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The Chemical Brothers
Further
Astralwerks
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| For a band used to dealing in psychedelics, this time around The Chemical Brothers have really pushed the proverbial envelope. Further sees The Chemical Brothers exploring the boundless possibilities of their sound. Taking a trip through four decades of electronic noise, Tom & Ed have taken the template set up with their occasional “Electronic Battle Weapon” releases and allowed them to mutate gloriously into an entire album. Voice samples and snatches of vocals (rather than guest stars) are woven through tracks to create a record that ebbs and flows like one of the band’s legendary live sets. Here, West Coast power pop harmonies sit beside German Motorik rhythms while My Bloody Valentine-esque sonic manipulations plane across the top of early house basslines. Further is the culmination of nearly two decades of psychedelic exploration, an immersive collection that finds The Chemical Brothers at their least-restrained and most-melodic best. As well as an eight-track album, Further is the band’s first proper partnership with long-time visuals collaborators Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall. Now a respected TV and film director, Adam — aka Flat Nose George – has been responsible for creating the visual backdrop for every song. You need this. |
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William Brittelle
Television Landscape
New Amsterdam
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| Composer of art rock, orchestral pop, and electro-acoustic music, William Britelle is fast rising out of the world of so-called “Classical Music” and into the upper echelons of indie rock’s blog-driven strata. Television Landscape is a wonder of an album — and easily as forward-thinking, complex, and catchy as anything the twentieth century has given us thus far… With the added bonus of irony-free saxophone solos. But don’t just take my word for it. Says Time Out New York: "Brittelle’s crafty, catchy music taps into the best of what Frank Zappa’s oeuvre has to offer, while his surrealist lyrics suggest a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus, the complete Allen Ginsberg, and a Taco Bell menu fed into Cuisinart. Factor in Brittelle’s charisma, and the results are completely electrifying." You need this. |
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The Constellations
Southern Gothic
Virgin Records
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| The Constellations could have called their debut album After Hours. Sure, Martin Scorsese already used that name for his 1985 black comedy, but the two works share much in common. Both are wide screen spectacles rife with seedy scenes and eccentric personalities, propelled by a manic energy that hustles the audience deeper into the unexpected. But Southern Gothic was a better choice as The Constellations’ stomping ground is Atlanta, GA — and, in the wee small hours of the morning, A-Town can get awfully bizarre. The record is all about what happens in Atlanta from 2 AM until noon. Your tour guide on this madcap adventure is the magnetic frontman and vocalist Elijah Jones, the ringleader of the twisted circus that is The Constellations, who spent two years writing and recording the album with producer Ben H. Allen (Animal Collective), along with some storied cronies from the local scene, including Cee-Lo, whose verse on the electro-rocker "Love Is A Murder" prompted a completely overhaul the track underneath. Check it out! |
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Best Coast
Crazy For You
Mexican Summer
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| Best Coast sounds the way music sounds when it comes over the beach from the parking lot, where the cutest boy in school is getting out of his car. The perfect combination of that naive and nervous excitement of a youthful crush and the fuzzy, think reverb of having been around the block at least once before, Best Coast evokes a nostalgia for the California of Gidget and dates at the soda fountain without forgetting that it is that same California that would later spawn Charles Manson. Best Coast’s brainchild, Bethany Cosentino, is constantly playing with these dichotomies, as well as toying with the line between childhood and adulthood. “In New York there was this intense pressure to be a grown-up,” she says, “But here, it’s more laid back, and everyone’s a little bit afraid of growing up.” On Crazy For You, Cosentino has captured what makes California great– it’s like going to the beach anytime you want. |
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AM TAXI
We Don’t Stand A Chance
Virgin Records
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< !DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">Chicago-based AM Taxi combines experience with exuberance on We Don’t Stand A Chance. Entering an Austin studio with producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Patty Griffin, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead), AM Taxi proceeded to record a major-label debut that reflects the group’s diverse influences. Pointing to personal favorites like Pacific Northwest Nuggets-style garage bands like the Wailers, the Sonics and Paul Revere and the Raiders, the British Invasion bands, soul greats Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, Two-Tone bands The Specials and the Selecter or Alt-Country acts Wilco and Ryan Adams, AM Taxi were not afraid to experiment with their sound. There are also songs about things everyone can identify with, like a couple in which no matter how much he messes up, she takes him back ("Charissa") or New Year’s resolutions gone bad ("Champagne Toast"). Dig it.
