»Album Reviews For Release Date: 05.11.10
by Joshua Krage

Whole lotta head-scratching to be done this week, with the strange concoctions from the likes of Cocorosie and Gayngs to established acts like Keane and U.N.K.L.E. changing up their winning formulas for art’s sake and beyond. You’ll see what I mean…

As I Lay Dying

Marco Benevento, Between the Needles and Nightfall – hadn’t heard of this whimsical avant-jazz ivory-tinkler but along with a choice restrained rhythm section, he’s evidently released two albums of colorful genre-mashing before this work, which is quite a genre collage of its own. Amazing instrument choices and stunning dynamic shifts dot every track with unique landmarks, and the crazy, hazy textures hanging in the background create a mood that’s part art-house, part fun-house. Severely interesting, in a low-key sort of way, and the best instrumental jazz I’ve heard this month.

Bon Jovi – needless “Tour Edition” reissues
Jackson Browne / David Lindley
Jonathan Butler
Capitol Steps
Carney
Cattle Decapitation
Clutch – live

Cocorosie, Grey Oceans – there is an endless array of adjectives which could be used to describe the music of these oddly ethereal sisters, but no matter how expansive the list, it wouldn’t be enough–a quality which is both intriguing and frustrating listening to this new album. Their demure, quivering elven vocals float uncertainly over scores of strange, barely-stable instrumentation, from ambient keys and despairing strings to chopped-up pianos and breakbeats. Odd as it sounds to say, this really is the kind of music one would make in a cauldron in some enchanted forest, which fits their personality well and, upon reflection, sounds very deliberate, however perplexing.

Crash Test Dummies

The Dead Weather, Sea of Cowards – new LP less than a year after their first? Yes, please! Don’t quite know how they pulled it off, but album #2 doubles down on their blues-hound sound, taking the rough-edged sound of debut album Horehound and pushing it further and rawer, if that’s a word. New tricks added here include some space-age keyboards and a strange album-closing dirge by Jack White reinterpreting a traditional Catholic liturgy, but the rest of the album is pretty much a continuation of their debut, which is a good thing for everyone but those expecting something new and different.

Celine Dion – live

Everest, On Approach – second album from great new L.A. country/rock act just finding its quirky, roots music legs. Having three multi-instrumentalists/vocalists in the band definitely gives these guys an advantage in the arrangement department, and frontman Russ Pollard’s winsome, unsteady tenor sets the perfect pitch for these tales of searching and settling in. They sound like they’d be killer to see live.

4troops

Gayngs, Relayted – an eclectic and puzzling sort of indie dance collective, a bit like Broken Social Scene going chillwave in Minneapolis with a downtempo beat. Shadowy atmospherics and wistful drones are the overcurrents, but the foundations are all groove music, and these guys get pretty crazy with the random instrumental flourishes on some tracks. Guest spots includes members of Bon Iver and Megafaun and the whole guest list is pretty long, but if that’s how many people it takes to get us dancing in hipster fashion, then that’s what it takes.

Buddy Guy – yes, a new one

Holy Fuck, Latin – wow, didn’t expect the excellent ambient layers in this indie IDM collective’s third proper album. These guys are always incredibly inventive, but up to this point it’s been mostly with beats and blips; this time around they really bring the keyboard swells and synth genius in top form, making even more danceable and some bonus relaxable fare.

Hoodoo Gurus
IAMX – remixes & “reworkings”
Japandroids – “No Singles” early works comp

John 5, The Art of Malice – ever since wisely departing from Marilyn Manson’s band, this face-painted fret wizard has been schooling the entire instrumental shred community with each release, latest work included. In addition to the grip of face-melting shred sprints (including a Van Halen send-up featuring bassmaster Billy Sheehan), J5 throws in some classical fingerstyle, some chicken-pickin’, and some surprisingly subtle downtempo slide. This guy has nothing left to prove, being more than a match for any axeman from country/bluegrass all the way up to the highest histrionics of heavy metal, and he’s only getting better.

Karma to Burn

Keane, Night Train EP – a mini-album which is half continuation of their last LP and half leap forward into dance/pop production mastery. Inventive collaborations with Japanese singer Tigarah and Somali rapper K’Naan are deliberate departures from anything they’ve done up to this point, and their songs in general have quite a bit of layering and dynamics, but if you’ve heard them on either of their last two LPs, you’ve most likely discovered their greatness, which is only reinforced here.

Jennifer Knapp, Letting Go – if you haven’t heard the controversy surrounding this CCM songstress’ return to music after a lengthy “hiatus,” you can find it on your own; the story on this comeback album is the music. Knapp’s deeply cathartic voice and acoustic style were strong cornerstones of the Lilith Fair sound but what set her apart both then and now is the depth and poeticism of her confessional lyrics. I’ve heard no other artist who can express a soul torn against itself with such devastating beauty, both in written and sung verse as well as Jennifer Knapp, and she brings seven years’ worth of pent-up pathos to the table here. She starts off sounding a bit like Melissa Etheridge, but while her voice has found a bit more of a gravelly edge, she fully retains the wounded seeker she personifies so well throughout all these tracks, making for a stellar return, regardless of how the controversy will affect its receiving in the CCM and popular music community.

