The Wake

There is a small part of me that wishes to be a child again, even if for only a day. I secretly long to revisit the time in life when your crush could be won over simply by sharing your Snack Pack, outstanding homework always went on the fridge, and even the biggest, scariest obstacles could be tackled after a quick nap on a carpet square.I was temporarily transported back to such a time with Paper Bag Records’ See You On The Moon! Songs For Kids Of All Ages, a delightful, surprisingly hip, compilation created to unite the young and old with music everyone can enjoy. If nothing else, it will make your child the coolest kid in school. Had my parents raised me on something like this and not heavy metal, I probably would …

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With the recent release of their seventh album The Life Pursuit, I truly believe Belle & Sebastian’s cockteasing days are over. At first, the trademark precociousness of Scotland’s quirky retro-folk outfit managed to redeem the string of half-good albums they’ve recently released. They were let off the hook for being harmlessly endearing—who could help themselves?After a while, Belle & Sebastian’s cheeky nonsensicalities became less adorable and more difficult to stomach. It was as if they abandoned any sort of focus and just settled on being difficult. Their second most recent album of original songs, Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003), was a bit of sexy fun here and there, but mostly played out scattered and confused. Luckily, The Life Pursuit, their sixth album on Matador Records, is an absolute gem and all at once fresh and familiar. …

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When a record label like Kill Rock Stars puts out a sampler, it’s bound to please fans of just about any style of music. It’s also bound to be a little weird. Otis’ Opuses, featuring a staggering 22 tracks, is a retrospective of the label’s 2005 releases with a few new songs as well. From folk to hardcore, noise to electronica, Otis’ Opuses is at once schizophrenic and cohesive, jumping successfully between these genres without batting an eye. The sampler features mainstays of the label like The Decemberists, Jeff Hanson, Deerhoof, and Harvey Danger along with lesser-known bands. But I was pleased to discover The Gossip and the Old Haunts. By incorporating so many sounds into one album, Kill Rock Stars proved not only the diversity of their acts, but also that they can win …

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As usual, Scott McCaughey (formerly of Young Fresh Fellows) finds himself in good company on the latest record from his pet project, the Minus 5. His friends on this outing include R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy among others. In addition to containing a stellar guest list, the CD comes filled with classic- sounding songs penned almost exclusively by McCaughey. Drawing on years of experience and an obvious love of ’60s pop, the music is familiar and accessible. The subject matter also evokes a feeling of by-gone days, covering the topics of gun-toting and drinking. But don’t get me wrong, the music is more than pure nostalgia. Like other super group side projects such as Golden Smog, the Minus 5 offers a glimpse into where these musicians find their roots. …

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Rhymesayers Entertainment begins the year with a burst of much needed energy for the Minneapolis hip-hop scene. Audition proves that P.O.S. isn’t just another rapper destined for mediocrity. Starting strong with the bouncy “Half Cooked Concepts,” P.O.S. immediately succeeds in establishing his persona as he rhymes, “P.O., you know the dirty one disturbing all the categories / the matador in black, killing bullshit allegories.” Similar energy is found on “Stand Up (Let’s Get Murdered)” (produced by Lazerbeak) and tracks like “A Teddy Bear and a Tazer” and “Living Slightly Larger.” Guests appear in tasteful doses, and usually working to the album’s advantage. Slug and P.O.S. trade rhymes over two of the album’s most accessible cuts, “Bush League Psych-Out Stuff” and “Bleeding Hearts Club (MPLS Chapter).” “Safety in Speed (Heavy Metal)” features a lingering Craig Finn …

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I can’t imagine how many reviews of Cat Power’s new CD use the title as the heart of their arguments, so please excuse me if it has been done before. Cat Power has at last, after over ten years of recording, found its forte in the aptly titled The Greatest, their most comfortable CD to date.The confidence and pure soul of this album leads me to believe that the Chan Marshall who offered up nauseatingly nervous live performances was a farce. The woman who turned her back to the audience in order to force a note past her shaking vocal chords, who has stormed off stages in tears, could not have feasibly created a smile in her past, let alone a grouping of songs with this much poise.The Greatest reveals an ironic use of Marshall’s …

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Clocking in at 35 minutes, The Plastic Constellations’ Crusades is a ten-song disc with a single mindset. Complex guitar riffs, capricious song structures and the occasional hook cause the listener to drift through the CD, almost without noticing when one song ends and the next begins. The only problem: They all start to sound the same after about 15 minutes. A local success story, the Plastic Constellations have been playing and recording together since high school. They garnered national recognition with their second release, 2004’s Mazatlan. In their music, fast guitars meet unintelligible lyrics in a way that’s not quite prog rock and not quite punk.Crusades, as far as I can tell, is a modern-day mythology, giving the nod of the cap to Don Quixote (see the song of the same name) and simultaneously to …

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It is remarkable that history and hype did not completely smother as delicate an album as Vashti Bunyan’s Lookaftering (Fat Cat/DiChristina). A sophomore release 35 years in the making, it follows her 1970 debut Just Another Diamond Day. Her first album’s inability to be pigeonholed led to its initial rejection, though it earned Bunyan a cult following. Fast forward to the current folk revolution, where we have this humble, nurturing earth mama rubbing elbows with emulators Animal Collective, Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom, all while being hailed as one of the finest artists of 2005.Even more surprising is that Lookaftering still emerges as a work of unexploited triumph as fresh and breathtaking as her first. Bunyan’s music is a true defiance of time and genre with a sound that could have been captured yesterday or …

