11-So much new music!!!

Hello world. I guess I didn't quite expect the onslaught of new music so early this year!!! Wow. I'm overwhelmed and rather excited about it all.

The Debut album from Surfer Blood-"Astro Coast" was just released and it's fantastic!! At first I was a little thrown off due to the fact that first track was rather uneventful. In fact, it passed me by so quickly that I had to relisten to it and deemed it unremarkable. That's where it ended. After the first track this album delivered! It's exciting to me like last year I was gushing over Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Cut Off Your Hands. 2 bands I REALLY enjoyed in 2009. This is a 4 1/2 star debut. Love it!!!

Worm Ouroboros have a S/T debut out as well and it's interesting. Kind of "gothic" but in a mellow way. The female singer made me think that if Jarboe had decided to have a mellow weekend, then perhaps she would put out an album that sounded just like this. Some of the songs though just didn't engage me much so I can only bestow a 3 star rating....

Kevin Barker, who has worked with Devendra Banhart, Antony & The Johnsons, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver & Espers as well as many others made me VERY intrigued to hear his own work. His album is titled "You and Me" (2010). Well, I was surprised. This could be a long lost CSN&Y disc from the mid 70's! It really got better and better. It's a mellow sunny afternoon sort of record and there are some great songs on here. My favourite trax are: You and Me, I Will Fly & Bless You On Your Way. I give it a high 4 star rating.

Horse Stories are back with a new record last week entitled "November, November" and it's a beauty. These guys put out beautifully understated alt-country and I wish for them that more people were listening! This is a great record, which is either their 3rd or 4th (I'm not sure) but I love it. I just read that they are doing a free show at the Silverlake Lounge in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles on Feb 15th. Yes, I would love to be there! I give this new album a 4 1/2 rating.

Dawn Landes returns with her new album "Sweet Heart Rodeo" which is quite a departure from her previous work. May I just first say that she delivers my favourite single of January!!! It's called "Young Girl" and it's just excellent! The video is really great too. Therefore I was really excited to hear this new record. UGH!!!! This album was TOTALLY frustrating. For the most part it was every OTHER song that was good on this album and the BAD songs in between were just cringe inducing. Why? Well, that's what I want to know!!! Songs like: Romeo, Love, Clown, Wandering Eye UGH! They just needed to be deleted and perhaps deliver a strong EP instead of this crap. I was bummed to say the least since I know she worthy of MUCH better. Therefore I can really only give it 2 1/2 stars and that is a sad situation for me....

An interesting new debut from a band called Dinowalrus - "%" is the name of it is interesting in parts and obnoxious in others. I've no idea what they are really trying to pull off here but it's low-fi and fun in areas and I couldn't wait for it to end in others. I'm giving it the same rating as Dawn Landes because I felt that when they were good, it was good and so I could see their potential so the drawn out obnoxious parts were just indulgent and uncalled for... I'd like to hear more-better!

Cold War Kids have a new EP before they drop a new full length. It's called "Behave Yourself". Oh, it's OK, but I wasn't loving it. One track I totally dug and the rest was just there. 2 stars boys....

What's turned out to me my early morning record this month is the previously reviewed Glass Rock cd "Tall Firs Meet Soft Location" which was out the beginning of this month Jan 2010. It's a mellow groove that just keeps bringing me back and I love this album the more I listen to it. Definitely will be in my TOPS for Jan 2010!!!

I was checking out again the Lindstrom & Christabelle new release "Real Life Is No Cool" also previously reviewed and I stick by my earlier synopsis that the middle part is really cool and the rest just isn't quite what it could be...

Editors just released the U.S. Edition of their latest "In This Light And On This Evening " album with bonus trax. It's an interesting 3rd album. It's nothing like their first two. May I just say that their debut, like Elbow and The Shore is just PERFECTION!!!! It's another one my top records of the decade for the 2000's. This new one isn't all that. They've gone off in several different directions. It's not bad, I'll even give it almost strong 4 star rating. However, I wish they would ROCK!!!!! They did it soooooo well on their debut and frankly, I miss it!!! I don't want them to repeat that album, but I would love for them to jam again. Until they do that I may not ever love them as much again.....

This next album I'm not sure yet if I totally hate it or if I really subliminally LOVE it!!! It's one of those things. It definitely wins a frustration of the month award, if there were such a thing. It's the latest from Joan As Policewoman titled "Cover". Perhaps she could have at least changed her moniker for this album to: Joan as Funky Soul Sister. I kept thinking I was listening to a soundtrack to a lost blaxploitation film. I know she's had the potential with her R & B background but this just came out of nowhere especially after her last really mellow album "To Survive". I was just shocked throughout so I couldn't tell if she was serious or not or if it was genius or real crap! A real conundrum for me!!!! She also has an extremely bizarre cover of David Bowie's "Sweet Thing" that I'm sure I must hate? See what I mean? I'm perplexed. This means I'll have to listen again soon and see if I can have something more definitive to say on this matter. You go Joan??? You decide!

The Walkabouts, an EXTREMELY underrated band in the past 25 (!!!!) years FINALLY get the tribute album honors. Or is it? I found myself not being much impressed here with the covers album. I think they didn't do justice to this band at all. Disc 2 is the originals by the Walkabouts and trust me they kick ass all over the covers! So it was essentially like a little "best of" to me. I've loved this band for so many years after my good buddy Michael Austin turned me on to them in his basement den of musical iniquity. Ah, the good old days. I sure wish I had someone to share those with often these days.... Anyway, if you aren't familiar with the Walkabouts, well shame on you and get busy and turn yourself onto a catalogue of music that will surely delight anyone remotely interested in good music.

I'm going to give this next record my favourite listen of this week award!! It's the latest from Jon Dee Graham & The Fighting Cocks-"It's Not As Bad As It Looks". This new album from Jon is freaking GREAT!!!! He sounds so beaten down and tired and REAL and the songs are excellent. I really was taken in throughout this album and wouldn't have stopped until it was over even if my roof had been caving in! I really think it's a strong album for him and I give it a high 4 1/2 rating. One of the best releases of Jan 2010 for sure.

