Album Of The Week: "Northen Lights" by Allan Kingdom

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of January 24th-30th, 2016:

Allan Kingdom - Northern Lights

01. The Ride
02. The Forest (Intro)
03. Fables
04. Monkey See
05. Hypocrite
06. Northern Lights
07. Renovate
08. Believe
09. Disconnect
10. I FeelYa
11. Interruption
12. Go Fish
13. Outta Pocket

For those of you following along at home, this is the fourth time Allan Kingdom has made an appearance in my Album Of The Week column. I've written up his Talk To Strangers album, its follow-up Future Memoirs, and the collaborative album by The Stand4rd.

In my write up for Future Memoirs, I had this to say about Kingdom:

"He's still rapping over murky, keyboard heavy beats in a sing-song style that shares the same stage with Young Thug & Chance The Rapper.  The major difference is that, where Young Thug is the extension of the Andre 3000/Trap world of his native Atlanta and Chance sings to find his own sunshine in Chicago's notoriously cold hip-hop scene, Kingdom brings a natural Minnesota style to his songs.  He doesn't necessarily aim too high in his songs.  Instead he sticks to the small things in life.  He appreciates a good woman.  He debates going back to school.  He's concerned about the racial issues in his city while shouting it out at the same time.  When it comes down to it, Kingdom's very much an everyman despite his age.  He's hoping for the best while making sure that the worst doesn't come."

And then, this:
 
"Future Memoirs is a fine record considering it's the first album Kingdom's put out that came with any expectations.  All things considered, it feels like a stepping stone.  I don't know what Kingdom's got planned after this one, but I believe he's yet to make his big move."

If you didn't know, since Future Memoirs, Kingdom as featured prominently in Kanye West's hit single "All Day." In hindsight it's funny that I was concerned with whether or not Kingdom was ready to cope with the expectations of a City Pages write-up. Not only was he ready, but with Northern Ligths, he proves that he's ready to deal with the white-hot spotlight that comes with a Kanye feature.

As if to confront these expectations head-on, Kingdom sings/raps "Ye told me drive slow, but ain't nobody say, 'homey, fly low...'" and that's exactly what Kingdom does throughout Northern Lights.

Northern Lights is, by a large margin, Kingdom's most mature album to date, which is not surprising considering he's still in his early 20's. The idealism of old jams like "I Should Be A Pusha" & "Observe" is still their, but he's developed a mean streak to act as the Yin to the young Yang. Early standout "Fables" walks the line between the two sides, imploring people not to "tell no fables," for two reasons. First, because nobody's buying the lies. Second, because you shouldn't be ashamed of your own story. It's a difficult line to walk but Kingdom & Chronixx toe it wonderfully.\


Kingdom's newfound maturity and fame have also brought out a new, sexual energy to his rhymes. Where women were rarely sexual objects on his previous albums, Kingdom makes no bones about the fact that he's enjoying the life his newfound fame has provided. Title track "Northern Lights" is the most overt example with a chorus of "I've been on a mission lately, this is fun to me, it's a hunt to me..."

That coin, however, also has its flip-side, and on tracks like "Renovate," Kingdom works to make his peace with the decisions he's made. Over a pulsing beat and an earworm of an auto-tuned hook he's taking issue with the people he's surrounded by as well as the changes in his life that have changed both his and their perspective. It may not sound like much, but it took Kanye West three albums to cover the emotional ground Kingdom hits in this song.


In both of my previous reviews I compared Kingdom to Young Thug & Chance The Rapper. In his own Minnesotan way, those comparisons still stand up. As all three have matured they've continued in their own regional traditions. Thug has become emboldened by his success and continued to get more & more strange (see: Andre 3000). Chance has taken his natural charisma and channeled it into the bigger all-things-to-everyone project Surf (see: Kanye West, Billy Corgan). Kingdom, for his part, has found the spotlight causing him to look inward and become even more self-analytical and detached (see: Prince, Paul Westerberg). Fortunately, that works out out in Kingdom's favor here. That narrowing of scope has caused Kingdom to scale back on the vocal quirks & production values. Kingdom and fellow producers Plain Pat and Jonathan Kaslow do far more with less than any of his previous albums. Whether this a new aesthetic going forward or a simple tearing down of Kingdom's sound to build up something new in its place is yet to be seen, but the version of Allan Kingdom we're getting right now is by far the most talented and most intriguing version yet.

If you'd like to check out Northern Lights for yourself, head over to Allan Kingdom's website for a free download.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

Album Of The Week: "Rudiments" by Edger

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of June 21st-27th, 2015:

Edger - Rudiments

01. Victory Gin
02. Noose
03. Primadons
04. Cautious Optimist
05. Holy Armour
06. Domestication

(Photo via Ellen Lawson)

As you likely know, I'm a huge fan of Land Ski Records.  Drew Forsberg (of Persian Leaps fame) has been working his ass off over the last couple of years to fill his label with smart, hook-happy Twin Cities bands.  He's succeeded to the point that I'll soon be referring to him as Drew Forsberg (of Land Ski Records fame).  Whether it's his own band, the power-pop of The Person & The People or the surf-noir-ish sounds of Murder Shoes, a new release from Land Ski Records has quickly become something I find myself looking forward to with high expectations.

Enter the latest member of the family: Edger.  Hailing from Minneapolis, Edger began life as a two-piece outfit with hardcore dreams.  According to legend, when singer/guitarist Justin Lawson & drummer Nate Bartley got together to begin working out songs they were struck by a bolt of hook-heavy creativity, causing them to seek out a third member (bassist Scott Hefte) and put their hardcore dreams on the back burner in favor of fuzzed out bliss.

As a debut EP, Rudiments is startlingly well-developed.  The band actually reminds me a bit of Is This It era Strokes in the sense that, even though there's a layer of fuzz around everything, the band is locked into a very precise grooves.  Bartley & Hefte particularly stand out in the way they combine to give these songs a strong backbone.  Where the band deviates from that Strokes-ish sound is in Justin Lawson's performance.  Eschewing New York cool (while keeping some of the distortion), Lawson keeps things very Midwestern with his full-throated delivery in the tradition of Paul Westerberg, Davy Von Bohlen, Dave Pirner, and a hundred other singers from fly-over country.

Opener "Victory Gin" lays it clear from the jump, with Lawson shouting "They've got me running in place!" over some thundering open chords before the band locks into place.  Single "Noose" shows off the band's rhythm section while Lawson wrangles some hardcore lyrics into the album's most memorable hook.

