This spring has been an amazing time for music, and for good music at that. September of 2009 was an amazing time with the release of "I and Love and You" by The Avett Brothers, as well as the self titled album by the super group Monsters of Folk. I had the pleasure of seeing both of these bands shortly after these album releases, and the live performances exceeded the already top notch studio albums. With Connor Oberst, Jim James, and M. Ward all on the stage at one time, it's hard to imagine anything short of exceptional. The album was a great democratic variety of a very extended genre of music with all musicians contributing equally, combining for an extremely long album that seems short because every song is so great. As far as The Avett Brothers' new album, they took a stylistic change that hit me as slightly more commercial, it is nonetheless an amazing piece of art with great songs. My only complaint is that I hope their next album will be more bluegrass-ish tunes that they can improve on more in concert. This came as no surprise as it was their first major label record with Columbia records, and often times these record labels are able to squeeze out anything they want to hear from these artists.
Later, in October of 2009, Lil Wayne came out with his mix tape entitled "No Ceilings" which permanently converted me to a fan of Young Weezey. He borrows beats from other people, and successfully makes every track off the record better than the original. This may be biased, because I do not listen to modern rap unless it comes from Wayne or Jay-z, and even Jay is becoming soft these days, but who wouldn't be soft and happy if they had Jay-z's success and were married to Beyonce. Wayne is an extremely smart individual who has used his knowledge and courage to rise to the top of the rap game. Be on the lookout for Tha Carter IV when Wayne is released from prison, where he is now due to illegal possession of a fire arm.
Arguably my favorite release that I have or will talk about today came from Vampire Weekend. "Contra", their sophomore album, shows the maturity of a band that was already very accepted and praised by the underground scene of people who appreciate good music. While their debut was very good, it was all very fast, happy, and child like. On "Contra", they challenge the new listener from the first track entitled "Horchata" which is very slow, dragged out, but beautiful. The rest of the album is a roller coaster ride of tight, fast, and beautiful electronic beats, with slow and beautiful tunes mixed in. Overall, this is one of my favorite albums that has come out in a very long time.
February was a great month with the discovery of 2 new bands, or at least new to me. Local Natives, who I'm proud to say I will be seeing at Bonnarooo this summer, came out with their debut album entitled "Gorilla Manor", which immediately made me a fan of the band. Their beautiful harmony and relaxed approach is timeless, and I am feening for more music from this band. The second band I discovered was the band called Yeasayer. Their sophomore album entitled "Odd Blood" was a very great, upbeat, and positive album which is bound to pick anyone who enjoys good music up on a day when they are down.
March was a great month with the release of a fabulous album, as well as the best documentary I have ever seen to this day. The album came from a new project from Shins front man James Mercer who teamed up with producer Danger Mouse. The album was very deep lyrically, which is expected from Mercer, and acoustic guitar that would sound familiar to Shins fans, but included a lot of keyboard and electronic beats. Overall the album was great, and still grows on me every time I listen to it. The documentary came from the White Stripes. I have owned this DVD for one week and have watched it well over 10 times. It presents an side of the White Stripes that has been seen by no one up to this point. I will say nothing more than it should be mandatory for every human to watch this DVD at some point in their life. The box set also comes with an album that is a collection of live performances from the band. The album is good, but is much better after being put into context by watching the DVD.
I have managed to get a hold of two leaked albums that were to be released in April. MGMT's new album (which still hasn't come out yet..shhhh) surprised many with a completely new and much less convenient style of music. I thoroughly enjoy the new album because much like Vampire weekend's album, it challenges the listener to look further into the music than they ever thought of doing with songs like "Kids" or "Time To Pretend." Dr. Dog's new album called "Shame, Shame" amazing and it is no surprise coming from such an amazing band. I would suggest this record to anyone, there's bound to be a song on it for you.
Be on the lookout for the following:
Willie Nelson - Country Music - 4/20/10
The National - High Violet - 5/11/10
The Black Keys - Brothers - 5/8/10
Nas and Damien Marley - Distant Relatives - 5/2010
Band of Horses - Infinite Arms - 5/2010
Jack Johnson - To The Sea - 6/1/10
Blitzen Trapper - Title TBD - 6/8/10
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