I go completely batshit for the Soft Pack

That’s it, my second 9 rating ever (the first was for the National’s Boxer, and I still feel a little weird about that one, since it wasn’t my #1 for that year, but whatever…) .

The band in question is the Soft Pack and there is really nothing complicated about their debut, but they do it so, so, so well. This is the one we’re playing in the kitchen, in the car and very soft, late at night, in the living room, just for the sheer pleasure of it. And, when I think about it, how long has it been since I wanted to listen to a record not for a review or an interview or because I had to catch up with everyone else…but just because it was so damned good.

Anyway, go ahead, throw spitballs…here’s a bit of my review, up late last week at Blurt.

By the end of this decade, none of the components of the term "guitar rock album" may mean anything anymore. We may not care much about guitars or rock or even albums. But if we do (and personally, I intend to, even it turns me into a raging anachronism), the Soft Pack's self-titled debut will surely be one of the great ones. This is, quite simply, one of the best and most enjoyable straight-up rock albums to come along in forever, a reason to get up in the morning, if you're looking for one, and certainly a reason to keep digging through the cultural detritus.

The rest (equally florid, I’m afraid)

“Answer to Yourself”