 
Rudiments ends on two strong notes.  "Holy Armour" stands as my favorite track on the album.  The band hits a propulsive groove while spitting dueling vocals that recall a pop-centric, romantic take on Brand New.  Proving that the band are students of the game, they end the EP with the charming, acoustic "Domestication," an ode to both the combative nature of relationships & the simple joy of clean dishes.



I really can't recommend Rudiments enough.  The Twin Cities are awash in great guitar music right now.  As much as I like scrappy bands plugging in and tearing things up, it's always a breath of fresh air when a band combines that fuzz with sturdy hooks & precise playing.  With repeated spins, it becomes clear that Edger is a band that takes their craft seriously.  Give those tracks up above a listen then head over to Edger's Bandcamp page & pick up Rudiments for yourself.

Album Of The Week: "No Luck" by What Tyrants

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of April 19th-25th:

What Tyrants - No Luck

01. Far Out
02. Muffins
03. No Luck
04. Feeling Alright (I'm Okay)
05. Lean On The World
06. Dancehall No. 2
07. 4's And 5's
08. Scuzz
09. Modern Man
10. What Chu Want?
11. Shag
12. Blue In The Face
13. Fuzz Trip

The Twin Cities are in the midst of a Golden Age of guitar music right now.  Between the good folks at Land Ski Records, No Problem Records, Forged Artifacts, and the glorious noise coming from Ecstattic Studios, it's a fantastic time to be a rock n roll fan here in Minnesota.

Of course, this being Minnesota, that rock n roll sound so much better when the sun's shining and the window's are open.  Enter What Tyrants and their debut album No Luck.  If ever there was an album meant to be played at parties or in cars, this is the one.

What Tyrants consists of brothers Sean & Kyle Schultz and Garrison Grouse doing pretty much everything you'd want out of a garage rock band.  At their core they sound like a mash-up of The Hives & The Hi-Fives (The Hive-Fives?), but they manage to stand out by adding a few wrinkles of surf-rock here, a bit of lo-fi nonsense there, and a secret ingredient that I suspect is English post-punk grooves.  Have a listen to "What Chu Want?" for a good example of this intoxicating mix.




Lyrically Sean Schultz isn't covering too many bases that haven't already been covered by dozens and dozens of the descendants of The Monks.  There's bitterness, there's cynicism, there's love, there's jealousy, the desire to just let go, but above all, there's an unflinching belief in the power of loud guitars and bundles of energy.  For my money, "Dancehall No. 2" doubles as the What Tyrants mission statement.



Like I said from the jump, summer's upon us.  Don't waste it.  Those sunny days and drunky nights will be that much more fun with a copy of No Luck.  It's available in stylish cassette form from the good folks at Forged Artifacts or as a Name-Your-Price download on the What Tyrants Bandcamp page.  Go get it now and enjoy a rock n roll summer.

Album Of The Week: "Cruel Love" by Cruel Love

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of January 26th-February 1st, 2015:

Cruel Love - Cruel Love

01. God Is In The Bar
02. Beat To Love (w/Manchita
03. Dream Protector
04. Kissing In The Corner (w/Botzy, Beasthead, & Godelt)
05. H My Darlking
06. Free
07. Blind Love
08. Home

Back in September of 2013 I spent a week with Cruel Love's debut EP.  In my write-up of that record I wrote that "Cruel Love is an electronic indie band from Minneapolis" and claimed that that was the entirety of my knowledge of the band.  Here we are 15 months later and that's still essentially true.

Since that post the band's profile has certainly grown here in the Twin Cities.  I now know that the band consists mainly of Bonnie Stitches on vocals & Mo Bluntz on pretty much everything else.  They've collaborated with a host of local musicians (as evidenced by the guests on Cruel Love) and seem to be garnering a legitimate local following.

Cruel Love makes it obvious why their profile is rising.  On the five song EP, Cruel Love sounded like a group that knew how to write a good song and then wrap it up in synths & echoes.  In hindsight, that record seems like a trial run.  Everything on Cruel Love sounds more fully realized.

Musically, the songs are still catchy, but far more expansive.  The echoes & synths that gave the band's songs a unique sound on their first album have become full-fledged, essential parts of the equation on Cruel Love.  Additionally, the drums hit harder and (especially on "Dream Protector" & "Kissing In The Corner") there's quite a bit of nifty guitar work.  Without taking anything away from Bonnie Stitches vocals, Cruel Love would stand on its own as a purely instrumental.

But oh, those vocals.  Stitches performance here is light years beyond what we heard on EP.  Whether stealing your girlfriend, admitting her vulnerability in dreams, or merely sharing drinks with the song of God, Stitches sounds confident and sensual in ways that never occurred earlier.  While being the lead singer in a two-person band inevitably means she'll be the de facto "image" of the band, that's a coup for Cruel Love.  She's clearly at the doorstep of joining Dessa, Caroline Smith, & Maggie Morrison (and many, many others) as a leading voice in a Twin Cities scene that is seemingly overflowing with talented frontwomen.

If you'd like to check out Cruel Love for yourself (which I suggest you do immediately), head over to their Bandcamp page.  Both Cruel Love & EP are available as "Name Your Price" downloads.

For more of my rantings you can give me a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

Album Of The Week: "False Floors" by Rogue Valley

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of January 5th-11th, 2014:

  
Rogue Valley - False Floors

01. False Floors
02. Dangerous Diamonds
03. Blueprints
04. Hunters And Trappers
05. Bay Of Pigs
06. Icebox
07. Orion
08. The Scattering Moon
09. Onward And Over
10. Shoulder To Shoulder Around The Fire
11. The Wolves And The Ravens

Well here we are, everybody, time for the fourth and final Rogue Valley album.

If you've been following along with the blog/podcast over the last year you've hopefully noticed that Rogue Valley has been my Album Of The Week every three months.  This was not a coincidence.  Chris Koza and his band wrote and recorded four separate albums to coincide with each of the seasons.  Beginning last spring with Crater Lake, through summer with The Bookseller's House, and into fall with Geese In The Flyway, I've spent the past year listening to each of these albums in the order they were released and during the seasons that make up the theme for each album.  As you can probably imagine, sticking to this plan has made for a rewarding experience.

Which leaves us here in post-holidays dead of winter, kicking off the new year with their "winter album" False Floors.

