Ok, all. It’s Monday, and it is time to begin the first of many, many weekly installments of the shortlist20. This weekly feature is a revival of an old monthly mix list that I curated during my time at WUVT-FM 90.7 Blacksburg, VA. There are some notable changes however: the shortlist20 will be updated weekly, and songs may remain on it from week to week. There will be a mix of old and new songs featured, and each week I will post an update with the tracks that were removed and the tracks that were added. As an added bonus, you too can listen to all the tracks on the shortlist20 through Spotify, and through this playlist:
earmrkt:shortlist20 Spotify Playlist!
Add the playlist to your Spotify player and follow along as it changes each week!
As this is the first installment, I will include the entire shortlist20 in this post as well as a brief comment as to why each track was chosen. Each weekly update will have a similar post for the added/removed songs.
HERE WE GO!
earmrkt:shortlist20 – Week of August 29th, 2011
Active Child – You Are All I See // This Jersey native’s debut features a beautiful mix of etherial vocals and delicate harps supplemented with sweeping synths not too far removed from M83 or School of Seven Bells. This opening title track is a strong intro to the sounds you’ll hear on the LP. As you dig deeper, don’t be afraid of the mild R&B & soul influences that are making a big impact in the indie scene right now.
Austra – Beat and the Pulse // It’s easy to bring to mind the dark dance of Depeche Mode or New Order while listening to this cut from Austra’s 2011 Feel it Break LP. Add in singer Katie Stelmanis’ piercing vocals and a church bell synth that gets my skin tingling and you’ve got a shoe-in for my shortlist20.
Battles – Ice Cream (f. Matias Aguayo) // The precision of Battles’ first LP Mirrored is alive and well after the departure of ex-singer Tyondai Braxton and this first single from 2011′s Gloss Drop shows me a side of Battles that was just waiting to have fun. I never thought that a track from Battles would be a hot indie summer hit, but well – there it is. Bonus points for the disorientingly fun video!
Belle & Sebastian – Like Dylan in the Movies // An old, old cut from the group’s 1996 If You’re Feeling Sinister. I listened to their entire discography on an eight-hour drive just recently, and was excited to rediscover their earlier work. While B&S has developed a confidence and pop sensibility in recent years that has allowed them to produce some incredibly great material, listening to the early album and Stuart Murdoch’s imperfect and heartfelt delivery of each word is an undeniable treat. With the reissue of Sinister and several other early albums on LP this month, I can only hope that many more listeners dig back into their catalog!
Dan Deacon – Snookered // I somehow missed out on Dan Deacon’s Bromst back in 2009, and I feel bad for that now. Deacon’s take on the electronic scene produces some interesting and unique sounds, and this track made me smile with the opening bells and beeps alone. The track, like many others on Bromst, builds a deep and layered sound without ever being over-cluttered to my ears. I can’t wait to see a Dan Deacon live show this fall!
Foo Fighters – Bridge Burning // Good work, Dave Grohl. Good work. After 2007′s Echoes… left me feeling that the Foo had lost their edge, Dave & co’s Wasting Light from this year surprised me with probably their most unapologetically rock album since the 90′s. This opening track has it all for me – Dave screams, the guitars flail, and somehow the chorus still resolves to the trademark vocal harmonies that earned The Colour and The Shape a place on my favorite rock albums list. Welcome back, Foo Fighters!
The Joy Formidable – Buoy // They’re touring with Foo Fighters and Social Distortion currently, and they can hold their own on a rock stage with the two legends. That’s impressive enough – and then you toss guitarist/singer Ritzy Bryan in the mix. It’s awesome to hear a female-fronted rock band that doesn’t fall into the 90′s Chick Rock bucket. This album simply rocks, it is unapologetic about it, if this isn’t in you’re play queue right now you’re doing it wrong.
Lamb – She Walks // Lamb is one of my all-time favorite bands. You can imagine my dismay when this trip-hop/jazz/electronic duo called it quits after 2003′s Between Darkness and Wonder. You can also imagine my joy when word surfaced in 201o that they were reforming and that 2011 would bring a new album simply titled 5. This track off 5 is still my favorite – a spacious and reflective piece that makes the missing eight years worthwhile. The rest of the album is stellar as well with tons of sonic ground new and old being covered and realistically their first use of electric rock instrumentation (“Build a Fire”) showing that they haven’t missed a step. A bonus track, “Back to Beginning,” includes their first guest vocalist – Damien Rice.
MuteMath – Odd Soul // MuteMath is one of my all-time favorite live bands. I’ve seen them on each tour, and every time they blow me away with their unstoppable energy and extremely tight musicianship. Recorded they’re just as good and hover somewhere in the space between underground respect and mainstream fame. This advance track from their third album is a big shift in style with a heavy blues influence to their electronic-tinged rock. The good thing is that the song holds up as a MuteMath track and still stands apart from the Black Keys and their imitators. I’m interested to hear the album in full and see where they’ve ended up – and eagerly anticipating seeing their live show again. The song wouldn’t be complete with a video – check out the interactive Odd Soul video mixer!
