Stuck for a presie? We can suggest some perfect Christmas presies for GIRLS. Well, perfect if we can trust our random sample of near and dear ones. We have solutions for all budgets, from stocking fillers to a neat collection of the best albums of the year.
Let’s omit the obvious, she might have those albums already or they might wing their way under the Christmas tree from some other source. Below you find some choice selections that spell Good Taste.
We give you three selections based on how much you want to spend:
1. THE STOCKING FILLER
2. CHANGE FROM €50
3. PUSHING THE BOAT OUT (€100)
Within each selection, you can order albums on CD or, where available, on trendy Vinyl. If you feel a bit extravagant, why not buy the album(s) of your choice on MP3, then buy your loved one a nifty new MP3 player and load the tracks onto it? Now there’s an idea.
1. THE STOCKING FILLER
Fleet Foxes ‘Fleet Foxes’
Fleet Foxes ‘Fleet Foxes’
Seattle band Fleet Foxes sit inbetween the darker side of the Beach Boys and the jangly folk rock of the Byrds. At their best, the Foxes make timeless surf pop songs full of towering vocal harmonies.
The harmonies and the echo-drenched drums expand songs like ‘White Winter Hymnal’ and ‘He Doesn’t Know Why’ into soundscapes as big and wide as a Pacific beach. Both tracks plus the quieter ‘Heard Them Stirring’ recall the more intense creations by Beach Boys’ mastermind Brian Wilson.
The three songs together form the heart of the Fleet Foxes’ selftitled album. The remainder of the album is made up of heavily Byrds-inspired folk rock tunes full of jangling guitars and introspective lyrics. Check out ‘Sun It Rises’, ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ and ‘Blue Ridge Mountains’.
If you are looking for sunny, laid back pop songs with an echo of the Beach Boys’ surfing symphonies then ‘Fleet Foxes’ is a sound choice.
UK and Ireland readers can download ‘Fleet Foxes’ here from the iTunes Store.
US Readers - Buy Fleet Foxes On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers - Buy Fleet Foxes On CD Here!
2. CHANGE FROM €50
Micah P. Hinson ‘Micah P. Hinson And The Red Empire Orchestra’
Snow Patrol ‘A Million Burning Suns’
Emiliana Torrini ‘Me And Armini’
Micah P. Hinson And The Red Empire Orchestra
Like Tom Waits meeting Leonard Cohen in a roadside ale house, this album combines lust, rage and sadness with a taste for sleezy late night music. Micah is out in a league of his own.
The first half of the album is folky with a dark streak. Somber songs sung with an authority that makes you listen. Then Micah takes on a different personality, turning into a flamboyant storyteller who commands a string orchestra for added dramatic effect.
‘You Will Find Me’, ‘The Wishing Well And The Willow Tree’, ‘We Won’t Have To Be Lonesome’ - The second half of the album is full of drama and passion. There is more than a touch of Roy Orbison’s excess and the Big O’s ambivalence between laughter and tears in these songs. Micah performs his more outlandish material with sincerity. This is no kitschy 1950’s nostalgia but very powerful music.
‘The Red Empire Orchestra’ is as eclectic a mix of old and new music genres as you are likely to find. It figures that the bard from Texas has named The Cure, Patsy Cline and Donovan as a source of inspiration in interviews before.
Fans of Cohen, Waits, the Tindersticks, Nick Cave and Richard Hawley should definitely check Micah’s new album out.
UK and Ireland readers can download Micah P. Hinson here from iTunes UK.
US Readers - Buy Micah P. Hinson On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers - Buy Micah P. Hinson On CD Here!
Please note, Micah’s album contains a booklet with stylish black and white photos of his girlfriend in (tasteful) underwear… if you think that might not go down too well, maybe pick a different album from the list below. It’d be a shame, though. The music is really excellent.
Snow Patrol ‘A Hundred Million Suns’
Snow Patrol are trying out two new directions. As I’m not a fan of their old stuff, this is only a good thing. If you are a long term fan, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of rousing stadium Rock.
Snow Patrol have carved out a sizeable niche for themselves next to bands like Coldplay and Keane, playing soft, ever so slightly bombastic stadium rock. On ‘A Hundred Million Suns’, their fifth album to date, they show that they can do more.
