Isn't that a great word, smattering? It's the kind of word you can't overuse or it becomes too precious, but in this case it's just right, because today is all about sharing a smattering of new music that's been flowing into my inbox of late.

    I know I've mentioned this before, but one of the most fun things about blogging is that music is sent to you directly, either by promo people or the bands themselves. I've received tons of wonderful new stuff this way. Lately, though, I've been getting far more than I can keep up with, so I'm falling behind in my listening.

    See, the thing is that what I'd really like to do is take the time and really absorb all the music so I can give each band a lovingly complete review, only you know that if I wait to do it that way I'm afraid I'll let it all slip by. So this is my best compromise.

Cinderpop--"Blonder" mp3 off A Lesson in Science (buy--comes out May 13th) I almost picked this for the sloth podcast because it made me think of how I could never go blond (a la Clay Aiken--yikes!) because I'm waaaaay too lazy to maintain it. It's also a really cool song.

Baskervilles--"A Little More Time" mp3 off Twilight (buy--comes out June 3rd) Can you say bouncy, happy indie pop? These two songs pretty much have it all: piano, male/female vocals, funky strings, horns--all the things I love to love. 

Baskervilles--"Caught in a Crosswalk" mp3 off Twilight 

Motocade--"Soap Opera" mp3 off their upcoming full-length album. I love the line "it's safe to say that you don't get it / it's safe to say that you never will" Yep. Also, the opening to this song is freaking great.

City Breathing --"Rain and Revolution" mp3 off Look How It's Snowing Upwards, Look How They Move Towards Heaven (buy--out June 3rd) This is less poppy and more "experimental" than any of these other songs (actually, I'm not exactly sure what that means), but it's got an energy beneath the wistful shoegazy layers that draws you in.

City Breathing--"We Can Retrace the Sinking Sky" mp3 off Look How It's Snowing Upwards, Look How They Move Towards Heaven (thanks, Agnes!)

    This ought to keep you happy for the weekend! 

lovely cat and gramophone print by colin ruffell

    Here's my semi-uninformed take on the new Mates of State song I heard. I think their sound has evolved from what used to be a loose-limbed full-on energy burst into a slightly subdued version of that same manic sensibility.

    I like it a lot, actually. I love how they're using strings (take note, all you other cheesy purveyors of violins and cellos, this is how it should be done) and I think the drums are fuller sounding, much less like he's sitting in his garage banging away and more like he's on a real drum set in a studio. The vocals, too, are more polished and less mental sounding. They're still just as joyful, though, that hasn't changed.

    I'm sure there are those among you who will not appreciate these evolutions. You will miss the crazed let-it-all-hang-out feeling their older music has. And of course, I am basing my opinion on just one song off the new album Re-Arrange Us, so I could very well be talking out my ass.

    I tell you what, I'll give you three songs to compare and contrast, starting from oldest to newest, and then you can tell me what you think.

Mates of State--"Goods (All In Your Head)" mp3 off All Day EP (buy)

Mates of State--"Like U Crazy" mp3 off Bring it Back (buy)

Mates of State--"Get Better" mp3 off Re-Arrange Us (buy--comes out May 20th) This is my favorite line:

"Everything's gonna get lighter, even if never gets better"

    Can I have that in writing please? 

    Everything comes around / bringing us back again / Here is where we start and where we end

     This is what it's all about for me. The other day while digging around the nets I wound up over at the beat oracle and heard this mesmerizing song, a remix of Goldfrapp's "Monster Love" by none other than Spiritualized. It's heavenly. It's wonderful enough to make up for the god-awful original version on Seventh Tree. Yes, my friends, it's that good. In fact, it's what that album could have been--should have been.

    When I discover a song like this, I get an almost electric feeling. I feel an actual thrill and a need to possess it. It's like it strikes a nerve--an actual neuron kind of thing--and until I do something about it it won't stop firing. It's hard to explain. And then I feel incredibly grateful. Which kind of sums up what this whole music thing does for me.

Goldfrapp--"Monster Love (Goldfrapp vs. Spiritualized)" mp3 off Happiness Single (buy)

    Spiritualized is coming out with a new album, too, called Songs in A&E on May 27th. I don't have anything off the new one yet, but here's an oldie that never fails to move me.

Spiritualized--"Anything More" mp3 off Let It Come Down (buy)

     Well, the contrast podcast speaks every week, this is true, but this week the theme is "Songs with spoken bits in them," so there will be even more speaking than usual. Download or listen to it here .

     My choice was simple. I went with Tenacious D because this song makes me laugh every single freaking time I hear it. I do believe so, yes . . .

Tenacious D--"Jesus Ranch" mp3

     Next week's theme is "Number ones" in honor of its being the 111th episode. If you want to take part in the fun--especially if this is your first time (how appropriate), all you have to do is think of a song that has something to do with number ones.

    I'm a really big fan of Gonzales's piano playing and arranging, but who knew we had quite so much in common?

Gonzales--"Apology" mp3 off Soft Power (buy)

    I went on my first bike ride of the season about a week ago and it felt incredibly good. I'm amazed at how the body remembers things. Every hill came back to my muscles like I'd just pumped up it yesterday.