That's all I have for right now music freaks. MUCH MUCH more is yet to come in the week #4 of 2010 roundup next week. What a month January has been. I'll be giving my favourites of 2010 so far and lots more reviews.....

10-Week #4 2010 New Releases

2010 is in full swing. January is ending with a bang! Check out all of the new releases out today.

JAN 26

1. AFCGT-“AFCGT” (ON SUB POP – THIS IS AFRAMES & CLIMAX GOLDEN TWINS) (1/26)

2. ANOTHER ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN-“STATES OF SPACE” (DIGITAL ON THINKINDIE 1/26 ONLY)

3. ATHLETE-“BLACK SWAN” (U.S. EDITION)

4. BEACH HOUSE-“TEEN DREAM” (CD/DVD) (1/26)

5. BIRD SHOW BAND-“S/T” (1/26)

6. BLUE RODEO-“THE THINGS WE LEFT BEHIND” (2-CD) (U.S. EDITION) (1/26)

7. BASIA BULAT-“HEART OF MY OWN” (1/26)

8. CAVE IN-“PLANETS OF OLD” [EP] (CD/DVD) (1/26)

9. CHICAGO UNDERGROUND TRIO-“BOCA NEGRA” (1/26)

10. CITAY-“DREAM GET TOGETHER” (1/26)

11. CLIPD BEAKS-“TO REALIZE” (1/26)

12. DEAS VAIL-“BIRDS & CAGES” (1/26)

13. FIRST AID KIT-“THE BIG BLACK AND THE BLUE” ( IMPORT(1/26)

14. FOUR TET-“THERE IS LOVE IN YOU” (1/26)

15. FREE ENERGY-“STUCK ON NOTHING” (1/26)

16. FUCKED UP-“COUPLE TRACKS: SINGLES 2002-2008) (1/26)

17. CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG-“IRM” (1/26)

18. GOOD SHOES-“NO HOPE NO FUTURE” (1/25)

19. PATTY GRIFFIN-“DOWNTOWN CHURCH” (1/26)

20. HARVEY MILK-“HARVEY MILK” (EARLY RECORDINGS) (1/26)

21. YUKA HONDA-“HEART CHAMBER PHANTOMS” (1/26)

22. I SEE HAWKS IN LA-“SHOULDA BEEN GOLD: 2001-2009 THE BEST OF I SEE HAWKS IN L.A” (1/26)

23. JOAN OF ARC-“JOA PRESENTS: DON’T MIND CONTROL” (1/26)

24. LOS CAMPESINOS!-“ROMANCE IS BORING” (1/26)

25. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS-“REALISM” (1/26)

26. MAJOR STARS-“RETURN TO FORM” (1/26)

27. MARTYN-“FABRIC 50” (1/26)

28. PAT METHENY-“ORCHESTRION” (1/26)

29. MR GNOME-“HEAVE YER SKELETON” (1/26)

30. MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND-“SHARK REMIXES” (2-CD LTD EDITION) (1/26)

31. NATIVE-“WRESTLING MOVES” (1/26)

32. NUMBER ONE GUN-“TO THE SECRETS & KNOWLEDGE” (1/26)

33. PIT ER PAT-“FLEXIBLE ENTERTAINER” (1/26)

34. PORTICO QUARTET-“ISLA” (IMPORT) (1/26)

35. CORRINE BAILEY RAE-“SEA” (1/26)

36. RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR (ALAN SPARHAWK FROM LOW)-“2” (1/26)

37. SAXON SHORE-“IT DOESN’T MATTER” (1/26)

38. SCANNERS-“SUBMARINE” (1/26)

39. SCOUT NIBLETT-“CALCINATION OF SCOUT NIBLETT” (1/26)

40. MATTHEW SHIPP-“4D” (SOLO PIANO) (1/26)

41. SLOW SIX-“TOMORROW BECOMES YOU” (1/26)

42. (VARIOUS ARTISTS) WE ARE ONLY RIDERS-“JEFFREY LEE PIERCE SESSION PROJECT” (1/26)

43. VARIOUS ARTISTS-“THE MINIMAL WAVE TAPES VOLUME 1” (1/26)

9-Some Week #3 Highlights

This past week brought the announcement of the 2010 Coachella Music and Arts Festival lineup. The first name I saw as the headliner for the first of 3 nights was a rapper. It pretty much set a blah tone for me as I read the lists. The headliners for all 3 nights pretty much feel like they couldn't get creative and exciting this year. Instead it's rather boring. Now the contradiction is that there are over 60 bands I would enjoy seeing. Part of the problem is that they all begin early in the day. On the other hand, I wouldn't have to bother staying late each day since I really am not excited over the choices of "headliner". So I'm on the fence as to if I want to go this year.

In addition to the new releases on 1/19/10 that I did list, it turns out that many more new releases came out last week that I found out about later. It turned into a very busy release week and this week is going to be even bigger! So there is much to get to and this is going to be a partial for week #3 of 2010.

JPLS-"The Depths" is a 2-CD is a new release out on the MINUS label known for minimal techno and partially run by Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman). I really enjoyed this album. The sound is phenomenal and there were several highlights like: Reset, Basis, & State were standout trax. Disc 2 is a continuous mix of the album and very nice. Strong 4 stars.

Owen Pallett (who is in Arcade Fire part-time) also has a side project called Final Fantasy. His new 3rd album "Heartland" (2010) is FANTASTIC. He uses and orchestra and the songs are special and memorable and creative. At least 7 of the 12 trax are perfect! High 4 1/2 rating.

I saw the band Red Sparowes open for Jarboe a few years ago in L.A. and I remember a beautiful wall of sound like Mogwai, without the ear damage. They are back with a new EP "Aphorisms" and these 3 trax are excellent! The band seems a bit mellow on this release or perhaps they are just more focused? Either way I love it and hope a new release is imminent. 4 stars.

