06/27 – 07/01:

Tom Waits, Bawlers

The middle disc of his 3-disc rarities set, the mellow one. The appearance of this particular kind of Tom Waits album generally means it was like 11pm and I was winding down. And this is great music for that time of day.

Tom Waits, “Little Man”


Ghostface Killah, Apollo Kids

Ghost has peaks and valleys in his output, but this one is definitely a peak. One of the strongest albums in a catalog with several absolute classics.

Ghostface Killah, “2getha Baby”


Aesop Rock, Daylight EP

This is perhaps my favorite Aesop Rock release. I’m not sure why, exactly. I love the interplay between “Daylight” and “Nightlight.” I just love every song on it, I guess. Aesop hasn’t released a bad record yet, but this seems to be the one I come back to the most often.

Aesop Rock, “Daylight”


Mike Patton, Mondo Cane

Mike Patton isn’t known for being predictable, but a full album of 50s & 60s Italian pop performed with a full orchestra and a choir in Italian is about as far from what you’d expect from the man as possible. Even more surprising is that it’s one of the very best albums he’s ever released, alone or with any of the thousands of bands he seems to be in. Patton’s amazingly adaptive voice is truly on display here, going from crooning ballads to crazy screaming and never disserving the material. It’s a great album.

Mike Patton, "Deep Deep Down"


Lightnin' Hopkins, Mojo Hand

One of my very favorite blues performers. Hopkins never really compromised his sound as the world of the blues changed around him. He never really went pop, he kept playing the music that was true to him, and carved out an important place in the music of the 20th century.

Lightnin’ Hopkins, “Gin Bottle Blues”


Ani Difranco, Reveling

The more upbeat half of the 2-disc Revelling/Reckoning set from 2001. I guess this was the beginning of the end of my favorite period in her discography, where she was playing with more and more musicians and really exploring. She began to pull back and, I guess, “get back to basics” a few years later (And then flipped right back in the other direction most recently), but I loved that full-band sound.

Ani Difranco, “O.K.”


Future of the Left, Curses!

When Mclusky broke up, I was sad. When 2 /3s of their members merged with members of the also recently broken up band Jarcrew to become Future Of the Left, I was de-saddened. Future of the Left picks up where Mclusky left off, frantic, sarcastic, explosive music, but the new band sounds much cleaner, more streamlined and more precise than the old. It all works out splendidly on this, their debut album.

Future of the Left, “Manchasm”


Cannibal Ox, The Cold Vein

One of the most emotionally engaging hip hop albums I’ve ever heard. Dark, atmospheric, paranoid, every song a raw nerve getting pinched. It’s not party time music, but it’s quite an experience.

Cannibal Ox, “Iron Galaxy”


Faith No More, The Real Thing

Sometimes I wonder what it was like to be a Faith No More fan when Mike Patton came aboard. There’s no argument that Patton is a far more exciting and accomplished vocalist than the departing Chuck Mosley, but at the same time, he was what Faith No More vocals were supposed to sound like for two whole records. Like a lot of people, I guess, I’d heard “We Care A Lot” and thought it was funny, but didn’t really pay much attention to the band until “Epic.” But I bet there’s people out there that really resent the addition of Patton. Maybe swore off the band over it. And that’s hilarious.

Faith No More, “The Real Thing”


Yup.
--D

06/20 – 06/24:

Kylesa, Spiral Shadow

The latest Kylesa album found them pushing in new directions while managing not to disappoint fans looking for more of their signature sound. Kind of a tightrope act, but they pulled it off with ease. Just see if this song, the album opener, doesn’t get your blood pumping.

Kylesa, “Tired Climb”


Bajofondo, Mar Dulce

The 2nd fantastic album by the collective lead by Oscar winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla Combining electronic music, more modern "dance" and pop, a core of tango, a slow ballad with Elvis Costello singing... you never know what they're gonna do.

Bajofondo, “Tuve Sol”


St. Vincent, Actor

I am pretty excited to hear the new album from St. Vincent later this year. For now, the dreamy, hypnotic soundscapes of her most recent album will have to tide me over.

St. Vincent, “Actor Out Of Work”



Baroness, Blue Record

I don’t know if Baroness has a new album coming out soon, but I hope so. In a category similar to Kyelsa in creating a complex, unique take on heavy music. Probably what you’d call a “thinking man’s metal band” if you were into labels like that.

