The Gentlemen of Hodera
Real Estate
In Mind
6
For my first vacation as an independent adult, I visited Japan during Golden Week. The country enamored me. Even just sitting on the Shinkansen, watching rice fields and cities pass by made me forget everything back home. It was a long overdue pilgrimage. Real Estate’s In Mind became the soundtrack to my travels for the week I was there. Something about its easy, calm vibrancy perfectly fit how at peace I felt five thousand miles away from home.
I can sum up my entire serene experience through “Holding Pattern”, the theme of my train travels. Think 70’s J-Rock with its warm guitar tune and hint of psychedelia. The fuzzy guitar hook sounds as pleasant as Japan and its people. I can’t help but reminisce about my stay at Deer Guesthouse, smoking Lucky Strikes and drinking Orions with Andrew. We’ll forever cherish our time in Nara, its indigenous deer, and treasure the coolest host ever, Yamamoto. Hope to see that guy again someday.
Real Estate made one of the best albums of this decade, in my opinion, with Days. Their last effort Atlas didn’t quiet hold up over time. In Mind, however, moved into new artistic spaces for the band.
They utilized synthesizers heavily like never before. The opener, “Darling”, introduces oscillating synths right away, foreshadowing the rest of the album. “Serve the Song” drenches a mellow song in phaser effects. This album possesses Real Estate’s established brand of indie rock which is treated with new dreamy soundscapes and far out grooves, man. Normally I’m not one for psychedelic rock, but it’s balanced here for those not dropping out, like me.
These songs sound as Japanese as The Pillows at this point of their careers. Different bands but both share the same Nippon vibe.
Admittedly, without my visit to Japan, In Mind wouldn’t rank this high. It’s definitely their second best album and I sense it will age well with me. The connection to my trip makes this album so important in canonizing my year. It’s the soundtrack to one of the highlights of the year, and of my life.
Japandroids
Near to the Wild Heart of Life
5
It’s almost been a year since Japandroid’s third studio album came out. Staying relevant this long for my annual list seems so unlikely. Human nature says we’re more likely to prize something fresher. Near to the Wild Heart of Life could easily wither away into memory but seeing them play in LA last year, their first American show in three years, and then again in March back home, made them a fixture.
Check my in-depth review here. I concluded Wild Heart needed time to marinate and would likely take several listens to stick. Many months later, I play it regularly on vinyl.
These tracks all hold up as a collective, a point I’ve focused on with albums in 2017. I’ll take eight strong songs instead of sixteen tracks with half or more garbage/filler tracks. “North East South West” sounds better now than when I reviewed it in February. Perfect song for a road trip through the American Heartland. Think Springsteen and Mellencamp. The verse on “Midnight to Morning” still hooks me. “No Known Drink or Drug” reminds you Japandroid’s simplicity is what makes them a special group.
Reviews varied heavily between writers upon release. Those who praised the record found its ambition to grow in the studio appealing, where detractors thought they lost their piss and vinegar. I understand both takes. Seeing them live, however, proved they’re still premiere performers. Celebration Rock soundtracked the indulgence of drinking Four Lokos and smoking cigarettes with my friends while growing into my twenties.
Wild Heart came out four and a half years later. I’m 26 now and I don’t drink out in the parking lot anymore. I’m entering my late twenties now and I go to bed at a reasonable hour, usually. I give kudos to The Guardian for perfectly naming it “emo-rock for adults.” It certain fits my own mantra. I’m a grown up emo kid now.
Hodera
First Thing First
4
“How do you find these bands?” asks Greg, one of my best friends. I shrug triumphantly like I’m Michael Jordan. I’ve set myself up on the proper channels to make sure new and up and coming artists hit my radar. Hodera showed up on a Facebook ad. They had just over a thousand fans, if I remember correctly. I knew when I heard “Baltimore” for the first time that these guys were already special. They painted the night you met a lover. Everyone tries to do it but few do it as vividly as Hodera.
I think about the ones who have passed through my life. You remember how fulfilling it felt. Makes me want to keep trying.
Reading the vinyl insert validated my affection for them. These guys cut their teeth playing basements in New Brunswick, New Jersey, like my favorite band, Thursday. Something about that area fosters bands who connect so personally with people.
First Thing First reminds me how urgent Full Collapse felt fifteen years ago. “Out of Sync” hominizes my mid-twenties existences. I think about growing up with Bro Gang and missing spending everyday with those guys. If everything could ever feel this real forever, maybe I would know what true happiness felt like.
It’s such a passionate beginning to a sincere and complete record. “Highways” and “Four White Walls” makes you examine yourself. I asked myself constantly what the fuck am I doing here or with this goal. Realizing that you’re working through obstacles helps keep the faith you’ll shed all the grime and find the gem you always were. Sometimes it feels impossible to see or believe in the best of ourselves but we are who we choose to be.
“The Saddest Sentence” owns a special place among these songs. Very light on lyrics but more powerful than most tomes. One composed thought can damage us so much. “I can’t do this anymore” or “Jesus wept” fill in the blank for yourself. That idea holds so much ground with me, and always will.
Hodera hasn’t toured out west yet. I asked them on Facebook if they planned on visiting San Diego anytime soon and got a nice wink to stay patient. I don’t care if I’m the only one who buys a ticket. I will buy mine as soon as they go on sale.
Disaesthetic 