Hidden Track Staff

HT 25 Best Albums of 2009: Numbers 1-5

Hidden Track Staff January 8, 2010 7 Comments

This year at Hidden Track, we concocted a little experiment for our year-end Best Albums of 2009 list. Instead of picking the old fashioned way – subjectively – we opted for something a little different: a collaborative, collective list that incorporates the opinions of everybody here at HT.

To begin, we devised an all-encompassing list of around 100 nominees and populated it in a Google spreadsheet – essentially anything that anybody who writes for Hidden Track liked at all, made the list. Then we invited our crew of writers to independently vote on the whole list (omitting anything unfamiliar) on a scale of 1 to 20 (20 = five stars). We ended up with 33 voters with varying degrees of familiarity with the nominees; some folks voted on just about everything, while some just a few. From there, we eliminated anything that did not receive at least three votes, calculated the average scores, and sorted it. We took the top 25 scores and presto: the Hidden Track 25 Best Albums of 2009. No bullshit, no big opinions; just the results.

We’ve come to the end of our week long countdown, let’s check out our Top Five…

5) The Flaming Lips – Embryonic

Key Tracks: Evil, Gemini Syringes, Watching the Planets, Powerless

Sounds Like: Trent Reznor, Mars Volta

the-flaming-lips-embryonic

Skinny: Beware Yoshimi fans, there’s a lot less beautiful stuff this time around. Alternatively, what the Flaming Lips forgo in placating, they more than make up for with dark themes, mayhem and a heavy storyline. While at times Embryonic gets weighed down by knobs and buttons (see Aquarius Sabotage), with some fatty basslines, a heavy dousing of effects and a deeply cynical overarching theme, the Lips provide more to think about and less with which to sing along. If there’s a credit to Wayne Coyne and crew, it’s an ability to push way beyond the conventional, while somehow getting through to the conventional.

READ ON to see the final four albums of our Top 25…

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HT 25 Best Albums of 2009: Numbers 6-10

Hidden Track Staff January 7, 2010 2 Comments

This year at Hidden Track, we concocted a little experiment for our year-end Best Albums of 2009 list. Instead of picking the old fashioned way – subjectively – we opted for something a little different: a collaborative, collective list that incorporates the opinions of everybody here at HT.

To begin, we devised an all-encompassing list of around 100 nominees and populated it in a Google spreadsheet – essentially anything that anybody who writes for Hidden Track liked at all, made the list. Then we invited our crew of writers to independently vote on the whole list (omitting anything unfamiliar) on a scale of 1 to 20 (20 = five stars). We ended up with 33 voters with varying degrees of familiarity with the nominees; some folks voted on just about everything, while some just a few. From there, we eliminated anything that did not receive at least three votes, calculated the average scores, and sorted it. We took the top 25 scores and presto: the Hidden Track 25 Best Albums of 2009. No bullshit, no big opinions; just the results.

Let’s check out numbers 10 through 6 and see what made the cut…

10) Fanfarlo – Reservoir

Key Tracks: Good Morning Midnight, The Walls Are Coming Down, Comets

Sounds Like: Arcade Fire, Frightened Rabbit, Andrew Bird

Fanfarlo-Reservoir

Skinny: Reservoir showed in Fanfarlo a number of immensely talented musicians who swap instruments, successfully incorporate unconventional tackle like the clarinet, trumpet, violin, melodica, even the saw, and write some amazing orchestral indie rock/pop songs. While all of the material comes across easy and beautiful, perhaps the best indication of what’s to come from this young juggernaut band is the album’s instrumental closing lullaby, Good Morning Midnight, which in a mere 1:26, could put both mom and baby to sleep.

READ ON for the next four album in our week long countdown…

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HT 25 Best Albums of 2009: Numbers 11-15

Hidden Track Staff January 6, 2010 3 Comments

This year at Hidden Track, we concocted a little experiment for our year-end Best Albums of 2009 list. Instead of picking the old fashioned way – subjectively – we opted for something a little different: a collaborative, collective list that incorporates the opinions of everybody here at HT.

