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The Top 50 Songs of the Year Mixtape

Published December 28, 2013 by Stephen Carradini

Here are my favorite 50 songs of the year in a vague, mixtape-ish sort of order. This was one of my favorite years of Independent Clauses, so this is one of my favorite lists that I’ve made in the many years that I’ve been doing this.

1. “Concrete” – New Lungs
2. “Love Your Friends, Hate Politicians” – The Suicide of Western Culture
3. “Endless Fantasy” – Anamanaguchi
4. “Beta Love” – Ra Ra Riot
5. “Roosevelt Hotel” – Cocovan
6. “Lazer Gun Show” – Hey Geronimo
7. “Little Lucy” – The Worriers
8. “Primitive Style” – Johnny Delaware
9. “Griping” – Dear Blanca
10. “Listening to TPM” – Brook Pridemore
11. “Love is Not Allowed” – Gap Dream
12. “Holy Infinity” – GOVS
13. “California Analog Dream” – Vondelpark
14. “Lakeside Trust” – Brave Baby
15. “Come Back to Life” – Hospital Ships
16. “Aaron” – JD Eicher and the Goodnights
17. “Crag” – Human Behavior
18. “Cabin Fever” – Cameron Blake
19. “Judah’s Gone” – M. Lockwood Porter
20. “New World Blue” – Eoin Glackin
21. “Do You Ever?” – Phia
22. “Simplify” – Brendan James
23. “Hiding and Seeking” – Little Chief
24. “Together Through It All” – Kye Alfred Hillig
25. “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin” – Lord Buffalo
26. “You Are the Apple” – Lady Lamb the Beekeeper
27. “Diamond” – Lightning Dust
28. “Song for Zula” – Phosphorescent
29. “An Ancient Voice” – Matthew Squires and the Learning Disorders
30. “These Days” – Martha Marlow
31. “American Summer” – Jared Foldy
32. “Tender is the Night” – Old Man Luedecke
33. “The Mantis and the Moon” – Son of Laughter
34. “Clean as a Whistle” – Slim Loris
35. “Cada Ano” – Fiery Crash
36. “Breath” – Filbert
37. “Suitcase Full of Sparks” – Gregory Alan Isakov
38. “In Your Arms Awhile” – Josh Ritter
39. “Let’s Get Married” – The Gray Havens
40. “The Riddle Song” – The Parmesans
41. “Everything Is Yours” – Jonny Rodgers
42. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” – Fiery Crash
43. “Home Sweet Home” – Russell Howard
44. “For the Sky” – Wolfcryer
45. “Married” – Venna
46. “Glow in the Dark” – Destroy Nate Allen
47. “Lost Here” – Fauntella Crow
48. “The Fires of Time” – David Ramirez
49. “Kid Gloves” – Cavepainters
50. “Creeping Around Your Face” – Novi Split

Loyal Wife throws down passionate riffs and pensive emotions

Published April 6, 2012 by Stephen Carradini

One of my favorite albums is Before Braille‘s 2004 EP Cattle Punching on a Jackrabbit, which features masterful rock tunes like “New Vein/Proventil” and “Well as Well.” It was one of the first albums I covered for Independent Clauses that I truly loved, with the other being Novi Split’s Keep Moving. I still listen to both frequently.

Before Braille met its demise in 2006, but frontman David Jensen moved on to other projects. I missed two albums under the name Art for Starters, but I’m back on board for his project Loyal Wife. Faux Light is the debut album for that project, and it doesn’t disappoint. The main elements of Before Braille’s sound are present, as well as growth.

Before Braille was an emo/rock band comparable to a thinking man’s Jimmy Eat World. The guitars were riff-heavy, and Jensen howled with a righteous fury against the ills and travails of the world. But lyrical, rhythmic and textural complexity set them apart from the pack. And so it is with Loyal Wife; there are riffing guitars, and there are some howling vocals—but there’s a lot more going on than just that.