This next release is perhaps something I shouldn't like but I kept turning it up louder and louder and really loved it so I'm going to declare this my first "guilty pleasure" record of 201o. Silver Swans-"Realize The Ghost". This falls somewhere between New Order bass lines popping up and a bit of an 80's flashback. Although I do the band a bit of a disservice by using that description because within these songs I found a lot more going on than initially meets the ear. These are well crafted songs and a few real movers are: Are you really on my side, Realize The Ghost & I. I give this album a strong 4 star rating and I'm not embarrased that I like it. My buddy James would dig this...

This next artist, Courtney Jaye, I read about and saw that she was doing a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain/Hope Sandoval track "Sometimes Always" with the singer of Band of Horses. Naturally, I had to hear it. Apparently, she has quite a few records out. Her new one is "The Exotic Sounds of Courtney Jaye" (2010). At times her voice is reminiscent of Neko Case but I can definitely say that her songs are stronger than the ones Neko put on her latest release "Middle Cyclone". I love Neko but she needs some help in the songwriting department. Courtney is definitely beating to the sound of her own drum and I like it! She is an exciting new find for me and I'm going to delve into her other releases soon. Her voice is fantastic and I can tell she has a great band and she's very interesting. Strong 4 star rating!

Frank Turner has a new deluxe edition of his "Poetry of the Deed" album just out. I've read about Frank many times and finally had to hear him. Reminiscent of Billy Bragg, he has a lot to say and he says it well. Apparently he was in a punk band called Avail and then went solo. I've no idea what his old band sounds like but I really like what he's doing at least on this record (he has several out). Kind of reminds me of Chuck Ragan (from Hot Water Music) in a good way. I give this a 3 1/2 rating.

A new little compilation "singles club" from England called: Explorer's Club just released their Volume One called London-Paris. There are 3 songs. Sweet Billy Pilgrim deliver the beautiful "Amina" and Peter Broderick has the gorgeous "Robbie's Song" and Ryan Teague has the very interesting "high knoll" making this a perfect introduction to their little "club". I really love these 3 trax.

Anthony Collins-"Dreaming Of Running" EP (2010) is new techno. I really like 2 of the trax here so I'm going to give it 3 stars.

This next one is one of my TOP PICKS for Week #3. This album is fantastic. Darko Esser-"Balans" (2010). This guy is great. He has put out an exciting new album that delivers. It's not your typical electronic record. It's very creative and VERY well crafted. This album engages from beginning to end. I couldn't get enough. 5 stars!!!

The folk artist Josephine Foster is back with an interesting new release, "Graphic As A Star" is a collection of some poems by Emily Dickinson which she set to music. The reviews I read on this were mostly uncomplimentary. I don't agree with those reviews. I really like Josephine anyway and her fragile and pretty voice sings these poems in a really nice way. If I had to give a criticism it would be that due to the short nature of the poems many of the 27 trax are really short. Perhaps a bit more thought on the instrumentation could have happened. Still I give it a good 3 1/2 rating.

Richard Skelton has a new album "Landings" (2010). I've read about him before and decided to check out this new release. After listening to it I then read an extensive review on it in the January issue of The Wire and he was compared to Arvo Paart and that description clicked for me. It's awash in soundscapes of electronics, pianos (treated) and guitars (SUPER treated) and it's really perfect for a rainy day, which is when I listened to it. Very interesting and sounds excellent on headphones. 3 1/2 rating.

The Imagined Village is a British folk collective of musicians. Naturally, I was intrigued. The have a 2nd release, the new "Empire And Love" (2010). I wanted to like it but none of these songs (some covers) were not engaging me in a good way at all. I had all but given up on it and then the last 3 songs on the album provided an excellent 17 minutes of music! One of which is an amazing cover of "Cum On Feel The Noize" originally from Slade. It's a brilliant interpretation. Then there is a 2nd cover of "Scarborough Square " (String Reprise) that is really excellent. There is another straightforward cover of this song earlier in the album and it did nothing for me, but this one did. Then the other excellent track "Rosebuds in June/Mrs. Preston's Hornpipe" went places that I didn't expect and was the first treat on this record. Since I didn't enjoy all of the earlier songs I can only bestow a measly 2 star rating but I do recommend those last 3 songs!!

Ok, here is another TOP PICK for week #3. The band is called Oh No Ono and their new release is "Eggs" and I found this one to be a stunner! Incredibly creative and unexpected and oh did I mention creative? This is forward thinking new music. It sounds like there must be a lot of people in the band creating all of this wonderful sound. I had some trouble making out some lyrics but on further listening it may become easier. I can't really compare this record to anything which is a REALLY good thing to say. Highly recommended and I give it 4 1/2 stars.

Yet another TOP PICK for week #3 (can you tell yet there is some great new music out so far this year?) is new one from EELS-"End Times" (2010). What can I say? Mr. Everett has delivered what I think is even better than last years excellent "Hombre Lobro" album. This album is a thinker with beautifully sad thoughtful songs. He mixed up the pace of the album in the first half and then mostly abandons that and just delivers stellar songs on how crappy our world is. I LOVE IT!!!! A strong 4 1/2 rating.

This leads perfectly into the next new release: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis deliver "The Road (Original Film Score)" (2010). First of all, my favourite book of 2008 is Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". It's a stunner. Never have I felt more alone in the world than when reading the thoughts and implications of that book. Devastating. After listening to this album I read a rather nasty review of it in the January issue of The Wire which said that the boys pretty much were not up to the task of recreating what was going on in the film. To a SMALL extent I agreed with some of their reasons but on the other hand I find their soundtrack to be mostly fitting to what is happening in the film. It's not my favourite film but I do think that based on the subject that the cast and the visuals in the film worked quite well. Not perfect, but really good. And I guess I can use that to describe this soundtrack. Perhaps a strong 3 1/2 rating is what I will give it. There are some really memorable pieces on here and I think it was well thought out and crafted by these 2 very talented boys so I don't find the need to patch on it.