Kris Kristofferson – early demos
Male Bonding
Meat Loaf

The National, High Violet – to call the National “gloomy” is to describe a windowless room as “poorly lit,” but anyone who has heard Matt Berninger’s despairingly subdued baritone knows this and by now most of us have gotten past it. Rampant depression and paranoia aside (and with songs like “Afraid of Everyone,” “Sorrow” and “Terrible Love,” they’re hard to miss), this LP has some great ambient production, subtle strings, upbeat dynamics and vocal layering which, while not fully lifting the tracks above their inherent murk and mire, at least buoy them above the water level to the point where you feel like it’s a train ride on an overcast day rather than a solitary afternoon at the rained-out pier.

Placebo, Covers – for any of you unlucky enough to have not purchased the special edition of their 2003 Sleeping With Ghosts album, now you can finally snag what made that edition so special: a 10-song bonus disc of the androgynous ones covering a variety of new wave classics, ranging from Kate Bush to the Smiths to T. Rex, all brilliantly plied and played. Their version of the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind” even features Black Francis for bonus cred.

Portugal. the Man, American Ghetto – this indie rock band has far surpassed their original schtick. Birthed in the era of Fall Out Boy and overly-snarky song titles, the post-punk pogo-ism of their early electro leanings has given way to full-on ambientronic rock productions. Strange studio wizardy from producer Anthony Saffery steers these tracks into some trippy territory, and frontman John Gourley’s voice is like hazy LSD all over the album. A more downtempo work, but continuing the inventive trends of their last LP in grand mellow fashion.

Sage Francis
Carly Simon – live
Sing It Loud

Sleigh Bells, Treats – primary producer (and N.E.E.T. label owner) M.I.A.’s fingerprints are all over this band’s debut album. The Brooklyn duo not only delivers a hard-hitting pop/rock album, but hits it outta the park with their sometimes pop/sometimes punk lyrics blanketed in lots of gritty, subversive guitar sounds, plenty of synths and undeniably danceable beats. The quiet moments are still loud and angsty in a way that would’ve pissed your mom off when you were in high school. Absolutely look for this one on all of the Best Of 2010 lists, including ours.

Stereophonics
Taproot
Otis Taylor

U.N.K.L.E., Where Did the Night Fall – didn’t expect this at all. James Lavelle’s beat-heavy trip-hop dalliance stops tripping and goes straight electro dancepop, scoring guest vox from the likes of Mark Lanegan, Autolux and the Black Angels. Less patchy and experimental, less like a side-project and more a focused, deliberate statement, but not a statement that much of their earlier work suggested at all.

VA – American Idol season nine
Wax Fang

We Are the Fallen, Tear the World Down – a winning goth-rock formula of former Evanescence axeman Ben Moody and former AmIdol contestant (and Evanescence fan-girl) Carly Smithson, this album plays pretty much like Evanescence would have sounded if Amy Lee weren’t so control crazy, which is either a strength or a weakness depending on how much of their sorrow you may have enjoyed. Needless to say, there’s lots of big, ominous guitar crunch and brooding, layered vocals, and if you fell on the side of wishing Amy Lee would stop crying and start rocking, Tear the World Down is the album which will let your wrists heal up and start throwing the rawkfist.

Interesting, eh? That’s enough variety for a whole month, but this month has lots of great surprises to come, and next week sees albums dropping from Band of Horses, The Black Keys, and LCD Soundsystem, to name a few. See you then, see you there.

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

The band revisited the familiar, Jack White-owned stomping grounds of Nashville’s Third Man Records to play the album in its entirety. The performance is now posted on the band’s MySpace page as well as the MySpace Music front page.

Here’s the track listing so you can follow along:

Sea of Cowards
Release Date: May 11th via Third Man Records

01. Blue Blood Blues
02. Hustle and Cuss
03. The Difference Between Us
04. I’m Mad
05. Die By the Drop
06. I Can’t Hear You
07. Gasoline
08. No Horse
09. Looking at the Invisible Man
10. Jawbreaker
11. Old Mary

If it’s free MP3s and contests that you desire, visit tweematic.com/deadweather for a Twitter-based chance to download “Hustle and Cuss” and automatically be entered to win a trip to Bonnaroo.

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For more information on The Dead Weather, visit thedeadweather.com.

Sea of Cowards will be released on May 11th, via Third Man Records, but tour dates are out now:

04.15.10 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
04.16.10 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
04.17.10 Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
04.18.10 Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl Concert Theater
04.20.10 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
04.22.10 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
04.23.10 Bonner Springs, KS @ Sandstone
04.24.10 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
04.26.10 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
04.27.10 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Soundstage
04.28.10 Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall
04.30.10 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Ampitheater
05.01.10 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
05.02.10 New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
06.12.10 Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo

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For more information on The Dead Weather, visit thedeadweather.com.

