In roughly alphabetical order, my top albums of this year. Ranked by some hazy metric that includes how much listened to them—and how much I wanted to listen to them. Notable to me is the strong showing of old indies Slumberland and Thrill Jockey (especially the latter, with Barn Owl’s Shadowland pressing for a place). Also notable is a relative lack of EAI and the like, though I’m sure MIMEO’s Wigry (Bôłt/Monotype) would have made it if I’d had more time to devote to unpacking it. Probably more accessible listening, given my more limited time now, was the theme of this year. Read the rest of this entry »
Archives for posts with tag: Times New Viking
Back to XOYO last night for Times New Viking, touring in support of their new record Dancer Equired. This got a less than rapturous Pitchfork review, and since the fuzz and grime has been a large part of their attraction to me, I was a little hesitant. I needn’t have worried—the live sound is as in-the-red as last time I saw them, and the performance as charmingly faux ramshackle. I say ‘faux ramshackle’ because the seamless transitions from one song to another and the altered medley-style versions of some older songs betray a well-honed, dare I say ‘tight’, live show. The last song, a twice-aborted version of ‘Fuck Her Tears’, was a genuinely ramshackle ending.
