Flatbasset Radio's 50 Most Played Albums: February '15

Well hello again, everybody.  The cold and sadness of February is behind us and I think we all made it out unscathed.  At least I hope we did.  Maybe you didn't.  If you were on the fence about making it, perhaps it was because you thought to yourself, "Self, life's terrible.  It's cold outside, it's dark so early, my girlfriend left me on Valentine's Day, and my cat refuses to acknowledge me unless he's hungry.  However, I have to press through because I'm just hellbent on finding out what albums Droogsy's been listening to while he traverses the darkest days of winter."

First off, if you did actually have these thoughts, you have issues.  Real, serious issues and I would absolutely advise you to seek professional help or, failing that, unprofessional help.  Second, things are looking up, because it's time to recap Flatbasset Radio's 50 Most Played Albums of February 2015.

As always, one "play" equals one listen to one song, meaning an album with 10 tracks counts as 10 plays.  Let's get to it.

(Larger pictures indicate more plays)

01. Freez & Mike Frey - Freez's Frozen French Frys (105 plays)

02. Human Kindness - Not Apathetic (77 plays)

03. Hotelecaster - Farther Fewer (48 plays)

04. The Flagrants - The Flagrants (40 plays)

05. Descendents - Milo Goes To College (30 plays)

06. Rupert AngelEyes - Young Sunset (29 plays)

07. Steely Dan - The Royal Scam (25 plays)

08. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (23 plays)

09. Kanye West - Late Registration (21 plays)

10. Electric Light Orchestra - All Over The World: The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra (20 plays)

11. Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam (20 plays)

12. Rancid - ...And Out Come The Wolves (19 plays)

13. Steel Tipped Dove - Centuries Long Sigh (19 plays)

14. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (18 plays)

15. X - The Houston Museum Of Natural Science (18 plays)

16. Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Mangers (16 plays)

17. The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow (16 plays)

18. The Band - Northern Lights-Southern Cross (16 plays)

19. The Mr. T Experience - Revenge Is Sweet And So Are You (16 plays)

20. Local H - Ham Fisted (15 plays)

21. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate (15 plays)

22. Goodbye Harry - I Can Smoke (15 plays)

23. Citroën - /Signal (15 plays)

24. The Streets - Original Pirate Material (14 plays)

25. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (14 plays)

26. The Hi-Fives - Get Down! (14 plays)

27. Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire And Knives (14 plays)

28. The Cribs - In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull (14 plays)

29. Death Grips - Fashion Week (14 plays)

30. Oasis - The Masterplan (14 plays)

31. Pulp - We Love Life (13 plays)

32. Beck - Guero (13 plays)

33. Weezer - The Lion And The Witch (13 plays)

34. These Arms Are Snakes - Easter (13 plays)

35. Rizzle Kicks - Stereo Typical (13 plays)

36. Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis (13 plays)

37. Sparta - Wiretap Scars (12 plays)

38. Morrissey - Viva Hate (12 plays)

39. Armchair Martian - Who Wants To Play Bass? (12 plays)

40. Piebald - We Are The Only Friends We Have (12 plays)

41. Jets To Brazil - Orange Rhyming Dictionary (11 plays)

42. Hüsker Dü - Flip Your Wig (11 plays)

43. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive (11 plays)

44. Lightning Seeds - Dizzy Heights (11 plays)

45. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town (10 plays)

46. The Smiths - Meat Is Murder (10 plays)

47. The Go-Betweens - The Friends Of Rachel Worth (10 plays)

48. Tim Armstrong - A Poet's Life (10 plays)

49. Sugar - Copper Blue (10 plays)

50. Manny Phesto - Live On Radio K (2015) (10 plays)

Information via my Last.fm account
Photo via Don't Drink And Root

Album Of The Week: "Farther Fewer" by Hotelecaster

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

Hotelecaster - Farther Fewer

01. Distaster
02. Caravan
03. Walk Away
04. Farther Fewer
05. There Was A Fight Last Night
06. I Will Wait

St. Paul's been on a winning streak over the past few years.  Whether it's up-and-coming indie bands like Panther Ray and The Person & The People, power-pop legends-in-the-making The Persian Leaps, or the sustained excellence of Martin Devaney's country-tinged albums, St. Paul has become the go-to side of the river for thoughtful, catchy rock n roll music.  Even though principle songwriters Kevin Scott & Charlie Ward formed Hotelecaster in Minneapolis, they've known each other since growing up in St. Paul. Given that track record, my expectations for Farther Fewer were high.

For the most part, Farther Fewer lives up to those standards.  The songs here are catchy, smart, and mostly fall in line with what you would expect from a group consisting of established musicians.  Scott & Ward have been playing in various groups around the Twin Cities for years and, though I'd have to see the liner notes to know who wrote which songs here, it certainly seems like their are dueling ideas at work here.

Opener "Distaster" is a slow-burning track that never ebbs & flows, but never really climaxes.  Follow up "Caravan" wouldn't have been out of place on Utopia Parkway (though I may be a bit biased here as A) I love Fountains Of Wayne & anything that reminds me of Fountains Of Wayne and B) my first car was a 1989 Caravan).  It's a gem of a song that captures the big goals of youth & the anti-climax of sort of achieving those goals.  "Walk Away" combines the first two tracks, keeping the tempo & the hooks of "Caravan," but heading back to the vague lyrics of "Distaster."



The real highlight of the EP is the title track.  For a record written by two guitarists, it's mildly surprising that they wait until half way through the record to really let the guitars speak, but that patience pays off when "Farther Fewer" really lets go.  The song seemingly hangs by the threads of negative space & Kevin Scott's falsetto until the big guns are called in during the chorus.  "Your waning moon is my north star, the lights up ahead getting farther, fewer..." Scott laments as those guitars come crashing in.  It's an impressively epic moment that doubles as the EP's peak.



The band returns to their poppier side (with a healthy dash of Craig Finn-ish-ness) on "There Was A Fight Last Night" before delving deep into those guitars on epic closer "I Will Wait."

Farther Fewer definitely stands as an intriguing debut for Hotelecaster.  It's certainly the work of a band still working out their sound, attempting to find the balance between instant gratification hooks & more complicated (though potentially more rewarding) wide-screen ideas.  Give those two songs I posted above a listen for an example of just what I mean.

For a band consisting of members of other bands, I have no idea if Hotelecaster is going to be a long-term concern or if Farther Fewer was a one-off to try out some ideas, but they've definitely planted the seeds of something larger here.  I highly suggest you head over to their Bandcamp page and pick up a copy of Farther Fewer.  Wherever this band is going, it'll definitely be more rewarding if you get in on the ground floor.