The Naked & Famous – Young Blood // This New Zealand five piece is making big waves across the international scene right now after the wide distribution of their debut Passive You, Agressive Me. I picked it up on a whim in the spring and it has not left my travel CD case since. They’re much in the vein of Passion Pit meets Sleigh Bells with extremely catchy hooks, call and response vocals, and crisp synth and drum production.
Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea // It’s an interesting time for fans of NMH – just twelve months ago there was barely a whisper of the whereabouts of the reclusive musical legend Jeff Mangum. This year, a few surprise acoustic shows have opened the floodgates to a revival of Mangum and an impending reissue of the NMH catalog through an incredibly extensive vinyl-only box set. Could this and Mangum’s upcoming solo tour mean that we may yet see a return of the band in full? It’s more likely now than it’s ever been before.
SBTRKT – Hold On (f. Sampha) - Coming in on a wave of soulful and dark electronic producers alongside Jamie xx, James Blake and The Weeknd, SBTRKT wastes no time on his self-titled debut. The sparse instrumentation on this track featuring vocalist Sampha is a great introduction to the sounds and production of the nebulous subgenre. SBTRKT’s debut covers a lot of ground with several guest contributors (including Little Dragon on the standout “Wildfire”). It’s an interesting scene that I can’t wait to develop.
The Smiths – How Soon is Now? // Every now and then I simply have the urge to play this track on loop about a dozen times on headphones. It’s an essential standout of a huge catalog to me, almost alone due to the disorienting oscillating rhythm and piercing slide guitar parts. Johnny Marr’s guitar work on this track is unparalleled and I know the vibrato gets stuck in my head for days at a time.
St. Vincent – Surgeon // Annie Clark has made a huge name for herself in the last few years. After tours with Sufjan Stevens and the Polyphonic Spree, the one-two punch of her acclaimed Marry Me and Actor LPs took my world (and most of the indie scene) by storm. Now a top-tier name in my book, there’s a lot of eyes on this fall’s 3rd LP Strange Mercy. Her smooth yet incredibly distinctive sound blends pleasant chamber pop with unexpectedly unsettling tension, not unlike the feeling that The Knife achieved on Silent Shout. I know I’ll be at my record store on release day.
Stateless – Ariel // Stateless is an oddity I haven’t really been able to place into a specific genre yet. That’s refreshing, no doubt, and it keeps me guessing through the whole of their Matilda LP released earlier this year. I’ve heard the words folktronica and trip-hop tossed around, and there are hints of R&B, chillwave and straight-out rock all through the album. It’s a treat for the ears with a blend of the familiar and the foreign. My advice: pick three tracks at random from the album and try to pin it down. At the least, you’ll hear three great songs.
Still Corners – Cuckoo // Dream pop is hot right now. Washed Out’s Within and Without is a great reference point for what you’ll get out of Still Corners; but with a more restrained and haunting sound. This second single of theirs has me excited; their debut LP Creatures of an Hour will see release this October.
Tame Impala – Solitude is Bliss // It took way too long for Tame Impala’s debut Innerspeaker to see legitimate physical release in the US. The psychedelic Australian four-piece’s debut album spent almost a year waiting for US distribution, but now it’s like getting reacquainted with an old friend. They bring to mind a relaxed and calm counterpoint to freaky psychedelic rockers White Denim, and Innerspeaker makes a great companion to White Denim’s D.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Thought Ballune // My brain tries to fit Unknown Mortal Orchestra as a puzzle piece adjacent to the freaky wooded electronica to Black Moth Super Rainbow that somehow wraps next to the psych-pop of The Beatles circa Rubber Soul or Revolver. It’s a weird space to be certain but it feels right – the sounds on their self-titled debut sound simultaneously as if you found a tape from the 60′s that was sent there from the not too distant future.
Washed Out – Amor Fati // Now that Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion is firmly in the rear-view mirror, I’ve been seeing a swell in artists that have been developing the full-on synthpop revival. Washed Out moves in another direction from Animal Collective than say, Yeasayer or Delorean with a very focused and organized sound. Listening through the album is not unlike drifting along a synthpop river. It’s smooth sailing right until the last note.
Yelle – Safari Disco Club // Yelle was a novelty to my ears at first. Not unlike Annie or Robyn, the french trio led by Yelle (aka Julie Budet) produces infectious an unapologetic pop music. The debut Pop Up was fun and raw with a few strong singles (“Je Veux Te Voir,” “A Cause de Garçons”) but dragged on other tracks. This year’s release of Safari Disco Club is the best pop follow-up I’ve seen in a long time and has me enraptured from start to finish. The self-titled track is my favorite, an infectious pop gem with vocal and synth warping that I swear is an addictive substance. I don’t even need translations on this album to know that I love it. Check out the just-as-weird dual video for this and the second single “Ce Veux-tu.”
