Hip-D’s Top 20 of 2007: 4-1

4. The Ike Reilly Assassination – We Belong to the Staggering Evening

“After the good, but sobering Junkie Faithful, The Ike Reilly Assassination is back and ready to kick your teeth in if you even so much as look at them crooked. Ike, I love your rockabilly punk style.” – stacey

3. Okkervil River – The Stage Names

“It isn’t lyrically obtuse, but it’s still great rock and roll and manages to sustain itself through the entire disc.” – Patrick
“New to Okkervil River with Black Sheep Boy, I was expecting more of the same. When I didn’t get that, though, I wasn’t disappointed. The Stage Names is like one-stop shopping. It’s poppy and dirty-rock-y and a little Motown-y and I even love how they throw ‘Sloop John B’ in on near the end of the CD. This just gets better and more enjoyable with each listen.” – stacey

2. The National – Boxer

“The buildup at the end of ‘Fake Empire’ is one of my favorite moments on record this year. A great album start to finish.” – Patrick
“I knew nothing of The National until they came near my town this year and a friend insisted I see them. I had actually begun to tire of going to shows alone, so the idea of seeing a band I had never heard and having to go it alone didn’t really appeal to me, but I found myself at their show anyway. I also found myself buying their entire output of CDs a week after the show. The National became my sleeper hit of the year; to not see a ‘guy and guitar’ at the top of my list truly is a feat, but the more I listened to them, the more I liked their subtly intense sound. They’re like a less epic Frames and I’m a sucker for piano, horns and string spattered pop music.” – stacey

1. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

“Purists might disagree. This could be the best example of what Spoon does.” – Patrick
“Most of the time I forget about Spoon. It’s not that I don’t like them, I just forget they exist. Then I hear a song on the radio and before you know it, I’ve popped a CD in the stereo and it’s stuck in there for days. Ga x 5 was a grower for me, but once my favorite radio station started playing ‘Don’t You Evah.’ I was hooked once again. There are chimes and horns and crack cocaine, I think, because I can’t stop listening.” – stacey

Hip-D’s Top 20 of 2007: 8-5

8. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

“This is Wilco getting older.  This is more Wilco than Tweedy and it works nicely.  My dad probably would like this CD, but so would my young, hip dad circa 1976.” – stacey
“Much better than A Ghost is Born.” – Yail Bloor

7. Babyshambles – Shotter’s Nation

“I like it. It kicks my ass. Long live Pete.” – Yail Bloor

6. Black Francis – Bluefinger

“I don’t know if this is what’s called “included by default” but there is not one bad song on this album.” – Mark H.
“…this guy can shit in a cup and feed it to his bass player and it will still be better than almost anything out there…” – Yail Bloor

5. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

“‘March to the Sea’ may be the song of the year.” – Loog
“I liked it on first listen…it’s still good tunage.” – Mark H.

Hip-D’s Top 20 of 2007: 12-9

12. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin

“I don’t care what you say, if you liked Everything All the Time you should like Cease to Begin and not only like, but maybe like it more.  Do me a favor and put this on in your car during your next trip to wherever.  I accept cookies as a form of thank you.” – stacey

11. Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

“If Animal Years was Ritter’s Guthrie, this is his Dylan.” – Patrick
“The Historical Conquests may not be quite as good as last year’s The Animal Years, but Ritter knows what he’s doing.  He knows where he stands musically and he’s going to explore every corner of that.  Keep it coming, Josh.” – stacey

10. The Broken West – I Can’t Go On I’ll Go On

“Catchy power-pop in the vein of Wilco’s summerteeth.” – FT
“…quite enjoyable…perfect for the fine weather we are having here these days.” – Loog

9. Kings of Leon – Because of the Times

“Good rock and roll rekkid with some slow southern burner action going on.” – Loog

Hip-D’s Top 20 of 2007: 16-13

16. Tim Armstrong – A Poet’s Life

“Everything after #2 is debatable, and more just a random list of albums.” – Loog

