My Little Corner Of The World – Volume 39

by Vinh on November 10th, 2009

Wolfman Feat. Peter Doherty – For Lovers (2004)
Sure, this is just one song — a single released back in 2004 shortly after Pete Doherty’s release from prison for robbing the home of then fellow Libertine Carl Barat. Any doubts or misgivings about Doherty were soon forgotten with this completely gorgeous track. It has become second nature to associate Doherty with addiction and all around self-destructive behaviour but sometimes, he produces something like ‘For Lovers’ and we remember why he rose to the forefront of UK’s musical landscape. ‘For Lovers’ is a soulful piano-based ballad about love, loss, insecurity, and escape. Poetic and moving, it’s Doherty at his best and is maybe the finest love song written within the boundaries of London since The Kinks’ ‘Waterloo Sunset’. – Matthew James

School Of Seven Bells – Alpinisms (2008)
I’ve never listened to Secret Machines or On!Air!Library!, but I recently picked up this release featuring members of both bands and I’m obsessed with it. Featuring elements of shoegaze and ambient electronics, the trio of former Machine Ben Curtis and identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza incorporate dancy rhythmic qualities to give their songs more vitality and purpose than many of their contemporaries. The album begins with a feeling of restraint, but by the time third track ‘Half Awake’ hits, things are in full swing with Alejandra’s captivating vocals and the shimmery backdrops ensnaring the listener. As far as dream pop goes, I certainly wouldn’t mind having this album as the soundtrack as I sleep. – Paul Bulow

Noah And The Whale – Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down (2008)
We’ve all had those moments in our lives where we feel like we never need to look back again, yet we all continue to reminisce. We’ve all experienced the intense happiness that appears to have no end, yet we inevitably endure the unmistakable fury of discontent. After the arrival of Noah And The Whale’s sophomore album, a desperate meditation of heartbreak, the deeply genuine love encompassing Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down has secured a place in my heart. There are overjoyed brass arrangements, duets between passionate lovers, chants accompanied by blissful handclapping; it’s truly wonderful. Though this record may not offer the maturity and coherency presented by The First Days Of Spring, its unequivocal love can surely help us through the coming winter. Sometimes, it can be nice to look back. – Rick Southwick

Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Although (as my colleague Vinh Cao stated in a previous Sun On The Sand piece) the risks that Wilco took on this album have long been overstated, it should be said that it stands by itself as a beautiful piece of art. From the jangly, laptop-krautrock intro to the touching ‘Reservations’, every note is carefully crafted and composed, and creative genius is funneled into the best rock album of the decade. – John Spencer

The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers (1976)
Recorded in the early 1970s but not released until 1976, The Modern Lovers’ self-titled debut is a classic. Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jonathan Richman wears his influences on his sleeve, with some help from the production of Velvet Underground member John Cale. The Lovers’ style of minimalist, stripped down punk definitely owes a debt to The Velvet Underground but their attitude is completely different. Richman was no more than a teenager when this album was recorded; he turns his teenage angst loose in the form of anthems like ‘Roadrunner’. More tracks, featuring the same teenage angst and sarcastic tone include ‘Pablo Picasso’ and ‘I’m Straight’. However, do not make the mistake that teenage angst is all Richman and The Modern Lovers bring to the table. Tracks like ‘Dignified and Old’ discuss the possible future as they age, and ‘Someone I Care About’ sees Richman longing for a lover. The Modern Lovers finds a band wise beyond its years, admittedly working off the blueprint laid down by VU, but also adding elements that would come to influence countless bands down the road. – Joe Mateo

Silver Jews – Starlite Walker (1994)
I’ve made my infatuation with David Berman’s work no secret in the year or so Sun On The Sand has been active, and while third time was indeed the charm with the brilliant American Water, his previous two records are not to be dismissed as mere stage-setters. On the Jews’ debut full-length Starlite Walker, Berman’s connection with disenfranchised America remains staggering as he proclaims the views of those who refuse to play tambourines for minimum wage, those “wandering down the backstreets of the world”, opting for “an undisclosed, deeply-wooded, lose-your-way route” rather than the linear, purportedly proper course. These keen observations are coupled with freewheeling, ramshackle indie-rock accented by the odd piano key or Stephen Malkmus interjection. There’s an unfettered, panoramic quality to these numbers, as though Berman is completely free to let loose on his first foray. In particular, this green light produces two of the quirkier entries in his canon, with the loping instrumental ‘The Moon Is The Number 18′ as well as the sprawling tale ‘The Country Diary Of A Subway Conductor’. The latter’s title is quite reflective of Silver Jews’ essence, as the protagonist is a perpetual everyman simply jotting down what he witnesses as he rides the rails from one town to the next. Somehow, these deadpan ruminations manage to be brushed off as wry at first glance only to register as astonishingly profound upon further examination. When Berman casually tosses lines such as “well, we don’t believe in people who say it’s all been done/they have time to talk because their race is run” or “there’s beasts, and there’s men, and there’s something on this earth that comes back again” our way, double takes abound to reveal the remarkable insight on display. On ‘Trains Across The Sea’, Dave sings “In 27 years, I’ve drunk 50 000 beers and they just wash against me like the sea into a pier.” He has never neglected his past. You shouldn’t either. – Vinh Cao