My Listening Hours: Looking Forward

There are six albums on the  horizon that have perked up my ears, and four of them have me marking my calendar for essential trips to the record store. Have a look at this list and tell me what you're looking forward to.

R.E.M., Accelerate (4/1)
R.E.M. fans will forever debate which was the best era for the band and where it all went wrong. I think everyone pinpoints it differently. Me, I give them more credit than most: R.E.M. has exactly one bad album, and it’s Around the Sun. That means I have a tremendous amount of good will set aside for the band. “Supernatural Superserious” doesn’t bowl me over on its own but it does give me hope.

Little Ones, Terry Tales & Fallen Gates EP (4/8)
April 8 is a big release date for indie rock—Tapes n Tapes, Breeders, Gnarles Barkley, Nick Cave, Clinic, Man Man, and Colin Meloy—but I can’t say I’m stoked on any of it. The only album I am excited about is a new EP from the Little Ones. When I picked up their Sing Song EP early last year, I thought it was solid if nothing new. Boy, my opinions have changed since then. Those seven songs were stuck on repeat in my house for months on end. Seeing them live only enhanced my feelings—honestly I have never in my life seen a happier band on stage before. Those guys had stupid grins on their faces from beginning to end, I walked out of that show saying to my wife “I hope that never changes for them.” This EP—and the new full length, slated for the summer—are among my most-anticipated releases for the year.

Portishead, Third (4/29)
I’m tempted by the hype here. I loved Dummy when I was in college in the late-90s, and I thought their second album was pretty good but not great. I haven’t listened to either in at least five years, maybe longer. But everyone who’s heard the leak seems to be blown away by it. I’m keeping my ears open.

Mates of State, Re-Arrange Us (5/20)
Bring it Back just sorta fell into my house about a year ago, and it took me probably four or five months to even care enough to try it out—so convinced was I that this was nothing more than straightforward indie rock (ho-hum). Okay, it kinda more or less was. And occasionally Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel weren't quite as on the money as they thought they were when it came to harmonizing. But! I just couldn't deny the pop hooks. Every song is catchy as all get-out and just fun to sing along with, occasionally flat harmonies be damned.

The Notwist,  The Devil, You + Me (early June)
Finally, finally, finally! I flipped out for Neon Golden when it came out six freakin’ years ago. I still put it on now and again, and at least some of these guys are also in the Tied & Tickled Trio, whom I think I love even more. That said, the new track, "Good Lies," doesn’t thrill me on its own. There’s something kinda dated about it. Nevertheless I’ll be picking this one up as soon as it hits the store.

Spiritualized, Songs in A & E (6/3)
Ever since picking up Lazer-Guided Melodies a few months back, I’ve been hovering around the Spiritualized used bin each time I go to Amoeba, on the lookout for commenter-recommended Pure Phase or the canonical classic Ladies and Gentlemen, We are Floating in Space. No such luck, though the bin is filled with post-Ladies & Gents albums. Perhaps not a good sign. I likely won’t buy this album right away because I’m attracted to the idea of taking this band in roughly chronological order. But we’ll see if that holds up once the mp3s make their way out.

My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges (6/10)
I was ready to write My Morning Jacket off after It Still Moves, which I found too jammy and not terribly engaging. But 2005’s Z brought the band back into my good graces. In fact, I think Z is the best album the band has done to date—a claim that sets my brilliant wife on edge, due to her steadfast allegiance to their outstanding first album, The Tennessee Fire. Of everything listed here, Evil Urges has the most potential to blow me away and the most potential to totally disappoint me. I’ve been both places with MMJ so I’m trying to manage my expectations and have been ignoring most pre-release hype posts.

And you? What's coming down the pike that's got you excited?

Comments

[Richard]

So far I have exactly one 2008 release, the new Mountain Goats cd, Heretic Pride, which is pretty good. (I gather you're not an enthusiast?)

Portishead: I'd curious about this one. I remember when Dummy came out; I was at the tail end of my record-store employment. At first, we made some fun of it, but then it stuck. The second one, in my opinion, is even better. I hadn't listened to them at all for years until loading them into my iPod several months ago. It's always a nice treat when their songs come up.

My Morning Jacket: naturally, the only one I have is It Still Moves. I like it, but never felt the need to check out anymore of their stuff... maybe I'd have felt differently if I'd had another record of theirs?

I don't actually know what else is coming out. Your list of big indie day releases doesn't interest me in the slightest (well, maybe the Breeders, for old times' sake, but that's just at the level of interest, not actual acquisition)...

[Richard]

and I totally closed the italics this time!

[scott pgwp]

You've definitely got the wrong MMJ album. You should try either of the other two I mentioned. The Tennessee Fire is a little folkier, more Americana (though still with all that reverb), while Z has cleaner production and more varied songwriting. Both are excellent.

[Richard]

Speaking of Tied+Tickled Trio, have you ever listened to the Kammerflimmer Kollektief? Sort of in a similar vein... their records are uneven, but at least a couple of burners per album

[scott pgwp]

Kammerflimmer Kollektief put out a pair of albums simultaneously about six years ago--one was red, one was green--and those were the last two I heard. I really liked them but for some reason I don't have them any more. I'm aware that they've put out an album or two since then but I haven't actually seen them anywhere, only read about them.

[Richard]

yeah, that's about the extent of my knowledge, too.

[Philip Trapp]

I can't wait for the new Spiritualized! I hope you can nab Ladies & Gentlemen soon, that probably would be best, as you've stated :)