New Music. From the sublime to the ridiculous…

I have been spending some money (umm… well… quite a lot actually), on new music. Again it is an eclectic mix, not to everybody’s taste, but I don’t think there is a dud amongst them.

New-Folk

Kings of Convenience – riot on an empty street,
This band is my new favourite. They are so laid back and chilled; it is hard not to listen to them without nodding off. The track ‘I’d rather dance with you’ is as fast paced as it gets – and even that won’t over stimulate. This album has beautifully crafted songs, simple music, and heartrending harmonies. It is absolutely sublime.

Willard Grant Conspiracy – regard the end,
With a slightly more ‘country’ feel this band are high up my scale of great music. Slightly rough around the edges but still beautiful.

Micah P. Hinson – and the gospel of progress,
New on the scene with his debut album it is a great offering that draws on his troubled past. Worth keeping an eye on.

Ray Lamontagne – trouble,
Another artist I hadn’t heard of before. I will be watching out for more from him too. Love the title track.

Country-ish

Jim White – drill a hole in the substrate and tell me what you see,
More ‘country’ than the others above. His songs initially appear to be a little less ‘serious’, but the message is still there, even if it is disguised in tracks like ‘if Jesus drove a motor home’.

Mex-Tex

Calexico – black heart,
Having fun in a foot-stomping sort of way. More of an EP than a full blown album this is a taster of the style and energy that is Calexico.

Folk-Indie

Elliot Smith – from a basement on the hill,
The posthumous release from Elliott Smith is a grower rather than the instant delight that was his XO album. A troubled artist that has inspired many others.

Earlimart – treble & tremble,
Definitely one artist inspired by Elliott Smith, so much so that this is basically a tribute album to the man.

Smog – knock knock,
Great stuff. I absolutely love the track ‘cold blooded old times’.

Rilo Kiley – more adventurous,
Beautiful and charming with a sense of humour and certain amount of edge. Jenny Lewis’s voice is sparky and haunting.

The Postal Service – give up,
Another great album. The band gets its name from the way the album was created. The members of the band would send partial completed tracks to each other.

Wilco – a ghost is born,
A big name in this genre and deservedly so. More mainstream than the others but still very much with thier own sound.

Electronica

Flunk – for sleepyheads only,
A contrast to the more paired down music of the new folk scene the electronica groups are full of rich and heavily processed sounds. Still on the mellow side but ever so slightly dancey.

Her Space Holiday – the young machines,
New to me, but that’s what I look for in my music. Good stuff here, well worth a try.

Neotropic – white rabbits,
Not so heavily processed. Somewhere between Indie and Electronica. Sweet sounding.

Sigur Ros – ( ),
Definitely towards the weirder end of the scale. This album has no title, track listing, bio notes, or anything that could be construed as information. Still I guess it’s all about the music, and that at least is complete and interesting.

Mainstream

The Zutons – who killed…,
Slightly ‘comic strip’ at first glance, but in deeper investigation it is full of great rousing pop tunes. Great party music.

Scissor Sisters,
Again, don’t be fooled be appearances. They may look like the modern day Village People, but they sure know how to write a good pop song.

Groove Armada – the best of,
Nothing new here, but if want the best of this band then here it is. Well polished and serene.

Blur – the best of,
All of you favourite tracks from the best Brit-Pop band of them all.

Paul Weller – studio 150,
The Godfather of soul interprets some old standards. An interesting selection of tracks done the way only Paul Weller can.

And now for something completely different…

William Shatner – has been,
Oh yes! You better believe it. If you haven’t heard this you are in for a treat. Mostly his own material (with the obvious exception of Pulp's – Common People) and with the help of big names like Joe Jackson, Henry Rollins, Ben Folds, Lemon Jelly and more this album is a revelation. Not to be taken seriously it can surprise you more than you would expect. The raging rant that is ‘I can’t get behind that’ is fab. A cult classic.