bumble fumble

mothers - when you walk a long distance you are tired

devendra banhart - ape in pink marble

angel olsen - my woman

most of us can attest to this - music can be commanding, evoking fond memories of the past or calling forth melancholic remembrances.

when i listen to "intern" - i'm transported to this stupidly pristine moment of stretching out on a bed of heaven, white pillowcases, white sheets, white duvet cover in the perfect sort of disarray with my FWB crooning at me "i don't care what the papers say", me giggling in response.

oscar - cut and paste

hinds - leave me alone

it's been a while but here we go -

year end fave albums list! granted. apologies in advance - this has been a wild whirlwind of a year which means that my grip on new music has loosened even further...

but, anyways, here we go. loosely in reverse order  but not exactly - 

frankie cosmos - next thing

flash back to the dark  step 1 studying days ... kristin was playing a mix of new releases, the first of which was  lana del rey, as easily guessed by the vocals. she then asked me if i wanted to hear the new j lew song, to which i obviously responded, yeah!

it was "just one of the guys" and after listening to it i thought ... hmmm i appreciate the sentiment although i'm still conflicted. is this going to veer more towards the previous releases with subdued country overtones?

but upon release of the album i realized that she's drifted back towards her pop rock rilo kiley roots.

the voyager explores  new territory regarding jenny's life. i'm presuming she's writing  about her own experiences, in which case,  she's evolving into a woman who shall become married and is settling into the comforts of a stable relationship. but there still are dark spots as well. and then there are diversions as with "aloha & the 3 johns" 

this record finds jenny  returning to her playful former indie rock starlet self while still implementing those country elements that had become so prominent in her two records prior.

overall, it's a varied record and one that i quite enjoyed listening to completely through many a time.

"she's not me" especially received repeated plays, for hauntingly, it resonated with me (albeit the punching through dry wall). but the baby part  and deeming a former lover's  new partner as easy really struck me, bringing on the tears on the stretch that i speed on and  on which i shout lyrics  with passion i daren't show elsewhere on the drive to/from work.

clearly, it's an album of great meaning to me. thus -

ok, so here’s where i throw aside any guise of these year end reviews being of critical worth and i dive into its role as catharsis.

so, before i started dating rob, we talked for a good while. we communicated via text, e-mails, letters/cards (for i fretfully scurried away from the phone since i can’t compose long pre-meditated verse when on the rapid fire telephone!). during those days of faceless conversation, i would envision that he looked somewhat like mac demarco. that was my faint memory of his visage after meeting him for a mere flighty few days. besides, he, like mac, was goofy. and he, like mac, had a gap between his front teeth and … yeah, that was about it. he looks vaguely like mac (but with better kempt hair).

anyways, watching these videos the macumentary and the q&a sesh … i’m borderline spooked by how similar their mannerisms are. more or less, they’re like siblings rob is 7 years mac’s senior, paler, taller, a bit chubbier more muscular and with the most mesmerizing eyes. but otherwise,  they both have soothing voices, speak similarly about music in their own goofy way and well … rob initially made all sorts of dumb gross out/body humor jokes, before i started consistently shutting them down (so i think that he saved them for a more appreciative audience). thus, all in all, it’s a strange experience to watch the interviews with mac because they make me miss rob and also just jar me  by the pure fact that  he isn’t rob, yet  they’re somehow so alike.

although, i suppose the one divergence between the two is the music that each produces.

so, i'll address that - salad days finds mac more matured. or rather, even more sedate than "2".

each of the tracks have their value but none of them rollick or romp or pace faster than an amble. granted, this is mac demarco after all and we all know that  pot can warp and alter the perception of time. and thus salad days offers another album of pensive pieces featuring pedal effects that create an illusion of underwater composition (with the increased resistance explaining the songs' paces).

whatever, i'm worn out   from the first half of this post.

it's a great album, clearly.

imagine best coast but with lyrics that span beyond a love of weed and her boyfriend and with more mellifluous vocals. but the same pop hooks that made us all fall in love with bethany and bob.

alvvays could be simplified to being construed as toronto dreaming of california stylistically granted, there's more than just the classic hooks. there's swells and drops delivered via punchy jangling of electrics. drama and unfulfilled desires and also this particular sweetness paired with a certain naivete captured in this album.

