Wilco played at the Paramount with White Denim on Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Photo by Laura Musselman.

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Wilco
White Denim
The Paramount
Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Through most of the early 1980's, Fernando Valenzuela was a force of nature, as well as a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had an unusually chaotic wind-up, involving his eyes rolling up toward the heavens just before releasing a pitch. Valenzuela claimed that, during this particular part of his wind-up, he was actually breathing through his eyelids, much like the fabled lava lizards of the Galapagos Islands. While the band that showed up at the Paramount on Tuesday night weren't claiming to breathe through their eyelids (although their wind-up is often equally as unique), they were doing their best from the first note to get the audience to breathe through their ears.

Oh, believe me. I know it sounds like a bunch of hyperbolic hooey. This was my 12th time to see Wilco (starting with a particular raucous, deli-tray tossing show during the Being There days), and I had an entire diatribe all sketched up in my brain about how we've seen Wilco's finest days pass, how Jeff Tweedy only writes two types of songs anymore (children's sing-alongs or meandering 9 minute long, 2-note sonic explorations that never have any thoughtful progression of them), how predictably middle-of-the-road "Dad rock" the band has become at times.

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Nada Surf played at the Tractor Tavern on Thursday, February 2, 2012. Photo by Laura Musselman.

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Nada Surf
The Tractor Tavern
Thursday, February 2, 2012

In case you were wondering, those nasty, swirling rumors are totally true; every pop song in the history of the universe has already been written. There are only so many strings and frets on a guitar, and after thousands of years of noodling, we've finally hit that point where no one can put two things together that haven't ever been heard together somewhere before. That said, there are bands that do it in a completely average way and then there are bands like Nada Surf who serve as textbook examples of the simple beauty and overpowering majesty of well-written/arranged three chord pop songs.

After years of touring as a solid-enough trio, the band has finally adopted a second guitarist (Cleveland's finest, Doug Gillard, formerly of Cobra Verde and Guided By Voices, amongst others). Over the course of the almost 90 minute show, Gillard's presence helped the band propel above singer Matthew Caws' capable strumming and into the more bombastic territory that Nada Surf songs aspire toward on album.

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​French Letters
In Tongues
Out now

French Letters is no different than any other spoken-word, hip-hop, jazz infused, avante-guard rock five-piece ... they're all over the place. In a good way, that is. In Tongues destroys any and every genre barrier a record store owner could possibly throw at it, and the result is a 10-song franken-album of emotional-meets-snarky poetry and a big band.

The CD flows staggered and unexpected, which is a fun aural treat. "When it Mattered" starts it off with spoken poetry over a steady, thumping bass. It's short, yet punchy, with enough attitude to radiate through every track. Then, as if the bass never dies out, "West Ashley Crosstown" begins with upstroke, jazz guitar and soft drum rolls.

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​nonnon
El Socialismo
Out now

Crazy, spastic electronic music isn't for everyone. There's no discernable melody and the progressions are as predictable as the Tea Party. But what El Socialismo lacks in predictability -- or any form of coherency, for that matter -- it makes up with sheer talent.

The beats and drops are powerful and perfectly placed, bouncing and bopping all over the place. This is musical anarchy at it's finest, with a huge middle finger to anyone who likes their music with a 4/4 rock beat, a sing-along chorus and a Diet Coke.

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Craig Robinson and the Nasty Delicious played at the Neptune Theatre on Thursday, January 12th, 2012.

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Craig Robinson and the Nasty Delicious
The Neptune Theatre
Thursday, January 12, 2012

Splicing the worlds of comedy and music together is by no means a new idea; plenty of comedians have toured with an acoustic guitar or piano as a bit in their act, but few have taken it to the level of Craig Robinson. Robinson (who you may have seen in The Office or Hot Tub Time Machine, amongst others) has upped the ante, pushing his act farther away from traditional stand-up by bringing a seven piece band (the Chicago-based Nasty Delicious) with him for the entirety of the show.

