Electrelane “To The East” – Electrelane’s Verity Susman has a fairly limited vocal range, but she has a wonderful knack for communicating a specific sort of restrained, self-possessed yearning that is an ideal complement to the controlled tension of her band’s compositions. The best Electrelane songs walk up to edge of huge emotional revelations without diving into them, as though simply admitting to potent feelings is the same as freely expressing them. Susman’s voice is level and rational even as she peers over that edge, but she’s never lacking a certain warmth and humanity. (Click here to buy it from Insound.)

Montag “Mechanical Kids” – It’s very difficult not to hear this song as being much more than a peevish slap on the conformity of young people, but there’s an optimistic tone to the music that keeps the composition from feeling too mean-spirited, smug, or judgmental. The song conveys a strong sense of naive wonder and a cheerful disconnection from reality, especially as the live drums kick in halfway through the cut and the tune drifts off into a merry reverie. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: Here’s an essay I wrote for ArtistDirect about why I totally despise the expanded “Deluxe” version of Beyonce’s B’Day.

Yo La Tengo @ Webster Hall 4/29/2007
I Feel Like Going Home / From A Motel 6 / Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind / The Last Days Of Disco / The Room Got Heavy / The Weakest Part / Beanbag Chair / Mr. Tough / Song For Mahila / Don’t Say A Word (Hot Chicken #2) / Sugarcube / Styles Of The Times / Big Day Coming / Watch Out For Me Ronnie / The Story Of Yo La Tango // The Race Is On Again / Dreaming / Tom Courtenay (Georgia version) /// Gates Of Steel / My Little Corner Of The World

You might not get this from just glancing at the setlist, but this was a looooooong show; a little bit over two hours. It was a fairly typical Yo La Tengo show: mostly songs from the new album, a smattering of delicate quiet tunes, a handful of extremely noisy jams, a few old “hits” to get the old school fans pumped up every 30 minutes or so. Oh, and this may come as a shock, but they also played some OBSCURE COVERS! Pretty wild, I know.

Yo La Tengo “The Room Got Heavy” – Despite the fact that the show included “From A Motel 6,” “The Last Days of Disco,” and epic, intense performances of both “The Story of Yo La Tango” and “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind,” the clear highlight of the night was the moody and densely rhythmic “The Room Got Heavy.” As on the album, the arrangement is limited to two overdriven organs played by Ira Kaplan and a storm of percussion performed by Georgia Hubley on her drum kit and James McNew on a set of bongos. Basically, it sounds a bit like the Silver Apples if their homemade synthesizers got replaced by the organ at a baseball stadium. The sound of the piece is very effective in mirroring its lyrical themes — it feels claustrophobic, humid, and slightly vertiginous, and even when the tension breaks near the end, it’s only a minor relief. (Click here to buy it from Insound)

Also: If you were curious, this is what I played when I DJ’d the other night. It’s a big if, I know, but I think this one came out pretty well.

Justice “D.A.N.C.E.” / LCD Soundsystem “North American Scum” / Sissy Wish “Yayaya” / Pleasure “Out Of Love” / Of Montreal “A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger” / Annie “Me Plus One” / Kylie Minogue “Sweet Music” / Muscles “Chocolate, Raspberry, Lemon and Lime” / Gameboy/Gamegirl “Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp” / Spektrum “Don’t Be Shy” / Robyn “Konichiwa Bitches” / Junior Senior “Take Your Time” / Scissor Sisters “Paul McCartney” / Beyonce “Get Me Bodied” / Mark Ronson “Pretty Green” / Bjork “Earth Intruders” / Mochipet “Justin Timberlakecore” / Clipse “Wamp Wamp (Pistol Pete Mix)” / Yelle “Je Veux Te Voir”

Deerhunter @ Mercury Lounge 4/26/2007
(drone) / Cryptograms / (drone) / Wash Off / Dr. Glass / Fluorescent Grey / Spring Hall Convert / Hazel Street / Octet (with vocals) / Strange Lights

Deerhunter “Cryptograms” – Deerhunter’s album Cryptograms has one of the more fascinating sequences in recent memory. Side A alternates between ethereal drones and intense Kraut-punk-shoegazer hybrids before culminating in a cut that seamlessly combines both extremes, and Side B is mostly comprised of songs that sound like they might have been one of the last few tracks on a CMJ New Music Monthly cd back in the early 90s. (Surely I’m not the only one who has noticed that “Strange Lights” sounds a LOT like Guided By Voices circa Alien Lanes.) Whereas Cryptograms wanders around in search of itself, the new Fluorescent Grey EP follows a tight, deliberate trajectory that begins with a state of eerie calmness and ends with a headlong rush into oblivion. It’s a more focused recording, and does more to establish the band’s identity than its eclectic predecessor.

