Okay, it’s actually Sunday. The Easter morning egg hunt and excitement is over, so I’ll take a moment to reflect on some things I listened to yesterday.
Soul Asylum – Closer To The Stars: Best Of The Twin/Tone Years (2006)
I thought I’d be familiar with some of this early stuff but it turns out I only know back through 1988’s Hang Time. This is an excellent anthology, full of fast, raw songs. They were a lot more punk early on than I would have imagined.
Mogwai – Mr. Beast (2006)
There’s plenty of their trademark slow build to a roar on this latest, but I notice it’s not always on a quiet to loud arc. For example, on some tracks the guitars becomes increasingly intense over a strong, melodic piano line. I tried to work in the awesome “Travel Is Dangerous” on a recent mix but it didn’t fit with the character of the rest of the songs. Mogwai is a bit on the dour side in case you hadn’t noticed.
Built To Spill - You In Reverse (2006)
I won’t harp on how disappointed I was with their last album but this is by far a superior effort. There’s plenty of weird song structures, tasteful guitar workouts, and a even a few idiosyncratic pop songs. I’m especially hooked on “Mess With Time,” which starts out with a Middle Eastern flavored lead and radically changes to an upbeat reggae vibe for the last couple of minutes. World Music, BtS style!