Paul Simon — One Trick Pony / Hearts and Bones / Graceland / The Rhythm of the Saints

Disclaimer: Only once had I previously listened all the way through one of these recordings.

Pop
Matt Carney
Everybody over the age of 48, chill out.

 

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Crown Imperial — Crown Imperial

Rock
Joshua Boydston
Not much more than a year-old, Norman’s Crown Imperial already proves it’s a force to be reckoned with, on its self-titled debut. In just 16 minutes, the band flexes a knack for versatility, an eye for cohesiveness and an ear for massively addictive melodies.

 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Florence + The Machine — Ceremonials

No sophomore slump for this soulful siren.

Pop
Jenn Scott
Pre-2008, only a few knew of Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine. After the release of “Kiss with a Fist” in June that year, followed by “Dog Days Are Over” that December, few could contain themselves awaiting the release of her first album, “Lungs.”

 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of The Police / Def Leppard / Van Halen

For the little rocker in all of us. Or at least those of us who one day hope for little rockers of their own.

Eclectic
Matt Carney
I am not a father. Nor do I harbor plans of becoming one anytime soon. I’d like to spawn a kiddo sometime in the next eight or more years, although the technicality of finding a lady nice enough to want to help me out with that is kind of a wild-card factor. Makes such things difficult to predict.

 

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Philip Zoellner Band — Lean On

Rock
Matt Carney
As far as straightforward, unpretentious, classic-sounding rock goes, Tulsa’s Philip Zoellner Band delivers with “Lean On,” Bad Company-inspired guitars and storytelling lyrics included.

 

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Lemma — Lemma

Rock
Matt Carney
Lemma’s self-titled full-length crackles to life with a big ol’ baritone and spaghetti-Western guitar — a brief harbinger of a rock album that draws its influence from a wide range of artists, R.E.M. chief among them.

 

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

M83 — Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

French imagineer captures hipsters’ nostalgia, invites them to explore broad, cinematic soundscapes.

Indie
Matt Carney
Massive music is in.

 

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Ben Folds — The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective

Deserving songwriter gets a career-spanning, three-disc collection that doesn’t overstay its four-hour welcome.

Pop
Matt Carney
Drawing from his three studio albums with Ben Folds Five, three solo studio albums and piles of EPs, compilations and live albums, “The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective” is a highly convenient and well-selected exposition of the two highly developed skills of Mr. Benjamin Scott Folds.

 

Friday, October 28, 2011

Justice — Audio, Video, Disco

As subtle as a herd of buffalo stampeding off a cliff at the end of the world. In space.

Electronica
Matt Carney
The long-awaited follow-up to Justice’s 2007 debut, “†,” stuffed so terrifically full of trippy, scuzzy future-disco, has arrived, signaled by guitars so big that they belong to the skyscraping giants of rock. Yup, the Parisian heirs to Daft Punk’s pyramidal throne are drawing from arena-stomping, ’70s-era prog.

 

Friday, October 28, 2011

The Damn Quails — Down The Hatch

Country
Matt Carney
“Down the Hatch” is an important debut release for more than just the duo of Gabriel Marshall and Bryon White, who go by The Damn Quails. It’s indie label 598 Recordings’ (Chance Sparkman and Mike McClure) first long player, and a product of a prodigious amount of homegrown talent.

 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Balkans — Balkans

Buzzy, noisy Atlanta band shows promise, guitar chops.

Rock
Joshua Boydston
Musically, I’m a sucker for many things. Chief among them is anything related to post-punk and garage rock. Bloc Party was my off-ramp from Linkin Park, while No Age and Wavves have dominated my total plays on iTunes for about two years now.

 

Monday, October 24, 2011

Body Language — Social Studies

This band is properly named.

Indie
Joshua Boydston
If Body Language breaks out like it has the potential to, the Brooklyn-based four piece surely would owe a heavy debt to Passion Pit; it’s a similar formula with the twist of adding a female vocalist … although that feels but a step removed from Michael Angelakos’ signature falsetto.

 

Monday, October 24, 2011

Terra Lightfoot — Terra Lightfoot

This dream-folk debut will induce dead sleep.

Folk
Matt Carney
As the common people have progressed over the last 50-plus years, so has the topicality of their music. Since the development of genres in popular music in the 1950s, contemporary folk music has skewed apolitical, alluring and beautiful.

 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Zach Winters — They Were Longing For a Better Country

Folk
Matt Carney

Redemption, peace, fate and desire. Banjos, harmonicas and handclaps. God and man. Stillness.

 

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Twin Sister — In Heaven

NYC indie-pop dreamers concoct a solid debut album after an infectious single.

Indie
Matt Carney
Ever since “All Around and Away We Go” reminded me of Talking Heads last summer, I’ve kept my eyes out (and many fingers crossed) for flashes of Twin Sister’s name across the blogosphere. Much to my delight, it showed up last summer alongside fellow NYCers’ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on a touring bill aimed at the Midwest, with a stop at OU’s campus (not three minutes’ walk from my house) right smack in the middle of it.

 

Wednesday, October 19, 2011