As far as raw, natural singing talent and having the sort of voice that makes heads turn...well, that's not really Robinson's strong suit. That said, Craig Robinson is a tremendous talent and a natural entertainer. After giving his band some time to warmup and show off their respective chops a bit, Robinson came out like a burly, hibernating bear just waking up and gave a loving nod to Elvis' entrances to the funked out strains of the epic "Also Sprach Zarathustra", revealing a neon green Seahawks jersey at the crescendo. Through the next two hours, Robinson led the audience through a careening succession of rapid fire bits that showed off his scattershot comedy style. Starting out by turning "If You're Happy And You Know It" into an over the top sex jam, Robinson immediately jumped into lovingly mocking R&B styles, eventually getting all of men in the audience to whisper-sing "take your panties off" (making the somewhat convincing argument that every song should have a "take your panties off" subliminally thrown in the mix).

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​Lowlands
The Largest Army
January 18

You know that part in your favorite indie flick when the guy finally gets the girl, and they embrace in a passionate kissing session beneath the falling rain? Lowlands practically wrote the soundtrack. Not literally, of course, but in a folksy, "lull me with your tender words" sort of way.

The Largest Army encompasses the passion and prowess necessary to truly pull off a successful indie-rock album. It's crisp and smooth, with warm vocals and a wave of tension that pulls and pops effortlessly. Tom Rorem has a deeper, shapely voice that stands out in a genre run by guys that almost always sound like they're wearing black glasses and a plaid shirt.

In the standout song, "Pilgrims Progress," Rorem's voice has a Yoni Wolf spark to it, which shines the most when the instruments fall away and he sings over a snare drum with a stick tapping the rim: "I'm a heart without a lover, like a bird without a beak, adding to this conversation, in a language no one speaks."

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​Artist: Graig Markel
Release: Graig Markel
Label: Recovery
Release Date: Out now

Recorded on analog tape and inspired by the organic approach of Springsteen's Nebraska and Sun Kil Moon's Ghosts of the Great Highway, studio owner, effects pedal maker and member of The Animals at Night, Graig Markel certainly had lofty goals for his latest solo LP. The good news is that he mostly achieves them on the 10-song release, which is heavy on sparsely-populated acoustic ballads that ooze warm ambiance. Markel's delivery is sleepy, but the occasional lap steel, piano and ukulele keep the arrangements interesting. And the Sun Kil Moon aspiration is warranted: Markel and Mark Kozelek have similar styles, and though Markel's songs lack the sophistication of Kozelek's, the pair would make for excellent collaborators.

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​The '80s are very much alive, but in a reverse-lifetime-Twilight Zone sort of way. Feel The Power incorporates all the long hair, leather pants, glam-rock antics of bands your parents listened to on LSD, but with a dash of metal timestamped 2012.

A fun and upbeat mixture of over-the-hill groups now predominately featured on late night television box set commercials with all the technical prowess and emotion of modern metal bands, Blessed by a Broken Heart shine with a touch of something missing from the super-computer that's been churning out the same song over and over on radio stations for the last five years.

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​Demon Hunter
The World is a Thorn
Solid State

Metal isn't for everyone, but neither is Beethoven, Mozart or Bach.

Both bend time and manipulate key signatures, putting an emphasis on finely executed instrumentation instead of lyrics (whether you can understand them or not), but one is likely to be considered angelic and peaceful, while the other is an aural portal to hell. What a sham.

The World is a Thorn is one of the most impressive metal albums I've heard in the last year, but will it be regarded as so by the general populous? Absolutely not. The difference between metal and classical is that one elicits respect - whether you think it's boring or not - and the other is seen by many as a waste of space in record stores.

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​Carrie Clark and the Lonesome Lovers
Between the Bedsheets and Turpentine
October 4
Self-released

Whimsical and sassy, Between the Bed Sheets and Turpentine is a circus-inspired merry-go-round of accordion, glockenspiel, mandolin, steel guitar, bells, organ and cotton candy. The 13-song record stuns with radiating harmonies and toe-tapping instrumentation, but it is Clark who is so chilling. Her jolly band of performers have a tale to tell, it would seem -- and the listener is invited for the ride.

The tug-and-pull between overtly playful and grandiose is most evident on "Bum Bah Dum" and "I'm a Lark." Separated by one track, the tension and candor displayed on the two is polar opposites: the first is free spirited and gleeful, provoking images of carnival rides and clowns. The latter, a Nickel Creek-inspired ballad with words like "mockingbird" and "with these wings I'll fly."

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