My Interpol obsession has recently given way to one for Spoon.

Well that isn’t entirely true. Interpol went to Matt Good, which went to Of Montreal, and by the time I saw Of Montreal in Buffalo Radiohead had released their new album and I was obsessed with that for a few weeks, listening to it upwards of 10 times a day, THEN I went back to Spoon.

Several months ago, after seeing Spoon at the Pitchfork Music Festival in July of 2006 I began trying to get to know them in earnest. I knew one song when I saw them, “Small Stakes”, and they didn’t even play it. I stood there, far away from the stage haphazardly filming bits of their set not knowing what the hell was going on, but knowing in the back of my mind that Spoon is an important band that I should know. I soon began listening to as much of their stuff as I could get my hands on. I started with the early stuff, which was not a good idea, because that stuff just isn’t quite as strong as more recent material. Spoon, come to find out, grows significantly, noticeably, with each release.

They don’t really become a force to be reckoned with until “Girls Can Tell” in my opinion. There are always hints at what they would become in earlier releases, but it is not until that album that they actually find their voice. “Kill the Moonlight” is good too, the same can’t be said for “Gimme Fiction” but what can be said is that they are prolific. Spoon is one of those bands that just seems to always be writing, which is a good thing, even if they falter now and then.

They really hit the mark with their latest release, “Ga ga ga ga ga”. This album is instantly catchy right from the first listen. Brit Daniel and company are focused on tight songwriting, and the sound, oh man the SOUND of this album is phenomenal. It’s not densely layered like an Interpol album in any sense. Everything is easily heard in the mix. Each of the instruments take up their own space, yet the band cranks away like a machine. The album doesn’t feel overproduced, but one can hear the painstaking detail that went into creating it. There are production values similar to Phil Spector on tracks like “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” and tracks that have a more live feel to them, like “The Underdog” where everything is up front more and dryer.

I really enjoy Spoon’s use of reverb throughout this album. It becomes an element unto itself on many of the songs, especially in “Eddies Ragga” where the main guitar line plays a single chord through most of the verse with the big room reverb being switched on and off to mark the phrasing. Very inventive. It really drives the song, grabs your ear and changes the feel of the song for that split second. I have never known a band to utilize changes in timbre as an element to their songwriting.

The addition of horns on a few tracks also adds a new element to Spoon’s sound. “The Underdog”, although it sounds very similar to Billy Joel, is one of the strongest tunes on the album. Strong singing with plenty of conviction, a detuned fuzzed out guitar, horns, syncopated handclaps and an acoustic guitar that is properly mic’d, so that one doesn’t just hear the pick smacking against the strings (one of my biggest pet peeves).

Throughout the album I am reminded of Frank Zappa’s “Absolutely Free”, excuse me The Mother’s of Invention….we all know it was all Zappa, anyway… throughout much of the album, in between songs and sometimes during, it is possible to hear Brit talking to the engineer, to the producer. One can also hear other band members talking, and other various studio goings on. This gives the album a feel of a quasi-themeatic venture. Sort of like a day in the life of Spoon. It appears as though they would like to project themselves as a studio band, based on what I see in the video for “The Underdog”, not to mention earlier videos for “Small Stakes” which also features Brit tinkering in the studio during what seems to be late nights.

This album is fairly solid all the way through. Not perfect, but still great. The best that Spoon has put out so far. They have definitely found their niche, and I hope that they will take more time exploring what they have found while making this album instead of veering off course to experiment. I think that an album like this has the potential to propel a band like Spoon into the realm of leaders of their scene. They are a band with a strong following, and a prolific songbook in the making. There was an excitement that I felt during their SNL performance that was not imagined, Pitchfork picked up on it and Youtube responded. Spoon could soon be heralded as the next saviors of rock (sorry Strokes, Rolling Stone needs to give it a break with you guys). This is a definite contender for album of the year.

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This is my introduction to the music of Animal Collective. From what I understand they are a growing band with quite a large following, and from what I hear, this is for good reason.

Out of nowhere now I am putting this album in the running for my best of the year round-up that will be coming up shortly. I wish I had more time to review more albums. This album stands out as one of the more original releases that have passed through my ears in a long time. I’m glad that I didn’t waste my time pontificating over the greatness of the new Radiohead album, as everyone knows that that is a fantastic album, and a very important album….but I digress.

Everything about this Animal Collective album is highly original, everything from the sounds used, to the songforms and lyrics and effects used to process the instruments and voices. I would liken this album to the new release by Liars that came out earlier this year.

