2008: Deerhunter, Burning Spear, Stereolab
"The sun is riz, the sun is set, and here we is in Texas yet."
It takes an awful lot of music to get through Texas.
Deerhunter. Microcastle.
United States, August 19
What exactly is a microcastle? Based on the textures present here, it’s someplace private and warm. Perhaps a comforting retreat from the snarls and tangles of society, anxiety and human interaction. Small enough to fit inside of other spaces. Perhaps invisible until noticed, then visible everywhere. Everywhere and nowhere. Are we surrounded by microcastles we can’t see?
Burning Spear. Jah Is Real.
Jamaica, August 19
In general, asking of an album only that it sound essentially alike to the albums that defined its genre thirty or forty years ago is not asking enough. Roots reggae might be an exception. It sounded so good in the 1970s and has often sounded so bad in the decades since that albums that hearken back successfully to that time can feel revelatory. That’s the case for Burning Spear, who helped define the sound this album rediscovers.
Stereolab. Chemical Chords.
England, August 19
A persistent problem among music listeners is the over-valuation of debut albums and the sad devaluation of albums from late in the careers of bands with the temerity to make consistently high-quality music for a long time. An album as good as this one can go almost unnoticed and even more scarcely recalled. But what if a new band (let’s call them Zombie Tuesday) put this album out in 2008? I believe the mere fact of its being their debut would mean that the machinery of acclaim left it remembered as one of the year’s very best albums, with all the lengthy cultural life that kind of acclaim can accord. Whereas its being Stereolab’s ninth means that it’s little more than a footnote even for fans of the band. As a listener, it’s always worth it to give high quality artists more attention than the halflife of their acclaim suggests, I’d say.