A lot happens to mellow a man in eight years, and so tunes such as “Hold Up,” “GodSlight,” and “In Trouble” show a pensive side to Jensen that wasn’t on display in the frenzied Cattle Punching. “Hold Up” is one of the high points of the record, a stark acoustic tune that nails that rare space where honesty and tunefulness mix. It’s raw, but it’s not weepy or overdramatic; there’s a dignity that remains as Jensen sings “If I hold up,” and that’s powerful.

“GodSlight” includes bells into the acoustic mix, resulting in a nice mix between indie sensibility and plaintive emotion. “In Trouble” is the best moment for Ashley Taylor, the female vocalist who provides another critical difference from Before Braille and Loyal Wife. Her vocals mesh perfectly with the arrangement, a sparse rock tune that relies on the space between instruments and interactions between the male and female vocals. Jensen and Taylor harmonize excellently together, and “In Trouble” is the overall highlight of the record due to its spotlighting of the duo.

The rock tunes here are solid as well. The doggedly rhythmic closer “Light Off” recalling the most brittle, brutal moments of Before Braille in the best way, while “Ivory” sets Taylor as the frontwoman against a pounding rock track (Jensen handles the vocals in the great breakdown riff). It’s passionate rock with a dark timbre but not a dark tone; it’s a rare middle-ground that Loyal Wife strikes, and I like that a great deal.

Loyal Wife’s Faux Light is an album of slowly-unfolding charms. After the immediate hit of “Hold Up” and “In Trouble,” the rest of the tunes here grew on me. It’s a definite progression, and one worth checking out. If you want passion in your rock and quiet tunes, Loyal Wife should be on your radar.

Elephant Micah conjures up beautiful, elegant, weighty tunes

Published February 22, 2012 by Stephen Carradini

Songs:Ohia plays a critical role in my musical history, somewhat akin to the lack of respect Bob Welch gets for keeping Fleetwood Mac together until they could get around to recording awesome things.

In my transition from “Super Good Feeling” to “Get Lonely,” Songs:Ohia was one of two artists who would entice me to jump from the poppy precipice of Transatlanticism to the downtempo jeremiads of Damien Jurado and The Mountain Goats. Without the influence of those latter two bands, this blog would probably not still exist. So, indirectly, you and I both owe a debt to Jason Molina (and David J of Novi Split, who was the second guide).

The emotions that Elephant Micah‘s Louder Than Thou conjures up in me match almost exactly the ones I felt while listening to Songs:Ohia’s “The Lioness” as a teenager. This is an incredible statement: I had chalked up this intense connection with S:A’s slow, weighty songs up to “my first time.” For a band to repeat in me that sort of emotion amid my now-steady diet of folk and singer/songwriter is stunning.

Pre-Magnolia ELectric Co. Jason Molina originally intrigued me for several reasons. I am intrigued by Joseph O’Connell (the songwriter behind EM) for the same reasons:

1. He is very talented, although the simple musicianship bears no ostentatious markers of technical skill.
2. He imbues songs with honest, weighty emotion.
3. He is unafraid to play a slow, quiet song for a very long time.

I started to feel the old longing during the second track, “Won These Wings.” A slowly thumped tom and sparse yet terse notes on an acoustic guitar create the backdrop for O’Connell’s plaintive voice; far-off background vocals and some sort of woodwind form intermittent ghostly asides. The whole thing just feels heavy; but more than that, it feels compelling. Instead of being wallpaper music, this is gripping. You know those movies where the soundtrack is so integral and vital that it should be credited as a supporting actor? The 7:25 “Won These Wings” is that sort of tune.

The length here is notable in the context of everyone else’s work, but not so much in comparison to the rest of the album. The six songs on Louder Than Thou run just over 36 minutes, meaning that one EM song averages the span of two pop songs. The shambling, uplifting “My Cousin’s King,” the shortest song, clocks in at 4:29. It could have gone longer and been totally fine: these songs sprawl, and they’re all the better for it.

