New Tunes Follow-Up

Some time back, I asked people to pimp me new tunes, and got a wealth of recommendations. I put in a big iTunes order not long after, and now I’ve had a chance to listen to most of those tracks, so I thought I should post a follow-up summary of what I bought and what I think of it (below the fold):

• Andrew Bird, The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Very strange album, with odd song structures, strange lyrics, and some vocals barely above a whisper. Good, though. Key tracks: “Sovay,” “Masterfade.”
• Chris Knight, Enough Rope. Bought after a plug on jefitoblog. Pretty much straight-up country, with some sharp songwriting. Key tracks: “Saved By Love,” “Jack Blue.”
• Editors, The Back Room. It turns out I had already heard a few of these songs, and just assumed it was Interpol. Very good, if you like Interpol. Key tracks: “Munich,” “Blood,” “Bullets.”
• Futureheads, News and Tributes. Solid alterna-pop. Key tracks: “Back to the Sea,” “Skip to the End.”
• Howe Gelb, ‘Sno Angel Like You Odd album, with sort of Leonard Cohen-esque vocals backed up by a full gospel choir. Very weird, very good. Key tracks: “Robes of Bible Black,” “Neon Filler.”
• Jonathan Coulton, Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow. Jokey dork-pop, but sort of charming all the same– if They Might Be Giants were only one guy, he’d be the guy. He’d win the nerd-off, hands down. Key tracks: “Skullcrusher Mountain,” “The Future Soon.”
• Midlake, The Trials of Van Occupanther. “Roscoe” is a great track, but the rest is kind of vague. Key track: “Roscoe.”
• Richard Thompson, 1000 Years of Popular Music. His show of songs from the last millennium, recorded live, but with all the patter cut out. Which is a pity, because I bet that’s the best part of the show. Key tracks: “1985,” “I Live in Trafalgar Square.”
• Silversun Pickups, Carnavas. Sort of crunchy guitar driven spacey alternative music. Think Ride, without the harmonies. Key tracks: “Future Foe Scenarios,” “Lazy Eye.”
• Tom Petty, Highway Companion. Not as good as I had hoped, to be honest. You pretty much know what you’re getting, sound-wise. Key tracks: “Saving Grace,” “Down South.”
• We Are Scientists, With Love and Squalor. On the ragged side of pop-punk. Good stuff. Key tracks: “Inaction,” “This Scene Is Dead.”