(i meant to post this before the new year, but i was in the desert. in any case... from left to right, row by row. in no particular order.)
various/ folk is not a four letter word - they call this 'acid folk'. freaky, funky and freewheeling. not at all like joan baez.
matt sweeny and bonnie 'prince' billy/superwolf - what oldham relese wouldn't make the list. matt sweeny brings the licks.
broken social scene/self titled - songs that could be top 40 if they wanted to. but they'd rather be dense, crackling workouts fulfilled through production know how.
colleen/golden morning breaks - antiquated instruments chime, ring, and resonate. intimate music like no other. the soundtrack to your dreams.
animal collective/ prospect hummer - with vashti bunyan. albums like this and last years 'sung tongs' show the band at their best.
electrelane/axes - brings to mind early 90's britain. guitars and drums sound like they're being played two inches from your head. rock propelled by momentum.
silver jews/tanglewood numbers - quite a return after the previously so so 'bright flight'. his voice got stronger, and rougher around the edges. he's finally singing like he means it.
konono no.1/congotronics - amplified thumb pianos and metal percussion played through junked speakers found on the street side. need i say more?
spoon/gimme fiction - i've never really like these guys, but i love this album. really stripped down rock with sexy sexy vocals. stripped down and sexy is, like, the perfect rock n roll formula.
sufjan stevens/illinois - a grand gesture for sure. but aside from the breadth and thematic premise, sufjan can spin a damn good yarn that at times will educate and at others heartbreak.
broadcast/tender buttons - broadcast bring what they can carry from the studio into the bedroom. a hazy, dreamy, wondrous collection uplifted by trish keenan's soaring vocals.
windy and carl/dreamhouse + dedications to flea - first album in five years doesn't stray too far from the formula of albums past. but when the drone is this good and shifts in time/space perception this effective, there's nothing to change.
akron family/self titled - midwest to new york transplants who wear many hats. boys who play shirtless together and aren't afraid of a group hug show their many styles and let the creaks and crickets insulate their music.
various/dirty laundry - subtitled 'the soul of black country'. james brown, curtis mayfield, bettye swann and a many notable more bring some deep soul to heartbreaking country cuts.
kronos quartet with asha bhosle/you've stolen my heart - the queen of bollywood revisits classics with new classical favorites kronos quartet. at 72, bhosle sounds beautiful as ever and kronos provide a devoted and impassioned setting.
various/folk and pop sounds from iraq - another unearthed gem from sublime frequencies. music collected over years of travel and digging, released for cultural prosperity and a broader understanding. plus the shit rolls with such raw ease and grace.
smog/a river ain't too much - bill callahan is my favorite lyricist. this latest album proves why. his voice has aged well and guitar playing steped up. jim white (dirty three) on drums and joanna newsom as guest are big positives.
bright eyes/i'm wide awake and it's morning - this was a reluctant choice but sorta undeniable. conor oberst decides not to over emote and duets with emmylou harris which are two very good career moves.
deerhoof/runners four - shows a diversity unseen before. probably due to the level of collaboration (everyone sings! everyone writes!). deerhoof give more room for the song and composition along with their always present musical prowess.
various/cult cargo:belize city boil up - soul and funk by way of belize. drums and bass thump hard in the front, horns punch brightly, guitars scratch undeniable shuffling rhythms. the fourth in a handful of amazing and varied (gospel country, post punk, southern soul, power pop)releases by the numero group label. another six comps already planned for 2006. look out.
sound directions/the funky side of life - explained as a yesterdays new quintet offshoot. characterized by madlib's raw, dense and stoned out production. classic hard and sweaty funk brought fresh through a magicians slight of hand.
jamie lidell/ multiply - sittin' on the dock of the bay with a laptop in hand. soul brought back from decades past, more than convincingly performed by a white brit, and made up to date with subtle electronic(a) charges.
jens lekman/oh, you're so silent jens - a collection of rarities recorded from his teens and on. lekman creates mini pop masterpieces often with just samples and a ukulele. songs about heartbreak, longing, loneliness and rocky dennis.
brian mcbride/when the detail lost its freedom - slowly shifting, endless guitar loops drenched in a blanket of dreamstate by stars of the lid guitarist mcbride.
scout niblet/kidnapped by neptune - quiet loud, quiet loud. versus chorus verse. a formula not to be fussed with. her strained vocals and big crunchy guitars brings to mind kurt cobain, more so than the often (and less accurately) compared chan marshall.
various/love's a real thing - subtitled 'the funky fuzzy sounds of west africa', this is more stylistically varied than most 'afropop' or 'afrofunk' comps. along with the funky and fuzzy comes percussion heavy doses of mild psych and afrosouljazz.
ennio morricone/crime and dissonance - mike patton's icepac label releases this double disc collection of morricone scores culled mostly from italian thrillers rather than spaghetti westerns. at times loose, groovy and totally out there, more often chilling and eerie. morricone takes you down the darkened corridor, where around the corner a man with black gloves waits with glinting knife in hand for the delicate flesh of a damsel in distress.
various/yellow pills - another winner from the numero group. a collection of rare 80's power pop that have a punky appeal along with their saccharine spike. mostly bands with short names like luxury, the bats, tweeds, kids, the trend and speedies. teenage kicks fueled by the beatles, badfinger, bigstar, the flamin' groovies, etc.
bjorn olsson/'the lobster' - fourth solo album by soundtrack of our lives guitarist. beautiful instrumentals that imagine a dusty landscape, forgotten towns, and a forever setting sun. heavily indebted to morricone's spaghetti western soundtracks.
black mountain/self titled - mix this in with a classic rock format and see if anyone notices. like most great albums from the 70's, tracks on side a should serve well for beer commercials where side b demands the black light be turned on.
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