Recent
Air France
No Way Down EP
[Sincerely Yours; 2008 ]
Rating: 8.6
Following last year's "Beach Party", Air France deliver another perfect summertime record. The Swedish group's No Way Down-- currently available either digitally or as a Swedish import-- conjures an idyllic world similar to the one on the Avalanches' dazzlingly great Since I Left You, another record that finds wide-eyed delight in sincerity and beauty.
Lil Wayne
Tha Carter III
[Cash Money; 2008 ]
Rating: 8.7
Nine years after his first solo LP, and on the heels of an unprecedented glut of increasingly remarkable mixtape and internet leaks, Lil Wayne produces Tha Carter III, the epic culmination of a lifetime of eccentricities. This is Wayne's moment and he embraces it on his own terms.
Crystal Antlers
EP
[self-released; 2008 ]
Rating: 8.5
Crystal Antlers look like outcasts from six different bands, and at various points on this record, they sound like it, too. Merging lo-fi, psych, garage, and everything in between, their debut EP is an unorthodox summer record-- not so much for driving to the beach as actually being in its sweltering grasp, equal parts scorched earth and wide open spaces. Though it's tempting to pass this disc off as a stopgap on the way to a triumphant long-player, there's enough triumph packed into its 25 minutes to qualify as one of the year's most promising debuts. Plus, you know what they say about always leaving them wanting more.
Fri: 06-27-08
Girl Talk
Feed the Animals
Girl Talk's 2006 LP Night Ripper made him the of-the-moment party starter, and now his first major release as a semi-popular act-- another confluence of shameless thrills and near-overwhelming abundance-- comes off like the ultimate July 4th rooftop soundtrack.
Wed: 06-25-08
Ponytail
Ice Cream Spiritual
Too often considered a great live band-- which it is-- but not thrilling on record, the Baltimore group's studio output continues to improve as well, helped here by J Robbins' production and vastly improved sonics.
Wed: 06-18-08
James Blackshaw
Litany of Echoes
Often considered an inheritor of the Takoma acoustic guitar tradition-- think John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Leo Kottke-- James Blackshaw's synthesis of acoustic experimentalism and minimalism is so complete at this point that it's possible to call it his own style.
Tue: 06-17-08
Wolf Parade
At Mount Zoomer
The two distinct, exceptional songwriters in Wolf Parade-- Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug-- combine to create a record that seems focused on skewing darker, on sounding nastier, more perilous, and less straightforward than its predecessor, 2005's Apologies to the Queen Mary.
Wed: 06-11-08
Paavoharju
Laulu Laakson Kukista
Finnish collective on the Fonal label scatters Europop, rustic folk, pastel electronics, and woolen drones like a tossed deck of playing cards.
Wed: 06-04-08
Shearwater
Rook
Much more than one man's solo recordings or an Okkervil River side project, Jonathan Meiburg's Shearwater follow last year's partially re-recorded and re-released Palo Santo with their first LP of new tunes for Matador.
