With their remarkable longevity Yo La Tengo has bucked the trend of most indie rock bands. On the long road to maturation it was their teaming with producer Roger Moutenot that brought together their disparate folk, punk, electronica, noise and shoegazing elements into a delightfully cohesive whole. Painful certainly does not live up to its title.
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The Sophtware Slump Grandaddy 2000 [V2]
A record saturated with sad tales of victims of the modern age, as is evident from the opening track 'He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot'. This is fairly clever and propulsive indie pop trimmed in places with some nice psych-electronica. 'Jed the Humanoid' and 'Miner at the Dial-a-View' keep the wry observations coming.
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Internal Wrangler Clinic 2000 [Domino]
One of England's best post-punk outfits once stated they were "like no other band". Simply put, that means there is a fair bit of variety on offer here, much of it courtesy of classic prog-rock keyboards like the Philips Philicorda. Single 'The Second Line' has gained the band some notoriety after being used in a Levi's jeans commercial.
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Z My Morning Jacket 2005 [Badman]
When his favourite bar burned down frontman Jim James found a jacket emblazoned with the letters 'MMJ' in the rubble. It seems more than appropriate for these eclectic modern masters of reverb. Those who detest copy protection on CDs (who doesn't?) might want to opt for an MP3 download. Either way, the music is terrific.
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Return to Cookie Mountain TV on the Radio 2006 [Interscope/4AD]
Breakthrough album from experimental outfit out of Brooklyn. Cookie Mountain contains decidedly more psych elements than their lauded Dear Science (2008) follow-up. The band specialises in anthemic vocals featuring massive dynamic ranges. The big difference between TVotR and most others of their ilk is their innate pop sensibilities.
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Person Pitch Panda Bear 2007 [Paw Tracks]
As a founding member of Animal Collective experimental rock musician Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) is no stranger to sound loops and vocal reverb. Both are used to stunning effect here, reaching a soaring crescendo on the 12-minute epic 'Bros'. A critical smash, this record shows why the freedom of a collective is often a wonderful thing.
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Untrue Burial 2007 [Hyperdub]
A nomination for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize finally saw reclusive dubstep producer William Bevan reveal his true identity to the world. Given the quality of his first two albums, it might be best to leave him alone and let him make as much music as he wants in peace. Remarkable what can be achieved with a PC and Soundforge software.
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Microcastle Deerhunter 2008 [Kranky]
Atlanta's Deerhunter describe their music as "ambient punk" - a kind of arty shoegazing noise with psych touches here and there. This album was originally co-released with Weird Era Cont., recorded several months later, included as a bonus album. A somewhat troubled history hasn't stopped this outfit from gathering a fanatic cult following.