15. Deadstring Brothers – Silver Mountain

“The addition of a female voice is a bit jarring at first for those familiar with their previous albums, but this ends up being a solid effort at the end of the day.” – FT

14. John Doe – A Year in the Wilderness

“Is it just me or is this the first time that a deadline has ever been adhered to?” – jasmine

13. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha

“Keep coming back to it.  One or two duds, otherwise perfect.” – Patrick
“Rock music for the intellectual in your life, Bird branches out a little with ‘Armchair Apocrypha’, but largely stays true to himself.  The guitar is a bit more pronounced than we’re used to, but it’s mixed with the same whistles, piano, violin and witty lyrics we know and love.” – stacey

Hip-D’s Top 20 of 2007: 20-17

20. The White Stripes – Icky Thump

“Jack and Meg never forgot how to bring it.  A searing rock album.” – Patrick
“They got me.  I’m buying anything they put out at this point.  This does not disappoint.” – stacey

19. Nicole Atkins – Neptune City

“Do not write her off as another chick with a guitar.  You will not only be sorely mistaken, but you will also miss out on her ‘little bit psychedelic, little bit country, all pop candy’ goodness.” – stacey

18. Jim White – Transnormal Skiperoo

“An incredibly strong follow-up to his masterwork (Drill A Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See) that gets better with each listen.  Jim White is an American treasure.” – FT

17. Jason Isbell – Sirens of the Ditch

“I didn’t do any blurbs.” – Yail Bloor
“You’ll get blurbs later, Poonami” – Loog

First Impressions – Session # 2 by Mark

The Resistors

Damaged, Ugly, & Loud

Wow. It’s been a long time since I listened to punk rock like this. I’ve lost all points of reference so excuse me while I grasp at straws like MDC and other 80s bands that had abbreviated names. The guitars are old but reliable chainsaws, the riffs are familiar, and the vocals provide gruff, snarl, and the encouragement to chant and pump fists. The drums seem to be untouched – the snare hits actually sound like a snare, and I like that.

Even though some songs were penned as far back as 1982, this is the debut release for the Resistors. The fact that it’s a 100% D.I.Y. self-release is in and of itself commendable, but the perseverance shown here is downright amazing.

Let’s get down to business though: The Resistors make a few smart moves here, the most noticeable is the fact that the first two tracks are also the best on the album. “Andropov’s Assassins” is an energetic opener, with short jabs of rough punk vox barreling through call-and-reponse verses, with a crowd-rousing shout-along chorus. “Criminally Insane” is a wild, bouncy, “weirdpunk” (think Boris the Spinkler b-side) track. The sound itself matches the mentally damaged lyrics, and that’s pretty cool, I think.

After that though, the band rolls steadily downhill, with songs that are slightly above mediocre but unfortunately mid-tempo. A faster blast of noise would make “Boys Not Right” a great song, but instead it just kind of plods along. Wanky solos throughout the next string of songs takes the momentum back down to zilch. Oh well. A gang of old punks from Columbus, IN putting out a record is worthy of a thumbs up, but the music just isn’t registering on my charts. Final call: No year-end nod for the disc, but “You get on my nerves like a Green Day song” is easily one of the funniest lyrics I’ve heard all year.

You Said It Was A Good Size! 7″ Review by Mark

The Ergs!
Books About Miles Davis b/w Only Babies Cry (Whoa Oh)

A nice lead off for the soon-to-be-released full-length. The A-side tells us a story of love and longing, one that inspires you to write a love letter, because THIS time it’ll be different. Easily the most mature Ergs! song in their entire catalog, and I think it’s great. Jeff Erg strums a sad but comforting melody, like a bucket of ice cream after the break-up. Mikey Erg, unable to hide behind his drum set, standing bare and vulnerable, sings with his heart in his throat. The lyrics and music have one fleeting moment of freedom, but the players probably decide that it’s best to just go home.

