Indie Dispatches: CHL’s year-end accolades & a peak at what’s to come in 2012
Ryan Adam's 'Ashes & Fire' among 2011's musical highlights
From the melodic pop of Real Estate to the undeniably retro fuzz of Yuck, the distorted dreamy noise of I Break Horses and the lo- fi meandering of Youth Lagoon, 2011 has been an excellent year for music. Ryan Adams, in a distinct return to form, made a bare confessional acoustic album – his best in years. WILD FLAG made girl rock cool again. Both The Kills & Hanni El Khatib showed that you can surely make a lot of noise (and be uber-sexy) with just two people on stage. Cass McCombs released two albums, and in particular one single that was both haunting and staggeringly brilliant. And the Beach Boys issued a record almost 25 years after its intended release date… For sure, a stack of blog and media end-of-year ratings have had more than a few head scratchers on them, and there have been some much touted records on people’s lists that are just plain bad, but it seems despite all that, whatever your taste, there was music to be excited about in 2011. And to our ears, here are 10 of the best. No need for any lengthy explanations. Just fire up that Spotify player and listen:
Real Estate – Days (Domino)
WILD FLAG – s/t (Merge)
Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire (PaxAm/Capitol)
Caitlin Rose – Own Side Now (Theory 8)
The Kills – Blood Pressure (Domino)
Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)
I Break Horses – Hearts (Cooperative Music)
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key (Saddle Creek)
Hanni El Khatib – Will the Guns Come Out (Innovative Leisure)
Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation (Fat Possum)
Beach Boys – Smile (2xLP vinyl set) (Capitol)
And pipped at the post, but still highly notable and worth a moment or two of your time were full-lengths by Middle Brother, Cass McCombs and War on Drugs. Reissue of the year (can you call it that since it was never originally out?) was the Beach Boys Smile album (on vinyl of course!!). And when you are talking single of the year – Cass McCombs “County Line” qualifies for top honors, followed close behind by Real Estate “It’s Real” and Pageants “Edible Rust”. A tip of the hat also goes to FIDLAR for their DIYDUI EP on White Iris, and “Georgia” by Yuck (which strictly speaking came out in the dying days of 2010 but who’s counting with a song this catchy)
Indie label of the year honors… it looks from the ratings above, that would go to Domino, with Merge running a close second.
Live? Ryan Adams played a couple of low-key album release shows, including one in the small mausoleum room at Hollywood Forever Cemetery that was just sublime. And watching the ongoing march to success of Fitz and the Tantrums as they spent the year conquering ever greater rooms across the country was a source of joy. The Kills? They brought the rock every time.
And while there was much worthy of a thumbs-up this year, the list of things to look forward to in 2012 is already appearing expansive. There’s that new Mark Lanegan release, maybe another record from Local Natives (?), the US screenings of the film Lawrence of Belgravia, LP2 from Best Coast, a highly anticipated new release from Sharon van Etten, a possible return by Mazzy Star and albums from Band of Skulls (who somewhere along the line signed to Vagrant), Sleigh Bells, Imperial Teen, Damien Jurado, and more from Spiritualized… Phew! Roll on January 1!
- Cool Hand Luke
12.23.10Indie Dispatches: Chart Bumps, Tour Slumps & Band Overload – Final Missive for 2010
The xx were one of 2010's biggest stories
Whoa, 2010! What a year! Great music, bad music, hypes, bombs, and a whole lotta changes. It seems like everything this year moved at Warp Factor 10 and there were more than a few surprises. Launching the time machine back to January 1st, it would have been hard to predict some of the significant moments of the year ahead.
Arcade Fire top the charts! No, not the indie ghetto, or Heatseekers – the real ones! In fact it wasn’t just the Arcade Fire & their label, Merge Records, making waves in ‘the big boys club’ - Spoon, The National, Sufjan Stevens and a host of other acts signed to independent labels had sales that led to them crashing into the upper echelons of the charts. Heavens, even Best Coast made an appearance! And not to be forgotten is Vampire Weekend, who also hit the coveted #1 position early in the year on the indie XL Recordings. Maybe it can attributed to slumping major label sales leaving the door open for their independent brethren, or it could be the focus on the music community and a dedication to the fans from the indies that the consumers repaid by actually buying the records. Maybe it is just that many indies put out great music that people cared about. Whatever is behind it, it is a reason to celebrate, and set 2010 as a landmark twelve months – to paraphrase Sonic Youth… the year that indie broke.
