Indie Vinyl

I guess it makes sense, doesn't it? Indie Rock HAD to further evolve to stay fresh, where could it go in 2009? Against the trend of more elaborate studio trickery, improving & increasing the SINGING is a basic & welcome change. Grizzly Bear's "Veckatimest" (Warp Records) gains its strength in the vocal department, and the LP's immediacy grabs you on the very first listen. I always look at GB's label Warp as a hot rod of fancy instrumental prowess, it is actually fun to see their first Top Ten release on The Billboard Top 200 (#8 to be specific) to be one that is so vocally-oriented. Along with Animal Collective's latest "Merriweather Post Pavillion" & Antony & The Johnson's "The Crying Light", 2009 will likely go down as the year the Indie Rockers learned to sing. Yo La Tengo's lead off mp3 from their September 2009 release "Popular Songs" also highlights how this stalwart Indie Rock instution is also working on the vocals, and it seems like with YLT's case, it is a continuation of the last two-or-so releases, and they may be the ones leading the way here. Get the irony of YLT's album title? I'm going to claim this is no accident, none of the original clan of Indie Rock are getting any younger, right? What's next? Sonic Youth hiring Roy Thomas Baker to produce & arrange their next release? Like the American Auto Industry or the world economy itself, a new stance is inevitable, a new and improved effort on singing will keep Indie Rock in the Top Ten on Billboard.

Catfish Haven returns with their second full length LP from the Secretly Canadian label, "Devastator". The Chicago IL based trio offers up 13 tracks of raw, melodic, rock and roll that is a perfect compliment to a cold mug of beer.

While not offering anything that is sonically new or unique, Catfish Haven deftly incorporates elements of Southern Rock, Garage-pop, and Classic Rock that results in a fun, accessible, LP chock full of music that deserves to be danced to. Pressed on a 120 gram piece of vinyl, this mostly studio recording is also packaged with a free digital download of the entire album. I found the vinyl pressing had a very quiet background and that the studio tracks in particular possessed a forgiving soundstage that resulted in a comfortable, engaging listen. The high end was crisp and clean without sounding overly harsh, and the midrange and vocals were clear and concise. I found that the low end was controlled and pleasant, although on the one live track, it was slightly muddied.

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