Hume – Penumbra. Dare you to sing along to this record. You want to, but you just can’t. How can they write such amazing songs that defy predictability listen after listen. The record doesn’t get old.  It is filled with drama, intelligence and craft. Love this band.  And the name is great too.

Hermit Thrushes – Mystery Ocean. These guys are great. Read the Flotzam review here. And interview here.

Never Not Funny Presents Rock Solid – Okay, this is a podcast and not an album, but goddamn it cracks me up. Check it out via iTunes or download the episodes here.

Wax Fingers – Wax Fingers.  Again, fitting in that genre of avant pop, making music that challenges but not just for the sake of challenging.  Along with Hume and Hermit Thrushes, who have single handedly made me believe that avant pop is alive and well in 2011.  

Morning Teleportation – Expanding Away. This album just continues to grow me. Read the Flotzam review here.

Jane’s Addiction – The Great Escape Artist. The second half of this record is off the hook.  Production is so lush.  A keeper for sure. Read review here.

Wye Oak – Civilian. Heartbreaking. Read the review here.

Kathryn Calder – Bright and Vivid. A really pretty record, lush, very feminine, but in a totally different way than Wye Oak. Read an interview about the record here.

Operation ID – Legs. Local boys! Read the Flotzam review here.

Madlib Medicine Show #10: Black Soul – Officially this came out in 2010, but only just got hip to it, so including it. So good.

Expanding Anyway holds up repeat listens. Saw these guys live in Austin, the record captures their sound, this urgency energy that marks their live shows. The fingerpicking on the electric guitar comes through on the record and sounds solid. Vocal delivery, sometimes sung, sometimes shouted, notes grasped at. Drummer drives the band along with vocalist, laying down slightly manic beats. Songs move all over the place. About 10 ideas per song.  “Eyes The Same,” “Crystalline” and “Wholehearted Drifting Sense of Inertia” are all stand out.

Have to mention Modest Mouse Isaac Brock – they are on his label.   They often sound a lot like Modest Mouse – penultimate track “Banjo Disco” could be a Modest Mouse song.  

You can listen to the whole record here. (would embed it but Sound Cloud won’t let me)

Just found this footage, really nicely shot:

Caught the end of The Black Angels at Mellow Johnny’s (Lance Armstrong’s bike shop), part of the KEXP showcase. Dag, who knew the acoustics in a bike shop could sound so good?  Bunch of pics from the set, including bikes, can be found here.

Then, keeping the Seattle spirit, started making my way to the Free Ballard party at Trophy’s, which was out on S. Congress.  Passed a bunch of day parties on the way and got pulled into one with free margaritas and free tacos – tequila on St. Patrick’s Day – at Wahoo’s Fish Taco. Ended up catching Morning Teleportation set as the sun started going down.  Guitarist never used a pick, had a really cool fingerpicking style with a long thumbnail. He even did some Eddie Van Halen-style fret board wizardry soloing aka Eruption.  Super creative set, getting kinda progressive for awhile, then coming back to pop, tons of ideas in each song.  These guys are from Portland, which made me think of 31 Knots momentarily, another Portland band, that fused indie and prog in a great way. Morning Teleportation’s recorded stuff sounds good too; check it out here. This music video of “Expanding Away” is mesmerizing:

Made to Free Ballard party where plastic Viking helmets were donned and one could buy Sunset Tavern and Tractor Tavern t-shirts.  Discovered new cheap Austin beer, Pearl.  Saw a band out back called Awesome Death, a three piece metal band: drums, bass and … theremin. The theremin player took it to new heights. He sang and played the theremin at the same time and stayed in tune. Mad props. Also ended up catching The Moondoggies whose twangy alt-country made sense in Austin as the sun set.