Looking ahead: August-October 2012
I started this entry on July 29. It’s now September. A few of the albums I meant to mention have already been released. I’m just going to keep them here.
Dead Can Dance, Anastasis, Aug. 16
I debated whether to go to the duo’s show in Redmond and ultimately decided against it. For one, I’m broke, and for another, I’ve only started exploring Dead Can Dance’s back catalog. For the longest time, Spiritchaser was the only album of theirs I owned. I’ve since added Aion and the latest, Anastasis, which seems more Aion than Spiritchaser.
Tokyo Jihen, Shinyawaku, Aug. 29
I posited that Tokyo Jihen albums are like Star Trek movies — the even-numbered ones are better than the odd-numbered ones. I’m going to ignore the flotsam of color bars, which is an EP and thus not technically an album, and say Shinyawaku follows the pattern. Although a collection of b-sides, it possesses some of the band’s most interesting moments, some of which should have appearned on their albums.
Sasagawa Miwa, Oroka na Negai, Aug. 29
I thought this one was coming out on July 27.
MONO, For My Parents, Sept. 4
At the start of their career, MONO tried to do the album per year thing so prevalent among Japanese recording artists. Hymn to the Immortal Wind was the band’s first result of taking their time, and I’m hoping For My Parents shows as much deliberation.
Bob Mould, Silver Age, Sept. 4
A few years back, it seemed Bob Mould was too productive. Body of Song was great, but the two follow-up albums didn’t do much for me.
ZAZEN BOYS, Stories, Sept. 5
What? Not ZAZEN BOYS 5? Probably because there is no Led Zeppelin V.
Grizzly Bear, Shields, Sept. 18
LA Weekly listed Grizzly Bear as one of the worst indie bands of all time. Yeah, I’m not sure how the band that made Horn of Plenty ended up with Veckatimist.
James Iha, Look to the Sky, Sept. 18
Hey, if Smashing Pumpkins can come out with a new album this year …
The Killers, Battle Born, Sept. 18
I should take Hot Fuss out for a spin to see how dated it must feel by now.
The Old 97’s, Too Far to Care (Deluxe Edition), Oct. 9
Holy crap, has it been 15 years since this album was released? Is it really time for a deluxe edition?
Do As Infinity, X, Oct. 10
I think the last time Do As Infinity released two albums in a year was in 2001, with New World and DEEP FOREST.