Pugwash: Eleven Modern Antiquities (2008)

After a few years writing about my favorite albums, I opted for a 1000-day tangent to talk about 1000 songs. Only 76 more days to go! And when it's all over, maybe I'll get back to albums. Or just call it a day and leave this out here, just another abandoned blog flapping in the breeze like so many old GeoCities pages.

But there are just so many great albums we haven't talked about! Like this 2008 gem from Irish indie pop band Pugwash. For those unfamiliar with their work, the most obvious comparison is late-period XTC: complex, baroque pop music that draws on Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles, intricate melodies and ornate instrumentation, but throws in some more contemporary power pop touches of bands like Sloan (or Elephant 6 acts like The Apples in Stereo). The sort of band where I own a ton of their music yet could not hum a single one of their songs. I mean, I love their songs, but they avoid simple hooks, songs more to be absorbed than cranked up and sung along with.

I spent the morning absorbing Eleven Modern Antiquities, and it's just such a joy. It's incredibly pretty, and feels so dense and significant yet never overly busy. I'm not sure it's where I'd being my Pugwash collection--their 2014 compilation A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds offers a better overview for newbies--but it's delightful.