Record Labels You Should Know Nr. 01: Polyvinyl Records

When I look through my music catalog and survey music from the late 1990s and early 2000s, trying to sort through bands I liked but have since moved away from and those few bands whose music has had real staying power in remaining relevant, I have noticed that a lot of those albums were put out Polyvinyl Records.

You should know Polyvinyl Records.

Some of my favorite post-rock-experimental and early indie-emo (shudder, boy do I hate that term nowadays) were on Polyvinyl.  I am thinking specifically of American Football (who I would desperately love to see reunite), Pele and their more recent incarnation Collections of Colonies of Bees (Pele's The Nudes LP is still on of my top post-rock albums ever), the many bands of Bob Nanna - Braid, Hey Mercedes and The City on Film, early Mates of State, Matt Pond PA, The One Up Downstairs, Owen (who is one of my favorite artists of all time), Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin, and so forth.

(Add to all of this the fact that Polyvinyl has a lot of bands I respect, but don't necessarily listen to: Architecture in Helsinki, Joan of Arc, Make Believe, Of Montreal, Rainer Maria, Tim Kinsella).

Polyvinyl has supported and promoted some great tunes.

Thinking about this, I have decided to reinvest in following some of their new releases. 

Consider the following suggestions:

Aloha - Home Acres - Think Band of Horses and Beach House and Wild Light all smashed together. They will be added to my Best Albums of 2010 list in the next edition 

Headlights - Wildlife - Think poppy, light, 50's tinged female vox indie rock.

Japandroids - Post-Nothing - Think loud, fuzzy, indie-punk-rock with great hooks and one of the better band names around

I am also excited to see that they are reissuing 5 Braid albums of Vinyl (all 5 for $50)!  Sweet!

Also - if you're into Norwegian language indie-pop, they are releasing Casiokids' US debut soon.

In other words, Polyvinyl Records is a Label You Should Know.