Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

Ladies and Gentlemen. I present to you the first of a multiple part series of CSV’s Top 20 of 2007 feature. Be sure to look out for the comprehensive Top 20 mix at the end of the series!

This past year has been chock full of excitingly fresh artists, while also featuring some bands and artists that have further cemented their place in the ‘indie’ rock lexicon. A trend that I noticed in copiously drafting up my list was the number of female artists that appear on this year’s top 20. I think we’re finally seeing an encouraging trend within the indie rock scene that seems to be fostering high quality female acts. That’s enough commentary, let’s get to the albums!

Today we will start with albums #16-20 and 5 honorable mentions:

16. Voxtrot – Voxtrot

This blog-hyped band really seemed primed for some indie stardom, but unfortunately their self-titled debut (after several EPs) didn’t take well with critics. Nevertheless, this underrated album is well-produced, thoughtfully constructed, and heartening. At times urgent, and at others serenadingly sweet, Voxtrot is quite the entrance for the quintet. More about Voxtrot can be found in this post.

Listen to “Ghost” (4.9/5)

17. Laura Veirs – Saltbreakers

This richly layered album from perhaps the nerdiest lady in all of indie rock has such deep imagery to match the lush, voluminous instrumentation. Saltbreakers really caught my ears by surprised, especially when I queued up “To The Country”, which (if you remember) broke the 5 point scale for CSV (it got a 5.2). What a wonderful collection of songs, that is sure to warm the soul on the coldest of these wintry days. More on Laura Veirs here.

Listen to “To The Country” (5.2/5)

18. 1990s – Cookies
By far the most downright fun album of the year,the Glasgow trio really has a knack for writing catchy riffs. While they may not be the most attractive of bands, their handsome harmonies and their jangly guitars are sure to get you rocking. “See You At The Lights” is fantastic sing-along while “You Made Me Like It” is pure formulaic goodness. More on 1990s here.

Listen to “See You At The Lights” (4.8/5)

19. Kula Shaker – Strangefolk

Veteran retro-rockers Kula Shaker take another page out of the new-to-sound-old genre (what I call Positive Retrograde), finding themselves somewhere between Bob Dylan (“Hurricane Season”) and The Rolling Stones (“Out on the Highway”). Don’t mistake this album for some hipster-wannabe product–this is just a straightforward, earnest record that consistently delivers powerful folk and rock songs track after track. Indeed, the album is a strange kind of folk–something so psychedelically delicious that even 12 tracks seems too little.

Listen to “Dr. Kitt” (4.9/5)

20. The Sea and Cake – Everybody

Chicago collective The Sea and Cake have produced another unearthly gemstone with their sensationally sensitive Everybody. The band skillfully straddles the glazey-eyed softness to their sound with thoughtful vocals, all that the band’s very name might suggest. Further solidifying themselves in the indie scene as they perfect their signature sound, The Sea and Cake continue to impress. More on The Sea and Cake here.

Listen to “Up On Crutches” (4.8/5)

Honorable Mentions:

James Morrison – Undiscovered
Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer?
Art of Fighting – Runaways
Greyboy Allstars – What Happened to Television
Jose Gonzalez – In Our Nature

The Show: Playing a make-up show at Baltimore’s The Ottobar, Voxtrot, who admitted being tired from a trip to Pitchfork Festival (as fans, not performers), headlined a show with three other solid Baltimore acts, Two if By Sea, The Heavycoats, and The Jennifers.

The Pros: The best song of the night was a new one; an explosion of energy and freshness that wasn’t quite there in the rest of the set. The song was super catchy and had a well executed tempo change and guitar solo. The Ottobar, which has really stepped up the quality of bands it books (getting increasingly less cookie-cutter hard rock / metal bands that plague so many venues of its size), is a fantastic place to catch a show. It’s a bit out of the way, unless you live in Baltimore, but it’s just the right size and even has a parking lot! Some acts of note this summer include: Mooney Suzuki, Deer Hunter, Battles, Singer (ex 90 Day Men / US Maple–I need to check them out), Pelican and the Detroit Cobras.