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Somehow, I have nearly all of Ryan Adams’ albums. And while this is an embarrassing admittance, I feel the accumulation has been strangely necessary. Perhaps I continue to lend my ears in hopes that Adams will escape his status as alt-country’s biggest tool. After all, his infamy is best attributed to hurried, expendable albums (three in 2005 alone) rather than spontaneous masterpieces.Therefore, it was easy to get excited about 29, Adams’ latest on the Lost Highway label. Each song on the nine-track narrative is meant to represent a year in the 31-year-old Adams’ t20s, hinting at sincerity. He also re-teamed with Ethan Johns, producer of 2000’s Heartbreaker, the solo debut that established Adams’ initial potential.Unfortunately, 29 produces wildly unsatisfying results in its sameness and lack of attitude. Adams ditches the full-band sound and, conclusively, the …

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I have always thought of Wilco albums as works of art, congruent in their entirety, and packed with layers upon layers of meaning. When I heard they were releasing a live album I thought, “This is great, I love Wilco.” When I finally got the double-disc set in my hands, I was confused. The songs were all out of order! There were people trying to sing along to Jeff Tweedy! Anarchy, in a sense. As I meandered my way, bewildered, through the first disc, it hit me: There is something here that I had not yet considered. Wilco may be taking old songs and giving them new meaning through this new arrangement. A majority of the songs are taken from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) and A Ghost is Born (2004), both of which were perfect …

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Isaac Brock and Mark Kozelek know what they’re doing. As the lead singers and songwriters in Modest Mouse and Sun Kil Moon, respectively, they’ve awed innumerable listeners with their distinct styles and exceptional lyrics. They sound wholly dissimilar — Modest Mouse’s music is skillfully cynical and impulsive, while Sun Kil Moon’s sound touches its listener with wondrous, subtle harmonics. They are both daring and successful, which is why Sun Kil Moon’s newest release, Tiny Cities, is so disappointing.Tiny Cities is an attempted, yet failed, tribute to Modest Mouse. Kozelek selected songs from every Modest Mouse full length, from Sad Sappy Sucker to Good News for People Who Love Bad News, albums which visibly show the range and capability of Brock as a songwriter. He then proceeded to tear away their variety, added droning vocals and …

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In the late 90s, Eminem became hip-hop’s light-skinned rapper with dark thoughts. A couple of years later, his hometown crew attempted to ride this shock wave as far as it would take them. They found success with “Purple Hills,” and showed audiences six similarly twisted, yet diversely gifted personas, each accompanied by a split personality. Proof was considered by many to be the most promising member of d12. Finally, he’s getting his chance to shine on Searching for Jerry Garcia. The album’s design and title allude to an experimental approach of soul searching on this rapper’s first full-length release. If you’re looking for raw beats, well-constructed flows and star-studded guest appearances, than you might add this one to your collection. But with the exception of a handful of tracks, this album sounds like Proof is …

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After a seven-year stint of recording as a solo artist, Jay Farrar has resurrected the band Son Volt. Their new release, titled Okemah and the Melody of Riot, finds Farrar’s rich voice embedded once again in the edgy, alt-country sound that this band is known for. Showcasing some of Farrar’s best songs to date, Okemah is both consistent and inventive. The music is well structured without seeming rigid, and ambient without becoming aimless. The lyrics are brazenly free form, lacking repetition and structure in many cases.“The words of Woody Guthrie ringing in my head,” sings Farrar on the opening track, “Bandages & Scars.” The mention of this folk icon is an immediate indication of the melodic, folk-like songs that fill the album. Tracks such as “Atmosphere” and “Who,” are incredibly catchy without being painfully simple.While …

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Dear Coldplay, Please stop trying to trick me, this isn’t good music.The new Coldplay album, titled X and Y, is rooted in pretension and laziness. It seems to me that the group ran out of good ideas and talent, and decided to make up for it by producing until there wasn’t one real guitar riff left. The bizarre, encoded liner notes are just a cover, trying to make up for the lack of real music. The front of the album is video game art of a pill bottle in rainbow colors, and when opened the middle of the liner notes contains a chart of some kind with letters and numbers and more rainbow blocks. I thought that maybe the music would contain some sort of clue into this mind trick that Coldplay presented, but all …

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Stars, burning bright from Montreal, create delightful, yet flawed baroque pop. Set Yourself on Fire, the band’s third album, canters through joyful melodies and mellow introspections. Though their sound is light and airy Stars do get heavy and perhaps pretentious with the lyrics. During a few songs Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan’s vocals stretch too far and seem misplaced. For instance, when Millan yelps “this scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin” one can’t help but feel jarred. Likewise, when Campbell confesses “In the year of my decline sucking freezies in the rain,” a disjoint forms within the music’s flow. It seems the band is overextending itself at these moments and it is hard to take them earnestly. Lucky these instances are few and far between. Stars truly master the various binary oppositions in …

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