Kevin Drew: "Age of Consent" cover

One of my favorite New Order songs gets covered by Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew. It's up on PF today. Its pretty in that soft, sparse, Tori-ish kind of way. Check it out.

Phospherescent: Pride

I don't know where to begin with this one. Phosphorescent is one guy, Mathew Houck, and I think the best word to use to describe his music is sweeping. It's slow, it pleads, and it cascades left and right with rich vocal harmony and slow, plodding guitar strums. It has a lot of space. It's an expiremental approach to folk music, but there are still rich melodies at the surface that keep the songs sounding familiar, but just a little out of reach.

Listen to this one at night, when you're sitting at your computer by yourself. This stuff is like lotion-music. It's a little cold at first, but its thick and creazy, and it feels good once it soaks in.

As for the equation, I'm thinking: Mazzy Star x (Crosby, Stills & Nash + + Will Oldham + a pinch Band of Horses)

LINK: Phospherescent: Pride

Ryan Adams: Cold Roses

Recently I was aghast at the news that a good friend had not only never heard, but had never heard of Ryan Adams. For that poor soul I present disc one of Cold Roses, one of Ryan's more artistically developed (sounds like the Dead), and critically well-received (unlike the Dead) albums of late. Enjoy.

LINK:
Ryan Adams: Cold Roses

For everybody else who already owns this one, be sure to check out the Internet Archive for a ton of great-sounding Ryan Adams live shows. I would recommend this show from Ludwigshafen, Germany in 2006.

Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala

The new Jens Lekman album could be described as "cuter than a button" which is an expression my grandma used to use, and one which never made much sense to me. Speaking of Grandmas, yours would probably dig Night Falls Over Kortedala because Jens is only one or two degrees removed from Frankie Valli or Barry Manilow. Jens has a clear knack for pop melodies, but he's soft and buttery.

That's right, if Jens continues his successful career, it's entirely likely that your grandkids may one day wonder how you ever liked "that kind of music" and why it was cool in it's time (though it's really not at all).

People are either going to love this album or say to themselves, "Wow. I didn't realize it before, but this guy is kind of a puss." I mean, just look at the cover. Who cares though, there are some great songs, and some cheesy songs, and some cheesy songs that are great.

LINK:
Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala

For good measure, I'm throwing in a couple bonus links. Check out the new Jose Gonzalez and a full discography from The Knife.

The Knife: Complete Discography
Jose Gonzalez: In Our Nature

Josh Ritter: The Historical Conquests Of...

Normally the whole dude-with-acoustic thing doesn't do much for me, but Josh Ritter is a different kind of dude-with-acoustic. Lyrically he's almost embarrassingly warm and charming. The songs themselves have that undeniable Woody Guthrie kind of authenticity, almost like there's a little role for all of us in each number. They're not all overwrought with emotion, just honest folk tunes from somebody who seems like a good, wholesome dude. This album plays like a friend who's just calling to check in and tell you what's been going on.

LINK:
Josh Ritter: The Historical Conquests Of...

Red House Painters: s/t

Music for a rainy day. The best thing about RHP is that they sound like your friend's friend's band. The record is low budget, but it absolutely reeks of passion and certainty.

LINK:
Red House Painters: self-titled (AKA "Rollercoaster")

Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog

Here's the new one from Iron & Wine, and it is outstanding... his best since The Creek Drank the Cradle. That's saying something because over 2 albums and 3 EPs, his work has always progressed artistically, and been strikingly consistent.

The Shepherd's Dog finds Sam Beam taking on gradually more expansive arrangements and instrumentation. If the muddy homemade recordings on Creek showed Beam's potential as a songwriter, then Shepherd is his PhD dissertation. Highly recommended.



LINK:
Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog

Okkervil River: The Stage Names

Don't judge a book by it's cover, because let's face it, covers don't get much worse than that. Here's the question -- are we viewing the palm or the back of that hand?

Thanks to Dick Darlington for hunting this one down. First listen: not blown away, but pretty happy with the results.

Soooo many highly-anticipated records leaking lately. I'll be on the lookout for links to other new ones, and get those up when and if I can. New jams from the New Pornographers, Interpol and Iron & Wine are all on the loose this week.

LINK:
Okkervil River: The Stage Names

Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger

When it comes to Ryan Adams, two things are certain: The man is a total self-absorbed douchebag, and also happens to be one of the most talented -- not to mention prolific -- songwriters of our time. I don't really mind the guy's personality, because let's face it, it's interesting. Rock'n Roll needs more loose mouths, and fewer poster boys.

Here, in it's entirety, is probably one of the more memorable answering machine messages in music history. Ryan drops in on Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis, with a few choice words concerning his review of a recent show. This is what I mean by interesting.

Fans are saying this new release, Easy Tiger, is the best since his debut Heartbreaker. The Grateful Dead tendencies continue on tracks like the excellent opener, "Goodnight Rose," but overall we see a pretty wide breadth of styles explored on this disc. Ryan's voice makes a welcome return back to Nashville, with the wavering yowl in full effect.

And just to spice things up for the haters, here's Ryan covering my favorite Alice In Chains tune, "Down In a Hole." Tell me who in the Alt-Country community covers Alice In Chains? Props.

Ryan Adams - "Down In a Hole"

LINK:
Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger

Destroyer's Rubies

One of my Top 3 albums from 2006, Rubies can be a very rewarding listen if you don't mind (1) a lead singer who voice is unconventional enough that it warrants comparison (inaccurately, IMO) to Bob Dylan in the mid 1970s, (2) lyrics that might seem abstract and meaningless, but also completely smack you in the face with a brilliant line or two on occasion, (3) a stream-of-consciousness approach to song writing. Plus, there are some truly gorgeous melodies to be found in all this mess. I love it, but Destroyer is not a band for everyone.

LINK:
Destroyer: Destroyer's Rubies

New Okkervil River - "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe"

Once Stage Names, the new Okkervil album coming August hits I'll have a few hundred more plays piled on to the old Last.fm tracker (which, by the way, you should get).

Here's the opening cut from the album, and it's predictably mega. Even better it shows that Okkervil River continue to explore some new directions while refining everything that made their last album Black Sheep Boy the best release of 2005 (IMHO of course). Will Sheff comes even closer to blowing out his voice on this track -- and in fact may have.

LISTEN:
Okkervil River - "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe"

Feist - The Reminder

First off, Feist's voice sounds incredible on this album. It might lacking a style or two found on 2004's Let It Die -- most noticeably the soft rock / AM gold flavors on tracks like "One Evening" -- but it makes up for it with some rollicking stomps and agonizingly beautiful ballads. She got the goods.

Download:
Feist - The Reminder

Highlights:
I Feel It all
The Park

Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska

So finally The Boss is getting his just due. Suddenly it's cool to emulate the Bruce, and it's high time that Bruce found a path alongside Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash and Dylan as a definitive songwriter of his time. And if you ask me, Nebraska is a HUGE part of the Boss' lore.

Key info from the wiki:

Initially Springsteen recorded demos for the album at his home with 4-track cassette recorder. The demos were sparse, using only acoustic guitar, electric guitar (on "Open All Night"), harmonica, and Springsteen's voice.

Springsteen then recorded the album in a studio with the E Street Band. However, he and the producers and engineers working with him felt that a raw, haunted folk essence present on the home tapes was lacking in the band treatments, and so they ultimately decided to release the demo version as the final album. Complications with mastering the low-peak tapes ensued but were then overcome.

DOWNLOAD:
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska

More info on Nebraska from All Music Guide