Perversity

Every now and then, you, like many of us, will find yourself thumbing through record store bargain bins instead of new releases racks, hoping to find some of last year’s or last decade’s favorites, cast aside by those in need of a quick cash fix. More still will find themselves at a listening lull, in need of new music that isn’t necessarily “new.” Fear not, for even though it seems as if you have heard it all by now, you haven’t even gotten close. In the spirit of the first installment of perversity, here are five more albums that we feel not owning is “fucking perverse.” We, ourselves, discovered some of these after the fact, and to be honest, it’s almost as exciting as learning about all the up-and-comers that we do. So here are some things you missed in 2003 and 2004. Get ready to trade in those hardly used copies of Frances the Mute and The Best Little Secrets are Kept everybody!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs — Fever to Tell
Like some kind of hybrid of The Pretenders, Suicide and Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are one of the most exciting bands in music today. With just guitar, drums and bass, this NY trio makes more than their share of noise, while maintaining an odd sort of beauty throughout. Hype or no hype, there’s something special about this record.
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Songs: Ohia — Magnolia Electric Co.
After playing for a decade or more as a solo acoustic performer, Jason Molina said “to hell with it,” and cranked up the electric guitars. More Young and less Dylan, this record finds Molina backed by a full band, charging through rootsy rockers and a few country fried numbers, putting to bed any notion of the idea that he’s “mellow.”
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Remy Zero — The Golden Hum
So their song “Save Me” was the theme for Smallville. So the singer dated Alyssa Milano. Okay, so he even wrote a damn song or two about her. That doesn’t change the fact that this is a powerful record, chock full of great tunes. They broke up not long afterward, but as a farewell, this record is more than adequate.
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Metric — Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
Aside from having a singer that could be pinned up in this year’s “Girls of Indie Rock” calendar, Metric plays fun, electronic new wave pop. Some members even moonlight in Broken Social Scene, to boot. Toronto’s scene may be a bit incestuous, but it’s also consistently good, and this is no exception.
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Caetano Veloso — A Foreign Sound
Covers albums can go either way in terms of quality, but in the hands of this Brazilian legend, every song becomes a classic. From Nirvana to Talking Heads, Veloso covers a wide spectrum of songs on this outing and proves that no matter who’s songs he’s playing, they ultimately become his own.
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