na: Paul McCartney, Real Estate, etc.

Via Evan Abramson

MASSIVE day. Let’s jump in headfirst:

Paul McCartney, Good Evening New York City – A new live album from Macca taken from his series of Citi Field shows last summer, right before his ‘09 tour. Maybe saying this reveals more about my expectations in 2009 for a Paul McCartney live album, but this record feels unexpectedly alive; here’s Barry Walters:

The least expected choices bristle with vitality: Check McCartney’s instrumental contribution to Band on the Run’s carefree “Mrs Vanderbilt” for further confirmation of his bass guitar artistry. Let It Be’s “I’ve Got a Feeling” fits the loose summer vibe, while “I’m Down” tightens things up. Canny sequencing throughout juxtaposes his softest songs against his hardest: Following “Yesterday” with “Helter Skelter” suggests Macca recognizes that the past wasn’t always pretty. Shorn of studio effects, the newest tracks here — Electric Arguments‘ “Highway” and “Sing the Changes” — straightforwardly rock. McCartney’s always had that spontaneous side, and once again it flatters him.

Real Estate, Real Estate – Hey now, Pitchfork BNM this morning! Auspicious arrival for these Jersey dudes, whose drowsy, billowing surf-indie jams will bowl you over softly. The way this fairly unassuming stuff creeps up on you is testament to its hidden depths; spend some time with these and soon you'll be dreamin' of crimson-indigo sunsets and shit. "Suburban Beverages" still sounds a whole lot like "Return to Hot Chicken” to me, by the way.

Passion Pit, Manners – Let’s welcome back these old friends as they report to us from their fancy new home. They haven’t changed a bit! “Sleepyhead” still rules. Jon Dolan, in his review for us, called this album a “big, doofy overflowing bucket of fun,” and yup, check.

Chairlift, Does You Inspire You – iPod Nano-core Brooklynites return to us as well today! Here’s what Gary Mulholland sez:

Part of the same Brooklyn collective of musicians that also produced MGMT and Yeasayer, Chairlift make cultured, nouveau-retro electro-pop that owes more to Portishead and Yellow Magic Orchestra than it does fashionable post-punk. Led by the sensual voice of Caroline Polachek, the trio’s debut album offers a refreshingly unpredictable change from Brooklyn’s host of artfully contrived art-pop combos. So much so that Apple came calling, using the airily pretty “Bruises” to backdrop gracefully tumbling multi-colored iPod Nanos on television.

Frightened Rabbit, Swim Until You Can’t See Land – Two new utterly fantastic songs from FR. Look, just download this. Please? I realize this is probably not a crew that needs a whole lot of arm-twisting where downloading Frightened Rabbit is concerned, but still.

Glasvegas, Glasvegas – Fellow Glasgow indie-rockers Glasvegas. Lotsa doo-wop harmonies and Brit-pop influences bolstered with big, towering The Edge guitars. If any or all of that lit something up in you, than this will probably hit you hard. Fun fact: I’ve managed to never hear this guys until this morning.

Howie Day, Sound the Alarm – Dewy-eyed, trembly pop-rock from Howie Day, who has this TV-soundtrack game cornered.

Arctic Monkeys, Cornerstone EP – Four new Artic Monkeys songs! Hell yeah!

Camera Obscura, The Blizzard – Gasp. Is this…a Camera Obscura Christmas single!!?!?!.

Rakim, The Seventh Seal – The God MC’s first full-length solo album in years. Very soulful and introspective, very serious. Sadly, it’s also not very compelling at all. In his frank and thoughtful eMusic interview, he talks about refusing to go the “street rap” route when he was on Interscope, which is certainly admirable; I wish, though, that he brought some good lines to his sober “Praise Allah” raps here, or that he were even a semblance of his former self. Sigh.

Various Artists, Forge Your Own Chains: Heavy Psychedelic Ballads – That right there is an eMusic-bait album title if ever I saw one. Here’s Christopher R. Weingarten:

Tireless crate digger Egon Alapatt of Stones Throw reissue imprint Now Again is damn near peerless when it comes to shining a spotlight on obscure and misplaced funk, but for Forge Your Own Chains: Heavy Psychedelic Ballads And Dirges 1968-1974, he turns his ears to psych for the first time, unearthing 15 acid-damaged gems that span continents and cross genres. Egon’s concept of psych comes from the “anything goes” attitude of a DJ looking for the perfect beat, which means this comp makes room for everything from flute-soaked sunrise folk (Connecticut’s D.R. Hooker), to the resolutely funky (American army band East Of Underground), to reverb-y love ballads (Thailand’s T. Zchiew & the Johnny), to blown out, hyperkinetic garage rock.

Tape Deck Mountain, Ghost – The glo-fi movement continues apace with Tape Deck Mountain, which seems to have nailed the band-naming meme demanding at least one nostalgic reference to bygone technologies, preferably those of the 1980s. Anyone getting tired of this sort of thing, though, would be remiss to pass on this one: these guys make a gorgeous, warm blurry wash that confounds your senses in the sleepiest and most pleasant possible way.

Gentleman Reg, B-Sides – This sounds gorgeous, and track 1 features Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy. Check it out.

Swallow the Sun, New Moon – Doomy metalgaze, full of wandering, melancholy guitar leads underpinned by huge, chugging guitar. Not quite heavy metal, per se, but certainly titanically heavy, like a hellfire-blackened take on Galaxie 500 slow-core depressiveness.

Faure Quartet, Kirchner Piano Quintet – A deeply felt and empathetic reading of works by the undersung 19th-century composer Theodor Kirchner, who was kind of a Rosencranz and Guildenstern figure of his time — moved among giants but made little mark on posterity. This work has the genteel, orderly spirit of Vienna in the 1800s, and is paired with some Schumman chamber works. Sounds excellent.

Barbara Marten, Sir Edward Elgar’s The Crown of India Suite — Here’s a piece you don’t see often recorded; a picaresque orchestral suite that Elgar wrote for the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary when they went to India. Sumptuous recording of the BBC Philharmonic under Sir Andrew Davis for Chandos.

Alan Lomax, Alan Lomax In Haiti – Exactly what it says it is, and sounds tantalizing.

Joanna Brackeen featuring Michael Brecker, Tring A Ling – Excellent late-70s recording of pianist Joanne Brackeen featuring Michael Brecker. I’m not really the guy to speak to this, but Rob pointed it out to me, and sure enough, I am loving it.

Mira Glodeneanu, Bach, Biber, Pisendel, Westhoff – L’art du violon seul dans l’Allemagne baroque – A pungent solo recording of baroque violin.

That Ghost, Get It And Get Out EP – Rackety tin-can psych.

Various Artists, Kitsune Maison Compilation 8 – Newest installment from Kitsune Maison, zee French Masters of Heep.

What have you found?