Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

I really should have posted this weeks ago but I wanted the hyperbole I was sure to spout to wear off a little more. Well its been almost a month and I feel the same way. Best album of the year.
I pretty much listen to this on repeat. The song structures, melodies and vocals are so interesting and catchy in equal doses that it almost seems unfair. Other bands wish they had an entire album with as many good ideas as one song here, most notably "Useful Chamber." Listen to the vocals, both male and dual female, and prepare for your brain to melt. It's that good. Do yourself a favor and DL that sheeeeit.

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Butt Babies - The Lowest Depths

22 lo-fi tracks in under 34 minutes. A random mess of genres and sounds played entirely by two people, featuring a Sleeping Beauty record in slow motion, and one song of public domain lyrics. A record for the kids, but with enough variety for Mom to listen too.
check out the entire website : www.buttbabiesband.com which has the album,
or just download it directly below.

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Blitzen Trapper - Field Rexx

A minor classic. Anyone who has seen Blitzen Trapper live, or has followed their trail of genre pillage will attest to the power of the band. They can do many sounds, and many sounds well. Here is their second album. Not as schitzophrenic as Wild Mt. Nation or the more recent Sub Pop release, Furr, but hints at the variety to come. The two song set of "40 Stripes" and "Asleep for Days" holds the whole thing together, and various nuggets throughout sustain multiple listens.

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Monograph - Lorelei

Hey music fans....Guided by Voices and Teenage Fanclub, well, they fucked. And a baby was borne. It's called Monograph. They are not from Sweden. No matter, power pop in its purest form. The only problem is that there aren't any other LPs. At least we have this. A joy, and a breeze, to listen to the whole way through.

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Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - How I Long to Feel That Summer

A basic. Since Gorky's Zygotic Mynci broke up they probably won't make another album. That's fine for most because they haven't heard them before. It's also fine for most of their fans too because both singers still write and tour and because of the positively stellar albums they left behind. This is one of those bands that upon first listen I thought "why have I never heard this before?" This album is a good place to start. Let the pop gems get stuck in your head and then unwittingly let Euros Childes break your heart with his voice.

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The National- Alligator

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An album I've been enjoying recently.

Alien Father- Knives With Journalism *Repost*

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In honor of Alien Father's 75orless release

"Originally released in May 2008 on Brother and Brother Records, Knives With Journalism was recorded by Alex Seiz in a barn in New Jersey. Knives with Journalism is the second record by noise-shambolic-satanic-sludgecore, pop-gloom-shoegaze, psych-garage three-piece Alien Father. Ten tracks of brooding keyboards, zambonian synths, hyperdelic guitars, and drums. Also features vocals. Recorded in quasi-monorific HI-FI on computers. Guest starring a dad, features no hidden tracks.

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myspace.com/alienfather"

Pavement- Terror Twilight

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Duh.

Phil Ochs- Pleasures of the Harbor

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A really great album from Phil Ochs post protest singer career. "The Crucifixion" is an amazing song.

"I just can't keep up with Phil. And he's getting better and better and better."- Bob Dylan

*Glacier's Note: One of my favorite albums of all time. I was amazed when I first heard it because its from 1967 by a folk singer and there is absolutely no guitar on the entire album. Also, as Panda says, the Crucifixion is an amazing song. It was produced by Joseph Bird of the United States of America, and features mind-bending orchestration. The lyrics are also stunning. There is internal rhyme, alliteration, and consonance in nearly every line, and the subject matter is historical, political and pretty. Check out the album if only for the closing track. But the rest is good too.

Daniel Johnston- Songs of Pain

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Sorry for the little photo. And also the infrequent posting...

Anyway I'm a fan of D. Johnston, but not all of his work. Actually I enjoy him most at his lo-fi and lo-craziness level. So it's strange I JUST started listening to "Songs of Pain" which is essentially the Daniel Johnston I'd always been looking for. It's essentially his first work he ever put out, and I think it's becoming my favorite.

Recommended Tracks: Grievances, Joy Without Pleasure, Never Relaxed, Pot Head, Living Life

Brainiac- Hissing Prigs in Static Couture & Bonsai Superstar

Bonsai Superstar DL



Hissing Prigs In Static Couture DL


Hiii I'm sorry for never posting. But to make it up to you I posted 2 Brainiac albums. And I'l recommend you a song off each "Fucking With the Altimiter" off Bonsai, and "Pussyfootin'" off Hissing.

Enjoy!

Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbols

Yeasayer, one of the ugliest bands ever. They make up for it with beautiful harmonies and gorgeous arrangements. They did a video session for La Blogotheque's Take Away Show which is well worth seeing. They sing in a paris metro car, with a guy tapping his keys on a beer bottle for percussion. Then in the second video they play on an old piano and have a crowd of people shout a complicated verse that they are reading off of a piece of paper.
Here is a link for that, trust me its awesome: http://www.blogotheque.net/Yeasayer,3966

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A Passing Feeling - Might Not Sleep at all THis Year

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Anthemic, sing along choruses about drinking. Not coincidentally, great to sing along to while drinking.

Stiff Little Fingers- Inflammable Material

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*Request*

Remember that scene in High Fidelity where tha guy is talking to that girl about music?

Jeff Mangum- Live at Jittery Joe's

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*Request*

Jeff Mangum is the frontman of Neutral Milk Hotel. This album is basically him live in a pretty crowded room it sounds like, anyway he plays mostly songs from "On Avery Island" and "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" but there are other tracks too including a cover of "I love how you love me" and one of my favorite NMH's songs "Engine".