Dustin Tebbutt - Bones (Official video)

There seems to be a generation of new Australian artists for whom Bon Iver's Skinny Love was their Smells Like Teen Spirit or Satisfaction or Like a Rolling Stone or whatever your cultural touch stone was. Sensitive boys with guitars - it could be worse I guess.

Alison Wonderland - I Want U (Official Video)

Stereogum are talking about summer jams. This would be mine if it wasn't winter. It's just pop music but I like it...

Bob Mould - The War

The best song off the new album. It's a pretty great Bob record, no Silver Age (possibly his best since Sugar) but stronger than most of his 2000's output.

KINGSWOOD - Suckerpunch

These guys want to be Queens of the Stone Age. I'm ok with that.

Beck - Morning Phase

"This morning I lost all my defences"; "Please don't leave me on my own"; "Somewhere unforgiven, time will wait for you"; "ISOLAAAAAAAAAATION!"

I'm sensing a theme here.

Beck is a guy I'm aware of but don't really follow. There are only two that have really resonated with me on a deep level. The first was the good time party must-have Odelay which was the soundtrack for much of the 90's. Second was the his divorce record Sea Change, which is probably in my top twenty albums of all time - a grandiose slap in the face, an intimate howl of despair, it towers above everything else Beck has done.

Morning Phase is built on a similar foundation as Sea Change (pretty much every song) but by way of Mutations (Heart is a drum) with a hint of mid period Scott Walker weirdness (Wave). Sure it has that faux 70's psychedelic edge but this record is immaculately produced. It is gorgeous on every level and doesn't feel like a obvious throwback. The lyrical snippets above give you an insight into the mood of the record but it never feels as heavy or desperate as Sea Change. There's a sense of resignation here but without the drama. It's a long sigh of a record but beautiful in every way.

I'm not sure many people I know will get into this record but it is worth it if you like that kind of thing... and when I say that kind of thing, I mean sadness...

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Sun Kil Moon - Benji

Mark Kozelek has mortality on his mind and death is everywhere. Family, friends and strangers alike are under death's sullen influence. While this might sound like a bummer, it allows Kozelek to trip through his memory and ruminate on all those things that we all dwell on - regrets, lost loves, bad moves and the general weirdness of experience. There are a lot of funerals on this record - two songs dwell on the death of his uncle and cousin who die in exactly the same circumstances (burning to death from an exploding aerosol in burning trash - Carissa and Truck Driver), there are equally strange diversions. The plaintive Dogs recounts a sexual history (presumably his) in frank and startlingly detail - the embarrassments, the missteps and weirdness that comes with intimacy. I Watched The Film The Song Remains The Same is essentially a 10 minute recounting of that experience. From being blown away by the psychedelic scenes and regretting picking on a kid in his class, the song sprawls through the hazy recollections of that time. The final song (Ben's My friend) is about Kozelek attending a Postal Service concert and being vaguely annoyed at everything - it's pretty funny.

The central touchstones here seem to be I Can't Live Without My Mother's Love and I Love My Dad. There is a sense that all of this rumination on death has led to him to say things in song he probably can't say in person, those things we all find difficult to say. The song to his mother is fittingly sentimental while the the one to his dad recounts the tough love and awkward attempts at instilling lessons in the young Kozelek. Both are beautiful songs of dedication and love. They sentiment is only rivalled by the darkly angry Pray For Newtown, an track through the pointlessness of gun violence.

Kozelek has largely abandoned the need for choruses and recounts the tales with detail and wit without the need to stick to traditional song structures. That's not to suggest it is unlistenable or melody is absent, the songs present as tales you would hear around the kitchen table - full narratives, rambling and occasionally shambolic. It's largely an extension on the album he did with the Album Leaf (Perils from the Sea) which had similar tales with looser structures - here it feels much more intimate like Kozelek has revealed his heart and soul for all to witness. The album can feel slightly impenetrable on first listen but repeated listens reveal the bruised beauty within. In some ways it is an odd album, it is achingly personal but relatable on every level - it's Mark Kozelek's version of our own fucked up lives, moving and hauntingly human.

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But there's this...

For the sparkly part of my twenties, Odelay was a constant companion soundtrack. As I got older, I moved onto Se Change which I still adore. Apart from that Beck does little for me but I love, love this song. It's just plainly gorgeous, there's no other word for it.

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