![]() Even this most sensitive moments are laced with something of an iron grip, and the band's live experience takes the album's rock sensibility and takes it to another level. Yet even in the face of all that folk sensibility, the thing that really wins us over is the fact that the band isn't afraid to rock. Port O'Brien, on their face, is something of a folk band: many of their lyrics are sentimental, biographical, or downright excerpts from a story telling session. That isn't to say the record is without catchiness: the songs on the album hold their own, and frankly, it gets us thinking that TVOTR's next record could be the one that puts them solidly into the arena as both an artistic stalwart, and a favorite of the mainstream. Rather, this is a record with a solid ebb and flow, that comes together in the way a great record really should: it feels distinctly as though it should be enjoyed in one satisfying listen. Songs are more artfully layered, and the band seems less intent to be constantly firing on all cylinders. The band has managed to unify their sound in a way that perfects it, and the same time minimizes it. The thing is, while previous releases have always been great, this one takes it to a new level. We've been fans of TVOTR since way back in their pre-album-release days, so this one was on our radar from the get go. Every time we pop in this disc, we have to smile at its amazing ability to unite melody with off the wall production - this is the sound of people having fun with music. On this record, that's exactly what Evangelicals have done: the album is a cacophonic dose of measured chaos that seems almost incomprehensible, but at the same time demands that the listener sing (or at least attempt to sing) along. It's even more difficult to dose that experimental psychedelica with just enough pop sensibility that your record transcends genre and defines you completely. It's difficult to pull of experimental psychedelica in a way that's accessible to your average listener. The whole record comes together to be a pop masterpiece that also manages to take a stab at everything and anything conventional. It doesn't hurt that the melodies are ridiculously catchy and memorable, and that Dave Friddman did a fantastic job with the production duties. It's a record about finding your own way, discovering yourself, and wondering what on earth people are doing following the crowd. An amazingly clever tongue and cheek look at disillusionment in the face of commercialism and social norms. But enough about technicality: this record is rock and roll brilliance. For us, though, the record hit the streets in January, and a release is a release. If you're a "when did the public get it" purist, then sure, it was released in digital form last year. Sure, it's debateable as to when this record came out. Its songs are a shot at the unbelievable nature of love and life in the modern world, and struggling to find some semblance of reason amongst the chaos. ![]() ![]() Some pigeonhole it as emo or depressing, but we're of the opinion of their missing the humor behind the record. The desperate vocals, the layered guitars, the outstanding songwriting, and the clever lyricism - all of them contribute to make Frightened Rabbit's latest our number one record of the year. We're simply addicted to it, in every sense of the word. To anyone who's a regular reader of HAD, this record's place at number one should come as no surprise. Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight : On headphones and speakers, at home and on the road, these are albums that not only held our attention, but also changed our perspective on music and opened our eyes to a new perspective.ฤก. ![]() There are lots of other great records out there, but these are the discs that stayed with us through the year. This list is really our best effort to point out the records that caught our attention, and held on to it for a good long time. At the end of the day, we just couldn't bring ourselves to pare it down to ten, and what's the point of normalcy, anyway? Instead we decided to just give you the unfettered list of our favorite records of the year, count be damned.
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