09.27.09
Released in 2009
Is it just me or has there been lots of new albums released this year? I haven’t made a constant effort to track everything down, but I can say I’ve been more alert than usual due to running the music blog. Considering artists you don’t know that well, new releases don’t make that much difference since there are many songs on the their previous albums new to you as well.
My recent favorite has been the week-old Pearl Jam album Backspacer. Other interesting recent releases include Draw the Line by David Gray and Mason Jennings’ Blood of Man. This biggest new album for me this year was – hands down – Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King by Dave Matthews Band, followed by seeing this incredible live band twice after the album was released. The coolest new artist this year was Zee Avi with her self-titled debut album.
Keeping up with new album releases and show announcements is a tricky business. If you have any tips to share, feel free to comment. I know there are some websites that are supposed to track these for their users, so I’d be interested to hear if any of them works out for you. On Wikipedia, there’s a list of albums released in 2009, and Metacritic has a list of upcoming releases. But these list are always incomplete while containing so much stuff that it’s easy to miss the interesting ones.
Personally, the upcoming album that I’m most looking forward to, is Battle Studies by John Mayer, due to release on November 17. Then there are two live albums that are now in pre-order, En Concert by Jack Johnson and Beautiful Mess –Live on Earth by Jason Mraz. Here’s the first single off the new John Mayer album, it’s called Who Says.
09.22.09
Tristan Clopet – Duende
Can’t get anything done, how do you expect that from me…
That’s how Tristan Clopet’s EP Duende starts, and what a cool start to an album that is. This groovy song is called Your Love is a Drug, and it works well as the first song of the album. Otherwise, this wasn’t such an easy album for me to get into, but over time it’s grown upon me and now I can say, it’s actually so good!
And that’s something that happens with good music a lot. First it can be difficult to get into, but then it opens up, little by little. You realize things you didn’t hear at first. Or maybe you heard them just alright, but now suddenly they start making sense to you. Truly one thing I love about music.
The second track, The End of an Era, is based around some chords strummed acoustically, and contains a catchy chorus. The next one, called Let it Go, builds upon a bluesy riff. All over, the songs are musically diverse, and I like Tristan’s singing. Somehow, I also seem to dig the lyrics, although I couldn’t say if they are special in some way.
The fourth track is a quieter one, it’s called Flowers in Bloom. One record that comes to my mind at this point, is Jeff Buckley’s Grace. If you like that one, why not give a shot to Tristan Clopet?
The next song, Concrete Dreams, starts with a catchy riff and then takes the record to a new, more reggaeish direction. The last track, Oceans, starts quietly, but suddenly a groovy bass line takes over, followed by some reggae and many other things. This is my favorite song of the album.
The album can be listened to on Tristan’s homepage. And if you like it, you can buy it on iTunes. Many thanks for Tristan and his team for providing me with the record, along with a cool T-shirt!
09.20.09
Song of the Week: Josh Ritter – Rumors
Lately it’s been difficult to find time for music blogging. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say, I have a long list of things to write about. But I’m taking my time. So to get things started again, here’s a quick song of the week. It’s a song called Rumors from Josh Ritter’s 2007 album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, a nice record that I’ve been listening to pretty much lately.
But the music’s never loud enough…
09.02.09
Fiction 20 Down – Comfortable Fools
After releasing two independent albums on their own, the Maryland-based band Fiction 20 Down is releasing their debut album Comfortable Fools this Saturday at their show at the Recher Theater in Towson, MD.
The album opens with two catchy tracks reworked from their last (and independent) album, they are called Wind Me Down and Wake Up. It’s good that they’ve included the best songs from their independent release here for more people to hear. The third track is a new one, Top n’ Tails, another catchy song with a nice reggae feel. I love it how this song goes from one part to another, changing. Moreover, catchy is a word I’d use to describe the record – I’ve caught myself singing along the choruses of many songs on this album.
The next track, Gossip & Gunplay, is also reworked from the previous independent album. I’m happy that it also found its way to here. The track after that is called Gossip & Gunplay (extended). It’s a brilliant idea to include the reprise of a good song. However, I wonder why it’s right after the song. Talking about reprises of songs, I would say “the king of them” is Before These Crowded Streets by Dave Matthews Band, which is also one of my favorite albums. There the reprises are placed shrewdly at the ends of the tracks and you don’t have a clue what you are hearing unless you pay close attention to the songs.
Back to this album, all of the following tracks are new ones. My favorite one and also the most versatile track musically is Rock Bottom Blue, the longest track of the record containing a cello accompaniment. I also like the transition to next track, The Common Sense. These two tracks have many similarities and make a good combination.
The next two tracks also have something alike. First Honor Echoes is a quieter one, then Away She Comes takes it a step further. After them, the catchy title track Comfortable Fools closes the album.
With smaller bands you always wonder whether they really got the talent to be successful. These guys do. This is just my personal opinion, but I think they are trying too hard to come up with hit songs – almost every song off this album sounds like it could be one. Often the best songs by the bands I love are not the hit songs but the deeper ones that take time to understand. So, I think what the guys should do more, is making music out of the heart, instead of thinking about a “hit formula.”
Check out Fiction 20 Down’s MySpace page to listen to some of the new songs. And if you’d like to download them, some are available at their promo area with the promo code glimmer01.
I feel Fiction 20 Down has done a good job with their debut album. They have now signed with an entertainment agency to support them at national level in the States, which sounds good. I wish them all the best and hope the new efforts get more people to enjoy their great music and good spirit.
