New stuff this time. All new.
Ra Ra Riot - "The Rhumb Line": Another bargain from Amazon.mp3. I love these practically free CDs. :) And this one? I suppose you could say that they sound like a lot of other Brit indie-pop bands, but... I like 'em.
Wall of guitars, a cello, some thin but earnest vocals, mostly uptempo driving beats, enough minor chords to be sure you know they're not overly sappy... like that. :) Favorites: Each Year, St. Peter's Day Festival, Dying is Fine, Can You Tell, Too Too Too Fast.
The Accidental - "There Were Wolves": This is like Bon Iver meets Fleet Foxes... somewhere in Ireland. An ethereal folk sound, coupled with decent vocals. Not as romantically lush as Fleet Foxes, but not as gratingly spare as Bon Iver, either. Listenable. :)
Favorites: Wolves, I Can Hear Your Voice, Jaw Of A Whale, Slice Open The Day, Dream For Me, The Killing Floor, Time and Space.
Snow Patrol - "A Hundred Million Suns": Oh yeah. Just what you'd expect from Snow Patrol as they continue to mature. Catchy songs, appealing pop vocals, wall of guitars sound. More "Coldplay-ish". Good, good, good. So is the cover art. :)
I really like the whole album, but for favorites, I'd say the standouts are: Crack The Shutters (great lyrics), Lifeboats, Please Just Take These Photos, Set Down Your Glass, The Lightning Strike (a cool track, and symphonic at over 16 min. long.)
Derek Webb - "Mockingbird": A timely re-release of an older politically-themed, and morally-driven folk record. This guy has a solid folk voice, and an appealing style. The CD worked well this year because of election fervor and the multitude of moral issues of all kinds that were in play, which he somehow could credibly address.
Favorites: the title track, A New Law, A King & A Kingdom, My Enemies Are Men Like Me, Love is Not Against the Law, Rich Young Ruler, Zeros and Ones.
Girl Talk - "Feed The Animals":
This guy is wild-looking! In one popular picture of him, he has 60's-long hippie-hair complete with headband, crazy wild eyes, and a mouth in an open yell so big you could get a grapefruit in there whole. If he had a beard, he'd look like Laura Palmer's stalker in Twin Peaks. Not a guy you'd want as your roomie.
While the music is pretty fun, and the concept is clever, I wish he'd skip his over-dubbed rap vocals. There's no socially redeeming value in the lyrics. At all. The opposite, in fact. :(
The concept is essentially high-amp DJing, creating "mash-ups":
a crazy variety of songs, old and new, strung together with the same underlying beat structure. Sort of an updated version of Richard Simmons' Sweating With The Oldies. :P
Missed the concert. Too bad for me, huh? ;) Guess you had to be there to understand the appeal. Sounds like everybody got sweaty, though. (and gettin' sweaty isn't a bad thing... as long as it's not just YOU that's gettin' that way.)
So, favorites?? Hahahahaha. You must be joking, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment