Are Seven

It’s hard to be truly objective about a friend’s art. Maybe it is really as great as you think it is, or maybe, if you didn’t know them, you wouldn’t really have any interest in it. I learned with Barcelona not to worry about it. I thought they were brilliant, and even if I only gave them a second chance because they were my friends, then: great. Circumstances worked out.

Meredith Bragg, “Plinian”

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I’ve always liked Meredith’s stuff a lot, but this new album is exceptional. The additions of ambient noise to the recordings add a needed dose of sour to his sweet, turning his songs into the heartbreaking tunes he always seemed to strive for but never quite got to.

Silver Sonya is one of my favorite listens of the year; a record filled with incredibly strong melodies. “Plinian” in particular has a melody that shines out immediately. It’s so strong, in fact, that when I first heard it, I went to look up to see if it was a cover, just so I wouldn’t get too excited about it and then be let down that it wasn’t one of his. The arrangement is pretty typical of the album: the build is so subtle that it doesn’t seem like anything’s being added, but yet the song moves as though there were new instruments being brought in at every verse. It’s a stunner. Buy it.

Also picked up this week:

• REM, Accelerate. Just found it lying around. I’ll give a full review when it finally comes out, but I’ll leave it as a three-word review for now: The Hold Steady.
• Colin Meloy, Plays Live! Found it lying next to the REM album, cold and hungry and in need of a good home. It’s good, but it’s exactly what it says: Colin Meloy playing a bunch of songs live. The banter is pretty entertaining, though. But non-essential.
• Animal Collective, Water Curses. An EP that sounds like an EP: extras. More ambient than their other stuff. Nice, but also non-essential. So far. AC always has a way of sneaking up on you.
• The Dodos, Visiter. Got this morning after Pitchfork’s rave review. On first listen, it sounds amazing. I can’t wait to listen more.

New or old, what’s the best thing you heard this week?

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