Best Songs of 2012: Metz - "Headache"

It may be a year late, but hard rock has returned to indie in 2012. Metz is partially responsible. Their debut doesn't deal much in variation, but this throwback to 90's era rock and post-hardcore contains a few excellently crafted tracks, none of which can top the opener. "Headache" begins with a tom-driven beat before barreling down on you with crashing symbols and a monster guitar riff. Alex Edkins' vocals, which hearken to Ian Curtis, are perfectly complementary, and the production execution is spot on. Metz might be a bit too one note as a whole, but damn if these dudes haven't re-energized my love for simple, potent guitar riffage. 

Best Songs of 2012 Introduction

It’s that time of the year again, that time when all of us “pasty white dudes” begin typing our year end “best of” lists. Boy have these lists become divisive. I wonder if it’s because those who criticize them are growing older and more cynical of the music industry. Or maybe the music industry really has changed for the worst and these lists have become less about content and more about whoring your blog out for year end pageviews. Is it that the internet has become so convoluted with dudes like myself, who compile year end lists on dime a dozen music blogs, that most of them are meaningless? It’s probably all of those things. It’s probably, just as we music nerds enjoy criticizing the larger publications’ year end lists, the more sardonic pop culture enthusiasts enjoy criticizing the practice itself. But I love this time of year; I can’t wait to read Pitchfork’s and Stereogum’s and Fantano’s and Lewis’s lists for the content, and even NME’s and Rolling Stone’s and Spin’s for the funnies. More than anything though, I love making my own list. Collecting all of my favorite songs and sharing them is not only fun, but it keeps me actively engaged with current music. I don’t want to become my parents just yet, talking about how the last great album was Physical Graffiti. It’ll probably happen someday, but that day does not reside in 2012.

So, thanks for sticking with me. Tomorrow I will begin posting my 25 favorite songs of 2012. As opposed to compiling one entire list of songs, I’ll use tumblr’s format to my advantage and post a song or two a day. I hope you enjoy.

Get acclimated with my 2011 list.

The Antlers - Hospice

Release Date: August 18, 2009

Heavy on atmosphere and light on hooks, The Antlers’ Hospice was a critical darling in 2009 due to its aspirations and execution, but it lacks replay value. A sort of concept album based around the relationship between a hospice worker and terminally ill female patient, the ambition Peter Silberman writes with is admirable, but is this a topic that needed to be expressed in the format of a record? Songs like “Two” and “Bear” are lively enough to revisit, but overall Hospice too often feels claustrophobic and monotonous. To match the concept of the lyricism the tone is no doubt calculated, and no one can fault The Antlers on execution. Nursery rhyme-like synths dominate the songwriting, things build slowly, textures are added subtly, percussion is minimal, and Silberman’s croon is soft enough for perfect bedside manner. There is some debate as to how autobiographical and how fictional Hospice is, and this not only helped to add to the record's intrigue but also gave The Antlers an added amount of helpful publicity. But regardless of fact or fiction, dealing with the death of loved ones is one of the toughest things any of us has to go through. The Antlers should be applauded for providing a voice to those who might be going through the same thing. The thing is, I already went through the death of a loved one and I know I’ll go through it again; so do I need a record to act as a perpetual reminder?

Related Artwork: Here

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion

Release Date: January 6, 2009

★★★★★ Tracks:
My Girls
Daily Routine

2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion was a landmark record; its sound epitomizing the new decade’s acceleration towards rock and pop’s reliance on digital production. It’s also often been compared with the Beach Boy’s masterpiece, Pet Sounds, in its composure; a mix of pop, psychedelia and the use of latest sound production technologies, its ambition and its perceived responsibility in shifting the musical landscape. There are striking similarities in the lyrical content; how, in an age where American culture was shifting rapidly (with Pet Sounds paralleling the youth movement of the ‘60s, and MPP paralleling social media’s ascension in the new millenium), the Beach Boys and Animal Collective focused less on the cultural phenomena of the time, and more on the simple, timeless things in life like the pursuit of happiness and love, almost as if intentionally rejecting these pushes toward the future on the surface, with lyricism, while embracing them beneath, with instrumentation. AC no doubt intended on these similarities, and why not try and replicate a modern day version of one of the greatest records ever made? Most agree they succeeded; Merriweather Post Pavillion is one of the most universally acclaimed records of the past thirty years. So as a self-proclaimed music nerd it lends to the question I ask myself whenever I play MPP: why don’t I feel the same way?