Now, before I get into False Floors, let me just explain what a curious task it's been to attempt to write about these albums.  Rogue Valley mastermind Chris Koza was a well-accomplished songwriter long before he undertook this Rogue Valley project, which means that this four-album run doesn't follow the same trajectory as most bands.  For example, listening to The Smiths albums 1-4, you get from The Smiths to Strangeways, Here We Come or, to use a more local example, you get from The Replacements Sorry Ma... to Let It Be.  However, because of the condensed time frame and professionalism of the band, that raw-to-polished narrative doesn't exist with Rogue Valley.

Instead, we've been treated to four albums of good-to-great indie pop songs.  With the cycle broken up into 46 songs over four albums, the differences from album to album tend to be more subtle.  The Bookseller's House had an easy, breezy feeling of summer with tales of relationships and rolled down windows.  Geese In The Flyway, on the other hand, focused more on the life, death, and transitional nature that accompanies autumn.

And so it goes with False Floors.  The album is rich with signposts of winter.  Icicles, hibernation, visible breath, clear night constellations, hell, even the name False Floors is a reference to not-quite-frozen lakes.  All of these things make it quite clear that this is indeed the "winter album."

Those things, however, are the most obvious points of reference.  Listening to the album over the week I couldn't help but be struck by some of the same the much larger themes at work.  Wonder, dread, isolation, & endurance are all side effects of these long Minnesota winters and Koza makes it clear that each of these experiences (whether enjoyable or not) is essential to coping with winter and, in a larger sense, coping with aging and the passing of time.

The best example of all of these things at work is at the album's mid-way point and a song called "Icebox."



In the song Koza mentions the long nights of winter, the lack of warmth, a car that won't start, hell, frozen hands, he even mentions the collapse of the stars.  And yet, the key line in the song is, "I feel lucky, I can see my breath, it means that I'm still kicking..."  Winter is tough.  Hell, life is tough.  Yet, you press on because eventually the car will start, you'll be able to feel your hands, and winter will end.

Like I said at the top, listening to these albums during the seasons they're meant to be about has made the listening experience more rewarding and I genuinely believe that's been most evident with False Floors.  It's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, but hearing songs exploring these themes of isolation while slogging through yet another winter and actually living these things makes the album my favorite of the group (though, admittedly, I'll probably feel different as the seasons change.  Geese In The Flyway is nearly flawless).

All that being said, I will yet again highly recommend that you check out the records for yourself.  They're all available on Rogue Valley's Bandcamp page ranging from "Name Your Price" downloads to an ultra-saucy vinyl pack.  You won't regret it.

For more of my rantings you can give me a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

Album Of The Week: "Run The Jewels 2" by Run The Jewels

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of November 3rd-9th:

Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2

01. Jeopardy
02. Oh My Darling Don't Cry
03. Blockbuster Night Part 1
04. Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck) (w/Zack De La Rocha)
05. All My Life
06. Lie Cheat Steal
07. Early (w/Boots)
08. All Due Respect (w/Travis Barker)
09. Love Again (Akinyele Back) (w/Gangsta Boo)
10. Crown (w/Diane Coffee)
11. Angel Duster

So I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring on this one.

Look, there's nothing I can say about Run The Jewels 2 that hasn't been covered by, almost literally, every other music website on the internet.  Stereogum had their profile of Killer Mike & El-P.  Pitchfork had theirs too.  Rave reviews have been written from the largest websites to the smallest blogs.  It's all been covered.

If, incredibly, this is the first you've read about Run The Jewels 2, here's the skinny.  El-P and Killer Mike teamed up a couple years ago for Run The Jewels and it was fucking legendary.  On the backs of two of their best solo albums (El-P's Cancer For Cure & Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music), the two teamed up for a tour, bonded, and decided it would be fun to release a shit-talking album together.  It worked out so well that, suddenly, Mike & El are having the peak years of their respective careers at the age of 39, certainly a first in the youth-oriented world of hip-hop.

RTJ2 picks up where RTJ left off.  The shit talking is still epic, however, the act has grown both lyrically and personnel-wise.  El-P & Killer Mike spend time on this album exploring their own troubled pasts, the state of the union, and the state of hip-hop with both smirks and fists firmly in tow.  As you can see form the track listing above, they weren't short on talented musicians eager to contribute to the group.

All things considered, RTJ & RTJ2 have been wild successes.

Now, let me digress just a bit.  I'd like to present you with a little anecdote from the other day.

I got to work the other day and a co-worker of mine says, "Hey man, have you heard that new Run The Jewels yet?"

"I have," I replied.  "It's my Album Of The Week on my blog."

"Nice."

A few hours later, we're chatting again.  I ask him, "Hey, didn't I try to get you to listen to El-P's stuff a while back?"

"I don't know.  Obviously it didn't really work.  Isn't he more of a producer?"

SCENE

Now, here's why I bring this little anecdote up.  I came to Run The Jewels (and R.A.P. Music) as an El-P junkie.  As such I've thoroughly enjoyed the Run The Jewels album and the subsequent widespread success El-P has found.

(And please, make no mistake, I don't wish El-P would stay an underground secret forever.  I'm genuinely thrilled that one of the most uniquely talented rapper/producers ever is finally getting his due.)

What concerns me is that a whole new audience of people is just finding out about El-P via Run The Jewels and, perhaps much like my co-worker, view him as "more of a producer."  Will those people go back through the catalog and discover Cancer For Cure, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, Fantastic Damage, & Funcrusher Plus?  Undoubtedly, yes, some of them will.  And that will be awesome.

But part of what made those albums so special (and make no mistake, they are some of the best albums of my lifetime, with ISWYD easily in the top five regardless of genre) is that they seemed to be singuluar, long-gestating dispatches from a man out of step with the world.  El-P obsessed over those records like a conspiracy theorist poring over newspaper clippings.  They stand as invaluable snapshots of the bizarre post-9/11/pre-Snowden days that we're just now emerging from. Now that he's finally getting the success he deserves, is that artist gone?  I mean, honestly, could El-P ever afford to take five years off between LP's again?  It seems unlikely and, more importantly, like a bad idea from both a relevancy & financial standpoint.  All of which is a shame since everything that's happened post-Snowden has proven that El-P wasn't crazy, but that he was actually the most sane man in the room.