That’s the lesson to be learned from “If I Were a Surfer,” which is the song that caused me to think of Songs:Ohia for the first time in years. The strum pattern isn’t complicated, the drum part isn’t difficult, and the vocal line isn’t virtuosic. But the parts come together in such a heart-rending way that none of that matters. “Let it lie where it lands / I’ll start all over again,” O’Connell sings with female harmony over a graceful, whirring organ. It’s no lyric shooting for the heart of reality, nor is it a hugely orchestrated epic moment. It is, instead, a testament to patience, dignity and craft. It is beautiful.

The skill and hard work it takes to write songs of such seemingly effortless elegance is hard to overstate. Elephant Micah‘s Louder Than Thou is not louder than much, really. But it is far more resonant than most, and that’s why I can’t stop listening to it.

The End of America shows flashes of folk brilliance amid the variety

Published February 19, 2011 by Stephen Carradini

The End of America‘s Steep Bay is nine songs and twenty-one minutes long. It is a very intimate affair, as it features live performances and found sound among its tracks. It’s the latest in a string of folk albums to come out of self-imposed banishments to rural areas to write (as popularized by Bon Iver). But For Emma, Forever Ago worked because of Justin Vernon’s slavish attention to mood and detail. Even though the guys in The End of America have the details down, they don’t have the mood hammered out on Steep Bay.

It’s a bummer, because the best moments of Steep Bay show that The End of America has something great to offer. The effortless calm of Novi Split’s intimate bedroom pop applied to the folk revival’s rustic songwriting ideals is a beautiful thing. Imagine if Mumford and Sons could be every bit as powerful without having to go for the jugular in every coda, and you’ve got a good approximation of “Fiona Grace” and “Oh Mousey.” But “These Things Are Mine” is an upbeat bluegrass meditation of sorts, and “Running” is a step removed from an old-school Dashboard Confessional acoustic emo song in strum pattern, melody and lyric. “Are You Lonely” is a meandering, morose tune. It all just doesn’t mesh at all.

The best moments here are the found sounds of “Diving Rock” and “Steep Bay.” “Diving Rock” is a recording of the members jumping off a rock into the bay, which leads directly into “Fiona Grace.” “Steep Bay” is a banjo rumination with the sound of pouring rain providing percussion, which is the single most beautiful moment on the album.

The End of America can write a great album if they spent more time at it, I think. They’re just not the “collective goes to cottage, produces masterpiece” type of band. There are flashes of brilliance on Steep Bay, but the overall product is a bit muddled by the lack of a coherent mood.

The top twenty quest

Published September 8, 2010 by Stephen Carradini

I blew up my computer a few weeks ago, resulting in the lack of posts. I apologize for the deathly pallor that seemed to settle over Independent Clauses. It’s been a pretty crazy few weeks. I get my new computer Friday, and we should be rolling again.

I love and hate live shows. Transcendent, life-affirming and soul-expanding are all phrases I have lavished on excellent sets; soul-crushing, abrasive and interminable are all words with which I have belittled terrible performances. A thoroughly average act skews more to the interminable side, which means the room for error is large.

Making matters even more sketchy is this all-too-common occurrence: that band with lovely recordings which smushes my expectations into the dirt with a reprehensible live show. One band that shall remain nameless suckerpunched me twice: the first set I saw was so awful that I incorrectly passed it off as “an off night” and felt optimistic going in to the second set a year later, which ended up being exponentially worse. I don’t listen to that band any more.

And yet, through all of this potential for letdown, I keep anticipating live shows (I’m resisting a comparison to love and relationships). That anticipation has translated into a new and ongoing project: I’m going on a quest to see all top twenty of my most-listened-to bands (according to my Last.FM). Here’s the list, complete with current statuses. Bold indicates I have plans to see them before the end of the year.

