Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Self – Subliminal Plastic Motives

This is the most 90′s album ever, in a good way. If there was any justice in this world, Self should have been as big as Weezer.

Enjoy:

If you have problems listening to this playlist, you can also do so here. In case you don’t know, Imeem is free and if you start an account with them you’ll be able to listen to the entire album.

See Also: ATYSOBPDAITCYSW: The Label!

Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Jeremy Enigk – Return Of The Frog Queen

The whole purpose of the Albums That You Should Own series is to highlight lesser-known records that might not be a part of your music collection, but I gotta say, the selection process isn’t exactly scientific on my end, it involves making some assumptions. In the case of Jeremy Enigk’s Return of the Frog Queen, I have to assume that you already own several indispensable Sunny Day Real Estate albums such as Diary, LP2 and How It Feels To Be Something On.

And if you don’t, then by all means, familiarize yourself with those gems before delving into Jeremy Enigk’s solo work. But if you already own those albums and are ready to start digging a little deeper, you can’t do better than by starting with Return of the Frog Queen.

This 1996 album was written and recorded after Sunny Day disbanded for the first time in ’95 (they subsequently reunited in ’97, disbanded again in ’00, and are rumored to be reuniting again this year.) It was quite a departure from Enigk’s previous work, mostly due to its orchestral arrangements and largely acoustic setting; miles away from Sunny Day’s often bombastic guitar and drum-based rock (or emo, before it became a four-lettered word.)

The nonpareil beauty of Enigk’s voice is front and center on all these songs as it is accompanied for the first time by a variety of melodical elements such as mellow violins, cellos and violas, resonant glockenspiels, and mellifluos woodwinds and brass. Stylistically, it’s not too far from Syd Barrett’s solo work (albeit without the insanity) mixed with some grandiose chamber pop. However, the structure of the songs is not entirely removed from the Sunny Day Real Estate songbook, especially on “Carnival” and “Shade and the Black Hat”. The title track and “Explain” are definite highlights of the album for me.

Enjoy:

See Also: ATYSOBPDAITCYSW: The Label!

Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Arlo – Up High In The Night

Note to bands who are out to impress me: loud, fuzzy guitars and strong vocal melodies are surefire ways to get me to like your album. And in that respect, Arlo’s 2001 debut for Sub Pop, Up High In The Night, does a real crummy job at getting me to hate the Los Angeles-based band. 

How could anyone hate this record? It’s chock-full of infectious tunes, heavy on lyrical consonance while still packing a mean, power-pop punch. “Nerf Bear Bonanza” and “Shutterbug” are akin to the Ramones at their best—sugary, yet tough. “Sitting On The Aces” and “Lucid” pay homage to Seattle’s early 90′s grunge, à la Mudhoney or Screaming Trees, while “Oh Yeah” and “Elena” will have you swaying your lighters in the air.  

Best of all, Up High In The Night (don’t say it too fast, or people will think you’re saying “A Pie In The Night”) is a great driving record, especially during warmer months that allow for rolled-down windows and cranked-up stereos. 

Inhibited back-seat singers need not apply.

Enjoy:

See Also: ATYSOBPDAITCYSW: The Label!

Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Wheat – Hope And Adams

It’s time to sing the praises of Wheat’s 1999 album, Hope And Adams, since last week it was re-released as part of a 3-disc set (which also includes their first album, Medeiros, and a compilation of rarities called 30 Minute Theatrik.)

I bought Hope And Adams back in 2001, probably at Grimey’s (back then it would have been in the cramped Bransford Ave. location around 100 Oaks Mall) and if I remember correctly, I purchased it solely based on its packaging. The three-fold digipack, printed on paper with a homemade recycled feel to it, really appealed to me. As a nice little bonus, the music inside also fit my aesthetic quite nicely.

For one, the Dave Fridmann production on Hope And Adams is stellar. The spare drumming and drone-y background sounds (hums, buzzes, various feedback) help cut into the sweet melodies, so it comes off more like an indie-pop album rather than sounding like a Marcy Playground outing (did I really just make a Marcy Playground reference?! I’m as shocked as you are that I even remember them…)

There’s not a bad song in the bunch: “This Wheat”, the instrumental track that opens the album channels a relaxed Mogwai (whose Come On Die Young album had just been produced by Fridmann); “Raised Ranch Revolution” and “Body Talk (Part 1)” could have been hits had they been released a few years earlier; “Body Talk (Part 2)” pays tribute to Paul Simon’s “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard” by lifting and slowing down the titular melody; “Don’t I Hold You” was featured prominently in Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown; and finally, “More Than You’ll Ever Know” does avant-garde, buzzed-out noise pop better than a stack of Pitchfork-approved Animal Collective albums.

All in all, Hope And Adams is a rewarding listening experience that I’ve revisited time and time again.

Enjoy:

See Also: ATYSOBPDAITCYSW: The Label!

Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Ugly Casanova – Sharpen Your Teeth

Let me start by saying that Ugly Casanova’s Sharpen Your Teeth is basically a Modest Mouse record. The fact that Isaac Brock works with a new set of back-up players (members of Califone, Red Red Meat, The Black Heart Procession and Holopaw) makes little sonic difference in the end. Yes, the songs are a bit more stripped down and experimental and there’s less electric guitars clanking away, but the sound itself is inherent of Brock.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Actually, it’s quite the contrary. Isaac Brock has unmistakable idiosyncrasies, both vocally and to his instrumental approach, and that very distinction is the mark of an original artist. He can’t help but sound, well, like himself.

