Disappear!

Desaparecidos - Read Music. Speak Spanish (2002)

So, you're kind of interested in Bright Eyes, but can't get past when Conor Oberst is a little whiny sometimes, yeah? Okay, fair.

But did you know that he had another, noisier, punk band in the early 2000's? Desaparecidos is made up of Mr. Oberst on guitar and vocals, and a band of other Saddle Creek musicians (Landon Hedges of The Good Life, Denver Dalley who primarily wrote the music on this record with Oberst on lyrics, Matt Baum, and Ian McElroy), many of whom appear on other Bright Eyes albums.

The music on the album is pretty hard; almost a complete 180 from the normal approach on Bright Eyes' records. The lyrics tackle the issues of poverty in the nation, usually in the form of vignettes surrounding the lives of men and women dealing with each other and their financial struggles. Here's a song, to give you an idea of what I mean:



Recommended Tracks: Man And Wife (The Former), Survival Of The Fittest (It's A Jungle Out There), Hole In One
Genres: Punk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?wfgiy4mtmwi

So Proud!

The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride (2008)

It's no secret that The Mountain Goats are not only one of my favorite bands, but one of the best bands making music these days. Led by John Darnielle, the prolific, nasally singer-songwriter of the band, the Goats write albums that sweep across huge arid Texas plains, in volatile homes owned by warring lovers, and just about anything else.

Heretic Pride, however, is entirely non-linear. As a matter of fact, the songs don't connect at all. They're all just songs. Beautiful songs. Folky in their meanings and intentions (songs about kung fu movies, love, horror story writers, serial killers, desperation, etc), full on rock in their delivery (awww yeah), these songs are just fantastic. One of their best albums, one of my favorites from the past few years.

Here's a song to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:



Recommended Tracks: Sax Rohmer #1, Heretic Pride, Lovecraft In Brooklyn, Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident
Genres: Rock, Indie, Folk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?dyl3x3qmezm

Wow, Okay, Let's Take This Easy Now...

Hey, so it's been a long time... I apologize.

I will be updating this more often starting... Now. I promise. At least for the next month or so, I'll be putting an album up every few days.

I'm going to open up this list with my top albums of 2009! I'll be putting (most) of these up! Woo!

15. Analog Moog - Endless Air
14. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
13. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
12. Brand New - Daisy
11. Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra - Take Off!
10. Double Dagger - More
9. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
8. Bomb The Music Industry! - Scrambles
7. Andrew Jackson Jihad - Can't Maintain
6. Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen
5. Pianos Become The Teeth - Old Pride
4. St. Vincent - Actor
3. Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything To Nothing
2. Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another
1. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns





And we will kick off this newfound inspiration to blog with my #4 album, St. Vincent's Actor (2009)!


Annie Clark (featured on the album cover), the guitarist, lyricist, composer, and sweet-voiced mad scientist behind St. Vincent, had me so intrigued when I first listened to her new album, Actor. It was a mixture of beautiful woodwinds fluttering, haunting lyrics with dark, dark (dark) overtones, and ugly, gnarly guitar solos. Badass, right? I really recommend checking out this album: she has toured with Sufjan Stevens and was once a member of The Polyphonic Spree.

Her album was first composed on garageband (extra credit from me!), then redone using real people. Basically, it's indie pop mixed with old Disney songs making up a sprawling beautiful lake, but underneath, in the murky depths, there lie guitars that have been awoken and they swell up and out like monsters before falling back into their cold, muddy lakebeds.

Okay, sorry. Here, just listen, okay?



Pretty awesome, right?

Recommended Tracks: Actor Out Of Work, Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood, Marrow
Genres: Indie
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?rmzjzzqxzvw

A Little Something Most Of You Are Already Aware Of

Tonight, I do not have an album for you. Most of you are already aware of this link, as I've been posting it practically everywhere I can, but I just love showing this off to you people.

