2006, Part Seven

Danielson - Ships (2006)

I'm sort of falling out love with music that associates itself blatantly with the term "indie." I'm speaking primarily of the heart-on-sleeve, anglocized, twee-influenced acoustic guitar music that has, recently, begun to get even mainstream music's attention. There are definite exceptions - I, like everyone else, thought The Arcade Fire's Funeral was wonderful, for instance. However, it just all has begun to seem a little contrived and unfocused to me lately. Danielson's Ships, therefore, has been a good release for me because it is, by all indications, that very type of music. However, it sheds that sense of hashed-out cookie cutter songwriting that seems to plague other groups as of late. There are some really emotional and weirdly atonal melodies going on here, ones that combine to create a strange but sing-songy aesthetic. The instrumentation is not its distinguishing factor(it sounds Sufjan Stevens/Architecture In Helsinki-ish - "indie big-band"), it's the strength of the songwriting, lyrics, vocal arrangements, and melodies. Definitely my favorite indie darling release of the year.

Download "Kids Pushing Kids"