The Week in Albums: Feb. 18

The big music news of the day is of course Radiohead's early release of The King of Limbs, but we've got other stuff to talk about. Since it's gonna take another week for the critical opinions on Radiohead to come trickling in, The King of Limbs will not be included in this week's rundown. That said, there are certainly some other important releases that deserve your attention:

#1
Let England Shake
PJ Harvey
Island Records

There's no doubt about it: Let England Shake is your new leader for Album of the Year honors. Greeted with almost uniformly positive reviews, Polly Jean Harvey has reestablished herself as one of the most important songwriters of the modern age. Over the album's twelve tracks, Harvey meditates on themes of war from a distinctly British viewpoint. However, for all its imagery of bleak landscapes and corpses, the music on Let England Shake is gentle and almost calm, dominated by Harvey's sudden love for autoharp. Making autoharps rock in no easy accomplishment. Along with her long time collaborators John Parish, Flood and ex-Bad Seed Mick Harvey, PJ Harvey has delivered her strongest album in over a decade.

Simon's Grade:



#2
Yuck
Yuck
Fat Possum Records

This new, London-based band arrived out of nowhere with a surprisingly strong debut album. Almost every critic pointed to Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth as musical touchstones and Yuck certainly incorporates large musical elements from both those bands. There's more to their 1990s revivalism, though, especially in the ramshackle production and endearingly lazy guitar strumming. Personally, I hear more of a Pixies-being-assaulted-by-Pavement vibe. Thankfully, Yuck is more than just influence-spotting. The songs are catchy, the emotions ring true and, at the end of the day, this band rocks. That's becoming a rare trait in music these days.

Simon's Grade:



#3
Ravedeath, 1972
Tim Hecker
Kranky Records

Rounding out this week's list of noteworthy albums is Canadian ambient musician Tim Hecker. His sixth album, Ravedeath, 1972 earned a Best New Music nod from Pitchfork and a few other scattered positive reviews from the depths of the internet. We're still waiting for other major critics to weigh in, but Hecker's icy, ominous electronics have never been better than on this new album. Hopefully, in the coming weeks, Ravedeath, 1972 gets the recognition it most certainly deserves.

Simon's Grade:



Also this week: The People's Key by Bright Eyes (2.5 pretzels), Go-Go Boots by Drive-By Truckers (a very disappointing 3 pretzels), Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will by Mogwai (2.5 pretzels), and Dynamite Steps by The Twilight Singers (3.5 pretzels).