low times

School of Seven Bells have a new album out soon.

You can stream it at The Hype Machine if you wish.

It's the worst kind of bad - it's (to be kind) boring.

Thanks for two amazing records guys, but I am out.

:(

the 12 releases that make up my 2010 top 10

Nothing's ever simple, right? Anyways, the following are the twelve releases that make up my 10 favorite albums of 2010:


Honorable Mention: Ash - The A-Z Series
Key tracks: "Arcadia", "Space Shot", "Instinct", "Binary", "There Is Hope Again"
Ash has always been a singles band at heart, so for them to attempt 26 singles over 52 weeks made sense. Obviously it didn't turn out as perfect as it sounded - the quality expectedly dropped off a bit in the back half of the project and not every track was really single-worthy - but that they could carry it through to the conclusion AND get such a relatively high success rate made the entire thing worthwhile. Plus, it was super fun getting a new Ash "single" every other Sunday.


Honorable Mention: Alphabeat - The Beat Is...
Key tracks: "The Beat Is", "DJ", "The Spell"
Released at the end of 2009 as 'The Spell' in native Denmark, Alphabeat's dance-pop-tastic second album saw a delayed release in the UK in March with a name change, slight track order re-jig and obligatory bonus track. If the self-titled album was a throwback to 80's Europop then "The Beat Is..." has both feet firmly planted on the early 90's dance floor, taking inspiration from Snap!, C+C Music Factory, Technotronic and the like - "Always Up With You" even features the cheesy house piano at the intro. The revolution didn't quite take off as the album was a bit of a dud everywhere except its home country - and my iPod, obviously - but it was a worthy effort.


10: Prince - 20Ten
Key Tracks: "Laydown", "Compassion", "Lavaux"
Yes, really, a Prince album and - despite the terrible album art, stupid distribution and Prince's paranoid/insane ramblings that "the internet is over" - a really good one at that. His best album since...well, that's kind of pointless, but it is worth noting that it's his most solid album effort as a whole since he decided to stop fucking around with free jazz and instrumental improv and get back to business with 2003's 'Musicology'. The re-introduction of the Linn drum machine didn't hurt either - "Compassion" comes out of the gate sounding like a '1999' out-take and the album never lets up from there. It is hurt a bit without a "Black Sweat"-sized JAM - though "Lavaux" is essentially a "Mountains" rewrite for a mid-album high - but we've got his most thoroughly enjoyable album in quite some time.


09: James - The Night Before
Key tracks: "Mother's A Clown", "Crazy", "It's Hot"
The James revival carries on with a fantastic mini-album. Part of a two mini-album set - the second, "The Morning After", didn't quite reach the heights of this one - it is helped by its brevity as it doesn't run out of steam by going on too long like the otherwise excellent 'Hey Ma!' did. It's a bit annoying that the album's best track was only available as a low bit-rate download to purchasers of the album - I'm all for bonus tracks as downloads, but 128kpbs mp3s? Really? - and then didn't reappear on the US compilation of the two albums later in the year. (To be fair, the other bonus track only appeared on the iTunes version - as an album-only download, of course.) Formatting frustrations aside, another excellent addition to the James discography.

(The US totally got the better artwork:

Mirrorball Kitty Attack!)


08: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
Key tracks: "Round And Round", "Menopause Man", "Can't Hear My Eyes"
I wasn't familiar with Ariel Pink before a demo version of "Menopause Man" appeared on the 4AD Record Store Day 12", but I was instantly enthralled with the odd mix of hi-fi pop and lo-fi bedroom recording the track presented. Proper lead single "Round And Round" was another instant love, even with it's odd song structure and sound a little too close to 70's soft rock, and the album is a fascinating hodgepodge of genres thrown together that somehow manages to hold together as a cohesive whole.


