10 CDs: I'm Not In Love edition
I have no intro for you here. Let's just launch right into the mess.
Powersolo "It's Raceday ... and your pussy is GUT!!!"
Kind of hardrock psychobilly, that I'm liking OK despite the presence of countryfied song titles like "Truckin'" (not a cover), "Hillbilly Girl" and "NASCAR."
Illuminea "Out of Our Mouths"
Full disclosure: One of the band members is friends with one of my good friends, and I have been to see this band in a "support the friends of your friends" kind of way. They did not, however, use that channel to get this CD to me; it came in the usual way, through their publicist.
This Philly-based band recently changed their name from Illumina. The name change hasn't made it any easier to pin the band down genre-wise. A 6-8-or-more piece, Illuminea can go from chamber rock to glossy Euro-pop in one song flat. And these guys give an engaging live show. Unfortunately, you, and I, just missed a bunch of New York shows. Here's hoping they come back soon.
The album is good, tighter and more focused than their Illumina debut, and captures effectively the exuberance of their live shows. And they seem to have shaken some of that post-collegiate angst, which is a good thing. Still, there are a couple of ballads on there that make me thing that lead singer (well, one of them, anyway; the structure of the band seems to be that the members, multi-instrumentalists all, switch off roles) Jen Appel is spending far too much time up in her room crying over boys, which is a shame, because, from what I can tell, she's a lovely girl.
Luke Temple "Snow Beast" [Release date: Aug. 21]
I first heard of this guy a couple of months ago when Said the Gramophone posted a track (it's not still up, don't bother looking). And he's playing a bunch of local shows next week to prep for his new release. Which is awesome, the new release is. It takes all the best quirks of the "Brooklyn sound" and grounds it in a solid understanding of American traditionalism. In other words, he plays some mighty old-school country rhythms, but dresses it up nicely with playful and modern production. It's mournful and melodic and upbeat and fun (all at the same time, sometimes). Go to his shows and buy this album.
Kathryn Williams "Leave to Remain"
She's a capable singer-songwriter.
More after the jump...
Jens Lekman "Night Falls Over Kortedala" [Release date: Oct. 9]
I'm trying to keep reviews of CDs that aren't out yet to a minimum. Obviously, I'm not doing that good a job. And "10 CDs" rules are that I have to review whatever I pop in the CD drive. No skipping. That's the rules. So, Jens ... if you really need to listen to this sooner rather than later, it's out Sept. 5 in Scandinavia, so look for imports. Or, they're streaming a track here.
Anyway, it's good. A very stylized production, with a big band disco throwback feel. It's like a modern day musical, with some very dark undertones.
Theo and The Skyscrapers "So Many Ways to Die"
Grungy hard rock. Eh.
Granddance "Dappled Cities"
Someone on Amazon described this group as an artier version of Coldplay. I'd buy that for a dollar.
Dolly Varden "The Panic Bell"
[Insert mild putdown here]
Clare and the Reasons "The Movie"
This is actually kind of cute. Their sound is very retro-noir, and Clare's singing voice is appropriately enchanting. Sufjan guests on the album, among other local notables. Also, in an instance of synchronicity, CatR was on NPR's Morning Edition today (with amfm favorites One Ring Zero) singing songs about Pluto's demotion from planet to "dwarf planet." Also, Clare sang 2 songs for "Arrested Development," the TV show, not the band. Here's one:
The other one is "Lovely Day," which I cannot find online. It's from the first season, though.
Common "Finding Forever"
I totally owe my officemates an apology. Earlier this week I insinuated that someone stole this CD from my desk. No, I just lost it. I love Common, and I am so glad that he is finally getting national, widespread attention. He is so talented and totally deserves it. Maybe it was that Gap commercial that did it.
Final score: Five out of 10. Nice! A lot of stuff that I either loved or hated. No lukewarm feelings here.
eh. www.amNY.com
