by DAVID KERN

Clearly the first half of 2009 has long since passed. However, good music is good music and ought to be declared loudly as such. An incredibly busy summer has restricted the frequency of posts here at Into the Hill, but after weddings, honeymoons, adventures and moves, we’re ready to get back at it. We apologize if you’ve missed us; we’ve missed you.

So here are my choices for the ten best albums of the First Half of 2009. I reserve the right to let an album climb this list by the time my year end lists are completed.

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10. Bob Dylan - Together Through Life.

I am shocked at the slight reception that this album has received. Granted, it’s not Dylan at his best, but it’s still a remarkable, creative, deep collection of personal, poetic songs. A slightly less amazing Bob Dylan album is still better than 99% of the music out there.

*****

09. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca.

This is one of the albums I expect to grow on me even more. It’s fanciful, moody tones are great fun and it’s weirdness is just enough of a challenge for the listener interested in listening closely. Seems to be a good example of aesthetic eclecticism responsibly approached.

*****

08. Devon Sproule - Don’t Hurry For Heaven.

Like her ‘07 debut, a lot of fun. However, this time around Virginia’s own Appalachian jazzist is more grown up, more impressed by what she sees around her and more nuanced in her approach. Title track is an old timey joy.

*****

07. Fanfarlo - Reservoir.

Slick, subtle and full of energy, this little known pop gem is a brilliant example of the kind of rock eclecticism that has become so popular - without allowing the galling, pretentious romanticism of many such albums to seep in too deeply.
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by DAVID KERN

Dangling somewhere on the fringe of the popular modern music scene, edging ever closer to the glitz and glamor of popular success, and yet seemingly opposed to all that said scene and success stands for, a new wave of so-called indie artists is setting forth a new pop aesthetic. Born of a sort of beatnik ilk, these artists are more concerned with cultural ethics and aesthetic accountability than the stick-it-to-the-man rebellion so pervasive in much of modern independent music’s most driven acts, let alone any sort of popular success. Distinctly anti-materialistic in their content, these artists borrow from the reactionary standards of traditional folk and Americana; abundantly focused on social, economic and natural justice, these artists are less angry than optimistic, less interested in freedom than community, and less interested in tearing down any sort of establishment as much as restoring an age-old but often forgotten one. Yes, these new musicians pay homage to artists and genres of the past, not forgetting their place in musical history nor even the substantial place of the artist in the larger culture.

Marked by ambiguous - if not altogether esoteric - lyrics and lush baroque harmonies that call to mind Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, boys choirs, and American church music, artists like The Decemberists, Animal Collective, The Arcade Fire, Midlake, Fleet Foxes, and to an extent Sufjan Stevens, have become the torchbearers of this so-called “freak-folk” revivalist movement. And now Grizzly Bear looks poised to shine brightly as the dawn of the century’s second decade draws near. Read the rest of this entry »

by DAVID KERN

Hailed by many critics as one of 2009’s best early releases, Southeast Engine’s From the Forest To the Sea is a profound, creative and challenging conglomeration of roots, folk poetry and Americana rock sounds. Recorded during the summer of ‘08 in an 1800’s era, now abandoned, middle school in the hills of coal country Ohio, the album could be read as, essentially, a concept album, the telling and exploration of one man’s life - his fears, dreams, temptations, desires, triumphs, failures and questions. However, where many a concept album has a relatively distant, disparate feel, From the Forest to the Sea manages to delve into experiences that all people have and thus is the most personal kind of album. It’s not the story of an extraordinary man in any mythical sort of sense, but rather one that goes about it’s business with the idea in mind that we are all extraordinary people who live extraordinary lives and do extraordinary things, even - or perhaps especially - when they seem least worthwhile. The album explores the crests and troughs of living without condescending, while avoiding the often useless platitudes and over used cliches that so riddle even the more creative indie music popular today. In fact, quite the opposite.
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by DAVID KERN

Long known for his emotionally driven, powerful, interactive and forward thinking live performances (which have included such things as singing tabletop and video montages), Andy Zipf is one of the best indie musicians you’ve probably never heard of. Often compared to artists like Jeff Buckley and Bono, and seemingly influenced by artists like The Beach Boys, Sigur Ros and Radiohead, Zipf is able to meld heart on sleeve delivery with abundantly poetic lyrics to create a lovely, sometimes epic product, complete with vast soundscapes as well as intimate lullabies. Read the rest of this entry »

by JOSH HURST

Where else could one possibly begin a discussion of Neko Case’s sixth album, Middle Cyclone, but with the cover? Picturing the singer perched atop a vintage muscle car, hurtling forward with outstretched sword, it’s an eye-popping image if ever there was one, and, when it was unveiled some three months before the record released, it immediately made Case the pin-up girl of preference for alt-country and indie pop fans alike (if she wasn’t already). The meaning of the image was somewhat contestable– was Case mounting an attack on Mordor, re-enacting her favorite White Snake video, or simply giving hippie auto mechanics something to be happy about?– but its connotations were clear: This was an image that suggested boldness, abandon, aggression– three words that have never been very strongly associated with Case, an artist who seems to grow less confident and more cautious with every album she makes. Read the rest of this entry »

by GREGORY TENACEA

Dare I say love at first play?

Canadian band (Montreal to be specific) Winter Gloves’ debut LP, about a girl, was not exactly love at first sight for this reviewer. Here at the Into the Hill studio, we all had our turn as we picked up the album, gave it a less-than-enthusiastic stare and, without further ado, promptly put it back down. In fact, it sat around for a week before any of us finally popped it in the computer for a listen. Fortunately, though covers count, they aren’t the measure by which we judge music. about a girl reminds us - and it’s good to be reminded - that there is more to a work of art than a first impression.

But that’s not to say the artwork was bad.
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