Baroness, “Swollen And Halo”



Jimmy Smith, Root Down

The album that spawned the Beastie Boys song of the same name. It’s a live recording, and the performances are spectacular.

Jimmy Smith, “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R99VnAwZepM”


MF Doom is Viktor Vaughan, Vaudeville Villainy

Doom has never made it easy to follow him. For awhile it was a challenge to even find him, as he released albums as Viktor Vaughan, King Geedorah, as part of Monster Island Czars and as half of Madvillain and Dangerdoom. But for those willing to keep up, the rewards are plentiful. This might just be my favorite Doom album.

Viktor Vaughan, “Mr. Clean”


Skyzoo, The Great Debater mixtape

Skyzoo is a talented rapper and lyricist, but I’m afraid he’s been reading his own hype too much. His latest mixtape is an album-length victory lap. The question isn’t what each song will be about, but how each song will talk about how great he is. A woman with a terribly fake accent so she sounds more important discussing how important he is? Perhaps by entreating the listener to throw him a parade? Maybe by insinuating that you are very special if you’re one of the few people smart enough to even decipher his complex self-compliments? Maybe by telling a prospective mate how lucky she much she would appreciate having him in her life. Whatever the method, just know, no one loves Skyzoo more than Skyzoo. Ego and braggadocio are staples of hip hop, of course, but the way he presents it here is just too much for me. It’s a shame. I’ve never had a complaint about his work before. The song below is probably the best piece on the mixtape, which you can download here.

Skyzoo, “The Definitive Prayer”



Laws, Yesterday's Future mixtape

Laws, on the other hand, scores a homerun and wins the game with his latest mixtape, a Paul McCartney tribute/collaboration in the vein of projects like Rhymefest’s Man in the Mirror mixtape. Laws rhymes over McCartney samples, uses clever cuts to duet with McCartney and pays tribute to McCartney all at the same time, while still finding plenty of room for honest, introspective lyrics on a variety of topics. It’s a great record and it’s free! How can you lose?

Laws & Paul McCartney, “Dear Boy”


Rainer Maria, Long Knives Drawn

Probably my favorite album by the indie trio. Pretty no nonsense rock music that wears its heart on its sleeve.

Rainer Maria, “Ears Ring”

Yup.

--D

06/17:

The Clash, Give 'Em Enough Rope

The second Clash album. I can never say if I like this one or the first one the best. But it’s definitely one of them. I know I’m supposed to like London Calling the best, but I like the no frills punk energy of the first two albums more than the serious social commentary and first steps into world music of the most famous album. Not that I don’t like London Calling, I certainly do, but I tend to gravitate toward the high energy stuff when given a choice in almost any case.

The Clash, “Cheapskates”


Eternia & MoSS, At Last

Eternia is white, female and Canadian, so the deck is stacked pretty heavily against her in the hip hop world, but she doesn’t seem to know it. She attacks every track with vigor and style, and more than holds her own alongside formidable guests like Termanology and Joell Ortiz (The latter being one of my favorite writers and performers in hip hop today, so to say she fits right in in a song with him is high praise from me). Eternia’s songs run the gamut from powerful and emotional to pure hip hop bravado, and it all sounds awesome. MoSS’s production is spectacular throughout.

Eternia & MoSS, “Good-bye”


Booker T. Jones, The Road From Memphis

The Booker T. of the mythic Booker T. & The MGs is back with his first album in years. When last we heard from him, he’d left his signature organ behind to do an album of electric guitar-based music, which was pretty surprising, but here he gloriously returns to his instrument and his first love, Memphis. The material on display here is varied and exciting, from original instrumental funk workouts to instrumental covers of popular songs (Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything”), and well as vocal songs with indie darlings Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Matt Berninger of The National, the inimitable voice of Sharon Jones, the legendary Lou Reed, and Jones himself even takes a turn at the mic. With The Roots for a backing band, this is a fantastic collection of talent, and they produce an album worthy of their abilities.