Lo and behold, the usually fairly dour Snow Patrol can do knees-up 70’s Rock. Either glammed up as on ‘Engines’ or with a Boogie groove as on the single ‘Take Back The City’. Easily the most fun tunes I’ve heard being played by Snow Patrol so far. Think Stealers Wheel for ‘Take Back The City’ and Mott The Hoople or early David Bowie for ‘Engines’.
Watch Snow Patrol Play ‘Take Back The City’ Unplugged
Wait, there’s more. At a few points on this album, Snow Patrol drop their guitar based sound for a much more ambient, almost minimalist approach. Check out the trashy hand claps on ‘The Golden Floor’ or the subtle beauty of ‘The Lightning Strike’. On ‘Lifeboats’, the band combines this new Ambient streak with a mellow Manchester groove.
If you look beyond these five tracks, you’re catapulted back onto tried and tested Snow Patrol territory of rousing, emotional stadium Rock.
You can listen to ‘A Hundred Million Suns’ here and download the album from iTunes UK.
US Readers - Buy Snow Patrol’s New Album On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers - Buy ‘A Hundred Million Suns’ On CD And Vinyl Here!
Emiliana Torrini ‘Me And Armini’
The Icelandic singer has a voice that cuts straight through the crowd and talks to YOU. What Torrini has to say can be very, very nice, but when you get on her wrong side she sure is horrid. The lyrics here a very open and direct and musically Torrini packs a punch as well.
There are touches of raucous 1950s Rockabilly on ‘Jungle Drum’. There’s Torrini confessing an affair on the Funky ‘Heard It All Before’ and Torrini seizing up a neighbour on the dark ‘Gun’, all drenched in tremolo and reverb.
Pretty heavy stuff for an artist who previously co-penned a song for Kylie Minogue (’Slow’), contributed to the Lord Of The Rings soundtrack and has a solo career as a folky pop singer in her native Iceland.
Listen Here To Emiliana Torrini
Readers from the UK and Ireland, Click Here to download ‘Armini And Me’ from iTunes UK.
US Readers - Buy Emiliana Torrini On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers - Buy Emiliana Torrini On CD Here!
Pushing The Boat Out (€100)
Micah P. Hinson ‘Micah P. Hinson And The Red Empire Orchestra’
James Jackson Toth ‘Waiting In Vain
Sigur Ros
Arthur Russell ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’
Vampire Weekend
Micah P. Hinson ‘Micah P. Hinson And The Red Empire Orchestra’
Please see the review under ‘CHANGE FROM €50′ above!
James Jackson Toth ‘Waiting In Vain’
A top album that has a bit of everything: Trendy Folk sounds, dirty guitars and good songs. At times JJ sings with the sarcastic streak of John Lennon, at other times there’s a bit of Bob Dylan’s ranting and raving in the mix.
‘Waiting In Vain’ is way rockier than any decent singer-songwriter stuff you may come across this year. And that includes Micah P. Hinson.
Hinson’s music is darker and has that ’50s feel. Toth’s album is more like a slice of 70’s rock: Music for cruising. But JJ ain’t no jock and there is a dark streak running through the album that makes you sit up and listen carefully. Just check out the ever so slightly psycho video for the catchy ‘Doreen’. That’s his wife Roxy in the clip with him, by the way.
Watch JJ Toth Play ‘Doreen’
Sweet melodies and a touch of menace in the air - Highly addictive, but slightly scary stuff. JJ also manages the rare feat to knock out guitar riffs and solos that come close to seminal New York Punks Television.
Listen to JJ Toth’s new album here. US residents can also download tracks directly from the MP3 player below. UK and Ireland residents would need to jump to the iTunes link further down to buy the album.
Here’s the iTunes UK link for JJ’s album ‘Waiting In Vain’.
US Readers - Buy JJ Toth On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers - Buy JJ Toth On CD Here!
Sigur Ros ‘Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust’
Iceland’s cinematic Sigur Ros build an alternative world in their songs that you can disappear into. ‘Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust’ shows more diversity in the choice of material than most of the band’s previous albums.
Most strikingly, Sigur Ros decided to stray from their trademark widescreen epics to include a number of more intimate songs. ‘Med Sud I Eyrum’ , ‘Igresi’ and ‘Gobbledigook’ have a stripped down sound and are delivered like you are sharing a ski hut with the band.