Actually, that’s not quite right. If you want to get an accurate sense of who Deerhunter are, you kinda have to see them play live. The band nail their dynamics in live performance, but they also have an appealing looseness to their interaction that adds a sense of unpredictability to their set. It’s not a shock that the songs from the EP work just as well with the piano parts transposed to guitar, but it is somewhat surprising that the sort of beatless drones that drag on Cryptograms‘ momentum are actually quite compelling in person.

The band themselves have a curious dynamic — the bassist and guitarist on the right side of the stage are both a bit silly and playful, but the singer Bradford Cox is severe, creepy, and theatrical. Cox is very tall and extremely skinny, and he spent most of the show with his face smeared with fake blood and dressed in a white babydoll dress, like a giant undead grandma. He seemed like something David Bowie might have come up with during his coke psychosis phase, and some patient handler would have had to explain to him “No, David, you can’t elongate your body and eliminate all of your fat and muscle mass.” It was hard not to watch him; he seemed totally unreal. (Click here to buy it from AmpCamp.)

Pterodactyl @ Mercury Lounge 4/26/2007
Safe Like A Train / Ask Me Nicely / I Can See A River / Astros / Verbal / Three Succeed / Esses / New / Polio

Pterodactyl “Three Succeed” – It occurred to me about a week ago that the sort of shrieking guitar noises that the band Pterodactyl makes actually come close to the sounds we commonly associate with pterodactyls from cartoons and movies. The group recreate their melodic noise-punk songs very effectively in person, or at least well enough to leave my ears ringing twelve hours later. Though watching them play demystified their playing somewhat by revealing their techniques (ah, that sound in “Three Succeed” is made by sticking a drumstick under the strings above the pickups on the bass, okay…), it’s always a thrill to see a band manhandle their instruments in a way that it seems like there is no way they are actually playing them, and yet very specific sounds are produced. (Click here to pre-order it from Cardboard Records.)

First Nation played a set of what seemed to be entirely new material between Pterodactyl and Deerhunter. I’d never seen First Nation before last night, and so I didn’t really know what to expect; I just knew that I liked a couple songs from their first record. I was pretty down with the first three or four songs, but then their set just kept going and going, and the things that worked well at the start became very grating. They make the best of their technical limitations by settling into simple, mesmerizing rhythms and melodies, but not every song was strong enough to compensate for their flaws as musicians. They are definitely on the right track, though.

Also: Kinda last minute, but I’m DJing with LadyByrd at the Lotus Lounge on Clinton and Stanton tonight.

Dizzee Rascal “Sirens” – Most people are comparing the first single from Dizzee Rascal’s third album to Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” and though there’s some really obvious similarities in both its style and substance, but the track actually reminds me more of the nihilistic scorched earth noise of Primal Scream’s XTRMNTR. At some points the guitar stabs venture in Nu-Metal territory, but for the most part, they sound more like short, abstracted clangs that complement the incessant clatter of a ride cymbal. Compared to most previous Dizzee tracks, it’s fairly straightforward and conservative, but his extremely distinct voice and flow keeps the song fresh and slightly off-kilter. (Click here for the official Dizzee Rascal MySpace page.)

Mochipet “Justin Timberlakecore” – The one thing that Mochipet doesn’t do to Justin Timberlake’s “My Love” is mutilate it beyond all recognition, and that’s what makes it so creepy and effective. The song is still there, but its shape is mutated drastically, and even the most traditionally attractive elements of Timbaland’s track are pushed to nearly grotesque extremes. Mochipet’s track is essentially a restless, deformed electro-rap freak that alternates between stomping around like a dinosaur, skittering about like an insect, and slithering like a serpent. (Click here to buy it from Daly City.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site with mp3s from !!!, The Rosebuds, and Khan.

Sissy Wish “Float” – “Float” seems to fall into the emotional space that comes just before a moment of clarity and relaxation, and not too long after a major crisis. It’s exciting and refreshing, but really, it’s just a prelude to something more profound. The music expresses the song’s emotional narrative more effectively than the lyrics, which mostly just offer advice and reassuring words. The verses are supported by a spare, slightly nervous electronic groove, but as the song shifts into its chorus, the song is carried by a more confident beat. The track’s most glorious moment comes following a breakdown towards the end — the beat comes down stronger than ever, and Siri ålberg’s voice doubles up and overlaps its melodies before returning to the song’s stunning yet understated chorus. (Click here for the official Sissy Wish site.)

