I'm not sure why I chose to listen to this. Probably because people on Twitter told me to.

Which artists' new release should be my next album of the week? #NewMusicFriday

— Cait Cliff (@Cait__Cliff) March 11, 2016

 It's Jeff, so it's super melancholy, and almost every track is just a different version/demo of songs that have already been released. Honestly, it's a little creepy that he's been dead for 20 years now and 90% of his albums are posthumous releases.

In spite of all that, I still decided that I would lust after it, hoping that with a new album there would be something new to discover about Jeff after all these years.

That doesn't seem to be the case here, but nevertheless I'm still not necessarily disappointed that I chose this album for the week. It's given me a chance to get reacquainted with old favorites and discover new gems that I had overlooked back in the day when I was listening to Hallelujah on repeat.

The final track on the album "I Know It's Over," is both perfection and irony. It's a Smiths cover at Jeff's most vulnerable and emotive. The irony is that we'll never believe it's over.

I'm very excited for this week's selection for primarily sentimental reasons.

First, let me take you back in time. The year is 2010, and my brand new beau has just burned me the very first mix cd of our courtship (I had already made him at least 10 at this point. It's how I show affection). This was a big moment for me, because it is my belief that when someone handpicks a track list for you, it's essentially their way of laying their soul out on the table. Or so I thought.

The track list was pretty varied but was mostly happy, upbeat tracks, perfect for summer love. Reading far too deeply into his selections, I was surprised when there were 2 songs back to back by the same artist: Thao Nguyen.

I thought "wow. these are positively joyful. This guy must be a big fan of hers."

The songs were:

1. Bag of Hammers
2. Swimming Pools



Flash forward to the present. A couple weeks ago I saw that Saintseneca, one of Chris & my favorite bands, would be opening for Thao in April this year. No one ever comes to Cincinnati, so this is a pretty big deal.

I told Chris "it's like our past and present are coming full circle."

He responded with "Who is Thao?"

He's bad at  knowing the names of any artists, so I decided I would play him one of the songs from the mix CD of our youth.

Nothing. Not a single flicker of recognition. Visual artists can be so frustrating sometimes. 

Oh well.

The point is, Thao, I remember you, and I'm looking forward to our week together.

Also, I find it ridiculous that Chris can remember every time it's "my turn" to kill a stink bug in our apartment, but has zero recollection of a song that he listened to, and liked enough to put on a CD for his new girlfriend.

Whatever.

When I found out that Lissie was planning on releasing a new album, I have to admit I was cautiously optimistic about the news. I was really impressed with her sound when I first heard her live cover of Kid Cudi's Pursuit of Happiness back in 2010, then I mostly forgot about her.

A few years later, a couple of friends on my study abroad program showed me her Sideshow Alley performance of When I'm Alone and I was excited about her all over again. In my new-found excitement I started listening to her first two albums and was left confused and disappointed.

Lissie's live sound is a completely different beast than her recorded albums. Live, her voice is raw and uncontrolled, cracking and wailing with energy. Watching her perform is hypnotic; many of her songs start at a raspy whisper and end at a literal scream as she shakes her headphones loose and she drives the song into a swell. She is a wonder to behold. 

For some reason, whoever produced her albums dialed back her sound to the point that little character remains. Her vocals are measured and even, and her incredible band ends up sounding like a nebulous, washed-out karaoke track. Each of her albums sound like a collection of nameless pop-rock anthems of the 90's, emotionless and uninteresting. It's flat-out depressing to see an artist with so much promise come up short on two different albums.

So you fully grasp the difference in sound, I recommend listening to both the live and recorded versions of When I'm Alone. 






I feel bad for subjecting you to this music video because it's just not good. However, you need to know what kind of sacrifice I'm making this week by giving her a third chance.

I'm praying that whoever produced My Wild West does her justice this time, or I will forever be left to sleuthing Youtube for rooftop performances and KEXP sessions. If not, I think this is the last chance I'll give her.

This week I'll be listening to Shearwater's new album Jet Plane and Oxbow.

I initially started listening to DIIV's new album Is The Is Are but I had to stop because: 
1. The album name pissed me off (seriously, why do bands insist on make themselves so hard to Google?)
2. I found out the front man is the same guy from Beach Fossils
3. I love dream pop, but the dark tone, washed out guitars and the fact that all 17 tracks started bleeding together made me ever more depressed than I usually am mid-winter.

I realized that if I wanted to make it to April I needed something that was going to pick me up, and an entire album dedicated to a journey with Heroin addiction wasn't going to do that for me.

I will admit, I was excited when I saw there was a track called Valentine, which would be a cutesy, appropriate choice for this week. Then I realized that his Valentine is probably Heroin.

Shearwater are another amazing group birthed of Austin's weirdness. According to "the internet" they've been together since 1999, but I had really only heard about them since they signed to SubPop in 2012 (and even still, this is the first album of theirs that I've actually listened to). Jet Plane and Oxbow has been pulling some solid reviews from critics and lay-people a like, so I decided I would check it out.

I started with the music video for their track "Quiet Americans" and I'm a convert already. 

I'm at an impasse.

I was originally planning on listening to Bloc Party's new album Hymns this week because I fall into the camp of people who naively think they will return to their roots. I started testing the waters this morning and have already thrown in the towel. Their first album, Silent Alarm, was released in 2005, and played a large role in elevating my energy levels enough for me to graduate from high school. Hymns is a bit of a let down in that department. 

It's rare that I ever agree with any music critic (which is strange, because I actually feed on hyperbole), but Consequence of Sound hits the nail on the head when they say "Don't come looking for the old Bloc Party." I refuse to read what Pitchfork has to say altogether. While I agree that the new Bloc Party is lackluster, I'm not interested in having my fond memories of driving around with my sister and blasting Helicopter de-legitimized by a site that uses phrases like "a nicotine-stained quality" to describe an album.

Anyway, with Bloc Party behind me some new options have opened up. I really like what I've listened to on each of them, and might end up listening to them all, honestly. But for the sake of numbers, please help me pick one. I suffer from crippling indecisiveness. 

I'm listening to 1 new album a week for 2016. Which artist's new release should I check out next? #NewMusicFriday

— Cait Cliff (@Cait__Cliff) January 29, 2016

I was really excited when I learned that Emma Pollock was a member of The Delgados, a band I discovered right as they were breaking up in 2005. I spent a lot of time listening to The Light Before We Land on loop, while I tried to figure out how I was unlucky enough to jump on a bandwagon that had been going since 1995 and was ready to stop once I got on board. Maybe In Search of Harperfield will fill an 11 year void for me. We'll see.