Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

Boy meets girl. Boy and girl like each other’s music. Boy and girl start going to each other’s shows. Boy and girl start dating. Boy and girl get married. Boy and girl make music (among other things) together. Boy and girl sell lots of records and become adored by many.

That’s the story of The Weepies, the duo of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen (and now a little Weepie that was just recently born). After a somewhat successful debut Happiness and great success with their sophomore Say I Am You, everybody’s favorite married band just released their third LP Hideaway. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Hideaway, and upon receiving the album last week, I have not been disappointed.

There’s an indescribable charm and enchantment that The Weepies have. Both Tannen’s and Talan’s have elegant, soft-spoken natures to their voices that give these pop-folk tunes a real gentleness to them. And when these voices harmonize, it’s sheer ecstasy–plain and simple. But accompanying those voices is some real intellect. The Weepies love wordplay (”Old Coyote”), and are able to evoke certain imagery with such beautiful vividness and poignancy that you can’t help but succumb to their sounds.

Nonetheless, The Weepies don’t skimp on the melodies either. “How You Survived the War” has an achingly sweet chorus that is achieved through a delicate acoustic guitar and light strings chirping in the background. “Antarctica” is perhaps the most devilishly pop-saturated song on this album, with wonderful layered guitars and steady rhythmic percussions. The lead single “All Good Things” may not be the highlight on this album in my opinion, but it is so fantastically catchy that you’ll be singing its chorus for several days. And the album closer “All This Beauty” is perfectly placed, sounding as if Deb and Steve gathered all the melodies they used in the album and bringing them together for one last hurrah for the most accessible and most delightful song on the album.

If this album was good enough to elicit the first ‘long’ post of the year for me, then you know it’s good. GET Hideaway now!

Listen to “All This Beauty” (5/5)

Listen to “Antarctica” (5/5)

From the upcoming Jim, comes the video for the Jamie Lidell’s “Little Bit of Feel Good.”

English rockers Vincent Vincent and the Villains have just released their debut album Gospel Bombs, an enchanting collection of intriguing rock tunes with some shades of blues and some 1920s backdoor dealings. If you like Razorlight or the Rumble Strips (a former member of VVV left to start the Rumble Strips), then this is right up your alley. Trippy rock-pop tunes, even-toned vocals, and hints of reggae make Gospel Bombs a wonderful, enjoyable LP. Lead singer and guitarist Vincent Vincent has a uniquely pleasing voice, which gels quite well with the accessible riffs that back him.

“End of the Night” is a pounding magical anthem that sounds like the child of The National and The Rosebuds. “Killing Time” and “Pretty Girl” are relaxing, joyous tracks that drip with optimism, while the intricate rhythms of “Blue Boy” and “On My Own” makes this album better and better upon each listen.

So go and grab a copy of Gospel Bombs.

Listen to “On My Own” (4.9/5)

Listen to “End of the Night” (4.7/5)

What makes Minneapolis-based, veteran hip-hop collective Kanser so infectious? It’s the beats, my friend.  Their latest LP Future Retro Legacy may be somewhat of an oxymoron, but upon listening to the album, you’ll find that is really isn’t.  Fusing big -blaring horns with pulsing rhythms, along with dashes of piano and a whole lot of groove.  Though I wouldn’t suggest stand-up for these Minnesotans, there is certainly a great comedic aspect to this album as a whole that makes it quite enjoyable.

The vocals are also quite intriguing, mixing rap and R&B, hints of soul and even motown. The sound as a whole might be compared to that of Lyrics Born, as can be heard in “Legacy”, with shouts of ‘You ain’t gotta remember my name’  ringing in your head througout the chorus.  “Hands on My Time” is a semantic-driven track, where you can actually feel the light-heartedness that most likely filled the recording studio. As is sung on “Coming Out Again”, ‘Sunshine is coming out again’ and there’s no better time to grab a copy of Future Retro Legacy.

Listen to “Hands on My Time” (4.6/5)

Listen to “Coming Out Again (The Sunshine Song)” (4.8/5)

Orlando, Florida collective The OaKs’ polished sound didn’t come so easy. Co-founder of The OaKs, Ryan Costello, sold everything he owned in 2003 and joined a health organization and moved to Afghanistan. There he taught locals new agricultural techniques, but Costello eventually moved back to the US in 2005. Joining up with former partner Matthew Antolik, they released their first LP. But in preparation for their sophomore release, the two frontmen added a few more members to their band, having just released their new album Songs for Waiting.

