Weekend Music Roundup

This week was a good one for new musical discoveries. Some of these had been on my wishlist for a while, so I was pretty excited. For the most part, there's a good meloncholy sound the list that mirrored the mood of what I was working on.  

Kid British: Leaving London - the one decidedly not downbeat selection. It's a debut single with three good pub rock tunes on it. Nothing I hadn't heard before, but a good listen for the end of a work day.

I Am Oak: Ols Songd - Released last year, but a folk record very much sounding the like '70s singer songwriter albums that I love so much.

Dikanda: Ajotoro - This is a polish gypsy folk band that I'd been wanting to hear for awhile. This probably got the most spins this week. It was the perfect soundtrack for writing about a world with a dying sun.

These Arms Are Snakes: Tail Swallower & Dove - This album came out last fall, but I just heard this band for the first time last weekend. It sounds like a mix between Jesus Lizard and Circus Lupus...which is a sweet sound to my ears.

Starsailor: All the Plans - The new Starsailor album just came out. This is one of those bands that I keep listening to because I loved their first album. Their others were all okay, but veered away from the original sad sound that attracted me. This one returns to that a bit and it's easily my favorite of theirs since that first album.

Johnny Dowd: A Drunkard's Masterpiece - A gothic country album that I wish were just slightly darker. Johnny sounds a little like Ralph Stanley, which keeps me listening. 

The Wood Brothers: Loaded - A perfect candidate for the catagory "The '70s Want Their Music Back" but this folk album is a great one.

Franz Ferdinand: Tonight - I wrote this band off about two years ago and had no interest in hearing this until I read an article about the way they pushed themselves trying to make this album. I loved their first one...HATED that lazy second one...so I didn't know what to expect. I was very plesantly surprised. Lots of interesting tempo shifts and electronic influences. 

Verbena: Pilot Park - I'd been searching this EP out for a few years. Verbena's first two albums are among my favorites and the singer's (A.A. Bondy) solo album was one of my favorites of last year. This is Verbena first ep that has been out of print forever. I finally found it. It has a decidedly more country feel than the albums. I love going back and hearing how a band's sound evolved.

Charles Mingus: Paris 1964 - Mingus is king and this is just another amazing recording with his name on it.