Why do I even do these if I do them three months later, you may ask yourself. Merely to cement things in my own (increasingly addled) mind would be my answer.
Absolutely Love & Adore:
The New Frontiers “Mending” – Pretty sure I bought this after hearing a single on Fuel/Friends. Wow, this album is oddly heartbreaking. “Mirrors” sends me pretty close to crying every time I hear it [hold up *ahem*, is this a God song? I am just listening a little more closely to the lyrics and getting that icky religion shiver up my spine]. “The Day You Fell Apart” has a total Travis feel. But my favorite song is “Strangers”.
Carla Bruni “Comme si de rien n’etait” – So lovely. I guess she’s gotten some flack in France for being a cheesy pop singer but this whole thing is pure sultriness to me. And my favorite song is definitely the (in)famous “Tu es me came” (“you are my drug”). I loved her previous album en francais as well, although not so much the one en anglais.
Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip “Angles” – Yay yay yay. YAY! The funnest rap out there. “Letter from God to Man”, “Beat that My Heart Skipped” and “Thou Shalt Always Kill” are all kinda obvious to have as favorites, but that’s the way it is sometimes.
Joseph Arthur “Foreign Girls” – His whateverth EP of the year (fourth?). I particularly love “Lovely Cost” which has a Bowiesqueness.
Paddy Casey “Addicted to Company (Part 1) – I can’t remember if it was MG or MF that sent me this but thank you to whichever because it’s kinda great. (Maybe too folk-y for some a yous though.) “City” is my fave, particularly for its great opening.
Favorite Singles (not on any of the above albums):
- Jump Little Children “Cathedrals” – old and kinda cheesy but I’m lovin it lately.
- “Bang On” the Breeders – YUPPERDO
- “To The Bone” Mugison
- “Let Me Go On” Seabird
- “Chicago” Lucy Wainwright Roche (LOVE this)
- “Long Division” Slow Runner
- “It’s You” Pictures and Sound
Other Albums I Liked:
- Dr. Dog “Fate” – I really really like some songs on this album (“The Rabbit, the Bat & the Reindeer”, “The Dearly Departed”, “Uncovering the Old”) but there are a few that I have to forward quickly past (“The Ark”, “The Beach”). So it’s a bit uneven to me (bad) but in general they’re a bit Beatles-esque (good).
- The Ting Tings “We Started Nothing” – as with Dr. Dog, I like this, but not totally. It’s a bit uneven stylistically. Maybe they haven’t quite found “their sound” yet. Some of it’s rappish, some sing-songy (“Traffic Light”). When these songs come up on shuffle, I can’t always place them.
- Newton Faulkner “Hand Built by Robots” – Also sent to me by MG or MF (dang I am losing my mind). Somewhat folky. Really really like “Uncomfortably Slow” and “Dbdbdb”. Sometimes a Jason Mraz vibe (“Feels like Home”, “People Should Smile More” “U.F.O.”) which may be why I’m not totally into it (I loved Mraz’ early stuff but then I saw him do some weird “come on give me attention!” stuff live and I kinda went off him).
Not really for me / but maybe for you!:
The Black Keys “Attack and Release” – I like these guys live a LOT. And the album’s fine…But I don’t find I listen to it much.
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:
Nada!! [OK actually a couple mixes I was sent have only gotten a tiny bit o’ listenin’ time.]
