Clem Snide – Hungry Bird. Download "Me No" (mp3). This album was originally recorded in 2006. As the story goes, the band broke up after writing and recording it. But Eef Barzelay, after releasing two solo albums, has re-formed the band and finally allowed this hidden gem to be unleashed. Barzelay's voice has a tonal quality reminiscent of John Darnielle but the music is full of lush and beautiful arrangements. The songs are fairly candid, but with a hint of convolution. Thank God the album was finally released from the shelf! M. Ward – Hold Time. Download "Never Had Nobody [...]
I've slipped on keeping up to date on these monthly lists of best new albums. I'll start getting caught with this post of The Wheel's Still In Spin's list of the best new releases of January 2009. Coconut Records – Davy. Download "Microphone" (mp3). In 2007, the actor and former Phantom Planet drummer Jason Schwartzman released his first solo album under the band name of Coconut Records. He has followed that up with Davy. The ten songs that make up this release have a decided indie pop sound with layers and mixing peppered with Beatles influences. Otis Gibbs – Grandpa [...]
I never raised my hand in class because, in public, I stutter when I try to talk. Answering a simple three digit math problem would turn into a recitation of a phone number. "Sev-sev-seven, seven, four, fo-fo-seven, fo-forty, eight." Privately I have a good sense of humor about it. I just don't want to talk in public. Someday I'll get over it. But today it's embarrassing. When I'd go into the record store, though, it was different. Especially if Hank was working. Henry, that's what his nametag said, would talk about and know everything about every album or every band. [...]
When Bob Dylan released his most recent album, Together Through Life, I enjoyed it. I recommended it. It's a good album, but not as strong as his last few studio releases. The last three albums – Modern Times, Love and Theft, and Time Out of Mind – form a trilogy of modern greatness for the ever-changing musician. There's something about Together Through Life that can fit in with those three previous records. But there's also something that makes the album seem different. To this listener, Together Through Life is rooted in Dylan's current style of old tyme rock, if you [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. The Dead Weather – Horehound. "Treat Me Like Your Mother" (video). This is a Zeppelin infused album from a "supergroup" consisting Jack White, Alison Mosshart, Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence. These songs have an eruption of blues rock. This album is a continuation of a blistering and powerful classic rock legacy. Watch Jack White and Alison Mosshart assault each other in the video for "Treat Me Like Your Mother" below. The Most Serene Republic - …And the Ever Expanding Universe. Download "Phi" (mp3). This Canadian septet returns for the third [...]
After taking a vacation last week, it took a little while to catch up to the new releases. Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Bowerbirds – Upper Air. Download "Northern Lights" (mp3). This album has a strong resemblance to Bowerbirds' debut release, Hymns for a Dark Horse. But Upper Air sounds fuller without fleshing out the sound too much. There is more instrumental diversity on this new release, but each song still displays a great modern folk quality. This album masterfully adds the perfectly slight amount of production to the band's minimal folk sound. Lushlife – [...]
There is a short list of releases this week, which leads to a short list of recommended album. Here is The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new release. All Smiles – Oh For the Getting and Not Letting Go. Download "Our Final Roles As Birds" (mp3). All Smiles is Jim Fairchild's band. This is the band's second release since Fairchild's previous band, Grandaddy, broke up and the first that is being self-released. Like 2007's Ten Readings of a Warning, the music has a shimmering indie pop that fans of Grandaddy should appreciate. After the jump, there is a list of [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. The Bats – The Guilty Office. Download "Countersign" (mp3). Download "Castle Lights" (mp3). This album, the New Zealand band's seventh in twenty-some years, is an indie pop record. The guitars are the prominent instrument, but with the spacious jangle of Luna or the mellower, pop side of the Velvet Underground. Deer Tick – Born on Flag Day. Download "Easy" (mp3). This is a strong album from a rock band that draws equally from country and indie roots. The four-piece band plays guitar driven country rock with John MacCauley's raspy drawl [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Among the Oak & Ash – Among the Oak & Ash. Of the 12 songs on this album, 2 are original compositions. The remaining tracks are traditional folk songs. The band makes these songs their own with modern indie folk production. However, it is the pairing of Josh Joplin and Garrison Starr's vocals that carries this album, especially on the tracks on which they both sing lead with each singer panned hard to a different speaker. The Builders and the Butchers – Salvation is a Deep Dark Well. Download "Golden [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Mos Def – The Ecstatic. Download "Life in Marvelous Times" (mp3) from RCRD LBL. Download "Quiet Dog" (mp3) from RCRD LBL. Download "Casa Bey" (mp3) from RCRD LBL. This album is an example of what a good hip-hop/rap album should be. There are a few guest spots, but they're logical (Talib Kweli) and worthy (Slick Rick). The lyrics are political and poetic. It has a conscience, message, and deliberate purpose. The production is original and unrepetitive. The tracks are supported by uniquely appealing beats. Sonic Youth – The Eternal. [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Ryan Bingham & Dead Horses – Roadhouse Sun. This album opens with three tracks of Ryan Adams styled Dylanesque roots rock. It mixes in some songs with Southern rock flares. Interspersed in it all are a couple tunes, like "Bluebird," which elucidates the Southwestern territory from which this dusty voiced singer-songwriter comes. Eels – Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire. Download "Fresh Blood" (mp3). For the seventh album as Eels, Mark Oliver Everett and company mix garage rock and lushly euphonic indie pop. The album alternates between those two styles [...]
