na: bobby bare, the weepies

(Have you guys seen Album Tacos yet?)

Pretty light day as far as New Arrivals go, so maybe use this opportunity to get that fantastic last Dead Weather record.

A Frames, First Three Records: A Frames were massively overlooked during their lifespan — dark, grimy, often spazzy punk rock that was menacing and imposing. Imagine a second coming of Wire, with muscles, and you’re on to it. I rep extremely hard for their first and second records. If I’m lowering my guard and speaking totally honest here: these would be the two records I’d download today. Highly Recommended.

Bobby Bare Jr., A Storm, A Tree, My Mother’s Head: New one from Bobby Bare Jr. finds the country wiseacre just as soulful and sarcastic as ever. eMusic’s Peter Blackstock conducted an excellent interview with Bare here, in which he gives the story behind the record’s title, and talks about singing with his daughter. This is the rare eMusic interview that features a video component, so I highly recommend checking it out. Of the album, eMusic’s Amanda Petrusich says:

While the title might seem like a goofy nod to Bare Sr.’s famed novelty songs, it’s actually a disturbingly literal inventory: In 2008, a storm uprooted an old birch tree near Bare Jr.’s mother’s home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, cracking the family’s white ranch house in half and pinning her in place. “A hundred years old, that tree was tired and ready to fall…Momma don’t know if she’s gonna die alone in Tennessee tonight,” Bare Jr. bellows over bare, melancholy steel guitar (don’t sweat: she’s doing fine now). Tragic as it could have been, it’s perfect lyrical fodder for Bare Jr., who almost always spikes his confessional moments with a good bit of absurdity. In the acoustic “One Of Us Has Got To Go,” which alludes to his recent divorce, Bare Jr. twists a gut-wrenching moment into a cartoon: “I saw you with your handsome new dude, kissing and smiling last night/ I would rather have poison-beaked sparrows pluck out my crying eyes.” Only a real, pedigreed country singer could marry tragedy and comedy with this much ease.

The Weepies, Be My Thrill: It’s a new album from the Weepies. I’ll leave this one to eMusic’s Wayne Robins, who says:

The music on Be My Thrill evokes the best ’60s and ’70s radio hits: “I Was Made for Sunny Days,” might have grown from a hybrid seed created from the Mamas and Papas and Stevie Wonder. “When You Go Away” recalls Chicago without the horns, but with that band’s knack for mass-appeal pop songs. On the ebullient title song and the bracing “How Do You Get High,” the voices blend like a sweeter version of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. On “Hummingbird,” Talan handles the quick twists of melody like Joni Mitchell driving a Porsche on Pacific Coast Highway; “They’re in Love, Where Am I?” could be from the Harold Arlen-Johnny Mercer songbook, a future cabaret standard. But mostly, Be My Thrill offers an enveloping warmth from musicians who convey contentment as not just a fleeting possibility but something attainable and lasting.

Richard Thompson, Dream Attic: New one from Richard Thompson. eMusic’s Sam Adams says:

Although some of Dream Attic‘s songs drift past the seven-minute mark, there’s no wasted space. You don’t have to love 20-minute drum break to appreciate Thompson’s way with a prolonged guitar solo. Where most guitarists are content to string together a series of small ideas, Thompson’s are miniature musical narratives that elaborate and amplify the mood of the song — an observation that holds for the rocket-fueled rockabilly of “Haul Me Up” as well as the hauntingly harmonized “A Brother Slips Away.”

Suuns, Zeroes EP: FREE EP from the fine folks at Secretly Canadian. Suuns are a new dark-psych band with a fondness for threatening atmospherics and lumbering rhythms. It’s free, so why not check it out?

Various Artists, Yo Gabba Gabba: Music Is Awesome, Volume 2: Who’s gonna front on Yo Gabba Gabba? And why would you? This comp contains contributions from MGMT, Solange, Apples in Stereo, Jimmy Eat World and Weezer. Its predecessor had tracks from The Shins, The Roots, Of Montreal and Mark Kozelek. My name is Joe, and I like to DANCE!

Cephalic Carnage, Misled By Certainty: New album from thrash/grind pioneers sounds just as insane and unhinged as ever. The years have not dulled the band’s whiplash rhythms or penchant for maniacal music. Fans of the brutal will not be disappointed.

And that, as they say, is that. What did you guys find?