I guess what I'm getting at is that it seems like that second act of El-P's career has come to an end and, from a very, very selfish perspective, that's a shame.  I'm know that El would much rather spend his forties making music with his friends and making money than hunkered down in Brooklyn sending out rattled, coded, 75 minute manifestos every five years, but those manifestos were fantastic, special albums.  Sad to see that chapter close.

If you'd like to check out Run The Jewels 2 it's available as a free download from the Run The Jewels website. Be sure to pick that up.  And be sure to listen to I'll Sleep When You're Dead.  The second half is mind-blowing.

Album Of The Week: "World Peace Is None Of Your Business" by Morrissey

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of September 15th-21st, 2014:

Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business

01. World Peace Is None Of Your Business
02. Neal Cassady Drops Dead
03. I'm Not A Man
04. Istanbul
05. Earth Is The Loneliest Planet
06. Staircase At The University
07. The Bullfighter Dies
08. Kiss Me A Lot
09. Smiler With Knife
10. Kick The Bride Down The Aisle
11. Mountjoy
12. Oboe Concerto

Let's just get this out of the way now: I'm a Morrissey fan.  And not just a, "Yeah, I dig Morrissey" sort of fan.  More like a "I own both a hardcover and paperback version of Mozzer's Autobiography and, incredibly, both of them were given to me as gifts" type of fan.  Looking at my Last.fm account, Morrissey & The Smiths have accounted for 4,417 plays, ranking them first and fourth overall in my library.  It's bordering on unhealthy.

It's been five years since Morrissey left us with the excellent Years Of Refusal.  In the interim he's done pretty much the most stereotypically Morrissey-esque things you can imagine.  He's booked massive tours, he's cancelled said tours, he's fallen ill, he's feuded with websites, feuded with record labels, feuded with concert venues, recorded songs that never saw the light of day, fired shots at British royalty, fired shots at American politicians, and recorded PSA's for PETA.  Honestly, outside of publishing the aforementioned Autobiography, Morrissey hasn't really done anything outside of the rote business of being Morrissey for quite some time.

I suppose, then, that I shouldn't have been surprised when World Peace Is None Of Your Business turned out to be the least interesting album of old Mozzer's career.  After five years, you'd think the man would have something, anything, new to say.  Alas, World Peace is arguably his most political record to date and, for a man who's built a career out of connecting with fans via personal struggles, this is not a turn for the more interesting.

Leading things off we're treated to the album's titular "World Peace Is None Of Your Business," an enjoyable and worthy follow up to You Are The Quarry's lead track "America Is Not The World."  Morrissey and boys sound fantastic as Morrissey laments a system that's so broken the only way to stop it is complete withdrawal. "Each time you vote, you support the process..." the man laments.  It's an intriguing turn from the typical "Your Vote Makes A Difference" jargon that most of us have been fed our whole lives, however, for a man who built a life & career of dropping out of systems he didn't care for, his strategy for change shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

After the comically trivial "Neal Cassady Drops Dead," the album loses all of it's momentum on the bordering-on-self-parody ballad "I'm Not A Man."  Morrissey's track record with large scale ballads has always been hit-and-miss.  For every brillliant "I Know It's Over" and "Now My Heart Is Full" we're treated to a handful of clunkers like "You Know I Couldn't Last" and "Life Is A Pigsty."  "I'm Not A Man" is, almost unquestionably, the worst of these ballads.  Beginning with over a minute of slow-burning noise (sucking the life out of the record), Morrissey goes on to warble cliche upon cliche as to why he's "not a man" because he doesn't eat animals or play sports.  These would have been understandable laments 30 years ago, but Mozzer's 55 years old now with a legacy that's already written in stone.  It's hard to believe that this is a man who feels the need to defend his own masculinity this far into his career.

From there we're treated to a run of songs that wouldn't have passed muster as You Are The Quarry B-sides.  "Istanbul" is an uninteresting re-working of Ringleader Of The Tormentor's "I Will See You In Far Off Places,"  "Earth Is The Loneliest Planet" is what you would title a song if you were making a novelty Morrissey playlist, "Staircase At The University," "The Bullfighter Dies," "Kiss Me A Lot..."  these tracks are all as lackluster as their titles imply (though "Kiss Me A Lot" features the albums best singalong hook, assuming you can make your peace with singing lyrics like "Kiss me a lot, kiss me all over the place...").

"Smiler With Knife" stands as the lone late album standout.  A curious little ballad that harkens back to Ringleader's "The Father Who Must Be Killed."  Guitarist Jesse Tobias takes a break from his usual punk-ish rush to pen a thoughtful, slow-burning number in which Mozzer mixes sex & violence in a manner that only three decades of pathos could sell. Unfortunately, "Smiler With Knife" also stands as an example of just what's wrong with World Peace Is None Of Your Business.  Morrissey's lyrics & melody are nearly completely separate from Tobias intriguing instrumentation.  They essentially take turns.

Now, if you'll allow the Mozzer nerd in me to come out (er... more so...), I'd like to bring up something Vini Reilly once said.  Reilly is known to some as the man behind Factory Records guitar nerds The Durrutti Column.  He's best known to Morrissey fans as the guitarist & sometimes co-writer on Viva Hate.  After recording Reilly's "I Don't Mind If You Forget Me," Reilly mentioned how impressed he was with Morrissey's ability to find new melodies in the instrumentals.  He was most surprised that Morrissey put the verse where Reilly had envisioned a chorus and vice versa.

Now, I'm not saying Morrissey has suddenly lost his ear for such a thing, but nearly every track of World Peace Is None Of Your Business reeks of a chosen path of least resistance.  Nowhere on the album are we treated to one of Morrissey's trademark melodic let turns.  Those brilliant moments when the listener expects the song to zig and Morrissey, with his unparalleled command of vocals, zags, giving the song a jolt of life, are sorely lacking here.  Even more than the lyrics and the persona, those hooks are the bedrock of Morrissey's career.  Even Morrissey, if he'd set his ego aside, would likely acknowledge that his career has had more than its share of clunker lyrics.  However, he'd also likely acknowledge the power of a good hook over lyrics.  I read Autobiography.  There's a reason he fell in love with Mott The Hoople just like there's a reason he's taking shots at Allan Ginsburg on "Neal Cassady Drops Dead."

