February Album Reviews

Absolutely Love & Adore:
Missy Higgins “On a Clear Night” – Such an awesome husky voice. (JenG., a huskier Meg Nathanson? I hope you are listening to this album! You would love it!) Uncomplicated arrangements, quietly emotional. Particularly lovin’ “Angela”.
Nada Surf “Lucky” – Lovelovelove “See These Bones”. And “Ice on the Wing”. And… Yeah. The whole album kicks ass.
Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago” – If you aren’t already sick of hearing me talk about Bon Iver, then you must be here for the first time. This album takes my breath away, shreds my heart into tiny little pieces, and leaves me wanting more.
The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir – So Much Frakkin Fun. Various vocalists. Different styles to many of the songs. “I Never Thought I Could Feel This Way for a Boy” is their breakout but I love “Then and Not a Moment Before” and “Aspidistra” just as much.
Favorite Singles (not on any of the above albums):

  • “Forever Song” Josh Pyke
  • “Gravedigger” Willie Nelson
  • “Sing Along” Virginia Coalition
  • “Goodnight” Zox
  • “Grounds for Divorce” Elbow

Other Albums I Liked:
  • Clare Bowditch & the Feeding Set “The Moon Looked On” – Not sure why I had to email Australia to get someone to send me this album. She SHOULD be hitting it much bigger than she is.
  • The Magnetic Fields “Distortion” – Loud and buzzy and layered. Some really great lyrics on this album.
  • Mike Doughty “Golden Delicious” – Big fan of this album. (“I wrote about a song about your car”! Yay!) Subtract a few songs from it (another version of “27 Jennifers”. Really?) and add the one that’s missing and I’d be all over it. 😉 Still, do like a lot of it.
  • The Raveonettes “Lust Lust Lust” – Makes a good pair with the Magnetic Fields. Thick and dark and pulsing.
  • Coastal Chill 08 – Random (primarily Aussie) singles. Sweet.

Not really for me / but maybe for you!:
Huh. Looks like I didn’t buy any albums I didn’t like in February. Woot, score one for me!
Shamefully have either not listened to at all, or not all the way through, or so few times that I can’t legitimately offer an opinion:
  • The Mountain Goats “Heretic Pride” – Bought it toward the end of the month, just haven’t really wound up listening to it.

A lot of the songs mentioned here wound up on this mix.