Delta 5 – Singles and Sessions 1979-1981 (Kill Rock Stars)
With the current post-punk revival, it’s about time that some of this band’s legendary output become commercially available again. Everyone seems to think that “Mind Your Own Business” is their best tune, but while it’s great, my vote goes for the sublime “Now That You’re Gone”. If you like The Slits or Gang of Four, you won’t be disappointed.
Saint Etienne – Tales from Turnpike House (Savoy Jazz)
Apart from one song that’s a misguided take on Led Zeppelin-style hard rock, this is another terrific effort from a great band and after being out in the UK for months, it finally got a domestic release this past Tuesday, though in modified form.
Colin Meloy – Colin Meloy Sings Trad. Arr. Shirley Collins (self-released)
Just like last year’s solo tour where he sold a home-recorded Morrissey covers EP, this year he’s selling another similar EP. This time, however, it’s a set of songs by ‘60s British folk-revivalist Shirley Collins. While I’m completely unfamiliar with her work, the songs, melodies and arrangements on this fantastic disc assure that I’ll be checking out her versions of these songs at some point in the future. My favorites are “Dance to Your Daddy”, “Charlie” (which features the vocals of his girlfriend Carson Ellis) and “Turpin Hero”.
Au Pairs – Playing with a Different Sex (RPM UK)
This album is criminally out-of-print and seems to be unavailable everywhere, even via exorbitant prices on Amazon and what not, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, I have a copy now. Listening to it several times now, I can see why it’s revered in post-punk circles, though I think the Gang of Four comparisons are a bit lazy and off. If I have to compare them to anyone musically, it would be The Fall in that their sense of catchiness via intense repetition is similar, though of course the feminist lyrics place them more in lines with contemporaries like Delta 5 and The Slits. Plus, there’s enough passion and conviction here to put most of the newer post-punk groups to shame. Oh and it sounds great, too, in a sparse but precise kind of way. I highly recommend this album.
The Go-Betweens – That Striped Sunlight Sound (Yep Roc)
This is an absolute must for fans of The Go-Betweens. It consists of a DVD featuring a concert from the Tivoli Theatre in Brisbane last August along with an “Acoustic Stories” segment where principles Robert Forster and Grant McLennan play some songs spanning their career acoustically in a living room and talk about their genesis and history throughout the performance. In addition, ther’es also a CD which is the audio portion of the Brisbane concert. Both are excellent and the version of “Karen” on here is one of the best live recordings I’ve ever heard in my life. Watching it on DVD is especially recommended as you get to see Robert building the song up much in the same way as Patti Smith’s “Gloria”, which is what the song hinted at but never quite achieved until now.
Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (Matador)
This one has been growing on me as of late and since its official release date is this coming Tuesday, I thought that I’d list it here. Basically, it picks up right where Dear Catastrophe Waitress left off. Thus, it’s quite pleasurable to my ears. I don’t get the people who want them to remake Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister over and over again when their more recent material is just as strong if not better, but that’s just me.
Shopgirl®
After wanting to see this movie for months (admittedly partially because I’ve had a thing for Claire Danes ever since she played Angela on My So-Called Life), I finally saw it last weekend and it was well worth the exorbitant price of admission for movies these days. It follows the love life of a Saks Fifth Avenue employee in Los Angeles who is torn between characters played by Steve Martin and Jason Schwartzman. Other than Claire Danes’ spectacular performance in the title role, the acting isn’t noteworthy since Martin and Schwartzman essentially play themselves, but the casting is perfect, the screenplay (based on Martin’s novella of the same name) is excellent and the emotions feel very real. This is a movie that should’ve received more attention than it ultimately got.
Liars – Drums Not Dead (Mute)
More similar to 2004’s heavily rhythmic (and highly underrated) sophomore album They Were Wrong, So We Drowned than to the more favored post-punk meets indie-rock stylings of their debut They Threw Us In a Trench and Stuck a Monument On Top, their new one expands upon their sound and adds unexpected atmospherics that make it a very soothing listen.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Gold Lion” (Diplo’s Optimo remix)
This is a nice holdover for now as we all wait for the new album to appear. The remix sounds fine and very different from any previous Yeah Yeah Yeahs song, but it’s hard to judge it when I haven’t even heard the album and single versions yet.
Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti)
Thankfully, this is more similar to her 2002 masterpiece Blacklisted than her more recent live album The Tigers Have Spoken. I haven’t fully absorbed it yet, but I really like what I hear so far. Only time will tell if I’ll like it as much as Blacklisted.