Is it the 90’s? The host of bands from Gen X/Y that reformed, toured and released records was long and full. Sonic Youth, Superchunk, Soundgarden, Pavement, Vaselines, Teenage Fanclub, Versus, Faith No More, Belle & Sebastian, Guided By Voices, JSBX and Dean Wareham playing Galaxie 500… Even Jeff Mangum from the much revered (and long lost) Neutral Milk Hotel popped up at year-end for his first live show in many, many years. And significantly, this wasnt some tired re-tread as the bands (for the most part) held their own against younger contenders. The Sonic Youth ‘early years’ set at the Hollywood Bowl this year was blistering and Superchunk came back to release one of the albums of the year, and put on a series of shows that were 100% fun and over-the-top great (meanwhile finding the time to run the label releasing that #1 album…)
First #1 in 2010
Speaking of which – who would dispute Merge Records as the best label of the year? The Arcade Fire hit the chart peak, after the label came close earlier in 2010 with both Spoon and She and Him. But there was still a dedication to quality releases – large or small. A conversation with label head Mac McCaughan will see him raving about the marvels of Wye Oak, as much as some of the label’s more storied roster. The Love Language, Caribou, Tracy Thorn, Telekinesis… quite a schedule of releases, and one that should be the envy of other labels, both big and small.
Duke Spirit, Delta Spirit, Kid Sister, Twin Sister, Twin Shadow, Le Sands, Leswitch, La Sera, Deerhunter, Deerhoof, Kisses, Suckers, Sweaters, Cults, Guards, Avi Buffalo, White Buffalo, White Arrows, White Sea, Cloud Cult, Cloud Control, Cloud Nothings, Wild Nothing, WILD FLAG, Mountain Man, MEN, Girls, Women, Felice Brothers, Pernice Brothers, Punch Brothers, Punches, Dead Confederate, Dead Country, Dead Weather, Beach House, Beach Fossils, Crystal Castles, Crystals Antlers, Crystal Stilts, Surf City, Surfer Blood, Pearl Harbor, Pearly Gate Music, Frightened Rabbit, Pepper Rabbit, Magic Kids, Magic Bullets, Here We Go Magic, Gold Panda, Panda Bear, Bear Hands, Bear Hug, Bear in Heaven, Black Angels, Black Mountain, Black Keys… phew! So many bands, so little time! And many with names that seem to just run into each other. So confusing! Who can keep up? (even Pitchfork claimed that maybe it was in overload). You know it is a saturation point when bands that have one 7″ release to their name seem to suddenly spawn a side-project.
Recession? What Re… Oh, yeah – that one. While some shows and tours did well, the story of the year was one of half empty rooms and promoters getting burned. Was 2010 the year that the ‘punters’ rebelled against high ticket prices or was it just over-saturation and the economic malaise? It was grim, as some of the larger venues in Los Angeles (Music Box, Nokia, El Rey) hosted shows that were far from full - RaRa Riot, Brendan Benson/Posies and Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan to name but a few, along with the papering of more than one high profile Hollywood Bowl line-up during the summer season. It wasn’t just LA either, as stories came in from around the country of poor attendance and shows cancelled due to lacklustre presales (with even some Pitchfork-endorsed acts clocking up advance numbers in single digits).
Chillwave! Ugh. Let’s reconvene and debate at the end of 2011 and see if anyone really who cares, shall we?
