Today's
Quick Mention: The next big project at SOTO is
going to be a full on site redesign. I need ideas and
someone who is a genius in Wordpress. Please email me
if you think you can help.
Here's your second EP of the week. Never say I don't
love you.
Enjoy.
:Royksopp
- Miss It So Much (Featuring Lykke Li):
Yikes. I know it only says "featuring" Lykke Li, but
she is so good here that I can't help but give her all the
credit. Sure, that's a bit unfair considering that
Rokysopp's arrangement is subtly upbeat and oh-so clever,
but it just doesn't get any better than the sugary sweet way
that everything flows out of her mouth. Anyone care to
report on the recently released Junior? I'd
like to know whether or not it has a bunch of other people
contributing gems like this.
:The
Shins - Plenty Is Never Enough:
I can't remember the last time that I thought about the
Shins (seriously, were they ever really as good as they were
made out to be?), but I instantly connected with this spunky
Tenement Halls cover for the oddly titled Score! 20 Years
Of Merge Records: The Covers compilation. By the
way, the rest of that set looks awesome, so if you've yet to
hear about it then you must check it
out ASAP. It's due April 7.
:The
Faraway Places - The Sun Goes West:
"On their
sophomore album, Out of The
Rain, The Thunder And The Lightning, due on May 12,
2009 from Save It Records, the band connects the dots
between blissed out psychedelic pop and experimental
embellishment." As is prone to happen from time to
time, someone sent me a press release with a way overdone
summation of an act's sound, and it made me laugh my
headphones off. So what are you really getting?
Hook-driven retro rock. Now accept it, crank the
volume and have some fun.
:Robert
Ellis - Good Intentions:
I don't even remember the first time that Shawn Jones (the
Lovely Sparrows) mentioned to me that he was helping Mr.
Ellis put a record together, so having something to finally
share is kind of boggling my mind. On the bright side,
it was all well worth the wait, as The Great Re-Arranger
turned out to be one impressive effort. If only more
singer/songwriters could muster the sort of zeal that Robert
Ellis does. I'm not sure if you can buy this yet, so
keep an eye on his
Myspace for more information.
:Chase
Pagan - Gun And The Sword:
I think it's great when the standard pop formula (i.e.
short, hooky and sweet) gets tinkered with and twisted
around, but I love it more when the artist doesn't have
to do it. I mean, Pagan could have slapped an acoustic
guitar in the background and called it a day, but instead
there's various shifts in the pacing and vocal styles that
make it into something worth remembering. Bells And
Whistles hasn't made its way into my inbox yet (it's due
on June 9), but I'm hoping it's packed with the same sort of
quirkiness.
- John Laird -
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