by: Sam Farzin, KUCI Music Director
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping [Polyvinyl]
This band has gotten huge. And so weird. They had a horse on stage at their show last week in New York. And like a circus troupe, and other stuff.
I'm From Barcelona - Who Killed Harry Houdini? [Mute]
Treehouse lovers at large reunite for more scandi-chamber-pop.
Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling [Matador]
Scot-scorchers return with instrumental monoliths that are at varying times quiet and loud.
El Guincho - Alegranza [XL]
It's weird how it takes so long for a great album to be released officially in the US. You would think that when dude has a ton of press and hype, the label would capitalize and release ASAP and not wait 6 months for everyone to file-share the sh*t out of it. Not that I did. Portugese party-animal wreaks sample-frenzty with tropical beats and riffs from the record crates of the a Parrothead who used to be cool.
Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08 [Matador]
This dude rips. He released like 7 singles on Matador this year, each in more limited quantities. I think there were only like 200 of the final one in the whole world. This lets us here them. Punk-post-punk-post. But punk. With fake British accents.
Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls [In The Red]
I love this record label. It basically entails noisy loud garage rock punk explosions. Vivian Girls are girls but not Vivians. They are cooler than the Vivian Girl we know.
Frances - All The While [Gigantic]
This was a plezzie surprise. Nice pop songs with varied but not overindulgent instrumentation. Gigantic is a pretty good label too.
Begushkin - King's Curse [Locust]
This was wacky. There's a sticker on the CD that calls it "hard rock." That is ridiculous. This sort of rocks. It prefers much more to just twist and be sinuous and breath funny at you. Totally worth checking out. The Beefheart reference sort of makes sense.
Sebastien Grainger - Sebastien Grainger & The Mountain [Saddle Creek]
So this guy was in Death From Above 1976 and now he wants to be Bruce Springsteen. What?
Her Space Holiday - Sleepy Tigers EP [Mush]
I thought this band was supposed to be electronicy. This wasn't! Maybe I listened to the wrong tracks. What do I know? This is cute.
The Postmarks - By-The-Numbers [Unfiltered]
This is cute also. More of that Serge Gainsbourg sort of sound that wins me over so easily. Winning female vox, winning musics, winning CD.
Love Is All - Play Five Covers [What's Your Rupture?]
Each member of the band picked 1 cover without any other say from the rest of the band. This is in advance of their upcoming full length. It's in a weird yellow paper thing.
Quintron - Too Thirsty 4 Love [Goner]
Quintron is awesome. He makes instruments. His custom organ is built into the front part of a car. Miss Pussycat is awesome too (she sings sometimes). God, I wish I were half the man Quintron is.
Holy Sons - Decline Of The West [Partisan]
Another pleasant surprise. Weird drum-machiny half-pop songs with a lotta melanchol. But also totally intent on being...different or something. I don't know. I liked it, okay.
Matt & Kim - Daylight (Single) [Green Label Sound]
YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH--YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH. YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH--YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH. YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH--YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH. YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH--YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH.
EXPERIMENTAL
Hauschka - Ferndorf [Fatcat]
Dude puts funny things in his piano and then plays it and the sound that results is filled with funny sounds but also totally SERIOUS music. Really pretty and beautiful but remarkably listenable and not just for snobby elitists. Like us.
PUNK
F*cked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life [Matador]
This band's wikipedia page is way more interesting that anything I could ever say about them. They were pretty good live, too.
HIP HOP
The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed [Vice]
Apparently now he is positive and no longer worried about: money, girls, hot girls, no money, cellphones, his mother, 'chips,' gambling, his TV, geezers, and money. He is now worried about: religion, the universe, and Mother Nature.
WORLD
Juaneco Y Su Combo - Masters Of Chicha 1 [Barbes]
God this rules so hard. It is like surfy music. It is by half-Chinese half-Peruvian people. This band was founded in the 60s but continues to this day with constantly evolving players. Please play this.
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