Fabric is a series. It is a techno club in London as well as a label and that label has a 2 series. One is a mix series and each edition is by a particular artist doing essentially a mix tape. Their other series is that theme taken "live", thus called FabricLive. Just out is the new release to the regular Fabric series and it's #49! This one is from Magda. She is an artist and a dj who has been around for about 12 years. This edition is excellent! She incorporates some of her own material (Most of the compilations have the artists doing that) into the mixes. Very creative and if I were to ever go "dancing" again, this is the kind of material I would enjoy listening to instead of the crap I hear whenever I go to WeHo and those bars just play nothing of any significance. If that was all you were exposed to, you would probably end up thinking there wasn't anything interesting going on in electronic music, but quite the contrary. Thankfully there are a ton of people putting out creative forward thinking electronic music be it whatever flavour of genre one might want to put it into. I prefer to just stick with electronic because some of the music just can't be pinned down to a single description and I really like that. See the Darko Esser album for an example. This is a great addition to the Fabric series and I give it a strong 4 star rating.

This next release isn't a guilty pleasure. It is perhaps a record that I had NO expectations about since their previous records are alright, but nothing spectacular. I was merely just curious and the price was right. :-) Oh, and the reviews are really quite mixed so I'm going to clear this one up right here. It's the latest from OK GO-"Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky" (2010). The first 2 trax are excellent, so it's a great start! The first highlight of the album is track 4 "needing/getting". Spectacular song. The 2nd highlight is the pumping "White Knuckles". I hate to mention this part but it is occasionally true in this record. Several songs you can close your eyes and imagine that if Prince had remained as good and creative as he was in the mid 80s that he could have delivered a few of the songs on this record. The singer does truly sound like Prince in several trax and I really didn't find it to be a negative. It actually put a smile on my face that this audacious white boy attempted the nearly impossible and really pulled it off. This is NOT the case for the entire album. The album is really much more creative than just that so I really have to give it a strong 4 star rating. An unexpected delight.

Tape Deck Moutain deliver their debut album "Ghosts". Wow, this is one creative HOT mess and I REALLY like it! The influences in these guys heads must be swirling around at a rate that equals ADD. Not really a record I can describe much. Instead it's something that one must listen to. I am happily impressed that this came out of San Diego and also by the fact that I'm continually encouraged by the new creative music that really IS coming out. Perhaps noone is talking much about all of the interesting new music coming out, but I am listening and noticing and it makes me very happy. I'll give this (for now) a strong 3 1/2 rating.

Spoon are back with new "Transference" (2010). After seeing them on a late night show last week where they did what I think is one of the weakest trax on the album "Written in Reverse", in which Britt sounded HORRIBLE (apparently vocal troubles) and the song itself was blah! I am surprised that is apparently their "single". So after seeing/hearing that I had to lower my expectations! Thankfully, the rest of the album is MUCH better. "Trouble Comes Running" is definitely my fav as well as my pick for the single. Why didn't someone contact me first? HELLO!!!! Half of this album really is great and the next 3/4 is really good and so I'm giving it a strong 3 3/4 rating! Not quite a 4, but close...

The Hotrats-"Turn Ons" (2010) is essentially a Supergrass covers album - really. There are 12 trax here and I really like only 5. The good ones are: You gotta fight for your right to party (considering I hate the original it was a BIG stretch that I'd dig this, yet it's totally different and it's great. I saw them do it on late night last week and Gaz was in a skirt and totally jamming. Reminded me of why I liked Supergrass in the first place. Anyway, also good on here is: Damaged Goods (Gang of Four), Lovecats (The Cure), Queen Bitch (Bowie), E.M.I. (Sex Pistols). Unforgivable: Love is the drug. What the crap did they do to this? Yuck. Also 'Pump it up' (Costello) has no OOMPH! What is up with that? There are other unmemorable moments like "Crystal Ship" (Doors). It sounds alright but it's a straight cover and it's boring. So, while I really wanted this to be great (I was looking forward to hearing it) I must be honestly objective and say it's not all great. Therefore I can only give it 2 1/2 stars for the 5 trax I really like.

Since it was a BIG release week last week I still have some albums to get to and discuss. Next time we'll hear about: Surfer Blood, Worm Ouroboros, Kevin Barker, Horse Stories, Dawn Landes, Dinowalrus, Cold War Kids, Editors, Joan As Police Woman, Jon Dee Graham & The Fighting Cocks, The Walkabouts (Tribute) & Franck Rogers. I'll post a separate Week # 4 (1/26) new releases listing. Enjoy new music while you are alive!!!!!

Week 2 Roundup - What's up in Week 3

This past week has been a busy one. New music is out and there is a lot to get to. One of my favourite magazines is The Wire. Specializing in the non-mainstream where one can thankfully learn of many different types of music. Periodically they give out cd's or downloads with their issues. For the January 2010 issue they've given the 2nd installment of their 'Below The Radar' series which is about 2-cd's worth of new musik. If I remember correctly, this first volume was a bit better to my ears. Still, this edition has some VERY interesting material on it and I was turned on to some artists I wasn't previously familiar with like: Carlos Giffoni, Leisure High, & Leyland Kirby whose contributions I quite enjoyed.

There were quite a few other new releases out this week. Apparently the "big" one is Vampire Weekend-"Contra". Well, I guess y'all can colour me not so impressed. Way too much hype on a band that is ultimately on the road to completely re-making Paul Simon's "Graceland" 20 + years after the fact. Do we really need that? I have mixed feelings here. The blatant Paul Simon moments ARE eye rollers and yet, there is some great music within to enjoy. "Giving up the Gun" is a good dance number, "Horchata" and "Cousins" play out well and the rest is kind of there. I'll bestow a 2 1/2 star rating based on rip-off (unoriginality) factor and what I call the "chintz-bag" factor clocking in again in the 30 minutes range. What have they been doing for 2 years? Overspending all the money from the overrated debut?

