Holy shit, it's been a crazy couple of months for new music. My iPod is getting more hits than Sadaharu Oh. It seems like every day after work I am pulling down a couple albums, but I am happy to weed through the maze of new music, so you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the best of the best.
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
One of the most anticipated albums of the year has arrived to great fanfare. The songs just flow into one another and create a symbiosis that is mesmerizingly hypnotic. I could probably list a half dozen key tracks for this one, but I'll try and narrow it down to just three.
Key Tracks: I Will Possess Your Heart, Bixby Canyon Bridge, No Sunlight
Eels - Essential Eels
These guys have been around for awhile and I've heard of them, I just never got around to actually hearing them. That is until yesterday, and now I'm hooked. Sort of like Beck meets the Lemonheads, with a twist. The National are yesetrday's news, I think I've got a new band crush. EC + Eels 4eva!
Key Tracks: Trouble with Dreams, Mr. E's Beautiful Blues, I Like Birds
NOFX - Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us)
Big props to Bruce who turned me onto their show on Fuse, which follows them as they navigate the ins and outs of touring in Asia. Of course I enjoy the drama of the backstage shenanigans, but the music is always the pearl that I try and pluck from the music reality show oyster. This is their greatest hits package and like most punk bands they play hard, play fast and then play the next song. Put the top down and turn the radio up, "One more round and it's bottles to the ground..."
Key Tracks: Franco Unamaerican, Bottles to the Ground, The Separation of Church and Skate
Mason Jennings - In the Ever
Mason is a staple in my collection, and gets a lot of spins, but this effort is unfortunately a miss. If you stick to the key tracks you'll be OK, but I wouldn't bother venturing off the beaten path. Doesn't it suck when someone you really enjoy puts out a bunch of blah songs? Oh well, I can still feast on his old stuff until the next go 'round.
Key Tracks: Fighter Girl, Your New Man, Memphis Tennessee
Griffin House - Flying Upside Down
At times it seems like Griffin is trying too hard for the radio hit that will take him out of the clubs and into the arenas. He walks the thin line between genius singer-songwriter and adult contemporary radio loser. He's at his best when he tells stories set against a folksy groove, and he manages to do that on about a third of the tracks here. If I were the host of a cheesy public-access music review show, I would rate this one 'a mixed bag'.
Key Tracks: Better Than Love, I Remember, Let Me In
The Black Crowes - Warpaint
I've been a fan of the Crowes for many, many years now, and they usually have great songs or shitty songs, with very little in between, and this release is no different. I saw their acoustic show on TV last week, and the one song that really stuck out was Locust Street. It's nice to see the old Robinson brothers can still collaborate long enough, without killing each other, to produce at least a few gems.
Key Tracks: Locust Street, Goodbye Daughters of The Revolution, Oh Josephine
Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime
Those crazy ladies are back with a kid's album. Their standard albums are usually simple, hooky and infused with mucho tongue-in-cheek humor. They've applied that formula to this effort as well, and I applaud them for giving me something to play in the car with my daughter.
Key Tracks - 7-8-9, Pollywog in a Bog, The Ninjas
This is Ivy League - Self Titled
Simon and Garfunkel meet the Beach Boys is how most people describe these guys. They truly have the college alternative sound nailed down. This album is still growing on me, and I think I will like it better when the leaves turn in the fall. It just has that nip in the air, back to school feel.
Key Tracks: London Bridges, A Summer Chill, The Richest Kids in Town
enjoy!
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