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DiscussI hope that all you indie faithfuls out there were mad excited for St. Vincent yesterday!!! ’Cuz I know I was on Wednesday, as I wrote this — I hope I was not disappointed (woah, this is like talking to a past version of myself). Were you there or were you square?? (And we all know there’s nothing worse than being square. I prefer a trapezoidal form myself). For all ya’ll indie pedestrians, or hopeless indie haters, you shoulda gone to this show because St. Vincent rocks. Quite literally. It’s indie rock.
Inspired by St. Vincent’s visit to Ithaca, today I thought I’d share with you some of the albums I currently love – you can check my iPod’s most played list. (Do iPods have most played lists?) Why did St. Vincent inspire this rare glimpse into my musical tastes, you ask — tongue in cheek I hope, because you probably know far more about my musical tastes than you ever wanted to. Well, it’s because her newest album, released in May of this year, is awesome and currently graces that most-played list which may or may not exist.
The album, entitled Actor, is a flawless fusion of St. Vincent’s (nee Annie Clark) soothing and feminine vocal tones and her guitar’s more abrasive tone. The band projects both moods as well, a many-pieced entity comprising traditional rock instruments as well as brass, and the rockin’ moments groove as much as they disconcert. I discovered St. Vincent fairly recently, after seeing her perform “Marrow” live on David Letterman (prior to his conflict-creating sexual revelations). This was an amazing performance, and I recommend that you YouTube it right now. It is not required, but it may well show up on the quiz. As will the newly-minted verb form of “YouTube.”
In any case, Actor makes you want to cry, yell, smile and get your groove thing on all at once, which makes a highly successful album in my book. The beats are rough and raw, quick-moving and full of tension. The vocals and the lyrics are smooth and sad. “Marrow” is definitely my favorite song, but the entire album is worth listening to. The songs are short and succinct, but convey an incredible variety of moods and characters. I LOVE it.
Awesome album number two is I and Love and You by the Avett Brothers (who will be at the State Theatre Feb. 26!), just released last month. The album marks the brothers major label debut — their first with Sony/BMG/Columbia records. It features … wait for it … the Avett brothers (!) Scott and Seth, and bassist Bob Crawford. The sound is quite different from that of St. Vincent, but it has its rockin’ moments as well (check out “And it Spread” or “Kick Drum Heart”). Generally, the brothers have a happy, sometimes dance-y, vibe going — breathy yet substantial vocals, piano and acoustic guitar. They sing about topics both pensive and self-deprecating, and of course, about love, because who doesn’t? “Three words that become hard to say / I and love and you.” Those lyrics, surprisingly, are from the title track, “I and Love and You,” which is one of my favorites, along with “January Wedding,” and “Laundry Room.”
The album is more crafted than a lot of the Avett Brother’s previous stuff — major label-dom has made some of their spontaneity and raw edges into studio perfectionism, more a la Dave Matthews, but it makes you happy (or it makes me happy anyway) so listen, listen! Especially if you’re into bluegrass, folk-rock, indie-pop combos.
Last but not least is a throwback to my soothing, folksy female vocalists phase from 2008, but in the form of an artist I somehow managed to largely overlook. Which was definitely my loss. The album I’ve been listening to is her self-titled 2005 debut Brandi Carlile. I would describe the sound as “indie-folk,” heavy on the acoustic guitar and gentle vocal harmonies. Carlile performs with brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth, both of whom provide the backups for those oh-so-soothing harmonies. It’s great study music people — pretty, melancholy and non-distracting, leaving you plenty of time to be distracted by watching other people watch other people. Don’t you just love watching other people? (Creeper status pending.)