Built to Spill – There is No Enemy
On the unexpectedly terrific There Is No Enemy, it becomes immediately clear what had been missing, and sure enough, it was invisible: While Enemy technically sounds just like every Built to Spill record since Keep It Like a Secret– the pinwheeling guitar fantasias, the ambling tempos, and the wayward vocal lines are all here– it is buoyed by a fresh sense of emotional stakes, an urgency that puts wind back in the band’s sails. For the first time in almost 10 years, it seems that Martsch might actually have something he wants to say. (Read the Full Review)
Mountain Goats – Life of the World to Come
Darnielle seems to have heavier things on his mind than what instruments to use and where to apply the compression. Every song on The Life of the World to Come is named after a Bible verse, which reflects one of the places he has turned for solace and guidance while dealing with issues instantly relatable to anyone who’s lived long enough — ill health, the undying memory of your past mistakes, and the passing of the people you most love.
Potentially fertile material, but how to keep it from turning mawkish? One option is sheer craft. “Matthew 25:21” delivers a lyric that captures the impotence one feels when watching someone die of cancer just as vividly as the tightly constructed short fictions he used to write in the 90s about bad debts and mummified Vikings. (Read The Full Review)
Mike Doughty – Sad Man Happy Man
ecorded in mostly DIY fashion with Doughty handling guitars, the occasional keyboard, drum programming and what he calls “the weird noise stuff” (touring partner Andrew “Scrap” Livingston handled bass), songs such as the slyly acousto-funky lead track “(You Should Be) Doubly (Gratified)” and soulful shuffle of the socially observant “Pleasure On Credit” prove the old adage that less is often more. Charged and direct, Sad Man Happy Man may be a mostly spare affair production wise but the instruments that are there carry remarkable power, Doughty’s rough, raw, rap-syncopated vocals and knife-edged lyricism riding herd as the songs gain intensity with swinging style. (Read the Full Review)
Gogol Bordello – Axis Mundi (live)
Gogol Bordello’s cult-like following would be the first one to tell you that the nine-piece’s sweat-soaked gypsy-punk needs to be seen live to be truly experienced, so it’s no big surprise that the band would show off their frantic, carnival sideshow on disc. Live from Axis Mundi compiles live performances from BBC sessions, along with home-brewed, drum machine-backed demos, and a pair of songs recorded with producers Steve Albini (“Stivali E Colbacco”) and Victor Van Vugt (“Troubled Friends.”) The six BBC songs are sure-fire treats, showing off the ragamuffin ensemble’s blistering live energy better than most studio recordings have in the past, and the hip-hop/ragamuffin infused “Go Revolutions” is also particularly good, but the legions of Gogol fans will be most enthused about the Axis Mundi bonus DVD, which captures two shows filmed in the band’s home camp of N.Y.C. in July of 2007. (Read the Full Review)