With the most gluttonous of holidays behind us and the last month of 2009 in the throes of its annual death rattle, we’re using this time to leave you with our requisite year-end, “best of” list. There was a lot of music that slipped through the cracks in 2009, but we dug deep and gathered a substantial amount of albums which we believe to be the best that the last official year of the decade had to offer. Though, due to technological constraints, we weren’t able to include every artist, we have provided a playlist of highlights from the majority of the albums in our list!

As an independent music website run by a collection of music fans, we really appreciate every possible shred of support you send our way, so thank you for everything you’ve done to help contribute to the growth of Audioholic Media over the past year. Hi-fives for everyone, and happy New Year!

Audioholic Media‘s Favorite Albums of 2009
In alphabetical order, so as to not play favorites amongst our favorites:

Air
Love 2
12 tracks, Astralwerks — Caroline
Coming back around from their last foray into experimental music for experimenting’s sake, this stylish French duo turn in an album full of brilliant, accessible melodies and delightfully dense textures. Face it, these guys are freakin’ geniuses with all the grooves and tones they can pull out of those keyboard layers, and the driving, almost spy-like themes on some of these tracks take them in a whole new direction. Despite having a cover that looks more like an Air Supply album, the songs are dynamic and well-conducted, pared down in instrumentation but fleshed out in arrangement. Hip, stylish, catchy, and synth-y – coolness = maintained.

The Antlers
Hospice
10 tracks, Frenchkiss
This album shows us that we can have a dark side and be compassionate all at the same time. The haunting and melodic tunes of Hospice bring an unconventional feeling to easy listening. Make sure to listen to this album from beginning to end (no shuffle option, either!) because the whole story unfolds that way.

Antony and the Johnsons
The Crying Light
10 tracks, Secretly Canadian
The Crying Light is a quiet, polished and slightly left-of-center album either best or worst listened to while on psychedelics. The third studio release from the band, Antony Hegarty and his Johnsons created something that feels almost uncomfortably personal, with Hegarty’s unusual and slightly eerie voice and lyrics lingering over each melody. The album creates a sense of mystery and is a little haunting in an unearthly sort of way.

Bat For Lashes
Two Suns
11 tracks, Astralwerks — Caroline
If there’s an artist that combines modern heartache and yearning with mystical, mythical imagery more seamlessly than Natasha Khan, they’re in hiding. Her pure, crystalline voice delivers her heart’s longings cased within tales of knights in crystal armor and siren songs, evoking a palpable mystique which is both enchanting and jaw-dropping, turning from concert-hall tours-de-force to intimate piano missives without missing a step. Breathtaking in so many ways, this album amply demonstrates Khan’s place as a too-rare artist who keeps magic and melodrama dancing together brilliantly.

Bobby Long
Dirty Pond Songs
10 tracks, Bobby Long
When Bobby Long isn’t being attacked by girls who dream of being ravaged by a blockbuster vampire, he’s making really good music for girls who dream of being ravaged by a blockbuster vampire… and for the rest of us. Dirty Pond Songs is an honest album with so much depth you would think the kid is just hitting his mid-life crisis. This album is consistent the whole way through and is a pleasant reminder that music can still be solid without losing its sincerity. It isn’t packing any fancy tricks, it’s simply a beautiful album from beginning to end. Long clearly takes his craftsmanship seriously and it can be heard in every lyric of every track, particularly in songs like “Left to Lie” and “Dead and Done.”
» Read our interview with Bobby Long here.

Brandi Carlile
Give Up the Ghost
11 tracks, Columbia
In her third studio release, Pacific Northwesterner Brandi Carlile brings her trademark powerful, sometimes rugged vocals to some softer, more personal lyrics than she’s released in the past. Produced by Rick Rubin, Give Up the Ghost features a less guarded, more cerebral side to Carlile as a vocalist and occasional lyricist. “Caroline” even offers an almost-unrecognizable Elton John collaboration! They grow up so fast…

Coconut Records
Davy
10 tracks, Young Baby Records
Davy is a collection of songs built for sunny days, even when the second track, “Drummer,” begins with a lyric as honest and blunt as, At fourteen, I lost my dad, it’s true. Each track on the album is a welcome reminder that the words “fun” and “catchy” aren’t (always) synonymous with “obnoxious.” With each track lasting only about three minutes, every song on Davy has its own short story to tell, and as it turns out, Jason Schwartzman has some worthwhile things to say.
» Read the full review here.