To begin, we devised an all-encompassing list of around 100 nominees and populated it in a Google spreadsheet – essentially anything that anybody who writes for Hidden Track liked at all, made the list. Then we invited our crew of writers to independently vote on the whole list (omitting anything unfamiliar) on a scale of 1 to 20 (20 = five stars). We ended up with 33 voters with varying degrees of familiarity with the nominees; some folks voted on just about everything, while some just a few. From there, we eliminated anything that did not receive at least three votes, calculated the average scores, and sorted it. We took the top 25 scores and presto: the Hidden Track 25 Best Albums of 2009. No bullshit, no big opinions; just the results.

Let’s check out numbers 15 through 11 and see what made the cut…

15) Elvis Perkins In Dearland – Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Key Tracks: Hey, Chains Chains Chains, Doomsday

Sounds Like: Part marching band, Part Dylan-esque folk-rock

elvis-perkins-in-dearland-cd-cover-album-art

Skinny: Perkins sophomore effort is more of a complete representation of what he and his band In Dearland sound like. The combo’s “antique music” can best be summed up as equal parts ramshackle folk and Sousa marching band, making it virtually impossible at times to keep you from from tapping your feet along to songs like Hey, I Heard Your Voice In The Dresden and Doomsday with Perkins’ vivid lyrics as the guide.

READ ON for the next four albums in our week long countdown…

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HT 25 Best Albums of 2009: Numbers 16-20

Hidden Track Staff January 5, 2010 3 Comments

This year at Hidden Track, we concocted a little experiment for our year-end Best Albums of 2009 list. Instead of picking the old fashioned way – subjectively – we opted for something a little different: a collaborative, collective list that incorporates the opinions of everybody here at HT.

To begin, we devised an all-encompassing list of around 100 nominees and populated it in a Google spreadsheet – essentially anything that anybody who writes for Hidden Track liked at all, made the list. Then we invited our crew of writers to independently vote on the whole list (omitting anything unfamiliar) on a scale of 1 to 20 (20 = five stars). We ended up with 33 voters with varying degrees of familiarity with the nominees; some folks voted on just about everything, while some just a few. From there, we eliminated anything that did not receive at least three votes, calculated the average scores, and sorted it. We took the top 25 scores and presto: the Hidden Track 25 Best Albums of 2009. No bullshit, no big opinions; just the results.

Let’s check out numbers 20 through 16 and see what made the cut…

20) Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Key Tracks: Stillness Is The Move, Useful Chamber, Two Doves

Sounds Like: Art Rock for people that like Folk Rock, Talking Heads

dirty-projectors-bitte-orca-cover

Skinny: Is it possible that The Dirty Projectors made an art-rock jamband album? With just nine tracks, Bitte Orca covers a lot of ground with a handful of songs that wind their way past the five minute mark – employing schizophrenic twist and turns that include sharp tempo changes, odd time signatures and everything from hand claps to harpsichords. The band has also impressed the likes of David Byrne – who recorded a song with them for the Dark Was The Night compilation – and The Roots who jammed with them at show at Bowery Ballroom shortly after they appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

READ ON for the next four albums in our week long countdown…

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Trey Anastasio Announces TAB Tour

Hidden Track Staff January 5, 2010 22 Comments

This afternoon, former 70 Volt Parade vocalist Trey Anastasio announced a solo tour that puts together the members of his Classic TAB ensemble with a three-piece horn section for three weeks worth of shows. For this run of shows Anastasio will be backed by Classic TAB members Tony Markellis on bass, Russ Lawton on drums and Ray Paczkowski on keyboards as well as a three-piece horn section featuring Jennifer Hartswick, Russ Remington and Natalie Cressman.

Trey Promo Pic

The tour which features 16 shows in 21 days opens in the city that Coran Capshaw built, Charlottesville Virginia at the Jefferson Theatre. Trey is bringing his band to a few states that Phish hasn’t been able to hit in their first year back, most notably Georgia as well as Kansas and the District Of Columbia. The venues are exclusively clubs and theaters and for some reason their New York City stop is at one of the cities most hated venues, Terminal 5.