Ok, let's get to what REALLY moved me this week... I'm going to give my TOP picks for record of the week #2. However, I'm have a tie!!! So I have 2 records to bestow my honor upon. First up is Bettie Serveert-"Pharmacy Of Love". After coming in back in 2006 with "Bare Stripped Naked" a welcome return, they have continued to evolve on this record and it's really solid. I give it a 4 star rating and spotlight pick. Highlights on this album include: "Deny All, Semaphore, The Pharmacy & Calling". These 4 tracks are my favourites. My other pick for record of the week is the new one from Laura Veirs-"July Flame". Gorgeous and nearly perfect. I give it a 4 1/2 star rating. She has an excellent band on her with some beautiful contributions to backing vocals from Jim James of My Morning Jacket that are really special. Great songs, 7 of which I found to be just perfect. Thank you Laura for a fantastic new record!!!

Insound is an online music retailer who I've followed for many years. Last year they got into the business of giving away free what they call "The Insound Digital Mixtape". They have a brand new January issue that is packed with tracks from upcoming releases. I was treated to lots of new great upcoming treats from bands like: AFCGT, Efterklang, The Morning Benders, Titus Andronicus, The Album Leaf, Beach House, Basia Bulat, Follow That Bird!, Retribution Gospel Choir (Alan Sparhawk of LOW), Oh No Ono, Silver Swans, Fucked Up & Portraits of Past. As you can tell I'm excited about what's coming out soon. All of the trax from the above bands were excellent!!

Kria Brekkan is an unusual girl who must be influenced by Bjork in some way. She has a new EP out called "Uterus Water". I can't describe it all but I can say it's an original listen and she is an interesting talent worth noting. The new album from Bowerbirds (A husband/wife duo)-"Upper Air" (2009) is beautiful. This is their 2nd record and it's just stellar. I give it 4 1/2 stars. A newer band called We Were Promised Jetpacks, which is essentially a one man show released the debut "These Four Walls" this past summer. What a sonic treat this record is! I give it 4 1/2 stars as well and it really rocked my world. He does have a bit of pattern-sameness in the bass playing that pops up occasionally but he can still craft a great song and this album is a joy to listen to!

After gushing over the last release from Plants & Animals that I just LOVE, I had to check out their earlier releases. Their S/T debut is from 2005 and is a mostly acoustic instrumental affair. Just lovely. Then in 2007 they released an EP "With/Avec" that continued on in nearly the same vein but did stretch out their sound quite a bit. Neither of these releases were a precursor to what they did on the 2008 "Parc Avenue" which I can't rave enough about!!!

Ok, also out this week is the new release from Freedy Johnston-"Rain On The City". In the past, Freedy has put out some great records. The early reviews on this album are strong so I was excited to hear it. It's NOT "This Perfect World" or "You Can Fly". I had a ho-hum reaction to half of it. I really like half and the other songs are there. Highlights for me are: "Lonely Penny, Rain On The City, Central Station, Don't Fall In Love With A Lonely Girl, & It's Gonna Come Back To You". I give the album a 3 star rating.

The lastest 2009 release from the fantastic Cass McCombs-"Catacombs" is really quite great once you get past the first few numbers! I don't know why the beginning trax were not drawing me in and then all of a sudden this record got good, really good! Now, bizarrely, the opposite of the that is the latest 2009 release from The Minus 5-"Killingsworth". It began with some really excellent songs! Then it just was like blah blah blah after that for me. I ended up with disappointment. Produced by Scott from the Minus 5 is the 2009 release from Young Fresh Fellows-"I Think This Is" which has it's moments but is not nearly as good as anything they did in the 90s. I think "New Day I Hate" is like the only standout track on this album!

I made it to my first concert of the year seeing Willy Mason open for A.A. Bondy at the Casbah in San Diego. Willy was fantastic. His voice is beautiful. His songs seemed to be (cut?) short. Perhaps I just wanted them to go on? I can't believe he doesn't have any new record out in the past 2 years! Perhaps he's disheartened to put anything out in case no-one buys it. That's sad because what a waste of a great talent. I really enjoyed hearing/seeing him live. A.A. Bondy was a wonderful treat live, just like my buddy Michael in Michigan told me he would be. The sonics were excellent. The 3-man band created a joyous sound. It was interesting how the drum set was only used for 3 songs as the drummer also played steel guitar and other instruments. It was a great set and nearly 1 1/2 hours worth. Very nice way to start the year. I relistened to the 2 A.A. Bondy albums this week "American Hearts" (2007) & "When The Devils Loose" (2009) which are both excellent albums that I give major push to. Definitely worth your attention if you aren't familiar.

Liquid Soul have been putting out techno for years. A new release out this week collects 2-cd's worth of remixes titled "Cocktails" (2010). Instrumental techno dance jams that sound really great on headphones. This is a really good collection of a bunch of their singles over the years. I give it a good 4 star rating.

I'm still checking out other releases out this week and last so check back next time for some more reviews on new releases by: Ok Go, JPLS, Final Fantasy, Red Sparowes, Silver Swans, Courtney Jaye & Frank Turner... to name drop a few!

Alright now we are off to the new releases out tomorrow for week #3 of 2010.