But before I get to that let’s talk about the positives. The first single to be released, “My Girls,” is unquestionably one of the new millenium’s pivotal tracks. Panda Bear and Avey Tare sing of how they strive only to better the lives of their families while foregoing “material things” and “social stats.” Either culturally genius or circumstantially fortuitous (or both), Animal Collective nailed the symptoms of the upcoming years. “Summertime Clothes,” is the best example of their seamless explorations into electro-psychedelia, grounded by the simple, excellently delivered line, “I want to walk around with you.” “Daily Routine” combines a schizy blend of beats and synths before culminating into a gorgeous mix of dreamy samples and vocals. “In the Flowers” and “Also Frightened” are also solid. All of these highlights reside on the first half of the record, marking an admittedly strong half but giving way to a Side B of largely filler. I also think the accessibility of Animal Collective’s music here, even at their most straightforward, is overstated; it can often feel muddled, claustrophobic and, dare I say, a bit pretentious. But before I offend anyone (if anyone has read this far), perhaps I should admit that I prefer my rock and pop to contain guitars; some non-digital, organic instrumentation, and I always will. Being a skilled if unsuccessful guitarist (humblebrag?) for many years, my natural reaction has been to resist electronic music-- most likely some narcissistic survival instinct. And however much I might have become more open-minded to it over the years, I prefer a more accessible brand of electronic music than what MPP provides. The thing is though, as a fan of all music and its place in history I’d be ignorant to suggest this record isn’t of significance, or that I didn’t admire its ambition; some records are made to change the musical landscape, and it’s up to us to decide whether we want to go along for the ride or get left behind.

Related Artwork: Here

Related Audio: Here

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

Release Date: February 26, 2002

★★★★★ Tracks:
Imitosis
Armchairs
Simple X
Cataracts
Spare-Ohs

As far as solo musicians go, there isn’t a current artist more inspiring than Andrew Bird. With his use of a violin, guitar, array of pedals, voice, whistle and computer mechanisms, he is a one-man band. His shows become epic sweeps of technical skill and song experimentation; he is unafraid of the slow build, adding extra layers and loops, warping the components of the original recordings to make each song uniquely different for each performance. For the past few years he has brung Martin Dosh along, multi-talented percussionist and programmer, who adds a heartbeat to Bird’s cerebral, live performances. My introduction to Bird was 2007’s Armchair Apocrypha. It’s an undeniably confident sounding record, full of inventive lyricism and unorthodox songwriting. And Bird’s signature whistling, which I’ve heard some declare a nuisance, is so honed and refined, it helps to further distance himself from his counterparts.

The first half of Armchair Apocrypha is the poppiest group of songs Bird has ever written, and that easy accessibility helped to turn me on to his more challenging work. “Fiery Crash,” a fast-tempo track layered around a soft electric guitar sounds like more an outro than an intro. “Imitosis” is eccentric, reminding me of a more cerebral-sounding Beck, and reading the lyrics and/or watching the video for “Imitosis” further projects the image:

Why do they congregate in groups of four
Scatter like a billion spores and let the wind just carry them away?
How can kids be so mean?
Our famous doctor tried to glean as he went home at the end of the day

Some complain Bird is borderline nonsensical in his quest at sounding highbrow, but he has some absolute lyrical gems on tracks like “Armchairs” (time is a crooked bow), “Plasticities” (think life is too long / to be a whale in a cubicle / nails under your cuticles) and “Darkmatter” (do you wonder where the self resides / is it in the head or between your sides).

As good as the more inviting first half of Armchair Apocrypha is, it’s the middle and later portion of the record where Andrew Bird is at his finest. The seven-minute long “Armchairs” is a refrained masterpiece, ambient strings and violins introduce a slow piano as it builds into an explosive culmination where Bird sings those lines, “time is a crooked bow.” The excellent “Simple X” is the only song co-written by Dosh, it’s skittery percussion driven rhythm an outlier to most of Bird’s other material. On “Cataracs” and “Spare-Ohs,” Haley Bonar’s twangy backing vocals beautifully contrast Bird’s soft voice, marking the best portions of both songs. And then there’s “Scythian Empires,” a song where Bird, who’s a classically trained violinist and whistler but self-taught guitarist, shows how naturally all instruments come to him with an incredible display of finger-picking. The thing is, Armchair Apocrypha isn’t even his best album. The Mysterious Production of Eggs is up next.

