na: jimi, ted leo, frightened rabbit

(image by ikewilson)

A HUGE day for new arrivals, so let’s get right to it. BTW: if you’re not following 17Dots on Twitter, we’d invite you to jump on. Every Tuesday morning is #realtimenewarrivals, with call-outs of the day’s hottest titles as we come across them. It’s also the spot to check in with eMusic’s editors and to get live updates from concerts — including this Friday’s surprise National show at Brooklyn’s Bell House, where they’ll be debuting songs from their upcoming record, High Violet. Join us today, right here.

And now, on to New Arrivals:

Jimi Hendrix, Valleys of Neptune: First album of new(ish) Hendrix Material in 40 or so years. We’ve got an interview (conducted by the legendary Ben Fong-Torres) with compiler and co-producer Eddie Kramer here. Of the record, Ben writes:

For the average rock fan and appreciator of Hendrix’s genius, this collection is cause for celebration. This is new stuff, good as the old stuff — and the old stuff was some of the best rock music ever committed to tape, to vinyl, to whatever. This is what Valleys of Neptune is up against. No sweat. If you go into it understanding that most of these recordings, started after Electric Ladyland, were touched up after Hendrix’s death, and that they can’t be considered wholly Jimi’s handicraft, Valleys will take you right back to those days and nights when you discovered that rock wasn’t what you thought it was. When Jimi Hendrix rewrote the book.

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, The Brutalist Bricks: Bright, vibrant, brash and buoyant new record from Ted Leo finds him firing on all cylinders as usual. eMusic’s Dan Weiss sez:

The back-to-back opening wallop of “The Mighty Sparrow” (which may or may not be a reference to the legendary calypso artist of the same name) and “Even Heroes Have to Die” may be Leo’s take on power-pop, his one-man call-and-response verses and melisma runs recalling Elvis Costello and Buddy Holly. They’re barnstormers, every splash of Chris Wilson’s cymbals on crisp display loud and clear which, along with Leo’s hopped-up shouting, could make you forget entirely there’s an acoustic guitar in there somewhere. Bricks finds new crevices in the cement and mortar of Leo’s long-developed sound. Like so much great punk it explodes, as often and as noisily as possible.

Pavement, Quarantine the Past: Hits & otherwise compilation from proto-slackers arrives just in time for the reunion tour. Coincidence! eMusic’s Michaelangelo Matos says:

“Box Elder,” from the first Pavement 7-inch, 1989′s Demolition Plot J-7, immediately demonstrated [Malkmus] had the knack, and “Summer Babe” and “Trigger Cut” offered ample supporting evidence. When the alt-rock bubble inflated, he responded with the impossibly summery “Cut Your Hair” and “Gold Soundz” and “Range Life”; there were shouted vocals and sloppy drumming, but the tunes and especially the guitars were so bright and insistent. Malkmus’s lyrical diffidence (“Because you’re empty/ And I’m empty”) is a sour cherry on top — sweet in spite of itself.

Frighetened Rabbit, The Winter of Mixed Drinks: Everyone’s favorite Scotsmen return with a record that’s more atmospheric and measured than its hard-charging predecessor. We’ve got an interview with Scott on the way, but in the meantime, here’s what eMusic’s Adrienne Day has to say about their latest:

The Winter of Mixed Drinks explores what happens after the pieces have been picked up, reexamined and placed back together in untested formations. Produced and mixed by Peter Katis (Interpol, the National), Drinks adds new levels of complexity to the genial Rabbit guitar-drums-keyboard-angst tableaux with ambient electronic washes, a solemn backing chorus and a subtle, quirky string section by labelmate Hauschka.

The Method Actors, This is Still It: Reissue of awesome angular jangle-band from Athens in the late 70s — a clear precursor to people like R.E.M. and Pylon. Those of you who like your indie with snarl, look no further.

Titus Andronicus, The Monitor: We’ve been freaking out for this record for a while now, and it just gets better the more we listen to it. Somewhere between “Born to Run” and “Bastards of Young,” with more than a little rock opera thrown in. eMusic’s Sean Fennessey says:

Musically, the band is fuller than before: shambolic saloon piano, desert-quiet harmonica solos, dueling ripchord guitar, knee-knocking fiddles. They have grand ambitions here, working out a long, twisted song cycle. There’s also drama in every word Stickles utters. He is verbose but precise; literate but low-hanging. There are literally dozens of quotable lines, little bon mots twisted from other sources (The Dark Knight, Billy Bragg, local haunt The Glen Rock Inn), or wholly original lamentations (“You will always be a loser!”, “I’m sorry mama, but I’ve been drinkin’ again,” “It’s still us against them,” “Give me anything but another year in exile!”). Stickles is also an increasingly intuitive vocalist, able to avoid the Conor Oberst-lite tag that dogged him after the release of the band’s 2009 debut, The Airing of Grievances. His wail is louder and leaner than before, his whisper tremulous and haunting.

Ortloan, Time on a String: Sleeper Hit of the Week — new from Dan Smith (aka Danielson)’s Sounds Familyre label is charming, well-constructed, female-fronted pop, just slightly dainty but 100% tuneful and winning. Try “Sticky Situation” and see if you don’t agree.

