Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

Hey all. I’m a little sparse on information about this band, but I got a few great ditties drop in my inbox about The B-roads and I wanted to share them with you.

The B-roads is the nom de plume of one Paul O’Hara, and his album B-movies features some great weathered, folky sounds. Rich and ethereal, bluesy and moody, B-movies sounds like Dave Matthews bumped into Iron & Wine on the street.

The B-roads have two tracks available for free on last.fm (see links below).

Check out the B-roads.

Listen to “If I look through your eyes”

Listen to “Slow Suicide“

Don’t fool yourself: JJ n° 3 is actually Swedish collective JJ’s 2nd LP. I’ll be honest: I didn’t really see what the fuss was about their debut album JJ n° 2, which received all sorts of accolades and praise from everybody and their mother. I was skeptical coming into JJ n° 3, but I am impressed.

In stead of a full-out review, I’ll bullet-point the highlights:

“No Escapin’ This” — Imagine The Knife playing in an FAO Schwartz. Yeah.

“You Know” — Reminds me of The Cardigans in their heydey. Surpisingly poppy, insanely catchy.

“Voi Parlate, lo Gioco” — Harmonious, captivating, enchanting.

Get a copy of JJ n° 3

Listen to “Let Go”

Listen to “No Escapin’ This“

Because “Love 1″ wasn’t enough, I guess. French genre-creating, pioneering power duo Air released their 6th LP Love 2 back in October, but I realized I let this go by without a review. I’ll be succint.

Love 2 isn’t Moon Safari (if haven’t heard Moon Safari, stop everything and go and listen to it. Go. Now. I’ll wait for you.). But then again, it’s not about recreating the past but defiantly moving forward. Air has found ways to change the game, to constantly push their own sound into uncharted territory. “African Velvet” possesses perhaps the funkiest riff I’ve heard in some time, and the soft accent of a tenor sax adds some real color. The rocked-out, energetic “Eat My Beat” shines with twinkling ivory and dirty guitar riffs. “Love” has a strange quaintness to it, that dances around your ears and then takes a dive right in. “Sing Sang Sung” is classic Air, insanely infectious and downright joyful. See the video below for visual ecstasy. Actually, just watch the damn video–it’s too awesome.

Get a copy of Love 2.

Listen to “African Velvet”

Listen to “Eat My Beat”

And Now This (Remake of “La Femme D’Argent” from Moon Safari)

Lexington, KY native Ben Sollee has been a long-time favorite of CSV, and his latest project with fellow Kentuckians Daniel Martin Moore and Yim Yames (of My Morning Jacket fame) has got me excited. The new LP, titled Dear Companion, is a call to action regarding the Mountaintop Removal coal mining taking place in the Appalachians (a portion of the proceeds from Dear Companion will benefit Appalachian Voices, an organization devoted to ending MTR and finding a better way forward).

But on to the album for now. Energetic and patient, frenetic and delicate, Dear Companion runs the gamut of human emotions. Opening track “Something, Somewhere, Sometime” enters in with the urgent strumming a single chord, then the cellos come in, then a rolling banjo streams forth, and Sollee’s voice bursts forth in its silky smooth glory. “Needn’t Say a Thing” slows things down a bit, with “Wilson Creek” bringing the album to the speed of an achingly sweet interlude.  The bouncy “Only a Song” has Sollee at his best: folksy, soulful, tongue-in-cheek, and socially conscious.The fiery “Dear Companion” breaks through with a southern fury, an amalgam of blazing strings and a damning charge by Martin Moore. Taking turns at the mic, Sollee comes back with “Try”, a finger-pluckin’ good time that’ll have you singing ‘I can’t wait to hold your little hand’ in no time.  And as the rock-a-bye instrumental “Flyrock #2″ fades slowly into “Sweet Marie” and the bonfire-friendly “It Won’t Be Long”, you realize that this is an album crafted with care and dripping with the sweet nectar of the bluegrass state

Best line: “I get a little scared / when I’m driving through the ghetto / there’s a part of me that wants to hide / there’s a part of me that wants to move in” (from “Only a Song”)

Get a copy of Dear Companion.

