Top Ten EP's of 2013

Greetings and salutations to all!  I'm proud of myself.  I'm actually getting at least one End of the Year list up before the end of the year!  The Top Ten Albums will be up at some point but please enjoy these EP's in the meanwhile:

10.  Manchester Orchestra/Frightened Rabbit/Grouplove Split 

Record Store Day 2013 brought us the first new Manchester Orchestra songs since the stellar Simple Math.  On this two song 12", the band pairs with two different groups: Grouplove and Frightened Rabbit.

"Make It To Me" is definitely the more rapid paced track.  Grouplove contributes their respective genre of, groan, indietronica.  The song is marched along by synthesizers and repetitive programmed beats and features lyrics that are even more abstract than Andy Hull's usual fare. The songs feel like true collaborations with the verses trading off between the vocalists and the integration of each band's sound.  

"Architect" is a melancholy song consisting almost entirely of acoustic guitars.  Frightened Rabbit is a Scottish indie folk band so the song falls more on that side of the spectrum.

Despite featuring some esoteric and intangible lyrics, this release gives us just a little bit of Manchester Orchestra to tidy us over until their next full length.

Recommended Tracks: "Make It To Me (feat. Grouplove)" and "Architect (feat. Frightened Rabbit)" 

Recommended If You Like: Anthony Green, The Dear Hunter, or Death Cab For Cutie

09.  Anna Kendrick - Cups (Pitch Perfect's ''When I'm Gone'')

Yeah, yeah.  You can just shush yourself right there.  I quite enjoy this cover of "Cups".  I know people were up in arms because Anna Kendrick "stole" this song from Lulu and the Lampshades.  Not only did she give proper credit but the Lulu version isn't even the source - the original song was written back in 1931 by The Carter Family (yes, the same family that eventually produced June Carter).  That and the Lulu version is boring beyond belief.

The single version (rather than the version on the Pitch Perfect OST) was greatly enhanced with additional instrumentation. The banjos and soft percussion really help flesh out the song. 

Recommended Tracks: "Cups (Pitch Perfect's ''When I'm Gone'')"

Recommended If You Like: Audra Mae, Sara Bareilles, or Lea Michele

08.  Against Me! - True Trans 7"

Laura Jane Grace's journey is widely chronicled at this point.  The next big step is going to be the release of the next Against Me! album entitled Transgender Dysphoria Blues, a concept album revolving around a transgendered prostitute.  Parallels are sure to be drawn and this is a project close to Grace's heart, which is why she is both engineering and producing the album in addition to her usual roles.

In July, the band decided to release this free teaser single featuring acoustic versions of two tracks off of Transgender Dysphoria Blues.  "FUCKMYLIFE666" is not quite as incensed (nor depressed) as the title might indicate.  It is definitely a sadder song but Laura's hope is evident in lines like "All moments meant to pass" and "No more troubled sleep / there's a brave new world that's raging inside of me".  At this point in their development, these songs seem to be much more mid-tempo and melodic so it will be interesting to see how they form into full band recordings.

"True Trans Soul Rebel" is infinitely more of a downer.  I think this record is going to be unspeakably cathartic for Laura and for the band.

Recommended Tracks: "FUCKMYLIFE666 (Acoustic)" and "True Trans Soul Rebel (Acoustic)"

Recommended If You Like: Tim Barry, Lucero, or Alkaline Trio

07.  Twin Forks - Tour EP 

Chris Carrabba has decided to take a break from fronting emo darlings Dashboard Confessional to focus on this new band, Twin Forks (formerly the already taken Twin Falls).  The biggest complaint I have about this EP (and career choice) is how convenient it is to attempt this kind of music in a post-Mumford & Sons world.  Carrabba has danced around folk music before (See "Tonight I'll Take What I Can Get", the bonus track off of 2007's The Shade of Poison Trees) with fairly good results.  And truth be told, he finds success in this outing as well.

"Back To You" is an upbeat number with a plucky mandolin frolicking through the background.  At times, Carrabba's vocals sound strained, as he strives to sound like a gritty throated folk singer, but the vocal melodies and pop qualities of the song carry it through strongly.

