My Top 10 Albums of the Moment: Part 2
8.
Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If…
What a pleasant surprise this album ended up being. Unlike the solo albums of other BSS members like Feist and Emily Haines, this one feels like a Broken Social Scene album. I didn’t have too high of hopes for Spirit If…, but after a few listens I was hooked. It feels so much like a BSS album mainly b/c 23 people guest throughout the 14 songs, with most the original BSS gang being amongst those 23. Since it’s Kevin Drew’s solo album, he takes the reins as far as singing is concerned for nearly all the tracks, which makes sense. After some vintage BSS sounding melodic, disorienting noise/chaos, the album settles down nicely and songs like “Backed Out on the…”, “Frightening Lives”, and “Big Love” all stand out nicely. My only gripe would be that it’s hard to hear his singing most the time, but a few listens through and you’ll realize that it’s really the music that drives this album, not the vocals.
Backed Out on the…
Official Site / Myspace
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7.
Field Music - Tones of Town
I absolutely love this band. Much in the same way I like Pinback so much for some reason. It’s simple music that just never gets old and while I really liked their past efforts, I think Tones of Town takes the cake for me. It’s hard to describe their sound, but if you remember the band The Aliens I featured earlier in the summer, it’s a lot like a mix between their vintage 70’s pop sound and Pinback’s precise, calculated style. For a while there, this album was on an mp3 CD I had in my car and when it’d come up, I’d just randomly skip to some later song in the album. Before long I recognized every song and had yet to find one I didn’t like. Now that I’ve sat with it and given it numerous listens through, I find myself recommending this album more than most of the albums higher on this list. It has been an often overlooked album since it was released way back in January, but if you have the time, it’s well worth it to give it a listen. Plus, that video for “In Context” has to be in the running for video of the year. Love it.
In Context video
Official Site / Myspace
A House is Not a Home video
Bonus:
Broken Social Scene - Stars and Sons
Field Music - If Only the Moon Were Up
Kevin Drew is in my queue
I _loved_ field music’s first album, but for some reason their second didn’t capture me at all — I was wondering how you felt they compared, I’m considering a second listen.