na: Spoon, Eels, Aziz Ansari, and more

Pretty good haul here after a flood of WMG-related content last week. Hope you held onto some downloads.

Spoon: Transference – We gave you a sneak peak at Michaelangelo Matos’ glowing review last week , and now the beloved Austin outfit’s seventh album is finally here. Tight, tough and simply composed, Transference is a departure from 2007’s bolder Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga for Spoon. But Britt Daniel and co. are no worse for it.

Eels: End Times – Why so sad Mark Oliver Everett? Oh right, cuz you’re always sad. The man sometimes known only as E is back with his 13^th studio album, a companion piece to last year’s lovelorn werewolf saga, Hombre Loco. End Times isn’t much of a surprise, but Everett has been a reliably incisive and spiritual examiner of love’s decay for some time now. End Times is no exception.

Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening – Basically the funniest, most suddenly visible young stand-up working today, the apoplectic Aziz Ansari’s first album is a whirling dervish of a debut. Riffing on Facebook terrorism, hanging backstage with R. Kelly, and the creepy underbelly of Craigslist, he’s composed a funny, legitimately replayable comedy album—tough sledding these days—without sacrificing his deeply skewed sense of humor. Be not afraid.

Surfer Blood: Astro Coast – Now watch as I awkwardly quote my own review.

eMusic’s Sean Fennessey (!) says:

May our year of surfing and beaches and windswept abandon burn up and fade away. In its place, more bands like Surfer Blood, a troupe with little time for burbling chillwave. In its stead, an old time-y sound — that’s right, straightforward guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll songs! The name and subject matter might fool you; the West Palm Beach crew have rights to beachdom and their songs can drift into talk of deadbeat summers. But the sound on their confident, chipper debut hews closer to roiling ’70s arena rock (think Boston, with way less polish), accessible shoegaze (Ride are a clear influence) and mid-’90s alt-pop (Weezer, basically)…It’s early yet, but Surfer Blood, bad intentions or not, are resurrecting a quaint, vital sound.

Dinowalrus: % – Noisy, meandering, percussive, concusssive – fun! This Brooklyn band have a real refined sense of ramshackle and this, their debut, isn’t exactly the most immediate piece of work. But there’s a tricky, involving tie, a hint of melody, that binds. I wasn’t thrilled with this the first time through, but it’s won me over.

Hotrats:  Turn Ons – This is a nice little gem in the rough—formed by Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey of Supergrass, Hotrats’ Turn Ons is a collection of sloshy covers produced by iconoclast Godhead Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck, Pavement), including Bowie’s “Queen Bitch,” Roxy Music’s  “Love is the Drug,” and Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up.” Pretty good taste there, eh? Maybe not a record of searing depth, but definitely a fun toss-off. The excitably twee version of the Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” is the clincher.

Tha Dogg Pound: That Was Then This Is Now – True story: This is now! Daz and Kurupt, long-cemented West Coast legends, are in their comfort zone here, making aggressive, confident, bedrock gangsta music that recalls Too $hort at its best (”Get $ Paid”) and DJ Quik at its weirdest (”How Low”). A surprising late-in-the-game effort for the duo that won’t die.

The Whitfield Brothers: Earthology – I’ve only heard samples of this so far, but Now Again is one of the most trusted brands in rediscovering lost soul gems. Only this is a bit of a curveball for the label. Rather than remastered soul squeals from mid 20^th century middle America, this is a psych jazz cycle from a current act that features a handful of Stones Throw MCs, including Percee P and MED and outsiders like Edan and Mr. Lif. If you dug Forge Your Own Chains, you’ll dig this.

The Fresh & Onlys:  Second One To Know – More, more, more music from this relentless garage act. This is a short EP that reminds me a bit of early Kinks, minus the gloss. Pretty!

Jane Baxter Miller:  Harm Among the Willows – Sturdy Americana and blues from Bloodshot. Hardly revolutionary, but it sounds like it’s made with lots of care.