JAN 19

1. KEVIN BARKER-“YOU AND ME” (HE’S WORKED WITH DEVENDRA BANHART, JOANNA NEWSOM, ANTONY, VESPERS…) (1/19)

2. COLD WAR KIDS-“BEHAVE YOURSELF” [EP] (1/19)

3. EDITORS-“IN THIS LIGHT AND ON THIS EVENING” (U.S. EDITION WITH BONUS MATERIAL) (1/19)

4. EELS-“END TIMES” (1/19)

5. DARKO ESSER-“BALANS” (1/15)

6. JOSEPHINE FOSTER-“GRAPHIC AS A STAR” (1/19)

7. CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG (& BECK)-“IRM” (1/19)

8. JON DEE GRAHAM-“IT’S NOT AS BAD AS IT LOOKS” (1/19)

9. HORSE STORIES-“NOVEMBER, NOVEMBER” (ON THE PERFECT BLACK SWAN LABEL WITH TOBY BURKE BACK IN THE BAND) (LISTED IN JAN 2010 UNCUT) (IT’S AVAILABLE AS AN LP THAT COMES WITH A CD AND ON ITUNES ON 1/19)

10. THE HOT RATS-“TURN ONS” (SUPERGRASS SIDE PROJECT) (1/19)

11. DAWN LANDES-“SWEET HEART RODEO” (U.S. EDITION) (1/19)

12. MAJOR STARS-“RETURN TO FORM” (1/19)

13. SPOON-“TRANSFERENCE” (7.99) (1/19)

14. WORM OUROBOROS-“S/T” (MEMBERS OF AMBER ASYLUM & THE GAULT & WORLD EATER) (1/19)

15. FRANCK ROGER-“CIRCLES/THE HILL” (1/15/10) + “DON’T LEAVE ME/FLASHBACK” (1/15/10) + “HE’S EVERYWHERE/CANYONS TALK” (1/15) + “NEW WORLD/HD 3000” (1/15) + “RAWSOME/THE SPOT” (1/15) + “TURN ME OVER/MIND ILLUSIONS” (1/15) + “WARRIORS/RAISE YOUR HAND” (1/15) + “YEAH PRETORIA” (1/15)

16. RICHARD SKELTON-“LANDINGS” (1/15)

17. VARIOUS ARTISTS-“GOT NO CHAINS: THE SONGS OF THE WALKABOUTS” (2-CD) (1/22) (LISTED UNDER AMAZON DOWNLOADS ONLY BUT UNCUT JAN 2010 SAYS IT’S A 2-CD OUT ON GLITTERHOUSE…) (1/19)

Noone can say that nothing new in music is happening. It's all happening so check back here to find out what it is! Until next time... MTJR

7-New Music Week 2 (2010)

Before I get to this week's upcoming releases...

I listened to the new album from The Bats-"The Guilty Office" (2009). They are a fantastic band from New Zealand who have been putting out records since 1982! Quality control is still in evidence on this new record. It's GREAT!!!! It flows so well and there are many memorable songs that will make me return to this again and again. 4 1/2 stars. The latest release from Tom Brosseau-"Posthumous Success" (2009) is definitely a stylistic shift from his previous releases. This one actually sounds like an "indie-rock record". Some of it I loved immediately and some of it I suspect will grow on me. Tom is a major talent. So far I've only seen him play in a little record store, but believe me he was amazing - and that voice! Enough said. For now, 3 1/2 star rating. The last couple of days I checked out some compilations. A Paste Magazine sampler from July 2009 that was really good and had a couple band on there that I don't know about nor could I find anything by them on the usual websites. A band called The Fifteenth and one called Dignan had exceptional songs on there that made me want to hear more. Another great one that I did find was from a band called Bloodkin. I discovered they have TONS of albums out so I downloaded the 2009 release "Baby, They Told Us He Would Rise Again". Gotta love the title, hope the whole album delivers since the single was excellent - kind of Drive-By-Truckers good... Mmm, then I listened to 2 different "tribute" albums. One was put out this past summer and is a cover of Prince's "Purple Rain". I have to say it's a real hot mess! Some a good mess; some not so much. My favourite one is definitely Riverboat Gamblers doing "Let's go Crazy". Great! And Lavender Diamond doing "Purple Rain" was quite intriguing. Next up is a tribute to Bjork's "Post" album. Very peculiar stuff indeed on here by the likes of: Xiu Xiu, Liars, Dirty Projectors, No Age, Atlas Sound... You get the picture.

A Super Fantastic listen is the Fiery Furnaces-"I'm Going Away" (2009). They pretty much nailed it on this one! In fact, I think a contender for one of the best singles of 2009 has to be "Drive To Dallas" a superb track on the album that blew me away. Loved it. Must be a 4 1/2 star rating on this one. Recently the brother/sister duo that IS The Fiery Furnaces decided to redo this album as separate "solo" pieces called "Take me round again". I downloaded it but haven't listened yet... Also listened again to The Dead Weather-"Horehound" album. I have mixed feelings about it. I like a few songs a lot and the rest is kind of there so I'm sticking with a 3 1/2 star rating. It's not on my top 20 of 2009...

Ok, the notable releases out tomorrow, this 2nd week of 2010 is as follows:

JANUARY 12, 2010

1. KRIA BREKKAN-“UTERUS WATER” EP (1/12)

2. NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS-“THE ROAD” Soundtrack to the film (1/12)

3. FINAL FANTASY-“HEARTLAND” (1/12)

4. THE GILDED PALACE OF SIN-“YOU BREAK OUR HEARTS, WE’LL TEAR YOURS OUT’ (1/12/10)

5. GLASS ROCK-“TALL FIRS MEET SOFT LOCATION” (1/12)

6. FREEDY JOHNSTON-“RAIN ON THE CITY” (1/12)

7. LYDIA LUNCH ET AL-“BIG SEXY NOISE” EP (1/5)

8. LYDIA LUNCH, JAMES JOHNSTON, TERRY EDWARDS, IAN WHITE-“BIG SEXY NOISE” (1/12)

9. MAGDA-“FABRIC 49” (1/12)

10. OK GO-“OF THE BLUE COLOUR OF THE SKY” (1/12)

11. POLYSICS-“ABSOLUTE POLYSICS” (1/12)

12. RED SPARROWES-“APHORISMS” (VINYL SINGLE) (1/12)

13. SILVER SWANS-“REALIZE THE GHOST” (1/12)

14. THE TWILIGHT GARDEN-“A WORLD WE PRETEND” (1/12)

15. VAMPIRE WEEKEND-“CONTRA” (1/12)

16. LAURA VEIRS-“JULY FLAME” (1/12)

17. BETTIE SERVEERT-“PHARMACY OF LOVE” (Out 1/7/10)

Until later this week, happy ears!!!!

