5. Laminar Excursion Monthly
Not really an album, but it was a project that included so much great music from some of our dearest Indiana friends as well as musicians who we've admired for years. It was a privilege to work with artists like Damien Jurado and Richard Swift, and also exciting to work with music-buds who aren't generally associated with the label, like Osteoferocious and Vollmar. Both of their offerings were outstanding. Alexander the Great finished their December contribution a few weeks ago and it is really great. Those guys are heading in a really exciting direction.
4. husband&wife - Proud Flesh
When some of the XRA gang headed out on tour back in March and husband&wife started premiering Proud Flesh songs to new audiences, I think it was hard for people to see the connection between the louder, heavier sound and the moody atmosphere of Dark Dark Woods. I have a lot of respect for bands that are willing to try out something new and stretch themselves on a project, and for me Proud Flesh is in the vein of Damien Jurado's I Break Chairs or Aloha's Light Works, a change of pace but not necessarily a new direction. On top of that, the pop and rock sound on Proud Flesh, sometimes gritty, usually catchy, is more nuanced because it is still full of that same sense of negative space, atmospheric sound, and dynamic rise and fall that characterized Dark Dark Woods.
3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
When Funeral came out I was an angst-ridden melodramatic teenager lamenting the loss of childhood, and that record was a perfect soundtrack to the kind of sentiment and nostalgia I was nurturing. That album doesn't sound as compelling to me 6 years later, although it's definitely full of great songs. With The Suburbs, on the other hand, Arcade Fire has managed to produce another prefect soundtrack. Once again, the album processes a common experience for many of us 20-somethings trying to live meaningfully in the western world. But it seems as though they've grown up, too. Their songwriting has matured over the last 6 years, musically and lyrically, and the music is less one-dimensional. The album is as compelling as Funeral without the melodrama or over-sentimentality, and it asks good questions of our social context and way of living in it.
2. Memory Map
When I got my hands on an unmixed copy of the Memory Map record, I was blown away. I told Mike Dixon that it is the guitar focused, treble heavy indie rock album that I have been waiting for 15 years to come out. This is the ultimate Bloomington super-group and watching Matt Tobey, Mike Dixon, and Mike Bridavsky all shredding simultaneously on stage is an incredible sight to behold. Not everyone can shred that hard and still put together catchy, listenable songs but they manage and every track on the album is a hit.
1. Rodeo Ruby Love - This Is Why We Don't Have Nice Things
Of all the albums that came out this year, this is the one I listened to the most. I listened to it about 347 too many times probably, and I listened to it loud. I don't think I've ever heard an album with such high-percentage sing-along jams. Getting to see them play them live so much this year only made it better. Rodeo for me personifies what XRA wants to be doing and we are so glad they've continued to work with us. This Is Why We Don't Have Nice Things is an album that invites everyone to participate right away. It's accessible but is still full of musical know-how and an impressive range of influences, from punk to 50's pop. Not only are the songs all instant hits, but Zach is asking good, hard questions throughout and it's one of the most respectful and authentic explorations of faith and doubt that I've heard musically. I loved his quote in an interview with indie vision last month: "Faith plays a very large part in our band because it has been such a huge part of our lives, both good and bad. Most of us grew up going to church. Many of us attended religious schools. Some of us try to retain those things, while others completely reject them. It's something I've always found beautiful about our band." XRA is made up of people who grew up in churches too but we want our music and community to be welcoming and engaging to anyone who's interested, and Rodeo does this perfectly on This Is Why We Don't Have Nice Things.
Honorable mentions: Joanna Newsom, Have One On Me; Marnie Stern, self-titled; Beach House, Teen Dream; Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Before Today.