Related Artwork: Here

Related Audio: Here

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...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes

Release Date: February 26, 2002

★★★★★ Tracks:
It Was There That I Saw You
Another Morning Stoner
How Near, How Far
Relative Ways
Source Tags & Codes


It’s probably been about ten years since I first heard ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. They were the musical guests on Conan’s show some time ago. A much simpler time; back when I was still in college and Conan still hosted good musical acts... But I digress. Singer, Conrad Keely, doesn’t have the strongest of voices, but the energy Trail of Dead played “Relative Ways” with was so infectious I drove over to Vinyl Fever (RIP) the very next day to pick up a copy of their new and critically acclaimed album, Source Tags and Codes. It did not disappoint.



After the introductory instrumental, the first full song, “It Was There That I Saw You,” could be seen as Trail of Dead’s mission statement, an extraordinary blend of 70’s glam, post-hardocre and those excellent quiet/loud dynamics established during the 90’s; the pinnacle of the track comes during the instrumental passage about halfway through, where Conrad Keely and Jason Reece dual it out with guitar arpeggios, trading punch for punch before chaos erupts. “Another Morning Stoner,” the highlight of the album, almost solely relies on those guitar arpeggios from start to end, which allows the drums and bass to not only carry the melody, but the shift in dynamics from soft to loud. On the late 90’s screamo-sounding “Homage,” Keely displays how effortlessly he can go from quiet croon to guttural howl. “How Near, How Far” foregoes the standard 4/4 for a near constant snare-fill beat, driving the song momentously to a signature instrumental interlude before chaos ensues. Curtain call and title track “Source Tags and Codes” is the album’s softest entry; the distorted guitar picking melodies give it an undercurrent of gloomy discord, and the minute-long strings outro mimicking “How Near, How Far” cap off a damn near flawless hard-rock record.

American Football - S/T

Release Date: September 14, 1999

★★★★★ Tracks:
Never Meant
Honestly?


When Cap’n Jazz broke up each member began a new project that furthered the spread of 2nd-wave emo. Of those spin-offs, the instrumental outfit Ghosts + Vodka was created by guitarists Victor Villareal and Sam Zurick, The Promise Ring, created by Davey von Bohlen was the poppiest and most successful of the spin-offs, Joan of Arc, created by Cap’n Jazz frontman Tim Kinsella, the most pretentious and avant-garde, and American Football, created by drummer and brother to Tim, Mike Kinsella, has the sound that most closely resembles late 90’s/early 00’s emo. Not quite as eccentric, Mike enjoys and excels at writing luscious guitar melodies (further evidenced by his later solo spin-off project, Owen), and as the drummer in Cap’n Jazz, Mike shows how multi-instrumentally talented he is by combining those intricate guitars with math rock time signatures. This might sound a bit pretentious, but I’d say good musicians simply enjoy the challenge of writing complex material. And the hooks are still hooks. The opening track on American Football’s self-titled album is its best; “Never Meant” builds upon some technically savvy hammer-on and finger-slide electric guitar picking with oddly syncopated drums and Mike’s signature soft tenor, drummer Steve Lamos speeds it to half-time for good measure halfway through. Through the opening four minutes of the album you can hear the makings of 100s of emo bands to follow. “The Summer Ends” follows with a long instrumental interlude before Mike comes back in with youthful love and the insecurities that always come with it. Then comes “Honestly?” with the album’s best lyrics:

Honestly I can’t remember
All my teenage feelings
And the meanings
They seemed too see-through
To be true

A long instrumental passage follows after the second verse, closing out the other strong highlight on American Football. Kinsella and Co. were highly influential to a lot of music most people never listened to, this is true. But other than the two highlights listed above, I rarely find myself revisiting American Football’s only full-length; I’m a pop fan by nature, and my inclination keeps me fully entrenched in Davey von Bohlen’s camp. His interpretation of this underappreciated genre with The Promise Ring is the paragon of the Cap’n Jazz spin-offs, Cap’n Jazz included, actually.