn.” Always excited about new Sigur Rós. Enjoy.

March 24, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, sigur dos
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March 24, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Hadn’t heard of Biting Elbows, and I’m not a huge fan of this song, “Bad Motherfucker.” But this video, called “Insane Office Escape 2” (I have not tracked down version 1, if one exists) directed by the bands lead singer Ilya Naishuller is amazing. Don’t let the lead photo throw you. Those women appear on the screen for all of 2 secs. It’s the blood and killing that you should be prepared for more than bikini-clad women.

March 24, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, biting elbows
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March 14, 2013 by Royal Stuart

I’ve never been a Tegan and Sara fan, and this particular song isn’t really going to win me over, but the video is super cute, so I felt the need to share. You can see the full story of the video over at http://herecomesthespark.com.

March 14, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, tegan and sara
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March 08, 2013 by Royal Stuart

A new song from The Knife! “A Tooth For An Eye” is from their new album, Shaking the Habitual, which comes out April 9 in the US. According to Pitchfork, the new album will be 98 minutes long. 98 MINUTES!

March 08, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, the knife
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March 08, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Not sure whether the hashtag should be #superfan or #stupidfan (probably both), but I just acquired one of 100 hand screen-printed (by Thom himself) Atoms for Peace Judge Jury and Executioner 12-inches.

March 08, 2013 /Royal Stuart /Source
purchased, atoms for peace, thom yorke, vinyl
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March 07, 2013 by Royal Stuart

You may not know it, but you’re already familiar with Steve Earle. You’ve seen him in HBO’s The Wire (as Bubble’s sponsor Walon) or Treme (as Annie’s guitarist friend Harley Watt). And you’ve probably heard his hit “Copperhead Road,” which came out in 1988 and was clearly influenced by other country-tinged rock & roll at the time, like Bon Jovi. The video above is the first single from his new album, The Low Highway, due out April 16.

March 07, 2013 /Royal Stuart
watched, steve earle, bon jovi
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