New Music Stuff

Sweet merciful crap. What a list. This is two Fridays and Record Store Day on the 17th, plus some assorted iTunes/Amazon raiding over the last couple weeks. It’s been … well, let’s put it this way: I’ve had more frugal weeks. 🙂

  • Noisettes – Wild Young Hearts
  • Noisettes – What’s the TIme Mr. Wolf
  • Dessa – A Badly Broken Code
  • Paz Lenchantin – Yellow My Sky Captain
  • Las Ketchup – Hijas del Tomate
  • Double – Blue
  • Echo and the Bunnymen – Discography
  • The Gathering – Discography
  • Frente! – Discography
  • Jewel – Discography
  • Bryan Adams – Reckless
  • Letters to Cleo – Discography
  • Madonna – Discography (yes, you are reading that correctly)
  • Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Discography
  • Beth Orton – Discography
  • Moonspell
  • Lois – Maffeo and Brendan Canty – The Union Themes
  • Julie Doiron – Heart and Crime
  • Nedelle – From the Lion’s Mouth
  • Freakwater – Old Paint
  • Heather Duby and Elemental
  • HIM – Sworn Eyes
  • Morcheeba – Charango
  • Morcheeba – The Antidote
  • The Standard – Albatross
  • Spiral Beach – Ball
  • The Von Bondies – Pawn Shoppe Heart
  • Endochine – Day Two
  • Moonraker – Peeg Vater
  • Brothers Creeggan – Discography
  • Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle – Discography
  • Songs Ohia – The Magnolia Electric Co.
  • From Bubblegum to Sky – Nothing Sadder than a Lonely Queen
  • Colour Revolt – Colour Revolt EP
  • Coughs – Secret Passage
  • Blue Bird
  • Juliana Theory – Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat
  • Juliana Theory – Love
  • !!! – Me and Guiliana down by the School Yard
  • Breaking Pangea – Cannon to a Whisper
  • Evangelista – Hello, Voyager
  • Cantinero – Championship Boxing
  • Cat on Form – Structure and Fear
  • Scout Niblett – I Am
  • Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be
  • Acid House Kings – Sing Along with Acid House Kings
  • Athlete – Beyond the Neighborhood
  • Jennifer O’Connor – Here with Me
  • Cassettes Won’t Listen – Small-Time Machine
  • Brazilian Girls – Talk to la Bomb
  • The Do – A Mouthful
  • Death by Chocolate
  • Nana Grizol – Love It Love It
  • The Aliens – Astronomy for Dogs
  • Milemarker – Ominosity
  • Vivian Girls
  • The Album Leaf – Seal Beach EP
  • Mumble & Peg – This Ungodly Hour
  • Lovedrug – Everything Starts Where It Ends
  • The Honorary Title – Scream & Light Up the Sky
  • Ambulance Ltd – New English EP
  • The Blakes
  • Blake Babies – God Bless the Blake Babies
  • House & Parish – One, One Thousand
  • Howlin’ Rain – Magnificent Fiend
  • Annie Haden – The Enemy of Love
  • The Lovely Sparrows – Bury the Cynics
  • Das Oath – Mini LP
  • The Elevator Drops – People Mover
  • Dulcesky – Lands
  • Dulcesky – Film EP
  • Mara – It’s Who I Am
  • The Graduate – Anhedonia
  • I Like Trains – Progress Reform
  • The Lovely Feathers – Fantasy of the Lot
  • The Geometrid – Looper
  • Lansing-Dreiden – The Dividing Island
  • Kilowatt Hours – The Bright Side
  • Manchester Orchestra – Live at Park Ave.
  • The Ms – Furture Women
  • Hayden – The Closer I Get
  • David and Naomi – The Wondrous World of Damon and Naomi
  • Dressy Bessy – Electrified
  • AM Syndicate – Empire
  • Cart!  – DEMO
  • Holopaw
  • Hor – A Faster, More Aggressive Hor

See?! Told ya the list was sick. I believe the term is “binge.”

In light of today’s tragic ticket debacle, I’m pretty sure this isn’t the end, either. So, those Rush tix went on sale at 10. Apparently, Firefox doesn’t have 128-bit encryption–a requirement for buying pre-sale online. I can sort of see the point, but … come on. Either that or their stupid anti-bot word-typing thing was just severely fubar, which wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Anyway, in short, I didn’t get any tickets, and I ended up having to buy a new keyboard

Barenaked Ladies – All in Good Time

When last we heard from our boys au naturale, they had put together a solid, eventual two-disc set that was both emotive and frolicking. With humourous bits on “… Are Me” such as “Bank Job” and “Bull in a China Shop,” and with such whimiscal, fanciful songs as “Everything had Changed,” we were treated to some fantastic music by a great band.

Then we were treated to an entire new CD in “… Are Men.” Kevin Hearn took the lead with “Serendipity” and “Another Spin,” while Steven page and Ed Robertson took the reigns on pretty much everything else.

In 2009, Steve and the band parted ways. Many among the faithful shuddered in fear for what the future of the band would hold.
Barenaked Ladies are back. To the faithful who endured the wait, wondering with baited breath what would become of the band, the payoff is … well, it’s fan-frickin’-tastic.

