18-16. Hodgepodge

The following three albums were just easier to discuss all at once.  Lazy writers love lists, and if you can do a list within a list, then The D Man says go for it, hack.

• 18.  Seeds / TV on the Radio.  I just picked up the band's fifth studio album and I've only listened to it twice.  So far so good, but I'm in no position to write intelligently about the record, especially when it appears to be jittery, multi-layered, textured, and strange, obviously requiring multiple listens.  There are some immediate standouts like "Happy Idiot" and "Test Pilot," but it is unclear at this stage where the record should fall on my list.  Bookmark it here, I have a feeling it belongs.

• 17.  Brill Bruisers / The New Pornographers.  Read my review of the band's recent show.  It gives you a decent enough idea.  A.C. Newman + Neko Case + Dan Bejar = fun pop music.

• 16.  It's Album Time with Todd Terje / Todd Terje.  The D Man knows nothing about Todd Terje.  I hope he wears leisure suits during the day and has mean chops to accessorize his mustache and gold chains.  But all I really know is that his album is a killer buffet of glittering, 70's inspired, loungey electro-pop.  Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music) makes my favorite guest appearance of the year on “Johnny and Mary,” a weary morsel of worldly after-party resignation.