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Eli “Paperboy” Reed
Come And Get It
Capitol
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| On Come and Get It, Eli “Paperboy” Reed proves to be the life of a soulful, sweaty party in which everyone eventually gets dragged onto the dance floor. As a performer, Reed approaches each song with nothing less than utter conviction; he’s as authentically gritty as he is ingratiatingly sexy. Reed incorporates the feel of classic R&B and soul into a largely self-penned, 12-song set. Admirers have likened Reed to such luminaries as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett; the Boston Herald called him “Boston’s answer to Sam Cooke.” But he’s not merely trying to recreate a sound; Reed is channeling his influences and inspirations into making something all his own. “For me,” says Reed, “it’s all about writing pop songs. Soul music was the greatest pop music of the 20th century. I’m not trying to put anything on; this is what comes out, this is what happens, I can’t sing or write any other way than I do.” |
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Red Wanting Blue
These Magnificent Miles
Fanatic
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| Red Wanting Blue has been called the hardest working rock band in America. This isn’t surprising considering leader Scott Terry’s decade-long dedication to the road. His songs about its trials, sung in a remarkable radio-ready baritone, are backed by his expert band’s shimmering new-classic rock sound. Twelve of these tunes comprise this Columbus, Ohio based band’s first official label release. These Magnificent Miles was written on the road and is about life on the road. Produced by Jamie Candiloro (Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson, R.E.M.) in Columbus and mixed in Los Angeles, the album captures the feel and sound of Red Wanting Blue live — an addictive show that has earned the band a loyal following which stomps, cheers and sings along. It’s an album for all of the musicians who live this way of life and it lifts the veil on what it means to be an underdog in a touring rock band. |
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Versus
On the Ones and Threes
Merge
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| On the Ones and Threes is the first Versus LP in ten years, and possibly their best. From the nascent verve of 1993′s epochal debut The Stars Are Insane to the more haphazard yet equally great Secret Swingers (1996), on through the glossier pop sheen of Two Cents Plus Tax (1998) and 2000′s apparent swansong Hurrah, Versus has consistently astounded. And even though it’s been a decade since we’ve heard from them, they’re still one of the best bands out there — gritty yet melodic, serene yet explosive, and balanced on the brink in a way that has become somewhat of a lost art. On the Ones and Threes also features the reappearances of original member Edward Baluyut, and engineer Nicolas Vernhes (Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Cat Power, Spoon) who worked on Secret Swingers and Two Cents Plus Tax. The deluxe-edition double-LP format will feature an alternate sequence and two additional tracks from the album’s recording sessions ("Deathray" and "Neither Nor"). Listen and learn, Kids. |
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Benjamin Biolay
La Supurbe
Naive
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| A mainstay of the French music scene for a decade now, the singer has also worked with Heather Nova and Nada Surf and toured South America, Germany and Spain. With its trademark lush strings and melancholy feel, Benjamin Biolay’s music is as slow-burning and smoldering as his looks. Among the many stand-out tracks, “Tu Es Mon Amour” recalls the Gainsbourg Confidentiel of the early sixties, “La Toxicomanie” nods in the direction of the cool jazz of Chet Baker, while the Penny Lane-like Night Shop features up-and-coming Spanish trumpet-player Ruben Simeo (“He’s only 17 but he’s already the best in the world,” enthuses Biolay). La Superbe feels like a first class trip on Eurostar, straight to the Paris of Etienne Daho, Bashung, Gainsbourg and Michel Legrand. Along with Air, Daft Punk and Phoenix, Biolay is definitely adding a memorable mark to the French touch. You need this. |
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Tracey Thorn
Love and It’s Opposite
Merge
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| After pausing an 18-year career with partner Ben Watt in best-selling alt-pop duo Everything But The Girl (1982-2000), followed by a self-imposed hiatus to start a family, Tracey Thorn re-emerged in 2007 to a wave of critical acclaim with the glittering autobiographical folk-disco of Out of the Woods, her first solo album since 1982′s indie classic A Distant Shore. Now she is back with another: the starkly beautiful Love and Its Opposite. Partnering again with Berlin-based producer Ewan Pearson (who worked on much of Out of the Woods and more recently with Delphic), Tracey has created an album that is striking in its simplicity. Recorded in Berlin and London, and featuring guest contributions from Hot Chip’s Al Doyle, The Invisible’s Leo Taylor, Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman, Nashville songwriter-drummer Courtney Tidwell, and Lost Valentinos’ guitarist Jono Ma, Love and Its Opposite is steeped in a compassionate directness. Ten songs / thirty-nine minutes / a dissection of complex relationships in flux… If the world were a just place then this would be huge. |
