Music Reviews: The Frames, Explosions In The Sky, Fiona Apple, etc.

The Frames, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - "Once", "The Cost", & "The Swell Season":

The movie "Once" is now out on DVD, and it's terrific. :) Essentially an Indie musical, the soundtrack has many wonderful songs on it that mentally take you back to certain scenes in the movie. The songs were woven in nearly seamlessly with the movie, and they capture the feel of it well. The soundtrack stands well on its own, but is enhanced by having seen the movie.

Glen Hansard is the lead singer and acoustic guitarist of an Irish rock group called The Frames, who are right up there with U2 as far as musicianship and crowd appeal goes, just absent the hope that U2's Christianity brings to their music. He co-stars in the movie opposite Marketa Irglova, who is a classical pianist just breaking into the pop music scene. Their chemistry on-screen equals that of their music together. Great songs on "Once": Lies, Falling Slowly, The Hill, All The Way Down, If You Want Me, Say It To Me Now, When Your Mind's Made Up; there are no clinkers on the CD at all. Simply great music.

"The Swell Season" features both singers again, and has some fine music cut from the same cloth as that used in the movie. Favorite tracks: Alone Apart, The Swell Season (instrumental), This Low. The duo also resurfaced recently on the Dylan biopic "I'm Not There", doing his You Ain't Going Nowhere, and doing it well.

"The Cost" is Hansard back with The Frames, but again the music sounds much like the "Once" soundtrack, with a couple of duplicated songs, but not many. Excellent album. On many of the tracks, Hansard starts out spare and soft, but the arrangement swells 2/3 of the way through, and crescendos before returning to the soft and spare. Favorite tracks: Rise, Sad Songs, Side You Never Get To See, Song For Someone, True. Two thumbs up for all three CDs, but especially the soundtrack to "Once" - and for the movie. Buy or rent it. :)

Fiona Apple - "Extraordinary Machine": At first I thought.. what the? Plucked violins, bells, bassoon combined with lyrics about coping with the hardness of life. Hm. I don't get it. As I listened again, and again, she sort grew on me. The songs are sometimes quirky, sometimes harsh (mostly on herself), often in the first person and introspective. Interesting. Not the kind of CD you can listen to casually, not a "background" listen. Favorites: the title track, plus Better Version Of Me, Parting Gift. Also really like an old track of hers from the 1996 "Tidal" album - Criminal - and a live track released as a single, the Elvis Costello song I Want You. Both of these last two.. pretty intense. Hard not to stop what you're doing and listen. :) One thumb up.

Explosions In The Sky - "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place" & Others: Great electronic music without a lot of jarring effects. Just good, mellow sound. The captioned CD is excellent on every track (of which there aren't many, but.. each track is long.) I love this stuff for studying to. Their earlier albums also have some good tracks, but you have to pick and choose a bit to avoid ones that are more edgy and disturbing. I like several on "How Strange Innocence", including Magic Hours, A Song For Our Fathers and Remember Me As A Time Of Day. Two thumbs up for "The Earth.." CD. Excellent.

Naomi Streimer - "Images": Saw this Canadian singer at a benefit concert, and hoo boy, can she sing! She's one of those "total packages" that sometimes happens. Pretty as can be, plays piano well, sings great, writes well, and has a sunny disposition. Wow. She's just breaking into the US market and I think will do well. Great CD (not out on iTunes yet) - 17 tracks and no clinkers. Favorites: the title track, Cars, I Know That It's Love, Last Chance. Two thumbs up, for the CD and the artist. :)