Cymbals Eat Guitars
Why There Are Mountains
9 tracks, Sister’s Den Records
This album is a great reminder that indie rock isn’t dead (or hiding behind some really cool sunglasses). Why There Are Mountains is a great debut and steps up to the plate where other albums in this genre usually hit this standard somewhere right around their sophomore release. “Some Trees” and “Wild Phoenix” showcase the band’s ability to take songs on a musical ride. There is so much texture to these tracks, it’s almost rough to listen to at times. The joy behind it all is that you can actually anticipate the unexpected and find yourself hearing the next twist or turn that the song is about to take. If you’re looking for melodic hooks embedded into one hell of a bumpy ride, then Why There Are Mountains might be the right dose of chaos you’ve been looking for.

The Dead Weather
Horehound
11 tracks, Warner Bros.
This super-ish-group is the first creative project on which Jack White doesn’t take the spotlight (despite the fact that every headline about them has his name bigger than the band name), instead manning the drum kit and handling backing vox. This does not detract, however, and the music is trademark raw, bone-crunching psychedelic blues-rock, the kind for which Mr. Gillis is known and solely capable of producing. Alison Mosshart’s vocals do the right job, and Pat Keeler and Dean Fertita unleash this band’s melodic gunfighter-style bare-bones melodies with full barrels of dynamics and sticks of reverb dynamite. It’s undeniable — even with JW on the skins and the rushed story of the band — that this album is highly worth checking out.

Dirty Projectors
Bitte Orca
9 tracks, Domino Recording Co.
Admittedly a bit obtuse by popular standards, by musical standards no other album this year even approaches this excellent work. Long at odds with creating music anything short of eclectic and almost pretentious, DP’s veritable mastermind David Longstreth finally made some concessions and composed tunes that could almost be described as accessible and even catchy on this LP, adding yet another vocalist and solidifying their unit into a tight-as-nails full band. Wisely yielding the spotlight to his other vocalists for a few tracks also produced one of the year’s most interesting crossover tracks in “Stillness Is the Move,” with vocalist/guitarist Amber Coffman waxing soul-diva with a hook that keeps climbing to an amazing peak (SITM was recently covered by Solange and is now a legitimate hit in the R&B world as well. Variety!).
» You can see a full review of the compositional, musical, and vocal grandeur that is this wonderful piece of work here.

Ernie Halter
Ernie Halter Live
11 tracks, Rock Ridge Music
This is an excellent live album which showcases both Halter’s raw talent and his genuine affability. Ernie Halter Live is a felicitous representation of the level of fun and musicianship that can be expected at a typical Ernie Halter show. If you find yourself constantly searching YouTube to get a live fix of Ernie Halter, this should save you the trouble of sorting through all of those user-uploaded covers of “Whisper.”
» Read our interview with Ernie Halter here.

Freelance Whales
Weathervanes
13 tracks, Freelance Whales
It’s hard to make assumptions about a new band that is thrown into a scene where there are endless numbers of competitors. Freelance Whales make their mark with Weathervanes and do so in a way that saves them the trouble of trying to show off. They’re not getting lost in their sound only to polish up their mishaps the following year on a sophomore album to show us how much they’ve learned, they’re simply showing us that this is what they know, and that they will be the best at it. The layering in “Generator ^ First Floor” and “Starring” take songs with simple lyrics and turn them into more complex situations that are easy to listen to. Sometimes the depth in their songs can be dismissed for quirkiness, but in all respect, that’s part of the total package of Weathervanes.

fun.
Aim & Ignite
10 tracks, Nettwerk
Forming a modern day supergroup, Nate Ruess (formerly of The Format), Andrew Dost (formerly of Anathallo), and Jack Antonoff (of Steel Train) fuse their various talents to create a band with a name that couldn’t more appropriately define their sound. Aim and Ignite establishes a lighthearted and cheerful tone on first listen, but in true Nate Ruess form, a song’s lyrics can sometimes contradict its melody. In “Be Calm,” a full orchestra swells in an aggregation of emphatic melodies and uplifting chords behind Ruess’s catchy vocals while he sings about talking himself off a ledge. The last 60 seconds of “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)” bear an honesty not often explored by most artists. Despite the song’s breezy overtone, Ruess delivers an eloquent and emotionally apathetic gut punch in the song’s final lyrics when he states, “I’m not a prophet, but I’m here to profit” after proclaiming that he doesn’t fall in love, he just fakes it.

Ouch.

» Read the full review here.

Future of Forestry
Travel EP I & II
2 discs, 12 tracks, Credential Recordings
With Eric Owyoung’s breathy tenor and dynamic guitar textures mixing brilliantly with his rotating band’s masterful rhythmic and production dynamics, Future of Forestry promises to be a delightful band. These releases up the bar with some surprisingly deft world percussion flavors, skilled lyrical concept connectivity (the EPs cover themes of air, sea, and land — land being the subject of a third EP on the way in 2010), and wave after wave of huge, catchy chorus hooks. Surprises at every turn, and a solid and innovative follow-up to their 2007 debut. Top job all around.

Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest
12 tracks, Warp Records
Once the hype settled over this flagship indie hipster band’s new album (even their announcement of its title got more press than most other bands combined on the hipsterweb circuit), a careful listen revealed a wonderful album out of time, combining lush mini-orchestral arrangements, sunny harmonies, subtle production flourishes, a boys’ choir, and Ed Droste’s and Daniel Rossen’s singularly unique lead vocals leading the charge. These four guys have a lot of musical acumen under their belt, and they brought all their toys to the table here, ultimately living up to the hype this album generated, if only in retrospect.

Ice Palace
Wonder Subtly Crushing Us
10 tracks, Rebel Group
Wonder Subtly Crushing Us hints at being a folk-rock album then covers that idea with layers of grunge- and indie-rock, creating a comprehensive collection of tracks which utilize a multitude of concepts and introspective lyrics to construct Ice Palace’s second official studio release. Because the album draws from a plethora of genres and influences, critics have been hard-pressed to find a category in which to place the album — which is the album’s primary selling point as well as its (most impressive) pitfall.

Julian Casablancas
Phrazes For the Young
8 tracks, RCA
Coming in last of all the solo Strokes’ work in the ’00s, the style-idol frontman’s output really surprised on many levels. Digging and twiddling for “hip” keyboards, Casablancas hit the mother lode in sweet sounds, and used the whole payload on these eight tracks. His gift for wry, sardonic lyrics has not diminished, nor has his signature dry, disaffected delivery, but it’s the music here — both in composition and arrangement — that’s leaps and bounds beyond his work with his bandmates. Great cover art as well — a great bonus out of left field.

Julie Peel
Near the Sun
12 tracks, American Laundromat
Julie Peel is an understated singer/songwriter of French-Canadian descent with a subtle gift for expressing the most complicated of emotions with effortless grace and melancholy frankness.  Most of her songs are so film-scene worthy it’s ridiculous, and the deceptively simple arrangements lend a sort of faded classic feel to every track. Worthy of much more notice than she’s received so far, but we hear one of her tracks is featured on that Mercy show on NBC so maybe better things are a-comin’…

Neko Case
Middle Cyclone
15 tracks, Anti/Epitaph
That voice is unmistakable, big and broad-shouldered while subtle and vulnerable, usually weaving a tale of some myriad shade of dysfunctional relationship — romantic or otherwise — past the point of repair. Neko Case’s work over her last two albums has been a perfect confluence of folk Americana and gritty roots rock with a splash of traditional country, and her lyrical ability just keeps getting better. Add to that a band which has been honed to a razor-sharp edge and that waxes and wanes in flow and power with mechanic precision to every curve, every hairpin turn in Case’s masterful songwriting. Worthy of all the multiple “best of” year-end lists on which it has found itself.

Noah and the Whale
The First Days of Spring
11 tracks, Interscope
We get it. You’re really really sad and this break up is so different than any other one we’ve heard about. You’re in pain. If you’re apathetic to the pain of a struggling artist, we don’t really blame you. There are indie films for that. The First Days of Spring not only becomes its own film, it wraps up every cliche you could imagine in a little over 40 minutes. Is that bad? It’s not necessarily something to boast about, but it’s apparent that the band members weren’t trying to accomplish anything beyond that. This album is packed full of light strings, percussion and piano, making it a very calm and peaceful experience regardless of its thematic tone. “The First Days of Spring” and “My Door Is Always Open” are two standout tracks which reflect the liveliest parts of the album as well as the parts that barely have a heartbeat.

Person L
The Positives
12 tracks, Academy Fight Song
Having a soft spot for the punk-rock movement, it’s expected that an artist like Kenny Vasoli would want something more than what’s being dished out lately. Vasoli told us in an interview that he’s waiting for someone to do something dangerous. The Positives seems to be his “dangerous” something. It’s not a flawless album by any means, but it’s an album that isn’t afraid to try different things. Person L had a habit of taking songs to a certain peak but never really exceeding expectations. This album finally makes it over that hump and brings to the table tracks like “Changed Man,” making it an unpredictable piece of work. These stylistic surprises happen from track to track, but songs like “Loudmouth” and “Goodness Gracious” are specific reminders that this band has roots firmly planted in its punk-rock influences.
» Read our interview with Person L here.

Phoenix
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
10 tracks, Glassnote
Giving the French quartet the attention they’ve deserved for years, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix presents Phoenix as a band that the whole of the public can enjoy (as proven by this year’s late night talk show tour, showcasing the band on basically every American evening-based talk show). Still as poetic-yet-confusing as ever, the lyrics are no easier to understand upon first listen than they were on the band’s previous albums, but the songs are heavy on the dance vibe. Though “1901″ and “Lisztomania” were likely the most well-received tracks, “Rome” is the standout dark horse of the album.
Finding their footing as a band who are willing to experiment without being too experimental, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is left-of-center without being too esoteric for, say, basic cable.

