Mixtape Madness: bands that are still worth following

Many bands come and go over the years, leaving us a classic album or two and then fading into obscurity, with at most a cult following. Being consistently brilliant is very tough, and something only Nick Cave seems to have a handle on (and even he made “Nocturama”). While many of the artists that deliver us that one essential album can’t keep matching it with every release, it doesn’t mean their other records aren’t worthy of our adoration. This week we’ve compiled a shortlist of songs by artists that you may have wrongfully thought of as “over the hill,” but are actually still delivering the goods, whether you realize it or not.

Bloc Party – “Kruezberg”

Bloc Party struck it big in 2005 with “Silent Alarm,” a debut that personified the post-punk revival we couldn’t get enough of in the mid-00s. That year would end up being the peak of that movement, with the band and their contemporaries’ popularity waning with each subsequent year. What has kept Bloc Party alive though is their ability to do that sound well while not being entirely chained to it. 2007′s “A Weekend in the City” is an arguably better record than their debut. Far more personal, singer/guitarist Kele Okereke showed a vulnerable side that was only hinted at on “Silent Alarm,” that displayed an exhaustion and anxiety that is incredibly relatable, both on that record and 2008′s “Intimacy.”

Stars – “Fixed”

Canadian band Stars were building steam with their second album, “Heart,” when they finally made their masterpiece with 2004′s “Set Yourself On Fire.” A record for daydreaming high school students, it was the perfect portrait of the band’s delightful mellodrama. While Stars are still a relevant band in the indie rock world, the two albums they’ve made since are not held in the same esteem as “Fire,” which is unfortunate considering “In Our Bedroom After the War,” is a more than worthy sequel. While “The Five Ghosts” finds the band in a bleaker area than they’re used to, it also delivers the starry eyed melodies and memorable hooks that made the band famous.

Mazzy Star – “Lay Myself Down”

Mazzy Star has been a dormant project for upwards of 16 years. Hope Sandoval has kept busy fronting the Warm Machines and appearing on other people’s records here and there, but secretly everyone has been waiting for her to reunite with guitarist David Robach for another album’s worth of smokey, dream pop balladeering. The “Common Burn” single, released last fall, let us know we had nothing to fear, as the magic is still prevalent on both that song and its feel-good b-side, “Lay Myself Down.”

The Cure – “The Only One”

The Cure is a band that has never stopped making great records, although most don’t venture far beyond “Disintegration,” if they even care to peak beyond a greatest hits package. While their most recent album, “4:13 Dream,” isn’t as solid as their Ross Robinson produced self titled, released in 2004, it has its fair share of pop gems, like “The Only One,” proof that Robert Smith has not become too jaded by fame to still write an affecting love song.

The Magnetic Fields – “Andrew in Drag”

If you’re a band that is typically remembered for one album, The Magnetic Fields are at least lucky that that record is a three disc set. “69 Love Songs” came out in September 1999, and has since become a bible for hopeless romantics. While it’s unlikely that Stephin Merritt will match the legendary status of that opus, his band’s subsequent work has been nothing short of excellent, following with the organic jazz pop of “i,” the noise ecstasy of “Distortion,” and the stately Judy Collins inspired, “Realism.” “Andrew in Drag” is the group’s latest single, which will be featured on their forthcoming album, “Love at the Bottom of the Sea.”

Massive Attack – “Babel”

Massive Attack revolutionized trip-hop in the ’90s, and helped launch Tricky’s career with his early spot on their debut album, “Blue Lines.” Today they are less sought after but are still capable of pulling off great dark, beat-heavy electronica. Their latest collaboration with Burial topped our list of favorite EPs from 2011, and their last album, “Heligoland,” is full of great tracks including this one with Tricky’s former muse, Martina Topley-Bird.

The Polyphonic Spree – “Younger Yesterday”

As previously reported, The Polyphonic Spree have a new song and an upcoming tour with the expectation of releasing more material over the course of this year. Growing like a mighty oak out of the ashes of Tripping Daisy, the massively sized group had a tendency for getting written off as being gimmick-driven due to their uniform robes and consistent cheeriness. While these aspects is a turn off for some, there’s a lot more to the band than most know. Optimism has always been their state of mind, but their last album, “The Fragile Army,” which features pianist Mike Garson and a young Annie Clark on guitar and vocals, proved the band could do more than simple celestial anthems, as can be heard on the resilient, “Younger Yesterday.”

The Chemical Brothers – “Dissolve”

The Chemical Brothers spearheaded the big beat movement of the mid-90s with three solid electronica records. Interest in the duo waned siginificantly by the time they put out the undeservedly overlooked “Come With Us” in 2002, and the band bagan losing their footing with the shaky “Push the Button,” and the downright messy “We Are the Night.” However, they changed their game up with “Further,” a record that focused much more on overall texture rather than trying to score a hit with offbeat collaborators.

Morrissey – “I’m OK By Myself”

In recent months, Morrissey has complained about an inability to secure a record deal for his next album. This is hard to believe considering the amount of raw energy on his last long player, “Years of Refusal.” His band is sharper than ever and his collaborators, Alain Whyte, Boz Boorer, and Jesse Tobias, are still fully capable of penning catchy hooks. “I’m OK By Myself” is the album’s furious closer that reaches an intense boiling point during its outro.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – “Misspent Youth”

When one examines the sudden fame of Lana del Rey and its thunderous backlash, it’s reminiscent of some of those flash in the pan indie rock bands of the ’00s who were all supposed to save our souls. Of course none of them could because they were all stifled by legions of naysayers, all not willing to listen beyond the initial cries of praise. One band that fell victim to this kind of overexposure was Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, a group so hyped up that anyone who was late getting to them would surely have been disappointed from the expectations. What many seemed to have forgotten is that there was a reason why people liked them to begin with. They remain a talented band, and while “Hysterical” doesn’t reach their self titled, or even “Some Loud Thunder”‘s heights, it still contains an unimpeachable slate of great indie rock.