Listen to “Try”

Listen to “Something, Somewhere, Sometime“

I know what you’re saying–didn’t I write up a review about Tristan back in October? Well, my dear readers, let’s just call Clopet prolific, as he’s released his new EP Purple after the excellently done EP Duende. But honestly, what’s quantity without quality? And believe me, there’s no shortage of quality here. Admittedly, I’m a big fan of smaller offerings packed tight with goodies as opposed to the hit-or-miss, arduous 21-track album format that is increasingly going to the wayside.

So what about Purple? The best thing I can say about Purple is the very fact that this will appeal to anyone. “Proximity Bomb” is a testosterone-charged track that has a certain grit and infectiousness, walking the line between hip-hop and rock.  Clopet then breezes right into “So Alive”, highlighted with Clopet’s soaring vocals and lyrical dexterity, and accented with wonderful rhythm and reverb. And if you feel the need to get symphonically funky, then look no further than “Superficiality is a Sin”–this is one of the most intriguing songs I’ve heard all year! ‘Fear is the greatest governor of man’, Clopet sings on “Ethereal Evidence”, as he showcases his storytelling abilities. And Clopet must’ve taken a page from the Fleet Foxes with the resonating, serene opening to “Love and A Question”, an achingly sweet ballad that exudes soul and wonder.

So, basically, take a hint. Go and get Purple – EP (It’s a pay-what-you-want type….if you spend $5 or more, 3 live tracks are included as bonuses!)

Also be sure to check out the Tristan Clopet & The Juice Live album (note: iTunes link).

Listen to “So Alive”

Listen to “Superficiality is a Sin“

Citay’s sophomore LP Little Kingdom (2007) was anything but ‘little’: expansive soundscapes, swirling guitars of shoegazey deliciousness, and ethereal aesthetics. Well, consider Citay’s new full-length Dream Get Together an aspiration to even greater heights and delectable grooves. As a a big fan of Citay’s previous work, I entered Dream Get Together with a mix of both excitement and anxiety; was it going to live up to my (perhaps unreasonable) expectations? In brief, the answer is that it certainly did, and I tell you why.

When I spoke with lead man Ezra Feinberg back in May-June of last year, he mentioned that the new Citay album was going to to be poppier, looser, more stretched out. I remember him saying to imagine the hair being let down and letting the free flags fly. And yes, Dream Get Together sees a departure from the formula that worked well in Little Kingdom and Citay. Firstly, I hear a great deal more vocals and a deviation from the sort of layered rock that prevailed previously. Lead track “Careful with that Hat” is less of an admonishment as it is a glorious bon voyage onto a wonderful journey laced with spiraling guitars and precious harmonies. “Secret Breakfast” sounds to me as though a flautist were warming up with the sun rays and the whole day’s potential lying before him (an American ‘raga’ of sorts?). “Mirror Kisses” is halfway between an homage to Neil Young and those Ricola Horn Blowers (see here for reference). Perhaps the album’s highlight, “Hunter” is a piece that gradually develops as it flows, with funked-out high-pitched synths seeing solos and then descending seamlessly into a waterfall of shimmering rock goodness. And that ending is just gorgeous! And the titled-pun “Fortunate Sun” is not so reminiscent of CCR as it is a cheery, rolling ditty featuring the classic electric guitar stylings that is Citay’s bread and butter–the lullaby ending is as delightfully fragile as it gets.

Don’t miss out on Dream Get Together.

Courtesy of Dead Oceans:

Listen to “Careful with that Hat”

Listen to “Mirror Kisses“

I’ll be having a review coming up tomorrow or the next day (Friday), but until then…..

1. Josh Ritter has a new album coming out May 4th, titled So Runs the World Away. In case you didn’t know, Ritter won top honors in my “Best Of” list back in ’08, and I am just plain ol’ giddy to hear what’s next! He’s released his first single from the upcoming album (below).

