A relatively quiet day for New Arrivals on eMusic, but the few we do have are noteworthy. Side note: Todd was supposed to write this post, but he’s been camped out since 10am in front of the Best Buy across the street for a Janet Jackson meet & greet (That’s him with the brown & black umbrella). Todd B.: Lieutenant General in the Rhythm Nation.
Beach House, Devotion: Everyone’s favorite Baltimore mystics return with more of the haunting beauty that made them so irresistible the first time ’round. eMusic’s Mike Powell says:
Devotion — like 2006’s Beach House — is an album that finds impact in discretion. Instead of striking, it seeps and sneaks. Their dedication to their own sense of calm is unwavering. And though Devotion’s organ-heavy arrangements and Victoria Legrand’s somnambulistic torch singer pose feel more sanguine than on their debut, the music is still characterized by an intoxicating lack of command. Listeners aren’t guided or carried, but set adrift from the opening notes and rarely bothered after.
Plants & Animals Parc Avenue: A personal favorite of mine, Plants & Animals shrink the jam band aesthetic down to a manageable size, writing songs that recall Planet Waves-era Dylan (and getting off some lyrical gems in the process). In my review for eMusic I wrote:
Like the Band — an ensemble they frequently evoke — Plants & Animals are Canadian. Their songwriting is terrifically incidental, the result of long hours taking slow tours of the same chord progressions, filling in the spaces with stray licks and conversational melodies. With the exception of triumphant opener “Bye Bye Bye” — the one time P&A choose the exclamation point over the ellipses — Parc Avenue proceeds at a hobo’s amble. The guitars spill out like a babbling brook, a series of rippling notes that glide over stone-smooth percussion. The players follow each other’s lead. A little organ waggle begets a curlicue of acoustic guitar, that acoustic guitar tips off a grizzled electric.
Dolly Parton, Backwoods Barbie: Does she even need an introduction? Dolly (Miss Parton, if you’re nasty) delivers gleaming pop-country, schooling Taylor Swift at her own game. Renowned music critic and eMusic contributor Chuck Eddy writes:
Dolly’s “Tracks of My Tears” rivals Ronstadt’s if not Robinson’s, and her “pop-country” here is mostly the stuff of ‘70s d-i-v-o-r-c-e laments, from the brittle tearjerker “Made of Stone” to songs connecting fragrant flowers and fragrant makeup with breakups. There’s also relaxed jazz-piano Western Swing, an artsily psychedelic thrum undulating between Appalachia and the Middle East and uplifting gospel-pop about keeping your feet on the ground. And towering over it all, there’s Dolly — still sweeter than rock candy and larger than life, after all these years.
Los Campesinos! Hold On Now Youngster: Welsh indiepop band return to make a joyful noise. Recent recipients of a Pitchfork rave, the Camps should appeal to people who like their music fast and freewheeling. eMusic’s Keith Harris writes:
But though their references warm the hearts of indie-rock oldsters, there’s nothing retro about the ADD jokery of these kids (all seven of whom are surnamed Campesinos! — and you can be sure they didn’t learn the trick from the Donnas.) Tiny mis-tuned guitars nibble at your ears and glockenspiels clatter with glee; it’s like being dropped headlong into a classroom of demented kindergarteners, but only the most illiterate beefhead could diss the group as “twee.”
Rocket From the Crypt, RIP: Posthumous live album from RFTC proves why the group was so venerated live: it’s noisy and aggro, needle in the red the whole time.
Dabrye, Get Dirty: I would have overlooked this entirely, had I not heard Yancey playing it this morning, bringing to my attention the presence of the inimitable MF Doom on one of this EPs six tracks. Get Dirty picks up where Two/Three left off, matching Dabrye with a series of nimble MCs (the awesome AG also makes an appearance) for tracks that buzz and thump.
Pete Rock, NYs Finest: It’s no Mecca & the Soul Brother, but the latest from Pete Rock is…not bad. The first few times through I was not really feeling this, but it’s improved with each go-round, and I’m looking forward to seeing Pete (along with the amazing DC rapper Wale) in NYC on Friday. Fans of the boom-bap sound, you know what to expect here. Pete’s delivery has thickened a little over the years, but the production is solid throughout; there’s something about this record that keeps me coming back, so take that for what it’s worth.
Carl Craig Sessions: This one is a favorite of Todd’s; I’m admittedly at a loss when it comes to electronic music, so I’ll quote from his excellent about-to-be-published eMusic review:
To put it plainly: Carl Craig may just be one of the most respected (and relevant) electronic music grandfathers working right now. Sessions is essentially a celebratory look back at his career thus far, with a particular focus on his remixing talents. Listen to Craig’s mix of “Like a Child” for five minutes and you may not realize that he still hasn’t dropped a beat (or a bassline for that matter). When he does, the effect is magical. Similarly, his remix of Rhythm & Sound’s “Poor People Must Work” builds from murky beginnings into a mammoth techno stomp. Craig is a master tease, taking his skills as a DJ and building miniature epics of tension and release where the addition of a simple kick drum can elicit a scream.
Death Angel, Killing Season: You probably already have a good idea what this is going to sound like based on the fact that the group is called Death Angel. For my fellow extreme metal enthusiasts: this one doesn’t stray too far from Death Angel’s relatively straightforward take on thrash. But given that they’ve been chugging away for 20+ years now, it’s worth at least an acknowledgement.
We also got a bunch of reggae titles on the site today. I spot-listened to a few of them. You can skip them and not be any worse off.
