Annuals = North Carolina kids and blogger favesTop Five New Releases:
Annuals: Be He Me (Ace Fu) – This is another band that bloggers are trying to take credit for hearing first. I’ve grown pretty skeptical of these bands, but this is an impressive debut. Their sound goes over the map a bit, but it really works for them. The first song has a little bit of Arcade Fire while other tracks have elements of the Flaming Lips, Polyphonic Spree and Broken Social Scene. There’s a fairly high degree of drama throughout the record which depending on your musical reference points you’ll probably interpret as either emo, Jeff Buckley, older Radiohead/Muse or maybe all three. The first half of the album has a manic energy that I can appreciate, while the second half of the album mellows out quite a bit (with only occasional outbursts). Download “Brother” (the most Arcade Fire-like song) Letter Grade: B
Badly Drawn Boy: Born in the UK (Astralwerks) – He loves the Boss, so the title’s pretty cheeky. I’m a fan of his voice and arrangements, but don’t listening to him all the time. His albums are always worth a listen. He’s playing the Troubadour on Wed 10/18 and Thur 10/19. Jon Brion usually joins him on stage for his LA performances. By the way, Jon Brion just added a Friday performance at Largo (and reservations aren’t booked up yet).
Jeremy Enigk: World Waits (Reincarnate) – Let me start by saying that with a few exceptions, I generally prefer understated music. But I did like the first two records from Enigk’s first band, Sunny Day Real Estate. I consider them the first wave of modern emo (with a lot of bands I liked in college right on their tails). The thing that really made Sunny Day Real Estate unique was Jeremy Enigk’s voice. Oddly, I’m not a huge fan of his voice. He definitely goes for maximum drama. These arrangements are vastly different than his last solo record (which I never really liked that much either). On this album he’s so over-the-top that I can’t enjoy it in any way. If you’re a fan of his other work, then listen. Everybody else should probably stay away (or track down the first SDRE album at a used store). Letter Grade: C-
Bert Jansch: The Black Swan (Drag City) – Bert Jansch is a huge figure in the British folk scene. He’s an absolutely stunning acoustic guitar player (just ask Neil Young). I’ve got several Pentangle records and one compilation of his solo material. Yo La Tengo recently recorded a cover of my favorite Jansch tune, “Needle of Death.” They did a great job with it, but you should definitely track down the original. Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart join him on this set of newly recorded material. Haven’t heard this one yet, but the British press is saying its his best album in years. Download “The Black Swan” See him Thursday 10/19 at the Arthurnights fest.
The Little Ones: Sing Song EP (Astralwerks) – I’m usually not a hype machine, but I just searched my blog and realized I’ve written about these guys 16 times since February. Their music is super-infectious indie pop. A lot of you probably already have the self-released version of this EP and won’t need to pick up this new Astralwerks version. Download “Lovers Who Uncover” See them Thursday 10/19 at Hollywood and Highland at 8:00PM Letter Grade: A
Also Released:
Imitation Electric Piano: Blow It Up Burn It Down Kick It ‘Til It Bleeds (Drag City) – From Myspace: “was formed in 1999 by Stereolab bassist Simon Johns and Andrew Blake (Felt, Mexico 70).”
Klaxons: Xan Valleys EP (Modular) – Download “Atlantis to Interzone”
Love: Definitive Rock (Rhino) – You probably already know this blog is named after a Love song. This is a compilation presumably released to capitalize on Arthur Lee’s death. Any opportunity to expose new people to Love is alright by me. The other greatest hits package was in dire need of remastering – so this is probably worth picking up if you’re new to the band. You really should own Forever Changes in its entirety.
The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas (Disney) – I own the Muppets soundtracks on vinyl and listen to them from time to time. The first time I took my lady and I went out on a date was to see a Jim Henson cover band.
The Sadies: Tales of the Ratfink s/t (Yep Roc) – Soundtrack to the documentary about hot rod and custom car designer, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth.
Shiny Toy Guns: We Are Pilots (Universal) – Local indie/electronica band.
Ali Smith / Steve Almaas: You Showed Me (Parasol) – Download “You Showed Me”
Squarepusher: Hello Everything (Warp)
Various Artists: Weeds s/t (Lion’s Gate Records) – This one’s got local artists like the 88, Dengue Fever, Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Young Jay as well as indie faves Sufjan Stevens, Of Montreal and Rogue Wave.