The Cons: Voxtrot works better when the crowd has just as much energy as the band and is fully engaged. There were definitely a good amount of devoted fans but still, there were too many folded arms and passive observers. While the band certainly was well-rehearsed, they need to keep gaining performance experience to add a little more showmanship and to do a better job keeping the audience engaged in between songs. Their overall sound was clean and pure, opting for tone and balance over loudness and abrasiveness. This said, what they lacked was enough dynamic contrast and variety in their musical gestures. Their sound was too contained, but they proved with a new song and an oldie, “Your Biggest Fan,” that they have the ability to give a shock and awe performance.

The Verdict: Playing a great mix of old songs (including “Your Biggest Fan” and “Raised by Wolves”–the encore), songs from their most recent self -titled release (most notably “Brother in Conflict” and “Every Day”), and an incredible new song, Voxtrot was a refreshing way to spend a Tuesday evening. It’s nice to watch bands that are just thrilled to be delivering their music on stage and don’t seem disgruntled with the pangs of a being musicians. Though the set was on the short side (not necessarily a decision of Voxtrot’s), it was delivered with ease and charisma. Certainly one of the best up and coming bands and a great live act.

Report Card

The Setlist: B

The Crowd: C

The Vocals: B+

The Instruments: B

Final Grade: B

Listen to Voxtrot’s “Raised by Wolves”

During the month of June we brought you live tracks each day…okay, we missed a couple days toward the end of the month but who’s really keeping score anyway? The rest of the summer will consist of some week-long features. This week, 7/9-7/13, we will be throwin’ remixed track(s) at you everyday, culminating in the CSV “Ultimate Summer Party Mix” coming at you on Friday.

To kick this week off, check out the chilled out Dunphy remix of Voxtrot’s “Mothers, Sisters, Wives and Daughters” (4.75/5)–I can’t get enough of this band this summer.

As an added bonus here is a remixed version of “Killer Parties” (4.85/5) by The Hold Steady

1. Voxtrot: “Firecracker” – One of the best–certainly one of the catchiest–songs on their most recent self-titled release. It takes a minute to really get going, but then it’s nothing by fireworks until the end. Check out the CSV post on Voxtrot. Plus, head over to their website for summer tour dates–I’ll be at the Baltimore show.

2. Ryan Adams: “Firecracker” – Some upbeat, harmonica-clad, Ryan to celebrate the day with: “well everybody wants to go forever / I just wanna burn up hard and bright / I just wanna be your firecracker / And maybe be your baby tonight.” Check out the recent CSV review for Easy Tiger, and the 5 worst Ryan Adams songs.

3. Cold War Kid: “Indoor Fireworks” – An Elvis Costello cover and a dern good one. Plus, we get a friendly safety disclaimer: “Indoor fireworks can still burn your fingers…they’ll bring a tear when the smoke gets in your eyes.” Be safe this ‘fourth! Check out this site to get three free live tracks recorded in Amsterdam.

4. Weezer: “Holiday” – Bet you didn’t see this one coming! Enjoy your holiday and one of Weezer’s last good songs. Cheers!

Fact: I will not be talking about Wilco today, despite the deceiving title.

After releasing critically-acclaimed EPs, Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives and Your Biggest Fan, Voxtrot had big expectations to fulfill. I had taken Voxtrot’s previous efforts as better than average–it wasn’t necessarily that I was impressed so much by their EPs, but more so of what I thought they were capable of doing. And with the first proper LP, Voxtrot, I am duly impressed. Voxtrot is slightly more produced than their previous work, which suits well their rather clean sound. It’s a lot easier to hear the different elements of each song from this burgeoning quintet. Voxtrot has got that sensitive indie rock feel to them, but with a good deal of edge that allows them to make catchy, infectious pop songs.

Comparisons have been made to Belle and Sebastian, and this seems logical on songs like “Kid Gloves”. But the record seems to be slightly more story-like, with lyrics written like any good novel–an introduction, a plot, and a resolution. Beginning with the words ‘Open your eyes, and stretch your hands’, “Introduction” slowly builds into a string-filled rock song, that leads beautifully into the high-charged “Kid Gloves” and seagull-like “Ghost”. The album then slows down a little bit to make room for the lighter “Stephen” and “Future, Pt. 1″. By the time the last track “Blood Red Blood” comes through, the album takes on this completeness that would make any author (or listener) proud.

So go and get Voxtrot.
Listen to “Introduction” (4.8/5)
Listen to “Ghost” (4.9/5)
P.S. Happy Birthday Stephen!!