G’day mate. That and opposite spinning toilets are  the extent of my knowledge regarding Australian dialect. Nevertheless, I’m liking what I’m hearing come from down under. First Wally de Backer (see Gotye) and The Basics (new album out, btw). And now there’s the new EP from Bird Automatic Not Morning People. This is a wonderful little sampling of music from  a talented quintet out of Sydney.

Bird Automatic does best when using its ‘quiet voice’ as opposed to the emotive-arena-rock of “Drew a Line”. The rolling bassline, slap-happy clapping and ebb-and-flow of “Fireflies” sounds like a lot like a Pinback resurrection, and you’re no hearing complains from me on that front. “Borders not Boundaries” illustrates how purely affable Bird Automatic is, and there’s certainly plenty of potential to be spoken for here.

Best line (from ‘Drew a Line’): “Difference is tearin’ us apart”

Check out their website.

Download “Fireflies” free from  Bird Automatic’s website.

Listen to “Borders not Boundaries“

It’s a declarative statement, and by gosh, Four Tet will make you believe it by the end of his newest LP There is Love in You. As you may or may not be aware, Four Tet is laptop brainchild of one Kieran Hebden. He’s been around the block for quite a few years now, but his work has finally made that trek from the strange to the esoteric to their strangely enjoyable. Less clicks and clacks and more rhythms, There is Love in You is as warm and embracing as a computer will get.

Imagine a portrait of someone you know and love. Then imagine Picasso just messed with it and there’s an ecletic element to it that you love. Essentially, that’s why I imagine Hebden doing with the tracks here on There is Love. The underwater homage to Air that is “Circling”  is one of those minimalist beauties that develops right inbetween your ears, leaving you wanting a whole lot more by the track’s end. “This Unfolds” is a blatant olive branch to the listener: ‘don’t worry’, I imagine him saying, ‘this is going somewhere. I promise.’ Where that place is I’m not exactly sure, but I’m certain it’s on the set of Beverly Hills Cop III. Yes, I just went there. Anyhow, the disjointed “Plastic People” has a peculiar intrigue that draws me in, but doesn’t really reward me. The Latino influence in ‘She Just Likes to Fight” has a delicate somberness to it (Album Leaf, anyone?), and it stands out a little bit like a sore thumb here because of the stark contrast. In my opinion, that’s exactly why the song succeeds here.

Best line: “Love cry”

Grab a copy of There is Love in You.

Listen to “Angel Echoes“

Shhh…I have a secret for you.

What, you say? That I’ve been MIA for a long time? Yeah, this is true, but I’m taking about something secretly canadian.

I gotta tell you that Secretly Canadian’s lineup gets more and more impressive by the week. The Seattle-based collective Throw Me the Statue released their second LP Createresque last August, and I’ve been meaning to write about it for a while now. As legend has it, the idea behind Throw Me the Statue began as a sort of mixtape for a girl, and has flourished under Scott Reitherman’s guidance into a rhythmic, cerebral type of indie pop, playing off the delight of syncopation and falsetto. Sure enough, Pitchfork gave them a not-so-flattering 6.1, which really only means that they must actually be good. Another story for another day.

But Createresque. Bonafide good. I mean what a cheerful optimism embedded in the infections bassline in “Pistols” and the crashing waves of drums in “Tag”. “Baby You’re Bored” is reminiscent of Noah and the Whale in the sense of capturing that sort of care-to-the-wind, comical pop (but more harmonious perhaps!). And the cheezy echoing hat-tip to the 80s in “Cannibal Rays” is as enjoyable as it is just plain fun! That chorus will not get out your head for days, and neither will that smile on your face. You know what I’m talking about…..

Best line: (in “Pistols”): “These lonely brothers on the radio / If that’s a DJ I’m the pilgrim Mona Lisa”

Listen to “Cannibal Rays”

Listen to “Pistols“