The Friday Refrain: A bit of what's new in music

Congrats on making it to Friday! This week was a deceptive music release week. On the one hand, you could just hear all about 50 Cent and Miranda Lambert plus the re-releases of acts from the past. Or you could notice a slew of smaller known but still quite respectfully known artists with stuff out this week. Let's just run through this: Matisyahu, Akeda; Echo & The Bunnymen, Meteorites; Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Only Run (liking this one, by the by); Bob Mould, Beauty & Ruin; Meshell Nedgeocello, Comet, Come To Me; Camper Van Beethoven, El Camino Real; and Hamilton Leithauser, Black Hours. Okay I don't know if Hamilton Leithauser has much of a respectable following but the local station I listen to has been playing the single, "Alexandria," a lot - so there you go.

When I talked to my husb on his break this morning, he asked how far I was with the releases this week. "I've listened to some," I replied at 10 o'clock on Friday morning. Holy cannoli. So you see, the list isn't very well bunka-genrefied today. The problem? I was enjoying entire albums all week long and not just rocking my usual 3 song set with a couple of skims. The other problem? I think this might just have been a good week for music.

So pick some out and enjoy - Here's the List

As for me? This is my liked list, thus far

Jukebox the Giant, The Great Unknown - To me it's as if "Walking In Memphis," that paved over a parking lot song and the band Pompeii were playdoh and this song is a twisty worm of them.

The Orwells, Disgraceland

Ryan Robinson, 3 O'Clock

Vulkano, Spider Spider [Single]

The Teen Age, Ways To Adapt - Car trip rock.

The Priests, Bodies and Control and Money and Power - Female vocal who doesn't care if she sounds "pretty."

The Donkeys, Ride the Black Wave - I listened to the album and it was all sunny California rock, but then I read the album title and now I wonder if I missed something.

Robert Francis, Heaven

Kan Wakan, Moving On

Big Smo, Kuntry Livin' - Country rap.

Lee Fields & The Expressions, Emma Jean - I saw him at Bonnaroo last year. One of those musicians who has found the fount of youth because I can't believe that he's over 50.

Blackbird Blackbird, Tangerine Sky - that vein of music that sounds like MGMT, etc.

All right, that's it for this week. I would share my To-Listen list but it's really really long this week. Too many things I liked, and/or maybe I'm just a softie this week. If you're hitting up some outdoor music this weekend - remember to stay hydrated and reapply that sunscreen! It is possible to rock out and not pay dearly the next day. Happy listening!

Friday Refrain is a weekly post regarding what new releases have caught my ear for the week. I try to compile a pretty comprehensive list of releases of the week and see what is available for me to listen to on the web. This is just my non-scientific, highly-subjective, randomly-listened-to list of stuff from the week. Oh, and I don’t always listen to lyrics or look at album art/music videos, so appropriateness is left up to the listener

The Friday Refrain: A bit of what's new in music

Happy Friday everyone! Outside the birds are singing, the drills are drilling and big machines are tearing up the road - it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood... for headphones. I wanted to get a picture of the big claw framed in my window, but by the time I found my camera, they had moved on. Which was pretty disappointing. It looked like a huge claw/digging thing was coming to call upon my doorstep. Anyway - what's going on in the world of music you ask? A good bit, actually.

THE LIST.

Sharon Van Etten released Are We There this week, They Might Be Giants released a compilation of the last few years called Idlewild: A Compilation, Powerman 5000 had Builders of the Future, and it's the official release for Neil Young's A Letter Home. If you haven't read about A Letter Home, you should do that. It's pretty awesome. Basically, Jack White has this little booth where you can record a song at his record shop - so Neil Young used it to make an album. We've had the album for two weeks, sitting there next to the record player, and still haven't dove in yet. Maybe tonight's the night. Let's see... Who else? Oh yes, Mariah Carey with Me. I Am Mariah: The Elusive Chanteuse and moe. is out with No Guts, No Glory.

Need a pop fix? Cher Lloyd with Sorry I'm Late

Need a new boy singer to swoon over?  Austin Mahone released The Secret

A bit of twang to start your day off? Try Zoe Muth, World Of Strangers

Imagine Dragons type rock-pop? Reuben and the Dark, Funeral Sky

And now I'm going to get long form...

Mainly this week - Clear Plastic Masks and their first full-length, Being There. Back in November they released a little EP and I was hooked after hearing "Baby, Come On." The song's bluesy drive and slow builds are wonderfully constructed and executed with a wanting vocal to bring it all together. So I was pretty excited to see that their full-length would be on my list for this week but I was worried. I didn't want to give it the full listen and realize it was just the EP songs I hearted. So I listened. Once. Twice. Thrice. More if I had had the time. I wouldn't say that it's the best thing since string cheese, but it's a really solid album. So far it's been good while playing board games, blaring it in the car as I careen down the highway with windows down, and with my headphones on. "Baby Come On" is definitely the strongest song on the album. Being There starts strong with "In Case You Forgot" and continues with "Pegasus in Glue" delivering an amazing jam at the end, "Dos Cobras" really showcasing the keys, and "Shakedown" bringing the dirty rock. The album plays with a forceful drive that also knows how to hang back and chill out for awhile before launching back into the rock, wrapping it up and kicking you back out. This just might be my album for the summer.