Booker T. Jones with Sharon Jones & Matt Berninger, “Representing Memphis”



Converge, Axe To Fall

Without fail, no matter how many times I hear it, when Axe To Fall’s opening track, “Dark Horse,” comes on the Kool Keith lyric, “Man, I could throw a 100,000 pound walrus through the wall!” always comes to mind. The unbridled fury and energy pouring out of the speakers on this album provides enough adrenaline to make it possible. Impossibly, this album (their 8th) feels even more insane and intense than the material that preceded it. It’s better than coffee.

Converge, “Dark Horse”

Slaughterhouse, Slaughterhouse EP

The hip hop supergroup comprised of Royce Da 5’9”, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz & Crooked I put out an EP early this year, a little primer before they sign to Shady. Good stuff.

Slaughterhouse, “Move On”


Amanda Diva, Madame Monochrome EP

The multi-talented Amanda Diva is back with her strongest body of work to date as a rapper & singer. You can download it on a “pay what you want” basis from this link.

Amanda Diva, “Catch Me”

Hail Mary Mallon, Are You Gonna Eat That?

Hail Mary Mallon is Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz. This is quite a record. Aes and Rob trade typically complex, engaging verses over some unique and inventive production. the three seem to inspire each other to keep upping the ante, and the album crackles with energy throughout.

Hail Mary Mallon, “Meter Feeder”


Das Racist, Unreleased, Rare & Remixed

An exhaustive, fan-made collection of... well, unreleased, rare & remixed songs by Das Racist, it’s right there in the title. Some of these have turned out to be some of my favorite songs by the group. A good thing to have on hand while waiting for the release of their first proper album, Relax. You can get it for free here.

Das Racist featuring Homeboy Sandman, “I’m Up On That”


In Flames, Colony

All told, probably my favorite album by the Gotheburg death metal stalwarts. A little more polished than their earliest work, without having gone completely off the rails like their later work.

In Flames, “Ordinary Story”

Yup.

--D

06/10:

Noun, Holy Hell

Noun is the solo project of Marissa Paternoster, the singer/guitarist of Screaming Females. Noun and Screaming Females came into being around the same time, but the latter takes up most of her time, obviously. The songs of Noun vary dramatically in style and tone, from slow, dirge-y kind of songs to rockers that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Screaming Females album.

Noun, “Holy Hell”


Lush, Lovelife

I liked Lush alright in their 90s heyday, but came to realize how great they were much later, upon reflection. The bigger names in “alternative” may have been catching my ear at the time, but I listen to Lush a lot more frequently now than, say, Pearl Jam.

Lush, “Ladykillers”


The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street

The regulation version, rather than that fancy reissue that came out awhile back. I’d like to hear that, though. A dense album, it took a lot of listens to really appreciate. Maybe not as accessible as some of their other work, but it’s not regarded as one of their best if not the best for nothing.

The Rolling Stones, “Loving Cup”



The Bloodsugars, BQEP

One of many bands I stumbled across on eMusic one Tuesday evening. They have a fun, unpretentious rock’n’roll sound of a type that isn’t terribly common these days. The song below employs the familiar Motown drum fill, which always makes me smile.

The Bloodsugars, “Cinderella”

Solomon Burke, Don't Give Up On Me

The rare big comeback record from a classic artist that is absolutely fresh, vital, and exciting. Produced by Joe Henry and featuring songs written by Henry, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, Van Morrison, Nick Lowe, and the below song written by Tom Waits, my personal favorite. Pairing Burke’s powerful voice and unmistakable style with some of the best songwriters of the 20th century made for a knock-out album. From the playful blues of Dylan’s “Stepchild” to the searing “None Of Us Are Free” with the Blind Boys of Alabama, every song is essential.

Solomon Burke, “Diamond In Your Mind”


Charley Patton, Founder of the Delta Blues

An NPR story about floods and music and Charley Patton made me put this on. All it takes to get me to listen to something is a good reference. Patton was a singular voice of early blues, one of the genre’s first celebrities and, as the title of this collection suggests, one of the founders of the Delta sound. His voice is captivating, filled with gravitas, and he tells his stories with passion and conviction. He was an innovator on the guitar, originating a lot of the techniques and tricks later performers would make common place, with a fiery performance style. Known for his songs about the great flood of the 1920s (which is why he came up in the NPR story), his music can be harrowing and tragic. Or, as below, it can be pretty silly.

