Astronautalis - Midday Moon (single)
(stream/purchase)
We know some stuff about 'The Four Fists', a forthcoming collaborative EP from Astronautalis and P.O.S. A title, for one. What it's about (F. Scott Fitzgerald short stories converted into song. And, sure, why not), for a big second. Astronautalis' upcoming, untitled solo album is different. He's playing this one close to his chest, and the release of Midday Moon is one of our only clues (the other being that the good company of anticon.'s Alias will be handling a few tracks) as to what the thing is going sound like.
And it sounds pretty remarkable. When asked, Andy told me that James Blake (who I'll get to eventually, promise) wasn't a direct influence on the track's production, but it's impossible not to hear for those familiar. Which is a Good Thing. Tons of synths sounding at once cut in and out like saws, over which Astronautalis does his hip-hop thing. He's distanced a bit from his whiskey-worn persona that informed a much of 2008's Pomegranate. It never worn out its welcome, but movement toward the quiet and the not-there is refreshing. Whenever this thing gets a name, it'll be one to remember to look out for.
note: I'm going to include a link to artist's bandcamp pages when available/possible. Mostly because it's a great service that let's you give a few dollars directly to artists who deserve it.
Destroyer - Kaputt
Kaputt is mostly songs that will kinda sorta remind you of Destroyer's Rubies, but is actually reminding you of something else. Which is to say, most of Kaputt lands closer to 2008's Trouble in Dreams, when the jazzy, carefree Bejar-sound started to wear a bit thin. Things are certainly better on Kaputt, but for all of the programmed drums and loops that replace the jaunty live energy of Destroyer's Rubies. Somehow, for all this, the final product is just not all that exceptional for someone who has been keeping an ear out in Bejar's direction.
The album closes with the standout "Bay of Pigs (Detail)", a track that might be humanity's first and only foray into the, uh, ambient-disco genre. That Kaputt's highlight is plucked mostly wholesale from an EP released on the tail-end of 2009 probably means something, but it was interesting then and is maybe even more interesting now. The unexpected synth stabs still suggest new direction, but do so when change for Destroyer is needed more than ever.
The Mountain Goats - All Eternal's Deck
This is not a twist in the vein of Mount Eerie's Black Wooden Ceiling Opening. It is not exactly the unexpected black metal record that the All Eternal's Deck art, title, and super legitimate, super hyped production credits might suggest. Those hopes and assumptions were dissipated after a listen to the album's first single, album opener, and slow burner "Damn These Vampires". It sounded like a good Mountain Goats song but not much like something anyone would call metal.
If the inscrutable hype/power of death and thrash metal is anywhere to be found here, it's not too obvious. All Eternal's Deck will not destroy your speakers (but as always, your mileage may vary regarding damage done to your heart. Oh, ho ho.). It's not an affront to the music of dad rock dads. Really, the album doesn't even make much of a mess. The most brutal moments don't borrow from Morbid Angel-producer Erik Rutan, but certainly hold their own against anything else John Darnielle has done post-boombox. The fury of "Estate Sale Sign" can run with Heretic Pride explosion "Sax Rohmner #1", while the slightly quieter "Prowl Great Cain" scalds a lot like "No Children".
The occasional twists in approach that pepper Mountain Goats albums are easier to spot but harder to conceive of. "High Hawk Season" brings in some barbershop harmonies, "For Charles Bronson" is a song Darnielle could have written and recorded at any point in his career, while "Never Quite Free" could have never come before now. The imbalance is strange, but ultimately it works both because Darnielle is Darnielle: someone with inexhaustible talents as a songwriter, and an ear for things that work for him and never against.
still soon:
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Bright Eyes - The People's Key
Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
James Blake - s/t
Akron/Family - S/T II: The Cosmic and Journey of Shinju TNT
Lil B - Illusions of Grandeur
†‡† - Ghetto Ass Witch (EP)
Sam Mickens - Sinistra Secco (EP)
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