New records this month from Sea And Cake, Dino Jr., and Wilco. Elliot Smith even manages to assemble a new one from the great beyond. What a magical month!
Update:
First listens:
Sea And Cake - Everybody *sigh*. They've lost the electronics that they'd really gotten into for the last couple of records, but the songs just aren't there. Sam Prekop sings the same lyrics in the same way, just like he always does - I'd almost given up on him do anything else - but the band just isn't grabbing me anymore. Oh well. I'll always have Nassau and The Biz.
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky This is great. 3/4 through and it's already my favorite record of the year. Pretty bold characterization... hope the feeling lasts. "I've Got a Million Things That I'd Rather Do / Than To Play Rock n Roll For You".
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond I like it much better than Green Mind and whatever that one after Green Mind was. It feels more like a band, and less like a J solo project. It's like 1990 all over again.
Elliot Smith - New Moon These are the things that didn't make it onto any of his other records - demos, alternate versions, etc.. They're almost uniformly bleak - sometimes strikingly so. He sings about addiction, death and the expectations he couldn't meet, as he always did, but these are much more raw, unpolished, direct. Ouch. There's a surprising, and damned fine cover of Big Star's Thirteen, too. "I Got Nothing That I Want To Do / More Than Make Another Sordid 'Fuck You' To Play"
Awesome. And Rufus dropped today.
my two cents:
Sea and Cake – yep, boring. they lost all the hookiness that they had years ago.
Wilco – i like about half of it, and the other half sounds too much like the Eagles for me.
Dinasaur Jr – gave this a first listen in the car last night and this morning. good stuff, though a few of the tracks at the beginning have some unnecessary “extra” instruments, flute on one? but overall pretty good. as for old indie rockers putting out records, i really dug the last Lemonheads records. catchy songs, rockin’, etc.
Elliot Smith – i don’t think i’ve ever heard any of his stuff. not sure why.
my latest favorites, not necessarily new:
Pinebender – working nine to wolf
Cougar – law
El-P – i’ll sleep when you’re dead
Do Make Say Think – you you’re a history in rust
ah, cool.. more things i can check out.