Thu: 05-15-08
Subtle
ExitingARM
While it highlights what's always been catchiest about Subtle's music, being full of short, fast bangers that you can enjoy out of the corner of your ear, the latest from Doseone's avant-pop/ hip-hop project is also lyrically dense and thematically complex, expanding upon the symbols and storylines they've been developing since their inception.
Wed: 05-14-08
Quiet Village
Silent Movie
The thin line between schmaltz and beauty is something musicians have had to grapple with for a while. Working together as Quiet Village, Matt Edwards of Radio Slave and his collaborator Joel Martin strike just the right balance, transforming easy listening sounds of the past into the soundtrack to the finest 3 a.m. trip home you'll have all year.
Tue: 05-06-08
The Tallest Man on Earth
Shallow Graves
This Scandinavian folk singer embodies the (seemingly) breezy effortlessness of early Bob Dylan, infusing his songs with a detachment that, miraculously, is neither cold nor alienating.
Mon: 04-14-08
Frightened Rabbit
Midnight Organ Fight
Glasgow indie pop band (is there any other kind of Glasgow band?) follows its slept-on and charming debut Sing the Greys with another assured set of soulful barnburners and aching ballads.
Fri: 04-11-08
Sun Kil Moon / Mark Kozelek
April / Nights
Much-loved cult singer and songwriter Mark Kozelek releases both the new Sun Kil Moon record and, under his own name, a disc of alternate takes, rarities, and live tracks to accompany the American release of his book of lyrics, Nights of Passed Over, which is culled primarily from his work with Red House Painters.
Mon: 04-07-08
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
This is how rock musicians are supposed to age: Over 30 years, first with the Birthday Party and then with the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave has refined his lurid growl and lascivious subject matter, and at 50 he shows no signs of slowing or going soft.
Wed: 04-02-08
Sian Alice Group
59.59
On their debut album, this London band charts transformations from psych-rock and pastoral folk to free-jazz breakdowns, pounding Afro-tech grooves, and avant-classical composition.
Mon: 03-31-08
Melchior Productions
No Disco Future
After tapping away, in his inimitable style, for a long time now, minimally-inclined German producer Thomas Melchior has made the best record of his career.
Thu: 03-27-08
Yellow Swans
At All Ends
The umpteenth release from this Portland duo is an unashamedly epic album of grand noise-drones, with ambitious pieces in search of infinite expansion.
Tue: 03-25-08
Destroyer
Trouble in Dreams
By now, Dan Bejar's signature eccentricities have grown predictable, but they're still no less risky, and Trouble in Dreams succeeds despite both itself and contemporary notions of taste.
Fri: 03-21-08
Various Artists
Love and Circuits: A Cardboard Records Compilation (From Aa To Zs)
By abandoning notions of scenes, enclaves, genre, and anything else but bands still plugging away at a DIY model, this 2xCD compilation of everything from punk to folk to experimental music to drone is about as accurate a representation of whatever passes for "indie" these days as you're likely to find. Among the 57 bands featured are Matt & Kim, Oneida, Fuck Buttons, High Places, Thee Oh Sees, Numbers, Gowns, and Parts & Labor.
Fri: 03-14-08
Neon Neon
Stainless Style
Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip enlist the Strokes' Fab Moretti, Spank Rock, Yo Majesty, and others on a record that-- although it was conceived two years ago-- captures a lot of what's been in the past few years' zeitgeist.