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Danger Radio
Nothing’s Gonna Hold Us Down
Dog House Records
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| The beginning of Danger Radio can be traced back to 1999 when then-middle schoolers Andrew de Torres and Nico Hartikainken started playing local talent shows around the Seattle suburb of Everett, WA. After honing their skills, the duo expanded into a sextet and the foundation was planted. The band was ready to take off. The band’s sound continued to develop over the years, from their pop-punk leaning demos to the dance and R&B infused sound found on their 2006 EP, The Difference Between Love and Envy. Now, with the solidified lineup of Torres, Hartikainken, guitarists Andy Brookins and Elan Wright, keyboardist Spencer Philips, and bassist Robbie Cochrane in tow, Danger Radio’s latest and greatest, Nothing’s Gonna Hold Us Down, is sure to raise their stature and make a lot of kids happy. Crank it. |
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New Politics
New Politics
RCA Records
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| The New Politics have a motto: “Fuck It.” It’s kind of a crass, apathetic motto, but for the Copenhagen band it doesn’t mean giving up. It means taking chances–something they do with reckless abandon. For instance, when the band was on the verge of signing with RCA in November, they realized “If we’re going to become insanely famous in the U.S. we might want to actually live there.” So the three musicians packed up their instruments and recording gear, said “Fuck it” and moved into a loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was here that shambolic New Politics “crafted” their self-titled debut. New Politics are energetic, anarchic, and truthful… The way rock and roll bands should be. |
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"We wanted to go back to basics, go back to the source, it was just me singing live with a rhythm section – no overdubbing, no gimmicks, no complicated horn and string arrangements, just get the song down in an entire take, capture the meaning of the song, its spirituality, its life, and capture that moment, right there. And I think that’s what we’ve done," says Tom Jones, the veteran singer from Wales, who turns 70 this year and who has just completed Praise and Blame, his follow up to 2008′s acclaimed 24 Hours. This is Tom Jones going back to his roots on an album of gospel, blues, traditional and country songs, wearing his heart on his sleeve, emotionally raw and true. The musicians include steel guitarist BJ Cole, keyboardist Booker T Jones (of Memphis soul legends Booker T and the MGs), Hammond organist Chris Holland and background vocalists Gillian Welch, Alison Pierce, Dave Rawlings and Orin Waters. Tom has quite simply delivered his tour de force. It’s him bearing his soul, singing from the heart, telling it like it is — and there’s nothing unusual about that!
TOM JONES -
Praise & Blame
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Maya Arulpragasam was born in Hounslow, London England. When she was 6 months old, her family moved back to their homeland, Sri Lanka. At 8 years old, Maya moved back to London, where she and her family were housed as refugees from the civil unrest in their native region. Maya learned proper English at school and slang at home by listening to NWA and Public Enemy on the radio. On /\/\ /\ Y /\, M.I.A. continues her musical exploration into new territory including rock, dubstep and more. She is not a typical artist and /\/\ /\ Y /\, pushes the envelope with controversial sounds, lyrics, and imagery. M.I.A. is many things — a visual-artist, musician, revolutionary, and style-icon–and just when you think you have /\/\ /\ Y /\ pegged, it will surprise you.
M.I.A. -
/\/\ /\ Y /\ (Maya)
N.E.E.T./XL/Interscope
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The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) is a group of some of the best independent music stores in America. CIMS was founded in 1995; its current membership is made up of 29 accounts that handle 47 stores in 21 states. Many of the accounts have been recognized by the music industry and their local communities for their outstanding dedication to customer service and developing artist support.
Each member is bound by its shared love of music, a reputation for great selection and customer service in its community, yet each CIMS account is as unique as the market it represents. Most importantly, CIMS member stores continually seek to challenge the jaded, color-by-numbers advertising and marketing of other retailers.
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