Wild Beasts “Through Dark Night” – “Through Dark Night” may not be as immediately flooring as the Wild Beasts’ previous single “Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants”, but its low key arrangement and shimmering guitar parts highlight the prettiest aspects of Hayden Norman Thorpe’s incredibly weird singing voice. Thorpe still sounds a bit like Scooby Doo at some points, but the balance is shifted in favor of his lovely falsetto, and the contrast between the masculine and feminine qualities of his voice is less jarring and extreme. Whereas “Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants” went for exotic thrills, “Through Dark Night” settles for subtle beauty. (Click here to buy it from Bad Sneakers.)

Spoon @ Bowery Ballroom, 4/23/2007
Don’t You Evah / My Mathematical Mind / Stay Don’t Go / The Fitted Shirt / The Delicate Place / Rhthm and Soul / The Beast and Dragon, Adored / Me and the Bean / I Turn My Camera On / Don’t Make Me A Target / Paper Tiger / Everything Hits At Once / The Way We Get By / Eddie’s Ragga / Vittorio E / They Never Got You / I Summon You / Jonothon Fisk // Black Like Me / Someone Something / The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine / Mountain To Sound

Spoon “Paper Tiger” (Live @ SXSW 2002) –

Small Stakes Ensure You The Minimum Blues: It’s a nice change of pace to see a show that I know will be satisfying and engaging no matter what the band plays. I get caught up in expectations and little wishes to hear certain songs so often, and it makes it so that little things like, say, Jarvis not playing “Black Magic,” can taint an otherwise fantastic gig in my memory. This isn’t to say that there aren’t some unlikely Spoon songs I would’ve loved to have heard last night (“No You’re Not” and “Advance Cassette” both immediately spring to mind) but I didn’t really have my hopes up. My friends definitely got their wishes, though. “Mountain To Sound” for the longterm fan, “Stay Don’t Go” and a solid selection of classics from the last three albums for the relative newcomer.

Something To Look Forward To: Five new songs were played, and I heard three of them for the very first time last night. I’m not really sure what to say about them just yet. They were all fine, but I think I need to wait to hear the studio recordings to make any sort of judgment. At face value, the new stuff isn’t a dramatic departure from what they’ve been doing in this decade, but there is a subtle difference, and I think Jessica Hopper was pretty much on the money with this observation from her early impressions of the finished album: “Static in its melancholy, negotiates a small space well.”

I Summon My Love Back To Me: Just as I had noticed at the Pitchfork festival last July, “I Summon You” has become a clear fan favorite, and though it was never released as a single, it is greeted by the audience as if it were a huge radio hit. This isn’t exactly mystifying — it’s a gorgeous and touching song, and its sentiment is rather ideal for mix tapes and whatnot. My personal favorite, “The Beast and Dragon, Adored,” gets a similarly strong response, though the big hit from Gimme Fiction “I Turn My Camera On” seemed to get shrugged off by a good chunk of the audience. In fairness, it was kind of a so-so performance of that song, and the crowd was ridiculously stiff for almost all of the funky and/or up-tempo numbers. This might just be a Bowery Ballroom thing — people are almost always quite sedate at that venue for some reason, even when people are there to see things like LCD Soundsystem. People always bitch about chilly NYC audiences, but I don’t know, maybe it’s got more to do with the vibe of the physical space sometimes.

(Click here to buy all kinds of Spoon stuff from Merge.)

Jarvis Cocker @ Webster Hall, 4/22/2007
Fat Children / Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time / Heavy Weather / One Man Show / I Will Kill Again / From Auschwitz To Ipswich / Tonite / Big Julie / Disney Time / Big Stuff / Running The World // Heaven (Talking Heads) / Paranoid (Black Sabbath)

Jarvis Cocker “One Man Show” – Before last night, Jarvis Cocker had not played a show in either New York City or the United States in general since Pulp played the Hammerstein Ballroom in June of 1998. (I was there; it was awesome.) The band only played five shows in all of North America on that mini-tour, and two of them were not full sets — they performed at the Tibetan Freedom Concert and opened an impromptu Radiohead gig at the 9:30 Club. (I was also there; it was well beyond awesome.) Most American Pulp fans have never actually seen the band live, and so as you can imagine, the audience was rather starved for the Jarv (err, starved for Cocker?) and responded to his set with great enthusiasm.

Cocker was in fine form, and gave a performance worthy of the crowd’s intense adulation. Aside from the covers in the encore, Cocker and his band were focused entirely on his latest material (though he skipped “Black Magic,” gah!), and though the audience was very excited to hear those songs, I can only imagine just how wild it would have been if he’d actually thrown in a few Pulp hits. As it was, the set felt a bit like a Pulp show in both tone and presentation, with strong new compositions standing in for familiar hits — “Heavy Weather” a rough analog for “Sorted For E’s and Wizz;” “Running The World” an updated version of “Common People;” “Big Julie” and the excellent b-side “One Man Show” are both anthemic ballads in the tradition of “Underwear” and “Help The Aged.” (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK.)

