Pretty Goes with Pretty

The Mediocre-est of of 2006?

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.

Best of 2006 Preview?

Ah, springtime. What a wonderful time for new music. Already we've had the new Belle and Sebastian, Destroyer, and Neko Case. All three are fantastic albums, so 2006 is definitely off to a good start. And the next two months have plenty of potential. Here's a rundown of what's stirring me (at least in theory, since I haven't actually heard anything yet):

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Show Your Bones (out now)
I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but I'm eager/curious to hear the new one. Supposedly less "art" and more "rock," which to some means "sell out" and to others means "less pretentious." Well, judging by Karen O.'s haircut, I think they still have a lock on being pretentious; and as for selling out, I for one think that if anyone should get rich off the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' music, it should be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and not some pop-queen-come-lately [see Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" vs. the YYYs' "Maps"—seriously, I love the Clarkson song, but someone needs to hand a grammy Karen O. &  Co. for rocking that monster guitar riff first]. I haven't heard the new single yet, "Gold Lion," but my wife tells me it's pretty good.

The Flaming Lips: At War with the Mystics (April 4th)
Judging by nothing but the cover art, Mystics looks to follow in line with Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which is okay by me. I've heard this one is going to be "more psychedelic" than the last, which I'm having trouble understanding. The Flaming Lips have been always been pretty spaced out, and they'y really seem to have landed on their sound for the last couple of albums. If they get any more out there, I'd imagine they'd lose all grip on song form and move into more abstract territory. Yet somehow I don't think this is where Mystics is going to go.  Therefore I will translate "more psychedelic" as "more of the same," which again is okay by me.

Built to Spill: You in Reverse (April 11)
Can I be honest? I forgot about Built to Spill. I loved Perfect From Now On—holy shit, nine years ago!  Their follow up to that, Keep it Like a Secret, was pretty good but felt like a radio edit of Perfect. By the time they rolled around to Ancient Melodies of the Future, my head was somewhere else and I don't think I ever heard a single track, though from what I understand it's not terribly far afield from Secret. But even since  Ancient Melodies, it's been four or five years. I'm curious to hear whether Doug Martsch's reemergence is due to a musical reawakening or simply a matter of reminding people that he's still around.

The Secret Machines: Ten Silver Drops (April 25)
Now Here is Nowhere was one of my favorite albums of recent memory. Most rock bands treading in epic song lengths and structures that diverge from the pop norm typically sacrifice accessibility and the simple pleasure of a catchy melody. But the Secret Machines were somehow able to take their music from the lowest basins to the highest plateaus without ever losing their grasp of the song. This is probably my most eagerly anticipated album of the bunch.

TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain (early May)
I'm a latecomer to TVotR. Living in New York at the time they were getting blown up (along with the Liars and Yeah Yeah Yeahs), my instinct was to suspect anything coming out of Williamsburg. After relocating to the west coast, my wife brought home their Young Liars EP and it was just awesome. I still have their debut full-length on my need-to-buy list. All advance accounts say Cookie Mountain is their best yet.

The Walkmen: Hundred Miles Off (May 23)
The Walkmen are a curious animal. I have Bows + Arrows and I like it. But it took me literally months to come around on this album. Something about the lead singer's style and personality simultaneously repulsed and attracted me. I'll be eager to hear this when it hits. My prediction is that it will sway me all the way in one direction or the other.

The Futureheads: News and Tributes (May 29)
I really loved the Futureheads self-titled debut album, despite that every song had the same general feel—very angular riffs and vocal phrasings that could almost be swapped from one song into another. I forgave the sameness if only because songs like "First Day," "Decent Days and Nights," and "Meantime" were so impossible to hate. My fingers are crossed that the boys grow a little on the new disc; I don't think I could forgive them if they give another twelve songs with the same tinny guitars, stop-start tempos, and group-shout choruses.

...and the rest of 2006 looks to be filled with bright spots as well, with new albums from The Zutons (early summer) The Shins (summer), Arcade Fire (late summer/fall), Feist (fall), and the Pernice Brothers (summer/fall). If you know me you know I'm a big Pernice Brothers fan. Their albums are always consistently great, even if a little samey. But I'm stoked—yes, I said stoked—to know that they've returned to the same studio and producer responsible for the two brightest moments in Joe Pernice's catalog—Scud Mountain Boys' Massachusetts and the Pernice Brothers' Overcome by Happiness. They are in the studio now, laying down string arrangements...