Mark Knofler – Get Lucky

fans just looking for another Dire Straits record should avoid Get Lucky, Knopfler’s latest album. A muscular rock album with copious riffage it is most definitely not. But, those who have come to appreciate Knopfler’s thoughtful and intelligent songwriting and arrangements are well rewarded by Knopfler’s sixth release. An elegant and picturesque collection of Celtic-infused folk, country-tinged blues, and chamber pop, Get Lucky is enjoyable throughout, it’s pastoral beauty whisking you away to still more pastoral, verdant locales. (Personally, I like to imagine myself lying in a field of sunflowers on the cliffs of Dover, the wind whipping through my imaginary mop of elbow-length blonde hair—or giant afro—it varies.) (Read the Full Review)

David Gray – Draw the Line

The first results of this renewal are the 11 songs on Draw the Line, perhaps Gray’s finest work yet. Largely eschewing the electronic counterpoints to his music’s acoustic foundations, Gray for the first time leans on and allows himself to be propelled by a band, to appreciable effect in all aspects of the record.

The change is evident from the first bars of “Fugitive.” Drummer Keith Pryor makes the martial tempo sound unexpectedly loose, and Gray follows through with a loping piano figure and a lyric that extols one to live for the moment (”Hey better realize my friend / Lord in the end now you can’t take it with / Gotta live”). His way with a melody is undiminished, livening even the darkest corners of the album’s title track, which ticks off a list of social and personal ills against which we must defend ourselves (All this talk can hypnotize you and / We can ill afford / To give ourselves to sentiment / When our time is oh so short / … Have to draw the line”).

The awesome Jolie Holland lends a ghostly harmony vocal on “Kathleen,” which perfectly portrays the spectral scene of a man wandering, lost, with a bygone lover on his mind. Gray turns up the quietude again on “Transformation,” comparing the renewal of one’s spirit in the embrace of a lover to the renewal of nature at the turning of seasons. (Read the Full Review)

Monsters of Folk (Oberst, James,Ward)

A strange kind of alchemy occurs when the three join forces. Maybe it’s the way their voices blend on certain choruses and bridges, or maybe it’s that their songwriting styles sound less repetitive when spread around on an album. Maybe it’s just that a competitive spirit has driven each to bring his A-material. Whatever the reason, Monsters Of Folk is a real pleasure, full of songs that are loose, catchy and likeable. When Ward, Oberst, and James trade lines and guitar licks on “Say Please,” “Baby Boomer,” and “Whole Lotta Losin’,” they recall The Traveling Wilburys not in a tongue-in-cheek way, but sincerely. They sound like four talented guys enjoying each other’s company, and inviting listeners to join them. They’ve even been thoughtful enough to provide plenty of chances to sing along. (Read Full Review)

Sea Wolf – White Water, White Bloom

Hailing from Los Angeles, Sea Wolf plays mesmerizing indie folk; very well, in fact. Fast forward to 2009, and Sea Wolf is giving it another try. White Water, White Bloom is the band’s latest, and I was pleasantly surprised. Given some time to sink in, and White Water, White Bloom is the perfect background music for a fall morning.
Starting out incredibly strong is “Wicked Blood,” the engaging indie sun that everything else in the White Water solar system gravitates around. This is also about as “epic” as lead singer Alex Church utters, “These lines were here/ Long before we came around.” With percussion about as explosive indie folk music gets and a great piano line (think “Funeral-era Arcade Fire, “Wicked Blood” is far and away the best song Sea Wolf has created. (Read full Review)