07: The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
Key tracks: "Chicago Train", "And This Is What We Call Progress", "Albatross"
Shoegazing is alive and it lives in Montréal. OK, not really - the shoegazing tag gets thrown around so much these days that it's essentially useless - but this is one captivatingly beautiful record of woozy guitar noise and boy/girl vocals. I don't even remember how I was introduced to it - I saw the album sleeve image somewhere on line and was taken in by an absolutely glowing review - but I am very glad it has cast its spell on me. (On a side note - and nothing against the previous records on the list - but its a bit ridiculous that a record this great can only sit at the 7th spot on the list. 2010 was a gooooood year.)


06: Erykah Badu - New Amerykah: Part Two (The Return Of The Ankh)
Key tracks: "Window Seat", "Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)", "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long"
It didn't arrive on time - obviously - but it was well worth the wait. She couldn't make a record more extreme than '4th World War' so what was one to do? Go back to the past and make her warmest record since 'Baduizm', that's what, but mixed with the immediacy and at times uncomfortably personal feel of the first volume. A bit like her 'Lovesexy' to '4th World War''s 'Black Album' - oh, yes. (It even gets away with a Wings sample - WINGS!) Next time, please don't stay away so long.


05: Steve Mason - Boys Outside
Key tracks: "Understand My Heart", "Am I Just A Man", "Boys Outside"
I was never really a fan of The Beta Band and therefore certainly wasn't familiar with the following solo material under any number of monikers, but throw in a Richard X production credit and I am all ears. (Also, Joe knows what I like all too well.) The definition of a grower, Steve Mason's solo debut under his own name is one gorgeous, soul bearing singer/songwriter/downtempo-electro record. (Kind of. Right?) It's a bit front loaded with the more uptempo numbers - "Am I Just A Man" is straight-up Tears For Fears, or maybe that's just me - which makes the back half seem to sag a bit, but once it sinks in it's there for good. I am very excited for the dub record in the coming year. (Also, I know finances and everything were involved but I was massively disappointed that the North American acoustic tour was canceled. And don't get me started on how the singles were released/formatted/distributed - although big points for 4 singles off a record. The perfect example of how digital distribution has made collecting harder rather than more convenient, and for seemingly no reason at all.)


04: Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now
Key tracks: "Girl Panic!", "Being Followed", "Blame The Machines"
Yeah, it's been out for less than a month at this point so maybe this is excitement talking, but Duran Duran are back in a big way with this one. And not just any Duran Duran - because, let's be honest, they've been a number of different bands over the years. This is, as promised in the almost year-long lead up hype, a classic Duran Duran record to sit alongside the first three LPs, the alternate follow-up to 'Rio' that Mark Ronson promised. (Even if it does sound more like the alternate follow-up to 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger' to these ears, but I've always been partial to that one.) There's no doubt they're borrowing from the past here - closer "Before The Rain" does more than borrow from "The Chauffeur", "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" is a fleshed-out "Tel Aviv", "Being Followed" borrows the melody from the chorus of "Last Chance On The Stairway" and I wouldn't believe that "Girl Panic!" wasn't a lost 1981 Night Version if I didn't know any better. And so on and so on. The important thing, though - and what makes the record an absolute blast - is that the band sound like they're having fun. They know this is the record their fans wanted - and bless Ronson for getting that message through to them - and they sound more than happy to deliver. I can't wait for the tour.


03: These New Puritans - Hidden
Key tracks: "We Want War", "Attack Music", "White Chords"
This was unexpected. I was a big fan of 'Beat Pyramid' when it came out - and think it has gotten better over the years - but that album was in no way a preparation for this. While I won't say that this sounds like nothing else out there today as others have - because I'm sure that's not true - I will say that TNPS conviction to turning a pop record on its ear is the strongest I heard from any band this year. Because let's be honest, this is a pop record at heart - albeit it one orchestrated by children's choirs, full orchestras, brass ensembles and melons being crushed with sledgehammers to sound like heads being crushed, all anchored by a 7-minute lead single with a mind-warping video. Pretentious? Yes. But as a means to an end to creating an amazing album, there was - ahem - nothing else quite like it this year.
(Side note one: While the lead-up to the album was perfect - the single! the album mega-mix! they even chose the right second single! - they totally shot the campaign to hell afterward by making the absolute worst decision whenever possible. The "Attack Music" video looked like a Placebo single sleeve come to life - not pretty - and no physical single was weak. Then a bunch of shit MC remixes. Then an era-wrapping remix 10" - inappropriate format, really - that contained said shit MC remixes and a pair of remixes we already bought at least once while there were some decent ones waiting for a proper release. Who's in charge, here?
Side note two: Records 3, 2 and 1 are all pretty much tied and were pretty much the sound track to my 2010. You need them all.)