On the B-side we get a Paul Baribeau cover. I can understand that if you’re covering a lo-fi folk rock artist, you’d want to do it differently (and the Ergs! do; they rock it up several notches), but I say buck that trend, because I want more acoustic Ergs!! At least Mikey kept Baribeau’s cotton-gargle intact (though I’m not sure if that was purposeful or just Mikey’s vocal prowess showing its limits). Anyway, bring on the new album!
Linkage: www.whoaohrecords.com

You Said It Was A Good Size! 7″ Review by Mark

The Steinways
Rocket Surgery 7” (Don Giovanni)

The A-side is over before I can finish writing this sentence so I’ll try to make this quick. “(My Girlfriend Is A) Crazy Fucking Cat Lady” is pretty much Dr. Suess gone pop punk. “Chopsticks McVilla” bursts through like classic 90s skate punk, but not only does the gang take out every ounce of wank, they also do away with the intro, the chorus, and everything else – all you’re left with is a simple, but radical kick flip of snot pop. “Fucking February” appears to be the Steinways opus this time around, as it’s the only track that clocks in over a minute, but I can’t say the patchwork of punk does it for me as much as it has with previous exploits.

The B-side contains my favorite new Steinways tune, “Milk Was A Bad Choice”. Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Grath Madden continues to successfully raid the oldies station for charming melodies, and it works just as well here as it has in the past for the Beatnik Termites and Ruth’s Hat. I’m pleased that “I’m Ice-T” is actually an accurate short bio about the rapper/actor. I’ll file it away in my “reference rock” cabinet. There are also another 5 songs on this extended player, all of which are over before I can decide if I love them or hate them for being too short and sweet.
Linkage: www.dongiovonni.com

You Said It Was A Good Size! 7″ Review by Mark

The newest dark and dirty slab of wax on my tuntable is Storm The Tower’s aptly titled Four Songs EP. It’s not distinctly aggressive (hardcore), nor is it immediately melodic, yet I still can’t bring myself to calling it middle-of-the-road. It’s definitely gritty, with guitar lines slicing this way and that like a hot knife through punk rock wrists. Even with the production shortcomings you almost have to respect the amount of sonic cacaphony this three piece makes. And while you can almost hear the sandpaper in the vocalist’s throat and on every instrument, “Panic Flares” still evokes an anthemic quality. In brief summation, these guys are definitely playing their guts out. If the image of a pile of guts on the floor doesn’t put you off, you might dig this.

First Impressions Session # 1

I consider myself to be a good judge of character. It doesn’t take me long to file a person, place, or thing under my “cool” banner, even less time to file it in my “meh” box, and only seconds to throw it in the “garbage” can. It’s an extraordinary talent that comes in handy when you’ve got a pile of promos and only minutes to spare.

Here are my first-listen thoughts on Joshua Marcus’s Make/Believe, a disc coming soon from Contraphonic Records. “The Calm And The Storm” leads off with….rainfalll. A rainy-day album? Violin and acoustic guitar slow-waltz around two stark voices, male and female, definitely sounding olde-timey, like non-hoedown bluegrass or pre-Pete Seeger American folk. Marcus must have studied with Will Oldham at Neil Young University because this guy has that charming warble down pat. The banjo appears to be the main instrument throughout, and while you’d think you’d tire of the sharp, pointed plucking the picking is quite tuneful, and compliments Marcus’s straightforward high-hoarse crooning. The Mandolin, harmonica, and guest vocalists make appearances as well, each one adding either harmony or melody to support what would otherwise be an excercise in americana minimalism. “This House Or This House” reaches a bit too far into the “Hey, look at me earnestly attempting to sing beyond my capabilities” bag, but otherwise this 8-song release has a lot to enjoy. “Change Is A Slow Constant” would be approved by any Iron & Wine fan, and the trotting pace and catchy chorus “Ooh” is an indie-folkers gem, complete with a freakout solo on the violin.

Note – Street date is early April so I have plenty of time to change my mind… check out www.contraphonic.com for sneak peeks and the like.

- Mark Hughson