The Dirty Projectors “Imagine It” – I didn’t realize that the Dirty Projectors were opening up this show until I got to the venue. I’d been wanting to see them for quite some time, and so it was a lovely surprise. Even better, their set was sort of astounding. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say I spent a fair chunk of their performance making “wow” faces as they either took their songs in brilliant, unexpected directions, or seamlessly played tricky, imaginative arrangements. I’m also not exaggerating when I say that I’ve never heard a band sound like they did last night, which is especially exciting given that compared to previous incarnations of the group, the instrumental line-up was rather conventional — three voices, two guitars, bass, drums, sampler. The women in the group provided gorgeous harmonies in addition to their instrumental contributions, and composer/guitarist Dave Longstreth sang most of the lead parts in a voice that careened between moments of straightforward beauty and intentionally grotesque crooning.

Those of you downloading this mp3 should keep in mind that even though they did play this song in their set, the live version was much different and vastly superior. I can only hope that Longstreth records an album with this line-up, and that it comes out very soon. People need to hear this. Minds have got to be boggled. (Click here to buy it from Insound.)

Elsewhere: Inspired by my R.E.M. blog, Phil Reed has decided to start a site with the same format covering every Talking Heads track. Good luck, Phil!

Also: Brandon Stosuy’s interview with Bjork on Pitchfork is fantastic.

Dntel and Jenny Lewis “Roll On” – Jimmy Tamborello’s best tracks on the new Dntel album are in a state of continuous flux. The basic structures of the songs tend to be rather simple, but his arrangements constantly add and subtract new electronic textures, marking subtle shifts in emotional tone and subtly enhancing the dynamics of quiet, introspective songs. His collaboration with Jenny Lewis is especially gorgeous and well-composed. Irregular patterns of buzzes, hums, and clicks swirl around her lovely, heart-breaking voice, framing her melody and shadowing the movements of her restless heart. (Click here to buy it from Sub Pop.)

The Rosebuds “I Better Run” – “I Better Run” may sound haunted and paranoid, but even as it rides a stark, nervous groove, it never seems even remotely hysterical. Kelly Crisp’s voice is steady and detached, betraying an icy calm lunacy as her character flees from both the legacy of her doomed family line and the horrors of the world. (Click here to buy it from Merge.)

The Boggs “Melanie in the White Coat” – Last week I wrote an entry on my R.E.M. blog about the way “Welcome to the Occupation” buries a simple folk song beneath booming arena rock rock percussion. The Boggs do a similar thing with “Melanie in the White Coat,” but it is far more bombastic and absurd. The drums are so loud and busy that they drown out almost everything else in the mix. The vocals are audible and carry the melody, but the lyrics about being in awe of a rowdy, intimidating woman named Melanie are mostly mumbled and muttered, as though the singer is terrified that she might hear him. (Click here to pre-order it from Gigantic.)

Ellen Allien – Excerpt from Fabric 34: Larry Heard Presents Mr. White “The Sun Can’t Compare” / Estroe “Driven” – Although Ellen Allien’s entire Fabric mix lingers in a romantic twilight haze, there’s a strong sense that the listener is meant to feel a bit removed from themselves and their desires. Have you ever found yourself in an unspeakably lovely moment only to feel bad that you have no one to share it with? It’s just like that, really. The mix peaks early with this inspired segue from Larry Heard’s melancholy acid house hit “The Sun Can’t Compare” into a moody, low key instrumental by Estroe that sets the tone for the rest of the set. (Click here to buy it from Fabric London.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site with mp3s from Panda Bear, Dntel, and Hauschka/Tarwater. The Panda Bear album may be old news to most of you, but I strongly recommend that Hauschka/Tarwater song.

UGK featuring Outkast “International Players’ Anthem” – Andre 3000’s verse on “International Players’ Anthem” may not be the very best of his recent flurry of guest appearances, but it is the one attached to a song that doesn’t totally fall apart immediately after he disappears. (In fairness, the remix of Lloyd’s “You” also features a strong verse by Nas, but the pleasant lite R&B tune with the super-obvious Spandeau Ballet sample separating their verses makes it feel as though you’re being put on hold between rhymes.) It certainly helps that 3000 is in the company of peers — Bun B and Pimp C of UGK may not have the overwhelming charisma of either Andre or Big Boi, but they can hold their own in their company, especially when they are riding a subtly dynamic track composed by Three Six Mafia that shifts its beat to play up the strengths of each rapper. If you can get over the novelty of hearing Andre 3000 rap again, it becomes rather clear that the highlight of the track is actually Big Boi’s verse, which slows down to a screwed crawl and springs back to regular tape speed twice over to great effect. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon.)