At once intense, dark, heavy and layered the unique sound of this band became something of an addiction to me. The psychedelic echoes and wandering falsetto melodies don’t leave me knowing exactly where their influences lay. It is great to be able to hear fresh sounds time and again, that aren’t derivative of something else that is already going on. Animal Collective are forging new territory.

Standout track “For Reverened Green” persists with a repeated, echoed yet staccato distorted guitar while sparse drums permeate the background. The vocals are sung with intensity, and screamed at the top of his lungs at the end of most of the phrases. This is grand music, larger than life. As each song progresses they get bigger and bigger.

There is plenty of push through this album, lots of energy as each track drives into the next one. Each song has a strong melody, as off-kilter as some of them may be. It sounds as if the band is shunning altoghether the traditional rock band set-up. The drums seem to take a back seat to overdubs of guitars, piano lines and various electronic sounds. To be honest, with as much stuff going on at once as there is in this album the drums are not missed to even the slightest degree. Not to say that drums aren’t present at all on the album, it’s just that they are not an interal part of the song, they are not consistently present or persistent in many of the songs. I guess it would be easiest to say that they serve their purpose.

It feels like this album was payed great attention to orchestration. Every song was started from scratch. There don’t seem to be any preconceived notions about what makes up a rock song. The band gets very creative in scoring and instrument choice. There are elements of minimalism throughout most of the album, with it’s repetitious patterns (see the track #1) and layering of material instead of altering the original line in any way.

Another track worthy of special recognition would be “Fireworks”, which begins with a driving (flanged) drumbeat. This would be a great single for radio play in a perfect world. The melody in the verses is just as strong as any I have heard anywhere else. Memorable, powerful and meaningful. A great combination.

I am still at the point where I am listening to this album all the time. There is so much to pick up on, so much to listen to each time. The first 10 listens are definitely exploratory.

As I write this the track “Fireworks” is building to a fiery conclusion, expanding register and dynamics for what seems like days. I don’t want to say that this is the album of the year for me, but I just wanted to take a minute and mention all the things that make this album great. The things that make it great are consequently the things that make all great albums great. Innovative, original, intelligent….etc.

The long wait finally came to an end this summer. Shellac released another album, and only 7 years after their last. Putting a gap like that between albums is a risky thing for any band, well, any band that is trying to make a living through record sales and touring. For Shellac this is just protocol.

I only recently came to know Shellac, and instantly become one of their maniacal fans, I don’t think there is such a thing as someone that “casually” listens to them, either you are completely obsessed or you detest them with every fiber of your being. Perhaps grinding, sarcastic, sneering, harsh, abrasive, offensive dissonant math rock is not your thing. I didn’t know it was my thing until I couldn’t stop listening to “1,000 Hurts” for about a month and Shellac shot straight to no.4 on my last.fm charts within a week of me first hearing them. I fell in love with Steve Albini’s guitar tone. The Travis Bean aluminum necked guitar sound, apparently augmented by way of metal picks with divots cut into them. It’s funny, Steve’s guitar sound matches his personality: begging to be heard. Even if you don’t like what he has to say the sound will grind its way into your soul.

Naturally after such a long wait there is going to be certain expectations. One would expect a greater album, faster, more powerful, just more in general. This album delivers on many of those expectations through tracks like “Steady as She Goes” and “Spoke” the latter being a mushmouthed scream-fest between Albini and bassist Bob Weston. On some fronts though the songs seem forced and lose their drive, “Genuine Lullabelle” for instance.

The choice of opening track is understandable, from a lyrical standpoint. “The End of Radio” features Albini spouting off while Todd Trainer pummels the snare drum into submission. The song eventually takes off, but not fast enough for me. This song works on the first listen but honestly it doesn’t hold up and gets the work off to a slow start. The whole thing doesn’t actually “start” until “Steady as she Goes”.

“Steady as She Goes” is Shellac doing what Shellac does best, which means they click into their very precise and tightly played groove and crank out a fast-paced, form shattering number. There are some interesting contrasts on this album though, for example probably the most melodic and catchy line that they have ever presented, “Kittypants” appears after the long and boring “Genuine Lullabelle” a song that goes nowhere fast, though the Strongbad appearance is a great addition. Another interesting aspect of that song in particular is the extended use of silence. I’m not trying to be a smart ass, that is a very daring move, first of all to have Albini all alone out there singing and then putting in 10 seconds of silence between phrases, that is something I have never heard anyone try before.

It is good to hear Shellac trying new things, but they are most enjoyable when they stick to doing what they normally do. Face it, they don’t care if you buy their album, they don’t care if you go to their shows, they don’t care about reviews (neither do their fans) so it makes sense that they put out this album which does not work as well as a whole unit as “Terraform” or “At Action Park” do.

