Mother's Day Dump: Vile, Mascis, Harvey, Antlers

Dumping some recent additions to my library.

Kurt Vile "Smoke Ring for My Halo" and J Mascis "Several Shades of Why"
I'm treating these together, because their voices, guitar styles, and lyrics are quite similar. Solid acoustic guitar work with mellow male voices, a bit Vedder-esque. This is beer drinking music while doing some kind of garage project. Mascis is solid throughout; Vile is as well. Roll'em together.

P.J. Harvey "Let England Shake"
Harvey is hit or miss for me. Her "White Chalk" album was a bit disconcerting, starting with its cover. But this one is more listenable, with a voice and lyrics that are, as someone would say, evocative. I haven't listened to this one enough to recommend a song or two, so give it a listen while you sear some salmon. All and Everyone is excellent, at least. This one warrants a closer listen.

The Antlers "Burst Apart"
This guy's first album "Hospice" won me over, even if it was super depressing. They opened for The National in Detroit last year and brought some much needed energy to the music. Their new album has a bit more energy, but Peter Silberman's voice is still high and eery. Their first album was compared to Bon Iver's "Emma," and this one might not be quite as good as the first, but it's a nice listen. The single, "I don't want love" is a good place to start. Play it to help your kid go to sleep.

Enjoy.

Atmosphere – The Family Sign

Atmosphere has come a long way from their backpacker, indie-rap days. Slug has matured as a songwriter and lyricist. The songs on this album still cover tough subject matter. My favorite song is Became. Check it out and support local music.

Low - C'mon

Still brooding and melancholy but slightly happier this time. These ten songs are about what you've come to expect from the Duluth-based slow core band. If you're already a Low fan, that's a good thing. If Low is new to you, this is a good introduction.

http://chairkickers.com/

Owl City - Ocean Eyes

OK, I know I'm way late to the party with this one, but I just acquired this album from Owl City. Most of you probably know of this, probably have it, listened to it, and are sick of it now, but I just grabbed from my sister over the weekend. It's kind of Postal Service meets Phoenix, with a sprinkling of They Might be Giants. How can you not love lyrics like "we'll take a long walk through the cornfield/and I'll kiss you between the ears" and "I've been to the dentist a thousand times/so I know the drill."

It gives me hope for pop music, because if this music can take airtime away from the likes of Ke$ha and Black Eyed Peas, then halle-fuckin-lujah.

Selene - Max Tannone

I came across this 5 song EP from DJ Max Tannone which takes Clint Mansell's music score for the movie Moon, injects some hip hop beats, and overlays some decent rap lyrics. It has no business being as good as it is, but damn, listen to the first track and tell me this isn't sweet. Also, it's totally free, stream it off soundcloud, or download it at their site:

http://www.seleneproject.com/

"Selene is a five track EP inspired by the 2009 sci-movie Moon, written and directed by Duncan Jones. Using samples from the film's original score (written by Clint Mansell), Brooklyn rap artist Richard Rich and Manhattan DJ/producer Max Tannone team up to explore themes like isolation, separation, self-realization, cloning, and all kinds of craziness."

Selene by Max Tannone

Elton John vs. Billy Joel

Other then both of them playing piano in the 70's and touring together in the past 15 years or so, these two artists have little to do with one another. But needless to say many people see it as a competition for supremacy ala XTC vs Adam Ant. I am one of those and Elton John comes out on top, every single f'ing time. He is so much more talented then that southie hack that is Billy Joel. So submitted for your approval is Elton John 1971's masterpiece Madman Across the Water.

If anyone thinks Billy Joel is better then I dare them to prove me wrong.

Also I have posted an album and artist that owes a great deal of debt to Elton John. It is Ben Folds collaboration with novelist Nick Hornby, Lonely Avenue. Ben wrote the music and sings the songs, Nick wrote the lyrics. While it is ok, it is not the greatest Ben Folds Album.

Anyway enjoy!

Dylan and Deerhunter

Tossing up Bob Dylan's Witmark Demos 1962-1964 and Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest. Haven't listened to the latter that much, but it's mellow and nice. It's been reviewed well, which prompted me to pick it up. Let me know what you think.

Dylan's stuff is amazing for the fact that he was 22-24 when he wrote it. Give "A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall" a listen and don't tell me it's not simply brilliant. The quality is hit or miss. It's a good addition, but you've heard most of this stuff before.

