Records of the Week 10/22/11: Three Great Albums From 2011

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Mirror Traffic

As of now, Mirror Traffic is my favorite album of 2011.  Singer/guitarist Stephen Malkmus’ first album post-Pavement reunion (and latest in a long string of awesome solo albums) is a more focused work than some of his past efforts, which makes it a great listening experience.  While it features some of Malkmus’ trademark sillyness (Senator has the line “I know what the senator wants is a blowjob”) Mirror Traffic is a little more personal.  “Share the Red” is one of his most emotional tracks, where he contemplates being “40 with a kid, living on the grid.”  It also features few of the catchiest Jicks songs, “Forever 28″ and “Stick Figures In Love”.  “Forever 28″ has one of the most memorable vocal melodies on the album in between electric guitar freakouts while “Stick Figures” moves along at a brisk pace fueled by an infectious guitar line.  It doesn’t hurt that the album was produced by Beck, who seems to have a great handle on making Malkmus sound his best.

Yuck – Yuck

Yuck’s name caught my eye in an article in Rolling Stone earlier this year.  The magazine compared them to two of my favorite bands, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr.  At first, I was hesitant to even listen – most of the times these comparisons don’t really end up making sense.  In a way, Rolling Stone was right – Yuck has the heavy fuzz feel of the early 90s – yet they’re also a little less noise and a little more pop than those bands.  While Dinosaur Jr were heavily influenced by 70s punk, Yuck seems to have been a little more influenced by (good) pop music.  “Shook Down” almost sounds like a lost Weezer track, and I’m not sure that Dino Jr would ever release a track like “Suicide Companion”.  Yet despite the difference in sound from what I initially expected, I still found Yuck to be an interesting, likable band, and their self-titled effort is definitely worth a listen.

Feist – Metals

Like Mirror Traffic, Metals is a more introspective, personal work.  Coined by some of the media as her “break-up album”, it definitely enters new territory for Feist.  The entire album has a very “warm” feel, and October was the perfect month to release it.  It’s very autumnal in the best possible way.  While Feist is famous for the poppy, uptempo “1, 2, 3, 4″, Metals succeeds because of its sparse, more subdued arrangements (at least in comparison).  “How Come You Never Go There” might be the best example of the album’s overall sound.  None of the instruments really overpower the others except for the piano that is the driving force of the song.  It also features a catchy melody that might even be better than Feist’s more radio-friendly past work.

NOTE: I apologize for neglecting this blog as of late.  It is always in my thoughts, but I have not really felt the urge to write for a while now, unfortunately.  It feels good to be back, though.