Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

Holy... Living... Fuck... If not the album of the year, The Monitor is definitely in the Top 5. Following up their solid debut (2009's The Airing of Grievances), Titus Andronicus' sophomore effort was creating a very ruckus, and ambitious concept album about the Civil War. A concept about as crazy as making an album about Anne Frank. The former concept was made into one of the finest indie albums ever recorded and the latter... well time will tell its place in history, but, fuck, if it isn't great right now. Using segments of speeches from Abe Lincoln, Walt Whitman, and references to the epic battle between the ironclads ("The Battle of Hampton Roads'), Titus Andronicus have created an utterly unique allegory about the perils and downtroddenness of living in New Jersey. Despite all of it's high-falutin' ideas, The Monitor cannot hide the fact that it is one kick ass rock album, which is hard enough to accomplish in these days. To fully understanding of the epicness of The Monitor, listen to it at an extremely obscene volume, with drunken friends, and morally ambiguous amounts of whiskey. In other words, buy it now and thank me later.

Grade: A

Owen Pallett

Owen Pallett - Heartland

Heartland is the first album Owen Pallett has released under his own name (he was previously Final Fantasy, until Squaresoft put the kibosh on that) has a reputation for his sonically complex live performances with just his violin, a loop pedal, and a really good singing voice. Think Andrew Bird without the whistling and a huge flare for dramatics. Anyways, Heartland sounds and plays like a mini-rock opera except really good. Utilizing the Czech Symphony Orchestra, as everyone seems to do these days, Pallett has outdone himself, composing wildly orchestrated songs that are engaging to listen to, but a little to over-the-top sometimes. Those moments are easy to roll your eyes at and move on, because when Heartland nails it, it is a thing of beauty.

Side note: I cannot wait to see Owen Pallett open up for the National in October! A post-show blog will follow.

Grade: B+

The National

The National - High Violet

I am a huge fan of the National. They first wow-ed me with Alligator and The Boxer is an unbelievable follow-up (even though it is a bit of a grower), so needless to say I was a little excited when High Violet was released. Snarky, downtrodden lyrics about fights, and the fear and nervousness about being a new father, High Violet runs the gamut of sadness. The National do this better than anybody in the industry and High Violet is no exception. My only knock (and not a big one) is that the album is, again a "grower". It took me three listens for the album to go from good to stellar. I do not need instant gratification from listening to an album, but it does not hurt. The real gem of High Violet is at the midway point of the album. "Bloodbuzz Ohio". A dense song that piles on a heavy, churning melody with driving keyboards, tight rhythm section, all overlain with Berninger's baritone voice, and you have not only the quintessential National song, but the makings of an indie epic.

Grade: A-

Ty Segall

Ty Segall - Melted

I walked in to Luna Music on Friday (greatest music store of all time) and was instantly struct by the song being blasted in the store. That song was "Girlfriend" from Ty Segall's album Melted. Add one part Beck, one part Strokes, one part late-Beatles era John Lennon, a shitload of distortion and feedback, add even more fuzz in the production process, and punk sensibilities and you have one of the best albums of the year, so far. Needless to say I purchased it immediately. Melted holds up to its name because that is exactly what it does to your face. The only oddity on the album is a song called "Mike's Coke", in which Segall asks you to drink Coca-Cola with him. Over and over again. It is not bad, just really fucking weird and only lasts a little over a minute. Other than that, this album is a slice of fried gold.

Grade: A