My band and I recorded our first song last week and I'm posting it here for you guys to check out. I'd really appreciate it if this could be used as a feedback center, but I understand that most of you don't really like posting comments on things, so whatever. If you find time, let me know what you think, because I'd really appreciate it.

Either way, I've got to recommend watching the Flowers visualizer with this because it is SO badass.

Anyways, here it is!

Fireworks For Luna - It's Happening (2009)



http://www.fireworksforluna.bandcamp.com

Downloads available on the site. Again, gimme a little feedback! There should be a second song up soon, but until then, I'd just like to know what everyone thinks about what we're doing.

The Future Is Glorious!

One year ago, I went to see Against Me! with Ted Leo And The Pharmacists (what a sweet bill, right?). The opener was a band called The Future Of The Left, and I was uninterested in them. I had never heard them, never heard of them. Whatever. We got to the show late, and caught the end of their set, and that's when I realized.

Holy shit! That's Andy Falkous, the singer from McLusky, on stage right now.

Holy shit! I didn't even realize he was in a new band, nonetheless that they're arguably even better than McLusky!

The Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another (2009)



The newer release is similar to the McLusky album I posted before, but, perhaps, a little less raw and a little bit better. It's got all the things you loved: having your face bit off by fuzzy guitar lines, getting kicked in the balls by unfairly awesome bass, and getting mechanically separated by the drums. This time, though, you've got a (somewhat) more mature outing, complete with (somewhat) political leanings (Hint: they're in the future) and (significantly) more interesting songwriting.

So yeah, the guitars are loud, the basses are loud, the drums are loud, and Falco's vocals are utterly bile-filled (if not as screamed as they were in mclusky). Everything comes together beautifully to make a truly great, true rock album. And in 2009! Who would've thought this to be possible?

Anyways, this is up in my top 10 list for the year. Here's a song off of it to give you an idea of what the record sounds like (plus a picture of the three strapping young members of FotL!):


Recommended Tracks: Arming Eritrea, You Need Satan More Than He Needs You, Stand By Your Manatee
Genres: Rock, Experimental
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?m2tqtkhotjy

GUEST POAST: Heatmiser's Mic City Sons

Alec has been very patient. He sent me this review aboouuutttt 2 months ago and I forgot to put it up. So here it is, in all of its awesome pseudo-depressing-but-with-some-real-joy-and-a-great-album-cover glory! Sorry it's so late, everybody, but I hope you enjoy it just the same <3

Heatmiser - Mic City Sons (1996)



Heatmiser was sort of a congregation of big Indie names. While I won't detail each member and their credits, you may recognize Elliot Smith as the main vocalist. And while you may recognize his hand in a few of the songs, this is definitely not an Elliot Smith cd with another band name tagged to it. Lyrics depicting sorrow and helplessness span throughout the album, yet some are accompanied by songs with a catchy guitar, very creative writing for all of instruments, and in some songs, you may just forget there's anything else behind the vocals. Musically there's hardly any lyrical connection from song to song, yet it flows very, very well. Mic City Sons was the third and final CD by this "supergroup," and really stood out from the first two because you could tell the members were finally starting to click as an actual band, mixing their individual creative styles in such a way that produced a great, coherent album. It would have been nice to see them continue on, however most, if not all, of the members enjoyed some success individually. In my opinion, however, this transcends any of their solo songs and is really a masterful piece to sum up a few different approaches to a moody, emotional, soft indie-style album.

Recommended Tracks: Plainclothes Man
Genres: Indie, Rock
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?jzyhgtezyaz

EDITED NEWSNEWSNEWS

Yeah, I just confirmed with Brooks: We will be broadcasting from 4-6 PM and NOT 4-6 AM! This is great news for people in this time zone! Hurray!!

NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS!!!

Hey all! I have some BIG NEWS for all Hallelujah! Hallelujah! readers!!

Starting THIS Saturday, we will be going LIVE!! Yes, that's right! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! will be available on the radio, which is available on the intertubes!

