New Music List 03-16-09

Ariane Moffatt's "Tous Les Sens"
Imagine a French-Canadian Imogen heap, with a splash of Regina Spektor (during the piano parts). Both her electronic tinge and her singing in Quebecois, with a lilt are heavenly. I never noticed how the natural pitch of it lends it self to this, much like K'Naan's rapping in Somali. "Tous Les Sens" is my favorite, but "Éternel Instant Présent" and "Tes Invectives" are pretty great as well.  My album of last week.

Riverboat Gambler's "Underneath the Owl"
Since I will be seeing them with Rancid, and more importantly Rise Against at an outdoor show in June, I figured I should give them a listen. And what a treat this was. Dashes of Bouncing Souls, The AKAs, and the more hard Gaslight Anthem vibe, basically an epitome of Philly Street Punk, with perfect sing-a-longs. "Alexandria" is the tops here, followed by "Dissdissdisskisskisskiss" and "A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology".  Oh and if you have a chance to see Rise Against outdoors, DO IT!!!!!!!!!!! They are great indoors, but they are meant for open air shows. It's like ecstasy for your ears, and Tim spends half the time in the crowd.

Fischerspooner's "Entertainment"
These dudes are weird, but I like bands with double last names (see JamisonParker), and New York fucking owns electroclash. If you don't know what that means, I pity you. The downside here is that the album is clearly front loaded, with the first three tracks being the best."Danse en France" should have been last instead of penultimate, its too weird to transition back to normality.

Chuck Ragan's "Feast Or Famine"
After picking up the acoustic solo album from Tom Gabel of Against Me! I thought I should look into the same from the lead singer of Hot Water Music, another Gainesville proto-punk band. This one was less lyrically, but more musically. "Geraldine" and "California Burritos" tie for best in show, the latter of which features lots of accordion. This album is more soulful than I would have expected, with many echos of Johnny Cash, and that makes it all the better.  Like Gabel's solo effort, Ragan outshines his compadres.

Boy In Static's "Candy Cigarettes"
I got this just because of the title, which is only sometimes a good idea. This is a sometimes. Mellow, ambient shoegaze lies within. Oh and he is has been playing viola since he was 8, got your attention now don't I? Give "Toy Baby Grand", "Young San Fransisco", and "LA Runaways" a listen.

Tiger Lillies's "The Gorey End (feat. Kronos Quartet)"
Wow I love Tiger Lillies. A more insane, more dark version of Dresden Dolls. And this is a concept album based on Edward Gorey (The Gashlycrumb Tinies). Everything this sung with falsetto and backed by accordion. "ABC" is so morbidly funny too:
K is for Kris with a blade that is wavy,
One wonders why somebody smeared it with gravy.
L’s for a letter that lay in a trunk,
Its contents explain how the dinghy was sunk.
M is for madhouse where is confined
A lady whose friends say she’s out of her mind.

Röyksopp's "Junior"
I've only gotten one listen so I'll hold off a proper write up for next week, but Norwegian electronica is pretty awesome. Why about cold weather makes all Scandinavians and Canadians awesome with a synth???