"Scraping Up The Pieces" is by far the strongest song the band has produced to date, complete with hand-claps, hey!'s and backing vocals provided by mandolinist Suzie Zeldin.  It's a nice little folk-pop song wrapped up in a bow.

The band even attempts a ballad with closing track "Hard Times" - an exercise that is driven off-track mainly by lyrics like "When the day got long, as it does about now / I'd hear him singing to his muley cow."  This is a promising EP from a man who we have already heard in various incarnations (Dashboard Confessional, Further Seems Forever) in a genre that has been treaded well (Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters and Men).

Recommended Tracks: "Back To You" and "Scraping Up The Pieces"

Recommended If You Like: Mumford & Sons, Dashboard Confessional, or Of Monsters and Men

06.  Dropkick Murphys - Rose Tattoo: For Boston Charity

In the wake of the horrific Boston Bombings, these local boys set out to do as much fund raising as they could to benefit the victims.  It began with a "For Boston" t-shirt that helped raise over $100,000, with all donations going straight to the victims.  The band also played several benefit shows where all money was being donated.  Their contributions culminated in this charity EP, which originated from a phone call from Bruce Springsteen asking the Murphys if there is anything that he could do to help.  The band got together with The Boss and re-recorded the lead single off of this year's "Signed and Sealed In Blood" as well as two live and acoustic versions off of the same album.

"Rose Tattoo" is an excellent take that actually sounds completely reinvigorated with the addition of Springsteen's vocals. The album version is decent with its rousing gang vocals but the trading off of verses between Springsteen and the band's vocals in this version is top notch.

The remaining two tracks were recorded live and acoustic at the House of Blues in our fair town of Las Vegas.  "Jimmy Collins' Wake" is kind of a throwaway for me considering it is about baseball and a Boston baseball hero.  "Don't Tear Us Apart" is a much more poignant track about helping those in need and not letting a shitty world tear you down.

Recommended Tracks: "Rose Tattoo (feat. Bruce Springsteen)"  and "Don't Tear Us Apart (Live Acoustic)"

Recommended If You Like: Hot Water Music, Flogging Molly, or Bruce Springsteen

05.  Frank Turner - Losing Days EP 

It's a miracle that after releasing the astoundingly good Tape Deck Heart that Frank Turner still had six equally as good (and in some cases, better) songs to throw on the Deluxe Edition. And even after those 18 slices of perfection, Turner had an extra 3 songs to throw on this EP behind lead single "Losing Days".

"Hits & Mrs." is probably the outright sweetest song that Frank has ever delivered.  He worships the subject of the song as he delivers lines like "She brings me hangover hugs and come down kisses / She is my first and my last / She’s on my hits & my Mrs".  Such a clever play on words and so endearing.  "Longing For The Day" is a much, much slower track that finds him exploring his fragile and nervous psyche.  It's not a terrible song but the tempo drags just a little more than it should.  The closing track is a cover of the Biffy Clyro track "Who's Got A Match?"  Turner's version is a very different animal than the original.  Gone are the pounding drums and driving guitar riff, instead replaced by Turner's soft plucking and a discordant piano line serving as the spine.  I would never say I prefer it to the original but it is still a worthy tribute.

Recommended Tracks: "Hits & Mrs." and "Who's Got A Match?"

Recommended If You Like: Billy Bragg, Lucero, or The Gaslight Anthem

04.  Tim Kasher- Truly Freaking Out (Single)

This single, much like the album it was birthed from, carries the same existential crisis that was more evident on Cursive's Mama, I'm Swollen than on their conceptually dense I Am Gemini.  The album, entitled Adult Film, marks a drastic departure for Tim Kasher from the orchestral fare of his debut solo album, The Game of Monogamy.  Since "Truly Freaking Out" appears on Adult Film, I will focus on the b-side "King of the Hill of Beans".

This is a scratchy and distorted track driven by an acoustic guitar and a crunchy bass line.  It's not quite as electronic-based as the full length, which probably explains its exclusion, but Kasher's introspection has never been stronger.  Though there is a striking difference between Mama, I'm Swollen's depressing, existential questions and these new songs that seem to carry the slight glimmer of hope and optimism.

