Now Hear This

The Mountain Goats – The Life Of The World To Come

John Darnielle and Co. are still going strong after 17+ records.  While biblical references have been a regular feature of  Darnielle’s work he takes it a step further on The Mountain Goats’ latest where every track is named after a Bible verse. Don’t worry though, this is no holier than thou preach and destroy mission but rather a study of the meaning of faith and how it can be used to weather the pressures and trials of modern life.  What keeps this record interesting is Darnielle’s recognition of the flipside of the faith card: doubt.  He uses the two sides to vividly articulate the difference between how most of us are and how most of us wish we were.  And by telling our own stories better than we ever could he reaffirms my belief that he’s one of the best songwriters around.

Genesis 3:23

Matthew 25:21

Click here to order The Life Of The World To Come direct from the MG’s!

The Horrors – Whole New Way single

I stand corrected. I was a bit dismissive of the Horrors’ first LP Strange House. NHT thought it sounded like a campy garage goth parody. But their sophomore effort Primary Colours sees them maturing light years beyond glam shoegaze cliche into a bold new post punk sound far removed from their debut. “Whole New Way” originally appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese release of  Primary Colours. They’ve since given it quite the overhaul and will release it as a single on XL Records November 6 backed by my personal favorite from the new record. Enjoy:

Whole New Way

Do You Remember

The Aliens – Luna

The second LP from these former Beta Band dudes (including founding member Gordon Anderson who left Betas after their debut) features some damn good psychedelic pop.  The fact that the rest of the record tends to meander through an everything-AND-the-kitchen-sink kind of feel might put some folks off. NHT thinks it’s way worth wading through what we’ll call fascinating sound collages to get to the tasty bits below:

Magic Man

Sunlamp Show

Leonard Cohen – Live In London

Leonard Cohen’s playing the Paramount Theater in Oakland tonight and I’m not there. So sad. Particularly after hearing this piece of stone f-ing genius! A terrible thing to say I’m glad Cohen’s’ business manager stole his entire life savings but if he hadn’t LC wouldn’t have embarked on his first tour in over 15 years and thus produce this AMAZING live record. Few would blame him for phoning this in but he delivers classic songs from throughout  his 40 year career with a passion and bravura that’s nothing short of dazzling and the arrangements are fleshed out masterfully by his backing band. Definitely one for my 10 best for ’09.  I stuck the DVD of his performance at the O2 arena last year in my netflix que so I can torture myself even further for missing him tonight. Here’s a taste of what those lucky few there are enjoying:

The Future

Tower Of Song

Live In London is out now on Columbia

Superchunk – Leaves In The Gutter

I was very pleasantly surprised by the first new material in almost 8 years from this  quintessential 90′s DIY indie rock band. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about artists trying new things and challenging themselves creatively but the experimentation and stylistic searching of their last couple of albums didn’t keep me buying. Well that is left behind in a dust of blazing riffs, killer hooks and passionate vocals that were their late 90’s trademark. The five songs on this EP were written over the last couple of years during rehearsals for the odd festival or benefit gig and the band felt the need to clear the decks and start fresh when they record their new full length due this fall.

Knock Knock Knock

Learned To Surf

Leaves In The Gutter came out last Tuesday (on Merge Records, of course). Buy it here.

King Khan & The Shrines – What Is?!

OK, it came out in Germany in ’07, but KK & The Shrines’ third record is finally out in the US. Another sonic blast of low-fi Stax soul-meets-punk and Nuggets-era garage rock featuring several great tracks that didn’t make last year’s KALX chart dominating best of collection The Supreme Genius of…

What Is?! is out in the US April 21st on Vice Records.  King Khan & The Shrines play The Great American Music Hall May 28.

Land Of The Freak

In Your Grave

The solo debut from one half of the Black Keys sounds like, well, the Black Keys. What did anyone really  expect? Unless Auerbach spent 80 minutes playing the bagpipes it was bound to. So folks hoping to hear Dan stretching himself will be disappointed but I’m digging this. The Fogerty like blues howl is replaced with a deeply soulful crooning in just the right spots and a bass player (god forbid) makes for an interesting low end counterpoint missing from the Black Keys’ drum/guitar minimalism. My favorite addition is the haunting Hammond B underpinning this track right here:

I Want Some More

Keep It Hid is out on Nonesuch Records. Dan will be at Bimbo’s March 13. I’ll be giving away a pair of tickets during my show on KALX at 90.7 FM next Wednesday so tune in! More tour dates and streaming tunes can be found  at Auerbach’s myspace page.

Robyn Hitchcock’s second record backed by the all star trio of Peter Buck on guitar, Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey on bass, and Ministry skin pounder Bill Rieflin may not match the last couple of records he’s released but after 30 years of consistently fantastic songcraft his missteps stand shoulders above the pop paff topping today’s charts.

Goodnight Oslo

Goodnight Oslo is out on Yep Roc Records. If you have a couple hours to kill check out Robyn’s official site. There’s a reason it’s called The Museum of Robyn Hitchcock.

Like a crazy mix of Leonard Cohen’s despair and early Dylan’s exuberant folk rock Elvis Perkins In Dreamland play music that is catchy and penetrating at the same time. The despair is understandable as frontman Elvis Perkins  lost his father, actor Anthony Perkins, to AIDS in 1992 and his mother on one of the 9/11 planes. But the exuberance defies sorrow in a celebration of everyday life with one of the catchier songs I’ve heard in weeks. A driving rhythm offset to marvelous effect by the delicate harmonies of Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark.

Hey

A couple more tunes are streaming at their website. Their self titled second record is out on XL Recordings March 10, pre-oreder it here. He is (or is it they are? I’m so confused) playing the Cafe Du Nord the very next day.