Music
… well, the influx of brill new music has got me a bit giddy.
The Tindersticks are one of my all time top bands. Stuart Staples has the sexiest deep growl of a voice this side of Nick Cave and their new album The Hungry Saw has garnered some good reviews and is due in the library soon.
Santogold is my new artist of the year so far. Her 80s influenced sounds have been compared to M.I.A. but she has her own voice, and it’s incredibly catchy and diverse. Remixes of her work are all over the music blog scene, a sure sign of someone breaking through.
Modern Guilt by Beck is another one to look forward to. The songs I’ve heard from it show Mr Hansen on top form. I’m less certain of Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie, but the slow burning, tension building “I will possess your heart” is one of my most listened to songs of the year – so I want to see how the rest of the album bears up. Their songs have been on quite a few tv shows such as Californication and The O.C.
In more music news, the Mercury Prize shortlist has been announced. This British prize is worth a look for its ecleticism – it straddles all sorts of music from hip hop to folk. The comments on the shortlist have ranged from “what, no Portishead?” to happiness that dubstep mystery man Burial is on the list. My vote (on what I’ve listened to so far) goes to the super 80s stylings of Neon Neon. A concept album about car star John De Lorean is a pretty unique :
- Adele – 19
- British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
- Burial – Untrue
- Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
- Estelle – Shine
- Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim
- Neon Neon – Stainless Style
- Portico Quartet – Knee-Deep in the North Sea
- Rachel Unthank & The Winterset – The Bairns
- Radiohead – In Rainbows
- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand
- The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement
To find out about new CDs in the library, you can look at our new titles list. We also welcome recommendations of music to purchase – just fill out this form.