Kathy Diamond “Between The Lines” – Maurice Fulton’s compositions for Mu always evoked a sense of permanent panic and agitation — “the music of the future, provided something terrible happens to all of us,” as I put it back in 2004. His work with Kathy Diamond pushes in the opposite direction with slinky, rhythmic tracks that unfold gently as airy vocals lull the listener into an eerie calmness. It’s chilled out, but also chilling — Fulton can’t help but infuse his music with a feeling of menace and discomfort, and so most of the songs with Diamond feel as though you’re drifting off to sleep only to have a very anxious nightmare. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: Here’s a few album reviews that I’ve written recently for Artistdirect: Nine Inch Nails, Avril Lavigne, Macy Gray, Mika, and Tracey Thorn.

Siobhan Donaghy “So You Say” – I didn’t notice it until the third time I heard the song, but the first line of each verse is addressed to a man named Adam. There’s something rather disarming about the way Siobhan Donaghy utters his name — in two quick syllables, she seems wounded, generous, patient, and terminally lovesick. The lyrics are fairly standard “you just dumped me and I can’t deal” stuff, but that tiny bit of specificity changes the feeling of the entire track, making it seem almost uncomfortably small and personal even when it hits its huge Wilson Phillips-as-a-shoegazer-band chorus. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon UK.)

Hilary Duff “Danger” – If Hilary Duff is correct, and the dude she’s singing about was indeed born in ’74, that would make him about 33 right now. Given that she’s 20 years old, she’s probably not wrong to sense a bit of danger in this pairing — it’s not an outlandish or uncommon age gap, but it is a bit inappropriate. The song is most likely being sung about a handsome teacher, boss, or celebrity, but for some reason the harsh, sleazy Eurodisco sound of the track makes me imagine some filthy creep with the most hideous mustache in the world. Like, a coked-up hipster mutant dripping with 22 strains of VD. The type of guy who would make Terry Richardson (NSFW link!) seem like a classy hunk. I’d like to think that every line of this song is a staggering understatement, and that the former Lizzy McGuire is in for a reallllllllllllllly dark year. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: Tom Ewing on “thrill power,” and Spencer Sloan offers Avril Lavigne a bit of advice.

Of Montreal @ Studio B, 4/14/2007
Suffer For Fashion / Sink The Seine / Cato As A Pun / Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse / Labyrinthian Pomp / She’s A Rejecter / We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling / October Is Eternal / I Was A Landscape In Your Dream / I Was Never Young / Rapture Rapes The Muses / Gronlandic Edit / A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger / The Party’s Crashing Us / Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider / Faberge Falls For Shuggie

Karaoke set: Tonight I’m Going To Rock You Tonight (Landshark) / All Day And All Of The Night (Jesse) / Surrender (Eric #1) / Starman (Mario) / Blister In The Sun (Fluxblog contest winners Beth and Cassidy!) / Rocks Off (Howe) / Sweet Child O Mine (Amy and Keith) / Need You Tonight (Michael Showalter) / More Than A Feeling (Paul Rudd and David Wain) / Raspberry Beret (Monica and Brian Raftery) / Suffragette City (Craig Wedren!) / Dancing Queen (two other guys named Paul and David) / Here Comes Your Man (John and Frederick) / Don’t Stop Believing (Griffin, the Stereogum contest winner) / Don’t Bring Me Down (Bubbles — a pretty girl, not a monkey) / Moonage Daydream (Michael S aka Aquaman, the best of the night, by far!) / The Joker (Brendan) / Ever Fallen In Love? (Eric #2) / Cut Your Hair (another guy called Brian — I’m pretty jealous!) / Hot Blooded (the sound guy)

I’d been under the impression that the karaoke part of the night would come before the proper Of Montreal set, but no, that’s not how it went down. Of Montreal played an abridged version of their regular show, and an hour later, they played about 80 minutes of karaoke rock and roll. The karaoke set was a blast, but it was slightly disappointing to see the band disappear into anonymity following a brilliant performance that accentuated their flamboyant identity. Now, obviously, as a live karaoke band, they had to recede into the background, but that’s not really my complaint. For me, it had more to do with the selections — mainly meat-and-potatoes classic rock radio staples that are all obvious (if extremely unimaginative) karaoke tunes, but force the band to completely obliterate their own (decidedly un-macho) sense of style. I would have preferred it if they had cut back on the shlock rock and included more disco, 80s dance pop, and r&b — you know, stuff like Madonna, George Michael, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson, Erasure, Depeche Mode, Cyndi Lauper, Salt N Pepa, Human League, etc. Still obvious karaoke material, but not quite so butch.

