Features

A Retrospective Top 33 and 1/3: Best Albums Of 2006

Andy Fenstermaker
December 11, 2009May 19, 2023

On June 6, 2006, FensePost went live. Since its inception, I’ve written more than 1,000 album reviews and countless features, track reviews, live reviews, and video reviews. My collection has grown exponentially. I have a room in my house devoted entirely to records. CDs go in the living room and I’m out of shelving space. To say FensePost has become a big part of my life would be an understatement. It’s as much a second job as it is a hobby.

Andy Fenstermaker
December 10, 2009December 8, 2009

Influenced by late 90s emo, prior to its mass popularization, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) brings back the genre’s best traits. Lacking the whiny “pity me, I’m depressed” elements of what would soon follow, this band reaches back to the greats like Appleseed Cast in their early days and, in particular, Mineral. This is all readily available information; true to the genre, they wear their influences on their sleeves. Like these influences, the instrumentation is a fairly low-key rendition of highly melodic post-shoegaze mixed with flat, dissonant vocals belted out through tired emotive lungs. Read More »Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) [Feature]

Rajiv Patel [Feature Artist]

Ron Trembath
December 10, 2009December 9, 2009

Watching Rajiv Patel perform live is like watching a chemist develop everlasting cures. His “bath-time friendly” instrumentals brush past his fingertips with perfect precision and a tremendous sense of duty to the music he loves and cherishes. Upbeat, yet extremely mellow, there is a strange sense of strong-willed humanity in his sound. It’s as if a charismatic storm of ingenuity hovers over this eccentric but well-rounded guitarist’s head. Read More »Rajiv Patel [Feature Artist]

Drew Andrews: Suitcases, Bandages [mp3]

Andy Fenstermaker
December 7, 2009December 7, 2009

Drew Andrews comes from The Album Leaf fame, assisting Jimmy LaValle with dreamy pop that sifts between instrumentals and soft vocal melodies. You can hear select traces of that influence in the music Drew Andrews creates solo, albeit less dreamy and filled with more folk sensibilities. “Suitcases, Bandages” capitalizes on these traits yet finds Andrews pulling influence from his other group for a sound that is entirely pleasant, leading one to proclaim his ability to craft a genre that can only be dubbed as dream folk. Read More »Drew Andrews: Suitcases, Bandages [mp3]

A Retrospective Top 25: Best Albums of 2005

Andy Fenstermaker
December 4, 2009May 13, 2023

2005 opened my eyes to a world of new music. I joined the crew at KZUU over the summer, my first summer back in Pullman working toward my Masters in Business. I’d spend my two-hour show pouring over thousands of obscure albums, looking for anything that might spark my interest. While music had always been a borderline obsession, until now it was just that – borderline. In the days that passed, it became a full-fledged consumption of everything me. There are turning points in all of our lives, and DJing at KZUU was absolutely one of mine.

Andy Fenstermaker
December 3, 2009December 2, 2009

“On A Frozen Beach” finds Seattle’s Feral Children traveling a slightly different path for their upcoming sophomore release, Brand New Blood. Where their debut Second To The Last Frontier featured ferocious yells and wild erratic percussion quite true to their given moniker, “On A Frozen Beach” is in comparison quite tame. Those early elements remain, but they are now masked by a so-called return to civilization. Read More »Feral Children: On A Frozen Beach [mp3]

The Dimes [Feature]

Andy Fenstermaker
December 3, 2009December 2, 2009

The Dimes follow the path of The Decemberists with brainy history-ridden lyrics about wars and tragic fires and the devastating consequences of falling in love during the 1800s. Their latest effort, The King Can Drink The Harbor Dry has fingers into early American settler themes. The music they produce, on the other hand, is more along the lines of Fruit Bats or possibly Andrew Bird. Read More »The Dimes [Feature]

Dead Leaf Echo: Half-Truth [mp3]

Andy Fenstermaker
December 1, 2009November 30, 2009

Dreamy shoegaze pop never sounded so sexy as it does on Dead Leaf Echo‘s “Half-Truth”. That consistent machine gun snare and those sleepy seductive vocals mesh almost too perfectly with the atmospheric guitar, which at times even borders an angular Smiths-like jangle. It’s as if The Smiths and The Dears formed an unlikely union and the resulting brainchild was Dead Leaf Echo. You can also hear traces of select collaborators like Ulrich Schnass and Depeche Mode. “Half-Truth” is one of those songs that wears its influences on its sleeve, but still contains the ability to impress. Well done. Read More »Dead Leaf Echo: Half-Truth [mp3]

A Retrospective Top 20: Best Albums Of 2004

Andy Fenstermaker
November 25, 2009May 12, 2023

What a decade it’s been. 2004 was my first year in the so-called Real World; jobs, car payments, instability everywhere. Things weren’t all happy and seemingly upbeat like the mid 90s. After eight months in Seattle, I found myself unemployed and decided it was time for more education. I moved to the greater Portland area and began prep to enter a Masters in Business Administration program, taking night classes at WSU Vancouver and making a frequent trip out to Pullman, where I’d soon attend graduate school. The overall instability and open-your-eyes wake-up calls of 2004 seemed to extend beyond me. Two of the most honest and disturbing albums I’ve ever heard were released this year – another strong one in music overall.

Ron Trembath
November 25, 2009November 22, 2009

Where have all the soft melodies gone? It seems that at one point, they were a must. But, to the wayside of electronic-induced euphoria and the return of avant garde, did all these sweet little surely dissipate from the mainstream? Will Stratton understands the significance of these beautiful little numbers. “Your California Sky”, from Stratton’s sophomore album No Wonder, is so entrancing in it’s simplicity it makes Belle & Sebastian seem like a post punk garage band screaming about the benefits of anarchy. This 22 year old New Yorker is as smooth as a baby’s bottom and as calm as a Sunday morning on a three day weekend. When it seems like the world is going crazy, an artist like Stratton is a wonderful find. Read More »Will Stratton: Your California Sky [mp3]

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