Tag Archives: weekend review

Big doin’s at the Laptop Sessions!

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The Weekend Review returns, the Guest Sessions are revived, and more!

By Chris Moore:

Back in January, I had planned to take the month of February off to work on my upcoming album, the not-so-timely-titled 2010 Project.  I had the foresight to vaguely suggest that my hiatus might extend into March, but apparently not enough foresight to see all the way into mid-May.

Regardless, I’m back and re-energized for my several Laptop Sessions-related endeavors in 2011.  Before I kick it all off with my first review of the year tomorrow, I figured I would give a real quick run-down of what you can expect.

THE WEEKEND REVIEW will be in a new monthly format starting tomorrow, one which condenses the best of both worlds between the full reviews I wrote in 2010 and the Yes, No, or Maybe So? format.  I’ll be supplementing my new monthly reports with full reviews — rest assured I can’t resist going on at length about a single album! — but that won’t be until after I catch up on my January through May 2011 reports.

THE GUEST SESSIONS have accrued quite a back log of submissions over the past six months or more since the last Guest Sesh was posted, so I’ve begun sorting through those, and you can look forward to a new Guest Session video every week that a Laptop Sessions regular has not posted.  This will mean we’ll need new Guest Session submissions very soon, so click over to that page (via the link above) and submit today!

THE 2010 PROJECT, last but not least, is reaching 90% completion.  To light a fire under myself to get it out soon (like six months ago soon), I’ll be regularly posting Original Wednesday sessions in the order of my final track listing.  I began this months and months ago, but I only got to like track three, so look for that to be picked up again very soon.

And, with that, I thank you all for reading, and I hope you’ll look forward to more quality content on the site in the coming months of 2011!

Elvis Costello’s “National Ransom” (2010) – YES, NO, MAYBE SO?

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Elvis Costello’s National Ransom (2010) – MAYBE NOT

National Ransom (Elvis Costello, 2010)

National Ransom (Elvis Costello, 2010)

(November 2, 2010)

Review:

Aside from a few sparking moments and a couple notable tracks, National Ransom feels more like a collection of sixteen songs that didn’t make the cut for Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane, which was in every way a more engaging, dynamic, and cohesive effort.

Top Two Tracks:

“A Slow Drag With Josephine” & “Five Little Words”

The BEST ALBUM COVERS of 2010

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The BEST ALBUM COVERS of 2010

This is a category that I feel is becoming increasingly lost in the shuffle of digital downloading.  There are, however, an increasing number of music consumers who desire to have the visual aesthetics return to the music industry, expressed in the nostalgia of vinyl.  There’s really nothing quite like a full vinyl-size album cover, especially if it’s an interesting or well-rendered image.

Although it was one of the most disappointing albums of the year, Rooney’s Eureka hit a home run with its hand-drawn covers and in-lay.  The Dead Weather take the cake for quirkiness this year, as the Sea of Cowards cover is populated by the band looking like they just walked into a costume party.  Locksley, another band to grace the cover of their album, went all-in as they wore all white clothing and ended up looking like the canvas for an abstract painting, a visual motif that was nicely continued in their music video for “The Whip.”

Arcade Fire’s cover for The Suburbs is minimalist, but it fits with the album’s themes perfectly.  Even before the listener has heard the first track, there is a seventies/eighties suburban aura around the release.  Finally, Best Coast created an eye-catching cover for their debut, and I couldn’t resist recognizing it here.

My honorable mention this year is the Scissor Sisters’ Night Work, an album that tests your comfort level even before you’ve heard its scandalous, primal tracks: if you can walk up to the cashier with this album in hand and without blushing, then you’ve passed!

I’ve linked images of these albums to the titles listed below, so simply click for a quick peek at a .jpg version.  They’re much more impressive in person though — but don’t take my word for it.

Remember to check back tomorrow for the Top 25 Songs of 2010 list!

1)  Eureka – Rooney

2)  Sea of Cowards – Dead Weather

3)  Be in Love – Locksley

4)  The Suburbs – Arcade Fire

5)  Crazy for You – Best Coast

Honorable Mention:

Night Work – Scissor Sisters

The Best Debuts of 2010

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By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to yet another list in this Weekend Review special end-of-year series.  Today, the focus is on the top three debuts of the year.

Regarding the three newly formed bands recognized below, the decision of how best to order them was somewhat difficult.  However, in the end, it is Fistful of Mercy — comprised of Dhani Harrison (yes, George’s son), Ben Harper, and Joseph Arthur — that receives the honor of best debut.  Their album is strikingly well-defined for a first effort, the band quickly finding their collective voice amidst lush harmonies and subdued instrumentation.  One can only hope that there will be a follow-up album in the not-so-distant future.

Broken Bells is perhaps one of the most fascinating collaborations of recent years.  Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) and James Mercer (of the Shins) aren’t the most likely couple, but the combination of Burton’s hip hop/electronica background and Mercer’s indie pop/rock mentalities simply work.  The result — the self-titled Broken Bells — is a pensive yet poppy trip.

The third entry on this list is from a band fronted by Kevin Devine and supported by members of the Manchester Orchestra.  Bad Books is a dynamic release that runs the gamut from fully produced indie rock to stripped down solo acoustic performances.  The vocals are likewise well-arranged: simple and raw at times, full and multi-layered at others.

The honorable mention is Mumford & Sons’s Sigh No More, a band with an impressively interesting acoustic sound, and, although I find the album’s sound to be somewhat predictable after the first few tracks, there are strong songs and a strong overall sound that has been developed for this record.

And so, with this brief list, I leave you for the day, and I officially invite you back tomorrow for another!

The BEST DEBUTS of 2010

1)  As I Call You Down – Fistful of Mercy

2)  Broken Bells – Broken Bells

3)  Bad Books – Bad Books

Honorable Mention:  Sigh No More – Mumford & Sons