September releases:
- Beirut, The Flying Club Cup. See my earlier posting for a review. French-inspired, brass, strings, accordian, ukelele, what's not to like. Oh yeah, Zach's crooning. If you can get past that, then this is good stuff. I like it better than Beirut's debut album (cause even the well-done Eastern-European flavor doesn't float my boat).
- Jose Gonzalez, In My Nature. A guy and his guitar. No, quite literally, that's about all this is. But with Gonzalez, the emphasis is on the guitar rather than his voice, so if you appreciate talented guitaring, give him a try. Though this album isn't stylisticly different than his debut Veneer, I like this one more. For fans of Veneer, or people who almost liked Veneer, but not quite.
- Devandra Banhart, Smoky Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. So the reviews on this aren't great, but I really like it. He's expanding his sound a bit more past Cripple Crow, and sounds even more accessible than before. Still, Devandra's the Peter Jackson of musicians: desperately in need of an editor, but filled with lots of good ideas. (Smoky Rolls is 16 tracks long, and a good 5 or 6 could be chopped with no loss). Here's one of my favorites, performed on Conan.
- Iron & Wine, The Shepherd's Dog. Sam's expanding his sound here, even beyond what was suggested from Woman King. Dabbling in Middle-Eastern, Balkan sounds. He's no longer naked and acoustic; his music is now fuller and larger and more instrumental, but as a result, it feels less personal. In the past, lyrics have taken center-stage. Here, there are some tracks in which over half is purely instrumental.
And, an older album, but purchased this month:
- Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy (+ Appendices EP). Not as rocking as The Stage Names, but for fans of The Stage Names, worth a listen or two before the purchase.
My music consumption seems to have fallen this month. And I still have 50+ emusic downloads to burn through in the next two weeks...
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