Destroyer - Kaputt (2011, Merge)

I had plans to write this album off, but somewhere around step 6 or 7, plans changed. I guess if you take the T. Rex out of the Destroyer, things get all weird and bad-sexy-awesome. Who knew?

Destroyer - Kaputt

14.

Arcade Fire
Funeral
(Merge, 2004)

What can I say about this album that hasn’t already been said? Nothing. This is indie rock at its most emotionally transparent and very best. Oh, and on a super side note, I loved Where The Wild Things Are (the movie, but also the book).

-Thistle

She and Him - Volume One

She and Him
Volume One
(03.2008, Merge)
Verdict: Just because M. Ward produced it doesn't mean it sounds anything like his music.

Actress Zooey Deschanel enters a musical venture with notable singer/songwriter M. Ward as her producer/collaborator. Upon listening to this album, I was unaware of the surge of alt-country within the independent music scene, so when I heard twangy guitar and a sultry drawl surfacing in her vocals I was a bit confused. Volume One comes across as a stylized album intended to replicate the feel of Dolly Parton-eque country, although it also ping-pongs between a style that emulates sixties girl-pop groups and also the later music of Carpenters. It has everything you could ask for (and I'm sure you would) from chorus girls to handclaps to male/female vocal call-and-response. The album starts out with "Sentimental Heart," and although it is a definite contrast from the rest of the album, it segues into the next song perfectly. I think it's because of the simplicity of "Sentimental Heart" that I was confused when the album changed to something resembling a composite of warm country and sixties pop. The guitars wade in and out of most of the songs, and the lyrics stick to a strict sappy love song agenda, using phrases such as "if he burns you let him go," "don't try to woo me" and "you really got a hold on me." The song that is the best combination of sixties pop and seventies country is "I Was Made For You," the album's seventh track, as it has chorus girls, a heavy bass line supported by the poppy drum beat, and bouncy keys. The album closes with the song "Untitled" which is Zooey singing her own version of "Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot." I think this song best highlights her vocal abilities, as she more fully delves into lower vocal tones, which brings up the notch of her sex appeal more significantly than anything else in the album. M. Ward deserves props for producing a successful pop album, the type that constantly gets stuck in your head and you really want to dance to, so you almost can't help but like it. When listening comparatively to the production quality between his solo work and She and Him, it's similar to what M. Ward puts out on his own albums, with vocals pulled in front of everything else, but meshed well enough that it is totally cohesive. Despite not quite grasping the album the first time I listened to it, I ended up somewhat addicted to it, and, for lack of a better phrase, wanting more. Basically if you want to put Dolly Parton, Diana Ross and Karen Carpenter in a blender to listen to, She and Him is it.

-Fastidious Fungi

The Music Tapes - For Clouds and Tornadoes

The Music Tapes
For Clouds and Tornadoes
(08.2008 Merge)
Verdict: A whimsical pop gem.

Julian Koster's first outing as The Music Tapes blended iffy production methods, old time radio interludes, unusual instruments (including bouncy balls and metronomes for percussion) and childlike vocal delivery and subject matter such as: aliens, the death of superman and a mistrust for parents. Needless to say, it's held a special place in my musical heart for some time now. Nine years later Julian Koster is pretty much the same, and that's a good thing. While For Clouds and Tornadoes might not be as cluttered and as child centric as its near decade old predecessor, it's still chock full of the same sense of wonder, fantasy, and singing saws. This time around Koster has generally opted for sparser song arrangements, relying heavily on his trusty singing saw and banjo, but still finds time for ping pong balls, electric organs, and various percussive instruments. Koster's songs are genuine as ever and his ability to transport the listener into a carefree dream world is unrivaled. In an indie world that's often far too concerned with being hip, it's nice to listen to an artist that's just concerned with crafting authentic pop music that can't easily be pinned down to a specific time or place, an artist that can bring out the youthful wonder in all of us.

-Wooly Mammal

Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams

Destroyer
Trouble In Dreams
(03.2008, Merge)
Verdict = Odd Literate Pop = Indie Rock

I like Dan Bejar quite a bit. He seems to embody the music that he plays well. Wearing dark curly hair like an explosion of twisty, tangly yarn atop his pale, stringy, adjunct-professor-like posture, it’s like Bejar can’t sidestep making wonderfully odd rock splashed with backwards literacy. On Trouble In Dreams, my favourite New Pornographer scores again with his umpteenth solo record as the glorious Destroyer. Following up Destroyer’s Rubies, Trouble In Dreams doesn’t make any stark jumps in style, but instead maintains the same level of consistency that made his last album so great. Bejar’s version of pop or rock or whatever, has always stayed pretty safe with small flourishes of some proggy guitars rising in the mix from time to time and a piano line showing through here and there. That is all pleasant and well, but it’s not really the reason you listen to Destroyer. There is no avoiding the fact that Bejar’s voice and lyricism is center stage here. All else is flowers and streamers and decorative bedding. There is something about Bejar’s theatrical talk-singing that is so satisfying. However there are definitely moments when the lack of interesting instrumentation tends to leave portions of the album dry. For instance, the nearly 8 minute “Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape)” starts to drag in its last half. For the most part, however, Bejar spins his tales masterfully and Trouble In Dreams has come away as a high point in a lengthy back catalog.

-Mr. Thistle

Destroyer - "Foam Hands"

Caribou - Andorra

Caribou
Andorra
(08.2007, Merge)
9.0/10

An original skeptic of Caribou, (a.k.a. Manitoba, a.k.a. Dan V. Snaith) it took me a few weeks to finally listen to Andorra. Now I am wondering why I robbed myself of a few good weeks of listening to this enchanting album. In Andorra, Snaith has calmed the electronica, upped the pop, and perfected the full instrumentals. Violins, harps, triangles, and clangy percussion make the 60's drug psych-pop absolutely mesmerizing. It will soothe your cerebral cortex, put your cares to sleep, and cause you to dream of glistening lush organic shapes (especially "Irene".) Colorful magic is woven throughout these catchy melodies. It contains beauties that can easily be overlooked on first listen. Play this all the way through, twice, for a truly hypnotic and delightful experience.

-Sassigrass

Caribou - "Melody Day"