A song like ‘Fljotavik’ is pure Rock - played on a piano. ‘Vid Spelum Endalust’ and ‘Festival’ are eerie, and operatic. Take the darker moments of Metallica at a 10th of the volume and add Wagner’s gore and grime fantasies without the pomp.
‘Gobbledigook’ is the closest track to Alternative Rock and Indie on the album. On ‘Inni Mer Syngur’, the band pushes even a bit more into a mainstream direction.
I always felt a bit uneasy with the amount of pathos and the over-the-top vocals on Sigur Ros’ albums. ‘Med Sud’ opens some new doors and ushers in a more laid back style (check out ‘All Alright’) which I find more agreeable. There is also a good deal of variety in the songwriting here, with a ‘light’ and a ’shade’ camp of songs adding contrast.
UK and Ireland readers can download ‘Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust’ here from iTunes.
US Readers - Buy Sigur Ros On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers - Buy Sigur Ros On CD Here!
Arthur Russell ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’
A classical trained cellist and prolific songwriter, Arthur Russell is best known for his euphoric Disco tracks. This album shows that Russell had a great ear for Rock and Folk as well. None of this material has ever been released before and it shows Russell dipping into the pre-Punk Rock territory of the Modern Lovers and early Talking Heads.
Arthur’s early recordings were instigated by CBS house producer John Hammond. Hammond’s star was shining bright as the man who had recorded Bob Dylan and signed Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen when he gave Russell his first break in 1974.
At this stage the plot thickens. Even though Hammond did bring Russell repeatedly into CBS’ studios on 52nd Street for a period of two and a half years between October 1974 and July 1977, CBS never released a single note from any of these sessions. Even though Russell caught the ear of both musicians and music executives all over town, he never got a stab at being the pop star he so desparately wanted to be.
Listen Now To Arthur Russell’s Unreleased Recordings
Whatever song Russell sings, whatever style he attempts, he always remains himself. Sometimes, the man and his material clash head on. Country Soul, for instance, does not necessarily suit Russell as a performer. But then again, it’s Russell’s brutal honesty that makes songs like ‘I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face’ and ‘Nobody Wants A Lonely Heart’ so special.
On most of the Hammond sessions, Russell is backed by a band led by former Modern Lover bass man Ernie Brooks. The band features, at various stages, New York New Wave luminaries such as Talking Heads’ keyboard player Jerry Harrison and avantgarde composer Peter Gordon.
Even after he found modest fame with recordings that combined the edgyness of New Wave with the groove of Disco, Russell would go back to recording rock songs with a Folky or even Country feel throughout the 1980’s. ‘Habit Of You’, ‘Big Moon’, ‘The Letter’ - First class songs that were only known to Russell and his inner circle. You might have heard the Disco tracks like ‘Go Bang’ or ‘Is It All Over My Face’, but the rock side of Arthur Russell has languished on literally hundreds of cassette and reel-to-reel tapes in a warehouse until now.
Thanks to Arthur’s former partner, Tom Lee, his archive recordings have been preserved and are now available unadultered. This is the real article, an album full of beautiful songs recorded with a real passion.
You can download ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’ here from iTunes UK.
US Readers - Buy ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’ On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers - Buy Love Is Overtaking Me’ On CD Here!
Vampire Weekend ‘Vampire Weekend’
Vampire Weekend are still simply the freshest pop band around. They have a new sound and they have instant melodies. If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, do it now.
You can argue if using a vaguely African sounding guitar style is that new. But we’re not talking worthy excursions into World Music here, this is a bunch of guys from Brooklyn, New York, who make pop music for street corner bars.
It’s fast, it’s fun and it’s addictive. ‘Vampire Weekend’ is full of songs about girls, university, relationship drama and all sung like the band’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Think about the Talking Heads jamming with Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers and you get an idea.
Enough talking, you need to listen to this album. Some of my personal favourites are ‘Mansard Roof’, ‘I Stand Corrected’ and ‘Walcott’.
Now, get a party going!
UK and Ireland readers can download Vampire Weekend here from iTunes.
US Readers - Get Vampire Weekend On CD And Vinyl Here!
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