Catching up on Music

I have been listening to various things in the last few months. Music is always moving in and out from various sources, so much that I only stick to the things which rub me the write way. Alexi Murdoch sounds like he's trying to channel Nick Drake without all of the emotional baggage. The beginning of Time without Consequence starts off well, but bogs down somewhere around the halfway point. "Orange Sky" is a great track and I am glad I found out about it from somewhere other than The O.C. Jubilee was a great album from Grant Lee Buffalo and the heart of the band, Grant Lee Phillips continued his great writing and vocal style with Ladies Love Oracle, his first solo release. His haunting voice and towering melodies are unique and worth listening to when trying to wind down after a long day. I downloaded some Hit the Switch tracks for free from emusic.com and was scared quickly into not listening again. It was a little too heavy for me in the evening. Leigh Nash's Blue on Blue is a great album. She has a heavenly voice and it's nice to hear her be able to sing freely about various topics. The album has more of a Nashville sound than all Sixpence had laid before her and if she can connect with the right audience, she might actually do well. If has been a few days since I downloaded South's Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars and I really haven't taken it out of my car yet. The songs are a mix of influences and the majority of them are upbeat, poppy tracks that keep me in a good mood. KEXP Seattle featured the band on a live podcast and I couldn't help but give the album a try. Another band I fell into from the same station, but on different day is the Summer Lawns. Their album First We Waited...Then It Started has Radiohead's OK Computer written all over it, but for some reason has confusing bits at the end of just about each track which really don't connect well with the tracks which follow them. It was great for a long drive and their cover of "This Little Light of Mine" was one of the strangest, but most beautiful tracks I have ever heard. One of the albums I had been looking forward to hearing for a while was The Choir's O How the Mighty Have Fallen. "Nobody Gets a Smooth Ride" is one of the catchiest songs I have heard this year and has been the victim of the repeat button several times. Good Monsters from Jars of Clay was voted album of the year by CCM magazine in September when it was released even though 3 months remained to be heard this year. That's a little forward for me, but still it's a good album. The first 2 tracks "Work" and "Dead Man" are hook-laden modern rock songs from a largely acoustic band and are two of the best tracks on the album, unfortunately, they don't set the pace for the album. "There Is a River" sounds like it was left off of Redemption Songs and is a great song which could easily be turned into a bluegrass jam. Most of the other songs suffer from verses and choruses which don't link up and aren't the easiest to follow, but it's great to hear something totally different from Jars of Clay which doesn't fit the CCM format. I mentioned John Mayer's latest album Continuum in my last post and I definitely give it a thumbs up on both hands. It's a must have for any John Mayer fan and a should have to any one else who loves good guitar music. I got Mockingbird for free from Derek Webb's website. It's still available to anyone who will mail 5 friends about it before getting it. I think it was worth it, since it was free and I have been a fan of Caedmon's Call for years (really just the old independent albums before they joined up with Warner Brothers). The album is really eclectic folk and is great entertainment for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Five for Fighting's Two Lights was a large disappointment. The only track I kept was "The Riddle" and that was only for sentimental value. It was infected with a overwhelming slow pace which bored me severely. How We Operate from Gomez has been one of the greatest surprises. "Notice", "See the World", and "How We Operate" is the best 3 track lineup to start an album this year. Most of the time I don't make it past those songs, but when I do, I really enjoy the album. Paul Simon's Surprise features some great songwriting, but isn't too exciting overall. The Wreckers Stand Still Look Pretty is more entertaining and radio friendly. I didn't know what to expect when I first gave it a listen, but I found pop melodies hung over a blend of country and rock influences. It wasn't annoying, although bits seemed predictable. That's a lot of music and there's always more.