6-Week 1 2010 - Including best Pick!

This has been a bit of a busy week for me. I listened to a George Harrison collection "let it roll: songs by George Harrison" 2009. Not so good. The live trax were pretty bad if you ask me and a lot of those songs just aren't good! I had a surprise with the latest Stellastarr*-"Civilized" (2009). It's pretty darn good. There are a few rough spots in there but there are more songs that are good than not. I was pleasantly surprised so I give it 3 1/2 stars. I finally put on the Discovery-"LP" (2009) which is a Vampire Weekend/Ra Ra Riot collab with vocals from Vampire Weekend and Dirty Projectors. I have mixed feelings over this one on first listen. A little bubblegummy actually in areas. Some I liked more than others. Let me say though that it sounded great! Meaning impeccably produced. I give it 3 stars.

For some of the first releases of 2010, first up we have the new EP from Real Estate called "Reality". It's really great. This is a great new band who I would like to see live. I give this EP 4 star rating. Next is The Gilded Palace of Sin-"You Break Our Hearts, We'll Tear Yours Out". Great title, but the album doesn't live up to the title's greatness. I think it felt like the songs weren't quite finished or something like that. It just lacked that effort to grab you. I think I only really liked one song a lot. Not a good first impression. 2 stars?

Here's one that is my #2 pick for album of the week #1!!! This is: Glass Rock-"Tall Firs Meet Soft Location" (2010). This is on Thurston Moore's label (Sonic Youth) and it wasn't at all what I expected. It's a collaboration between Tall Firs and Soft Location; hence the album title. I've heard Tall Firs (their debut 2008) but not yet Soft Location. This is a record that is "as smooth as butter" and moves along on a very mellow groove. I found myself turning it up more and more because it did sound very good. Tight songs and it flowed very nicely as an album. I give it 4 stars! Next up is The Twilight Garden-"A World We Pretend" (2010). I have mixed feeling on this one but it is better than the Gilded Palace of Sin. There are much better songs (and memorable ones too) that I'm sure I'll revisit this one and give it another go to grab me some more.

While listening to the latest album from The Appleseed Cast-"Sagamartha" (2009) I had an out of body experience. This is a fantastic new return from this HIGHLY underrated band who have a TON of albums out over the years. I LOVE this record. I give it 5 stars and highly recommend it to all!! Also, the new album from Engineers-"Three Fact Fader" (2009) was also a very enjoyable listen. I don't think it's amazing like their debut album from 2005 is (definitely a must have!) but I'm glad they are back after quite a long hiatus with a second album. There are definitely transportive moments here so I give it a healthy 4 stars! Another 2009 release I just listened to is the latest from Sunset Rubdown-"Dragonslayer". They are a peculiar band and I don't even know what I could classify them as, so I won't bother. Unfortunately, with this record I kept wondering when it was going to end! That's not good. However, there were 2 trax that really got my attention in their peculiarity so it's not all negative. Perhaps I don't quite get what they are up to? Regardless since I wanted it over eventually I can only bestow a 2 star rating...

Ok, now onto my pick for the #1 pick of new releases out for week #1 that I have been able to listen to since I can obviously only pick what I have, and what I've been able to listen to. I am bestowing my soon to be highly coveted honour of the first great record of 2010 upon:

Lydia Lunch/James Johnston/Terry Edwards/Ian White-"Big Sexy Noise" (The Full Length Album) (2010). She's back!!!!! I still can recall the first time I heard Lydia Lunch way back in 1980 singing "There's knives in my drain, and there's splinters in my brain" and I fell in love with her deadpan snarling snotty bitchy powerful delivery! A totally outspoken and D.I.Y. woman who's career I've not always followed but I've always had a lot of respect for her. I can't remember the last time she did a "rock" album since poetry/speaking is here podium of choice mostly over the years. This record teamed up with members of Gallon Drunk is just fantastic!!!! Everything I love about Gallon Drunk (the sloppy yet powerful playing) and Lydia (all snottiness and control and sounding better than ever) are clearly evident. This is a batch of covers clearly reinterpreted. My only negative remark is the inclusion of "That Smell" from Lynryd Skynyrd is definitely something I can do without. So I give this album 4 1/2 star rating and my "prestigious" pick of the week. I hope to give an album a week my pick and make it easier to look at the strongest records of the year when 2010 comes to a close.

Now, to close this entry, speaking of strong women... Anyone who knows me is aware that my favourite female artist EVER is Janis Joplin. In 2009 her Woodstock concert was finally released in it's entirety. It came as a double set to include another new remastered edition of "I Got Dem 'Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama!" from 1969. The sound is crystal clear and absolutely stunning!!!!! I had tears in my eyes throughout most of the album (like I usually do anyway when I listen to Janis since it's a very real and personal experience for me) and while being transported during this excellent record I wondered if there is ever anybody else out there in the world who is frequently moved by music like I am. Otherwise, I wonder, what is the purpose of making music at all if doesn't move people in some respect? Anyway, it was a wonderful listen as always and the Live trax from Woodstock were really good. Janis had some voice difficulties here and there throughout her set but hey, you try to sing like that with all that booze and stuff going on and see how well you do! She was amazing and I'm still sad that she's gone.....

5-First New Releases of 2010

New Releases out today or already that I've listened to. I'm putting my ratings by stars:

1. ****BADLY DRAWN BOY-“IS THERE NOTHING WE COULD DO? (MUSIC INSPIRED BY THE MOTION PICTURE: THE FATTEST MAN IN BRITAIN”

2. ***BY DIVINE RIGHT-“MUTANT MESSAGE”

3. ***(BECAUSE IT'S SO SHORT!) DEER TICK-“MORE FUEL FOR THE FIRE” EP

4. ***1/2 FERAL CHILDREN-“BRAND NEW BLOOD”

5. ****LINDSTROM & CHRISTABELLE-“REAL LIFE IS NO COOL”

6. ****MONOLAKE-“SILENCE” (1/26)

7. *** VARIOUS ARTISTS-“MOJO MAGAZINE JANUARY 2010 ISSUE: PINK FLOYD’S THE WALL RE-BUILT VOLUME 2”

8. **** VARIOUS ARTISTS-“UNCUT MAGAZINE JANUARY 2010 ISSUE: THE BEST OF 2009-15 TRAX FROM UNCUT’S ALBUMS OF THE YEAR”

BELOW ARE OTHER NEW RELEASES OUT TODAY. NOTE: I ONLY LIST MUSIC I'M INTERESTED IN OTHERWISE I DON'T CARE THAT IT'S COME OUT!!