Annuals: Be He Me (Ace Fu) – This is another band that bloggers are trying to take credit for hearing first. I’ve grown pretty skeptical of these bands, but this is an impressive debut. Their sound goes over the map a bit, but it really works for them. The first song has a little bit of Arcade Fire while other tracks have elements of the Flaming Lips, Polyphonic Spree and Broken Social Scene. There’s a fairly high degree of drama throughout the record which depending on your musical reference points you’ll probably interpret as either emo, Jeff Buckley, older Radiohead/Muse or maybe all three. The first half of the album has a manic energy that I can appreciate, while the second half of the album mellows out quite a bit (with only occasional outbursts). Download “Brother” (the most Arcade Fire-like song) Letter Grade: B
Badly Drawn Boy: Born in the UK (Astralwerks) – He loves the Boss, so the title’s pretty cheeky. I’m a fan of his voice and arrangements, but don’t listening to him all the time. His albums are always worth a listen. He’s playing the Troubadour on Wed 10/18 and Thur 10/19. Jon Brion usually joins him on stage for his LA performances. By the way, Jon Brion just added a Friday performance at Largo (and reservations aren’t booked up yet).
Jeremy Enigk: World Waits (Reincarnate) – Let me start by saying that with a few exceptions, I generally prefer understated music. But I did like the first two records from Enigk’s first band, Sunny Day Real Estate. I consider them the first wave of modern emo (with a lot of bands I liked in college right on their tails). The thing that really made Sunny Day Real Estate unique was Jeremy Enigk’s voice. Oddly, I’m not a huge fan of his voice. He definitely goes for maximum drama. These arrangements are vastly different than his last solo record (which I never really liked that much either). On this album he’s so over-the-top that I can’t enjoy it in any way. If you’re a fan of his other work, then listen. Everybody else should probably stay away (or track down the first SDRE album at a used store). Letter Grade: C-
Bert Jansch: The Black Swan (Drag City) – Bert Jansch is a huge figure in the British folk scene. He’s an absolutely stunning acoustic guitar player (just ask Neil Young). I’ve got several Pentangle records and one compilation of his solo material. Yo La Tengo recently recorded a cover of my favorite Jansch tune, “Needle of Death.” They did a great job with it, but you should definitely track down the original. Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart join him on this set of newly recorded material. Haven’t heard this one yet, but the British press is saying its his best album in years. Download “The Black Swan” See him Thursday 10/19 at the Arthurnights fest.
The Little Ones: Sing Song EP (Astralwerks) – I’m usually not a hype machine, but I just searched my blog and realized I’ve written about these guys 16 times since February. Their music is super-infectious indie pop. A lot of you probably already have the self-released version of this EP and won’t need to pick up this new Astralwerks version. Download “Lovers Who Uncover” See them Thursday 10/19 at Hollywood and Highland at 8:00PM Letter Grade: A
Also Released:
Imitation Electric Piano: Blow It Up Burn It Down Kick It ‘Til It Bleeds (Drag City) – From Myspace: “was formed in 1999 by Stereolab bassist Simon Johns and Andrew Blake (Felt, Mexico 70).”
Klaxons: Xan Valleys EP (Modular) – Download “Atlantis to Interzone”
Love: Definitive Rock (Rhino) – You probably already know this blog is named after a Love song. This is a compilation presumably released to capitalize on Arthur Lee’s death. Any opportunity to expose new people to Love is alright by me. The other greatest hits package was in dire need of remastering – so this is probably worth picking up if you’re new to the band. You really should own Forever Changes in its entirety.
The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas (Disney) – I own the Muppets soundtracks on vinyl and listen to them from time to time. The first time I took my lady and I went out on a date was to see a Jim Henson cover band.
The Sadies: Tales of the Ratfink s/t (Yep Roc) – Soundtrack to the documentary about hot rod and custom car designer, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth.
Shiny Toy Guns: We Are Pilots (Universal) – Local indie/electronica band.
Ali Smith / Steve Almaas: You Showed Me (Parasol) – Download “You Showed Me”
Squarepusher: Hello Everything (Warp)
Various Artists: Weeds s/t (Lion’s Gate Records) – This one’s got local artists like the 88, Dengue Fever, Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Young Jay as well as indie faves Sufjan Stevens, Of Montreal and Rogue Wave.
1 comment:
I guess that first date wasn't too weird for your lady... she stuck around.
She's a keeper - most girls would be long gone before you even finish saying "We're going to check out a Jim Henson cover band tonight."
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