St. Vincent
Actor
11 tracks, 4AD
In her second studio album as a solo artist, Annie Clark pairs her quiet vocals with some hard-ass guitar jams and creates the 11 ethereal, catchy, and sometimes haunting tracks which make up Actor. The lyrics on “Marrow” bear the most infectious cry for help of the year while the chorus of “The Bed” is little more than a serene-yet-severe threat which demands for you to stop right where you stand and put your hands in the air. The only real disappointment on the album is that “Actor Out of Work” is entirely too short, clocking in at a mere two minutes and 15 seconds of hard beats and pedal fuzz, but whatever. If your intention is to leave everyone wanting more, you have hit the nail on the head, St. Vincent.

The Swell Season
Strict Joy
12 tracks, Anti/Epitaph
This is the album Glen Hansard has been chasing his entire 2+ decade-long career. All his work with his veteran band The Frames, most of whom are present here, has been honing his songcraft for this moment, and all it took was Marketa Irglova’s fragile harmonies, perfect piano counterpoint, and lost love to cement it all in. These are songs which look achingly back through a bumpy relationship tunnel with honest self-deprecation and wide-smiling appreciation, played by a band who fills in the sonic corners with skill and tact and sung by Hansard and Irglova with complete transparency. Special props to the subtle strings played by violinist Colm MacIomaire, adding just the right shades of cloudy sky or warm sunbeams whenever necessary.
» Read the full review here.

Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures
13 tracks, DGC/Interscope
Does anything else need to be said other than Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones? This is way beyond a supergroup — these three rock icons came together over their love of each other’s music and rock ‘n’ roll as a force; the result wasn’t commercial, but is unstoppable, full of face-rocking riffs and pinpoint-precise rhythm section interplay. Every track on this album has something memorable and is noteworthy for far more than the pedigree of the musicians creating it. Them Crooked Vultures is rock for rock’s sake, crafted and released into an over-commercialized world by skilled tradesmen who know their way around the crushing power of well-played rock and roll. They’re already talking album #2, and rock fans in the know are mopping up their saliva, with good reason.

The Trews
Acoustic- Friends and Total Strangers
15 tracks, Bumstead Productions Ltd.
Whether The Trews find the most joy on the stage or in the studio, their songs seem to shine best when played to a live crowd and Acoustic — Friends & Total Strangers showcases exactly that. Opening the album with solid harmonies on “Poor Ol’ Broken Hearted Me” and ending just as strongly an hour later with Colin MacDonald’s seemingly unaffected and unwavering vocals powering through “Hold Me In Your Arms,” the album is consistent throughout all 15 of its tracks. As difficult to skip songs as it is to choose a favorite amongst them, Friends & Total Strangers is a kick ass, acoustic rock show just as much as it’s one more excuse to get off your ass and go see The Trews live.

WHY?
Eskimo Snow
10 tracks, anticon
There isn’t as much alternative rap in Eskimo Snow as you might have hoped for, but that isn’t necessarily the only magic behind frontman Yoni Wolf’s talent. There’s no need to worry — his poetic license is still stapled to every single track throughout the album. The joy behind the majority of this album is the constant wit, charm, humor and raw truth behind every single word. “January Twenty Something” isn’t a long track but it holds enough momentum to feel like a pretty substantial ride. Other tracks like “Against Me” build momentum solely on a lyrical level but couple well with the calm nature of the melodies, balancing the layers of each song. At times, the content can be cryptic and unsettling, but Eskimo Snow still finds a weird way of being comfortable.

Will Hoge
The Wreckage
11 tracks, Rykodisc
Born from the accident that landed him in intensive care last year, The Wreckage features Will Hoge’s strongest studio work to date. Highlighting some of his most earnest lyrics without sacrificing the trademark rock ‘n’ roll sound he has built his reputation around, this album ties all of Hoge’s previous work together while also coming closest to exemplifying the sweaty charm of his live shows. “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” delivers the album’s biggest gut punch in the lyric Keep on dreamin’, even if it breaks your heart, broaching the eternal conundrum of every starving artist: Get rich or die tryin’.

Various Artists
Ciao, My Shining Star
3 discs, 41 tracks, Shout! Factory
A stirring and stellar (and amazingly prolific) tribute to a little-known singer/songwriter, all for a heartwrenching and heartwarming cause. Although Marc Mulcahy, and his bands Miracle Legion and Polaris, aren’t household names, luckily the list of people that had heard of him included a veritable who’s who of rock music from all genres. So, when tragedy struck his family and he lost his wife, the mother of their 2 daughters, it evoked an outpouring of support from the likes of Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Frank Black, and many, many others in the form of this album, a collection of Mulcahy’s songs re-interpreted by these artists and more, in order to provide him a means to support his remaining family. A noble gesture of course, but for the rest of us it is also a very satisfying piece of work — not only are these songs smart and intricate in their own right, the guest list’s renderings of them are spot-on and really incredible. Worth checking out for the charity, but more so for the incomparably great music.

