na: scissor sisters, maps + atlases & more

Kind of a quiet new arrivals Tuesday, which gives us plenty of time to shine a light on some titles that may have otherwise gone unmentioned. A roundup of today’s hidden gems below the jump!

Scissor Sisters, Night Work: Recent interviews with Jake Shears find him lamenting the fact that he was sliding into the role of the “campy gay,” turning his sexuality into a cartoon and thereby neutralizing it. Night Work is an attempt to reverse that image, and while I never really cared for Scissor Sisters, I admire the confrontationalism Shears & Co are going for. eMusic’s Melissa Maerz says:

With Scissor Sisters’ third full-length, they’re leaving the warm fuzzies behind. Night Work is the sleaziest album they’ve ever made — and, not coincidentally, it’s also their best. The lyrics are loaded with witty come-ons — “I’ve got your tail between my legs,” “I want you to funk me/ Your battleship has sunk me,” “Take me any way you want…In front of your parents?/ I don’t care!” The music totally nails the sexy, seedy hedonism of ’70s and ’80s nightlife: “Harder You Get” winks at Iggy Pop’s “Nightclubbing”; “Sex and Violence” sighs with the neon-light glamour of the Pet Shop Boys; “Running Out” reimagines the Cult’s “Fire Woman” as the best aerobic workout ever. And, with electronic music guru Stuart Price producing, a newly inspired Shears sounds like he’s ready for something new. “I’ll take anything you give me/ ‘Cause I know that God forgives me,” he sings. And he’s right: If this album proves anything, it’s that God’s a disco fan.

Alejandro Escovedo, Street Songs of Love: So I’ve never really paid attention to Alejandro Escovedo in the past, but Peter Blackstock‘s review of his new one makes me think I’d like it. In the first place, it’s produced by Tony Visconti. In the second place, the bits I’ve checked out sound kinda rugged and glammy. Here’s Peter’s take:

Pushing 60 now, Texas songwriter and bandleader Alejandro Escovedo hasn’t exactly mellowed in his later years. Quite the contrary, in fact: 2008′s Real Animal and now Street Songs Of Love are easily the hardest-rocking records he has ever made. Hard-charging guitars, sassy female backup singers and pounding rhythms propel Escovedo’s confident sneering on opening triptych “Anchor,” “Silver Cloud” and “This Bed Is Getting Crowded.” Things take a jazzier turn on the title track, but it’s “Down in The Bowery” that is the record’s beating heart. It has an aching, wistful melody and boasts a soulful vocal cameo by the great Ian Hunter, one of Escovedo’s lifelong role models. A bigger-name guest-star shows up later, when Bruce Springsteen sings along on “Faith,” an unflinching, anthemic declaration of rock ‘n’ roll commitment and belief.

Jimmy Webb & Friends, Across the River: Jimmy Webb and a small army of guest stars pay tribute to the man’s legacy. Peter Blackstock writes:

Does the world really need another recording of “Wichita Lineman”? Well, yes, seeing as how it’s one of the finest pop songs ever written, and given that this one comes from the guy who wrote it. Jimmy Webb’s own versions of his songs never became hits, despite yielding chart success for artists ranging from Glen Campbell to the Fifth Dimension to Richard Harris. In fact, despite having issued nearly a dozen albums, Webb had never actually released his own studio version of “Wichita Lineman.” And so in many respects, this one is long overdue.

That song, bolstered by a guest vocal from Billy Joel, arrives early in Just Across the River, an album designed to cast new light on Webb’s legacy by putting his voice and personality front and center, and supporting it with an all-star cast of friends and admirers, gathered to pay their respects to Webb for a lifetime of inspiration.

Black Sheep, From the Black Pool of Genius: Whether or not you realize it, you have been given a million and a half opportunities to hear Black Sheep’s “The Choice is Yours” over the course of the last, say, 20 years. It was rightly ubiquitous on its release in 1992, and then it was ubiquitous all over again when Fatboy Slim nicked it for his “Weapon of Choice.” These days, it’s popping up in the background of a KIA ad, and I’m fairly confident 10 years from now, some indie rock band will find a whole new use for it. And why not? It’s fantastic. Fortunately, Dres from Black Sheep is not content to live in the past. His latest, From the Black Pool of Genius arrives to energize a kind of lackluster year in hip-hop. Guest shots from Jean Grae, Rhymefest and Q-Tip, throwback production and Dres’s nimble flow. It may not be pushing the boundaries of hip-hop, but it is reliving all of the things that made it great in the past. Recommended.

Julian Lynch, Mare: Yesterday’s Pitchfork Best New Music recipient shows up today, and I’m liking what I’m hearing. Lovely, weird, spacey songs that float along — there’s an eeriness here I can’t quite put my finger on. Looking forward to spending more time with it. Tangentially: the Olde English Spelling Bee label is one of my favorites ever, and I am hopeful we’ll get more titles from their terrific catalog on eMusic soon.