02: School of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire
Key tracks: "Heart Is Strange", "Dust Devil", "Camarilla"
Ahh, yes. The record that turned me into a 12-year-old in my anticipation. I can safely say that I haven't looked forward to a record as much in a very, very long time and it did not disappoint at all. It's really hard to talk about this record without gushing - why stop now? - but I think it's safe to say that this is as close to the pure School of Seven Bells vision as we're ever going to get, especially with Claudia leaving the band under mysterious circumstances earlier this year. Even a completely heart-breaking tour couldn't ruin it - though every time I listen to it, I can hear how it should have sounded live and it re-opens the wounds a little bit. If this is the end of the road then we ended with perfection.


01: Active Child - Curtis Lane EP
Key tracks: "I'm In Your Church At Night", "When Your Love Is Safe", "Wilderness"
Kind of cheating being a 6-track EP and all, but nothing got me as excited this year as discovering Active Child. (Thanks again, Joe.) The songs here all sound like they've been a part of me for years - they feel lived in and comforting, like climbing under a blanket to drift to sleep on a cold winter's day...and if that sounds like a bunch of overdramatic bullshit, then so be it, but that's how it is. I absolutely cannot wait to see what comes next.

So there it is - 2010 in record form. 2011, you have some mighty big shoes to fill.

you need this

School of Seven Bells broke my heart this weekend.

I'll go into this in more details later - once I can stop crying every time I think about it - but let's just say what was supposed to be the tour of the year/decade/lifetime has turned into FAR less. Boo.

However, there's still the matter of that split 7" with Active Child to contend with, and in that regard they pass with flying colors. If you haven't been paying attention, they're each taking a stab at the one of the others' singles - they're remixing his "I'm In Your Church At Night" and he's going all choral over "Heart Is Strange". Both remixes have now appeared in the internet-ether, and they are both as incredible as you might imagine. Each has basically transplanted their single onto the others - "I'm In Your Church At Night" is now a "Heart Is Strange"-esque club banger, and "Heart Is Strange" is now a gorgeous "I'm In Your Church At Night" chill-fest. (Watch for that coda - A-mazing.) You can grab an mp3 of the Active Child remix of "Heart Is Strange" at the Lefse Records site - where you can also pre-order the 7" for a very reasonable $7 - and the Walrus Music Blog (among others, I'm sure) as the School of Seven Bells remix of "I'm In Your Church At Night".

This almost makes up for the tour. Almost. (No offense to Active Child - you were amazing. Or SVIIB, for that matter. Part circumstance - get well soon, Claudia - and part poor decision making - lose the live drummer and find a new sound guy, and quick.)

this has the potential to be the best thing ever

Going back and forth on Facebook posts with Mr. Active Child himself, it has come to light that there is indeed a split 7" single in the works with himself and tour mates School of Seven Bells.

(Side note: best tour pairing ever.)

It will feature each artist remixing a track from the other. SVIIB are tackling 'Curtis Lane' highlight "I'm In Your Church At Night" - for which there is a new video in the works, I imagine using the original EP version - while forthcoming single and 'Disconnect From Desire' highlight "Heart Is Strange" is getting an Active Child overhaul.

I cannot think of a way this could be any better.