My good friend, bandmate, and guest reviewer, Brooks, and I will be chatting it up while kicking out the jams every Saturday from... well, 4AM-6AM. But it's gonna be awesome!!

YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT.

Ugly Is Beautiful

I've waited so long to put this album up! It's one of the best I've ever heard and it's seriously fucking awesome! So check it out!!


Cursive - The Ugly Organ (2003)

Cursive's music sounds like it was soaked in some kind of developing fluid; like they recorded the music on tape, brought it into a darkroom and produced it into photographs. Every song sounds like it was drenched in every single color of red and black until the photo came out looking like the negative.

Tim Kasher's vocals are full of fire and intensity; his songs about his messy divorce mimic his every emotion: the guitars squeal through a punk-like-but-mostly-indie emo record, the cellos... Oh the cellos are beautiful, and the rhythms start and stop through every heartbeat. Every song makes up a part of this album, definitely one of my oldest favorites, definitely one of the bands that got me into the entire indie genre. Listening to the album from front to back gives me such a tremendous feeling; the last song's gradual rise and fall is absolutely stunning, when matched with the other songs.

Recommended songs: Red-Handed Sleight Of Hand, Art Is Hard, The Recluse, A Gentleman Caller
Genres: Indie, Emo, Punk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?2nmmtm3imok

An Idea For A Fireworks Display

A young woman named Valerie messaged me the other day letting me know that she was really into Amanda Palmer and Nick Cave, so I'm going to upload an album by my all-time favorite musician, who I think sounds kind of similar to both of those artists! Awesome!



Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones (1983)

Yes, yes, we all know I have a raging love for Tom Waits that will extinguish only after I die. This album is no exception. Written just before Rain Dogs and a few years after Small Change, this album is in the direct center of Tom Waits' jazzy years and his experimental ones. This can sometimes make Swordfishtrombones seem a little schizophrenic, but more often than not, it strengthens the album by solidifying Waits' stranger ideas within conventional ones.

Overall, this is a great place to START with Tom Waits because it hits both of his worlds, but it also has a few of his absolute best pieces, and listening to it always transports me back to the first time I ever heard it, so I know that it has a special place in my heart. Also, Johnsburg, Illinois is one of the single most heartwarming pieces of music ever. Just Tom Waits, a piano, and a bassist. Conversely, Franks Wild Years is one of the creepiest and funniest pieces of music I've ever heard. Waits speaks over a funky organ track about... um, well, burning down your house to kill your wife's dog. Or something. This album is awesome, just try it out! See you next week!

Recommended Tracks: Shore Leave, Johnsburg Illinois, In The Neighborhood, Frank's Wild Years, Swordfishtrombone
Genres: Rock, Experimental
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?uo3bmmgmyg0

Okay, We're Back Online!

I lost the ability to access this account for a while, but now I'm back and with a very quick review for a very good cd. It's a classic, so get it while the gettin's good! Brand New's newest album, Daisy, leaked, but I won't be putting it up here until after it's already out. Sorry guys, I'm not running a leak website, and I think bands really hate it when their albums are out before the publish date, so I'm going to try and do them as many services as I can.



Brand New - Deja Entendu (2003)

So, apparently not everyone has this cd... Also, some people think that Brand New is kind of lame or something? Dudes, get with the program. This cd is so excellent on so many levels; it's a catchy record with thoughtful, interesting lyrics, and, yeah, spot on musicianship from the New York quartet, led by lead vocalist and guitarist, Jesse Lacy.

The record is, uh, yeah, technically a seminal "emo" work... but, it's NOT like My Chemical Romance or any of that nonsense... It's much more like Cursive or Jets To Brazil; fun, interesting music with lyrics that have a lot of thought put into them. Kind of closer to indie or punk, I would say.

Here's a sample track to give you an idea of what they're like, but I can't recommend this album higher, it's a great piece of music and I find myself listening to it pretty frequently these days. Enjoy you guys!