Maps & Atlases, Perch Patchwork: Maps & Atlases are a Chicago group that have, over time, settled into making smooth, soothing — yet still fully experimental — music. The songs here skip and race, tugged along by Dave Davison’s tiny, pinched voice (trivia: is he the same guy who sang on the extremely underrated record by The Kingdom a few years ago? Seriously: if you haven’t heard that Kingdom record — it’s great). But, oh, yeah, Maps & Atlases: solid, light and engaging. Check it.

The Pinker Tones, Modular: Electro-pop band from Barcelona and longtime eMusic faves serve up another offering of steadily percolating synth-driven pop music. There’s something kind of weird about the Pinker Tones that I kind of like. This one sounds just as eccentric as past releases.

The Choir, Burning Like the Midnight Sun: California psych-pop band returns with their 11th(!) studio album. This one is a lot less psych than, say, the still-classic Circle Slide. Lately the Choir has started sounding a bit like Death Cab for Cutie, which suits them well enough; this one seem strangely full of in-references, name-dropping bass player Tim Chandler and guitarist (and Hammock member) Marc Byrd. I am sure I will end up listening to this from start to finish sometime very soon.

Various Artists, Unheard Ofs & Forgotten Abouts: Tompkins Square serves up this excellent compilation of overlooked 45s from around the world. People with an archivist streak will flip — the songs here are truly strange and fascinating, and run the gamut from traditional folk to choral to just about everything in between. Recommended.

Electric Tickle Machine, Blew it Again: Loving this — banged-up, echoey, kinda garagey; big, bratty melodies, snide, nasal vocal delivery, and all the guitars sound like they’re buried beneath 50 tons of reverb. Recommended.

The Harvey Girls, I’ve Been Watching a Lot of Horror Movies Lately: The Harvey Girls are a Portland, Oregon band that take their name from an old MGM Judy Garland movie. The music on this album sounds fascinating: strange and warped. The band’s chief personalities are Melissa Rodenbeek and Hiram Lucke, and their music is creepy in all the right ways.

Lewis Black, Stark Raving Black: If you’ve seen Black on the Daily Show — and at this point, who hasn’t? — you know what to expect: tons of ire and vitriol, apoplectic hilarity of the highest order. There is a 12-minute track called “Vince Gill, Amy Grant and Me” that cannot possibly be bad.

The Herbaliser, Herbal Tonic: Compilation from this jazz/hip-hop group features vocals from Jean Grae and MF Doom — sounds interesting and diverse. I know next to nothing about them, but samples are intriguing in a real “I lived in Philly when neo-soul was getting huge” kind of way.

The Haunted Windchimes, Honey Moonshine: Brittle banjo and honey-sweet harmonies on this album from Pueblo quintet. The group does old folk music very well, and their songs put banjo and fiddle and standup bass front and center. Country fans, take note.

Marco Polo, The Stupendous Adventures of Marco Polo: Compilation pairs this Canadian (?!?!) producer with whipcrack MC’s like Large Professor, Skyzoo, Diamond District and more. Duck Down’s reputation has been shaky lately, but this comp sounds solid to me.

Indigo Girls, Staring Down the Brilliant Dream: Double-Live-Album from Emily and Amy features a Bob Dylan cover, a Rolling Stones cover, “Closer to Fine” and a bunch of other songs I don’t recognize. I definitely went through a brief Indigo Girls phase in college and have a weird respect for them and what they do, even if I don’t really like the music anymore. Also, why are there no jams from Swamp Ophelia on this motherfucker?

SINGLES & EPs
Olof Arnalds, “Innundir Skinni”: NEW OLOF ARNALDS SINGLE from excellent upcoming record of the same name. As you may recall, we named Olof’s excellent debut Vid Og Vid one of the best of the decade back when she was on tiny Icelandic label 12Tonar. She’s in the big leagues now, stepping up to Bjork’s One Little Indian. Innundir Skinni, which is out Sept 14, is bigger and more ambitious and, honestly, absolutely outstanding. Worth the wait. Get a taste on this great single which, surprise surprise, is Highly Recommended.

Holy Cobras, “Feed Yr Head”: YES! What is this?! Soaring, divebombing guitars, echo-laden vocals – kinda reminds me of “Holiday in Cambodia,” but with more of a motorbike sneer. The recording quality is beyond fucked-up, which is another gigantic plus. Mega-Recommended.

Cloud Nothings, “Didn’t You”: Really engaging, charming, bounding single from indiepoppers Cloud Nothings (not to be confused with Wild Nothing). I really like this: bright, tuneful, clear-eyed – a great little summer soundtrack.

Coloring, Start Coloring: Don’t know anything about this band, but I like what I’m hearing here — the word “psych” usually makes my teeth ache, but this sounds like the melodies are foregrounded, which is a plus. Anyone know anything about this?

The Narcoleptic Dancers, Not Evident: Light, lovely, boy/girl twee indie folk. Fans of the Softies will dig this.