不尋常的一月

As the end of the first month of 2008 draws near, it's worth looking back at some of the important moments in the last twenty-something days. Surely, we just had the most remarkable January in recent years, not only because of the rollercoaster ride we've survived in the stock market last week, but also of the early abundance of good music available to us this year.

Even since I've been introduced to indie music, my annual splurge on new releases averages around twenty five, which translates to two per month. But just within the first twenty seven days of this calendar year, I've opened my wallet on five accounts, all of which appear to be strong contenders for my end-of-year list. This unexpected swarm of talent apparently has diverted my attention away from the dismal performances of my holdings.



What's more amazing is that these albums come from bands with completely different backgrounds. On one side, we have experienced veterans like the Magnetic Fields, who look as if they have left their romantic spirits behind in favour of the Jesus-and-Mary-Chain era of mesmerizing collage of noises. In the middle of the age spectrum, British Sea Power have tried their hardest to follow up on their last effort, "Open Season", a Victorian era love journey filled with the catchiest melodies one has ever heard of, by adding some Post-rock spices to their already extensive palate of musical tastes.



Music by nature, or any other art form for that matter, is a game in which old hands do not necessarily have advantage over newcomers. Times New Viking, the Columbus, Ohio trio, have demonstrated this point by cranking up the volume on their amps to produce the loudest noises I could remember listening to. Vampire Weekend, another much hyped, up-and-coming indie rock band from New York City have just released their debut full-length through XL Recordings. With a bit of shame, I have to admit that I have never heard of their name prior to seeing the glaring 8.8 score (the highest so far this year) on Pitchfork.

Inevitably, any album that garners such praise is going to draw attention from insatiable listeners like myself. After a complete listen to their album on the road, I was simply out of words because I couldn't recall any other album comparable in the way the different sound elements interact with each other. Granted, the album suffers a few immature flaws at some places, but it's the little pieces that add up to its weight. And if this is only a glimpse at the band's fountain of creativity, it would be silly to predict what they are going to be able to come up with next.