EPT
![[image loading]](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/Stormalong/465286696_7aefa29fa9.jpg)
I don’t know about where you live, but where I am, spring is in full force. To make matters more amazing, what’s been a great month weather-wise, has been a great month music-wise as well. For one, the SXSW festival happened in Austin, and I learned about a million unknown indie rock bands that I can look forward to listening to in the future. But also, March saw the release of pretty much every type of music conceivable, from the quasi-ambient music that we saw a ton of in February, to the celebratory music typical of April.
But before I even address releases in March, I need to plug two sites that should be visited immediately.
First, NPR music is hosting a first-listen of the entire Jonsi album, which I can already guarantee will appear on next April’s blog post, as well as my list of favorite music of 2010. I’ll save my adjectives for then, but seriously, go listen. It’s amazing.
Secondly, I was supposed to be writing an essay last night, until Wale and K’naan absolutely blew my mind with the first concert of their joint tour in New York City. MTV live streamed the entire thing, and for almost three hours, I was utterly transfixed. Wale was excellent, but K’naan was untouchable. Not to mention special guests J. Cole, Nas, and Damien Marley. The don’t have a video up quite yet, but when they do, it’s a must watch. The best concert I haven’t been to.
Anyway…
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The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night by The Besnard Lakes
![[image loading]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eG7R_tLKQpo/S07grCRpWaI/AAAAAAAAE74/Poz0wQiLw38/s320/besnardlakes-roaringnight.jpg)
The sophomore effort from the Montreal-based, husband and wife duo (Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas) wins the award for having the best album cover of March.
But Are The Roaring Night also was a great album musically, and, of course, that’s what really matters. This isn’t a album that is immediately accessible and easy to get into, but it’s all about the slow build. Give this album time, and watch it construct a sonic landscape. Give it more time, and watch it set it all on fire.
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ify-buS9JUU
The first two songs off the album, Parts 1 and 2 of ‘Like the Ocean, Like the Innocent’. Be patient, it takes a while to get off the air, but it’s a great takeoff, and a great ride.
The first two songs off the album, Parts 1 and 2 of ‘Like the Ocean, Like the Innocent’. Be patient, it takes a while to get off the air, but it’s a great takeoff, and a great ride.
Plastic Beach by Gorillaz
![[image loading]](http://hangout.altsounds.com/geek/gars/images/5/4/7/1/phpemyn1ypm.jpg)
I finished listening to this album and loved it, and then a few days later, pressed for a reason, I couldn’t come up with anything. There’s something that’s confusing and a little strange about this album, like all Gorillaz songs, but maybe that’s why it works so well. Plastic Beach mixes rap, techno, rock, and miscellany to startling effect. It’s hard to even point to one song that I liked, because this album really doesn’t put any one single out there. But this is an album meant to be listened to as an album, and it ends up being substantially more than the sum of its parts.
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHEPRPJwQRY&feature=PlayList&p=99297ECF9EC5ED4E&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=2
Honestly, you should listen to the full album because different parts are so unique. But ‘White Flag’ gives a taste, at least of the album’s whimsical nature.
Honestly, you should listen to the full album because different parts are so unique. But ‘White Flag’ gives a taste, at least of the album’s whimsical nature.
OOF! EP by Blue Scholars
![[image loading]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61b6BhC9qhL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
I always cheat a bit in these blogs, because it’s pretty easy to miss music if you don’t have your ear in the right places. But I admit, this is a little egregious. OOF! EP, the sixth album by the awesome Seattle duo Blue Scholars came out in August of last year. So how did it end up on the March playlist?
Thanks to a friend of mine, (a die-hard Seattlite), this album became my spring break jam. It’s ridiculously chill, clever, and catchy rap, which is pretty much exactly what I needed. What we all need. Great time, great place, and great songs.
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqr90BwN6EI
I couldn’t separate these two songs if I tried. If I put on one, I need to listen to the other.
I couldn’t separate these two songs if I tried. If I put on one, I need to listen to the other.
The Brutalist Bricks by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
![[image loading]](http://www.theroundtableonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/teleo-300x300.jpg)
I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Ted Leo’s music for almost as long as I’ve listened to it, and I’ll give him this much, when I love a song of his, I love it. There’s a lot to love on The Brutalist Bricks and there’s also a lot to dislike, but I won’t dwell on that.
When Ted Leo is at his best (oh, I should mention that this is only one man’s opinion), he tames his punk-rock instincts and deploys the frenetic energy of his songs strategically to create wonderfully fun and catchy songs. He does this wonderfully on a handful of songs from this album, and certainly enough so that this effort should not go without a listen.
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0LynsPypd0
The first song of the album, ‘The Mighty Sparrow’, is one of those great songs that delivers after an absolutely phenomenal hook. Oh, did I mention the hook is insane?
The first song of the album, ‘The Mighty Sparrow’, is one of those great songs that delivers after an absolutely phenomenal hook. Oh, did I mention the hook is insane?
Everyday Balloons by A Weather
![[image loading]](http://teamlove.hasawebstore.com/front/clients/teamlove/img/eb.jpg)
This album isn’t an album that leaps out and grabs you by the collar and forces you to listen. Instead, it’s the album that sits down next to you on the bench, and consoles you after you were bullied into listening to something else. It’s an album for the calm after the storm, the peace after the war, the sudden light and the trees. Everyday Balloons doesn’t do anything particularly special, or unique, but what it does do, it does very well. The simple and spare piano, guitar, and percussion arrangements on this song work so wonderfully with the understated whispers of Sarah Winchester and Aaron Gerber, the band’s two singers. It’s a complicated record, but it sounds so gloriously simple.
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WX_7i5NP5o
‘Third of Life’ is six minutes of effortless listening, contemplation, and peace. Can‘t argue with that.
‘Third of Life’ is six minutes of effortless listening, contemplation, and peace. Can‘t argue with that.
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Bonus: Love this song, you should too.
+ Show Spoiler +
NurseAriel mentions Fang Island, and to be honest, I really don't have good enough reasons for keeping them off here. I loved their album (self titled) too!
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIurAP4yHtQ
Past music blogs:
(Treehugger’s) Music of February
(Treehugger's) Music of January
(Treehugger's) Best Music of 2009