Of Montreal “Suffer For Fashion” – The thrill of this show for me was getting up to the front of the stage and flipping out like a teenager for the entire duration of the regular Of Montreal set. I can’t possibly understate how much I love Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? at this point in time — it’s starting to feel as though my life in 2007 is scrambled up and scattered through its songs, and every other day, a different track is speaking to me, or for me. It’s a silly thing, but there’s a certain magic in watching a band perform songs that cut so deeply into your psyche, as though hearing the words and feeling the sounds in close proximity to the performers amplifies the potency of the concepts and the emotions, and singing along within earshot of the singer somehow affirms the meaning of the lyrics for both parties. The Hissing Fauna material is ideal for this sort of exchange, especially on a song like “Suffer For Fashion,” which seeks to transforms its personal crisis into a fun communal experience: “If we’ve got to burn out, let’s do it together, let’s all melt down together!” The truth, humor, and goodwill in that line always hits me hard, and it felt even better when I could hear about 20 other people within a few feet of me shout it out along with Kevin Barnes. Most of Hissing Fauna is focused on the “I,” but it’s very important that the album (and most of the concerts) starts off by emphasizing “we,” “our,” and “us.” (Click here to buy it from Polyvinyl.)

Khan “Favor After Favor” – Do you ever feel like you’re missing out on all the fun? Does that sort of feeling ever lead you to overcompensate in a very grotesque manner? Do you ever wish that your life was like a creepy, decadent David Bowie tune that no one has ever heard before? This song has an answer for each of those questions: Yes, YES!, and YESYESYES!!! (Click here to buy it from Juno.)

Babils “2 = 3” – The most obvious reference point for this would be Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” and Primal Scream’s “Blood Money,” but unlike those songs, the fuzzed-out bass line has no obvious sense of direction. It has momentum, sure, but it’s just swerving around aimlessly in a psychedelic stupor before melting into a puddle of icky black slime. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site with mp3s from The Field, The Lichens, and Boy In Static.

Lucky Soul “Get Outta Town!” – Whether you’ve been reading this site for five weeks or five years, you’ve probably figured out that there are few things I love more than songs that sound as though their sheet music is just a bunch of exclamation points on a staff. Lucky Soul are hardly attempting to reinvent the wheel when it comes to “Northern Soul” — they lack the postmodern angle of the Pipettes or Amy Winehouse’s cult of personality — but their craft and spirit are enough to catapult their top tunes into the realm of poppy bliss. Ali Howard’s demure voice is light on bombast and chops, but she is capable of expressing the nuances of both overwhelming joy and melodramatic sorrow with charm and grace. (Click here to buy it from Bleep.)

Hauschka / Chica and the Folder “Para Bien (Gingko Tree)” – Chica and the Folder don’t exactly rework or remix Hauschka’s prepared piano piece “Gingko Tree” so much as build a little castle on its foundation. The new version emphasizes the distinct, enchanted sound of the original solo piano arrangement without overstuffing the composition with unnecessary instrumentation. The track feels ever so slightly lost and confused, but there’s no fear in this music, just peacefulness and curiosity. (Click here to buy it from EAR/Rational Music.)

Of Montreal Winners!!!: As it turns out, some people did submit entries for the contest that conformed to the original rules. Apologies to everyone who put in for the raffle, but I’ve decided to honor the folks who put in the extra effort and risked public embarrassment by sending in video clips of themselves.

The first winner is William C., who performed Radiohead’s “Creep” with a thick French accent. If I ever have a Dan Bejar lookalike contest, William will probably win that as well.

The second set of winners are Beth and Cassidy, who sent in this video clip of themselves dancing and goofing around to the tune of Of Montreal’s “Suffer For Fashion.”

Thanks to New York Magazine for the tickets, and to everyone who entered, especially Anna M and Mike S who both certainly deserve honorable mentions for their efforts.

Elsewhere: Behold! Anderson Cooper and “The Unicorn’s Comfort” and The Five Magical Sex Acts of Cory Kennedy.

