Karl Blau put out what might well have been my #11 record of 2006, Beneath the Waves on K. (I stopped counting at 10, but let's just say). I caught him opening for Laura Veirs and his mix of loops, yelps and unabashed love of a wide range of styles, and of mixing them together in wild, surprisingly accessible ways, made me an instant fan. His follow-up to Beneath the Waves is Dance Positive (buy it), which takes songs from D+ (a project whose members are Blau, the Microphones' Phil Elvrum and Bret Lunsford) and reimagines them with beats, loops and effects. The result is a record that comes in waves; at first, the low-key melodies barely escape the rhythm that's front and center, but after several listens sneak through. Blau's sneaky playfulness is muted but always lurking.Jeff London is a singer-songwriter who's been releasing quality albums v
ia Hush Records for a while. Earnest but never too much, London's acoustic tunes have got a pleasingly wistful quality, and his ragged vocals cut nicely against wanly optimistic lyrics. Fans of Kind Of Like Spitting and TW Walsh should especially pay attention. You can listen to three tracks from the new album Bane of Progress (buy it) at his website. "Long Island" is from his album Col. Summers Park.
ia Hush Records for a while. Earnest but never too much, London's acoustic tunes have got a pleasingly wistful quality, and his ragged vocals cut nicely against wanly optimistic lyrics. Fans of Kind Of Like Spitting and TW Walsh should especially pay attention. You can listen to three tracks from the new album Bane of Progress (buy it) at his website. "Long Island" is from his album Col. Summers Park.Elsewhere, Loudon Wainright III completists can rejoice at the release of a CD set compiling his two long-lost 70s albums T-Shirt and Final Exam (buy it), previously only available on dog-eared vinyl.
1 comment:
I like this a whole lot, thanks.
Update more often.
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