(Julio took that picture a long time ago, and ever since we’ve been friends. weird)

Hey Cause=Time readers, this is Luke from Someone to Love More Than Music, another Denver based blog, guest blogging for Julio who is fighting The Lizard down in Florida. On my blog, on top of writing about the live shows I’ve been to and providing the recordings I’ve made of the shows (as well as photos etc.), I review albums that I happen to be listening to at the time. Well I figured since Julio was kind enough to let me guest blog on his blog, I’d just give you cats a “best of” for the year so far, taking some highlights from some of my past postings of the year so far. There are some albums that I’ve loved a whole bunch that aren’t on this list because I just haven’t had time to write about them yet (Wolf Parade and Portishead to name a few). They’re in no real order, and the rating system only really makes sense if you read my blog, but no worries there, just know that these albums are mostly top the pops. If you like what I’ve got to say, or want to see what else I’ve reviewed, just check out my page and gimme a shout. Oh and don’t forget to check out the other posts by the other guest bloggers, I’m pretty sure a few have all ready gone up. Anyway, no more delay, here ya go:

Umalali – The Garifuna Women’s Project
Verdict: Love More Than Music (<3>)
This is one of those albums that you stumble upon and, when you hear it, don’t believe that it actually exists. I first heard it around 11PM and was up until about 4AM re-listening to it the how-ever-many time in a row. It simply makes the world shine brighter and more magnificently than it did before. It’s got this lasting joyfulness that it produces in you that you can’t shake. It’s beautiful and amazing and definitely in my running for album of the year. I’m only going to host songs you can’t hear other places, so PLEASE check out the other stuff on the Myspace page, because ALL of it is ASTONISHING. Better yet, buy the dang thing: Here, Here, Here, etc.
Umalali – Hattie
Umalali – Luwübüri Sigala (Hills of Tegucigalpa)
Umalali – Anaha ya (Here I Am)
Umalali – ÁFayaháDina (I Have Traveled)

Various – Nicola Conte Presents: Viagem
Verdict: Love More Than Music (<3>)
Outstanding on multiple levels. Every song sounds like it was taken out of a dream you dream of dreaming. Contributing bands include: Tenorio Jr, Trio Maraya, Hector Costita Sexo, Wanda Sa, Ana Lucia, Zimbo Trio, Djalma Dias And Sambossa, Octeto De Cesar Camargo Mariano, Yvett, Bossa Jazz Trio, Sansa Trio, Edgard And Os Tais, Claudia And Brazilian Octopus, and Som 3. This album makes music that calls itself “music” look like a fool and a liar. Pick this gem up here.
Hector Costita Sexo – Tokio
Yvette – Preconceito
Claudia And Brazilian Octopus – Gusto Deser Tomo Sou
Djalma Dias And Sambossa 5 – Cidade Vazia

The Do – A Mouthful
Verdict: Love More (<3)+
Wow. This shit is all over the place. It’s like Feist, Nellie McKay, a female fronted Kings of Leon, the Pierces, CocoRosie, Lily Allen, and a few others I can’t recall. Super impressive.
The Do – At Last
The Do – Stay (Just A Little Bit More)
The Do – Tammie
The Do – Unissasi Laulelet

Heaven Shall Burn – Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance)
Verdict: Love More (<3)+
I was skeptical at first because I’ve started to be come wary of bands who are trying to be a little too “evil” because it usually end up just looking dumb. But I was thoroughly impressed with this album. This album really got me thinking about what makes a good or great or amazing Death Metal album, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I have no idea, and probably never will. In some regards it’s just as brutal as a whole bunch of other albums, and if you turn them up loud enough, all albums are essentially just as loud, and all Death Metal albums have plenty of blast beats and guttural screams and chugging guitars … so what sets this album apart? The only thing that I can think of is that it’s well composed. It’s actually quite beautiful. I honestly could have randomly picked any songs off of this album and I would have given you a good taste of the awesomeness this album represents.
Heaven Shall Burn – Endzeit
Heaven Shall Burn – Murderers of All Murderers
Heaven Shall Burn – Quest for Resistance
Heaven Shall Burn – Against All Lies

