solace

nice. reminded me that i forgot to check out that Matt Bauer record

inaguration, no... in town?

ditto

until i learned otherwise, that's how i pronounced it too

i'm gonna go ahead and preempt this by saying it belongs on 2009

ah... I absolutely adore Lily myself. the guitar riff is awesome and that chorus is SO f'n catchy. plus i just think it's a great batch of lyrics:

it's definitely an insanely tongue-in-cheek cover, but it amuses me... a cougar on the hood of a cougar

Star Witness is EASILY one of her best songs to date for me... edit: wtf am i doing still up at 3:30? (granted i fell asleep on the couch around 11:30 until 2:30)

hey... you're not gonna find this Bon Iver fan (fan club member #37, j/k ) complaining about anyone who wants to give the record more props, regardless of year you just proved that I failed Via in 2007 by not posting about For Emma/Bon Iver quite enough

i'd have to agree... i know i still prefer Blacklisted often, but i think she's continually learning how to make better records and hopefully this one continues the trend.

a bulk of both records were recorded at the exact same studio in San Fran and Mark produced both himself, so sonically they don't sound very different at all to me. Both have a fair amount of layering going on on a handful of tracks. now i could see if it had oodles of pointless overdubs, tacky faux-strings added on, etc. then i'd definitely agree. nothing I hate worse than when someone adds strings just because they can, or have the budget. and i know production is a totally personal preference, but i MIGHT even prefer the overall sound of April by a small margin... next time i listen to Ghos

UGGGGGGGGGH so so so so sad i can't make it to Madison on Friday but i'm glad you had a kickass time and loved both

LOVE that song/video, that's awesome you know the dude

oh i prefer DKK too, don't get me wrong, just saying the songs both have a similar droning vibe and presence when comparing/contrasting the records...

re: Heron Blue... i wouldn't say it's a favorite, but to me it seems to fill the roll that Duk Koo Kim played on Ghosts

i wasn't in love with it at first, but the more i listen, i'm really digging it a lot... Changeling & Palace at 4am are killer pretty sure NP's played Palace when i saw them this summer

yup. reminds me a of Grandaddy a lot

gotcha... as a huge Built To Spill/Crazy Horse fan... i can't get enough of the 6-10 minute epics myself i'll admit the album as a whole might have fared better if it was paired down to 60 minutes or so, but i have no complaints personally as it stands. kinda like Sigur Ros - ( ) and BSS - Feel Good Lost, those are my sleeping records, absolutely love 'em

nah, it's cool if people don't like it. just surprised somewhat i guess. i'll fully admit i'm a Kozelek fanboy, as grumpy and dry as he can be, the guy writes some of the most gorgeous compositions in popular music for me. like... i'd probably put him ahead of Sigur Ros just in terms of the shear beauty of his music. would be curious to know if most of the folks who don't like April love Red House Painters or got into Mark via Ghosts, maybe that's part of it. although I think April certainly sounds much more like Ghosts than RHP. as for Lost Verses, considering the heavy part doesn't come

:/ i can see not liking it as much, but a THING? the album has 4-5 songs as good as anything on Ghosts for me... (Lost Verses, Moorestown, Tonight The Sky, Like The River (Oldham sounds amazing on this), & Tonight In Bilbao) Lost Verses might be the best song he's written under the Sun Kil Moon moniker (previously i'd say it was Carry Me Ohio). that breakdown when the electric guitar & drums drops in KILLS me

it was pretty fun live at least

it's arguably the most immediately accessible, and MIGHT be my favorite on the record, but there's so many others that i adore... Not Your Lover? that song KILLS me... maybe a bit too much actually Black River Killer is amazing... that may be my favorite if the title track isn't the only song on the album i don't love is ironically 'Love U'

i'm more of a tea man myself.

April was my #3 on the year... it's amazing not quite as great as Ghosts, but for me, insanely close... (i'd say Ghosts was a 9.4, April is a 9.0) one of the best late night records in years. i'd argue with those who were disappointed by it to give it a bunch more chances, namely late at night... then again i love RHP too... i'd also be curious what songs exactly are people getting hung up on April... i agree it's a daunting and long listen, no question, but to me it feels very much like a sequel to Ghosts thematically & sonically. Tiny Cities however... was mad dull... a few covers