All of which is a real shame because Morrissey sounds great.  His vocals, whatever lyrics they may be in service of, sway and soar throughout the album in a manner usually reserved for merely a track or two.  His band, likewise, is in fine form.  They work their way through tried-and-true formulas and new experiments alike with aplomb, helping to give the album (and Morrissey) a solid foundation.  Sadly, that's only two-thirds of the equation and Mozzer's lackluster, hookless lyrics leave the album flat and tired.  Here's hoping he'll have something interesting to say in 2019.

Album Of The Week: August 4th-10th, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of August 4th-10th, 2014:

Frankie Teardrop - Raiders

01. Raiders
02. 100%
03. No More Drugs
04. She Kept Lyin
05. Personal Hell
06. It Takes Time

This is Frankie Teardrop's second time appearing here as an AOTW.  Back in November of 2013 I spent a week with his debut EP Tough Guy.  Back then I wrote that I couldn't tell if the songs were "garage rock songs polished up or pop songs stripped down."  While that's still the case with Raiders, it's becoming clear that Frankie's pop-rock heart beats strong & clear.

Raiders shows a welcome amount of growth from an artist who's last record contained songs like "Pizza Lyfestyle" and "New Beverage."  The record's opening one-two punch of "Raiders" & "100%," stands as the best two songs Frankie's written to date (if you're a fan of the Flatbasset Radio podcast you might remember us opening with "Raiders" a few weeks back).  Both are energetic, catchy, & poppy and benefit greatly from the addition of a second guitarist.  Lyrically, however, they start hinting at some of the darker subject matter to come.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #39 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

As you can probably imagine just from the titles of the last four tracks, Frankie's songwriting has taken a turn for the personal (though I'm willing to bet "Pizza Lyfestyle" was personal in its own way).  The band is young enough that emotional turmoil of the second half of the album rings clear.  For example, "She Kept Lyin" is not an angry, detached dig at said liar as much as it is an explanation of mood.  The record ends on relatively positive note with "It Takes Time," which finds Frankie showing the maturity to understand that, well, things take time.

My friend Adam recently described Frankie Teardrop as "Bauhaus covering the Beach Boys," which nails their sound pretty well.  I finally caught these guys a couple of weeks back at the 10,000 Sounds Festival and I can attest to the "you really have to see them live" reputation that they've earned.  The band's trajectory from Tough Guy to Raiders is an encouraging one and I'm excited to see where these guys go next.  Until then, really, you should see them live.

Raiders was self-released by Frankie Teardrop on his brand new No Problem Records.  If you'd like to check it out for yourself head over to the Bandcamp site where the record's available as a "Name Your Price" download.

Album Of The Week: June 30th-July 6th, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of June 30th-July 6th, 2014:

Dichotomy - Subterranean

01. Subterranean
02. Tony Montana
03. Brand New
04. Sleepwalk
05. It Comes And Goes
06. Save The Frame
07. Railways
08. Cinder Blocks
09. June Gloom
10. Switch
11. Iscoceles
12. Vial

I decided to check out Dichotomy's album Subterranean for a couple of reasons.  First off, I'm friend of a friend a member of the band and, seeing as how the record is starting to gain some legit traction, the least I could do is spend some time with it.  Second, after spending the past couple of weeks with shimmering indie rock (The Starfolk, Rogue Valley), it was time to switch it up.

In that regard, Subterranean definitely delivered.  Coming into the week I knew that the album would be a mixture of live instruments & computerized flourishes, but I wasn't quite prepared for the way Subterranean plays out.  The first half of the album skews a bit heavier than I'm a fan of.  Most of the album's vocals turn up in this first half and, in conjunction with some aggressive drums/guitar work, they imply somebody who first got into music as a teenager via 93X (no great sin, by the way. I got into music via 93.7 The Edge. Just looking for a comparable here.).

However, the second half of the album is where Dichotomy really plays to their strengths.  The vocals are scaled way back and the aggressiveness of the songs, while still present, aren't nearly as constant.  Tracks like "Cinder Blocks" & "Switch" show a band with a real grasp of pacing.  Each song breathes, allowing the beats, pianos, and wayward guitar lines their time to shine.  There's a lot of nice work being done on Subterranean's second half.  Hopefully it's a harbinger of things to come from Dichotomy.

If you'd like to check out Subterranean for yourself head over to Dichotomy's Bandcamp page where the album is available as a "Name Your Price" download.

Album Of The Week: June 16th-22nd, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of June 16th-22nd, 2014:

The Starfolk - The Starfolk

01. The Great Unknown
02. Come And Play
03. Kindness Of Strangers
04. To The Gate
05. Sow The Seed
06. Midnight Moon
07. Sleeping Without Dreaming
08. True Blue
09. Into The Clouds
10. Winterwalk
11. Wake Up Machine
12. From Above

The Starfolk's been on my radar for quite a while now.  Back in October of 2008 The Current posted "Wake Up Machine" as their Song Of The Day.  As you probably know by now, I have a needlessly elaborate system of spending a week with each SOTD track (which eventually birthed the Songs Of The Week posts) as well as consistently revisiting those tracks over the years.

I was never particularly blown away by "Wake Up Machine" (in my defense, the version posted in '08 is far inferior to the fully realized version on The Starfolk).  However, last August The Current posted "To The Gate," a song both MinneSarah & I thoroughly enjoyed.  Since that week I've always kept The Starfolk in the back of my mind as an album I should spend some time with.

Fast forward to last Sunday when, in my search for this week's album, I strolled through the Electric Fetus until this one caught my eye.  I picked it up and, a week later, I couldn't be more pleased with the record.



As I understand it, most people came to The Starfolk with somewhat formed opinions of the band.  Co-lead singer Brian Tighe is well known from his work fronting The Hang Ups & The Owls and fans of those bands inevitably make up a good chunk of The Starfolk's fanbase.  Hell, three quarters of The Starfolk are made up by people who also play in The Owls.

I, however, have never knowingly heard The Hang Ups or The Owls.  After spending a week with this album I'm certainly inclined to check them out though.  The Starfolk is a well-exectuted, thoughful pop album.  Tighe and his bandmates Allison LaBonne, Jacqueline Ultan, & Stephen Ittner have been playing this sort of bouncy chamber pop for so long that the songs come across with a sense of ease that makes the album breeze by.   There are hints of Luna, hints of Ivy, hints of The Velvet Underground... If you're a fan of any of that, definitely look into The Starfolk.

In fact, look into it right here on The Starfolk's Bandcamp page.  Really.  Give it a spin.

