New Music

Recently I've been even more ravenous for new music than normal. I have scoured the popular indie blogs (Pitchfork, My Old KY Blog, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan), read reviews in all the music magazines [Rolling Stone (don't bother), Spin (buy one in an airport), Paste (get a subscription at your earliest convenience)], and most disappointingly, in local alternative weeklies (Where Y'at, Offbeat, Gambit Weekly).

Doing so, I've found lots of new (and not so new) music. I wanted to share some of it with you folk. These artists range from the ordinary to the extraordinary, solo to orchestral, crooned to screamed. Check out a couple of them and let me know what you think. In the coming weeks I'll be doing in depth reviews of the newer albums (and some that are less well known).

Sanders Bohlke - Solo artist hailing from Oxford, MS. His first and only album (released 2005 on Ampere Records) features soulful songs for a rainy day. His voice carries the album and complements his minimalist accompaniment extremely well. The production is good on the album with the sounds of the Mississippi Hill Country throughout though it is mastered rather poorly and with very little dynamic range. Either way, I love it and my friends are tired of hearing me trying to evangelize about him. It touches on Christian values but I wouldn't call it Christian music. Great for fans of Damien Rice, Elliot Smith, and New Orleans' own Blair Gimma.



Jason Reischel - Another solo artist from NYC. His lyrics range from heartache to new love and are usually interesting though not always exactly educational. I first saw him in a small Irish pub in Jackson, MS and liked his live show very much. I recently got his album Brown Bridge & Green Bridge and am happy with the first half. The second half may take a second or third listen. Good for fans of acoustic folk rock pop.


St. Vincent - The brainchild of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark, Dallas TX's St. Vincent is fantastic. The first album, Marry Me, was released on July 10th and it is a fantastic female driven pop album. Clark handles guitar, programming, keyboards, bass, percussion, nearly everything you hear. She handled lead guitar duties for both the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens before striking out on her own. It's a great road trip and early morning needing a pick me up CD. A little like Regina Spektor's new record but without the playful lyrics. Check out her track "Jesus Saves, I Spend."

Soon I will be posting a full review on the newest Iron & Wine record (due out next month). For fans of Sam Beam, be very excited. For those who are only familiar with his fantastic rendition of Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" from the Garden State soundtrack, prepare to have a new favorite CD.