To me this is Shellac’s most uneven album and I think the thing that pushes it over the edge is the use of 2 extended tracks where not much happens. “Didn’t we Deserve a Look at You the Way you Really Were” almost kills Terraform, almost….they pushed it too far this time.

Don’t get me wrong, when they are on they are on and the things that they do within a 3-piece ensemble is pretty amazing. They always manage to find new ways to combine instruments or new ways to turn a song into a meter-stretching progged out jam session. And this isn’t even mentioning the fact that they record most of their tracks live, and they are the tightest band you will ever hear, yet another daring thing.

All in all this is a fine album, but it is not going to be enough to hold me over until 2015 when their next album will most likely come out. They took a lot of chances on this one, something they didn’t really do on 1,000 Hurts. There is more to an album than just the music, certain expectations are developed within certain circumstances. Waiting this long for an album this “ok” is anything but ok. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter what they do, because all of us fanatical Shellac followers will rush to the record store to buy whatever it is that they put out as if there were only 100 albums pressed.

Although this album is their first misstep, in my opinion I am still extremely excited to be able to see them twice, in the same day, in December. If they do their trademarked “Q & A” session in the middle of the show perhaps I will ask them “Why?”

It is getting close to the point where I am going to have to develop my list for the best albums released in 2007.

You may think that is is too early, ahhh, but this is where you are wrong, and it is my blog after all and I do whatever I want. Here’s to an early start. Albums may or may not be added to this list, we’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the year goes. In the weeks to come I will begin to review the merits of each of these albums, hopefully that will bring us up to the end of the year where only one winner will remain. Here they are in no particular order:

Thurston Moore – “Trees Outside the Academy”
The most recent addition to the list has the indie rock god still showing everyone how it is done, while coming a long way from “Psychic Hearts”. I expected this to be a bit more Sonic Youth-y, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was very wrong. The addition of violin on the album is a very nice touch, and the song writing is quite polished, all in all a solid album and strong contender.

Interpol – “Our Love to Admire”
The major label debut for NYC’s Interpol is their best effort to date and my personal latest obsession. The album is solid all the way through, despite some rehashing of old material. Dark and beautiful and full of emotion, regardless of whether or not the lyrics make any sense whatsoever.

Matthew Good – “Hospital Music”
This was a surprise to me. I have heard many songs by Matt Good and the Matt Good band in the past, and nothing quite grabbed my attention. This album sat on my computer untouched for a while before deciding to finally listen to it, being sick of all the regular things I was listening to. The album made me stop what I was doing and demanded my attention all the way through. Quite a powerful piece of work from a dark period in the life of this Canadian singer/songwriter.

Air – “Pocket Symphony”
Successful albums, to me, are able to convey a feeling all the way through. The mood is set through the songs, it is the thread that ties each together, but the songs need to also stand alone too. This album is a perfect amalgam of almost, but not quite, ambient pop tunes with a hint of Kraftwerk minus the rigidity and math.

Marnie Stern – “In Advance of the Broken Arm”
Out of nowhere comes this shred guitar, prog, thrash album from a great guitarist with a very odd sense of rhythm (thanks to Hella’s drummer). These songs are catchy, fast, intense and a whirlwind of emotions presented by a captivating, convincing voice. The lack in sound quality on the album is more than made up for by the complex counterpoint of the multiple guitar tracks and almost exclusively finger-tapped guitar.

Of Montreal – “Icons, Abstract Thee” (EP)
Although this is only an EP (you can see already that this most likely will not make the cut) consisting of outtakes from the “Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer?” album, it is a concise and well crafted piece of work. This was my introduction to Of Montreal, and for that reason it holds a special place in my heart.

Shellac – “Excellent Italian Greyhound”
What can be said that hasn’t already been said about Chicago’s own Shellac. These intense math-rockers, fronted by the ever captivating and violently opinionated Steve Albini, never fail to deliver to their fans. Although this album does not necessarily break new ground as far as Shellac albums go, it is always great to have more. The production quality, the humor, the guitar tone that I drool over, Albini’s snide, sarcastic tone contrasted by Bob Westons inability to sing on pitch all add up to a demanding listen, although they falter on a few tracks.

That sums it up for right now. I have word that there are a few albums that may be missing. A friend recently told me not to leave out the Grinderman effort, as well as the new Ricki Lee Jones, and I mustn’t forget the new Tegan and Sara album. As soon as I check them out I will add them here. Check back soon to see reviews, and watch the contenders to see who will remain standing at years end.