Album Of The Week: June 9th-15th, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of June 9th-15th, 2014:

Kougar - Cold Room

01. Street Urchin
02. Where Would You Go
03. Phantom Traveler
04. Renewal

A couple of weeks ago I made Naptaker's Siestecita my album of the week.  Along the way I described the Bandcamp wormhole I followed to discover the album.  If you haven't read it, have a look.  Really, it's pretty gripping stuff.

Anyway, following the wormhole even further (this time via Naptaker's Facebook page), I found out about Kougar.  The two bands played a show together to celebrate the release of Cold Room.  Considering that I had enjoyed that Naptaker record so much I figured I'd give it a shot.

After spending a week with Cold Room, I can tell you it has almost nothing in common with Siestecita besides geography.  Where Naptaker wastes little time getting to the hooks, Kougar meanders in a very pleasant way.  The songs are generally upbeat, mixing indie rock with a bit of a jazzy swing that's part Steely Dan, part Vampire Weekend.  Though the album would benefit from some, I dunno, "bigger" production, it still stands up as a compelling debut.  All four songs check in over the 4:00 mark, but none of them feel overly long.  Instead the band rides some clever hooks, Marr-esque guitar work, and compelling instrumental sections to make a record that sounds both familiar & new.  I'm genuinely excited to see what the band does when they have a little bit more time/money/studio gear at their disposal.

If you'd like to check out the record for yourself, head on over to Kougar's Bandcamp page and grab it at whatever price you'd like.

Album Of The Week: May 25th-June 1st, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of May 25th-June 1st, 2014:

Naptaker - Siestecita

01. Surf Gremlins
02. Shiva
03. Alone
04. Operation
05. Riders On The Squall
06. Outlaw Twist

"Naptaker is the surf trash sonic love child of Sid Alberto and Éric del Baile, conceived in Saint Paul, MN in 2012. Finally, in the fall of 2013, they released a demo called Siestecita EP.

Sam - bass
Eric - guitar
Preston - drums
Andrew - vocals, guitar"

-via Naptaker's Last.fm page

"Naptaker is a trashy blend of garage, surf, psych, stoner, and PFR, with a dash of Romanticism and contrapuntal sensibility."

-via Naptaker's Bandcamp page 

And that, my friends, is the extent of my knowledge of Naptaker.  Well, that and the fact that they have an excellent name.  Shout out, naptaking!

I stumbled onto Siestecita in the same way everybody finds new music these days - by getting sucked into a Bandcamp wormhole.  It started with tweet from Fury Things (if I remember correctly) that led me to the Ecstattic Studio Bandcamp page.  Being new to the Ecstattic Studio page, I started snooping around, eventually coming across Siestecita.  God bless the internet.

Though the EP was released last fall, it's definitely a summertime affair.  Of all the adjectives listed above, "surf" is the one that carries the most weight here.  The six songs here come & go quickly, relying on some surf-tastic guitar work to get their point across.  Like most surf bands, the lyrics skew toward the goofy, but let's be honest, this ain't a record for deep thinking.  Catchy, stupid summer fun.

Siestecita is available as a "Name Your Price" download on Naptaker's Bandcamp page.  Give it a spin.

Album Of The Week: May 19th-25th, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of May 19th-25th, 2014:

Howler - World Of Joy

01. Al's Corral
02. Drip
03. Don't Wanna
04. Yacht Boys
05. In The Red
06. World Of Joy
07. Louise
08. Here's The Itch That Creeps Through My Skull
09. Indictment
10. Aphorismic Wasteland Blues

Confession: I've never heard Howler's debut America Give Up.  Despite the fact that shambolic, hooky, garage rock is pretty much the greatest thing ever (and the fact that I did love the song "Told You Once"), I just never got around to it.  I'm sure I will eventually.  In fact, having given World Of Joy a few spins now, I find myself more curious than ever to go pick it up.

I realize it's not especially creative to compare World Of Joy to a Replacements record, but the similarities are inescapable (at least on the first half).  From the album art (which recalls Hootenanny!) to the style & substance of the songs ("Drip" is essentially "Tommy Got His Tonsils Out"), the debt is clear no matter how much Jordan Gatesmith may say otherwise.

Keep in mind that I don't mean that as a criticism.  Twin Cities bands have been trying to capture that magic-in-a-bottle formula for years to wildly varying degrees of success.  With World Of Joy Howler nails it.  The first batch of songs are snotty, self-destructive, and an absolute ball.

(Quick note for Smiths fans:  It's well known that Howler is on Rough Trade and that singer Jordan Gatesmith is dating Johnny Marr's daughter.  That doesn't make it any less curious to see noted Morrissey foil Geoff Travis' name in that "Thank You" notes.  It does, however, make it pretty funny Gatesmith sings, "You don't have to listen to The Smiths if you don't wanna..."  Clever guy, that guy.)

The second half of the album is where Howler really makes their case for a career that outlives the buzz.  The title track skews shoegaze in the style of The Horrors.  "Louise" sounds like very late era Replacements.  "Here's The Itch That Creeps Through My Skull" is easily the highlight or the lowlight of the record depending on just what it is you want out of Howler.  It's a mid-tempo pop song (complete with some sparkling, ahem, Marr-esque guitar work) that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Singles soundtrack.  It's a genuine high water mark for the band and an exciting moment for anybody who wants Howler's career arc to be more Replacements than Tapes N Tapes (for the record, I love TNT. We're talking career arcs here, people).

Anyway, that's what I've taken away from two spins.  I'm sure the record will reveal plenty more over the course of the week.

Album Of The Week: May12th-18th, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of May 12th-18th, 2014:

Atmosphere - Southsiders

01. Camera Thief
02. Arthur's Song
03. The World Might Not Live Through The Night
04. Star Shaped Heart
05. I Love You Like A Brother
06. Southsiders
07. Bitter
08. Mrs. Interpret
09. Fortunate
10. Kanye West
11. We Ain't Gonna Die Today
12. My Lady Got Two Men
13. Flicker
14. January On Lake Street
15. Let Me Know That You Know What You Want Now

I shouldn't have to say too much about this one.  If you live in the Twin Cities you're probably well aware of this album's existence.  For what it's worth, however, it seems like this album has come with the least amount of any Atmosphere record since the boys finally broke through with Seven's Travels.  Maybe I just haven't noticed.

