Music: Saturday Mixtape: Is Titus Andronicus the best of 2010 so far?
- 1. It’s big, it’s messy, and it’s not really about the Civil War. But man, is it a lot of fun. “Four Score and Seven,” an eight minute track off Titus Andronicus‘ excellent second album, “The Monitor,” has a lot of everything, but doesn’t feel like a dirge. That says a lot.
- 2. It’s pretty awesome to see Lou Reed used this well this late in his career. This Gorillaz tune, “Some Kind of Nature,” is one of the Velvet Underground singer’s best performances – guest or otherwise – in years. It’s a credit to Damon Albarn that he fits in so well.
- 3. Man, we missed Ted Leo. Leo isn’t at the height of his “Ballad of the Sin Eater” powers, but he feels a lot closer to that point on “Even Heroes Have to Die” than he has in a while.
- 4. And now for something different. We stumbled upon German pianist Nils Frahm earlier this week, and while his neo-classical solo piano improvisations aren’t exactly the kind of thing that will burn up the charts, they’re always interesting.
- 5. Both James Mercer and Danger Mouse sounded like they were in dire need of a side project, and Broken Bells has proven to be the exact tone both were looking for. “The Mall & Misery” has a little of everything in modest servings – pretty pensive synths, calming strings, a little slide guitar, a little more surf guitar, and a few riffs that cut through the middle like a New Order song. It’s full of ideas, but none that scream at you.