Let’s take a look at the players:

Tony Markellis [bass]: The “Meatman” first performed with Trey in 1998 as part of his Eight Foot Florescent Tubes project that opened the original Higher Ground in Winooski. Trey enjoyed the experience so much that he asked Markellis and drummer Russ Lawton to join him on his first solo tour back in 1999. Tony was a member of TAB through the 2003 Spring Tour and returned for the Classic TAB shows in 2008.

READ ON for profiles on the rest of the members of Trey’s band and the full list of tour dates…

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HT 25 Best Albums of 2009: Numbers 21-25

Hidden Track Staff January 4, 2010 5 Comments

This year at Hidden Track, we concocted a little experiment for our year-end Best Albums of 2009 list. Instead of picking the old fashioned way – subjectively – we opted for something a little different: a collaborative, collective list that incorporates the opinions of everybody here at HT.

To begin, we devised an all-encompassing list of around 100 nominees and populated it in a Google spreadsheet – essentially anything that anybody who writes for Hidden Track liked at all, made the list. Then we invited our crew of writers to independently vote on the whole list (omitting anything unfamiliar) on a scale of 1 to 20 (20 = five stars). We ended up with 33 voters with varying degrees of familiarity with the nominees; some folks voted on just about everything, while some just a few. From there, we eliminated anything that did not receive at least three votes, calculated the average scores, and sorted it. We took the top 25 scores and presto: the Hidden Track 25 Best Albums of 2009. No bullshit, no big opinions; just the results.

Let’s kick things off with numbers 25 through 21…

25) M. Ward – Hold Time

Key Tracks: Stars Of Leo, Rave On, Never Had Nobody Like You

Sounds Like: An old antique photo

12681-hold-time

Skinny: In 2008 M. Ward seemed to take a backseat to doe-eyed actress Zooey Deschanel as the Him in vintage indie-pop act She & Him, but he was back in 2009 with his latest solo release, Hold Time. The album is full of everything we’ve come to expect from Matt over the years – modern indie-rock that is completely bathed in the patina of the last fifty-plus years of pop music. Combining his sepia-drenched vocals and open tuning guitar work with guest appearances from the aforementioned Deschanel, Lucinda Williams and Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle.

READ ON for the next four albums in our countdown…

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Blips: Three Under The Radar Bands

Hidden Track Staff December 17, 2009 7 Comments

In our never-ending quest to dig up some great bands that cost less than a corned beef sandwich at Katz’s Deli, we bring you another round of Blips. Blips highlights some great bands that are largely still in their larvae stage, but will soon morph into their beautiful butterfly. In this edition, we have some really cool new music, so take a sec, poke around their various websites, and see what you think of these three under the radar musical groups…

Lissie

Lissie

MySpace / iLike

I know what you’re thinking, didn’t we already write a Blips on someone named Lissie? While technically true – that was Lissie Trullie – this Lissie (full name Lissie Maurus) sounds nothing like the downtown New York rock we’ve previously written about. With her unassuming girl-next-door looks Lissie puts out an enchanting and powerful blend of Gospel-infused, dusty Americana that’s influenced by equal parts the blues of her native state of Illinois and the sun-baked folk sounds of her current home California.

READ ON for more on Lissie, Morningsides and Local Natives…

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Review: Old School Percy Hill Returns

Hidden Track Staff December 15, 2009 19 Comments

Words: Stanch

The band that took the stage Friday night in Newmarket, NH at Stone Church, one of northern New England’s legendary live music meccas, might have been confused for a group in the middle of a long national tour.

990313Percy-Sult

They seemed relaxed as they cruised workman-like through their high-energy opening number. As it ended and the front-man leaned into the mic and said simply, “It’s great to be back in the Stone Church,” one might have thought that these six musicians (billed as “Old School Percy Hill”) had last played the venue in the summer. If so, it was in the summer of 1996.