Russian Red – I Love Your Glasses
Verdict: Love More (<3)+
A mix between Joanna Newsom and every one of those sweet new-pop indie divas (Regina, Leslie, etc.), Russian Red’s Vicky (I think that’s her name) sounds so good and comfortable with her songs that you just wanna get groovy and feel awesome about feeling awesome and bad. Wow, that’s a terrible sentence, but it stays. Either way, I loved this album, simply because it’s really good. period.
Russian Red – Cigarette
Russian Red – They Don’t Believe
Russian Red – Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Hercules and Love Affair – Hercules and Love Affair
Verdict: Love More (<3)
You know how you were looking for that perfect dance party album? The one that would go well with LCD and !!!? well here you go. This album is so much fun I’m afraid it’s going to set my house on fire.
Hercules and Love Affair – Blind (HECK YES!)
Hercules and Love Affair – Hercules’ Theme
Hercules and Love Affair – Athene

Why? – Alopecia
Verdict: Love More (<3)
A shining beacon of hope in the dismal sea of horrible music.
Why? – Good Friday
Why? – Gnashville
Why? – These Few Presidents

Man Man – Rabbit Habits
Verdict: Love More (<3)
Man Man is one of the most outlandish acts I’ve ever come across, and this shines through in everything that they do, this album being no exception. Like an electric circus,full of hip kids, on fire, stuck in a 1950’s swing/pop scene, which is, on occasion, very sad to be stuck there, but working with what it’s got.
Man Man – Top Drawer (I’ve been waiting for a studio version of this for so long. They’ve been playing it live for practically forever)
Man Man – Poor Jackie
Man Man – Whalebones

The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride
Verdict: Love More (<3)
Now, I know I said I’d be waiting until the release date of the album to post songs from this album, but I figured I’d give some early lovin to the Goats fans out there. Oh, and in case you missed what I had to say about the album, just check out this track-by-track review that I did.
The Mountain Goats – Lovecraft in Brooklyn
The Mountain Goats – Autoclave
The Mountain Goats – San Bernardino

Xiu Xiu – Women as Lovers
Verdict: Love More (<3)
Xiu Xiu’s newest effort is a dream. Awkward as always but just … oh man … I can’t even really say why this album is so spectacular. Please listen up to them. I can’t wait to see them with Thao Nguyen here in a few weeks.
Xiu Xiu – I Do What I When I Want
Xiu Xiu – Black Keyboard
Xiu Xiu – Child At Arms

Thao With The Get Down Stay Down – We Brave Bee Stings and All
Verdict: Love More (<3)
(speaking of Thao Nguyen …) Some people may know that there is a certain spot in my heart for Thao Nguyen (see these older postings for the back story on why I love her so much). Well there is no way that we live in a universe that would house a non-amazing-Thao Nguyen album, and that’s a fact. Still amazing.
Thao With The Get Down Stay Down – Bag of Hammers
Thao With The Get Down Stay Down – Yes So On and So On
Thao With The Get Down Stay Down – Travel

Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
Verdict: Love More (<3)
Dancey and Reckless, this duo is the most moving mustering of mad music making skills that I’ve come across in a while in regards to making music that is not only inventive and strange, but full of life. I can’t think of a time of the day that I don’t want to listen to this album.
Crystal Castles – Untrust Us
Crystal Castles – Alice Practice
Crystal Castles – Through the Hosiery
Crystal Castles – Crimewave (vs. HEALTH)

a faulty chromosome – as an ex-anorexic’s six sicks exit, …
Verdict: Love More (<3)
Lovely little neo-shoegaze from the shiny little town of Austin, Texas. At least good music comes from Texas … well … that’s a bit geographically-centric … I’m sure there are a whole bunch of good things that have come out of Texas … and … well if anything proves that it’s the music! what a round about way of saying that I think these fellas have a bunch of potential.
a faulty chromosome – Jackie O
a faulty chromosome – Them Pleasures of the Flesh
a faulty chromosome – This is Far From A Belle Epoque