I liked the cover:
Caleb Engstrom, A Mountain or a Bird: Sure to appeal to fans of folky songwriters; Engstrom has a hushed voice and favors the acoustic guitars, but there’s an air of mystery about these songs that make them compelling.
Everthaus & the Deadbeats, John Kill & the Microscopic Lullaby: Recalls old Of Montreal (before they discovered synthesizers). So, not for me, but some folks might enjoy!
Psycho & the Birds, We’ve Moved: Verrrrrryyy GBV. Especially Track 3, which could be a GBV cover. The presence of a song called “Franklin’s Famous Graham Cracker Crust” does nothing to minimize this resemblance. Know why it sounds like GBV? Because it is GBV. Or, rather, Bob Pollard + Assorted folx. Thanks, DJ Adequate!
Psycho and the Birds is another band name for Robert Pollard and whoever he happens to have around him, so the GBV comparison is kind of to be expected. The samples sound like typical Faded Captain outtakes.
joe,
some “feedback”: get “a new agenda.” i would “enjoy” you “so much betta” “if” you rediscovered your inner “20 y.o.” “again.”
“it’s all for you”,
todd.
DJ Adequate: Thanks for the heads-up — I’ll amend the original post to reflect the info!
Todd: are you posting this from your phone? You still have like 90 minutes before she shows up.
Another correction: “John Kill and the Microscopic Lullaby” is a concept album by the band Everthus and the Dead Beats (although admittedly, the title of the album makes a much better band name).
Well, this’ll learn me to write about stuff just because I like the covers. Thanks again. I’ll fix.
There’s a nice little write up and video of them at MOKB: http://myoldkyhome.blogspot.com/2008/02/everthus-deadbeats-present-john-kill.html
…and it appears you are slowly roling out new & improved website features! Is there anything I have missed besides the improved SfL functionality?
muhaha, Janet Jackson
I’m peeing myself
Got the Free Daily of Campesinos! I’m digging it Prob will check out more when dl’s refresh.
I totally would’ve missed Dabrye’s EP. Thanks (Now if eMusic proper would fix the artist links it’d be cherry, linking to “Dabrye feat. Doom does not allow for the same links as say Dabrye|MF Doom) Also Featured on this EP is AG (I assume from D.I.T.C. ) and Jay Dee (who I figure in J Dilla)
Added to my Check out list.
Lotta love for y’all
MiDoJo
I do not see what some apparently see in Los Campesinos! I actually deleted the free song off my hard drive today. Maybe I’m being closed minded.
Are my eyes deceiving me or are the tracks on the Carl Craig the original, full-length versions instead of the mix-CD ones? If so, hallelujah!
Joe,
I don’t think anyone but Robert himself can keep up with all the aliases he uses.
DJ Adequate
It is certainly a nice crop, not too much albums but one can find some good ones among them.
I enjoy your posts as you seem to be able to write in a touching way about the issues that you cover and to deliver the information and impressions that are important for me as a reader.
Re Carl Craig: They are original full-length versions.
Also wanted to call out the improved functionality. Love the new save for later button.
As for new releases, I’m not digging Los Campesinos, but the Beach House album is fantastic (as is the ad on the homepage).
Not sure if it’s a New Release, but it’s getting new attention:
In today’s Pitchfork, Joe Tangari gave Kutiman’s debut disc an 8.2, and said it was, among other things, “fantastic [and] head-spinning.” The songs on Kutiman’s MySpace site — on first listen — sound very, very good. The debut disc is available on eMusic.
we talked about kutiman on the blog about a month ago. the record is okay, but “music is ruling my life” is fucking amazing
Hm. Sounds like a lukewarm endorsement of the Kutiman disc. You don’t think the disc is worth downloading in full? (If I download it, I’ll probably download it all; I prefer full albums to singles. Still, I’m curious to hear your opinion of the full disc).
Coincidentally, we have a feature coming up on the Melting Pot label, which put out the Kutiman disc — among others. It should be hitting the homepage in a week or so. I haven’t listened to the full Kutiman yet, so I can’t say one way or the other.
Good! One reason why I was going to download the disc — even before I download the new Beach House (which also got high marks from Pitchfork, FWIW) — is because Joe Tangari, whose opinion I really trust, recommended it so strongly. But then I also rely on the opinions of you here, which is why I asked Yancey about his comment.
I, for one, am enjoying Los Campesinos! They fit super well in the “I Forgot To Take My Ritilin” genre, right along with Bearsuit, The Go! Team, and even (at times) The Most Serene Republic.
It pleases my inner 7th grader.
Hey Daniel ̬ Here’s that feature I was talking about. The label head gives some background on the sound and style of most of his releases, which may (or may not) be useful!
Thanks, Joe. I’ll check it out today. BTW, I just noticed this morning a February 2008 eMusic Magazine feature on the Blood & Fire label. Fantastic work. Even though I already have about 25 of the titles in the B & F catalogue, the article makes me want more (especially before the label finally shuts completely and the rights to the titles possibly revert to the original artists, which might make the B & F discs unavailable).
Glad to hear it Daniel — that B&F piece sparked the same kind of “mad rush” impulse in me, too.
hahahahaha I’m posting to an old thread. See what happens when 17dots goes dark I have to impart old news long after it’s occured.
So I downloaded Dabrye when you suggested it. And then I went on a family event trip. So I’m talking to my Cousin (once removed or something I’m not sure). And she says that this rapper just bought her home (I’ll leave out where so he and his wife aren’t mad). And we talk about it some more and suddenly she says something I did not expect: “Sometimes he raps under the name Dabrye.”
Floored me right there.