Josh Rouse, El Turista: Latest from Rouse fuses his winning country/folk with elements of traditional Spanish music to warm and wonderful results.

The Besnard Lakes, Are the Roaring Night: New one from eMusic faves Besnard Lakes. eMusic’s Barry Walters says:

Montreal quartet Besnard Lakes manage a mean feat: merging the elephantine drones of UK shoegaze bands with the free-flying vocals of bygone Southern California. Overdubbing with the kind of extravagance owning your own studio affords, the husband-wife duo of multi-instrumentalists Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas build dense and dynamic sonic mountains, assisted by fellow band members — guitarist Richard White, drummer Kevin Laing — and a small army of string and horn players. The album’s slow-build, two-part opener, “Like the Ocean, Like the Innocent” indirectly describes itself: It creates tension by leading with shrill falsetto and then resolving it with reassuring harmonies and steadfast riffs — a slow and steady surge and recede.

We Were Promised Jetpacks, The Last Place You’ll Look: New EP from everybody’s other favorite Scottish band. I’m going to float the completely untrue theory that they dropped this the same day as the Frightened Rabbit record because the two bands are beefing.

White Hinterland, Kairos: Surprise reinvention of the year! White Hinterland ditch jazzy piano for soft, moody glo-fi, and the results are hypnotic and startling. Andrew Parks talked with Hinterland’s Casey Dienel about the transformation here

Zola Jesus, Stridulum: Take two parts PJ Harvey, one part Siouxsie Sioux and one part freaked-out dead-eyed medium and you’ve got the awesome spookiness that is Zola Jesus. Lush, eerie, hypnotic, fantastic.

David S. Ware, Saturnian: Avant-garde jazz legend returns! This is the saxophonist’s first new record since undergoing a kidney transplant, but it doesn’t sound like the surgery has slowed him down any. As exuberant and challenging as ever — can’t wait to dig in more.

jj, jj No. 3: Balearic wonders return! eMusic’s Ilya Zinger says:

Opening with signature nonchalance, jj cover the Game’s “My Life,” re-imagining the song with solo piano and Kastlander’s breathy vocals, accentuating the lament laced deep in the original. Lead single “Let Go” mixes gentle, plucked guitar and waves of harmonica. Cynical criticisms of Enya-biting aren’t entirely invalid, but No. 3 rises above washed-out new age, and their inventiveness is showcased in the album’s clear standouts: “Light” and “Golden Virginia” show off jj’s characteristic creative aplomb, and both songs balance a narrative of longing and regret with the slightest note of nostalgia.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Beat the Devil’s Tattoo: New one from BRMC. eMusic’s Andrew Parks says:

As would be expected from anyone’s fifth album (sixth, if you count the soundscape experiments that are spread across The Effects of 333), BRMC treats Beat the Devil’s Tattoo as a resume record — a “this is what we’ve done, and this is what we’d like to do” sort of thing. And by that, we mean it has tracks that reference everything from the acoustic asides of Howl (the piano-led “Long Way Down,” the harmonica-chased haze of “Sweet Feeling”) to the slightly psychedelic bent of Baby 81 (the masochistic mud bath of “War Machine,” the tension-breaking temper tantrums of “Aya”).

Lawrence Arabia, Chant Darling: I’m getting some low and lonesome Bon Iver vibes off this lovely little indie folk record.

Anais Mitchell, Hadestown: Laura is a big fan of this record, so I’ll let her chime in in the comments — this sounds really intriguing to me, a busted-country/folk concept record with guest spots by Bon Iver and Ani DiFranco. Laura, wanna say more?

Jason Collett, Rat-A-Tat-Tat: Latest solo record from Broken Social Scene member Collett. I haven’t listened to this yet — anyone wanna offer any insight?

Eluveitie, Everything Remains As it Never Was: New one from Pagan folk-metallers already racking up excellent reviews in the quarters that follow this kind of thing. I’ve been looking forward to this one for about a month now, and am looking forward to spending some time exploring its corners.

Miles Kurosky, The Desert of Shallow Effects: Solo album from Beulah main man Kurosky is as sunny and tuneful as ever; Kurosky’s a wise one, and knows how to undercut the sweetest hook with the right amount of understated sarcasm. Fans will not be disappointed.

The Pharmacy, Weekend: Nice surprise from the Park the Van label, perfectly busted indie pop sure to win over anyone who values melody over proficiency. I like.

Saadi, “Bad City”: New 12″ from buzzy NYC dance artist closes with a Dylan cover/re-interpretation, “Daddy, You’ve Been on My Mind.” Generally not a fan of gender-pronoun-changing in covers, but the rest of this is intriguing enough that I’ll let it slide.

Acrassicauda, Only the Dead See the End of the War: No-holds-barred Iraqi thrash band goes for the jugular; the band made big waves and infuriated the Iraqi government — this invigorating EP is an indication as to why.

Fursaxa, Mycorrhizae Realm: Spooky, dark, bewitching freak folk — worth checking out for those who enjoy the darker side of life.