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Written by: ThirdBaseCoach
April 15th 2010

I feel like every time I go to see a show lately, it’s at DC9, and DC9, I really want to like you.  I really do.  Your bar food is not so bad, your prices reasonable, and your stage is so close to the crowd.  Even that needless blurry projector you have off to the side is kitschy in a kind of great way.  But please do something about the mix. When I went to see Aloha play last Thursday, I couldn’t understand a word.  Tony Cavallario works really hard on his lyrics, and people should get to enjoy that.  I’ve written in the past that I really like this place and it really is such a great club to boast that you “saw _____ at DC9 before they got really huge and played out,” (as any music snob will admit at least once) but with Rock N Roll Hotel and the Red and Black, not to mention U Street Music Hall which recently opened up down the street, there are new small clubs in DC where folks are paying attention to good sound.  I’m not saying I’m not coming back.  Just fix the damn sound.

After an impassioned, if not short set by DC’s own Carol Bui, Cincinnati’s Pomegrantes took the stage, opening this leg of the tour for Aloha.  I hate to harp on it, but because the mix was awful, the three-part harmonies that I usually live for sounded garbled and unintelligible.  Lucky for them, they sing rather sparsely and their brand of saccharine pop replete with long, ethereal instrumental breaks worked really well in this space.  As expected, they played a bunch off their latest effort, Everybody Come Outside, and it was one of those performances that got me excited to go back and re-listen to the record.  They also succeeded in getting the usually stuffy DC crowds to loosen up a bit and enjoy themselves, which is a feat in and of itself.

Aloha took the stage and, I mean really TOOK the stage.  From the first beat, their intense, exacting blend of deceptively catchy, “prog-ish” rock commanded attention.  They started off with “Moonless Walk” off the new record (Home Acres) and segued seamlessly into other new tracks like “Microviolence” (in 5!), which was awesome live.  My jaw dropped when I figured out that multi-instrumentalist TJ Lipple was actually playing marimba pushed through effects during a number of songs, most noteably, “Waterwheel.”  That solo he takes between verses (if you’re listening along to the record, it’s at around the 0:52 mark.) is so cool to watch live.  I can honestly say, I have never seen that before in my life.  I feel like people always cop-out and use a synth for those sounds.  Having never previously seen Aloha, and being relatively new to their catalog (Yes, I feel shame.), I would assume that the first thing people notice is their rhythm section.  Bassist Matthew Gengler and drummer Cale Parks are so powerful and tight-knit that it frees up Lipple and Cavallario to play anything they want.  This is one of those shows that blows the album out of the water because of how much larger the sound is, which is probably mostly attributed to this rhythm section.  Let me take a second to jump on the Cale Parks bandwagon, and add to the already clamorous praise surrounding just how good he is.  I have not seen that much intensity and speed, without sacrificing technicality, maybe ever.  There were times where it felt like there was even too much music for the small space we were in.

Aloha kind of reminds me of Cursive, I guess.  Especially recent Cursive with their addition of Cornbread Compton, another lightening-quick, technical drummer.  And when Cursive came through town, they played the Black Cat which is much bigger than DC9, and it was sold out.  There is really no reason why Aloha isn’t playing there.  They certainly have enough sound to fill that room.  Damn, Cale Parks alone has enough sound to fill that room.  But maybe they do it to themselves.  Because even though DC9 was full, it was still comfortable.  They weren’t sold out, and they definitely should have been.

Which begs the question, “Why is Aloha not already bigger than they are?”  I mean, they’ve already been playing for 10+ years (since 1997!).  I suppose it could have something to do with how they release records, tour extensively, and then go into hibernation for like 2 years until the next record. Maybe it’s because they still do everything themselves.  I don’t know, but whatever it is, I’m just glad I got to see them at DC9 before they got really huge and played out.

Read our three album reviews for Home Acres
Visit Aloha
Visit Pomegranates
Visit Carol Bui

This is a list of songs I would consider my very favorites of the year in somewhat of a particular order but not completely… I hope you like the songs, I think every one of these bands wrote an amazing song and a few of them wrote really amazing albums as well. I would strongly suggest picking up these albums. – Drew Danburry

1. Pomegranates “Southern Ocean” from the album Everybody, Come Outside!
2. Lightning Dust “Antonia Jane” from the album Infinite Light
3. Will Sartain “For Love” from the album For Love
4. Julie Doiron “Tailor” from the album I Can Wonder What You Did…
5. Deer Tick “Houston, TX” from the album Born on Flag Day

These first five are easily my favorite albums of the year. Really amazing artists and really amazing albums.

6. Weezer “(If You’re Wondering…” from the album Raditude
7. An Horse “Postcards” from the album Rearrange Beds
8. Blitzen Trapper “Black River Killer” from the album Black River Killer EP
9. Islands “Vapours” from the album Vapours
10. BOAT “Lately” from the album Setting The Paces
11. Built By Snow “All the Weird Kids Know” from the album MEGA
12. Phoenix “Lisztomania” from the album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads Will Roll” from the album It’s Blitz!
14. Ladyfinger (ne) “Little Things” from the album Dusk
15. Cursive “From The Hips” from the album Mama, I’m Swollen
16. Cotton Jones “Gotta Cheer Up” from the album Paranoid Cocoon
17. The Blakes “Magic” from the album Souvenir
18. Vetiver “Sister” from the album Tight Knit
19. The Silent Years “Forest Fire” from the album Let Go
20. Brother Ali “Us (Video Edit)” from the album US

Visit Drew Danburry
(You can get a more detailed rendition of his picks here and maybe some cool downloads too.)

