Bazz' Album 05 (Part 2)

(Con't from part 1)

So, 4 month later, it's here. After getting bored of writing reviews, I left this post for awhile and came back ever so often to work on it.
A lot of what I've listened to in the past year has been "indie". It's hard to define the genre since it's very broad. But for the most part, I see experimentation as a key feature in indie music. Through out the year, there has been some really weird albums produced that I can't even began to comprehend let along appreciate. So I guess those fall under the extreme indie genre that I will not touch.
I kind of tried to pick albums from different sub-genre. These aren't in any orders.

(links are good for a week)

Indie love

Worlds Apart
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Track Pick-"Will You Smile Again for Me?" (6:50)

The band name might suggest an equipment-destroying, I-hate-god-and-you, heavy metal band, but Trail of Dead is considered an indie rock band. Instrumentals, meter and style variations, vocals are among the things that shines throughout this album. The band's sound has toned down a lot since their debut and is more experimental now. There is a pure instrumental waltz track in the middle of the album that makes me a happy panda.

How Strange, Innocence
Explosions in the Sky
Track Pick-"A Song for Our Fathers" (5:44)

This album doesn't fail to captivate me every time I listen to it. Technically, this was first released in 2001 as a limited debut album. Because of the demands, it was remastered/re-released this year. (So, it's still legitimate for me to include this) EITS is a post-rock band. The overall sound is more mellow/emo than their others, but doesn't fall short of the essential dramatic elements that defines the band and the genre.

Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Track Pick- "7/4 (Shoreline)" (4:53)

The Canadians are fighting back. BSC is a project-esque band formed by some major indie names in Canada (Metric & Feist to name 2). This was a new band I heard this year that made its mark. There're a lot of depth to each song. Not limited to sound/instruments/effects, but also lyrics. Personally, not as good as their last album, but still grabbed my interest in the band.

Underwater Cinematographer
The Most Serene Republic
Track Pick-"King of No One" (2:26)

Toronto based indie group that shares similar sound with Broken Social Scenes but with less synth and more mello(both are under the same label actually). Because of that, I might've been abit bias judging. Nonetheless, a good post-rock album that's definitely better than some other indie bands. (Reminds me a little of the Postal Service)
More worthwhile bands from Arts and Crafts (the label): Stars, Broken Social Scene, Feist, Apostle of Hustle

Black Mountain
Black Mountain
Track Pick-"Druganaut" (3:47)

More Canadian debut goodness. At first, the name suggested to me a folk band. The vocals do somewhat reflect that, but the sound itself is a rollercoaster ride through sax rips, bass rifts, lyrical rhymes, and experimentation party. Majority of songs are over 6 mins long and does take awhile to develop. Give it some patience, it pays off in the end.

Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus
Cloud Cult
Track Pick-"You Got Your Bones to Make a Beat" (3:02)

These guys are a bunch of hippies. Nonetheless they make some awesome music. I love this album because it's highly experimental. The 25 tracks are all fairly short and displays a distinct style in each one that'll entertain most ADD people.

Akron/Family
Akron/Family
Track Pick-"Lumen" (5:30)

This would be my pick for a top acoustic/indie album. The melodies and vocal are both very soothing, and drove me to sleep when I neared the end of the album.(I'm saying that as a good thing).But under the acoustic guitar, there is more. Afterall, aren't indie music suppose to be out of the norm? Many of the tracks are dubbed with random background effects( bird chirps, sea waves,clicking, etc) The most random has to be the 2 min. track of pure noise/hisses right after a wonderful ballad. I wasn't a big fan of that, but it doesn't deteriorate the album at all.

The Runners Four
Deerhoof
Track pick-"Midnight Bicycle Mystery" (1:59)

12 bars blue, acoustic, distortion, synth, experimental under a hat. First thing anyone notices about this band is the probably the vocalist, who happens to be a jap bass playing chick. (Snap, Asian) It has enough cuteness to shame generic jpop singers, and enough accent to add that edge to the vocal. Just a fun album overall. But wait, for more "jap bass playing girl in indie band", check out....

Lost Marbles and Exploded Evidence
Enon
Track Pick-"Knock That Door" (2:53)

(I wonder if it really is a coincident?) This album is a collection of singles and Bsides, which display a range of styles from the band.The same description can be applied here from Deerhoof, though I like the vocals more here. (Because all the tracks sound unique, it was hard to just pick one, but I couldn't help but feature the cute vocal)

Silent Alarm
Block Party
Track Pick-"Banquet" (3:21)

I have to give props to the Brits for their new wave of indie artists. Silent Alarm has a unique sound that's catchy and makes it stand out from the rest. I don't believe the band has made it big in US yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did soon. The remix album released soon afterwards was some what of a disappointment, even though most of the tracks were remixed by some good big time artists.

Justamustache
Thunderbirds Are Now!
Track Pick-"This World is Made of Paper...Held Together by a Stapler" (3:33)

Garage rock with synth/electronics. I guess there aren't many similar bands, so this gets some recognition. Reminds me abet of Bloc Party, especially some of the riffs. (I also like the covers of not just this, but all of their albums)