I won't get into too many specifics about this one since I plan on crafting a full review for Newest Industry at some point in the next week.  After a couple listens I'm really digging it.  Admittedly, I wasn't a fan of the "full band" direction" Atmosphere embraced on Blood Makes The Blade Holy & The Family Sign.  As such, my expectations for this one were pretty low.  Fortunately, it seems like they've figured out a much smoother way to integrate the live band sounds with Ant beats.  Again, after a few spins I'm really digging it.  We'll talk more about this one later.

Album Of The Week: May 5th-11th, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of May 5th-11th, 2014:

Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots

01. Everyday Robots
02. Hostiles
03. Lonely Press Play
04. Mr Tembo
05. Parakeet
06. The Selfish Giant
07. You And Me
08. Hollow Ponds
09. Seven High
10. Photographs (You Are Taking Now)
11. The History Of A Cheating Heart
12. Heavy Seas Of Love

If you've been following along with my AOTW posts you probably know that I tend to stick to Minnesota-based artists.  There are, however, a handful of artists whose work excites me to the point that I just can't wait to spend a week exploring.

Have a look at these Last.fm stats:

Blur - 1,075 plays
Gorillaz - 511 plays
The Good, The Bad, & The Queen - 222 plays

That's just over 1,800 plays for Mr. Damon Albarn in my library. And that's just since 2007.

Anyway, I bring it up to illustrate just how excited I am for Albarn's first official solo album.  2014 is filled with new releases by some of my favorite artists, but I can say with almost complete certainty that Everyday Robots will be the album that soundtracks my year.  All of the work he's done under those names listed above have managed to be both instantly gratifying and rewarding in the long run.  I'll spend this week with Everyday Robots, but I'd be genuinely surprised if I wasn't still discovering little moments on the album one, two, or three years from now.

I'm not just excited from a long-time-fan standpoint.  I've listened to the album a couple of times now (and spoiled my appetite with the stripped down, BBC2 version of "Lonely Press Play" over the last month or so), and part of what makes the album special is that it's relevant to the world around us.  It's not just a nostalgia trip.

Albarn spends the majority of the album struggling with how technology, people, & the physical world relate to each other.  As somebody who spent the majority of his youth in a pre-internet age, I find myself thinking about these same issues as I get older.  Albarn doesn't offer much in the way of answers.  Quite the opposite.  Considering the way the album is peppered with electronic percussion & synth loops, Albarn is essentially conceding that he's not here to fight the flood of technology.  He clearly realizes how foolish that is because A) technology's march is unstoppable and B) technology isn't inherently bad.  He's not going full Jack-White-Records-An-Album-In-A-Phone-Booth here.  Like most of us, he's trying to sort through the questions of real life and virtual life and, like most of us, he's struggling.

Everyday Robots is a thoughtful album from a thoughtful man.  It's no wonder this is the first one he's recorded under his given name.  No other would be appropriate.

Album Of The Week: April 28th-May 4th, 2014

My Album Of The Week for the week off April 28th-May 4th, 2014:

MaLLy - The Colors Of Black

01. Child Of America
02. Two World
03. Innervisions
04. City Of Fear (w/Rapper Hooks)
05. Hold My Tongue (w/Slug & Rapper Hooks)
06. Machine Gun
07. Not Never...
08. All Of My Life (Part 2) (w/K.Raydio)
09. Everything Else But Me
10. One Million
11. A Long Day
12. Crimson
13. Grow This Way
14. To The Future
15. The Colors Of Black

This is the third time that I've had a MaLLy record as my Album Of The Week.  Back before I started writing up blog posts about my AOTW's I spent a week with MaLLy's breakout album The Last Great.... Then, back in November, I spent a week with Strange Rhythm, MaLLy's first collaboration with producer Last Word.  Now here we are in early spring and MaLLy's & Last Word are back with their first full-length collaboration.

The Last Great... was produced by The Sundance Kid and found MaLLy in a happier place.  He hadn't yet broke through here in the Twin Cities and, as such, that record found him enjoying the little things in life, staying upbeat among the day to day drudgery of being a hard working MC.

Strange Rhythm was only 8 songs, but it found MaLLy taking a different approach.  Whether it was his new found success or Last Word's more aggressive beats, MaLLy was an angrier man.  He spent most of that record celebrating his place in the the Twin Cities scene with a middle finger in the air.  It was a victory lap of sorts, but MaLLy seemed hellbent on letting anybody who had ever doubted him know just how far he had come.

Which brings us to The Colors Of Black.  As you can probably guess from the title, race plays a huge role in this record.  Last Word's beats remain dark & angry, which feeds MaLLy's new sense of discontent.  While he's no longer as consumed with sticking it to doubters, MaLLy's raps are now concerned with the experience of being a black man in America.  The injustices that he sees either as a third party or through his personal experience leave him both angry & exhausted.  With success, it seems, MaLLy no longer needs to find his peace of mind in the day to day successes of making songs and staying out of trouble.  With those battles squarely in the rear view mirror, he's turned his attention to the problems facing society at large, and he's none too happy with the lack of answers.

The Colors Of Black is the logical extension of MaLLy the artist, but more importantly, it's the logical extension of MaLLy the man.  It seems MaLLy's days of "windows down, radio up" songs have come to an end.  In it's place we have a man fuming at the world around him.

If you're interested in checking out the album I sincerely suggest you head over to Fifth Element and pick up a hard copy of the record.  It contains three bonus tracks ("Grow This Way," "To The Future," & "The Colors Of Black") that are unavailable on the download.  Plus, it's an excuse to take a walk & support Fifth Element.  That's a win/win.

Album Of The Week: April 21st-27th, 2014

My Album Of The Week for the week of April 21st-27th, 2014:

Oaks - Field Beat

01. All Mine
02. Dreaming Arrows
03. Field Beat
04. Clouds
05. Falls
06. Some Of Them Do

I'll be honest, I know pretty much nothing about Oaks.   I took a walk down to Extreme Noise last week to film a bit with Ryan for Newest Industry (a bit that was, sadly, lost when my memory card became full halfway through).  As I've mentioned before, I have a real weakness for checking out the "Local" section anytime I'm in a record store.  On a whim I picked up Field Beat because it was described as "shoegaze" and because it was only 6 songs long which, let's be honest, is the perfect length for a shoegaze record.