'Hidden', you have some competition

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, School of Seven Bells are streaming the whole of forthcoming album 'Disconnect From Desire' from their website.

Now, this may be the overexcited thirteen year old this album has turned me into talking, but holy shit amazing. My first impression is that it is as 'Alpinisms' but in its own way. The drum machines really stick out on this one - they sound so crisp and harsh [in a good way] and are wonderfully offset/complimented by the Deheza's harmonies, which are in top form throughout.

'Alpinisms' flaw was its flow - the run of "For Kalaja Mari" through "Sempiternal/Amaranth" [so the middle third] sound like they belong to another album. 'Disconnect From Desire' suffers no such issue - each song ebbs and flows into each other, creating a very cohesive whole. You could argue that the LP is a bit front-loaded with the "up" moments and the second half showcasing a more subdued side of the band, but it totally works. And Christ, the studio version of "Heart Is Strange"? Ri-dic-u-lous.

I see no reason why this won't be competing with These New Puritans' 'Hidden' for my LP of the year - and I certainly don't see anything on the horizon that has the potential to come close, especially with The Whip's LP not coming out until 2011. [Boo!]

begin the windstorm

First of all, holy crap it's June.

Secondly, this first day of June finds two highly anticipated releases for your listening pleasure.

Alphabetically leading the way is the debut EP proper from Active Child, available in the US on iTunes or as a limited colored 12". [It comes out via other digital retailers on July 1, but you really shouldn't wait.] I first posted about him a few months back when my friend Joe shared his track "I'm In Your Church At Night" with me and I fell in love. Since then, he's been slowly leaking out tracks to the internet and depending on how much you've been paying attention, there might only be one or two "new" tracks here for you. That said, it's nice to have the tracks properly released all in one place - and there's more going on in the background of this version of "I'm In Your Church At Night", be it because it's a new version or a much higher fidelity file I'm not sure but I'm guessing the latter - and there are worse ways to spend $4, yes? Despite only having heard most of these songs a few months ago at most, the EP already feels fantastically lived-in, like it's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It's probably greedy to say this since it was just released this morning, but I want more.

Also out today is the first single from School of Seven Bells' second LP. Entitled "Windstorm", it was previewed at Pitchfork a few weeks ago but is now available for your scrobbling pleasure at all good digital retailers. It comes backed with a lovely new track "Crescent Gold" and a not-as-noisy-as-I-was-expecting-it remix of the a-side by A Place To Bury Strangers. [Can we expect SVIIB to return the favor? Hmm...] While this helps with the wait for the album, July 13 can't come fast enough.

prepare to disconnect

After what has felt like a million years but, in actuality, has probably been barely six months, the wheels are starting to turn on the new School of Seven Bells album. To the left, you can see the album artwork as posted on the official site recently - accompanied only by a cryptic "Coming Soon". No track list, no solid release date, no mention of first single, just: "Coming Soon". Well, it's a start.

The band has also lined up two shows in NYC on June 9th and 10th - I leave town from a 5 day visit on the 8th, of course. Perhaps these will act as a release celebration? At the very least, expect to hear lots from the forthcoming/recently released/whatever status it has at the time LP on those two nights.

A live version of "Heart Is Strange" from last fall:



I'd say expect to see that one on the album, but after waiting 7+ fruitless years for the Hidden Cameras to release live staple "No Gay Goth Scene", I've come to learn there are no track list guarantees.

allow yourself to be released

My summer of jetting across the country for concerts came to an end last Friday. [I suppose since it started in April with The Whip and is ending in late October, "summer" is perhaps not the best word to use.] Anyways, of all the shows I went to this year, as it approached I realized that the School of Seven Bells show was the one I was anticipating the most.

First, though, there were three other bands to get through. As part of the CMJ festival, the bill was pretty loaded with two bigger names and two lesser known acts. First: the Depreciation Guild. As far as opening acts go, they were quite good and I rather enjoyed their set. They made sense sharing a bill with SVIIB - the trio created an impressive 2 guitar / 1 drum kit wall of sound with a simple but captivating back drop of solid color squares that constantly changed shapes and sizes. [As my friend James pointed out, think the PSB 'Yes' theme and you're there.] Definitely one to investigate - and look, there are tracks streaming on last.fm.]

