Music

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• 09/15/08

  Leila—Blood, Looms, and Blooms Making a name for herself originally as a keyboardist in Bjork's touring band, Leila previously released two well-received albums right around the turn of the millennium. Well, ever since the triumphant return of Portishead, it doesn't seem quite as unlikely that certain late 90's dorm room favorites will also reappear. So here we have a new release by Leila, sounding better than anything she's ever put out. Who's the next forgotten moody artist from Britain to make a comeback? Stay tuned.
  
  Vashti Bunyan—Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind Back when everybody got into folk music a few years ago, one of the albums that people seemed to be revisiting was Vashti Bunyan, whose 1970 debut album Just Another Diamond Day was made with the assistance of Nick Drake's producer Joe Boyd. Prior to recording that album, she was discovered by Andrew Loog Oldham and released a few singles, including "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind," penned by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The songs on this compilation of Bunyan's early material ranges from her trademark pastoral folk to more pop-oriented fare, including the Velvet Underground and Nico-sounding "I Want to Be Alone."
  
  Raphael Saadiq—The Way I See It It's a badly kept secret that one of the members of Tony! Toni! Tone! has quietly built a modest career as one of the last guardians of the classic soul music tradition. Whereas his late 80's/early 90's output was rooted in the sound of its era (revisit one of our favorite jams "Feels Good" for sonic proof), his past few efforts and this latest album build on the lush orchestral sound of a bygone era. We subscribe to the theory that you can never get tired of rehashing a good thing and on this album there is enough innovation to satisfy even the most retrophobic listeners.
  

• 09/03/08

  Chad VanGaalen—Soft Airplane If Chad VanGaalen makes his music in a way that makes it seem like he doesn't care if anyone hears it (recording at his home in Calgary), his songs still show that he is a major talent. Relying on unusual instruments and sounds to complement his pleasant folk songs, VanGaalen is emerging as one of indie rock's great voices. He also seems like the kind of guy you can hand some maracas and a xylophone and somehow he will make a song you'll be singing all week long.
  
  Department of Eagles—In Ear Park Daniel Rossen from Grizzly Bear takes a break from our furry friends to return to work on his other project, Department of Eagles (a collaboration with Fred Nicolaus). The sound of the band should sound familiar to anyone who has listened to Grizzly Bear—Daniel isn't exactly taking a left turn with this release. To the contrary, he has a sound (indie folk-pop indebted to Ram-era Paul McCartney) and he's sticking to it. There is something very comforting in Rossen's voice—it sounds familiar and totally unique at the same time.
  
  Solange—Sol-Angel & The Hadley St. Dreams Even if Beyonce's little sister doesn't have quite as massive a voice as her sibling does, she still managed to craft one of the better R&B pleasures of this year. Her music here evokes two different eras of Motown sounds—both the carefully crafted soul-pop of the 60's and the intimate basement funk of the 70's. She even has a track called "Ode to Marvin" with the propulsive What's Going On beat. Maybe using such beloved sounds is a cheap trick.
  

• 08/20/08

  Nico Muhly—Mothertongue With this lovely modern classical piece that emphasizes the human voice, Muhly makes electroacoustic music of exquisite beauty. His music connects with the listener in a way that much current classical fails—it's emotional and cerebral at the same time. In the past, Muhly has drawn attention for collaborations with Bjork and Philip Glass, but with this latest piece he will receive a lot of attention in his own right.
  
  Basic Channel—BCD-2 Basic Channel, a team of sound-obsessed Berliners, infused dub reggae dynamics into techno music in the '90s, emphasizing atmosphere over danceability. Fast forward 15 years and every DJ in the German capital has incorporated some aspect of their sound—even Panda Bear name-dropped the group in the liner notes to his last album. This album is the second official compilation on CD of their seminal tracks, and it's a testament to the continuing relevance of the group that it does not sound dated in the least.
  
  Silver Jews—Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea David Berman's barroom Nashville touring band provides the perfect soundtrack for your post-90s indie rock hangover. His country-fried roots rock sounds great on a jukebox at 2 a.m. when his off-hand, cryptic lyrics are most likely to spark revelations you'll forget come morning. Fret not, the Silver Jews may bring to mind despair, but within every song lies a glint of hope.
  

• 08/05/08

  Abe Vigoda—Skeleton From the same L.A. scene that produced No Age, Abe Vigoda's new album doesn't sound quite like anything we've ever heard. It's cheaply recorded and slightly spazzy pop punk with tropical flavors. Basically, it's the kind of band that you either love or hate immediately. We find ourselves in the first camp, happily keeping this one on repeat.
  
  Karl Hector & the Malcouns—Sahara Swing We don't have much information on this band other than the fact that they record for Now Again records and are probably from Germany. That second fact comes as a real shock because the band produces funky Ethiopian-influenced instrumental jams that sound like something that came out of a basement in Addis Ababa in 1973. The recording is top notch, too, with an analog style sound that recalls recent Daptone productions.
  
  Oneida—Preteen Weaponry Oneida is a Brooklyn band that has never truly blown up like many of their peers, but have quietly and consistently been producing great albums for most of this decade. One of the best live bands in New York, this latest album is three tracks of droning instrumental rock music that is dynamic enough to be more than just a great jam session. With their last few albums being more song-oriented, we're excited to hear these guys stretching out, experimenting, and showing off just how great a band they are.
  

• 07/23/08

  The Kiss Off—Brace This new Brooklyn band lists Echo and the Bunnymen and David Bowie among their influences and you can tell. There's plenty of drama and paranoia in the vocals and swelling keyboards to set this band apart from a host of other new wave revivalists. But underneath all of that, they're a tough New York rock band with a tight, fully realized sound.
  
  Air France—No Way Down Air France is a band from Gothenburg, Sweden, who make massive-sounding summer soundscapes. Their music has been lumped in with the balearic disco sound (which is based on the blissful dance music that emerged in the '80s on the party island of Ibiza). While it's true you can dance to this, and it is indeed blissful, there is much more going on here than mere dance revivalism. The entire EP sounds like the soundtrack to a movie and just listening to the record you can almost see it (we'll give you a hint: it takes place on a beach).
  
  Grouper—Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill There are many things that we think about when we listen to Grouper, the pseudonym of Portland, Oregon's Liz Harris, but we definitely don't think about dragging a dead deer up a hill. More likely we think about listening to a siren's song while underwater or dreaming about lovely folk songs. More often than not, Grouper plays music accompanied by only piano or guitar but the album is recorded so that it feels like you could swim through the guitar strums and close harmonies. We suggest listening to this at 3 a.m. as you drift pleasantly into R.E.M state.

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