Various Artists
Dark Was the Night
2 discs, 29 tracks, 4AD
A compilation for the Red Hot charity for AIDS research, somehow this double album turned into a summit of any and every big-name indie talent across the spectrum. Produced by Bryce and Aaron Dessner out of The National, this project pulled in the top-shelf tracks from anyone who’s anyone on the indie blog circuit: Arcade Fire? Check. Yeasayer? Check. Dirty Projectors? They did one with David Byrne. Feist, Grizzly Bear, and Bon Iver each appear twice, either on their own or with the likes of St. Vincent, Ben Gibbard, or each other. Sufjan Stevens even took a few moments away from his 50 States project and BQE orchestral suite to toss off a brilliant 10+ minute electronic work of staggering genius for the album. The only track that didn’t really make an impression was Kronos Quartet’s head-scratchingly dissonant title cut. All-in-all, this is 31 tracks of mind-altering brilliance — and for a good cause. You get great music, and up your hipster cred, and that’s what a great album is all about. WIN.

Third Man Records does a good job of keeping the 7″ vinyl a relevant musical accessory and steps it up a notch by making it a relevant piece of art as well. This time around, Third Man Records brings you The Dead Weather‘s third single, “I Cut Like a Buffalo,” with a special cover of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band’s “A Child of a Few Hours is Burning To Death” on the B-side.

You can pre-order the 7″ at Third Man Records’ official online store. The single’s release date is set for October 26th. If you’re one of the first 100 purchasers to get your hands on it at the Nashville location, then you can reap the benefits of getting a special DVD with both versions of the “I Cut Like a Buffalo” videos that were shot on location at Third Man Records.

If Nashville is too far for you, then YouTube will have to suffice. These videos were both directed by Jack White. You might have seen the first one before, as it’s been released for a few weeks now, but this is the latest version to be released from the band:

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For more information on The Dead Weather, visit thedeadweather.com.

There were no reports of devastating weather, tragic deaths, or even threats on national security at 2009′s Outside Lands Festival. There was just some good old fashioned fun in the sun (with music, of course).

If you couldn’t make it to Outside Lands this year, the festival’s lineup is something that you should be so jealous about missing that it will force you to get off your ass and make a trip to San Francisco next time around. It’s not every day that you get to see such a wide variety of acts. I mean, you’ll probably never have a chance to see the likes of The Black Eyed Peas tearing up the stage on the same day as Dave Matthews, much less in a twelve hour window from where The Dead Weather would later give everyone exactly what they came for.

If there is a possibility of ever having too much fun, you can witness it when Matt & Kim make the stage (and the crowd) their own personal playground. If you look hard enough, you can see genuine contentment on their faces (OK, you really don’t have to look that hard), because they make it abundantly clear that the stage is their home and that they’ll treat any guest in their home with the highest level of hospitality (even if that means crowd surfing).

To regain and maintain everyone’s chi throughout the festival, Os Mutantes were there to make sure everyone was doing OK in between bong hits, and Jason Mraz was there to make sure everyone was doing bong hits. John Vanderslice, Lenka, and Modest Mouse made very memorable appearances as well.

In the midst of everyone being collective, M.I.A. came in to stir up a little rowdiness. In her attempt to cause commotion, she handed out blow horns to the audience. Let’s face it though, what’s a festival without an obscene amount of blow horn in unison? After The Beastie Boys had to cancel, Tenacious D were there to fill in the pieces by covering “Intergalactic” and “Sabotage.”

Outside Lands was a promising place if you enjoy good music, art, and food. All of the acts pulled through to give everyone the most accurate definition of a festival. Sure, you can look it up in a dictionary, but I think the only way to really know what it means is to immerse yourself in it. If you couldn’t make it to Outside Lands this year, there is no need to worry (– a need to feel regret and to sulk is a different story) because you still have about a year to make plans for next year’s festivities.

Here’s the clip from last Friday’s episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Take Fallon’s heed of warning and be careful, because when you see this you should “get ready to have your pants blown off.”

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For more information on The Dead Weather, visit thedeadweather.com.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 07.14.09
by Joshua Krage

There are some big news makers dropping new LPs this week, particularly for fans who hear most of their new music on the overhead speakers during pro wrestling matches and monster truck rallies. We’ve got’em here, along with all the releases that’ll be coloring your summer to come:

Adelitas Way
August Burns Red
Beastie Boys – Ill Communication remastered (Oh my god, it’s a mirage! I’m tellin’ y’all…)
Billy Talent
Bleu
David Bowie – VH1 Storytellers

Care Bears On Fire, Get Over It – it’s bratty, guitar-driven tween-punk for the Disney crowd, but they hooked me with their “Barbie Eat a Sandwich” song, and they remind me a lot of J-Pop girl rock, so I can’t complain about them too much, especially with a great band name like that.