Depending on your metrics, the now defunct Percy Hill endured as many as seven lineup changes between the release of their first album (Setting The Boat Adrift -1993) and that of the much acclaimed Color In Bloom (1998).

While each version had its defenders and detractors, many argued it was “Old School Percy Hill” – the version that played on Friday (guitarists Tom Powley and Joe Farrell, brothers keyboardist Nate Wilson and percussionist Zack Wilson, drummer Dylan Halacy, and bassist Jeremy Hill), which cemented the band’s place in early jamband lore. Shortly after the release of Setting The Boat Adrift, the “Old School” lineup was born when original drummer Tim Leavy left the band and was replaced by the frenetic and high energy Dylan Halacy. That lineup would last until 1996 when original bassist (and Percy Hill namesake) Jeremy Hill departed.

READ ON for the rest of Stanch’s take on Old School Percy Hill…

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Review: MMW @ House of Blues – Chicago

Hidden Track Staff December 14, 2009 4 Comments

Words: Benji Feldheim

Medeski Martin and Wood have never done things simple.

The New York City trio have spent the last 18 years annihilating all the rules they learned growing up playing jazz and classical while recording and performing. Past shows see-sawed between mid tempo, raucous and dirty funk to shrieking, crashing and amorphous soundscapes that often left people slackjawed and staring. Neither side ever really took over at their concerts. MMW’s shows were in a constant state of flux.

800px-Medeski_Martin_&_Wood

[Photo by Xopher Smith]

Then they had this Radiolarians idea: write real basic roots for songs, tour, then record. Repeat twice. Now at the end of this experiment, the band just released the Evolutionary Set, a box set with all three Radiolarians albums, a remix disc, a live disc and a DVD directed by Martin. With this sizeable influx of new material to work with, the trio still played zealous and risky at their recent Chicago appearance, even while sticking to the new songs. Trying to figure out what songs the band was playing at past shows could be an exercise in desperate futility, as their sounds would snake like mercury in a blurred combination of composed and improvised music. But somehow MMW found a way to play more loosely, more at ease, maybe a little freer…while staying close to what they wrote.

With any experiment comes the afterbirth: the criticism. More specifically, critics that gave up on them throughout this recent chapter in their music by applying the jam band label. It’s not a curse word, but throwing that title on because they frequent the festival circuit and have a handful of dreaded folks at their shows paints the trio into an inaccurately narrow corner. These days, the band is not only working with their brazen disregard for melody found on The Dropper, but also with the simple fun of their children’s music record Let’s Go Everywhere. At their recent stop in Chicago, MMW showed their own commitment to even growing out of themselves and what has characterized their shows for many years by adding simplicity and more structured songs to their repertoire.

READ ON for more of Benji’s thoughts on MMW…

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The Number Line: Leftover Phish Stats

Hidden Track Staff December 11, 2009 7 Comments

It’s time for the finale of our week-long look at Phish Fall Tour statistics. Each day this week we’ve been sharing a new installment of our geekiest column, The Number Line, where we analyze the setlists from Phish’s recently completed Fall Tour. On Monday we examined the Fall Tour one-timers, on Tuesday we looked at the songs played on the tour by studio album, on Wednesday we detailed the covers Phish performed and yesterday we shined a light on the originals. Today, we’ve got a mixed bag…

[Photo by Pietro Truba]

46 – Songs with one word titles
31 – Minutes between last song title tweeted by @Phish and tweet about that night’s LivePhish recording being available (quickest of tour)
29 – Most letters in a song title (Stealing Time, BBFCFM)
25 – Most Songs Played in a Show (11/29 – Maine)
18 – Least Songs Played in A Show (11/25 – Philly 2)
13 – Number of different songs that opened the second set (no song opened the 2nd set more than once)
11 – Different Sources of Audience Recordings of the Charlottesville show (most of any show) available for download on bt.etree.org [via db.etree.org Source List]
8 – Most words in a song title (MMGAMOIO)

READ ON for more Phish Fall Tour stats…

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