My 16-20 albums consist of four new listens and one that I'd only listened to a couple times. There are three female artists, an Elephant 6 band, and a band that I'd never heard of that sounds like they were part of the Elephant 6 Collective. One of these artists is going to appear again higher up the dive.
20. THE GLANDS - THE GLANDS ( 4.0 STARS )
I don't know how I completely missed a band from Athens, Georgia who sound like The Kinks, if The Kinks had been a lo-fi, Elephant 6 band. The album is mostly laid back and atmospheric, with the exception of the guitar heavy tracks, "Straight Down" and "Work It Out". The latter reminds me of the Columbus band, Times New Viking. This was a fun discovery.
19. NEKO CASE & HER BOYFRIENDS - FURNACE ROOM LULLABY ( 4.0 STARS )
Neko Case, and the artist at #18 are my favorite female vocalists. They couldn't be more different, stylistically. Neko is a red-headed spitfire who can belt out a tune. However, on Furnace Room Lullaby, she is a Country crooner and I like it. Especially the song, "Twist the Knife". It accentuates her magnificent voice. It's beautiful, yet still powerful. Much different from her idiosyncratic delivery in her other band, The New Pornographers. I need to check out the rest of her catalog.
18. AIMEE MANN - BACHELOR NO. 2 ( 4.0 STARS )
Voices Carry. RUSH's "Time Stand Still" music video. What's not to love about Aimee Mann? Bachelor No. 2 is widely considered her best solo album. Musically, it's solid, but Aimee's vocals and lyrics are phenomenal. It features guest appearances by the likes of Juliana Hatfield, Grant Lee Phillips, Ric Menck, Benmont Tench, and her husband Michael Penn. The standout track is "Nothing is Good Enough", which was written about Geffen Records which eventually dropped her album because they didn't hear a hit single. Record Labels are dumb.
17. THE APPLES IN STEREO - THE DISCOVERY OF A WORLD INSIDE THE MOONE ( 4.0 )
The Apples in Stereo are the most conventional indie pop act to emerge from the Elephant 6 Collective. Robert Schneider's outfit is still pretty weird, though. More attention was paid to individual songwriting and production, while still maintaining the band's DIY charm. And the vocals are quite John Lennon inspired. Velocity of Sound is probably the best entry point for The Apples, but this wouldn't be bad either.
16. SLEATOR-KINNEY - ALL HANDS ON THE BAD ONE ( 4.0 STARS )
I'm not very familiar with Sleator-Kinney, or what the situation is with their vocals. I assume all three members sing, but I don't know who sings what or anything. The general vibe I get is they are a combination of Go-Go's era Belinda Carlisle, and Kate and Cindy from the B-52's. That's a pretty good vibe. The album opener, "The Ballad of a Ladyman" has some great hand clap action. "You're No Rock 'N' Roll Fun" is...well...fun. In the music video, Carrie Brownstein is playing the same style of Rickenbacker that I have, which earns her some bonus points. My favorite track is "Pompeii", which is heavily B-52's inspired. A friend of mine used to berate me for dismissing female bands. She had a valid point. If Robert Pollard did vocals on this album I'd have been all over it for the past 25 years. It would be easier if more female bands rocked out like Sleator-Kinney. Peace.
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