Let's just end with a quick run through of the Liked and To Listen lists.

Also Liked:

Eureka California, Crunch

Marty Friedman, Inferno (especially the track with Rodrigo y Gabriela on it)

Close Lobsters,  Kunstwerk in Spacetime

Gazelle Twin, "Anti Body"

Worthless, Greener Grass

Anansy Cissé, Mali Overdrive (especially if you liked Bombino's acoustic work)

Dusted Lux, Neverended

Zoe Muth, World of Strangers

Yonatan Gat, Iberian Passage

And Still on the To-Listen list for the weekend:

Hundred Waters, The Moon Rang Like A Bell

Lil Rob, R.I.P. Recording in Progress

The Wind-Up Birds, Poor Music

Verma, Sunrunner

Tristan Horncastle, A Little Bit of Alright

Vacation Club, Heaven Is Too High

Trash Talk, No Peace

Spearmint, News From Howhere

Softfocus, Welcome Back

Spanish Gold, South of Nowhere - One of the dudes if of MMJ and Spanish Gold is playing the Triple Rock at the beginning of June with opener Clear Plastic Masks, by the by.

Little Barrie, Shadow

Oh sweet heavens, it's lunch break for the worker people. I'm going to turn off the music and roll around in the near-silence of it all. (Not that I really mind the noise, but I appreciate the silence except for that truck idling in front of the house.) Enjoy your weekend and happy listening!

  Friday Refrain is a weekly post regarding what new releases have caught my ear for the week. I try to compile a pretty comprehensive list of releases of the week and see what is available for me to listen to on the web. This is just my non-scientific, highly-subjective, randomly-listened-to list of stuff from the week. Oh, and I don’t always listen to lyrics or look at album art/music videos, so appropriateness is left up to the listener

The Friday Refrain: A bit of what's new in music

Memorial Day weekend - or as this climate would know it: the weekend we finally feel safe enough to really invest in outdoor plants. Picnics, parades, a time to reflect and respect, and hopefully a little sun.

It's been a sunny week for music. Coldplay released their anticipated new album, Ghost Stories. Conor Oberst came out with Upside Down Mountain and Phillip Phillips released his sophomore effort, Behind The Light. The Roots released ...and then you shoot your cousin sans Elvis Costello this time. Plus War released Evolutionary. Minnesota also gets a couple of shout-outs this week with Haley Bonar's Last War, and The Okee Dokee Brothers' Through The Woods.

Ta da -  The List

Want some new 80's music?

White Sea, In Cold Blood

Machinista, Xenoglossy

Brett, Brett - Okay, so this one isn't quite 80s as the first two but it is very electronic-y

Some Music for Outside

Note: This ranges quite a bit in styles, so check the list or give it a 3 song listen to decide for yourself.

The Soundcarriers, Entropicalia - Summer sun and warmth.

Jolie Holland, Wine Dark Sea - A little mix of everything, this one has me intrigued and ready for another listen.

Lonesome Shack, More Primitive - Gritty singing and blues guitar, just has that BBQ feel to me.

Martin Wind, Turn Out The Stars

Hollis Brown, Get Loaded - It's the entire Velvet Underground album of the same name covered with slight changes in interpretation and it's good.

Sorceress, Dose - Self-proclaimed Electronic Funk, I took that classification because I was having some trouble genrefying it myself. But I liked what I listened to so far.

The To-Listen

A little unwieldy this week, mostly due to the fact I was sticking to a strictly 3 Song diet on the new albums of the week, but none the less - here are the ones I found intriguing but need a little more before I can decide.

Comet Control, Comet Control

Bo Ningen, III - Prog Rockish metal with a fleck of Mars Volta

Bry Webb, Free Will - Laid back in a way that piqued my interest

Hobocop, Half Man Half Cop  - Fuzzy rock that I want to pay more attention to before deciding yay/nay

Kate Tempest, Everybody Down

Malaena Cadiz, Deep Below Heaven

Urbindex, Walsh - Electronica that made it to my To-Listen list. Has that edge I like.

Tyson Meade, Tomorrow in Progress

Traxman, Da Mind of Traxman, Vol. 2

Emma Ruth Rundle, Some Heavy Ocean

Syd Arthur, Sound Mirror - A touch of a vintage sound to it.