JANUARY 5, 2010

1. THE CRANBERRIES-“BUALADH BOS” (BOOLAH BAHS MEANS CLAP YOUR HANDS) (LIVE 1994-1998) (1/5)

2. ESTROE-“ELEMENTAL ASSETS” (1/5)

3. I AM KLOOT-“I AM KLOOT” (1/5)

4. JPLS-“THE DEPTHS” (1/5)

5. REAL ESTATE-“REALITY” E.P. (1/5)

The first week of the year is traditionally a slower release schedule. Still, there are quite a few out already to get the 2010 listening started. I've enjoyed most of what I've listened to so far. The Lindstrom/Christabelle album is very interesting in parts especially the middle part of the album put a smile on my face. Parts of the Feral Children album were really excellent. Interesting band. I picked up their 2008 release over the weekend.

Additionally, I listened to Bjork-"Voltaic" Remixes and Live in the Olympic Studios discs which were excellent! The new Kasabian-"West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum" is an excellent album as well! It's one of those records that must be meant to be listened to as a whole. It wasn't one of those records where I wanted to extract certain songs for compilations. For me it meant that everything worked so well within the confines of the album that it wasn't necessary to remove them. I consider that a compliment and I will revisit this album. Highly recommended. Moby-"Wait for Me" is pretty good. It has it's moments of being really great and then there are the let down moments so I am unable to give it a super high rating but some of the instrumentals are really nice. At least he's not delving into that rap crap he was into last year. UGH!!!!! Paste Magazine's Dec 2009/Jan 2010 sampler is really good and has some Artists on there I'm not familiar with that I really liked. For example: Van Ghost, His & Her Vanities, Mr. Gnome, Lowell Brams, Matt Morris & Oberhofer. These are bands that are particularly good. Some trax from upcoming new releases this year that were excellent were: Laura Veirs, The Soft Parade, Trent Dabbs, Los Campesinos! & The Grates. Ah, such great new music to look forward to. I must give HIGH ratings to the new St. Vincent album "Actor". Amazing. Really fantastic 2nd album from her. I was enthralled from beginning to end. Very creative arrangements in the songs and it just sounded so damn good I had to keep turning it up! High compliments indeed. I've just finished listening to the Wallflowers collection that came out in 2009 "Collected 1996-2005" and I must say it is a wonderful compilation! I'd actually forgotten about several of the songs on there and even though they didn't really put out enough albums to warrant a "best of" this is still a great sounding collection that I must give a nice 5 star rating! Well, that's it for this entry. Happy ears!!

4: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well, I suppose if I'm going to do a blog about music I should start off the new year with comments about recent music I've been listening to.

To begin with, this past week I finally listened to a record from 2008 from a band called Plants and Animals. The album is "Parc Avenue". WOW! In a perfect world this would have been a "hit" somewhere in 2008! It's so sad. This is such a fantastic record by an obvious bunch of talented people. I can't rave about it enough.

I tried to enjoy Josh Ritter-Live At Vicar Street 2006 but the damn audience turned it into karaokeville (no, I don't approve). Who knew Josh had such a following where they knew every word he ever uttered! UGH!!!!!! It comes with a DVD. If I watch it sometime perhaps I can throw darts at the offenders. Enough said.

I broke down and purchased something SEMI popular. Owl City-"Ocean Eyes" (2009) I will say I do like the single "Fireflies" as insipid as it may have become. Since I don't ever do radio that sort of thing never affects me. I control my own musical destiny, I don't need it shoved at me and told what to listen to and which untalented idiot this week needs to be made rich. UGH!!!!!!! Ok, off my tangents there. This album is pretty good. There are moments of goodness. However, the Dentist song is so lyrically adolescent and rather unforgivable. I appreciate his one man show in the studio but sometimes you have to objectively admit that it's NOT something you should release. Perhaps I will check out the 2 previous Owl City albums....

God Help The Girl-"S/T" (2009) Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian back with a project that is a play turned into an album. It's ok. It's NOT B&S. The girl is pretty good and I like some of this more than others. Perhaps its a grower...

Levon Helm-"Electric Dirt" (2009) Good old Levon from The Band. It's nice that he's still working as hard as he does. I wish I loved this material but it's just a bit too hokey for me. I won't deny the talent on here it's just kind of not my thing I guess. A couple of songs I really enjoyed and the rest is just kind of there....

Wilco-"Wilco (The Album)" (2009) It started off really strong and then was up and down afterwards. I'll have to revisit soon and see if it hits me stronger. I didn't dislike it and the band does sound quite strong. I can't quite put my finger on it so I'll have to check it out again sometime.

Amazing Baby-"Rewild" (2009). Hmmm, this is an interesting debut this year. It's a bit all over the place stylistically which is fine. The latter half is definitely stronger and more engaging than the beginning was. I will return to this record and reassess....

A new 2010 release from the band By Divine Right-"Mutant Message" (2010) is another sketchy affair. They are difficult to pin down. Some of this record is really good and some is really blah. I don't think it will appear on my best of 2010!

Deer Tick-"More Fuel For The Fire" EP (2010). Only 4-tracks, 1 is live. It's ok but the latest album from them is 5 stars EXCELLENT! I'm definitely interested in this band and hope they follow up in 2010 with a full length.

Until next time when I discuss the first few releases coming out this Tuesday Jan 5, 2010.

Happy New yeaR!!!