Recommended Tracks: Sic Transit Gloria... (Glory Fades), Guernica, The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Genres: Indie, Punk, Emo
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?zzdminmr2yd

Miles In Blues In Green

This was the first jazz cd I ever heard, it's still pretty much the best ever, and it's the record that literally got me into the genre. Absolutely beautiful.

Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue (1959)

Featuring drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers, the great Bill Evans on piano, and two of my favorites on saxophone (John Coltrane on tenor sax, and Cannonball Adderley on alto sax), it's hard to believe this album wouldn't be an instant classic. What makes this jazz album so very great is that every song isn't just a song; it's a modal adventure that literally turned jazz into what it is today. This cd shaped jazz from standard bebop into the virtuosic music powerhouse that we know of today.

The songs, for the most part are playful; there are only five, and they tend to be evenly paced, with appropriate loud-soft dynamics. A few songs are slower, but in all honesty, you won't notice. Listening to the record can be as involved as you like, which is what drew me to it. You can it play in the background for some calming music, or you can listen closely to how the different chords create new moods around each other, or how the improvised solo parts inflect new sounds that were never even intended. Absolutely stunning, absolutely perfect. This is the album you want it to be, and this is something you should have.

Recommended Tracks: So What, All Blues
Genres: Jazz
Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?z0z2jjinwmz

A Stunning Return To Form!

Sorry about that break, guys! Jeez, it's been a while. Let's get right into it, shall we? This is a good one, you guys.

The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas (2002)



John Darnielle recorded fourteen songs that take place in the arid searing landscapes of Western Texas using just an acoustic guitar and a boombox. This is the final album he made on a boombox before switching over to the polished studio sound. The music itself is, quite simply, a kind of modern folk. John's nasally voice is so full of raw power and emotion, and the buzzing of the recording equipment in the background mix well with the acoustic guitars.

The album twines, intertwines, and unwinds at the ends through the seven characters and the two houses. Good luck trying to figure out who is who, much of it is cryptically (and purposefully) attributable to any of the characters that pop in and out of the album, but in all honesty, it's not a problem. Every character that appears is so beautifully rendered and voiced that it doesn't make any difference who is singing. Every song makes me feel so tender and raw, listening to this album just makes me want to hail Satan forever.

Recommended Tracks: The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton, Color In Your Cheeks, The Mess Inside, Absolute Lithops Effect
Genre: Folk, Indie
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?k2zmnnymizn

It Commands You!

The Mars Volta are getting fairly famous, but what a lot of people don't realize is that the two main members of the band got their start in an awesome punk group called At The Drive-In. I even like ATDI a little more than the Mars Volta, to tell the truth. This is my favorite album by them!



At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command (2000)

This album picks you up by your face and shakes you around through discordant guitar lines, shaking drum beats, soaring vocals, and labyrinthian words. ATDI are a punk band at their heart, but their music seems to stand on a genre of its own design; the band puts you at the epicenter of a hurricane of sounds that carry you far, far away from home. Lead vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala's singing matches well with guitarist's Jim Wards occasional shouts; their vocals dance around Omar Rodriguez-Lopez' intricate guitar melodies.

This was the last album by At The Drive-In before they split up to become Cedric and Omar's The Mars Volta and Jim Ward's Sparta. This album is the culmination of 7 years of hard work and it shows; it's a beautiful record and it defines its own genre. I love listening to this cd and I always forget to tell people about it, so now you know! Pick it up!

Here's a song! You guys seemed to like that from before:


Recommended Tracks: Arcarsenal, One Armed Scissor, Sleepwalk Capsules
Genres: Punk, Rock
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?4kto0mzutyt

Hey, Kids, Rock And Roll

Guest Post Tuesday returns! Thanks for the review, Alec! REM is one of the coolest and most influential bands around, and I'm happy to have them up on this site. Enjoy, you guys.