A dually dark and optimistically dreamy collection of tracks, Songs for Waiting spreads the gamut from blues to soul to pop. They draw comparisons to a more subdued Dave Matthews Band (listen to “Masood”), with their expanded range of instrumentation and intriguing rhythms. “Pike Country” is a lazy-horned, piano-driven rock lament that finds itself following effortlessly after “Old Bones”, a song as upbeat as it is catchy. “War Changes Everything” is a Wurlitzer and electric organ-heavy rock ballad (I suppose), again focusing on intricate rhythms. I’m quite impressed with the stylings of drummer Matthew Antolik and keyboardist Tim Cocking–they really make this record work. So be sure and get a copy of Songs for Waiting.

Listen to “Old Bones” (4.8/5)

Listen to “Pike Country” (4.6/5)

Dilbert really isn’t funny.

I want to share a couple of tracks that have been in my queue lately. These two songs, one from perennial favorite Sufjan and one from country-folk newcomes Sera Cahoone, are sure to delight that sense of solace you’re feeling right about now.

Sufjan Stevens - Far Physician’s Son (4.8/5)

Sera Cahoone - Runnin’ Your Way (4.5/5)

I’d really like to take a chance to just write briefly about the state of music in the year of 2008. I am a optimist disguised as a cynic at times, but when it comes to music, it’s quite hard to hide that unbridled positivity within me. That’s why it has been so frustrating, as of January of this year, to find artists/bands that have profoundly affected me the way certain ones did last year. The albums that I have put forth on this blog are the best of what I’ve heard, because it’s my ‘job’ to sort out the good from the decent and the bad. But I’m looking for something great! I want an album that I can play incessantly, that I can listen in 6 months from now and have it mean something different to me. Andrew Bird, The National, Josh Ritter, Jens Lekman–their respective albums fulfill such criteria for me, but gosh darnit, I’m frustrated!

That said, The Office has returned to NBC post-strike-of-the-writers. If you haven’t seen it yet, please do. But in the episode, there is this awful, awful song that Michael’s girlfriend plays. Lo and behold, it was actually Todd Fancy of the New Pornographers who wrote it! Anyhow, NBC has got some promotional stuff they want you to do for the 45 second clip of the song, so you can check that out if you’re interested.

Here’s the clip, courtesy of Hypeful : “That One Night“

Folk-project Sun Kil Moon is not the machination of a certain North Korean leader, nor is it a violent battle between the leading figures of day and night. Rather, it is the beautiful genius of Mark Kozelek (it’s actually named after Korean boxer Sung-kil Moon!), who you might know from his former band Red House Painters.

Sun Kil Moon’s third proper LP April really could not come during a better month. Aside from the not-so-coincidental similarity between the album’s title and the album’s month of release, April captures everything that early spring brings to the Northern Hemisphere (sorry my dear Australians!). Much like the pitter-patter of spring showers on the roof above our lovely abodes, the tracks on April provide a sense of cozy warmth and appreciation for the blossoming world that lies outside our windows.

Kozelek’s vocals are so comfortingly sweet, calling to mind a country-folk version of Nick Drake, and certainly comparable to some type of bourbon. But what is most poignant about April is the diary-like sentimentality that exudes from it, showcasing Kozelek’s songwriting skills and his band’s instrumentation. “Tonight in Bilbao” is a slow-rolling gem that collects steam as it softly chugs on in the brain long after the song is over. “Harper Road” shows a more vulnerable Kozelek, with his voice cracking falsetto at the chorus’ crescendo. Never outstaying its welcome despite songs as long as 10 minutes, Sun Kil Moon’s April is a folk masterpiece. So take off the rain boots, set the raincoat aside, slip into a pair of those comfy sweatpants, and grab a copy of April.

Listen to “Harper Road” (4.7/5)

Listen to “Tonight in Bilbao” (4.7/5)

Of all the things I took folk-rocker Chuck Prophet to be, I certainly didn’t think him to be prolific. But alas, I am so ever happily incorrect, as Prophet has just released a cover album of Waylon Jennings’. Under the title of Dreaming Waylon’s Dreams, the album is an amazingly unique and different reinterpretation of Jennings’ classic Dreaming My Dreams. Indeed, Prophet infuses some incredible re-imagining into this sleepy-eyed, magical opus.

Where Jennings adds his characteristic country-rock, feel-good aura to the original tracks, Prophet subdues these songs in a painfully sweet way. Prophet slows these tracks down, extracts as much beauty out of them as Jennings would warrant. “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?” is perhaps the most enchanting and captivating song I’ve heard all year, and is certainly a wonderful adaptation of Jennings’ original. So be sure to do like Hank, and grab a copy of Dreaming Waylon’s Dreams.

Listen to “Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way?” (5/5)

Listen to “Dreaming My Dreams with You” (4.4/5)

The past few days have been quite busy, what with getting back into the swings of things in life and in school. That said, expect me to come back from my 6 day hiatus with a vengeance. Seriously. Stay tuned for a post real soon.

Thank you for your cooperation and readership,

Benji