Recommended Tracks: "King Of The Hill Of Beans"

Recommended If You Like: The Good Life, Bright Eyes, or The Weakerthans

03.  Weatherbox/Sainthood Reps - Repbox

It's that time of the year again!  When Weatherbox releases (or re-releases) a song or two without actually thinking about putting out another full length.  On the one hand, I should be glad that we are putting as much temporal distance between us and their awful sophomore album The Cosmic Drama as possible.  On the other hand, give us a new full length!

This year's split features Sainthood Reps, an indie rock band formed by Brand New touring guitarist Derrick Sherman and Francesco Montesanto.  The band acknowledges early 90's alternative among their biggest influences and it is clear as day from their track on this split.  "Deadlines" immediately rang of a bastard child between Nirvana and Sunny Day Real Estate to me.  If you can get past the nostalgia of it and Montesanto's sometimes monotone singing, this is an enjoyable cut of indie rock.

Weatherbox's newest offering is "Big News" and it launches with a catchy guitar riff that winds its way into the driving guitar line.  Brian Warren's voice sounds less nasally and a little stronger here than it has in the past.  The lyrics are not as out there as  those featured on American Art or its successor, which helps make the song even more accessible to the average listener.  I just hope at some point that Brian Warren writes enough material to put out an album of this caliber.

Recommended Tracks: Sainthood Reps - "Deadlines" and Weatherbox - "Big News"

Recommended If You Like: Cursive, Sunny Day Real Estate, or Brand New

02.  Braid + Balance and Composure Split

This split dashes out of the gate with the Braid side of the record.  While not as brash as they used to be, the band is making up for it with an overabundance of youthful exuberance.  Their two cuts are upbeat and peppy - a far cry from their old characterization of an emo band.  "Lux" finds Bob Nanna playfully singing "Let's get lit up!" backed by distortion and an energetic drum lick.  Chris Broach takes the vocals reins for their second song "Many Enemies".  His voice is markedly different from Nanna's - it's in a lower range and a little more rough.  It lends a quality to this song that just reminds me so much of a Piebald song, especially with his delivery of some of the lyrics.  "Many Enemies" tends to get repetitive due to the sheer repetition of the lines and for that reason is not one of Braid's better tracks.  I'm glad to see Braid is moving forward instead of looking at the past.  Whether it takes them to more pop punk territory or back to angular indie rock, I will always have a soft spot for them.

I had never heard of Balance and Composure before though they seem to be fairly well known within their scene.  While they typical music sounds similar to the aforementioned Sainthood Reps, with an affinity for Nirvana and Sunny Day Real Estate, their two tracks on this split have a sonic quality that is undeniably Boys Night Out.  Both songs are moody and beautifully poetic with lines like "Cause I'm not as stable as you claim to be / Casting a shadow on what you believe / You're out in the garden eating your flowers / Spreading your wings, cursing the ground."  It was good enough to make me check out the full length they released this year, which ended up in the Top Ten.

Recommended Tracks: Braid - "Lux" and Balance and Composure - "You Can't Fix Me"

Recommended If You Like: Boys Night Out, The Promise Ring, or Piebald

01.  Their/They're/There - Their/They're/There

So apparently this is what happens when one of my favorite indie musicians for many, many years now joins forces with an incredibly talented musician that I had never heard of before now.  In this case, the all time favorite indie musician is Mike Kinsella, a man who was involved with Joan of Arc, American Football, Owls, and Owen.  American Football was so vitally important to my musical development, despite having only released one EP and one LP.  It was a band that used interlooped melodies to craft emotionally powerful and poignant songs.  In the wake of American Football, Mike Kinsella joined forces with his brother Tim and their various associates to record the one and only release from jazz punk band Owls.

From there on out, Mike Kinsella adopted the moniker Owen and released album after album of introspective and mostly acoustic songs.  These songs, like American Football before them, played an instrumental (pun intended?) part in my high school and college life.  Lately, Owen albums have gotten more and more bleak.  Where once you had songs about love and the things that define you in your youth (including unabashed horniness), you now only had songs about loss, unhappy marriages and giving up on music entirely.  And that's where this music comes as a surprise and a giant gulp of fresh air.