Kids On TV “Breakdance Hunx (Market Value Mix)” – The same exchange occurs five times over in this song, and with each iteration, its meaning is transformed. What begins as a creepy compliment and some callous advice mutates into hostility and terror as a grim realization sets in: Even if the guy receiving the advice has a very high “market value,” his worth as a human being depreciates the moment he accepts the price tag that has been slapped on his ass. (This isn’t far off from the major theme of The Wire, or at least the way David Simon explains it in interviews.) As his voice grows more panicked, the first guy becomes increasingly predatory and domineering. Even when he’s screaming at the end, his voice is grotesque in its cheeriness, but it’s only sensible that the character representing the most amoral and barbaric aspects of capitalism would affect the glib tone of a voice over from a bad advertisement. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Avril Lavigne “Runaway” – Whereas Avril Lavigne was originally presented as a sympathetic Betty in mall punk clothing, her new album finds her fully transformed into a vain, entitled Veronica. Though it’s a bit more difficult to relate to her new music, it’s hard to deny the alpha girl thrillpower of “Girlfriend” and “The Best Damn Thing” — sometimes it’s just more fun to root for the villain, you know? Nevertheless, the album’s best track avoids the arrogance, bullying, and cheap profanity of its more flamboyant cuts in favor of a cathartic rush not unlike that of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.” Whereas “Since U Been Gone” is fraught with extreme drama from the start, “Runaway” slips into its over the top chorus as something of a surprise following its dynamic though fairly low-key verses. It’s a pleasant incongruity, andas a result, each chorus comes across like a new emotional revelation. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Nine Inch Nails “Capital G” – With Teeth is an okay album, but it’s hard not to think of it as being much more than Trent Reznor’s (rather successful) attempt to re-establish the Nine Inch Nails brand after a lengthy absence and a double album that won strong reviews, but failed to launch any major hit singles. (It’s a shame that “Into The Void” never caught on — it’s one of his best songs, but the timing was all wrong.) Year Zero is weirder and less accessible, but it’s a much better and more appealing record. It doesn’t quite hold up as a concept album on a lyrical level (a shocker, I know), but it’s an exceptional set of compositions that mostly side-step NIN cliches while foregrounding the sort of musical details, programming tics, and colorful quirks that have always been at the core of the band’s appeal.

Year Zero emphasizes rhythm and texture, and though most songs follow some variation of a verse-chorus-verse structure, the cumulative effect is that of walking aimlessly through an unfamiliar landscape. The style of sound is familiar from previous NIN releases, but the emotional specificity is absent, and replaced by a sense of confusion and discomfort. A lot of the lyrics basically revisit the themes of Pretty Hate Machine‘s “Head Like A Hole,” but the anger is muted and diffuse, and in some of the songs (most notably the glammy “Capital G”) Reznor inhabits the mindset of a fascist creep rather than just rail against a faceless enemy.

The lyrics aren’t exactly good, but they aren’t totally bad either — if we’re going to be very honest about this, they are at least as good as what we’ve come to expect from the average indie-ish rock band in this era. (Personally, I’ll take this college freshman version of Philip K Dick and Chuck Palahniuk over the dreadful “literate” lyrics of a guy like Colin Meloy, though that’s not really a knock on the Decemberists’ music.) Reznor has always had a bad rap in this department, and though I don’t think lyrics have ever been his strong suit, when his words work, it’s usually because they are of a piece with the music. Go back and listen to a lot of the old NIN classics — can you possibly imagine lyrics that would be more suitable for those arrangements? In most cases, the lyrics are like subtitles for what’s being expressed musically — “I WANT TO FUCK YOU LIKE AN ANIMAL!!!,” “I’D RATHER DIE THAN GIVE YOU CONTROL!!!,” “GOD IS DEAD AND NO ONE CARES!!!,” “POISON TO MY ROTTEN CORE, TOO FUCKED UP TO CARE ANYMORE!!!” There is no subtlety whatsoever, but the feeling is visceral, urgent, and emotionally true. Sometimes people say exactly what they mean, and sometimes we need art that will directly articulate extreme emotions for us rather than fuck around or get embarrassed by itself. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Battles “Atlas” – Don’t laugh, but whenever I hear this song, I just imagine the Smurfs as a fascist society, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at a German BDSM dungeon. Actually, maybe it’s just a really intense day at the Keebler factory. (Click here to buy it from Bleep.)

Sister Vanilla “What Goes Around” – This is fun and lovely, but maybe maybe maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for the Reid brothers to make an album with their sister since it retroactively reveals that the Jesus and Mary Chain would have been a much better band if she sang all of their songs. (Click here to buy it from Bleep.)

Okay, Fine, I Give Up: Remember that Of Montreal contest? That’s still going, but the rules are changing. It’s become very clear to me that I’ve asked waaaaaay too much of my audience, and so now I’m going to make it very simple for you: If you want to be in the running for one of the two sets of tickets for the show next Saturday, just send an email to ofmontrealkaraoke @ gmail.com by Wednesday night, April 11th. I’ll just put all the names in a hat and pull the two winners out at random.