Hype, what hype? All to often there seemed to be bands appearing in the media after playing one show (or in some cases NONE!), as some of the reputable outlets clamored to be ‘first on the block’ talking about the new flavor of the month. Labels signed up bands for single releases, sight unseen, and without the acts ever having played a show. More than once a slew of A&R folk were out in droves for an act’s first live outing. And as fast as they are latched on to a particular band, everyone was dashing on to the ‘next’ next big thing. The Guardian in the UK seems to be on a mission to tip a new band every day. Are there really 365 quality new artists out there waiting to be discovered? So we have press and radio and blogs all abuzz touting something new and then jumping on the latest bandwagon daily – with the attention span of a gnat. And six months later (or less) it seems the same media outlets have moved on. Career? Seems like it might be a matter on months now…
Though one band that do have a career is British act The xx, who went from strength to strength as each month went by. A 2009 CMJ buzz, great word of mouth, a landmark SXSW, an album that seemingly sold with no mainstream media or radio exposure at all, topped off by a series of jaw dropping live shows populated by fanatical fans. Oh and a little matter of that Mercury Music Prize in the UK. While many major labels acts took the path as the hare, the British trio were the tortoise that quietly became unstoppable. And hence 2010 became twelve months in which The xx took over the world.
So the year comes to a close. But look! On the horizon, it’s 2011! With tales already afoot, like will Warner Bros. actually be releasing the new Iron & Wine record next month? And of course there are new bands to be excited about and that slew of forthcoming albums to watch out for early in the new year – The Get Up Kids, Bright Eyes, Panda Bear, Wye Oak, Duke Spirit, WILD FLAG, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Mogwai, The Head and the Heart, Middle Brother…
- Cool Hand Luke
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Indie Dispatches: New Superchunk, A Toast to Best Coast & Fitz on Fire
Lost in the warm fuzzy glow over the Arcade Fire topping the charts last week, one rather important item was neglected, which is that amidst all of their efforts to create the landmark 2010 Merge is having, the label owners Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance also found time to record a new album. Yes ladies and gentlemen, reason to rejoice, as there is a new Superchunk album on the way! It’s entitled Majesty Shredding and is due for release on September 14 – on Merge Records of course! A number one record and a new Superchunk album – now that really IS a banner year.
Speaking of landmark years, the same can be said for Best Coast who surprised more than a few people with their #36 debut (with one industry rag leaving them out of their charts altogether!) for the album Crazy for You. But kudos to the Mexican Summer label for a superb job of artist development, and it just goes to show that in amongst all the clutter of the ‘long tail’ music biz in 2010, the same formula of great songs, a good build up and a masterful job of marketing can achieve results! Alas, not so fortunate were WAVVES, whose latest album King of the Beach only trickled to a #168 chart position first week, despite some great reviews and a ubiquitous presence amongst the blogs.
Also benefitting from a nice job of development and marketing is Los Angeles act, Fitz and the Tantrums, who are riding a great word-of-mouth wave leading to the August 24 release of their album Pickin’ Up the Pieces on Dangerbird Records. After a glowing review in the LA Times, a “you had to be there” jam-packed performance at the Hammer Museum, an exclusive streaming preview of the album on KCRW, and an instore performance at Amoeba Records in LA scheduled for release day, the buzz is becoming rather deafening. Which makes it hard to believe it was barely a year ago that the retro-soul combo was playing to a small scattering of early adopters at the 3 of Clubs…
- Cool Hand Luke
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Indie Dispatches: Merge’s Milestone
Back in May of 1990, a spunky four piece group from NC released a 7″ single, entitled “Slack Motherfucker”, on their own record label. Who would have thought just over 20 years on from MRG 007 that very same label – the mighty Merge Records – would not only be still in existence, but helping a combo from Montreal hit the #1 slot in the charts? And still doing it with what may be the best set of ethics in the business! This is a home where 360 deals are not part of the vocabulary, and the relationship the label has with their artists is a true partnership. This is not a world of miniscule royalty rates, as with some other noted independent labels, or of suspect accounting. 50-50 split profit deals and artistic control are set in stone. Maybe it’s due to the label owners’ tenure in a rock band themselves, the venerable Superchunk, or just that they felt this was the right way to do business. Whatever the reason, it’s a label where decisions are made on artistic merits, not dollars and cents, and it has led to Merge amassing a catalog of almost 400 releases, which range from the critically acclaimed Neutral Milk Hotel, to more underground, but no less worthy, acts such as Wye Oak and many others in between that no self-respecting record collection should be without. And in 2010, Merge has had not two, but three albums that have reached the upper echelons of the charts, culminating in the Arcade Fire’s top billing this week. Following the sales success of She & Him’s Volume Two and Spoon’s Transference, the chart topping Suburbs from Arcade Fire puts the label in rarified company – a room in which none of their fellow indies such as 4AD or XL or Sub Pop have stood, and has until recently only been the domain of the major labels. It even had the scrappy upstart label with a market share for the week larger than Warner Brothers, Columbia and Epic Records. So Merge, we salute you! Slack Motherfuckers? We think not…
- Cool Hand Luke
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Indie Dispatches: Arcade Fire Sets-Off New Album Buzz with a Spark & More…
The indie world’s favorite Canucks, Arcade Fire, caused quite the frenzy last week when two new songs by the band spread across the internet. Information about the new tracks – which were reportedly found as a 12″ in a record store in Glasgow – seemed to spread like wildfire via Twitter, Facebook and various blogs. And then it was official – the release of a new single – “The Suburbs” with “Month of May”. Of course the hubbub continued a day later as concrete details (cover art! a title! a release date!) were made available regarding the band’s eagerly awaited third album - The Suburbs is due out on August 3rd via Merge Records. As to whether the sudden discovery was real, a plant by the band’s UK record label, or a concocted story, there is no disputing the whole tale was a piece of marketing genius that probably magnified the anticipation for the record in both the media and public at large.
