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Album Reviews

Music Worth Hearing

	Sun Kil Moon: April (Caldo Verde) - I feel like i should say from the beginning that i am a bit obsessed with Mark Kozelek, and I think that I would probably review anything he released very highly.  That being said, this might be my favorite thing he has ever released under any of his monikers, and certainly my favorite since 2003's Ghosts of the Great Highway.  This is a truly stunning album from start to finish.  Kozelek's voice and songwriting have always been beautiful, but on April he seems more comfortable with his craft than he has ever been.  The songs are long, but they never drag on too long.  Will Oldham makes appearances on Like the River and Unlit Hallway, and Ben Gibbard also makes an appearance.  This is a fantastic album, sure to be a Sun Kil Moon classic.
	Four Tet: Ringer (Domino) – The latest studio work from Kieran Hebden's Four Tet project is a four track mini album. It’s a 32 minute instrumental journey into an experimental techno world. Consider an elevated subway ride, where a steady forward motion carries you through layers of sonic details that ebb and flow with the surroundings. The laptop based loops and samples bring the electronic and organic together in a multi-dimensional, polyrhythmic trip you won’t soon forget. Highly Recommended.
	Islands: Arm’s Way (Anti-) - Islands is a Montreal based ensemble led by Nick Thorburn (ex The Unicorns). Their sophomore album and Anti- debut Arm’s Way is a tightly arranged record. They know where they want go and how to get there. Even within the same track, they effortlessly hopscotch among genera. Some points of reference are neo-psych, chamber pop, Brit-pop, prog, afro-pop, soca, 60’s soul and much more. The intricate cover art captures the tinder within the rather brutal lyrics. Recommended.
	Tokyo Police Club: Elephant Shell (Saddle Creek) - Tokyo Police Club is an energetic indie rock quartet from Toronto. Though the eleven tracks of Elephant Shell blow by in under 30 minutes, the album is 120 proof post-punk package with modern arrangement twists. Spunky rhythm, chiming guitars and keyboard accents give it a familiar, immediate sound. Bassist-singer Dave Monks' vocal style is reminiscent of Colin Meloy’s (Decemberists), and the band sometimes joins in for the sing along choruses. You will be reading and hearing a lot about these guys in the near future.
	Tickley Feather- Tickley Feather (Paw Tracks)- Philadelphia's Tickley Feather (Annie Sachs) releases her debut on Animal Collective's label Paw Tracks.  Creepy children's voices, eerie organs and creaky lo-fi recording and production kind of makes this sound like it was recorded in a world of ghosts and sent to our musical world.   I'm not convinced that this isn't Panda Bear's dead kid sister singing from the grave.  It's creepy and experimental, but it's good.
	M83: Saturdays=Youth (Mute) - M83's 5^th album transports you back to the youth of the 1980’s. It was a colorful time, a time when synths and sensi filed the air. A bright haze soon ensued, lifting your spirit into new realms. In drawing on bands like Tears for Fears and Cocteau Twins, Anthony Gonzalez and crew craft sensual, sexual, ambient shoegaze for a new generation of star eyed dreamers. Recommended.
	Destroyer: Trouble in Dreams (Merge) - Dan Bejar's voice is somewhere in between Dylan and Bro. Danielson.  As always, he is playful, theatric, melodic, and completely sincere in his slightly absurd creations.  He has a full backing band on this one, as he did on his last, Destroyer's Rubies. Complex, jarring, explosive, always enjoyable music.  Recommended.
	Retribution Gospel Choir: Retribution Gospel Choir (Caldo Verde) - Retribution Gospel Choir is the project of Alan Sparhawk, the man behind Low. Two of the songs on here (Breaker and Take Your Time) were also on Low's latest Drums and Guns. If you have ever wondered what Low would sound like less slow-core and restrained and more psychedelic and rock n' roll, look no further. This is essentially a Low album deciding it is tired of being sad and depressed and rocking out. I think I like sad and depressed a little better, but this rocking out is good too. Recommended.
	Metaform: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (Just Records) - Metaform is Hai-Ding (ex Razed High). A multi-instrumentalist, vinyl-head and gadget scavenger, he blends his three passions into instrumental hip hop without bounds. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants perhaps speaks to how it all comes together. Sample based origins are bolstered by live instrumentation and left-field processing. Recommended.
	Mt. Wilson Repeater: Mt. Wilson Repeater (Eastern Fiction) - Mt. Wilson Repeater is Jim Putnam of Los Angeles' The Radar Bros.  This is a largely instrumental album (he plays almost everything himself).  There are vocals, but they kind of blend into the music in a very subtle way.  A beautiful blend of electronics and acoustics, it's lush arrangements threaten to put you to sleep in the best possible way.  Recommended

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