Everymen, Givin' Up On Free Jazz

The Happy Couple, Into The Woods - I liked 2 of the 3 songs, which are good odds, but 2/3 lands it on the To-Listen.

Tearjerker, Hiding

So there you have it. Happy listening and a restful weekend!

 Friday Refrain is a weekly post regarding what new releases have caught my ear for the week. I try to compile a pretty comprehensive list of releases of the week and see what is available for me to listen to on the web. This is just my non-scientific, highly-subjective, randomly-listened-to list of stuff from the week. Oh, and I don’t always listen to lyrics or look at album art/music videos, so appropriateness is left up to the listener

The Friday Refrain: A bit of what's new in music

1. I lost my notes on last week, so no recap of last week. And yes, handwritten notes. I also own two typewriters.

2. Bizarro world. I started this project listening and compiling the week's new music because I wasn't satisfied with what I found when searching out new music. I didn't want to click through to every single post or article on each individual album or single. I was becoming dissatisfied with the musical tastes of my former favorite go-to spots. And to be honest, to me the whole "my opinion is gold" or "check out this cool thing because I'm cool" vibe gets old fast. And so ta da - Friday Refrain was begun out of curiosity and impatience. A concise list of releases mostly without the reissues, live and best-of albums (though I will include some today and have before when I find it interesting or something I'm excited about) plus some recommendations on where to start therein. And while I bend some of my initial rules sometimes, maybe being a bit judgy or including a best of, I definitely do not think my opinion is gold and I am anything but cool.

Did I just write my origin story? That's creepy. Anyway, so why the origin story? Because for the most part, I feel like my taste in music might sit outside of the normal stream. However this week, I'm really into a lot of the things it seems other people are into. And it's kind of weirding me out. But hey, it happens. Stars and planets sometimes line up, I guess.

Oh hey - It's The List.

All right, let's delve into this a little concisely, shall we?

One Pick Wonder

Country: Sturgill Simpson, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music - His voice is amazing.

Dance: Chromeo, White Women

Glam Rockish Throwback: The Last Vegas, Sweet Salvation

Children's Album: Walter Martin, We're All Young Together - it's been a bit since an alt-rocker took on the almighty children's genre and The Walkmen's Walter Martin does it superbly.

Sunny Day Rock: La Sera, Hour of the Dawn

Cover Art: Cosines, Commuter Love - I want this framed and on my wall.

Oddball Things I Like:

Django Django, Late Night Tales - Especially the final track... (I'm still a little sore that wasn't the actual track on the Record Store Day release though)

I Saved Latin! A Tribute to Wes Anderson, Various Artists

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, Are We Not Men? We Are Divas! - It opens with "I Will Survive"

Two Things That Were Not As I Thought They'd Be:

Dawn Golden, Still Life - I was thinking curly haired hippie singer-songwriter. Not Bon Iverish chill out music.

Little Dragon, Nabuma Rubberband - Okay, I've listened to the singles, so I had already had this happen. But I seriously listen to some of the tracks and have to relisten to their previous work to make sure I'm thinking of the correct band. So don't go into this thinking, "This will sound like Little Dragon." Because it doesn't. They did new stuff.

Light Chill Out

Mimicking Birds, Eons

Amen Dunes, Love

To-Listen List: Things I want to delve into a bit more

Joseph Arthur, Lou

Crobot, Crobot

Kris Delmhorst, Blood Test

Incognito, Amplified Soul

Mirah, Changing Light

Kishi Bashi, Lighght

Caterina Zapponi, Romantica

BOYTOY, Boytoy

Flesh Wounds, Bitter Boy

All right, so there you have it. A little bit to get you started on this week's music. The recap! Just in case you haven't heard, there's a new (kind of?) Blondie album, plus Tori Amos, Rascal Flatts, Dolly Parton, The Black Keys, Michael Jackson, and Guided By Voices (yes a new one even though it's only been 2 months).

Happy listening!

 Friday Refrain is a weekly post regarding what new releases have caught my ear for the week. I try to compile a pretty comprehensive list of releases of the week and see what is available for me to listen to on the web. This is just my non-scientific, highly-subjective, randomly-listened-to list of stuff from the week. Oh, and I don’t always listen to lyrics or look at album art/music videos, so appropriateness is left up to the listener

The Friday Refrain: A bit of what's new in music

Man what a week. It became a week of introspection, questions and a lot more playing than listening of music. It left me a little light on the listening end of this week's releases, to be honest. So I've got the List. I'll let you all just kind of sus it out for this week and next week I'll come back with a double whammy. Cool? Cool.

So give a random few a listen (like Barrow or Morning Parade), stick with the ones that get all the headlines this week (Lykke Li, Atmosphere), or maybe just go make some music yourself. Happy listening and/or playing!