As fun as it is to complain about “music these days,” and how it’s all been downhill since The Chronic came out, it’s even MORE fun to listen to — wait for it — good music. Every Tuesday, a.k.a. Music Release Day, we’ll highlight five albums worth (legally) downloading or driving to the local Best Buy (lolz) for.
Today, we've got GOOD Music, The Killers, Grizzly Bear, and more.
Cruel Summer by GOOD Music
So, you guys might have heard a thing or two about this album...
Shields by Grizzly Bear
GOOD Music might dominate the headlines this week, but it's Grizzly Bear who put out the best album. Rather than trying to make another Veckatimest, specifically another indie smash hit like "Two Weeks," the Brooklyn-based group have made something more timeless. It's gorgeous, carefully calculated ambient pop, with sparkling arrangements and adventurous melodies, but it's also not afraid to scuff things up a little, like on "Yet Again." It doesn't hit as immediately as Veckatimest, but it's worth the wait.
The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
Closer to 1999's The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner than their snarky, madcap breakthrough, Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Folds Five's first album in 13 years is full of raw, majestic ballads with Folds, falsetto unchanged, playing the piano like a drummer would their kit. The Sound of the Life is also a nice reminder that in Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee, who allow Folds to indulge in his jazzy-punk fantasies, the band wasn't just its namesake. Justified nostalgia.
I Bet On Sky by Dinosaur Jr.
Considering the quality of I Bet on Sky, the third album of comforting feedback Dinosaur Jr. has put out since reuniting in 2007, maybe the late-2000s, early-2010s should be considered the band's golden-era?
Battle Born by the Killers
This spot very easily could have gone to the Corin Tucker Band, Band of Horses, Aimee Mann (well, maybe not Aimee Mann), LV, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, or numerous other bands, but f*ck it: let's give it to the Killers. In Sam's Town and Day & Age, they tried to be a different band than the one who put out the great-for-what-it-was Hot Fuss, namely a group that didn't live and die by its glam-rock choruses and oversized earnestness. There's no "Mr. Brightside" on Battle Born, but at least the Killers sound alive again.
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I downloaded the new Killers album almost immediately after I woke up this morning and it did not disappoint me. Been listening on repeat most of the day.
Brother Ali and Homeboy Sandman both released albums today too. Busy day.
SO EXCITED FOR NEW BEN FOLDS FIVE.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so excited about new music.
I was hoping Ryan Bingham would make the Top 5. Good country often gets overlooked.
2000′s Dinosaur Jr. > early Dinosaur Jr.
Seriously, the 1st song off the Farm album is the greatest thing in the history of ever!
[www.youtube.com]
I can’t sign off on that, but that’s not a diss. I love the stuff that J. Mascis has put out this century, but I still LOVE throwing on my Without a Sound vinyl and drinking a 12-pack.
@JoshKurp & @Cajunboy Thank you for this post every week. Makes it much easier for me to find new music as well as remember all the shit that’s been hyped up that I need to buy/download. Did you guys ever listen to that Goodwolf clip I sent to the tips line? Or am I the saddest wizard?
I get so many people submitting music to me these days — with most of them being crap — that it’s hard for me to find time to listen to all of them. Can you post a link to it here?
[vimeo.com]
and, for the record, those are not stunt cornflakes. This guy lived in my dorm freshman year and he’s a fantastic drunk/musician/semi-charmed/tortured soul
Annnnd….going to see Dinosaur Jr. in Pittsburgh in October and I haven’t been this excited since I saw David Byrne with a full orchestra in 2004. Good stuff, guys.
Dear everyone: Brother Ali.
That is all.
Agreed. Great album that Brother Ali crafted. The new Gaslamp Killer is pretty good too.