{"id":988,"date":"2008-08-24T16:29:53","date_gmt":"2008-08-24T16:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/wordpress\/?p=988"},"modified":"2025-04-03T18:35:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T23:35:26","slug":"july_album_revi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/crankymonkeybutt.com\/snip\/archives\/2008\/08\/july_album_revi.html","title":{"rendered":"July Album Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weird month. Loved a LOT. Liked one album I would have been willing to bet money I wouldn’t like and didn’t like one I would have assumed I’d be more interested in listening to. Weird.<\/em>
\n<\/u><\/p>\n

Absolutely Love & Adore:<\/u><\/p>\n

My Morning Jacket “Evil Urges”<\/strong> – Not just my favorite album in August, but my #1 album of the year so far. It’s sexy and funky and sassy and smooth<\/a>. Love it! Favorite song is “I’m Amazed” followed by “Librarian” (great lyrics) and “Smokin’ from Shootin” (love the chorus). Only one song I tend to fast forward past and that’s “Remnants”.<\/p>\n

Earlimart “Hymn and Her”<\/strong> – So pretty. Really cool boy\/girl interactions, harmonies, lyrics. Faves: “For the Birds”, “Time for Yourself” (great rhythm), “Town Where You Belong.”<\/p>\n

Cut Copy “In Ghost Colors” <\/strong>– Dance, dance, baby. I read a great quote somewhere (dang, lost the link) describing them as a “non ironic Joy Division.” They also remind me of earli(er) Madonna (“Lights & Music” particularly). Really fun. Favorite songs are “So Haunted”, “Out There on the Ice” and the opener “Feel the Love” to which I always yell “YES!!” when it comes on.<\/p>\n

Drive-By Truckers “The Dirty South” – <\/strong>OK, I KNOW, I am only four years late to the party on this one. Bygones! I first listened to Jason Isbell last summer, went to see him this spring<\/a>, and decided I needed to backtrack and find out what Drive-By Truckers were all about. It was recommended I start here. Yay! Love it. Very much an album of Southern rock storytelling. Gritty tales of (often) misfortune. Favorites are “The Day John Henry Died”, “The Sands of Iwo Jima”, “Puttin’ People on the Moon” and “Puttin’ People on the Moon”.<\/p>\n

Beck “Modern Guilt” <\/strong>– Love it. Really great. His albums are all such individuals, it’s hard to compare, but “Sea Change” is probably its closest comparison among his previous albums. That said, I actually find this significantly less melancholy than that one. Faves are “Gamma Ray” and “Walls”.<\/p>\n

Nana Grizol “Love It Love It” <\/strong>– I think of these dudes as a slightly happier, slightly poppier, and less “harsh” on the guitars version of Okkervil River. But I am likely the only person on the planet who describes them (or any band) that way. Love the horn arrangements. Love “Circles ‘Round the Moon” (yay!) and “Voice Echo Down The Halls…” Only song I skip is (oddly) the last one. Woot. Lots of fun.
\n<\/u><\/p>\n

Favorite Singles (not on any of the above albums):<\/u><\/p>\n