Top of the Pops

I've been listening to a lot of new music lately. Around this time every year, record companies and indie labels begin releasing a shitload of new product. I guess it's in anticipation of Christmas, but why not spread it out a little better? I mean, people buy CD's all year round, don't they? Frankly, I just can't illegally download it all that fast, and I'd appreciate some more time to play catch-up.

Anyway, here's the best of the new music to whcih I've been listening, unlawfully or otherwise.

Broadcast, "Tender Buttons"

This British electronica band can't help but remind me of Stereolab, and the new album is no different. It's just that their Broadcast vocalist Trish Keenan sounds kind of like The 'Lab's Laeticia Sadier (when Sadier's singing in English, that is) and that both bands have kind of a spacey, lounge-y take on modern pop music. This new Broadcast album is the most pared-down and straight-forward I've yet heard (the band recently downgraded from a trio to a duo), but the songs are still great and their laid-back, infectiously repetitive sound has remained intact. One of the best "chill-out" albums I've heard this year.

Broken Social Scene, "Broken Social Scene"

I thought there was no way for Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene to top their breakthrough album, "You Forgot It In People," and I'm not quite sure their new eponymously titled album actually does the job. But it comes pretty close. And even if the songs aren't quite as memorable as on their previous go-around, their new sound is even larger, fuller and denser. This is a BIG album, and there's so much to absorb, I'm still gaining my footing after 10 or more listens. Not really the sort of songs where you remember all the words after a few listens, but the sort of music that just envelops you while you listen.

Franz Ferdinand, "You Could Have It So Much Better"

In the UK, this LP is called "You Could Have It So Much Better...With Franz Ferdinand." That title's much better, more appropriate title than the abbreviated American version. I wonder why they changed it? Perhaps they don't think Americans appreciate cheeky humor. Anyway, I haven't listened to it enough to know whether I like it more than their self-titled debut, but I've heard enough to know the new album from FF is filled with more catchy, funny 3 minute garage rock songs. No sophomore slump visible here at all. Of particular note is the slower, more ballady "Eleanor Put Your Boots On," something of a departure for the band and among the best songs they've ever recorded.

The Pernice Brothers, "Discover a Lovelier You"

You ever discover a band you've never heard before, and find that they sound a lot like a lot of other music you already like? It's a weird feeling. Like, "Why haven't I heard this before? I've heard the other music in its category?" That's how I feel about The Pernice Brothers, a band with the exact dreamy pop kind of sound I like who I had just never heard prior to a week ago. They definitely share a style with groups like Grandaddy and American Analog Set, both of whom I've grown quite fond, but I had just never encountered them before. This is their latest CD, and thus far the only one I know, but I'll be listening to some more very soon. Track 1 on this album, "There Goes the Sun," is just the sort of tight, catchy, bouncy song that I can just tell will be floating around in my head for weeks now.

Spoon, "Gimme Fiction"

I've become totally obsessed by this album. I can't really elucidate exactly why, but it's by far my favorite Spoon album ever. I could listen to Track #2, "The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine," over and over and over again. And I have been, for at least two weeks now. And that's just one of the great, simple, immensely fun and clever rock songs on this LP. I also love the Beatles-esque "Sister Jack," album-opener "The Beast and Dragon Adored" (which has probably my favorite chorus of the year), first single "I Turn My Camera On," and the last track, "Merchants of Soul."

Ween, "Shinola, V. 1"

This is a collection of some of Dean and Gene Ween's favorite unreleased tracks, dating back to 1992. (Get it? They've been able to tell shit from shinola!) I love Ween. These guys are just incredible, surprisingly prolific songwriters. These songs weren't even deemed worthy of B-side status, and yet the collection as a whole is far better than most band's official albums. You always know a truly truly genius-level band when their disposable unreleased tracks are this good (see also: Pavement, Radiohead). The delightful cock rock throwback "Gabrielle" may be the highlight here, but other tracks like "Big Fat Fuck," "Boy's Club" and "Did You See Me" are just as good any Ween album track.