Catching Up the Ears

If I were a truly good blogger, I'd have given each of these albums/artists their own entires...but...well...you know.

First things first, stolen straight from a couple of my favorite music blogs, Soul Sides and HearYa respectively:

Listen to this awesome Aretha Franklin cover of Sam Cooke's "You Send Me." Initially, when the piano started up, I was a little confused about how the timing was going to work, but then these relaxed, sublime vocals come in and the rest is history. This is one of the better examples I've heard of doing an amazing cover of an already amazing song, yet having the new version be entirely different while still respectful.

I don't know much about Joe Pug (pictured above), but the guy knows how to write lyrics. His music isn't completely my style, but check out this little verse from "Not So Sure" (link from the Hearya.com live session):

I bummed expensive cigarettes,
I wrote John Steinbeck's books,
I undressed someone's daughter,
Then complained about her looks.

Damn. As R Kelly might say, that's real talk.

Owen Pallett - Heartland: I'm sure that someone has done an album kind of like this before, but I haven't heard it. Pallett (who used to go by Final Fantasy, and it's probably better he had to drop that moniker) has made a very cool, interesting indie pop album ... except he used an orchestra instead of a regular band. What results is kind of reminiscent of Andrew Bird in some ways, except many of the songs feel like a new-vocaled remix of numbers from a lost, melancholy Sondheim musical. It is a little odd at first, and some of the songs ("Flare Gun" especially) can be too showtuney, but overall the album works really well and is rewardingly well-crafted. Definitely work a listen; even if you don't like the album you'll appreciate the intention. Final Grade: B+/A-

This video doesn't include the full-orchestra, but you can kind of get the idea.



Surfer Blood - Astro Coast: This debut album reminds me a lot of the Real Estate LP from last year. It's definitely more of a rock album, and it lacks some of the charm and sophistication of the Real Estate album, but it's still pretty darn good. It's interesting, and this is something I've noticed in the music scene recently, that there seem to be a fair number of bands that are playing music that isn't exactly new or original, and in fact it sounds like music that was more popular a a few years ago, but it's been influenced by all the music that has come out in those few years and therefore does seem to be fresh, even if only slightly. For example, and this is why I bring it up, Surfer Blood sounds a lot like Weezer, but captures just enough details from the post-Weezer debut landscape to not be a worthless Weezer knockoff -- of which there were plenty when Weezer was at their apex. Bottom line, Astro Coast isn't exactly breaking new ground, but they're doing enough of their own thing, and doing it well. Final Grade: B+

Here's an in-studio version of "Floating Vibes." God, they're so young! I'm not going to pretend I'm not jealous.



Other Lives - Self Titled: When I heard the track "Paper Cities" I really, really loved it. I thought it was melancholy but mature and it gave this feeling that everything should be moving in slow motion when it was playing. And I still like this song, but, unfortunately, the rest of the album isn't quite as good. Most of the songs are too soft and poppy for my tastes and they're quick to welcome the melodrama. Clearly they have some potential as there are at least two other songs, "Don't Let Them" and "It Was the Night," that are more than decent, but I'm not going to be tracking their career waiting for them to make the jump. Final Grade: B-

This song is still great though. And it's from Hearya.com, so I guess I heard of this band through them too. Watching this video makes me wonder how I didn't like this album more.



Back soon with, likely, a full review of the new Gorillaz album, though maybe not, as I still want to give that a few more listens. Back soon with something.