REM - Automatic For The People (1992)

Hey, kids, rock and roll. So says Michael Stipe in the first song on what I believe to be REM's most significant album of their long and impressive career. Lots of REM albums use relatively similar rock styles in order to convey a mood or message, while Automatic for the People, while definitely mood driven, stands out from all their other albums in terms of musical style. Almost the entire album has a dark feel to it, much of the songs dealing either directly with death or with the effects it has on people, yet it is delivered in such a way that there's a calming effect despite the harsh subjects -- by the end of the album, you'll realize that this is one of the most soothing collections of music that you'll ever listen to. It's not what you would expect out of REM, but it's excellent nonetheless. I could give a detailed paragraph about each song, maybe more, but you should honestly just listen to it, as words can't possibly give an accurate description of the feelings that the album pours over you as it progresses.

Recommended Tracks: Drive, Sweetness Follows, Monty Got a Raw Deal
Genres: Rock, Alternative
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?tim2iu1dm1m

Because We Need This, Oh, So Bad

This is a crisis, you guys. I feel bad putting this full album up, as these guys are just barely getting started and are in need of some honest lovin'. If you download this cd and like it, I recommend seeing them live if they happen to be in your area or even buying it from Saddle Creek when it comes out (tomorrow). So yeah, this cd has been my latest obsession, I've been listening to it nonstop for the past few weeks. Just realy great.


The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns (2009)

The Rural Alberta Advantage came up from the depths of a terrible homesickness. Singer/songwriter Nils Edenloff moved from his hometown in wilds of Alberta to the crushing, crowded cityscape of Toronto. In an apartment, he penned love songs for his hometown; songs about the icy north in Canada, love, lost love, bridges, and anything else that reminded him of home.

His voice bleats like John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, the drums flail about in syncopations that resemble the genre of Drum And Bass, and the lyrics hit closer to home than you'd like to believe. Each song lives and breathes and leads into the next; the album goes from quiet introspection to noisy punk rock whenever necessary. Overall, this album is great for anyone who liked The Weakerthans, Ted Leo, Cursive, or The Mountain Goats, but I'd say check it out regardless, because it's just a cool cd.

Let's try this: here's a sample video!



Recommended Tracks: Don't Haunt This Place, The Dethbridge In Lethbridge, Luciana
Genres: Indie, Folk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?nyzkym2jzim

Mike Ups The Punx

I see a lot of you like McLusky and The Weakerthans! This is good news for me because so do I! Also, I think a lot of you might've liked having less talk and more rock? Or maybe it was the youtube video? I'll try to shave down what I have to say, regardless.



Against Me! - Searching For A Former Clarity (2005)

Up the punx. Or the selloutz. Or whatever. Against Me! are an anarcho-folk-punk band turned poppy-but-still-bile-fueled-punk turned pop-punk-crossover smash, but what a lot of people neglect is this cd, which is far and away my favorite of theirs. Their first real full-length, Reinventing Axl Rose, is highly regarded as their best, the follow-up, As The Eternal Cowboy, is highly regarded as OMGSELLOUTZZZ. This album is their response to their annoying, hateful ex-fans, so it's quite angry (but it's also slightly less punx, music-wise, so it evens out).

Essentially, this is the point directly before Against Me!'s tranformation from underground punk band to being on the Billboard charts, so it's a GREAT place to start if you're interestde in getting into them. It's furious, but dancy, heartfelt, but sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek, and it's both energetic, but subdued. Absolutely transfixing album that slowly erodes from the anger of Miami, into the quiet, beautiful outro of a title track. Just a great record.

Recommended Tracks: Miami, Pretty Girls (The Mover), Joy, Problems, Don't Lose Touch
Genres: Punk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?zm5wyydjjmz

We're Gonna Try Something New

I'm so fucking tired from driving for 8 hours today, so this is going to be a test: Shorter reviews.
McLusky - McLusky Do Dallas (2002)


This album will kick your ass and rock your face off. This is your review:




Recommended Tracks: Lightsaber Cocksucking Blues, Collagen Rock, To Hell With Good Intentions, The World Love Us And Is Our Bitch
Genres: Rock, Experimental, Metal, Awesomeawesome
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?tyztazig2rk

The Weakerthans Make Me Weakintheknees

So that Mountain Goats cd down there is really just so so so good. You guys should pick it up. It's got hardly any downloads yet and it really bums me out.

