The end of the year is a great time to discover music that came out in that year. Every blog and magazine comes out with their lists of the best albums, singles, new artists of the year. I usually go around to each and every site trying to find commonalities between lists to see which are the most popular and critically acclaimed and try to listen to as much as I can. Though 2009 is looking up to be another great year for music with albums by Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Built to Spill, M. Ward, Wilco and many more, let’s take a look at what made 2008 a great year for music. Most of these have more than 10 album on their lists, we’ve just provided their top 10 because it’s a much more manageable that way. Which list do you agree with the most? Do you think these are the best albums, or just favorite albums? Please discuss in the comments!

Continue Reading »

Over the last two weeks or so, I have been more or less obsessed with Destroyer’s (aka Dan Bejar of The New Pornographers) latest album Trouble In Dreams. The album is my first experience with any of Bejar’s solo work and I regret not looking into him sooner, as the album is a truly fantastic blend of indie pop and singer-songwriter sensibilities. The opener “Blue Flower/Blue Flame” is an intimate acoustic track that highlights Bejar’s wispy vocals, smart lyrics and terrific compositional skills, as a high guitar lead melodic dances along with Bejar’s croons of “blue flower, blue flame, a woman by another name is not a woman.” Bejar’s voice has the slightest hint of a Jeff Magnum or Colin Meloy accent but his lyrical ability truly shines, especially on Trouble In Dreams. Tracks like “My Favourite Year” or “Dark Leaves Form A Thread” switch from quiet vocal and guitar interplay to full band indie pop antics like that of Sunset Rubdown. I love the album so much, I think it’s my top early contender for best album of 2008, so check it out.

mp3: “Blue Flower / Blue Flame”
mp3: “Dark Leaves Form A Thread”
mp3: “Introducing Angels”

iTunes | Amazon | Myspace

Hey, thanks to anyone who tuned in to the wvau radio show today from 2-4 PM. It was a fun show and I hope if you tuned in, you liked the music you heard. Keep checking the blog all this week for spotlights about some of the bands we played. And to those of you who didn’t tune in, it’s easy, you can listen from anywhere. All you need is a computer; just click the large banner located on the left side of this page and our show should stream in iTunes. We feature a lot of music we post about on the blog in addition to other favorites of ours and even some up and coming DC area bands. So I hope you’ll tune in next weekend if you wanna hear some cool tunes. Even send us an IM at radiowvau if you have a request. Anyway, here is my playlist for the day, Dave’s will be coming soon {UPDATE: David’s playlist added, click “continue reading” to see all}

These United States – First Sight

Destroyers – Introducing Angels

Lior – I’ll Forget You

James – Laid

Band of Horses – Ode to LRC

Belle and Sebastian – Your Secrets

Aloha – Passengers

Liam Finn – I’ll Be Lightning

Cold War Kids – Hospital Beds

Jon Brion – Didn’t Think It Would Turn Out Bad

Nas- Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)

Grizzly Bear- Easier

Sun Kil Moon- Somewhere [Version 2]

Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová- When Your Mind’s Made Up

Cat Power- Speak For Me

Continue Reading »

Okay, so I finished listening to Drums and Guns last night, and can officially say I love it. The softcore album has more minimalist arrangements than The Great Destroyer, yet still produces plenty of noise. You’ll hear background hi-hats, screeches, and other varieties of static. The album has a quiet, dark quality to it. With Alan Sparhawk on vocals, and his wife, Mimi Parker backing up, Drums and Guns has a slow tempo feel. The vocals make for an interesting listening experience, with lyrics revolving around death, war, and in general, bad things. A few of my favorites on the album include Dragonfly, Always Fade, Murderer, and Breaker. This album is Low at their best. Again, the album releases next Tuesday. Be sure to pick up a copy.

Low, from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. Featuring Alan Sparhawk on vocals and guitar and Mimi Parker on vocals and drums and Matt Livingston on bass and vocals. Sparhawk and Parker are married with two children; they first met in fourth grade in rural Minnesota. Livingston, the latest addition to the band, replaced longtime bassist Zak Sally who previously replaced original bassist John Nichols. As said in the last post, this is Low’s eighth album release, second for Sub Pop. Low is known for their impressive live shows, and have performed their new songs in different forms.

Drums and Guns:

Low – Breaker

The Great Destroyer:

Low – When I Go Deaf

Site| Myspace

Sorry for not getting another artist up today–it’s been a crazy day. There will be a post on a new artist tomorrow. Also, Sub Pop week is over as of tomorrow. This, of course, doesn’t mean that Sub Pop artists won’t be featured after this, but there will now be more of a focus on other artists. Tomorrow, there will also be a Grand Finale for Sub Pop week (mix tape, hint hint.)

Has anyone yet heard the new Low album, Drums and Guns, coming out next Tuesday? If you did grab onto an advanced copy, what are your thoughts? I’m actually listening to it for the first time as we speak. I’m currently on Dragonfly, working my way down. So far (from the 30% of the album I’ve gotten through) I’m digging what I’m hearing. Breaker is a great song. Tomorrow, expect a Low: Part Deux Post, after I’ve had a chance to listen to to the album in its entirety. I’ll post more thoroughly on Low, and will also try to get up a post on another artist.

From Sub Pop as of tonight:

“Drums and Guns is the band’s eighth full-length album and second for Sub Pop. It’s also, after 2005’s The Great Destroyer, the second album they’ve recorded with producer Dave Fridmann. Drums and Guns features a number of songs that ardent Low fans will recognize from the band’s recent live shows. These songs appear here in substantially altered forms, as though they’ve been taken apart and reassembled in striking new ways. There’s no contrivance here, however. While these songs feature new elements (looped vocals, drum machines, etc.) and are thoroughly, radiantly contemporary, they remain undeniably Low’s. Drums and Guns possesses the unique, subtle beauty and power we’ve come to expect from Low, and the record is also a breathtaking step forward.”

If you pre-order the new Low album by March 20th, Sub Pop will include a 7” vinyl single of Hatchet (Optimimi Version) b/w Breaker (Dub Plate). These are different, completely re-worked versions of the songs found on the album. Get more info and order HERE.

Drums and Guns (march 20, 2007):

Low- Breaker