I know that it's been mentioned on Hubski already but I really dove in to Vampire Weekends new album due to a hearty endorsement from sounds_sound. It's a really great listen all the way through. As s_s mentioned to me in his endorsement, the panning on the album is pretty sweet. If you listen, headphones are a must. The panning of the percussion is particularly engaging. As someone that experimented with a bunch of hard-panning in the past, I realize how difficult it is to use it and not take the listener out of the song. This also goes for using vocal effects, it can be distracting if not used properly but Vampire Weekend does a fantastic job of toggling that line on this album. If you've not checked it out already, I would suggest it. It's a good listen. I also listened to Grizzly Bear per jonaswildman's suggestion and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I got the album Shields and while I enjoyed it, some of the tracks were definitely stronger than others, the track that I linked to "Yet Again" being the strongest imo. I have a feeling that this album could really grow on me though as it's not nearly as overtly melodic as the Vampire Weekend album, for example. I also listened to an older album that I've always loved The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema. This album has two great back to back tracks on it Sing Me Spanish Techno and Falling Through Your Clothes, and the rest of the album is great too. If you're already a fan of The New Pornographers but you've not checked out A.C Newman's solo stuff, be sure to check it out. Here's one of my favorites that never got any hubski love :) Good music week for me.
Yellow House is not only my favorite Grizzly Bear album, but it also ranks as one of my all-time favorite albums, and one of the few I can listen to front to back without skipping any tracks. Truth be told, I'm only sort of so-so on the rest of their stuff. But Yellow House is a must-have, in my book. Hits just the right balance between weird and poppy, direct when it needs to be and twisty as often as it can get away with. Feels like it was composed, not just written and recorded, if you know what I mean. There's a slope to the whole album that can only be approached by a full listen, but every song holds its own. The later albums feel more like just a collection of singles. And even if all the singles range from solid to great, they never approach more than the sum of their parts. Check out Yellow House, give it a few listens. It's a bit of a grower, but once you get there, you won't be able to passively listen to it ever.
Thanks fuffle, I just found an old iTunes gift card that was given to me at christmas that I misplaced. I know how I'll use it now.
Shields is a solid album. But that's all that it is, solid. It's nothing that is mind-blowingly good, but it doesn't have a bad point on the record. That said, you're spot on that parts are better than others. I've found it gets a little better after a couple of listens. The New Pornographers are a really good band, but I prefer Bejar's other band, Destroyer.
Destroyer is awesome, thanks for the link. What a distinctive voice. I also dig Neko Case, the New Pornographers are one of those "super groups" that never gets mentioned in the "super-group" conversation.