Thanks to the internet I've learned that Oaks consists of husband & wife duo Jim Kolles & Erica Krumm.  You may know Krumm as the lead singer/guitarist for the band Sharp Teeth or, if you're like me, you may not.

Field Beat is, I suppose, a shoegaze album.  There's loud, buzzsaw guitars that come in waves.  There's heavy basslines.  There's a drum machine.  All the "shoegaze" boxes are checked off.  Fortunately, Krumm's vocals elevate the whole record, coming through clear and with a minimum of effects.  If you subtracted a bit of the punk edge from BNLX or the electronics from Wiping Out Thousands you'd have Oaks.  The songs here are thorough, heavy, and consistently excellent (with the exception of "Some Of Them Do," which is just feedback).  Field Beat is just the kind of record I hope to find when I go plunging into the "Local" section.

If you're so inclined, Field Beat is available as a "Name Your Price" download over at Oaks Bandcamp page. I strongly suggest that you be inclined.

Album Of The Week: April 14th-20th, 2014

My Album Of The Week for the week of April 14th-20th, 2014:

Edison - No Three Men Make A Tiger

01. Init.
02. If You're Going To Say Nothing, Say Yo A Few Times First
03. A Fortune Gone To Hashed Kids
04. I Don't Know Tim, I'm Not The Loudest Guy At The Fuck You Contest
05. Reporting Live From The Wellspring Of Opinions And Lost Buttons
06. The True Story Of Baron Vonfeedreader (w/Shannon Harney)
07. Think Occasionally Of The Uploading, Of Which You Spare Yourself The Sight
08. All The Starving Artists, Eating Their Own Hands
09. Waiting In Line To Meet Steve At The Crossroads, At Midnight
10. Make Noise Not Marketing
11. Pander Junkies
12. Don't Tell Us What We're Doing, We Don't Want To Know
13. The Disgusted Briefcase (w/Babel Fishh)
14. Alexander The Great Genre Switching Soulsuck
15. Eye Teeth And Egos

If you've been following the blog for a while you should already be pretty familiar with Edison.  I've written about him several times here and played him several times on the Flatbasset Radio podcast.  I wrote about his last album, No Sun No Food, last July when it was also an Album Of The Week.  The album was so great that it eventually took the crows as my most played album of 2013.

If you haven't been following along, here's the bullet points.  Edison is a beatmaker out of the Bay Area.  Up until No Sun No Food he was known for making beats that were dense, manic, and yet still melodic.  He switched up the game last year on No Sun No Food, making an exquisitely laid back album that was still clearly the work of the same artists.

So here we have No Three Men Make A Tiger.  I've only listened to it a couple of times, but I think it's safe to say that this is a middle ground between his manic earlier work and his new found sense of pacing.  It's a much harder, busier album than No Sun No Food, yet it no longer feels quite as busy.  Where his early albums felt like you were riding around in a taxi who's driver was mixing adderall & vodka, No Three Men Make A Tiger is a great strolling record.  No Sun No Food was a great strolling album as well, but that album felt like a summer stroll through the park.  No Three Men... has a darker edge to it.  Like strolling through that same park at 3 AM as a storm's blowing in to town.  Obviously I highly recommend it.

If you'd like to check it out it's available as a "Name Your Price" download on Edison's Bandcamp page.  Seriously, pick it up. Pick up No Sun No Food while you're at it.  And then, once you've grabbed those, follow this link to 900 Bats and pick up the Free Willy beat tape.  Then you'll be set for summer.

Album Of The Week: April 7th-13th, 2014

My Album Of The Week for the week of April 7th-13th, 2014:

Rogue Valley - Crater Lake

01. The Warming Moon
02. Red River Of The North
03. English Ivy
04. I-5 Love Affair
05. Hummingbird
06. Crater Lake
07. Rope Swing Over Rogue Valley
08. Ursa Minor
09. The Occidental Hotel
10. The Planting Moon
11. Slack Water
12. El-Ay

One of the longest and most deeply held traditions here at Flatbasset Radio is to be almost comically late to new music.  Spending the week with Rogue Valley's Crater Lake is merely the latest example of me finally getting around to something I probably should have checked out years ago.

Most of you are probably already familiar with Rogue Valley.  Back in 2010, local luminary Chris Koza decided to abandon his solo moniker for a year and create the band Rogue Valley.  They went into speed recording mode and cranked out four albums over the course of a single year.  The idea behind Rogue Valley was to put out one album for each season.  That's a lot of meticulous, pop-folk music.

(Check out "Red River Of The North" to find out just what I mean by "meticulous pop-folk.")


Well, now that yet another difficult winter seems to be finally giving way to spring (knocks on every piece of wood in apartment), I thought I'd beginning working my way through the Rogue Valley collection by listening to Crater Lake, the album they created for spring.  Much to my surprise, when I went to Rogue Valley's Bandcamp page, I found that each of these four albums is available as a "Pay What You Want" download.  As such, I intend to spend the first week of each season (roughly) with each of these four albums.  Rogue Valley is going to have a pretty dominant 2014 here at Planet New Basset.

Album Of The Week: March 17th-23rd, 2014

My Album Of The Week for the week of March 17th-23rd, 2014:

The Miami Dolphins - Capri Sun

01. Pink Bird
02. Minted Slime
03. Hissing Priss
04. Doodler
05. Dominion
06. Venice Beach Widowed
07. Chaste

The Miami Dolphins are one of those bands that have been living around the periphery of my awareness for a while now.  For reasons I'm not totally sure of I haven't checked them out until now.

On its first few spins, Capri Sun seems to be a charmingly ramshackle punk album.  If you're going to put out a record that jams 7 songs into a mere 9 minutes, there's really only two ways to go: be super tight or super energetic (or, I suppose, both).  Unlike last week's AOTW, Cave (which built its sound on a lock-step rhythm), The Miami Dolphins build their sound on pure energy.  Yes, it's sloppy, but that's kind of the point.  I'd be shocked to learn that any of these songs was given a second take in the studio.

Capri Sun (which my Minnesotan accent pronounces as "Caaapri Sun") should be an entertaining listen over the course of the week.  It's been my experience over the years that albums like this tend to reveal their borders & base ideas with repeated listens.  Right now, it sounds like a 9 minute song with several tempo changes and not much else.  Come Sunday I'm sure the hooks will be rattling around in my head.

This record came out back in the summer of 2012.  The band is set to release a new album this summer, so swing by their Bandcamp page to get caught up on the story so far.