The Round Table

Although we’re still early into 2010, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’ve been anxiously awaiting the latest release Lost Souls Like Us from Benjy Davis Project. With anticipation like that, I guess it’s fairly easy to be disappointed with the final outcome. Don’t get me wrong, Lost Souls Like Us isn’t a bad album, per se, it’s just not overall representative of what I was expecting from BDP after the well-rounded, emotionally stellar Dust. And it certainly doesn’t live up to the high bar set by lead single “Stay With Me” a mandolin-driven song about love with room for interpretation, whether in the moment or reflection, with intensely personal lyrics written by Benjy Davis himself.

The album opens with “Mississippi,” a pretty safe ode to the wandering road-life as only a young musician can paint. It’s followed up by the light-hearted “Get High” that the college kids are sure to eat up. While these tracks aren’t necessarily throwaways, they’re also not particularly memorable, which seems to be the issue with the album until the midway point where things start to come to life.

Aside from “Stay With Me,” which is one of our favorite songs hands down, “Slow Wind” is beautifully reflective where Davis shines both vocally as well as lyrically. “Check Your Pockets” brings some good ol’ sunny southern rock courtesy of the guys’ Louisiana roots, which is sure to have you singing along to.

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Butch Walker & The Black Widows new album I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart officially hits stores on February 23rd, but you can listen to it now  thanks to the fine folks at Think Indie. Now, I can’t even front to be as big of a Butch Walker fan as fellow TRTer, Forest, but let’s just say, Mr. Walker had me at the title. Front runners for favorite songs right now “Pretty Melody” and “Canadian Ten.”

The stream is only live for a  few weeks, so you’re definitely going to want to pre-order I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart!

Listen after the jump

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Continuing with our predictions on bands for our newly minted “makin’ it” in 2010, we’d like to introduce you to The Rural Alberta Advantage or The RAA for those who are easily tongue-tied like myself. Hailing from, you guessed it, Alberta, Canada, The RAA are the real deal.

A three-piece indie band that writes about what they know, “hometowns and heartbreaks.” I first caught The RAA in concert last May at The Mercury Lounge on a pure whim — and — I’ve been hooked since. At the time, they played to a half-filled club and didn’t even have an album to release. Fast-forward almost 8 months, their debut album Hometowns has officially dropped, they played to packed crowds, and recently opened for Passion Pit here in NYC. Pretty amazing!

This past weekend, The RAA returned to the Mercury Lounge with a vengeance. Not even a terrible cold could sideline frontman Nils Edenloff as he soldiered on through not one, but two, 50-minute shows. The other bandmates were in top form as Amy Cole did her thing on back-up vocals, xylophone, and tambourine while drummer Paul Banwatt kept time to perfection. Check the band stats after the jump and audio of standout track “Don’t Haunt This Place.” Let’s just say they had me at “heartbreaks.”

Thanks to The Edgitator for the pic.

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Secaucus-to-Meadowlands= 7 years

Meadowlands = 2003

Assuming historical patterns as holding true for future figuring: New Wrens = 2010

Huzzah!

In the meantime, if you just can’t wait, The Wrens have put together a 20th Anniversary EP featuring unreleased tracks from their under-appreciated catalog. It features hand-burned CD-Rs and hand-folded posters! You can buy it here.

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This post is for the creative types out there or straight up Metric fans. The band wants fans to create their own music videos to the song “Sick Muse.” The best video will win a pretty sweet prize pack including:

Flip Ultra Cam 60 min
Fantasies Deluxe Package signed by Metric
Download of 10 track album and 2 bonus tracks
HQ 12×12″ collage print of band photos
7 inch “Help I’m Alive” vinyl, w/ exclusive “Help I’m A B-Side” B-side  Metric sticker
Metric VIP Fan Pass (limited edition laminate brings you early/exclusive access to unique offers from the band)
Deluxe, hardcover digipack CD and live performances
180g, 12 inch, gatefold album vinyl and 12×12″ print featuring “Hollywood in Cambodia” artwork
Full-color album artwork booklet and liner notes
Bonus download of exclusive studio track “Waves” not available in any other package

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