Tori Amos “Big Wheel” – Even though she gave me every reason to ignore and/or dislike her recent work, I was very wrong to assume that it was all over for Tori Amos. She’s a clever and immensely talented woman, but much like Bjork, her last few records were burdened by cumbersome and not especially compelling concepts, an emphasis on her least endearing quirks, and a curious lack of playfulness. The last point was the most troubling for me — both Bjork and Amos’ best work gained strength from their peculiar sense of humor and willful perversity, but as the former threw herself into chilly austerity, the latter was remaking herself as a bland adult contemporary artist without even being particularly subversive in the process.

“Big Wheel” is a return to the sly, twisted Tori that I enjoy the most; the one who wrote songs like “She’s Your Cocaine,” “In the Springtime of His Voodoo,” and “Professional Widow.” You know, the Tori who gleefully appropriates the style of other genres (in this case, rowdy Dixie Chicks country rock), tweaks their lyrical archetypes, and remakes them in her image. “Big Wheel” is effortlessly fun and revels its own novelty, especially when Amos chants “I am a M.I.L.F., don’t you forget” at the end, knowing full well that the line is going to end up quoted in every bit of press that she’s going to get for the next few years. On one level, she’s fucking with us, and on another, she’s fucking with her characters and her cult of personality. Also: It’s true, obviously. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon.)

Half Cousin “Jim’s Crash Memory” – A lot of the lyrics pass by in a haze, but the title of this song seems about right — the entire composition sounds like a person trying to reconstruct a fractured memory. Some of the pieces are missing, and other unrelated bits are accidentally set in place, abstracting the truth. Rhythmic elements that would have normally supported the structure are foregrounded in a way that renders familiar feel somewhat alien, whereas the sort of sounds that would attract attention or act as a connecting thread are either absent or intentionally subdued, making the track come across like a pop song that has been turned inside-out. (Click here to buy it from Gronland Records.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site with mp3s from Jarvis Cocker, Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice, and They Must Be Russians.

Basia Bulat “Before I Knew” – The first song on Basia Bulat’s debut album is gorgeous, but frustratingly short, trailing off to a conclusion after making its point rather than to repeat itself like a normal pop song. Even though it sounds very sweet and pretty, this isn’t the sort of “I’m in love with you” song that is intended to flatter the object of the singer’s affection. In fact, I’m not sure if this is the sort of sentiment that is meant to be shared with anyone at all. “Before I Knew” is an expression of quiet fear, and of feeling overwhelmed and trapped by an enormous love that barely makes sense and threatens to erase parts of the singer’s past, present, and future. (Click here for Basia Bulat’s official page.)

Gene Defcon “Liz” – It’s actually hard to tell whether this song is being addressed to an actual girlfriend or an unrequited crush, but given the hyperbolic nature of the lyrics, I wonder if a love like this is even requitable. “Liz” is big-hearted and sugary, but also sort of frantic and urgent. Gene Defcon’s voice is thin and boyish, and his words betray a naive and unrealistic notion of romance that veers back and forth between over-the-top fantasy and bleak melodrama. He sounds extremely desperate to will his concept of a perfect life with Liz into existence, and to drown out his doubts and fears. He’s mostly successful, though every now and again, the negativity reveals itself. (Click here to buy it from Buy Olympia.)

The Blood Brothers “We Ride Skeletal Lightning” – I saw the Blood Brothers again last night at Irving Plaza, but I forgot to bring paper for notes, and so I don’t have the setlist. (Songs they definitely played: “Laser Life,” “Camouflage, Camouflage,” “Set Fire to the Face on Fire,” “Vital Beach,” “We Ride Skeletal Lightning,” “Lift the Veil, Kiss the Tank,” “Giant Swan,” “Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck,” “Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon”)

I actually don’t have many more new insights into their live show than I offered a few months ago — basically, they deliver songs of hysterical anguish with an appealing punk glamor, and the two vocalists contrast in a way that gives the show balance and dramatic tension. I noticed near the end that I’d barely even looked at the other musicians — Johnny Whitney and Jordan Billie are such magnetic and commanding presences that it’s hard to notice much else, even when the rest of the band is nailing their queasy rhythms and lacerating riffs. The band are at their most compelling when they marry their nauseous, angst-ridden hardcore to ersatz glam pomp, resulting in peppy stomps like “Laser Life” or the brilliant and vaguely excruciating “We Ride Skeletal Lightning,” which is best described by a phrase contained within its lyrics: “feral glittery drone.” (Click here to buy it from Insound.)

Also: Hey, let’s not forget about that Of Montreal karaoke show contest.