Last couple spots

As I'm running out of time to finalize my top album list for this year, I figured I'd cover two albums in this post. First up is Dan Deacon's "America." I gained a lot of appreciation for Deacon when I saw him instruct a group of sweaty Lollapalooza attendees a few years ago to toss piles of garbage into the air in a synchronized act of music celebration. It was unlike anything I'd seen before and probably since. Now maybe that moment was more stage presence than quality of music, but it gained him a place in my music heart.

"America" is not a drastic shift from his previous album, "Bromst." Lots of intricate bells and whistles, interesting song structures. On the surface, his music seems chaotic, but if you listen closely there's a lot going on that is clearly not haphazard. The first few songs of this album are awesome, and the final half of "America" is a string of continuous USA-inspired titles (USA parts I-IV). I applaud what Dan Deacon is trying to do, but I wonder if things become too long and drawn-out. Part IV, for me, definitely produces some head bobbing, but it might take too long to get there. I still like this album as a whole quite a bit -- it'll be battling for a spot in my top 5 for sure.

The second album is Grizzly Bear's much-hyped "Shields." Faithful Claptrapped readers will recall I'm a big Grizzly Bear fan, and for the most part this album doesn't disappoint. "Shields" is bookmarked by two outstanding songs: Opener "Sleeping Ute" starts things off with a bang and might be my favorite song among the group. Closer "Sun in Your Eyes" builds to a heart-felt crescendo that sums up Grizzly Bear perfectly. It's going to be hard to keep this album out of my top 5 from this year.

So I've covered three albums in the past week or so, and I'll say I only have two openings in my top 5 -- so at least one will be excluded. Watch for the Claptrapped list in the near future to see which one I left out.