However, what makes this record perhaps more intriguing than your average Modest Mouse outing is the juxtaposition of Brock’s eccentric vocal mannerisms with John Orth’s restrained and smooth whispers. The Holopaw singer contributes his vocals to four songs, including some of the highlights, “Barnacles”, “Spilled Milk Factory”, “Cat Faces” and “Hotcha Girls”. The ladder being my favorite track off of Sharpen Your Teeth. It’s lyrics are simultaneously gorgeous and austere, devastating and therapeutic; effortlessly disentangling complex subject matters with simple sentiments.

Other tracks, like “Pacifico”, foreshadow the work of bands like Mugison and Man Man while paying ample respect to the prominent Brock influence — the immortally relevant godfather of musical beatnikism, Tom Waits. “Barnacles” and “Things I Don’t Remember” could have fit in comfortably on The Moon & Antarctica (understandingly so, since they date to about the same time.) “Cat Faces” is stunning despite its simplicity of arrangement and execution. Sharpen Your Teeth‘s only misstep (a small one, at that) is “Ice On The Sheets” which is a bit musically monotonous and at times, even vocally obnoxious. But overall, the album is really enjoyable.

This album reminds me, like so many others, of working nights by myself at the record store. In between the infrequent drizzling in of customers, I would step out to smoke cigarettes, propping the door open and cranking the stereo loud so that I could hear the music outside. In the summer, the humid Nashville air weighed down every puff and drag of smoke, making each subsequent sighing exhale that much more relieving.

I hope you find it just as enjoyable:

See Also: ATYSOBPDAITCYSW: The Label!

Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Q And Not U – No Kill No Beep Beep

Q And Not U is my second-favorite band on Dischord Records (the first one being a band whose name starts with an “F” and ends in “ugazi”.) But don’t let that sour your milk –the boys in Q And Not U made a mark all their own on the post-hardcore punk scene.

Their 2000 debut, No Kill No Beep Beep (produced and engineered by Fugazi’s own Ian MacKaye and Inner Ear Studio owner Don Zientara), saw much action back in my days behind the record store counter and there’s no reason it can’t be your soundtrack to enliven otherwise mindless and menial tasks.

From their inception, Q And Not U had the reputation of getting notoriously stiff indie rockers to loosen up and get down with more upbeat and danceable numbers than their Dischord brethren. Their use of rapid rhythms and catchy singsong lyrics got the crowds moving from their usual shoegazing stance to freaking-the-fuck-out mode in mere seconds.

They also routinely used hand claps in their songs, and fuck if I know a better way to get people moving than hand claps (save a cowbell, perhaps.)

All the songs on No Kill are laudable. “Line In The Sand” stutter steps to a rousing coda, “Hooray For Humans” is pure unbridled energy, “Kiss Distinctly American” is sublime with all its Slint-y goodness, and the main guitar riff in “The More I Get The More I Want” thoroughly suits its title.

Q And Not U followed No Kill No Beep Beep with two equally as engaging albums, 2002′s Different Damage and 2004′s Power before finally breaking up in 2005. Their catalog is perennially in my rotation.

Enjoy:

See Also: ATYSOBPDAITCYSW: The Label!

Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Walking Concert – Run To Be Born

Everything that Walter Schreifels touches turns to gold. He’s been in more successful and influential bands than any musician could ever hope to be in.

In the 1980′s he was in two seminal New York hardcore bands, Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits; in the 90′s the all-star post-hardcore unit Quicksand; and since the start of the new millennium, two rousing rock bands, Rival Schools and Walking Concert. Along the way, he also managed to produce one of Hot Water Music’s best record, No Division, and release it on his own record label, Some Records.

The guy has quite the body of work behind him.

And while most of his accomplishments have been universally lauded, his outing as Walking Concert, 2004′s Run To Be Born, was largely overlooked.

It’s too bad, because Run To Be Born displayed Schreifels’ keen and mature songwriting skills more so than anything he had done before. Wanting to pay tribute to the sounds of his youth (the Kinks, Bowie, T.Rex’s Marc Bolan), he loaded this record with huge hooks and stretched his vocals to new dynamic levels. Songs like “What’s Your New Thing?” and “But You Know…It’s True” are sure to stick in your head right from the first listen while “Girls In The Field” and “A Lot To Expect” drip melancholic goodness.

It’s one of those records that I can’t ever see getting sick of and that I appreciate more and more with each new listen. Good stuff.

Listen up:

See Also: ATYSOBPDAITCYSW: Superdrag’s Regretfully Yours & Centro-Matic’s Distance And Clime.

Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Centro-Matic – Distance And Clime

I came across Centro-Matic’s Distance And Clime like so many records before it and since– through my friend Barrett. When I worked at the record shop, Barrett came in almost every single day to hang out, sell records and occasionally buy something. His passion and knowledge for music was only matched by his disposition for being broke, so my record collection benefited greatly from his frequent used CD sales.

I came to appreciate Distance And Clime even more when Barrett and I went to see Centro-Matic at 12th & Porter in February of 2004. It’s definitely their best record. Songs like “The Connection Is Not So Civilized” and “To Unleash The Horses Now”quickly made their way to several mix tapes (all right, mix cds, but that just doesn’t sound as good) and subsequent iTunes playlists.

Listen for yourself:

See also: ATYSOBPDAITCYSW: Superdrag – Regretfully Yours

Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will)

Let me introduce you to a new feature on Bazookaluca: Albums That You Should Own, But Perhaps Don’t (And In That Case, You Soon Will). Or ATYSOBPDAITCYSW, you know, for short.

The title is pretty self-explanatory (if not long-winded and moronic) and there’s really no science to picking the albums that will be featured –just old records I come across from time to time that I think you might like. And rather than giving you my analysis for why you should own these albums, I’ll just try to let the music speak for itself.

So let’s unwrap this puppy before it suffocates:

Superdrag – Regretfully Yours

Stay tuned for more random picks from my ears to yours…