Noah and the Whale – Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down. Original Release Date: 16 September 2008 (Cherrytree Records). Download "5 Years Time" (mp3). Download "2 Bodies 1 Heart" (mp3). As I walked to the first class of my second semester, International Sign Language 101, I had my ear buds in place. I was lost in my own world. In the five minutes it took to walk across campus, I began listening to the newest obsession on my iPod – Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down by Noah and the Whale. The album opens with the wavering tone of a [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Eating Us. Download "Born On a Day the Sun Didn't Rise" (mp3). This experimental pop band melds a batch of analog instruments into a unique sound. They equally utilize analog synths and acoustic guitars to give the sound a combination of electronic and folk moods. And all of it veiled with a psychedelic pop catchiness. Eating Us is even more engaging than their previous full-length album, 2007's Dandelion Gum. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest. Download "Two Weeks" (mp3). Download "Cheerleader" (mp3). It's been three years since [...]
Remembering Jay Bennett (1963-2009). "I'm still waiting for songs to be written/ Songs that you'll never hear" – "Drinking On Your Dime" from The Palace at 4am (Part 1) (Jay Bennett & Edward Burch). Download "It Hurts" from The Palace 1919. I only know Jay Bennett through his music. My introduction to him was through Wilco. When Jay performed, he put his full heart into his energetic performances. He was known for his impassioned presence and versatile musical expertise on stage. Beyond the live shows, he was known for his studio production and engineering skills. Today I am listening to [...]
This sounds like an asinine request, but I genuinely plead with everyone who reads this blog to never go to a concert that you really don't want to go to. That sounds too simple, but a Disgruntled Dude recently wrecked a concert experience for me. A little over a week ago, my girlfriend and I went to a Shins concert. After the senselessly superfluous Ticketmaster charges, we paid nearly $100 for our two tickets, which is a fair chunk of funds to dish out for a concert. I hadn't seen the band since they were touring as a four-piece for [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Jim Byrnes – My Walking Stick. Download "My Walking Stick" (mp3). Douglas Brinkley recently wrote an article in Rolling Stone about Bob Dylan being the last man living in his America, a land of Chuck Berry and Walt Whitman. If that's the case, Jim Byrnes is the last man living in a similar Canada. Influenced by Gene Autry and Muddy Waters, this Canadian blues musician and actor has released a roots/blues album that may garner him yet another Juno Award. Clues – Clues. Download "Remember Severed Head" (mp3). Download "Perfect [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Bricolage – Bricolage. Download "Bayonets" (mp3). Download "Turn U Over" (mp3). After releasing 2 singles, this Glasgow foursome has produced a shimmering piece of indie pop. These songs exude a jangly catchiness as they approach the edge of post-punk without ever fully going of that precipice. Steve Earle – Townes. Download "To Live Is To Fly" (mp3). There is no living musician who could capture the spirit of Townes Van Zandt better than Steve Earle. On this album, Earle justly and deservingly pays tribute to his mentor and friend. Like [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Akron/Family – Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free. Download "River" (mp3). This is an amazingly diverse album that is impossible to pigeonhole. It jumps from funk to psychedelic rock to soul to folk infused goodness to gospel, with any mixture within a single song. Throughout the album, they drop catchy hooks and keep each song driving with a fierce energy. Double Dagger – More. Download "The Lie/The Truth" (mp3). This three-piece band pulls off a rare feat in punk music; they don't have a guitarist and it isn't missed. The [...]
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases. Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers – Songs in the Night. Download "Songs in the Night" (mp3). Download "Devils in Boston" (mp3). This folk croonstress has put together a tantalizing debut album. Her style is similar to Thao Nguyen, who Crain is currently on tour with. While Thao's backing band, The Get Down Stay Down, adds more of a jazz accompaniment her songs, Crain's supporting cast members, The Midnight Shivers, add a little more of a countrified roots rock sound. Bob Dylan – Together Through [...]
With the rise of Internet radio, The Wheel's Still In Spin lists the recent online news articles about the future of Internet radio. This was not a busy week for Internet Radio News. A couple of companies announced partnerships to increase revenues from Internet radio. Here are a few: RadioTime and Ando Media; RadioTime and Triton Digital Media; TargetSpot and a whole bunch of additional Radio Groups.
WKND PLYLST!! This has nothing to do with NEW MOON!
‘09 Been Kind
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
Bobby B's Top 50 Albums Of The Decade (#25-21)
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