Download His Rad Cover of Timbaland’s The Way I Are
Drew Danburry – The Way Drew Drew (Timbaland Cover)
(Note: This track is a bit old but I added it because I really think it’s the Beez Kneez as far as covers go – Nova)

Only a few more weeks till this year and decade will be coming to an end. So we felt it was time to get our “Best of” lists going. Most blogs and Magazines have already posted theirs and that gave us even more reason to wait. The year wasn’t quite over and who knows what other musical gems could arrive. Enjoy our “Best of ’09: Staff Approved” series!

To get us started off on the good foot is IRR’s favorite critical thinker and resident “Douche,” Barry Moore. All kidding aside, give us your thoughts and on what you think of our choices! Enjoy!

Barry Moore’s Top 10 albums of the year. and why.

1. Pomegranates “Everybody, Come Outside!”

This is easily the most interesting album to listen to and also the catchiest of the entire year. If it were the 70′s again, I would say that the band Pomegranates would be Supertramp. They don’t sound much like them. But socially I feel like they have a similar vibe. They are absolutely fun. And sometimes that’s what music is supposed to be. Fun. And enjoyable, without having to think too much about it or explain it in some analytical terms like how “the polyrhythms of the guitars and drums make up for a very engaging listen”. It’s just damn good. Give it a try.
http://www.myspace.com/pomegranatesart

Pomegranates – Everybody, Come Outside!

Pomegranates – Corriander

2. Julie Doiron “I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day”

This gentle album has the tendency to rear out and roar like a lion at times. But never in all it’s varying forms of aural dominance does it ever lose grace. It is compelling but still allows room to be a companion to daily activity. The kind of album to listen to cuddling with a friend, driving in a car, and perhaps while cooking dinner. I think that’s what particularly sets this album apart. Is that it’s good enough to listen to straight through without anything else needed to captivate your attention, but it isn’t too aggressive to interrupt conversation. It’s like a great pet. Like a cat. Named Baby. Or Julie Doiron.
http://www.myspace.com/juliedoiron

3. Deer Tick “Born on Flag Day”
Deer Tick’s second album is obviously developed in a new direction due to the collaborative effort of the band all writing and playing together. It plays more like a rock band’s album than a singer-songwriter’s solo project. One can expect to be delighted by the overall energy of the album and it’s presentation. Although it is straightforward, simple, and even anachronistic, it is outright enjoyable. It’s fucking rock and roll man. What else are you gonna listen to? Emo? Grow up.
http://www.deertickmusic.com/

4. Lightning Dust “Infinite Light”
There’s something about this album that is outright enchanting. The way Amber Webber’s voice quavers plaintively over the gothic accompaniment is absolutely delightful. It’s transportability as an physical album is somewhat metaphoric for it’s musical ability to take you to another place entirely. And if Stevie Nicks was considered a witch during her career then I think Amber Webber is either her child or her counterpart. Maybe we should worship her appropriately, I do, and it’s great.
http://www.lightningdust.com/

5. Will Sartain “For Love”
This album doesn’t have too many “single-worthy” tracks, there aren’t any “hits”. The structure of each song is actually quite tedious on its own, alone. But put together I think that as an album, this is the album most worthy of being called the best construction of one united piece of art. And apparently, it was written for love, and I don’t believe it could be written for anything else. Because Will Sartain put out this album for free, and the absolute sincerity and sharing of one’s soul is enough to endorse hugging a stranger. And I do. But I wouldn’t if I hadn’t heard this album. This album gets my vote for being the most life-changing.
http://www.myspace.com/willsartain

6. Vetiver “Tight Knit”
There are a lot of bands that I think all sound similar right now. I won’t name any names or point ay fingers, but in terms of all the catchy folk music acts going around the musical circuit I think Vetiver is my favorite. That’s about all I got to say. You know what I’m talking about.
http://www.vetiverse.com/

7. An Horse “Rearrange Beds”
An Horse is made of Kate Cooper and Damon Cox and they are two people writing songs. Kate Cooper sings kind of funny sometimes when she enunciates words but no one can deny the fact that she and Damon write really amazing songs. If there is a complaint I could have I would say that all the songs sound the same. But that didn’t really stop the Strokes very much and I don’t think it stops An Horse either. When you write one good song over and over again you can’t really go wrong much. Can you? Plus they kind of rock. (For reference, see the Deer Tick review)
http://www.anhorse.com/

8. BOAT “Setting the Paces”
BOAT is a band that writes really catchy rock songs and then seems to have a lot of fun when they play them. This might be deterring to some people and to be honest on my first listen of the album I thought it was semi-marginal but it’s definitely grown on me throughout the year. It’s pretty simple, straightforward rocking out from some seemingly weird guys, and all of that combined is consequently pretty awesome
http://www.myspace.com/boatmusic

9. The Awful Truth “Object Permanence”
This album came from the recommendation from a friend, there was no publicist and no one shoving music down my throat telling me it’s awesome. That definitely helps anyone when they are introduced to new music, I think. Plus it’s really refreshing to come across a record that seems like someone’s first efforts to make an album. It doesn’t feel contrived or planned out, just honest. It’s not really that accessible in terms of vocal delivery and I tend to like hearing someone more unqualified for American Idol trying their hand at song writing. It makes me feel like it’s sincere and real, not some performance. And that’s what I love about this album. How sincere it feels. (For reference, see the Will Sartain review)
http://www.myspace.com/theawfultruthmusic

10. Cursive “Mama, I’m Swollen”
I think this is the best album Cursive has put out since the Ugly Organ and is on the same level as the Ugly Organ. For those of you who never liked Cursive don’t bother. For those of you that did, and are too hip to like bands you liked six years ago then I think you’re lame for being so pretentious. For those of you that loved the Ugly Organ and continue to listen to music simply because you like it, I think it’s safe to say you will like this album. So enjoy.
http://www.cursivearmy.com/