Vinyl Therapy: Arcade Fire "Reflektor" (2013)

Some things not only live up to, but outstrip the hype surrounding them by far.

Such is the case with the adventurous, playful and shimmering new double LP by Arcade Fire.  

It must have seemed rather daunting for this band to follow up The Suburbs, which won Album Of The Year at the 2011 Grammy Awards, but Arcade Fire managed to sidestep any and all Post-Grammy missteps (i.e. creating an album that sounds exactly like the album they were just critically lauded for) quite beautifully. I highly recommend this to fans of (the now defunct) LCD Soundsystem as their leader, James Murphy, was a producer and major collaborator on this album. To say that his input gave them a refreshing and energetic kick would be a great understatement.

Vinyl Therapy: New & Reissued LPs

Primal Scream's 2013 LP entitled "More Light"... A rock solid return to form for the band.

The lo-fi but beat-heavy swing and sway of Dirty Beaches' 2013 

release entitled "Drifters/Love Is The Devil" is a great late night soundtrack.

After seeing Courtney do her thing (live and up close) back in June, I realized that I didn't own a vinyl copy of Hole's 2010 album entitled "Nobody's Daughter". When it was released, I found it a disappointing and somewhat uneven affair. The production did not fulfill the promise and punch that the demos (which had leaked online several months before its release) had suggested. Well, it turns out that I like the overall sound and production much better on LP than I did on CD. I'm not sure that this album was necessarily mixed for the vinyl-buying market, but there it is regardless... It's a solid rock 'n roll listen for any fan.

I finally treated myself to the 2009 vinyl reissue of what is now considered an indie classic... 1998's "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel.  It's one of those rare albums that gains more and more of a legendary sheen as time intervenes.  As an album, it almost defies description, and to call it "indie" in an era where any musician in retro eyeglasses (who plays guitar and isn't a judge on a music competition show) could be described as "indie", but I'll say this... Once you hear it, you will never forget the places it takes you.

Angular, melodic, stark and striking... One of my favorite 2013 LPs: "Silence Yourself" by Savages.