Truelove's Gutter2009 was a year of musical disappointment.
The award for the biggest let-down goes to The Dodos' Time To Die, a mediocre, fuzzy, numb album with none of the joi de vivre contained in 2008's Visiter. I love Visiter; it hangs together as an album rather than a mere collection of tracks. It's brimming over with energy, full of sharp percussion and robust, intricate guitar fingerpicking. I can't tell you where Time to Die went awry, but I suspect it's a combination of writing for 3 musicians instead of 2 and being produced by Phil Ek. The album sounds like it's by Fleet Foxes. I like Fleet Foxes – but I liked The Dodos too.
Another album that revealed the importance of producers was The Dandy Warhols' The Dandy Warhols Are Sound. Back in 2003 the Dandys released Welcome to the Monkey House, a wonderfully fun pop-rock album with a synth twist. It sounded smart, snarky, and redemptive: highlights include
We Used To Be Friends (an upbeat track about drifting apart) and You Were the Last High (sex as a drug…
The award for the biggest let-down goes to The Dodos' Time To Die, a mediocre, fuzzy, numb album with none of the joi de vivre contained in 2008's Visiter. I love Visiter; it hangs together as an album rather than a mere collection of tracks. It's brimming over with energy, full of sharp percussion and robust, intricate guitar fingerpicking. I can't tell you where Time to Die went awry, but I suspect it's a combination of writing for 3 musicians instead of 2 and being produced by Phil Ek. The album sounds like it's by Fleet Foxes. I like Fleet Foxes – but I liked The Dodos too.
Another album that revealed the importance of producers was The Dandy Warhols' The Dandy Warhols Are Sound. Back in 2003 the Dandys released Welcome to the Monkey House, a wonderfully fun pop-rock album with a synth twist. It sounded smart, snarky, and redemptive: highlights include
We Used To Be Friends (an upbeat track about drifting apart) and You Were the Last High (sex as a drug…
