The Round Table

The lovable, albeit a bit sensitive, and wholly enchanting chanteuse is back on the scene! On February 23, Joanna Newsom will release her third studio LP, Have One On Me, a triple (!) CD/LP package no doubt filled with her unique childlike vocals and penchant for music that sounds like it was recorded a really long time ago.

Go to Drag City to listen to the seven minute “Good Intentions Paving Company” (in the upper right corner) –which is undoubtedly one of the best, most accessible Newsom tracks I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. In short, I love it and I love her. Between this and previously leaked “81″, I’m super excited for HOoM.

Pre-order Have One On Me here

“Sprout and the Bean” video, from her debut album Milk-Eyed Mender after the cut.
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We’re streaming The Knife’s studio version of their Darwin-inspired opera ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ (player below). Here’s some more background on the project while you listen, c/o Rabid Records:
…The Knife decided to make this a collaborative process, working with artists Mt. Sims and Planningtorock for the first time, to capture the huge width of the Darwin and evolution theme. They extensively researched Darwin related literature and articles, with Olof attending a field recording workshop in the Amazon to find inspiration and to record sounds.

As Ralf Christensen puts it in his biography of the album, “Closed headphones and open mind are strongly recommended.”

Stream, complete track listing and (weird, yet informative) roundtable discussion with Karin, Olof, Planningtorock, & Mt. Sims after the cut.
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Corinne Bailey Rae had it all. A hit debut single in “Put Your Records On,” that allowed her to enter the U.S. music charts and gain notoriety on a larger scale. Before she knew it, she was touring with chart-topper John Legend and performing at the Grammys. Until, one cruel day, her personal life was shattered by the accidental death of her musician husband, Jason Rae.

Two years after mourning her husband’s death, Corinne Bailey Rae is back with her follow-up album, The Sea. While The Sea does pay tribute to her late husband, it’s not a complete downer as one might assume. It’s a solid follow-up to the soulful singer-songwriter’s debut album, which showcases Corinne’s writing skills. Standouts include “Closer,” “Paris Night, New York Mornings,” and “Are You Here.”

Thanks to the kind folks at NPR, you can stream The Sea in its entirety from now until it’s release on January 26th. Album opener, “Are You Here,” is embedded after the jump.

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It’s almost 2010 and, even though the thought of “A Country Boy Can Survive (Y2K Edition)” still makes me cringe, I have to admit it’s been a decade mostly solid music. One of the major areas of musical evolution has to be electronica, at least in my awareness and, I hope, I’m not too presumptuous in extending that statement beyond myself.

In honor of the decade, Tim Noakes – Music Editor for the UK style and culture magazine, Dazed & Confused – has created a 2.5 hour mix of electronica from that timespan. In those 150-odd minutes, he covers everything from Har Mar Superstar to Hot Chip to Ratatat.

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Relient K kicks off their Winter Wonder Slam tour on November 19th in University Park, Pennsylvania in support of their latest release, Forget and Not Slow Down. The group hits the NYC area with a stop at Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday, November 20th. Grab your tickets to the show by visiting the tour’s official website.

Joining Relient K on the road are: Toby Mac, Stephanie Smith, and B. Reith. Sounds like a pretty sweet lineup to us. To get you in the Relient K spirit, enjoy their newest single “Therapy,” which is streaming now.”Therapy” was penned by Relient K’s vocalist, Matt Thiessen on his path to self-discovery through isolation.

Full tour dates for Relient K’s Winter Wonder Slam after the cut.

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You may recognize the vocals on this track, as Taken by Trees’s sole member is Victoria Bergsman, the female vocalist on the Peter Bjorn and John hit “Young Folks” and former lead singer of The Concretes. Being a one-woman group with a psuedonym, a la St. Vincent, Taken by Trees opens Bergsman up to a casual- and earthy-feeling (hence the name) world music approach and this Animal Collective cover is no exception; “My Boys” is a quasi-island-inspired take on the AC Peter Pan complex –this time with understandable vocals.

Watch the vid and comment, after the cut.
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Appearing in the film culled from rehearsal footage and bearing the same name, Michael Jackson’s first posthumously released track, “This Is It” debuted at MichaelJackson.com at midnight last night.

It’s a trademark MJ slow jam, with a chorus of humming and echoing Jackos and other vocals in the background.

Listen below!
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One of my favorite tracks from one of my favorite albums of 2009, La Roux’s “I’m Not Your Toy” song + video is a perfect example of the duo’s mastering of the 80s synth pop sound and attitude –this time with a less moody, more fun vibe.

Singer/synth player Elly Jackson, with her trademark Flock of Seagulls-lite cockatoo hairstyle (see right), emerges from a pool like an androgynous siren set on bewitching a group of retro-yet-futuristic Caribbean hoi polloi. It’s like a Minority Report pool party in that crazy lady’s greenhouse, with Elly as a singing pre-cog in a sweet white pant suit. The backup dancers (!) are the shit and we finally get to see Ms. Jackson smile, albeit briefly.

Video + awesome remix + US Fall tour dates after the cut.
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I was turned on to jj a lil late in the game, care of Pitchfork’s Best New Music of course, and ever since I haven’t been able to shake them or the melodic gems of their much-too-short self-titled debut album.

There’s something mysterious, yet familiar-sounding about their occasionally eerie, often breezy electropop. For example, the instrumentation on my favorite track “From Africa to Málaga” sounds like fellow Swedes The Knife on uppers, albeit with an underlying feeling of the inevitable crash.

On the album this song (and my astute summation) segues perfectly to the next track “Ecstasy”, a chilled out take on standard rap ethos: drugs, sex, bravado and blood-splattered album art (?) –all with a sense of humor. Considering it’s coming from a bunch of (presumably) white Swedes –who no doubt get the Lil Wayne and Will Smith (yes, him) tracks they pay homage to through a filter of Scandinavian music television or something– it can seem like fetishizing or blatant appropriation of what defines most of the current popular rap game. Somehow, “Ecstasy” is both and neither while surpassing all lowest-common-denominator pigeonholing (of which I am constantly guilty of) altogether.

Listen to “Ecstasy” and another track after the cut.

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Adding emotional depth (and audibility!) to their lyrics, Vivian Girls are out to prove they’re more than your average post-punk, 60s-girl-group, surf/shoegaze throwback.

For starters, their new album Everything Goes Wrong is longer and ‘heavier’ –with more solemn, introspective lyrics compared to their self-titled debut. (Opening tracks like “Walking Alone at Night” and “I Have No Fun” set the tone right off the bat.) This isn’t to say it doesn’t rock –quite the contrary: they seem to have more flexibility with their driving guitar riffs and harmonies, not to mention two of the tracks even go past the 4-minute mark. Rest assured diehard fans, they still maintain that raw, d.i.y., ferocious feeling that drew us into Vivian Girls.

The changes may seem subtle, but it’s nonetheless a sign of their evolution. Check out one of my favorites from their debut, followed by a few from the new album (out Tuesday, September 8th) –after the cut and at their myspace.
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