The other pillar supporting this band is Evan Weiss, the man behind Into It. Over It.  I am not sure how I had never heard of him before considering how prolific and amazingly talented he is.  He once released a double CD album called 52 Weeks, where, as you might have guessed, he sat down and wrote and recorded one track a week for an entire year.

Aside from the truly awful band name, this is such a remarkable and promising debut EP.  Weaving together the powerful melodies from Into It. Over It. with instrumentation reminiscent of American Football, Evan and Mike bring a refreshing brand of indie to the table.  All of the songs vary in tempo and content though they all carry Weiss' lyrical witticism.  Mike Kinsella seems to have rekindled his passion for music by providing very few backup vocals and shifting his focus to backing instrumentation.

I'm not even sure how to describe the kind of music.  If you are familiar with any of the related bands, then you'll have a good idea what this sounds like.  Even if you aren't familiar with Mike Kinsella or Evan Weiss, be sure to pick up this album and give it a spin.

Recommended Tracks: "Their / They're / Therapy"  and "Fit Your Life Into A Grid"

Recommended If You Like: Look Mexico, We Are Scientists, or Into It. Over It.

 

Paul Walker, The Media and The Culture of Hate

Tales of Walker's philanthropy are not new.  CNN confirmed one story from a decade ago when Walker noticed a young U.S. soldier shopping with his fiancee for a wedding ring in a Santa Barbara jewelry store.

"The groom was just back from duty in Iraq, and he was going to be deployed again soon and wanted to buy a wedding ring, but he said he just could not afford it," saleswoman Irene King told CNN. "I don't think the soldier realized how expensive those rings are, about $10,000."

The couple apparently did not know who Walker was, King said.

"Walker called the manager over and said, 'Put that girl's ring on my tab,'" she said. "Walker left all his billing info, and it was a done deal. The couple was stunned. She was thrilled and could not believe someone did this."

King called it "the most generous thing I have ever seen."

Paul Walker's death bothers me for a multitude of reasons.  Is it because he was my go-to celebrity for a man-crush because he was so dreamy?  Partially, yeah.  Is it because it is a shocking and horribly unexpected way to die, albeit ironic?  Of course.  Mainly, it is because Paul Walker actually seemed like one of the most genuine celebrities out there, who actually started a charity and was heavily involved in philanthropy.  Not because he was Sean Penning it.  But because he actually wanted to make the world a slightly better place to live.

Let's get this out of the way: was he probably doing something stupid like drag racing in the car?  It's likely.  We all have moments of stupidity.  It just sucks that it led to him and friend Roger Rodas (who was also very active in philanthropy) dying in such a horrible way.  I can only hope that they were unconscious when it all ended.  Such great publicity for Porsche that their half million dollar Carrera GT bursts into flames almost instantly and couldn't withstand any form of an impact without turning into a twisted ball of debris.

For those of you celebrating or claiming that he deserved it, I'd like to remind you that this is someone's father.  Paul Walker left behind a 15 year old daughter -  a daughter he was trying to get away from Hollywood so he could spend more time with.  Rodas left behind an 8 year old son who was at the scene and raced to try to pull his dad from the wreckage until the rescue teams had to pull him away from the burning vehicle.

And why did Paul Walker deserve it?  Because he made some "shitty movies"?  Get the fuck over your hate.  We will talk about your hatred a little later.  Paul Walker was an actor.  He made quite a few movies and some, like the later Fast and Furious movies, were designed to be stupidly entertaining.  If you cannot differentiate a human being's life from his choice in acting roles, than Flying Spaghetti Monster help you.  I have more of a problem with the wide plethora of tremendously ridiculous SyFy and Hallmark movies and I still would not wish death on any of the cast.

I like the Fast and Furious movies.  A lot.  They are entertaining to watch and they indulge the long buried gearhead inside of me.  I also enjoyed Joy Ride, The Skulls, Timeline, Into The Blue, Running Scared and Takers, among others.

