Damn, I suck. It has been since November 30 that the last Sunday Superlative was posted here. You do realize this was two months, one calendar year, one U.S. president, and approximately 9,000 I-just-wet-myself reviews of Merriweather Post Pavilion ago. Time flies. In fact, the only thing greater in magnitude than the speed at which time flies is the degree to which I suck. This, sadly, is an irreversible condition. However, I can make amends for it, so that's what I'm hoping this post is going to do.
Inevitably, every year there are songs and bands that fall through the cracks. Damn good songs and damn good bands. Who knows why it happens? It just does. Especially in the digital age, there are so many bands making so much music that it's frankly a miracle that everyone doesn't get lost in the shuffle (though you wish some would, oh hi Deerhunter). This is my valiant attempt to highlight three of my favorite nobody-heard-this songs from 2008. While all you cool kids were off groovin' to Tha Carter III (or whatever it is you do with that album), I was checking out this good stuff. Enjoy.
The Lucksmiths - "Lament of the Chiming Wedgebill" (mp3|3.49MB)
In a word, beautiful. In two words, damn beautiful. I stand by my original comparison: it's like an Australian Outback version of The Decemberists' "Yankee Bayonet," with some swoon-worthy male/female vocal harmonies and a jangly guitar/harmonica interplay that sounds, indeed, like nothing short of a lamentation. But what a pretty, desolate, desert-tainted mournfulness it is. My only complaint is that the rest of First Frost didn't sound anything like this. Whereas the remainder was mostly generic, unremarkable guitar pop, this is something much greater. This is lovely. This is one that, if I don't watch it, I'll find myself listening to over and over again.
Pitchblend - "Somewhere I Could Never Find" (mp3|6.55MB)
Pitchblend have tapped into an interesting sound. They have, for my money, found the perfect combination of two seemingly incompatible styles: that dynamic Explosions in the Sky/Mogwai-ish post-rock and that emo-pop stuff you hear on the radio and don't like (not that I do, either). Evidently, they work a whole lot better together than I ever would have thought. The tuneful noisiness of the post-rock actually more or less nullifies the latter (I think it's mostly the guy's pretty standard-issue alternative-rock voice that leads me to the radio-pop label, actually) and the result is a very good song indeed. It's atmospheric, catchy, rockin', and even decently passionate. I freely admit it was in heavy rotation on my playlist last summer. Perhaps you can do it the same favor for the coming spring.
Uh Huh Her - "Covered" (mp3|5.39MB)
All I need to say is "chicks doing super catchy, melodic, energetic electro-pop" and this is already better than a good majority of that new Tilly and the Wall album. Actually, most of Common Reaction is enjoyable in that "this is probably guilty pleasure, but ... yeah, don't give a shit" sort of way, but "Covered" is definitely the standout. It's a pop song. It doesn't try to be anything else. It wants to get you to tap your toes and hum along and enjoy yourself. It successfully gets me to do all three every time I hear it. At the end of the day, could I really ask for more? If I did, I'd almost certainly be missing the point.
And that's all, fol--fuck it. I haven't done this in two months. I can be afforded one bonus song. Let's do it.
Chauchat - "Murdering Chair" (mp3|7.12MB)
This falls somewhere in between Neutral Milk Hotel (one of the best indie bands ever, and you damn well better agree) and Bright Eyes (who's good on the days he doesn't suck, which seem to be chosen at random). I can't pinpoint exactly where. It's certainly much more heavily weighted towards the "good" end of both (why would I include it otherwise?), and seems a fine example of how a straightforward acoustic ballad can skillfully build into a noisy, cacophonous lo-fi jam session (once again: NMH and Bright Eyes). I like it quite a bit.
And NOW I'm done. I'll try to be back next week, I promise. I realize that "weekly" does, in fact, mean "every week." Don't hold me to it or anything, but damned if I won't try.
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