favorite albums of 2004

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

amps for christ 'people at large'...
henry barnes is amps for christ, formerly of man is the bastard. he makes his own guitars, jacks up ones he already has. there are pictures in the inner sleeve of these creations, wires intersecting, circuit boards exposed. genius electrician. these serve as conducters, that is, channels to somewhere out there, something spiritual. filtered through nimble ragas, hardcore boombox blast, scottish lament, auld lang syne as played thru a mini fridge. expansive and cultured, political at its best.

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

animal collective 'sung tongs'... everyone who owns this loves this. undeniable stuff, and that's hard to come by these days. experimental w/out pretension, they're here to please you not play you. softly strummed, maniacally devised, underhandedly tripped, brought tender thru such exquisite harmonies. 'winters love' is my favorite. i've put it on at least three mixes i've made for friends. i can't resist. it sounds like brazil and brooklyn gone on a romantic getaway.

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

br. danielson 'brother is to son'...
daniel smith from the danielson famile goes out on his own, sort of. the famile is still there helping out but the record feels more personal, more about daniel's day to day struggles, family love, faith in god. this is the accesible danielson record if there ever was one, he even sings in a (relatively) low register. catchy as, er, hell too. evangelicism as pixie hooked, campfire sing-a-long, muppet rock. there are very few out there as pop-compositionaly twisted or directively wholesome as the danielsons.

the-tigers-have-spoken
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

neko case 'the tigers have spoken'...
not a proper album but rather a rip roaring live disc. tracks taken from a few different shows, backed by a full band in fellow canadians, and sweethearts of the rodeo, the sadies. case carries such a powerful voice which translates especially well in the heat of a live set. a handful of covers including a commanding version of loretta lynn's 'rated x', two old favorites, and a version of the first song she ever wrote.

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

comets on fire 'blue cathedral'...
third album from bay area psych sensations finds them digging into even deeper colors of late 60's/early 70's hallucinatory, proto metal, acid rock. this is tripped out rock n' roll, yes, but not flowery by any means. hell-bent psychedelic, punk fueled, huge and intimidating. there are lighter moments, airy interludes, whole approaches lifting you steadily towards the fire. like a slow roast. oh yeah, and noel von harmonson's echoplex.

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

deerhoof 'milk man'...
deerhoof, i'm confident, will never cease to amaze me. an absolute marvel, singular in their field. every album, every show they seem to get simultaneously tighter and looser, like they can read each others minds more clearly and are more relaxed for it. rock in e.s.p. milk man is crisp, like clean, thoughtfully constructed, a sheeny pop record full of little tinkles here and there. the guitars they talk to each other, sometimes say the same things using different voices. the stories are straight off a fairy tale, albeit one i've never read. the drums make me feel like navin johnson trying to find his rhythm.

half-smiles-of-the-decomposed
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

guided by voices 'half smiles of the decomposed'...
a final departure to be proud of. similar to the previous 'earthquake glue' in sound and line up, but more consistently hitting. there's not a dud on the album (which is a lot to say for a gbv album). anthemic, triumphant, full of pollard's flipped lyricism. hardcore fans complain of it being too produced for gbv, but to me it just sounds like a collection of cared for songs rather than a bunch of toss offs. superior to the who's 'it's hard'.

spooked
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

robyn hitchcock 'spooked'...
there was a miss america contestant from ohio named robin hitchcock, this a friend had mentioned to mr. robyn hitchcock. robyn found this amusing and started playing the gillian welch song 'miss ohio' during live sets. this led to the idea of getting ms. welch and partner david rawlings involved with hitchcock's latest album "spooked'. an unlikely arrangement, but one that makes sense on record. the mood is laidback, with that warm living room sound. just a few newly acquainted friends picking up their acoustics, setting a folk stride, singing about love and living in the trees, covering dylan, name dropping condoleeza rice. a new reflection on americana as seen through keen british observation.

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

jason molina 'pyramid electric co'...
the latest installment of an everchanging moniker. molina's last brought forth 'magnolia electric co', the fullest band he had ever assembled and the most electric. those neil young comparisons finally within reason. with 'pyramid electric' he takes a few steps back and offers an album stripped to the most bare songs:ohia elements, voice and guitar. a collection of songs that have that one take, this a demo, sound. no frills. the strength, and our reward lay solely in the songs. fine with me. jason molina could sleeptalk in a microphone with the sound of passing traffic going by and i'd be happy. includes one of his best songs (and titles) in the cautionary 'honey, you better watch your ass'.

we-shall-all-be-healed
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

mountain goats 'we shall all be healed'...
john darneille is and has been the mountian goats thru many albums and many years. his early records were really quite intimate, as it is with recording with only you, your raised voice, an acoustic guitar, and a portable four track. his last couple albums (on 4ad) have included flourishes. drums, bass, pianos,strings, more guitars. multitracking. but the essence has stayed the same, the storytelling gotten stronger. he's an american songwriter of the highest defintion. reeling images about the dark inbetweens, stolen moments, chance occurences, cryptic foreboding, suspicious cargo, nites at the travelodge.

young-prayer
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

panda bear 'young prayer'...
of the aforementioned animal collective. his second lone record, now with the help of fellow animals. so beautiful it relieves my back pains. i like listening to this one during subway rides, pretending everything is alright, like we're all listening and healing. this is what this is, a healing record. soulful in the least obvious ways, panda bear invites you in and asks that you simply listen. listen to the way that every vocal line is in harmony with every piano run, every guitar melody a compliment to the other, every breath a tingle down the spine.

papercuts-mockingbird
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

papercuts 'mockingbird'...
i love the bay area. the papercuts are from there and, for whatever reason, they sound like it. maybe it's the informality, or the mood of quiet celebration. the diy aesthetic, the feeling that comes with getting together a bunch of friends and recording an album in your studio garage. the papercuts love the reverb, the hollowed snap of the snare, really long and drawn vocal lines. fans of cass mccombs will undoubtedly hear the similarities (jason quever the songwriter in the band produced those cass recordings). i'm also reminded of fellow bay area popsters the aislers set. although maybe more morricone than morrissey.

calling-out-of-context
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

world-of
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

arthur russell 'world of arthur russell' and 'calling out of context'...
this year was, in a quiet way, the year of arthur russell. three reissues from three seperate labels, all totally awesome and quite different (on a whole and from one another). russell was most active in the early - mid 80's as both an avant cellist and leftfield disco producer. yeah. 'calling out' showcases most of his experimental work, layered cellos, echoed vocals, a buried dub pulse. 'world of' has found release on soul jazz records and fits their mold more so. dancey numbers that bring to mind minimal funk/disco, afrobeat, and a sweaty new york underground. criminal that it has taken most of us this long to hear such perfect music.

bows-and-arrows
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

walkmen 'bows and arrows'...
blah blah blah, the NEW new york, hype hype hype. but, wait, they actually live up to it. so very rocking that i can't help but feel like i'm sixteen again (even though i'm far from it). really perfect driving music, although dangerous when air drumming. infectious really. they were on 'the oc' too! enough said, right? hmmm...


all done!