Fare thee well, Steven Page. We will miss you.

For the rest of us, please join me in ushering the new era and welcoming the revamped band to the limelight, which they richly deserve.

In Steve’s absence, Jim Creeggan and Kevin Hearn have stepped up to the plate with a force that I really think few doubted. Jim has two tracks and Kevin has 3 on the new, non-bonus track CD. If you’re one of the few who can find the bonus track disc,  you’ll be treated to 1 additional track from each Jim and Kevin.

See my earlier post regarding Kevin and Jim’s side project material. If you have any doubt that they have earned their right to pen at least a couple of Ladies tracks, please find a way to (legally) acquire their material. You won’t regret it.

Now for the CD review …

I could be wrong about this (but I’m probably not), but I’m willing to stake a dinner at Flemings for the entire band that the opening track, “You Run Away,” is a graceful tribute to the departure of Steve. Emotionally charged with lyrics like, “You turn and run away from me. I’ll give you something to cry about. One thing you should try out: hold a mirror shoulder high, when you’re older, look you in the eye.”

To say that it is blatently transparent is akin to saying something like “an elephant is large and gray.” You can actually hear the pain in Ed’s voice as he laments the loss of his long-time band mate and friend. Tremulous and shaky at times, traumatic and tortured, the band gives us a brief glimpse into the hell the band went through.

As the CD progresses, it’s evident that the band went to great lengths to maintain an air of familiarity so as not to alienate its original fan base, but at the same time they have taken on the daunting challenge of making a CD that’s different than anything they’ve done previously. With tracks like “Summertime” that has a rather heavy guitar riff (well, okay … heavy for them), though complimented with synth and keyboards from Kevin that help guide the fan back the the comfort of the old while experimenting with the new. Jim and Tyler provide some really fantastic back-up vocals. “So bundle up and hunker down. Here it comes again, just one more round. See you on the other side. Mercury falls, so how do we make it through the days? How do we not give in and bottom out? well you have to understand that soon enough you’ll wake  up from such a daze thanks to all the many ways we’re all pushing through for summertime.”

Track 3 is Kevin’s first song: “Another Heartbreak.” There’s something about his voice that is just so … different. Airy and light, moody and soothing, he navigates his way through they lyrics. “Now here you stand in front of me in all your complexity that I’ve mistaken for simplicty.” Again with the heavier guitars, but this time they’re in the background as Kevin pounds away on the keyboard.

“Four Seconds” is like nothing they’ve ever done.  It kind of reminds me of a creepy mix of “One Week” and “For You.” I can’t even keep up with the lyrics. “I’ve been away for years and a day. You’d be thinking I’d be lonely, but I’m not here to stay. Wouldn’t have it any other way.” The best part of this song is the prominent vocals of none other than Tyler Stewart. What a rare treat. “One Missississippi, two Missississippi, three Missississippi, Foooouurr …”

They played this song at their show at The Depot back in December. I remember thinking at the time that I couldn’t wait to hear it on the CD. That has not changed one bit. It’s just so funky. And DIFFERENT. This one has radio potential written all over it. It’s short, too: less than 3 minutes.

Jim gets the nod on track 5, “On the Lookout.” I love how this kind of has a 70s vibe to it. The use of strings completely makes the song. The other 3 band members take point on harmonizing. “This all will pass, just like us. Just like this thought. Don’t miss this; we’ve only got one shot.”

Like always, I don’t want to go through and review the entire CD. I just want to give you an idea of what you can expect when you play this for yourself. My personal opinion is that, if you like BNL in the past, this CD will amaze you. If you haven’t liked BNL in the past, well … I can’t help you there. This CD, on the other hand, can and will.

Dangerous Amazon One-Click

Yah … so, I got a copy of Barenaked Ladies’ new CD, All in Good Time. I’m not going to sugar-coat it; I actively went out and looked for it on various torrent sites. I don’t have a problem with this because I plan on getting it first thing Tuesday morning before I even come to work, unless crappy Walmart doesn’t have the bonus track disc, in which case I’ll look elsewhere later in the day. We’ll see.

Anyway, so I was listening to that CD this morning in the car (the review of which is forthcoming). It got me thinking about the other band members’ contributions to this CD. Kevin Hearn and Jim Creeggan both have other projects: Thin Buckle and Creeggan Brothers respectively. Both have multiple CDs to their credit aside from their joint offerings with the Ladies. I, being the music junkie that I am and thoroughly enjoying their scant songs over BNL’s previous releases, finally decided to get their solo stuff.

All of it. At once.

Curse you, one-click button. Curse you.

Granted, it took 7 or 8 times of gently touching that button (iPhone … not a lot of pressure needed at all), but you get my point. I ordered both of their back catalogs in their entirety, if Amazon’s listings are to be believed.

The really dangerous part is the fact that all this was accomplished between home and work, driving in traffic and construction. Dumb, yes … I know. Would I do it again? Probably. I’m a cautious driver (“says the guy buying stuff left and right while he’s barreling down the highway at 65+ MPH …”). I check my mirrors, I look around me, I keep my speed relatively in check … hey, not one accident in over 22 years of driving, so say what you want.

Anyway, just thought i’d

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