na: sunset rubdown and SO…MUCH…MORE

A BUNCH of new releases came in yesterday – and I haven’t listened to one of them! But with Yancey out with a ping-pong injury and Joe hurriedly getting ready to leave the country (don’t ask!), it’s up to me. Check below the fold for a review-tastic compendium…

Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover

Spencer Krug, of Wolf Parade and Swan Lake fame, returns with his third full-length for this moniker. Pitchfork’s Brian Howe: “a band uncompromising in its vision, making music with more depth and longevity than its stubborn relegation to “side project” merits.”

Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala

Ian Mathers, Stylus: “It’s not a case of sophomore slump so much as it is the difference between cherry picking your own work and actually making an album. He’s still got more melodic chops and more interesting lyrics than many more lauded singers, and his daffily romantic, doe-eyed worldview is still one that’s worth checking out. Just be prepared to use the skip button this time, or at least to let some of the songs underwhelm you.”

Enon – Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds / Believo

Rod Smith, eMusic: “Enon have never been more in control of their material: the band’s command of color and impeccably economical playing pretty much annihilate genre considerations completely. Better still, Toko Yasuda has never been more of a sex bomb.” Oh – and we also finally got Believo!. Believe it!

The Octopus Project – Hello Avalanche

David Stubbs, eMusic: “Like a lot of their 21st-century American contemporaries, the Octopus Project compensate for the inherent tiredness of the indie and electropop genres by infusing them with a giddy abundance of energy, with everyone playing frantically like the janitor’s about to pull the plug on them.”

Robert Pollard – Coast to Coast Carpet of Love / Standard Gargoyle

Jason Crock, Pitchfork: “He doesn’t always sound inspired here, but he sounds a whole lot more like himself.”

Destroyer – Thief

One of Dan Bejar’s early albums — his third, first with a full band. AMG sez: “Reveling in a kind of corrupted gentility, Thief is by turns playful and malicious — sophistication at its most scabrous.” Pitchfork tells us that the first five songs “rock.”

British Sea Power – Krankenhaus EP

I lied! I have listened to this. It’s a five-track EP that only whets the appetite for a forthcoming full-length in early 2008. If you like them, I think you’ll agree.

Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra – Hits the Hits

“Hey Ya,” “Get UR Freak On,” “Rock Your Body,” “Clint Eastwood” and more all reimagined by this multi-instrumentalist prodigy. There’s no way that you won’t find something you like here.

Ohmega Watts – Watts Happening

Rolling Stone: “The follow-up to his debut, The Find, is full of “funky soul and razor-sharp dance floor cuts…this is hip-hop that everyone – not just fans of the genre – can enjoy.” Also, Shawn Lee apparently worked on this, too. Joe might say more, if he can find the time…

Rockfour – Memories of the Never Happened

Jim Farber, eMusic: “Rockfour’s earlier albums flew a bit closer to the Byrds and so were more accessible for the newbie. This time they hit on the happy blur of albums like Pink Floyd’s classic 1967 debut Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The vocals of Baruch Ben-Yitzhah cascade through a true swirl of music. It’s trippy stuff, but it never lapses into pretension or losses its toe-hold on tunesmanship.”

Pete Seeger – American Favorite Ballads Vol. 5

The final remaster in this series. (The originals were released from 57-62.) The press notes say: This one “include[s] not only the complete original set but many more songs from other Seeger albums of the same era, including the 1954 Frontier Ballads collection, which makes up most of this volume.”