MUSIC WE LIKE: One Trick Pony, Manhattan Murder Mystery, & Okkervil River

Album recommendations by Joe Fielder & Brad Roberts

One Trick Pony - Try Not to Worry so Much (Self-Released)

It's almost a little ridiculous when you find five tracks all competing equally for "favorite song on the album" status -- but One Trick Pony (once self-described as "dynamic mope rock") produces this kind of positive indecision with their latest, Try Not to Worry so Much. Opening tracks "Knives so Sharp" and "Get Over Yourself" hook from the start, while songs "Diagonal Waves" and "Crepe Hangers" break your heart in the most upbeat possible way and "Andrew Jackson" is worth the trip for its chorus alone. With this new album, One Trick Pony have delivered a recorded release as impressive and varied as their fantastic live act.

Manhattan Murder Mystery - Manhattan Murder Mystery (Self-Released)

This album from LA post punk act Manhattan Murder Mystery has been out for a few months but it's so goddamn good, we couldn't help saying something, even if we're stupidly late.

Let's dive right in... It's no wonder "I Always Think About Dyin'" is already getting covered by other bands and lines from "Trailer Trash" and "Ambulance" will get stuck in your head for weeks, but "Smoky Mountain" is probably the album's brightest gem, full of lyrics that are smart, funny, and catchy and equal parts art and completely punk rock at once. (Stream it below.) Even the tracks that are less in your face at first ("Honda Prius" and "Owen Hart") are growers and the new version of the classic MMM song "In The Parking Lot" is pure win.

It's one of the best releases by an LA band out this year and, frankly, we're at a loss for a national post punk act who are even competing in Manhattan Murder Mystery's weight class right now.

Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar)

This new album by Okkervil River released May 10, 2011 on Jagjaguwar is easily one of my favorites of the year. Already having played it to death (probably a hundred times), I Am Very Far is maybe the best album title of the year as well. It's both obtuse and specific in a most intriguing way. From the sweeping orchestral flourishes that decorate a song like "The Valley" to the simple exchange between piano, drums and voice in "Lay Of The Last Survivor" which details Will Sheff's penchant for tales of characters coming from trouble and seeking fulfillment and salvation, the recording is rich with string and horn embellishments, which give it a really big sound.

I've seen the band a few times over the years but it was the show at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in December 2008, where Will Sheff gave a small scale acoustic performance that was so magical and awe-inspiring that I've been a die-hard fan ever since. His writing is so evocative and richly detailed (the lyric book is huge) that one can easily get lost in the swirl of stories he tells. And here the songs seem more accessible than ever.

There are at least four great songs, starting with the first song, "The Valley" which, if it doesn't make you rock out then you haven't got a pulse, "Rider", "We Need A Myth" and especially "Show Yourself" with it's eerie and haunting orchestration. When I saw them at The Wiltern on June 23rd, I was sorry they left this song off the playlist, but the wealth of material they did perform from all their best albums more than made up for it. Like other times I've seen them, the show seemed very good at the time, but continues to explode in my imagination to this day as, in retrospect, you realize it was a most special evening. The show caused me to go back and dip into the early catalog and purchase Black Sheep Boy, which is another strong album. But I Am Very Far could catapult Okkervil River to more recognition than they have already received, as the new material seemed like the best of the evening.

http://otpband.bandcamp.com/