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
07.8.10Indie Dispatches: Top 10 Releases of the Half-Year
Top Ten of '10 So Far
In a flash half of the year has flown by and thoughts are turning to BBQ’s, the beach and the ubiquitous ‘best of the year so far’ lists… In a busy six months there have been standouts, some obvious, some maybe not so…
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Avi Buffalo Avi Buffalo (Sub Pop) – What were you doing when you were 17 years of age? Chances are you were still fretting over skin problems, obsessing about cheerleaders, and trying to cadge school assignments off fellow classmates. I can guarantee what you were not doing, was writing and recording one of the most accomplished indie releases of this year (or any other actually), as young Avi has done. ”What’s In It For” is the proverbial ‘feel good hit of summer’ and it just goes on from there.
Villagers Becoming a Jackal (Domino) – The folk clubs of the world are littered with the bones of average singer songwriters, so it is a reason to rejoice when one emerges from the pack with special talents. And the fresh-faced Conor J. O’Brien’s cupboard is overflowing in that department, as evidenced by his debut solo album. Another youngster showing that the future is very, very bright.
Sally Seltmann Heart That’s Pounding (Arts & Crafts) – “Sally who?” you say? An Australia formerly disguised behind her New Buffalo moniker, the (almost anonymous) writer of Feist’s hit “1-2-3-4″ released an album that is front-to-back choc-full of infectious sing-along pop tunes. The release may have been low key, but the talents within are far from it. Oh, and Sally is married to Darren Seltmann, head honcho of The Avalanches, and It doesnt get much cooler than that.
Hey Marseilles To Travels and Trunks (Onto) – this is cheating as the album had been self-released in ‘08, but a spruced up repackage and ‘proper’ release justifies its inclusion here. Including a lot of the great elements of fellow-Northwesterers The Decemberists, but without the tendency for their rather tiresome sea shanty-isms. Some strings, some horns and some handclaps, makes this a thoroughly enjoyable multi-layered album.
Holly Miranda The Magician’s Private Library (XL) – Anyone who saw the young Jeff Buckley play his legendary shows at Sin-E in NYC in the 90’s will wax lyrically about his presence and the sheer majesty of his voice – a captivating spell that enveloped the listener. Miranda, formerly of New Yorkers Jealous Girlfriends, with help from TVOTR’s Dave Sitek, surprised everyone by duplicating that magic on her debut solo album – a record that, considering its beauty, lay around for way too long searching for a home, before XL thankfully picked it up for release.
Surfer Blood Astrocoast (Kanine) – Warranting inclusion, if only for the track “Swim”. They may be, at heart, the new Weezer, but these Florida kids have more than one sing-along indie hit on their debut release. Joining Best Coast, WAVVES and their brethren in the ‘new beach scene’ of 2010.
She & Him Volume 2 (Merge) – Even without Zooey Deschanel’s status as the #1 indie rock heartthrob, this record would still be close to the top as one of the year’s best, and rightfully deserving its smashing opening week chart position. Deschanel brims with 60’s girl group sweetness, and is more effervescent than a vintage soda shop, backed by the solid chops of elder statesman M. Ward. Bonus points for the version of “Gonna Get Along Without You Now”, (which the Lemonheads covered with great results in the 90’s)
Phantogram Eyelid Movies (Barsuk) – Barsuk may not have been the most obvious label to release this slab of throbbing electronica, and Saratoga Springs may not be the most obvious hometown, but that shouldn’t disguise this New York duo’s class. Like early LCD Soundsystem, or acclaimed French group M-83, the album is a hypnotic swirling beat-driven classic, which live they take to another sweaty, grooving level.
Sleigh Bells Treats (Mom & Pop) – Another duo, this time from Brooklyn, who could be the most newsworthy two piece since The White Stripes, or The Kills at least. A chartbusting debut album that could be seen as the dark underbelly to the squishy fuzziness of a band like the Ting Tings. In two year’s time people may not care, but Sleigh Bells have definitely succeeded in capturing the zeitgeist in 2010.
Karen Elson The Ghost Who Walks (XL) – She may be better known as a model, and of course, as Mrs Jack White, but Elson shows on her album that she can make an album combining some classic elements into a cohesive whole – a dose of Tammy Wynette, a splash of Ann Margret, some Nico and a heavy serving of Bobby Gentry.
- 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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