HEALTH – HEALTH
Verdict: Love More (<3)
Believe the hype.
HEALTH – The Problem Is (Thrust Lab Remix)
HEALTH – Crimewave
HEALTH – Triceratops
HEALTH – Heaven

Cloud Cult – Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)
Verdict: Love More (<3)+
I can hardly imagine that there in a universe that has a Cloud Cult CD that isn’t amazing, though I’m sure that the demonic writers of Sliders could have cooked up a devilish world in which this was the case. Thankfully, we don’t live in this horrible parallel dimension. This album is good. Really good. It’s weird and experimental and everything we loved about the Meaning of 8, but a little more compact. I don’t love it more than the Meaning of 8 … yet … but that’s because I’ve had a chance to get to know the Meaning of 8 over an entire year. Give it time and I may love this one more.
Cloud Cult – The Tornado Lessons
Cloud Cult – Love You All
Cloud Cult – Hurricane And Fire Survival Guide

Ladyhawk – Shots
Verdict: Love More (<3)+
Short, which confuses me, because I listened to the album over and over and over again, but I can’t tell if I really went over the top with doing so, because it really is pretty short. Man I loved it though.
Ladyhawk – Fear
Ladyhawk – Faces of Death
Ladyhawk – Night You’re Beautiful

Venus Verse – Phazes
Verdict: Love More (<3)
Neo-New Wave (not New Rave, mind you) with a hint of Shoegaze and a whole bunch of heart. They remind me of a younger, cleaner version of the Raveonettes (again, with being reminded of the Raveonettes). They’ve only got this EP, but I’ve all ready become very fond of these cats.
Venus Verse – Loving Arms
Venus Verse – Not Quite Juliet
Venus Verse – Whisper

A Silver Mt. Zion – 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
Verdict: Love More (<3)
Me being a long time of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, when I first heard of A Silver Mt. Zion shortly after their second release, I was a little more than curious, you could say. Well these cats certainly have grown from their humble beginnings … okay … so their beginnings weren’t that humble, but still, they’ve really come a long way. The album proves that this penultimate Post Rock band may one day overshadow it’s predecessor … granted they’ve not quite reached that in my eyes, and I hate to think of them as an off shoot of the best Post Rock band ever, but sometimes we can’t help what we do or how we feel. That said, I also feel that this album is astonishing. Since there are only 5 real songs on the album (the first 12 tracks are ~5 seconds of guitar squeals), I’m only going to post 1 song, and, as an exclusive bonus, I’ve combined the first 12 tracks into one, and am also hosting that. So yeah. OH! please note that the song I am posting is in 5/4 time (or possibly 11/4, it’s hard to tell) … and that’s basically what made me want to post it over the other songs.
A Silver Mt. Zion – Tracks 1-12 combined
A Silver Mt. Zion – 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

Lil’ Slugger – Sweethearts of the Overthrow
Verdict: Love More Than Music (<3>)
This album took me a while to fully digest, but that’s not because it was hard to like, but, rather, because it’s, simply, a complicated album. Sounding a little bit like a myriad of different bands (Animal Collective, Man Man, Rock Plaza Central, the Shins, Clap You Hands Say Yeah!, Tractenburg Family Slideshow Players, Frog Eyes, Modest Mouse, 31Knots, Shearwater, and The Arcade Fire to name a few that come to mind first) for about 5 seconds. Lil’ Slugger mostly just sounds like Lil’ Slugger. The album is weird and heavy and fun and campy and dark and ridiculous and everything all at once in short bursts but never too much too fast too soon. It’s the middle porridge. It sounds like what I could only imagine an acid trip in an avalanche of rocks and rubber balls would be like … not sound like … but be like. I’m honestly being haunted by one or two of these songs. They keep me awake at night, zooming in and out of my consciousness, taunting me … and I love it.
Lil’ Slugger – Pyramid (or $10,000)
Lil’ Slugger – Strawberry Shortcake (You’ve come a long way, Fireball) (Good Humor)
Lil’ Slugger – Us(L)urper (Devine Right)
Lil’ Slugger – There Was A Change (Susan B. Anthony & The Wheat Cents)