1. The Mountain Goats (1,063 plays) – Seen twice, once in Norman and once in Dallas
2. Sufjan Stevens (1,010 plays)
3. Novi Split (597 plays)
4. Coldplay (490 plays) – Seen once: Ford Center, Oklahoma City.
5. Damien Jurado (487 plays) – Seen once: Opolis, Norman.
6. Joe Pug – Seen once: The Conservatory, Oklahoma City.
7. Low Anthem – Seen once: Rose State Auditorium, Midwest City.
8. Elijah Wyman
9. Death Cab for Cutie – Seen once: Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa.
10. Relient K – Seen 4-6 times, various Tulsa and Oklahoma City locations.
11. Josh Caress
12. Owl City – Seen once: McCasland Fieldhouse, University of Oklahoma, Norman.
13. Josh Ritter
14. Rocky Votolato
15. Switchfoot – Seen once: Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa.
16. Bleach – Seen 3 times: various Tulsa locations. RIP
17. Mumford and Sons
18. The Avett Brothers – Seen twice: Austin City Limits 2009; Rose State Auditorium, Midwest City.
19. The Tallest Man on Earth
20. Before Braille – RIP

And to get myself back into writing about music, I’ll be writing about each of the bands, in order.

La Strada makes energetic folk-infused indie rock with a small orchestra in tow

Published May 10, 2010 by Stephen Carradini

I came into an appreciation of folk music at about the same time the folk revival was beginning to gain prominence (roughly four or five years ago). I was finally lucky enough to catch a thing at its peak; it seems I always go back and discover the goodness of a thing after the fact (point: I saw Death Cab for Cutie on their Plans tour, the Mountain Goats on their Get Lonely tour, Coldplay on its X&Y tour, and Guster on its Ganging up on the Sun tour; all of which were one album after their best album). But this time, I’m on the edge with the rest of the people rocking out to Mumford and Sons, because folk finally reclaimed energy.

La Strada’s New Home does Mumford and Sons one better. Instead of just being a folk band on speed (which, as M+S’s immense popularity shows, is quite alright), they’re a folk band on speed eating an indie band. It’s like gentler Beirut with a guy who can sing; it’s like Arcade Fire with acoustic guitars. This album is so incredibly hip and current that I’m afraid I’m not cool enough to review it. But I reject that notion, because the songs are brilliant. These songs aren’t just for the cool; they’re for people who like anything related to pop music.

“The Traveler” features a bouncy drum line, a mini-orchestra and a jaunty vocal line. The smooth quality of the vocals is immensely reassuring from the beginning of the album; he has the best elements of many different vocalists. His ability to convey emotion without oversinging recalls Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard; his effortless delivery recalls people with gifted voices like Novi Split’s David Jerkovich. The fact that he meshes so well with the band makes me think of the National, even though their voices seem separated by (several?) octaves.

The ragged yet gentle rhythms of “The Traveler,” plus the immensely reverbed guitar solo, strings, trumpets, tubas, and keys make for a richly ornamented, impossible-to-dislike song. There’s tons going on here, but as in an Anathallo song, it all works together. Even when they kill the beat, punch up the accordion and turn the song into a Parisian street waltz (not kidding), it sounds amazing.

Then they kick into “Wash On By,” which brings a indie-rock surge of energy to their still-instrument-heavy mix. This song will make you move, as well as yell and cheer with the band. The rhythms, which are distinctly foreign but not exactly easy to pin down, simply bring the house down. I wish I could be in the audience for a performance of “Wash on By.”

Then there’s the title track, which for once is appropriately chosen. I hate it when bands don’t choose the right title track, but this one is far and away the most memorable track of the album (and you thought I’d lavished all the exuberant praise I had in me? naaa). The song is sparse, but it’s not sparse in the lack of instruments; they use the instruments sparingly, locking them in together to pull a distinct and certain mood out of the tune. The word masterful is not an exaggeration of this tune’s quality.

The whole thing is held together by the vocals, again, which are glorious and command several beautiful melodies. The brass band and strings contribute significantly to this tune. You will be singing “Hello strange familiar, you’re my new home; oh, wha-o, wha-o wha-o.” Trust me, it looks goofy there, but you’ll know exactly what I mean when it happens. You will be powerless to resist it.

