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  • 09/03/08

    Chad VanGaalen—Soft Airplane If Chad VanGaalen makes his music in a way that makes it seem like he doesn't care if anyone hears it (recording at his home in Calgary), his songs still show that he is a major talent. Relying on unusual instruments and sounds to complement his pleasant folk songs, VanGaalen is emerging as one of indie rock's great voices. He also seems like the kind of guy you can hand some maracas and a xylophone and somehow he will make a song you'll be singing all week long.

    Department of Eagles—In Ear Park Daniel Rossen from Grizzly Bear takes a break from our furry friends to return to his solo project, Department of Eagles. The sound of the band should sound familiar to anyone who has listened to Grizzly Bear—Daniel isn't exactly taking a left turn with this release. To the contrary, he has a sound (indie folk-pop indebted to Ram-era Paul McCartney) and he's sticking to it. There is something very comforting in Rossen's voice—it sounds familiar and totally unique at the same time.

    Solange—Sol-Angel & The Hadley St. Dreams Even if Beyonce's little sister doesn't have quite as massive a voice as her sibling does, she still managed to craft one of the better R&B pleasures of this year. Her music here evokes two different eras of Motown sounds—both the carefully crafted soul-pop of the 60's and the intimate basement funk of the 70's. She even has a track called "Ode to Marvin" with the propulsive What's Going On beat. Maybe using such beloved sounds is a cheap trick.

  • 08/20/08

    Nico Muhly—Mothertongue With this lovely modern classical piece that emphasizes the human voice, Muhly makes electroacoustic music of exquisite beauty. His music connects with the listener in a way that much current classical fails—it's emotional and cerebral at the same time. In the past, Muhly has drawn attention for collaborations with Bjork and Philip Glass, but with this latest piece he will receive a lot of attention in his own right.

    Basic Channel—BCD-2 Basic Channel, a team of sound-obsessed Berliners, infused dub reggae dynamics into techno music in the '90s, emphasizing atmosphere over danceability. Fast forward 15 years and every DJ in the German capital has incorporated some aspect of their sound—even Panda Bear name-dropped the group in the liner notes to his last album. This album is the second official compilation on CD of their seminal tracks, and it's a testament to the continuing relevance of the group that it does not sound dated in the least.

    Silver Jews—Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea David Berman's barroom Nashville touring band provides the perfect soundtrack for your post-90s indie rock hangover. His country-fried roots rock sounds great on a jukebox at 2 a.m. when his off-hand, cryptic lyrics are most likely to spark revelations you'll forget come morning. Fret not, the Silver Jews may bring to mind despair, but within every song lies a glint of hope.

  • 08/05/08

    Abe Vigoda—Skeleton From the same L.A. scene that produced No Age, Abe Vigoda's new album doesn't sound quite like anything we've ever heard. It's cheaply recorded and slightly spazzy pop punk with tropical flavors. Basically, it's the kind of band that you either love or hate immediately. We find ourselves in the first camp, happily keeping this one on repeat.

    Karl Hector & the Malcouns—Sahara Swing We don't have much information on this band other than the fact that they record for Now Again records and are probably from Germany. That second fact comes as a real shock because the band produces funky Ethiopian-influenced instrumental jams that sound like something that came out of a basement in Addis Ababa in 1973. The recording is top notch, too, with an analog style sound that recalls recent Daptone productions.

    Oneida—Preteen Weaponry Oneida is a Brooklyn band that has never truly blown up like many of their peers, but have quietly and consistently been producing great albums for most of this decade. One of the best live bands in New York, this latest album is three tracks of droning instrumental rock music that is dynamic enough to be more than just a great jam session. With their last few albums being more song-oriented, we're excited to hear these guys stretching out, experimenting, and showing off just how great a band they are.

  • 07/23/08

    The Kiss Off—Brace This new Brooklyn band lists Echo and the Bunnymen and David Bowie among their influences and you can tell. There's plenty of drama and paranoia in the vocals and swelling keyboards to set this band apart from a host of other new wave revivalists. But underneath all of that, they're a tough New York rock band with a tight, fully realized sound.

    Air France—No Way Down Air France is a band from Gothenburg, Sweden, who make massive-sounding summer soundscapes. Their music has been lumped in with the balearic disco sound (which is based on the blissful dance music that emerged in the '80s on the party island of Ibiza). While it's true you can dance to this, and it is indeed blissful, there is much more going on here than mere dance revivalism. The entire EP sounds like the soundtrack to a movie and just listening to the record you can almost see it (we'll give you a hint: it takes place on a beach).

    Grouper—Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill There are many things that we think about when we listen to Grouper, the pseudonym of Portland, Oregon's Liz Harris, but we definitely don't think about dragging a dead deer up a hill. More likely we think about listening to a siren's song while underwater or dreaming about lovely folk songs. More often than not, Grouper plays music accompanied by only piano or guitar but the album is recorded so that it feels like you could swim through the guitar strums and close harmonies. We suggest listening to this at 3 a.m. as you drift pleasantly into R.E.M state.

  • 07/08/08

    Jay Reatard—Singles 06-07 Despite what his name implies, Jay Reatard is a very competent pop songwriter. His music builds on the sound of throwaway '60s garage rock, which means that there's plenty of distorted guitars and Farfisa organs. But there's also some relatively stripped down songs that give you a good opportunity to hear how catchy and perfect his pop songs can be when they're left relatively unadorned. He's an unexpected addition to the legacy of Memphis music, though there's absolutely no chance you'll ever see this record in the Stax Museum.

    Ponytail—Ice Cream Spiritual This album is a very raw and tribal take on prog rock from a Baltimore group that was born long after the demise of that much loved and hated subgenre. Over the course of the album, the band members shred and scream their way through polymorphous songs that sound like they're about to fall apart. Of course, it takes a lot of practice to teeter on that edge between order and anarchy. Recommended for fans of Deerhoof, Animal Collective, or any other band that's learned all the rules and chooses to forget them.

    Allez Allez—Best of Allez Allez We just found out about this compilation of the best tracks from Belgian post-punk group Allez Allez. Somehow this group missed out on the trend a few years back when every single album that sounded remotely like Gang of Four was being reissued and declared a lost classic. These guys play funky new wave in the vein of ESG and have great female-led vocals. The remixes by some of our favorite new DJs (Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, Quiet Village, and Optimo) are an added bonus, if not the main draw.

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