Strand of Oaks - HEAL

And then I found my Dad’s old tape machine, that’s where the magic began

A new Heartbreakers album, another gem from J. Lew, and this. As much as I wanna talk Petty, I'm going the other way on this one. I'm talkin' Strand of Oaks.  I'm talkin' opposite field home run. Tie game. 

 I was lonely but I was having fun, I don’t wanna start all over again

“Goshen ’97”. Start there. Track 1.  Nostalgia, I’m a sucker for it.  Be honest with me and I will listen to every single word.  A great melody and I’ll play it again and again.  Make a whole album like that and I will tell all of my friends about it.  But enough about Bangerz.   

Oh and just wait ‘til you get to "JM"! BIG OL GUITARS! And some beautiful lyrics. 

I could say so much about the above mentioned albums.  I’ve enjoyed them very much and I think they’re great.  But I will spare you my friends of my “rock n roll never dies” rants, and my “Jenny Lewis can a write the shit out of a song” declarations and leave you with something different. 

I was born in the middle, maybe too late, everything good had been made  

Also, rock never dies and J. Lew can write the fuck out of a song.

   

Kool A.D. - Word OK

Released March 2014

My knowledge of this guy before today consisted of watching his music video for the song Manny Pacquiao about a hundred times over the past two years. Anyone who has late night dance partied with me has heard it. And now you're about to as well. 

The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream

Released March 18th 2014

My first thought was to write "eat your heart out Kurt Vile, these guys are what you've been looking for." When in fact, he found them a long time ago. And by found I mean was a founding member of the band back in the day. He's a real one-upper. 

Sondre Lerche - Bad Law

This is a far cry from the "Two Way Monologue" and "Sleep On Needles" Sondre of old. Nonetheless, it's a groovy dance tune that unfortunately arrived via the pain of a divorce.  

“‘Bad Law’ came charged with this urge to play a simple song that would allow people (and myself, I suppose) to ventilate anger and frustration,” Lerche said in a statement. “To get happy, dance like idiots and ultimately feel a little better, despite everything going to shit. I hope people lose it to this song.”

"Bad Law" is the opening track for his newest album Please, which I'm sure will make it to the $9.99 bin this fall. 

“Despite aligning with a recent divorce from his wife of eight years,Please is brimming with crisp electronic flourishes, bold, economic production, and an infectious new energy and sense of purpose.”

Hamilton Leithauser - Black Hours

Dude I don't even know if this bad boy is "released" yet but the songs are blowing up everywhere, including NPR's First Listen

First, let's take a little trip back to a 2002 debut album by a little band called The Walkmen.  

"We've Been Had"

I harp on this time in music as being a big shift.  But come on. It was The Strokes. It was The Walkmen. It was Vampire Weekend. Music got cool again.  

"Canadian Girl"

No big deal. Just recording at Sun Studios in Memphis. WHATEVER.

But anyways.

Hamilton Leithauser (lead singer of The Walkmen) has supposedly been teasing his solo release for a while now, though I've only heard wind of it in the past month. Now on NPR's First Listen, you can see how much the guy has grown musically (and I hate using the word grown when referring to music).  The songs are cleaner, more focused.  A little less swagger with a little more class.  Probably something to do with having Rostam Batmanglij (See: Vampire Weekend) as a collaborator. I know Ezra Koenig gets all the play, but Batmanglij has got the guts (did you know he was in Dirty Projectors??)

Below is evidence of the clean shift Hamilton Leithauser has seemed to have made from twenties malaise to thirties optimism:

"Alexandra"

You know, for someone who has been performing as long as this guy, you think he would look a lot less awkward singing. BUT NOPE. Awkward as fuck.

St Paul & The Broken Bones - Half the City

Released February 2014

Preach Paul Janeway. Preach.

I stumbled upon this guy preaching at the GA Theatre as the opening act for Jason Isbell. I was mid-beer, he was mid-first note of the first song, and I was evangelized. Afterward I approached him on the sidewalk and said what any sober respectable parishioner would, "Fuck you man! That was awesome!" To which he replied with a belly rolling laugh-n-hug combo. 

St Vincent - St Vincent

Released February 2014

I'm always worried when one of my favorite bands goes on tour with a more established artist. Too many bands lose themselves and produce pale imitations of their touring partner (see Only is the Night, by Kings of Leon). It takes a special band to learn from the experience and create something special without losing themselves: St. Vincent's St. Vincent is one of those special albums.

Future Islands - Seasons

February 4 2014

This track kept popping up in my earlobe so I finally googled it. And holy shit I like these guys. Mostly that creepy guy up top. Check it out and get your grin on:

Yes.

Dennis

Apache Relay

A couple tracks from The Apache Relay's American Nomad grabbed my attention late last year and earned many a spin in my car and backyard (my sacred space reserved for the good stuff).  

And this week Apache Relay has been getting the same treatment.  I'm hooked. I enjoy everything about this.  It's one I can truly say is a must listen for y'all.  And it's perfect for the season.

Every instrument. Every sound. Every melody.  Every song.  I've absorbed it all.  Best $9.99 I've spent all year.

Everything at Fairfax Rec (formerly Sound City) just sounds amazing.  That room... Incredible.  And this band is good. Real good.

Spin it.
 

Inside Llewyn Davis

Dec 2013

To be clear, this is not a movie review. It's not really an album review. I've listened to the soundtrack from this movie so many times in the past month, I felt it was the most appropriate selection to write on.