Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub, 2007)

They tell me that Burial practice a form of electronica known as dubstep. Dubstep is a very London-centric style of electronica; it is moody, sparse and places a strong emphasis on that which my dubwise brother could appreciate - the bassline. I picked up this album after I had seen it pop up on a number of musician's end of year lists, and I am rather happy that I did.
While my exposure to dubstep is limited, it appears that Burial - a highly secretive London-based producer - is the genre's crowned-prince; and therein, my friends, is the root problem with genre catgorization: Burial is creating music that is worthy not only of the high praise Untrue is receiving from within the electronica community and those savvy enough to be in the know. On the contrary Burial is worthy of a far greater audience, as he is creating music that is as forward thinking, creative, and just generally mind-blowing, as anything I have heard recently.
I have been listening to this album on repeat for the past five days and it has had me grasping for a thesaurus to come up with new words for 'awesome'. If there is a way to be both sparse and dense at the same time, then Burial has it figured out. Untrue is densely textured, with layer upon layer of sonic goodness folding in upon itself, as dis-embodied voices slink in and out of the action. The wonders Burial works with pitch and tempo dynamics has me forever having to pick my chin up off the floor.
In short: Buy this album.

Sounds A Bit Like: Music I have been wanting to hear for a long time.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/burialuk

In(High)Fidelity - End Of Year List-O-Rama

Here it is! A full year of laughter and forgetting; a year of good times and bad; a year full of living – distilled into a series of lists. You will find In(High)Fidelity’s top ten must-have albums of 2007, our ten favorite tracks for the year and a list of the ten best shows we saw over the last twelve months.


Top Ten Albums

1. Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew’s - Spirit If…
2. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
3. The National – Boxer
4. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
5. Band Of Horses - Cease To Exist
6. The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
7. Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
8. Life Without Buildings - Live At The Annandale
9. Feist - The Reminder
10. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger


Top Ten Tracks

1. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
2. Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Gang Bang Suicide
3. The National - Fake Empire
4. Okkervil River - Unless It Kicks
5. Dappled Cities - Fire, Fire, Fire
6. M.I.A. - Paper Planes
7. Feist - The Park
8. Spoon - The Ghost Of You Lingers
9. Black Francis - Threshold Apprehension
10. Ryan Adams - Goodnight Rose


Best Shows of 2008

1. Broken Social Scene - Kevin Drew @ The Orpheum Theater
2. Okkervil River @ The Troubadour
3. Arcade Fire @ The Greek Theater
4. Wilco @ The Greek Theater
5. The Decemberists with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrew Bird / Band Of Horses @ The Hollywood Bowl
6. The National @ The Wiltern
7. Spoon @ The Henry Fonda Theater
8. Dinosaur Jr @ The Troubadour
9. Lucinda Williams @ El Rey Theater
10. Morrissey @ The Palladium


A special thanks to all the people who have taken the time to read In(High)Fidelity in 2007. Your words of encouragement keep me writing. You can always reach me at benedmonds@hotmail.com.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! I'm Out!

Dan Deacon - Spiderman Of The Rings (Carpark Records, 2007)

George Clinton once said: "Free your mind... and your ass will follow." Wise words, indeed, but of what relevance are they to Dan Deacon and his strange, brilliant, ridiculous album, Spiderman Of The Rings? Firstly, George Clinton is a weird guy - he'd have to be to write the sort of music he has with Parliament and Funkadelic - and, from what I've seen, Dan Deacon seems like a pretty weird guy, and I mean that in the best way possible. I remember a time when I wanted nothing but to be considered weird. I wanted to wear it as a badge of honor. However, I think I've always been too normal to be weird in any cool way.
Sometimes I use music to quiet the voices in my head. The voices in my head are friendly for the most part, however, at times, when everyone is trying to speak at once, it can be difficult to make any sense of anything. So, I'll put something in the stereo, we all turn our attention to the music, and life comes back into focus.
You should have seen it the first time I put Dan Deacon in the stereo. As a crazed Woody Woodpecker spilled from the speakers, and a slow building electronic pulse took hold, none of us knew quite what to expect. Sounds, sounds, everywhere! Just when it looked like the whole thing might be about to devolve into a horrible train wreck, it came to a sudden stop. Only to immediately jump into the spazz-eletro-rave-up that is The Crystal Cat (check out the video). All of a sudden, my mind was free... and my ass was following. This is the music to which the voices in my head dance. Well, sometimes they dance, sometimes they laugh; it is a 50/50 split that I imagine anyone who calls their album Spiderman Of The Rings, would be happy to elicit.
Don't be fooled, Dan Deacon may be a mad-genius, however, his music is not for everyone. In fact, I have had those near and dear to me politely ask me to turn him off, as they are unable to hear anything but shrill, piercing, electronic vibrations. Joy.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/dandeacon

Sounds Like: A crazy, good time, electro-spazz

On Tour: Dan Deacon is touring Europe in December 2007; he'll be in the U.S. in January (see you at the LA show) 2008; and Australia in February 2008.

Okkervil River - Golden Opportunities Mixtape (2007)

Regular readers will be more than familiar with the high esteem in which I hold Okkervil River. Following the release of their excellent 2007 album, The Stage Names, which has been making its way on to many "Best Of 2007" lists, the band have released the Golden Opportunities Mixtape as a free download from their website: www.okkervilriver.com.
The Golden Opportunities Mixtape is a collection of nine songs that the band recorded, mostly on the road, over the course of a couple of years. Eight of the songs see Okkervil River covering artists as diverse as Randy Newman, John Cale, Joni Mitchell, and Serge Gainsbourg. The one original Okkervil River track is a fantastic live recording of Listening To Ottis Redding At Home During Christmas, which originally appeared on the band's debut full-length album Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See.

Check Out: www.okkervilriver.com