Also, you may have noticed a decline in postings (you probably didn't), and that's because, well, I don't want to run out of albums. This blog will only be active 3-4 days a week now, instead of 5. Sorry. Onto the album!!

A lot of people downloaded that other Weakerthans album (But I Can't Remember The Sound), so I figured I would put another one of their albums up for everyone. Again, you guys, this is my all time favorite band. They're just fantastic.



The Weakerthans - Left And Leaving (2000)

This is the album that changed everything for me; I remember it very well, when I finally decided to listen to it (I had been listening to Reunion Tour on repeat and figured it was time to put something new in). I was in the car, riding from some town in Pennsylvania back home, and put the headphones in. By the title track, I was completely unable to contain myself anymore. Their lyrics were always spot on, their music was always fun and enjoyable, and the mixture of the punk ethic with the indie sound comes out as beautiful as I would hope. This is more than just a collection of songs.

Between the fast pop-punk of Watermark, to the practically spoken-word Without Mythologies, even leaving room for some country twang in My Favorite Chords (probably one of the best songs ever written), The Weakerthans always do it exactly right. Literally every single track on here is emotionally charged, perfectly worded, and musically coherent to the song. One moment that really stuck out for me is the chorus of Aside ("Leaning on this broken fence, between past and present tense") and how it related to the album title. Just genius and just beautiful. The album ends with "neon lights and slinking purple skies," and [left and] leaves you with a need to put it on repeat. Honestly, this is just a fantastic album and I couldn't recommend it higher. They're seriously my favorite band for a reason, and I guarantee that, eventually, I'll have all of their albums up, and you should get them all!

Recommended tracks: Aside, Watermark, This Is A Fire Door Never Leave Open, Left And Leaving, Exiles Among You, My Favorite Chords (okay, yeah, I know. They're seriously all awesome)
Genres: Indie, Punk, Folk, Rock
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?ymymjq5q14t

To Love Or Die In Tallahassee

When people ask how you can get into a band like The Mountain Goats, it's not too difficult to come up with a quick answer. John Darnielle has written and recorded over 500 songs, some recorded on a primitive boombox in one take, just so he wouldn't forget how to play it. However, in 2002, after the beautiful All Hail West Texas (to be uploaded later), some genius decided to give Mr. Darnielle and his Mountain Goats a record deal on 4ad, and this is the stunningly good album that came out, this is the album I recommend first.


The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee (2002)

If you were to ask someone about the Mountain Goats, they'd probably say "he writes a lot of songs about traveling and a lot of songs about a couple that is married but hates each other and wants to kill each other." The cd Tallahassee is entirely about that couple. Every song seems to outline bitter hatred that exists between them, but the explanations are out of, well, love. Darnielle doesn't mourn this couple's hatred, instead, he celebrates them; he created them so that they couldn't help but beat up on each other, get drunk, beat up on each other more, have make up sex, and then hate each other. It's their way of loving each other, it's the way they live.

What makes this album so great is the fact that life literally flows from each song. Between the scathingly powerful "No Children," the beautifully soft-spoken "International Small Arms Traffic Blues," and the cathartic power of "See America Right," Tallahassee is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable records I've ever heard and is the cd that got me into The Mountain Goats altogether. Honestly, if you can, reading the lyrics alongside the record gives a nearly literary value to the cd; it plays out like a book and it is just awesome. Again, this is easily one of the best bands making music today and one of the best records I have ever heard.

Recommended Tracks: No Children, See America Right, International Small Arms Traffic Blues, Have To Explode, Oceanographer's Choice
Genres: Indie, Rock, Folk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?jayzmtvcyod