Charley Patton, “Shake It And Break It”



Bob Dylan, Love & Theft

Hey, speaking of Bob Dylan... Love & Theft is my favorite of his recent work, and features a tribute to Charley Patton. Sometimes it’s all connected! The beginning of the “American troubadour” period he’s clearly still enjoying: recycling, repurposing and reinvigorating ancient folk music for a new era. It’s not unlike the way he and his contemporaries in the 60s folk scene worked, but where an early 60s Dylan song might’ve taken the tune of an Irish folk song and added new words, the songs he’s recorded in the 21st century are much more complex than that. Dylan blends so many references, lyrics, melodies and concepts from obscure tunes, you’d have to be a music scholar to catch it all, cobbling together new songs from the bones of the old. And it’s fun, mostly. I don’t think Dylan has ever sounded like he’s having as much as he has on the cycle of records that began with this one.

Bob Dylan, “Cry Awhile”


Clutch, Pure Rock Fury

Sometimes a band sees that they need to try a new direction and take drastic measures. For Clutch, that meant shelving the near-complete Slow Hole To China album in 2000 and beginning work on what would be their 5th album, Pure Rock Fury. They had gotten perhaps too comfortable with their sound (A notion supported by the tracks that saw later release on their rarities collection, also called Slow Hole to China), caught it, and challenged themselves to try some new things. This album featured a lot of new tricks, from taking advantage of stereo mixing like few bands have since the 70s to mixing live & studio recordings in a single track, but it also featured the band sounding completely revitalized, harder than they had been in awhile, and ready for action.

Clutch, “Pure Rock Fury”


Yup.

--D

06/03:

Thao, Know Better Learn Faster

The greatness of Thao & Mirah’s record has me going back to their previous material. Thao’s second album is a bit more upbeat than her first, in spite of being more about sad times. That kind of contrast is always right up my alley.

Thao, “When We Swam”


UNKLE, Psyence Fiction

For a minute in the late 90s, when DJ Shadow was at the top of his game and techno music was inexplicably popular, he and Mo’Wax Records boss James Lavelle were UNKLE, a project that combined Shadow’s trademark atmospherics with a different musical approach and a diverse list of guest vocalists ranging from Kool G. Rap to Thom Yorke. Lavelle has soldiered on as UNKLE since, but it’s never the same without Shadow.

UNKLE, “Main Title Theme”


The Lonely Island, Turtleneck & Chain

It’s not as funny as the previous album, but it’s certainly got its moments. As with last time, a lot of memorable songs from SNL digital shorts mixed with songs that will probably become memorable digital shorts. Once again, I think my favorite song is one that’s a bit off kilter compared to the album as a whole, “Attracted To Us” with Beck (It was “Boombox” on Incredibad). Its less aggressive joke comes off as really effective amongst the more in-your-face songs.

The Lonely Island, “The Creep”


Okkervil River, I Am Very Far

A game changer for the band, I Am Very Far is a breath of fresh air I didn’t even know I wanted. I loved the sound on their previous two records immensely, but Okkervil River’s willingness to try drastically different new sounds here, and their success in doing so, is electrifying. Like all of their albums, it’s a powerful, moving, multi-layered experience, but the music has a brand-new bombast and grand new production that are appealing in a whole new way. A welcome surprise.

Okkervil River, “Wake And Be Fine”


El-P, Fantastic Damage

The best word for El-P’s first solo album is the best word for most everything he does: intense. Whether it’s his dense, 21st century Bomb Squad production, his complicated rhymes or his dead-serious delivery, El is not playing around. And yet his work contains moments of humor that don’t seem out of place or forced. It’s complicated, dark music, and yet somehow doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously. Being able to walk that tightrope has made El-P one of my favorite performers in hip hop.

El-P, “Deep Space 9mm”


Royal Bangs, Let It Beep

I liked Royal Bangs’ first album, We Breed Champions. It was here, on album #2, that I came to love Royal Bangs. These songs sound like a struggle between traditional instrumentation and fuzzed out technology, as squalling noise supports, enhances, and briefly seems ready to overpower the live instruments. But that tension is the key to the album’s power and appeal for me.

Royal Bangs, “War Bells”


Yup.

--D