Another blog community favorite, L.A.’s Best Coast, announced details of their debut album Crazy for You this past week. After a series of limited and hard-to-find 7″ singles, the band will release their full-length on New York indie-label Mexican Summer Records on July 27th. Thankfully the album will be slightly more available (and cheaper!) than Best Coast’s latest single, “Far Away,” which can only be found free (?!) with the purchase of a pair of Eskuche headphones.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s School of Seven Bells played to a packed house at The Echo in L.A. this week, previewing songs from their new record Disconnect From Desire that is due July 13th through Ghostly International/Vagrant Records. The dream pop trio repeat the exercise over two sold-out shows next week at the Mercury Lounge in NYC.
Finally, after taking time off for various appearances under his Yim Yames persona and the Monsters of Folk project with Conor Oberst and M.Ward, Jim James is back in the fray with My Morning Jacket, who announced their touring plans for the summer this week. The Louisville combo have a slew of dates booked, starting out with West Coast shows in San Diego, L.A. (at the Greek Theatre August 12th) and S.F.’s Outside Lands Festival before heading across the country. The tour also includes support slots in Massachusetts and New Jersey opening for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. No news yet from MMJ label ATO Records of a follow up to the band’s ‘08 album Evil Urges.
- Cool Hand Luke
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Indie Dispatches: Straight From the Chart
Sharon Jones' New Album Enters Top 200 Its First Week
Last week saw another independent label release break into the ‘big boy charts’ with the Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings album I Learned the Hard Way scoring a #15 spot in the Billboard Top 200 with over 20k in sales in its first week. The interesting twist to the story is that the album is on Daptone Records, a label that could be seen more as a cottage operation rather than one of the more storied independent labels. The big winner for the year so far in the indie-label chart story however, has been Merge Records, which has had not one, but two new releases hit the top five in 2010. First with the Spoon Transference album back in January and most recently She and Him’s Volume Two. And that list doesn’t include the highly anticipated third album from the Arcade Fire that is reportedly due out this year. Could that end up being the North Carolina label’s first ever number one album?
Less than a decade ago the thought of an indie release cracking the charts in general, let alone the Top 10, was a pipe dream. Even pre-eminent artists on labels like Sub Pop or Matador in the 90’s barely scraped into the Top 100 – a reason for great celebration at the time. It seems like up until recently the only ranking an independent release could have was in Heatseekers or the tinpot Billboard Indie Chart, but all that has seemingly changed when even the Local Natives album on tiny Frenchkiss Records can hit the Top 200. While it is true independent label sales have seen a slump, and it is as hard as ever for the indies (like majors) to sell records, the drop has in some ways not been as cataclysmic as that of the Big Four. Maybe it can be attributed to the indies’ dedication to their community of buyers, where the fans seem more invested in the artists, or maybe it has just been a policy of good releases and reasonable prices. But most likely it is the fact that many independent labels have simply continued to consistently put out great music. Whatever the reason, it seems like in 2010 the kids are alright…
- Cool Hand Luke
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