Enjoy.

Eyedea – The Many Faces of Oliver Hart

The Minneapolis hip-hop scene unexpectedly lost an amazing talent on Sunday. Eyedea was the quickest MC I've ever seen in concert. Always interesting, he was a master of both lyrical delivery and wit. Without a doubt one of the best freestyle rappers to ever hold a mic. I've posted his second album, The Many Faces of Oliver Hart, for you to enjoy and remember this Saint Paul native.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/10/18/eyedea-remembered/

Max Richter--Infra

I heard this on All Songs Considered a few weeks ago and promptly ordered it. I've been on an ambient kick of late, and this new album is beautiful. It was written for a ballet based upon T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland," and it starts off with morse code. How can you not be intrigued. The whole album sets a mood. This isn't The XX, so it won't get you laid, but you can read to it or put your kid to bed to it. Enjoy.

Shank video game soundtrack

A bit of a left field entry here, but there's a new video game that came out this week that I've been playing called Shank. It's kind of a spaghetti-western-grindhouse Kill Bill kind of thing where you hack & slash your way through waves of bad guys. Whatever, that's beside the point, the reason for this entry is to share the surprisingly great soundtrack with you. The developers have made it available for free here. Sample some of the songs, and hit up the zip file if you dig it.

Mumford & Sons and Local Natives

I have uploaded Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons as well as Gorilla Manor by The Local Natives. -Jk

Arcade Fire - the Suburbs

Just downloaded the new A.F. record. If you play the songs in iTunes the lyrics scroll as the song plays by clicking the 2nd line of the centered window/screen at the top of iTunes. Enjoy

HarMar Superstar - Dark Touches

If you don't know Har Mar, this is all you need to know

He has the voice of Justin Timberlake, the R&B styling of Stevie Wonder, the lyrics of a Penthouse Letter, and the looks of Ron Jeremy.

Tall Boy might be the jam of the summer.

The National: High Violet

The National's High Violet can be found here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7225/TheNational.zip

Also, Crystal Castle's new one is up on the iDisk.

New Records

I added the new Broken Social Scene & the new New Pornographers records to the iDisk. Enjoy.

joe henry - blood from stars

Joe Henry's been around for a while, but has never really garnered much mainstream attention... perhaps following the same course as Tom Waits in that regard. He's mixed it up quite a bit in the past with elements of country, swing, jazz, folk. Blood From Stars continues with the genre-challenging theme. It took a few spins for it to soak in for me, but since taking hold has really stuck with me. Interesting note: Joe's married to Madonna's sister, Melanie Ciccone, and their son Levon Henry plays sax on the album.

White Rabbits - It's Frightening

I haven't listened to this much at all, I just got it for my birthday, but I wanted to get it up to you guys. It's produced by the lead singer of Spoon, so that gives you an indication of the genre of music it is. So far from what I've listened to, it's excellent alt-pop. Enjoy.

Broken Bells

Broken Bells is a collaboration between Danger Mouse & James Mercer (front guy for the Shins). After listening to an All Songs interview with them, its safe to say that Broken Bells is a band, not a Danger Mouse produced Shins record. It reminds me of Phoenix because its a slickly produced pop record for indie kids. Check out tracks 1, 5, 1o to start.

3.5 stars on Paul's iTunes

Dawes - North Hills

Dawes is a new roots rock group drawing a lot of comparisons to The Band. That was enough of an endorsement for me to catch them at the Triple Rock recently. While I was expecting something different with the aforementioned comparisons, I was still impressed enough with their energy and live sound to pickup their recent North Hills album, and share with ya'll. Here's a short review: http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/28688909/review/30455332/north_hills

Two Palate Cleansers: Fanfarlo and Mumford & Sons

Both of these albums are heavy rotation here. They're quite different. Fanfarlo was hailed as Arcade Fire lite, and on a few songs that assessment is pretty obvious. I wasn't sold on their high praises on the first three to four listens, but after a while they definitely rock with lots of energy. Give I'm a Pilot, Comets, and It is Growing. But everything but the bonus tracks really work.




Mumford & Sons has the same amount of energy, but it's more, I don't know, folky and bluegrassy. This one is definitely worth a download. Start at the start and listen through to the end. You won't be disappointed.