"archie, marry me" got me thinking long and hard about the role of marriage in modern society. and woman's relationship with that construct. "une femme est une femme" came to mind in the internal conversation - my ex bf hated the protagonists, finding them unreasonable. (that doesn't bother me, i'm heedlessly in love with anna karina, duh) he didn't understand her intransigence regarding having a child and he didn't understand jean brialy's insistence on not having a child and not marrying. this song brought about that same thought- the woman calling out for something to in a way define her relationship with a man. part of me finds the song refreshing because my long drawn mindset is that women desire to be taken seriously and to slough off the assumption that we want to become accessories in order for stability but this song opens the conversation (with myself, that is) that it can be contrary even in groups of women which i would associate.

but then conversely, i suppose it's more empowering for her to insist upon marriage and stake her claim.

anyways, enough stream of consciousness and onto the tracks - 

fave tracks: archie, marry me party police atop a cake next of kin the agency group adult diversion

the album has everything that we both find so charming about owen pallett. suspense through tremolo, soaring and then diving musical lines, pierced by terse pizziccato. and as always, the gem pop drum machine line undercurrent to it all. oh, and of course, owen's infinitely mellifluous voice. what a dream. really, my commentary of this album relates more to my experience with it, so again, i'll just jump to recommended tracks ...

it's impressive. spoon has had quite the run and their successes appear to be far from concluded.

they want my soul is most definitely nothing novel. these are all tricks that we've heard before, now shape shifted into a shiny new form but truly just rehashed tricks. i haven't much issue with that though for really, it comes down to these are all tracks of their own valor in that they're catchy (and only the falsely cynical can despise catchy and i hope not to be that) and of heartfelt lyrical content. or so, i hope that it's heartfelt lyrical content, for in my letter to a former lover i referenced "let me be mine" as descriptive of my state at the time and that was a sincere sentiment.

this was just one of many releases from this year to which i bawled my eyes out while woefully singing along. (which, perhaps that's indicative that this year was one of love lost for many. i'm victim to trend, perhaps). either way, the thing is - britt daniels and the team jim, rob, the lot - they're just great at composing solid rock n roll tracks with pop hooks. there's little more than that which i can meaningfully add. thus, i won't.

fave tracks: let me be mine new york kiss do you inside out

if you know me relatively well then you most likely already know - my life aspiration (besides becoming clara barton, since that was my childhood aspiration) is to become yelle. she's tiny, spunky, beautiful, and bounding with energy. why would anyone desire to be anything but her? amirite? so when i saw that they were playing at 9:30 in dc a rush of energy surged through me. i hadn't seen them since 3 years past! and it was amazing then, so i knew it'd be amazing now.

fast forward to the show - it was wonderful. no ridiculous safari disco club where the wild things are-esque furry outfit but a big yellow sac was donned at least. anyways, the trick about all of this - i was so excited about seeing yelle that i neglected to check to see if a new album had been released - which ... there had been. so i grinned along madly to her entire set but half of it i hadn't the slightest clue as to what was being played! (and per usual, i of course had no clue as to what was being sung).

flash forward to now - complement fou is yet again another piece of french electropop magic. (one wouldn't expect otherwise from a veteran such as yelle). not only that, but yelle collaborated with pomp&clout to create the yelle translator app for "completement fou" and "bouquet final" with the intention of advancing english speakers' abilities to comprehend the french language as is exquisitely utilized by our friends in yelle. (yes, i just made that into an advert and i don't even know why)

anyways, if you're familiar with yelle, this album maintains their signature style of unrelenting vivacity paired with french flair, as well as their special twist of bubblegum.

expect perky punky playful, y'know - everything that i hope to embody. needn't spend more time explaining/depicting just listen to the tracks.

fave tracks: moteur action un jour viendra ba$$in completement fou

ps yes, i know that moteur action sounds like a katy perry rift but whatever, they toured together and they're both pop divas in their own rights soooo don't try to place blame on my choice. i won't accept it.

pps the 2nd video allows for a glimpse into the magic that is a yelle show. (in retrospect, i too should have said fuck it to going into clinic and just followed yelle on her east coast leg of the tour. how foolish of me!)

RIYL: twin sister, melody and the echo chamber

everyone who is of any critical worth already has this album on their best of list so i'll keep it short

this album is fantastic. blurring lines of electronic influences with prodigal shredding powers all the while being one fly fox - annie's really nailed it here. scathing criticism of modern society to accompany the musical ride, nonetheless.

this album remained with me well into the fall months even with its release in late february, and i know that i'm not the only one.

fave tracks: digital witness bring me your loves birth in reverse rattlesnake psychopath