The Dandy Warhols

Daughtry, Leave This Town – yes, his sophomore release stays true to the Hinderback sound at every turn (I mean EVERY turn), but of all the modern butt-rockers on the market, I actually like Chris Daughtry’s voice, and he gives his bandmates a level field. If you liked his debut, this’ll be a well-fueled, beer-chuggin’ sequel for you.

The Dead Weather, Horehound – I have thoroughly enjoyed every musical offering from Jack White so far throughout his career. This super-ish-group, however, is the first creative project on which the Stripeman doesn’t take the spotlight (despite the fact that every headline about them has his name bigger than the band name), instead manning the drum kit and handling backing vox. This does not detract, however, and the music is trademark raw, bone-crunching psychedelic blues-rock, the kind for which Mr. Gillis is known and solely capable of producing. I’m not a huge fan of Alison Mosshart’s vocals (here or in The Kills, her daytime band), but they do the job, and Pat Keeler and Dean Fertita unleash this band’s melodic gunfighter-style bare-bones melodies with full barrels of dynamics and sticks of reverb dynamite. It’s undeniable, even with JW on the skins and the rushed story of the band, this album is highly worth checking out.

Chico DeBarge
Devildriver
Eskimo Joe
David Garza
Joe
Judas Priest – live
The Katinas – live in San Diego
Keane – live DVD

Crosby Loggins, Time to Move – well-pedigreed LA singer-songwriter gets the big time label treatment for his sophomore LP, produced by Top 40 go-to man John Alagia and with collaborations from Brett Dennen, Kara DioGuardi, and John Mayer to name a few. Slightly mellow overall due to his soothing croon and not too bad for a second album, just surprisingly low-key for a major label debut with big name production and top-shelf creative teamwork.

The Most Serene Republic, …and the Ever Expanding Universe – ambitious and expansive Toronto band ups the ante and tries it as a mini-chamber music ensemble, augmenting their authentic Canadian hipster status by pushing the arrangement envelope a bit. For fans of anyone in the Broken Social Scene collective (obviously), or of adventurous pop music in general.

OST – 500 Days of Summer – a not-too-sugary ’80s Brit-pop lovefest soundtracking a not-too-sugary ’00s Zooey Deschanel/Joseph Gordon-Levitt love loss, with lots of Smiths (2 hits, 1 cover by She & Him) and an ace mellowed-out cover of Pixies‘ “Here Comes Your Man” by the delightful Meaghan Smith. (another Smith!)

Project 86
Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Sick Puppies
The Surrogate
Twista

That’s all I got in me right now. I’m typing this from the studio after filling in at work the day after a weekend full of gigs, the last of which was in a Santa Cruz vineyard! As you can imagine, my motivation for working is a bit low…

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

Watch Jack White and Alison Mosshart try (and fail) to gun each other down:

The video was directed by Jonathan Glazer.
Horehound will be released Tuesday, but you can still hear the whole thing online.

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For more information on The Dead Weather, visit thedeadweather.com.

The anticipation for The Dead Weather’s upcoming album, Horehound, can be compared to the same itch you get when you know Santa is coming. Although the weather outside isn’t frightful because of snow, The Dead Weather are putting together a more enjoyable forecast for us. This forecast predicts a musical genius with a high probability of free streaming music.

That’s right. You can stream the entire album for free via iLike which redirects you straight to this Facebook page where you can listen to all the tracks that you’ve been waiting for.

“Will There Be Enough Water?” is the latest video from The Dead Weather and the track will also be featured on Horehound as well:

Be sure to grab your official copy of Horehound when it is released on July 14th. Here are the tour dates (once again) in case you missed them the last time:

06.26.09 Glastonbury, UK @ Glastonburry Festival
06.29.09 Paris, FR @ La Cigale
07.13.09 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
07.14.09 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
07.16.09 New York, NY @ Terminal 5 *
07.17.09 New York, NY @ Terminal *
07.18.09 Boston, MA @ House Of Blues *
07.19.09 Ottawa, Canada @ Ottawa Blues Festival (Rogers Stage)
07.21.09 Montreal, Canada @ Olympia De Montreal *
07.22.09 Toronto, Canada @ Kool Haus *
07.24.09 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *
07.25.09 Columbus, OH @ The LC Pavillion *
07.27.09 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
07.28.09 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre *
07.29.09 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre *
07.30.09 Nashville, TN @ War Memorial Auditorium *
08.17.09 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
08.18.09 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
08.20.09 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
08.21.09 Vancouver, B.C. @ Commodore Ballroom
08.22.09 Vancouver, B.C. @ Commodore Ballroom
08.23.09 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
08.25.09 Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre
08.27.09 Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
08.29.09 San Diego, CA @ San Diego Street Scene
08.30.09 San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
10.02.09 Austin, TX @ Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
10.03.09 Austin, TX @ Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
10.04.09 Austin, TX @ Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)

* w/ Screaming Females

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For more information on The Dead Weather, visit thedeadweather.com.