Next up was Phantogram, a boy/girl duo with he on guitar and her on bank of keyboards. [It was interesting to notice that of the four bands, only The Depreciation Guild employed a drum kit. Fantastic.] I wasn't quite as taken with Phantogram, though I can't say exactly why. Perhaps further investigation is needed, I'm not sure. Regardless, I found them to be the weak link of the evening, though on their own merits not bad. [Side note: they told us they were from Saratoga Springs. I didn't think anything was from Saratoga Springs. Interesting.]

Third, The xx. I quite enjoy their album and was excited to hear that they had joined the bill after I bought tickets as I now got to see two acts I wanted to see in one go. However, I was skeptical as to how they could carry off a live show - and my concerns were valid. Taking the stage with all four members lined up across the front, they went through the album pretty much note for note, changing only the order of a few songs and throwing in a cover of Womack & Womack's "Teardrops" for good measure. [I totally had to look it up.] It was very enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but you might as well have stayed home and blasted the album on shuffle. That said, they came across as very nice and genuinely appreciative and good for them for being the unofficial stars of CMJ. [Apparently they played every night and even had another set in Tribeca after their set at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. It's also a safe bet that they were the reason the show ended up selling out as the place was packed to the rafters when they took the stage yet was less than half full for School of Seven Bells.] One thing that both James and I got a kick out of was watching the...well, here's where you'd usually say "drummer", but he wasn't actually drumming. The electronic percussionist, I suppose. It would have been very easy to pre-program all the beats for the show, however he was playing them live and keeping impressively solid time even in some of the more intricate passages. So I guess you couldn't have gotten the whole experience at home, though I don't think I'll be rushing out to see them again any time soon.

Finally, 11:45 rolls around and School of Seven Bells take the stage. [Maybe I'm getting old, but christ that was late.] Full disclosure - over the course of the year, 'Alpinisms' has grown from an album that I quite enjoy to one of my absolute favorite albums of the decade. Such a gorgeous, wonderful piece of music. I had heard nothing but absolute raves about their live show from friends who, admittedly, are just as obsessed as I if not more, so my expectations were high. Outside of a pair of setlist misses - no "Prince of Peace" [not surprising] or "Face to Face on High Places" [kind of shocking, actually] - they delivered on every level. My friend Joe put it - the songs come across as a little more aggressive in the live show, and that is spot on. They opened the set with a stunning version of "My Cabal" and then led us through most of the rest of 'Alpinisms' with a trio of new songs mixed in. The new material is amazing - on one listen, I'd say the aggressive tag applies to them most of all but still very much keeping true to their sound. "Chain" was an absolute monster live, as was the usually pretty-but-perhaps-a-bit-long "Sempiternal/Amaranth", which closed the night. [I suppose technically it was the encore, however they only left stage for maybe a minute, returning before the feedback squall ending of "Half Asleep" had fully faded out so I don't think it really counts.] The biggest surprise of the night for me was "White Elephant Coat", which on the album that seems to be missing something but truly came alive in the live setting.

I hope they're not gone too long, as I need new material and the opportunity to see them live again ASAP.

Set lists:

The xx -
Intro
Crystalised
VCR
Islands
Heart Skipped A Beat
Shelter
Basic Space
Teardrops
Infinity
Night Time
Shelter

School of Seven Bells -
My Cabal
Connjur
White Elephant Coat
new #1
Iamundernodisguise
Chain
new #2
Wired For Light
new #3
Half Asleep
Sempiternal/Amaranth

Some YouTube videos from the night [not mine]:

The xx - Shelter:

[You can also find I believe their full set at the Tribeca Grand from later in the evening on YouTube.]

School of Seven Bells - My Cabal: