Neon Indian - Era Extraña

 Nic Newby likes this.  I thought this was so video-gamey and melancholy that it surely must be what Samus Aran listened to inside her little helmet as she explored the foreign caverns of Zebes all alone. Plus it had a little bit of 80's twinge.

Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know

 Nic Newby likes this.  This was a good, fiery listen. It falls somewhere in between Tori Amos and Natalie Imbruglia (a wide range to fall in, I realize).

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

 Nic Newby likes this.  Having listened to "Marry Me" so many times in the last year, I was disappointed with the first 20 seconds or so of Strange Mercy. It wasn't as compelling right from the start. But then I was pleasantly surprised and pleased by the rest of the album. Another great piece by another great band.

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

 Nic Newby likes this.  Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost. The opening musical phrase on this album made me think I was about to hear The Cranberries. Then I thought I was listening to crunchy surf rock. Then it was a sadder and sadder tone until what I thought was a song about dying (Forgiveness). Then Love Like a River was very Pink Floydesque. Altogether, a really well-rounded album that was fun to listen to!

Elite Gymnastics - Ruin

 Nic Newby likes this.  No modesty here, I LOVED this album.  But I have a hard time putting a description into words.  The crossroads of Autechre and Skrillex seems a little sacrilegious but I'm going to say it anyway.

Asobi Seksu - Fluorescence

 Nic Newby likes this.  I didn't used to like Asobi Seksu, aside from the name, because they were too much of that "raw" sound I mentioned in a previous post not really liking.  But this album has the edge taken off to an extent that makes me like it, but leaves enough edge on to be Pj Harvey-esque only higher pitched.

Destroyer - Kaputt

 Nic Newby likes this.  The wide variety in sounds from this album, ranging from U2 (early, like Joshua Tree) to Belle & Sebastian to Al Stewart made me wonder if this was their first album.  But it didn't make me wonder so much that I did any research.  All in all, I liked it but I hope future albums go in the direction of some of their songs more than others.

Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

 Nic Newby likes this.  It's like traditional Japanese folk singing meets Hot Chip!  Good music for waking slowly in the morning.

Active Child - You Are All I See

 Nic Newby likes this.  Somewhere between Sigur Ros, PJ Harvey, and Arcade Fire.  Maybe a little Florence in there too (maybe just the harp).  I liked it.  I would play it at a mellow party for sure.

Kanye West & Jay Z - Watch the Throne

I had a hard time getting into this album, and maybe I just wasn't in the right mood.  I liked the tone throughout most of it, but I wouldn't put it on my regular rotation.

Zola Jesus - Conatus

 Nic Newby likes this.  I definitely heard something that I would describe as "experimental and heavy Florence + The Machine" in there.  Nice album by which to find one's center, I'd say.

The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient

 Nic Newby likes this.  I didn't dislike the singing, but I definitely like the instrumental tracks better.  A very nice late-Radiohead feel.

Apologies and thoughts

I'd like to say, it's harder than I thought to keep up on one-a-day posts.  Even though I try to keep them brief, sometimes I have something to say about 3 or 8 albums and sometimes I just want to hear and not be heard.  BUT if I say "on average, one a day" then I can post 7 on one day and 0 for a week, right?  So I'll shoot for that.  Thanks for your loyalty.  On an unrelated note, have you ever noticed how similar "biotech" and "biotch" are?

Sellout

I would just like to comment here that I added the option for ads to appear on the side of this blog.  That's because someday I will have so many followers that I will be paid well for this blog.  Let's never forget that everyone has their price.

Widowspeak - Widowspeak

 Nic Newby likes this.  I did exactly what they wanted, which was try for hours and hours to figure out whether it was widow speak or widows peak.  Then after that, I decided that they sound like the love child of PJ Harvey and Carla Bruni.

The One AM Radio - Heaven is Attached By a Slender Thread

I didn't dislike it but it didn't do anything for me.  I can't solidly say "Like" because there was no point during the album where I was like "yeah, this is pretty cool."  Maybe lackluster is the word I'm looking for.

The Woods - Sun and Shade

 Nic Newby likes this.  The songs with vocals and the instrumental songs had very different vibes.  I liked them all but it made for an album that kept catching me off guard, and I'm not totally convinced it was in a good way.  I definitely preferred the instrumental tracks.

Whoopsie

Already slipping on my goal of posting at least one a day.  Hey!  Give me a break!  I'm new at this!

Beirut - The Rip Tide

 Nic Newby likes this. I'm fairly confident when I say this sounds a lot like DeVotchKa. I liked it a lot, but it was a little to bouncy for the mood I was in at the time of listening.

Dale Earnhart Jr. Jr. - It's a Corporate World

 Nic Newby likes this.  It's like the tolerably happy end of sad music for someone who's already sad.  Somewhat reminiscent of The Flaming Lips.