My highest praise for an album is “I could write a small book about this album.” And it is very, very true of New Home by La Strada. I didn’t even get to talk about the lyrics, the art, the rest of the tunes (and seriously, that’s a tragedy to me, because “Baptism” and “Where You Want to Go” and “Go Forward” are all wonderful and worthy of covering). All I can say is, for your own good, buy this album. It will improve your mood for weeks.

The Points North create unique folk from a myriad of influences and styles

Published March 4, 2010 by Stephen Carradini

One of my best friends and I are huge folk fans. We share some of the same loves (Josh Ritter, Simon and Garfunkel, Iron and Wine), but we diverge pretty hard at one point: he’s a big fan of the British folk sound, and I’m a big fan of the American folk sound. The British folk sound has a very open sound: capturing the sound of rolling hills on the English countryside, the music often abounds with flutes, mandolin, and other optimistic sounds. American folk has a much less optimistic air about it; Dylan’s strum-heavy protest songs and Simon and Garfunkel’s world-weary pop/folk tunes set the stage for the depressing world that American folk resides in.

The Points North take a distinctly British approach to folk, although they hail from Boston. Accordion, flute, delicately fingerpicked guitar, piano, mandolin and more permeate the sound, creating a rollicking sound. But even though these songs are charming, melodic, and sunny, they never become less weighty. Page France was one of the only other bands I know of that was able to capture the balance between giddy music and serious content. And The Points North don’t geek out on a Michael Nau-esque level; they’re much more tempered than that. Stately, as the Brits might say.

If Sufjan Stevens were a little more obsessed with flute, he could have written “Cape Tryon”; the background vocals and general feel of the song would have fit perfectly on Illinoise! If the Low Anthem cracked a smile every now and then, they would be happy to claim the elegaic accordion intro of “I Awoke a Child.” If Nick Drake had found friends to play with him, he could have written half these songs, from the peculiar picking rhythm of “Ever Bright White” to the carefree feel of “Tires & the Pavement.” There are elements of Nickel Creek’s joyful pop (minus the bluegrass), and Novi Split’s goofy swooping musical instruments.

Although I’ve spent most of this album saying who the Points North sound like, that’s not to their discredit. This isn’t an album that causes me to wince every time I hear a musical familiarity. On the other hand, these references (intentional or otherwise) cause excitement and increase enjoyment. The sound isn’t as intimate as my favorite folk bands, due to the myriad of sounds going on, but that’s not what The Points North were shooting for.

The Points North’s I Saw Across the Sound is a unique release, written and recorded with clarity of idea. It’s a very distinctive brand of folk that draws off all the aforementioned bands, but copies none of them. Quite enjoyable and talented.

ACL Explains it All: K'Naan

Published June 29, 2009 by Stephen Carradini

I came at music from a pop-punk background. I got Relient K’s Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek when I was thirteen, and it turned me into a music fiend. From there I worked my way through emo and hardcore, back to indie-rock, through indie-pop and power-pop, through folk and acoustic pop, up towards alt-country. I mostly camp in the pop/folk/acoustic/alt-country/indie-pop area now, having left the harder stuff (mostly) behind in my casual listening. I still know enough about the scenes to review them pretty well (except for the hardest stuff), but in my spare time, I’m more likely to rock Mountain Goats or Novi Split than As I Lay Dying or MeWithoutYou.

My last post was about Hot Country, which I am ever-so-slightly dabbling my toes in. The other major genre not addressed above is rap; and I hadn’t found many good rappers that I liked, although I am open to good rap (at least, much more open than to Hot Country).

Then, K’Naan happened. K’naan knows his way around a pop hook better than loads of indie-pop bands I’ve heard. His beats are arresting, and his African influences in his music make his music simply irresistible. That’s even before he says a single word. His voice is pleasing, and his lyrics are pretty freaking stunning. He rhymes with words that I rarely even use (Kandahar, Desert Eagle, Destitute, Tenfold, etc). And he makes it all sound SO GOOD.

