Mia Doi Todd with Andres Renteria - Morning Music (listen to "Harmonium One" on MySpace) I don't know how hard it is to play a harmonium, but it is one of those things I have always wanted. I keep hoping one pops up at an estate sale like that pristine Kentucky banjo I got for $50 once and then promptly misplaced in the vagabond state of my 20s. I also do not have an ear tuned for whether it is played well, but Mia Doi Todd makes a pleasing ripple on the cosmic pond with hers on this album coming out sometime in the next week or two.
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (listen) I kinda threw this one in the meh pile, but there it sits on my hard drive begging for another look. I like Animal Collective when they get their campfire magick on; others I know professed a preference for Feels (listen), when they started getting all Beach Boys-y but 1) I do not particularly care for the Beach Boys, 2) aren't there already plenty of bands that sound like the Beach Boys, and 3) does everything have to ape your favorite band for you to like it? That said, the better moments on here are the Brian Wilson harmonies whooping it up around the smoke pit and less good are the more transparent moments when the boys are just being themselves. I like Sung Tongs (listen) best, where the songs sounded like the miraculous happenstances of humming swarms of summer insects caught on tape above the lotus fields. But this is OK.
The Dukes of Stratosphear - Psionic Psunspot (listen to the compilation Chips from the Chocolate Fireball) Listening for pleasure and forthcoming review. This joke record is so good.
No comments:
Post a Comment