The world doesn’t exactly wait for Jeremy Enigk anymore. Return of the Frog Queen was beautiful and brief, but that was 1996, and we’ve moved on. His next two releases with Sunny Day minus Hoerner (Rising Tide and then the Fire Theft’s self-titled) reminded everyone that wow, Diary and LP2 rocked; you don’t start calling someone the “grandfather of emo-core” if they’re still in the game. While Enigk would like you to think World Waits is the Frog Queen’s follow-up (see the orchestral first track), this album takes off exactly where the Fire Theft left off: beautifully blanding you to death.
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The Hold Steady is Craig Finn, and Craig Finn is really damn good at what he does. The guys in the band holding instruments are great at what they’re doing, but what they’re doing is playing classic rock, and when it comes down to it, who cares about classic rock? Thirty-five year-old roofers and sarcastic indie kids, sure, but then why the hell are The Hold Steady getting so much hype? It’s not the riffs, stupid, it’s Craig Finn.

Finn is an unlikely rock band front-man. With a biting voice that’s more punk than rock n roll, Finn’s words spill out like that guy next to you at the bar who won’t stop talking but you don’t really mind. Would-be classic rock fans may jump out and accuse him of not being able to sing, and this would be mostly true. Finn is a lyricist and not a singer. When he sings: “She was a really cool kisser/ And she wasn’t all that strict of a Christian”, it’s the way “kisser”, “strict” and “Christian” sound together. It’s phrases like “when they kiss/ they spit white noise” and “there are guys with wild eyes/ when they ask to get you high” that the songs are built on, not vocal prowess.
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Capitol or no, the Decemberists were headed for a change. Picaresque, the band’s 2004 Kill Rock Stars release, was bombastically dramatic, showcasing a band intimately attuned to its own quirky strengths. But alas, sea shanties about chimbley sweeps and barrow boys were only gonna work for so long. The initial uniqueness of the antiquated, maritime imagery had faded, and that long-ass song about the guy trapped in the whale pretty much closed the deal. The addition of a small brass and strings section stepped up the energy, but at the same time, pushed the band’s sound to its dynamic threshold. So while nobody would argue that Picaresque wasn’t a flat-out success, it presented the band with a challenge: stop writing songs about 19th century British gay prostitutes hanging out at the Bus Mall.
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The Mountain Goat’s John Darnielle is like the kid at the open mic who just wouldn’t quit. Armed with nothing more than a grim determination to exhaustively articulate himself through folk song, Darnielle has made it to where no open mic’er has ever been allowed to tread. The Mountain Goats discography is large enough that, pushed way under your bed, cassettes, compilations, and 7” singles would be spilling out your bedroom door and into the hallway.
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If Nature wouldn’t have made Sufjan Stevens, then Pitchfork would have. Mr. Stevens’ 2005 release, Illinois, got about as much cred as any record in recent memory, including #1 on Metacritic – even the big meanie heads at Pitchfork sang its praises. The fact that Stevens had vowed to make an album for all 50 states only added to his appeal – not only was he good, but he was also absurdly ambitious and clearly out of his mind.

Well, to be blunt, if you like the kind of stuff on Illinois, then you will like the stuff on Avalanche, Sufjan’s latest release. Claiming to be “extras and outtakes” from the before mentioned blockbuster, Avalanche goes above and beyond any ol’ compilation of leftovers. According to the Asthmatic Kitty website, Avalanche is in reality the 2nd half of the originally proposed double-disc that was to be Illinois. While the 2 disc idea was dropped early in recording, there was enough material present for a self-conscious Stevens to pick through, re-record, and release.
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