Author: Nathaniel FitzGerald

Record #802: Cursive – Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes (1997)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald / 1 Comment

I’ve been a fan of Omaha’s Cursive for quite a while. I picked up a CD single of “Art is Hard” from my local music store in 12th grade, and I spun those two songs on repeat for weeks. I downloaded several songs from Domestica on LimeWire and burned them to my one of my many emo mixes. Through my “serious music fan” phase in college, The Ugly Organ was one of the few emo records that I still listened to regularly.

But as much as I love those records, I’ve never dug too deep into their earlier material. That is, until I bought a box of classic records from my friend Stephen that included most of the Cursive back catalog.

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Record #811: Cold Cave – Fate in Seven Lessons (2021)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald / 1 Comment

Let’s get one thing straight. As a subgenre, modern dark wave’s chief aim is to bow at the altar of New Order. The scene’s aesthetics pay homage to the British new wave pioneers with unflinching fidelity.

Throughout their career, Cold Cave has always been one of the most devout pilgrims. But nowhere is that more clear than on Fate in Seven Lessons, an album that, from the sonic palette to the album art, is largely a celebration of New Order’s classic second album Power, Corruption, and Lies.

Don’t get me wrong though: this isn’t derivative schlock. While it’s clearly referential (and feels like it was intended to be), enough of Wesley Eisold’s own voice comes through for it to be a rich and rewarding disc.

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Record #810: Childish Gambino – Because the Internet (2013)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

2013 to 2014 was a frustrating period for Community fans. Despite a number of behind the scenes changes, there was a notable absence of Troy Barnes, the lovable idiot played by Donald Glover. He only appeared in five of the season’s thirteen episodes, then announced that he was leaving the show to focus on his music career.

At the time, it felt ill-conceived. He had already released some music under the name Childish Gambino at the time, and while it was fine for an actor’s side gig, it definitely didn’t seem like the sort of thing that had strong enough legs to build a career on.

Then Because the Internet dropped, and we realized what fools we had been.

Read more at ayearofvinyl.com #childishgambino #hiphop #r&b #rap #vinyl

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Record #809: Boris – Feedbacker (2003)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

The famed Japanese outfit Boris is a bit of a chimera; a many-faced beast that defies easy understanding. Throughout their career, they have explored hundreds of different directions, exploring doom metal, drone, post hardcore, shoegaze, psychedelic, punk, post rock, rockabilly, and even synthpop.

But if there is a single signature to Boris’ sound, it is a devotion to extended song structures and guitar feedback. And thus, Feedbacker, an album comprised of a single 44-minute, largely instrumental song, showcases Boris at their most pure.

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Record #808: At the Drive-In – Vaya (1999)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Conversations about At the Drive-In’s best release usually dance around a gridlock between In/Casino/Out and Relationship of Command. 

However, that conversation simply cannot be complete without taking their incredible EP Vaya into consideration. While it contains absolutely no shortage of ATDI’s signature angular fury, it also sees the group adding experimental elements into their sonic palate. While it’s often described as a bridge between the two legendary full lengths, it even points to Omar and Cedric’s future in the Mars Volta with astonishing prescience.

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Record #807: At the Drive-In – In/Casino/Out (1998)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald / 1 Comment

Many years ago, I said that Relationship of Command was undisputedly the best record At the Drive-In had ever released. And while it remains my favorite, I can’t deny the fact that my 2013 claim wasn’t influenced by the astronomical price that vinyl copies of In/Casino/Out were commanding.

As fortune would have it though, I recently acquired a large lot of records from a friend that included an unreal number of classics for a more-than-agreeable price (thanks, Stephen), which included this record that, historical revisionism aside, means a great deal to me (and a whole lot more that will be reviewed in the coming days and weeks).

While the band had been active for four years before this with two EPs and a full length to their name, In/Casino/Out is really the album where they became the At the Drive-In that would become post hardcore legends.

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Record #806: Mogwai – As the Love Continues (2021)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

At this point, Mogwai has had a long and illustrious career. They were pioneers of guitar-based post rock, laying the groundwork for hundreds of other bands. As the Love Continues, their tenth album (not including numerous soundtracks and EPs), was released on the 25th anniversary of their very first single.

But even with such an iconic tenure, there’s one thing that’s eluded them: mainstream commercial success. And while they’re not going to be headlining TRL any time soon, that changed this year when a Mogwai fans (including Elijah Wood) started a viral campaign to get their new album to the number one spot of the UK charts.

It worked, but not just because of celebrity endorsement. If ever there was a Mogwai album to peak the charts, it was this one, perfectly encapsulating everything the Glaswegian post rockers do best.

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Record #805: Mogwai – Atomic (2016)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Across their prolific and celebrated career, Mogwai has managed to use their ability to twist music and mood to conjure up narratives that don’t need words to be understood. So naturally, a few filmmakers have come to the Scottish post rock godfathers to help them tell their own stories.

One of these was Mark Cousins, who brought the group on for his documentary Atomic, Living In Dread and Promise, which examined the enormous possibility for both prosperity and destruction that nuclear power brings.

I haven’t seen this documentary. I’m not sure I need to. What I do know is that this album manages to capture the awe and dread of the topic with such clarity that the film might be unnecessary.

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Record #803: Melvins – Hostile Ambient Takeover (2002)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

A couple posts ago, I made a vague parenthetical statement about whether there has ever been an album that has encapsulated the full essence of Melvins. I suggested that The Trilogy—the three-album run of The Maggot’s sludge-doom, The Bootlicker’s avant-pop, and The Crybaby’s covers and collaborations—might have been the closest they’ve ever gotten to offering up a concise CV.

But I must confess: I said that knowing full well that it was a lie. Because there is one album that—in my opinion at least—perfectly captures exactly who the band is and what they do.

That album is Hostile Ambient Takeover, a title that serves to describe both the eight tracks on this disc and the Melvins as a whole. They are hostile. They are ambient. And they are taking over.

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