I may be freakin’ out over nothing; after all, I just admitted that I have little experience with real rap (you know, the type of rappers who aren’t excited because they’re on a boat). But this stuff makes me actually want to listen. I want to hear what he has to say; I suppose that’s the point of most rappers, but along the way, the message got lost.

And he has a message, for sure; he’s from Somalia, where there’s crazy violence going on. His songs address the violence in Somalia in almost all his songs, but without sounding like preaching. He flows seamlessly between topics without leaving the listener cheated.

In short, K’Naan is probably the best rapper I’ve ever heard. I don’t know if this is noobish tomfoolery, but for real. I’m going to be yelling “hey” with the rest of them at his ACL set. And maybe I’ll go listen to Chubb Rock, who guested on “ABCs”; maybe I’ll learn this rap thing yet.

Some notes and some songs

Published January 12, 2009 by Stephen Carradini

To keep all you readers in the loop: this upcoming week is going to be kinda scattershot with the posts. On the 19th we’re going to start regular daily posting, and even that will be erratic for a week or two as we get used to our new system. Bear with us. The rust is pretty thick after eight months, you know. It’s tough to shake it off quickly.

Some stuff to tide you over:

David Shultz has a beautiful new demo up called “Down the Road.” You can check it out at end of his player on his Myspace.

Novi Split has three new demos posted. My favorite Novi Split songs are demos, so this is awesome. In fact, Keep Moving was nothing but demos (as evidenced by the fact that follow-up Pink in the Sink sounded like what would have happened on Keep Moving if more than one instrument was playing at a time). As with most things Novi Split, these three new songs are gorgeous, precise and will stick with you.

I stumbled across obscure songs by Jim Ward (Sparta/Sleepercar) and Tim Kasher (Cursive/The Good Life) on this myspace. I own this album (the My Favorite Songwriters compilation album, put out to celebrate Five One, Inc.‘s ten-year anniversary), and it’s a pretty solid comp with all-original tracks. The overall mood is a little bit darker than I usually listen to on a whim, but it’s hard to knock any of the tracks.

My Music of 2008

Published January 1, 2009 by Stephen Carradini

This year has been really fragmented for me. After having the last five years totally absorbed by music (via Independent Clauses or various bands I’ve been in), I spent most of this year not doing anything music-related. In the eight months that Independent Clauses was down, I busied myself with other things. Thus, I don’t have enough information to really make an adequate top ten or even top five list of the year’s best. What I do have is a playlist composed of the tracks that I listened to the most in 2008. Some of these tracks are old; some of these came from 2008. “Now” by Mates of State is my favorite track off my favorite album of 2008 (Re-arrange Us). “Sax Rohmer #1” is a stand-out track from Heretic Pride by the Mountain Goats, another top album of ’08. “Talking in Code” and “Price is Right” take the prize for best overall songs I discovered.

Work Out Your Salvation Through Fear and Trembling: a 2008 retrospective

1. “Brother” by Annuals
2. “The Lining is Silver” by Relient K
3. “You Can Make Him Like You” by The Hold Steady
4. “Story Problem” by the Envy Corps
5. “Now” by Mates of State
6. “Weird” by Clem Snide
7. “Sax Rohmer #1” by the Mountain Goats
8. “Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love” by Coldplay
9. “Blue Eleanor” by Old Canes
10. “The Swiss Army Romance” by Dashboard Confessional
11. “My Rollercoaster” by Kimya Dawson
12. “Sinaloan Milk Snake Song” by the Mountain Goats
13. “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” by Right Away, Great Captain!
14. “Monster Ballads” by Josh Ritter
15. “Table for Two” by Caedmon’s Call
16. “California Skies” by Novi Split
17. “Talking in Code” by Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s
18. “Makers” by Rocky Votolato
19. “Murder in the City” by Avett Brothers
20. “Price is Right” by Aaron Robinson and the Lost Verses

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