As far as scope and figure goes, I understand that one famous white person (and one quasi-famous hispanic) does not hold a candle to the 5,260 people that died in Typhoon Haiyan.  Life for life, there is no comparison.  But I did not grow up watching those people in media.  A typhoon is a tragic natural disaster that is also an expected travesty, due to geographic and climate conditions.  On average, nearly 2 people die EVERY SECOND OF EVERY SINGLE DAY, across the world.  It is not that my heart doesn't also hurt for those affected by natural disasters, but we are removed from it in America.  I cannot be heartbroken for every single loss of life across the world.  A celebrity dying typically would not impact me so strongly because most celebrities are dicks.  If Kanye or Taylor Swift went down in a plane crash, I wouldn't celebrate it.  But I certainly could never believe that the world had lost anything in the process. 

Is that a terrible American way to think about things?  Maybe.  For all my worry about Darfur years ago (and I fretted a lot), what fucking good did that do?  My sadness at the loss of an actor has no more of an impact than if I was mourning the loss of an entire nation.  It is meaningless to anyone but myself.

I do find the media coverage of this whole event disgusting beyond belief.  As with all things that American media covers, a lot of it will be rumors and "in-depth analysis" of the most banal things.  What did his last words mean?  And, oh my god, what was he wearing when he died?  Our media is a monster that should be put out of its misery but I can't get into that right now.  The media will decide what the story is when they close the chapter on this book.

Lastly, I have to say that I am so sick of this culture of hate.  Oh, you hated the Fast and the Furious movies!?  Wow, what a refreshing idea to base everything on!  Oh, you hated the Prequel Trilogy!?  I'm sure there will be a whole line of people queuing up to argue that Jar Jar was a perfect allegory for communism. 

It has become trendy to hate certain things.  Sometimes with good reasons; a lot of the times, not at all.  I have no doubt there is a generation of hipsters that hates the Prequel Trilogy and has never seen it.  They are simply judging it on the merits of how acceptable it is to exclaim your hate for it.  Why view it with an open mind when you can already hold an opinion that puts you in league with the cool kids?

A good while back, Fall Out Boy lead singer Patrick Stump posted a blog entry along the same lines.  He pointed out some other great examples like Nickelback and Dane Cook.  I can't make an argument for Nickelback not sucking but it has become all too easy to compare aural rape to the music of Nickelback, without even a passing thought.  As for Dane Cook?  I actually think he's funny.  Or at least, he was when I last listened to his stand-up.  It was acceptable to love Dane Cook's comedy when I was a Senior in high school and just transitioning to college.  I am not sure at what point that turned into all of society deciding that Dane Cook is as unfunny as cancer.

For that matter, look at all of the hate that Patrick Stump gets.  People love to hate on Fall Out Boy.  He is constantly told to go kill himself.  When he was chubby, they called him fat and belittled him.  When he was skinny, they said he must have been on drugs.  With the exception of a very specific social group, Fall Out Boy was just as much a band-non-grata as Nickelback.  And why?  Have most of you listened to an entire Fall Out Boy album?  Much like the Fast and Furious movies being light-hearted (and light-headed) attempts at adrenaline cinema, Fall Out Boy is making pop music.  Do I listen to them?  No, not really.  Have I given them the benefit of the doubt and listened to their albums?  Yes.  With the exception of bassist Pete Wentz, who has made increasingly questionable decisions in his life, the rest of the band is legitimate.  Patrick Stump is an impressively talented multi-instrumentalist who will never get recognition for that fact because he writes music designed to be consumed by the masses.

The same applies to any other band you might hear on the radio.  Does it get annoying hearing the same song over and over again?  Of course.  But is that really enough reason to completely write off the album or the band?  They get successful and you judge them so harshly.  Look at the band fun.  I would have never in a million years expected to enjoy their album Some Nights.  It is just so far off from my usual musical fare.  Maybe you've heard "We Are Young" about 800 million times and it burned you out worse than Richard Pryor's shaky hands did him wrong.  But have you listened to the rest of the album?  Did you know that the band members actually paid their dues playing in bands like The Format and Steel Train, the latter of which I saw at The Huntridge many, many moons ago?

It has gotten too easy to hear one note of something and declare it awful and preach your hatred of it.  Whether that one note is literally one note of an album or that one note is one film in an entire filmography.  My words aren't going to change anything in this world.  But if even one of you takes just the briefest of moments the next time you are going to judge something so callously that you've never even seen or heard, then it will have been worth it.