A few weeks ago my hopes were up for a great year of music from bands I love. Now that some of these discs have actually come out, I’m coming back to reality. The blah reality.
Of the albums on my watch list that have been released—the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Built to Spill, the Flaming Lips, and the Secret Machines—only the Secret Machines have really delivered, in my humble opinion. To be honest I haven’t actually heard the Flaming Lips’ new one yet—but I will, so I reserve the right to make an about-face on that one—though all accounts seem to say it’s pretty much more of the same from them, nothing bad but nothing special.
The YYY’s Show Your Bones is good, but not great. Their single, “Gold Lion,” which leads off the album, is easily the best song. It always bums me out when the first song is the best and it’s all comparatively downhill from there. Not that the rest of the album is crap—well, “Phenomena” and “Dudley” are pretty awful—but it all just blends together after a while. I’ve listened to the album for about two weeks straight and I’m still having trouble setting one song apart from the other. And while this album’s sound is a departure from Fever to Tell, it’s not a particularly bold or interesting one.
Meanwhile, Built to Spill made a Built to Spill record. Nothing wrong with that if you’re a true fan who will eat up anything Doug Martsch serves you. But I’m not a true fan. I’m someone who thinks BTS have been brilliant in the past and are more than capable of being brilliant again, but if they tread water I’m bored. (This is the same criticism I’m hearing others level at the Flaming Lips.) You in Reverse, to me, sounds like their last couple—only without Phil Eck’s superior production qualities, so even in the sense of being “just another BTS album,” it’s less-than.
The Secret Machines, on the other hand, have really come through with a strong follow-up to Now Here is Nowhere. I don’t know yet if it’s better, but it’s good. Maybe it’s simply a matter of them still being a young band with a distinctive sound, and it just hasn’t gotten old yet, unlike the Lips or BTS. (I’ve waxed on that theory before.) At any rate I dig it. Ten Silver Drops came out on Tuesday, and it is streaming from their website if you'd like to sample it first.
Looking at my watch list, I’ve still got TV on the Radio, the Walkmen, and the Futureheads to look forward to in the coming month. Unless I’ve been hoodwinked by their publicity onslaught, I think the TVotR album is going to be brilliant. If I hate it, it’s their fault for getting my hopes up too high. Meanwhile I was only a little excited about the new Walkmen, but judging from the many people who have come to my blog by Googling “Walkmen+A Hundred Miles Off+mp3 leak” (sorry, no mp3s—but I hope you’re sticking around anyway!), I see that a lot of you are stoked about it. You’re helping pique my interest. As far as the Futureheads go, I heard one song on the interweb and another on the radio, and both are pretty good, though they’re not blowing my doors off. Still looking forward to it, though.
So as far as 2006 goes, it's not shaping up too great so far. As we are now a third of the way through, the only two contenders I have for best of the year are Belle and Sebastian and the Secret Machines. While I think both are fantastic, I'm going to be bummed about this year if no one tops them. Come on, music!
Am I missing anything? Has anything come out that I completely flaked on? Is there anything else coming down the pike that you're excited about? Leave a comment or email me [prettygoes AT gmail com] and let me know what I should keep my ears peeled for.
Comments