    A few other things came back to me, too. For instance, the way the distinct fragrance of pine trees makes me think of summers in New Hampshire. Then there's the huge feeling of relief I get when I reach the height of land and I know I can glide for a few moments. Also, it came back immediately how very hard and small that bicycle seat is. And of course nothing quite compares to the shock of a bug flying directly into my mouth.

    What does this have to do with music? Well, as much as I'm trying to forget certain things, it felt satisfying to remember these. I also remembered some peppy, energizing songs that I really enjoyed riding to from the past couple of years. So in celebration of the kind of musical and kinesthetic memory that I'm actually happy to have, I thought I'd share them.

Heypenny--"Parade" mp3 off Use These Spoons (buy)

Heads We Dance--"Love in the Digital Age" mp3 off 12" Single (buy)

The Feeling--"Love It When You Call (Lo-Fi-Fnk Remix)" mp3 off Twelve Stops and Home (buy)

OOIOO--"Umo" mp3 off Taiga (buy)

Lily Allen--"Oh My God (Kaiser Chiefs Cover)" mp3 off Oh My God European (buy) 

Beulah--"Emma Blowgun's Last Stand" mp3 off When Your Heartstrings Break (buy)

    To me, and probably to most of you, music is all about the associations it brings. Certain songs strongly remind me of a place, a person, a time in my life. Which is wonderful, in general. I love that my musical memory is so long-lasting and particular.

    Unfortunately, it can serve me too well. Right now that's what it's doing and I need a break from it. I need to dissociate myself from much of what it's reminding me of.

    I need new music, different music, music I might not find unless it magically appeared in my lap. And guess what? I hit the jackpot in this regard on Saturday April 19. That happened to be Record Store Day and my local record shop had tons of freebies to give away. I picked up 11 free discs that day, most of them compilations with lots of bands I'd not heard before.

    I can't wait to dive into it all and soak it up and form some new associations, you know what I mean? Here are several tracks that come from a sampler put out by Redeye Distribution that I am really enjoying so far.

Bell X1--"Rocky Took a Lover" mp3 off Flock (buy) I really wanted to do an entire post about this band, but I can't get this song out of my head so I'm taking it as a sign I need to include it here. It's pretty much a perfect example of everything I love in a song. 

Nick Lowe--"So It Goes" mp3 off Jesus of Cool (buy) Now, you may be asking, Marcy, what do you mean you have no musical association with Nick Lowe? Well, of course I have loads of attachment to the song "Cruel to Be Kind," but not to this song, so it counts.

3 Na Massa--"Doce Guia (Feat. Ceu)" mp3 off 3 Na Massa (buy) Oh, this is wonderfully Brazilian, with all the things you might expect to love about a Brazilian tune. Fabulous horns, too, btw. I should have included it in this post.

Liam Finn--"Second Chance" mp3 off I'll Be Lightning (buy) This song is absolutely perfect for this post because the chorus goes: "Remember me? Honestly, I don't remember who you are." It's pretty damn catchy, too. 

    I thought this was funny and sweet at the same time. I was driving down Main Street the other day and came up behind an old, beat-up Toyota Tercel being driven by a young man. Painted across his rear bumper and trunk was this:

    www.myspace.com/itcouldbeyou

    ↑ I'm looking for my soulmate ↑

    I read his profile and he seems like a really nice guy. I wish him all the best in his quest for love! 

The Presets--"Are You the One?" mp3 off Beams (buy) 

    I'm learning so much from the seven deadly sins series on the contrast podcast. I'll be sorry when it ends.

    This week's episode is all about sloth, which I always took to mean being extremely lazy and lying around with no energy, but actually means something more like spiritual apathy or laziness, that is to say either putting off what god would have you do or not doing anything at all.

    All in all it's pretty much the opposite of how I feel about the contrast podcast, coz I'm always energized when it comes to doing it. You can download or listen to this week's show here and hear for yourself what everyone else's take on the subject is. Unless you're too lazy to bother, that is. Oh, I kid!

The Amazing Pilots--"All My Wasted Days" mp3 off Hello My Captor (buy)

    I almost picked this song by Brown Recluse Sings because they're from Philly, but in the end I went with The Amazing Pilots because the song is just so me.

Brown Recluse Sings--"Lazy Bones" mp3 off Black Sunday EP (buy) 

    Next week's theme is "songs with spoken bits in them," so put on your thinking caps and see what you can come up with.

illustration via this  

    In addition to all the obvious reasons that I love Eugene Francis Jnr.'s music, including the buoyant melodies, the ingenious mix of electronica and folk sounds and the way he expresses himself, what strikes me the most is his generosity of spirit. He has a way of looking at the world that gives rather than takes away.

    To be honest, it took me several listens to be able to absorb the album and I've had some trouble trying to figure out what I want to say about it. See, I started listening to it directly on the heels of Devotchka and the two couldn't be more dissimilar. But now that a few weeks have passed and my obsession with A Mad & Faithful Telling has abated, I can hear what Eugene is trying to say to me.

    See, none of the songs on the album are what I'd call ordinary--not the instrumentation, not the lyrics, not even the feelings they generate--yet they're so very accessible. You just know he's singing about something that you've experienced or thought about or dreamed of doing.

    He's introspective and he's not by any means all flowers and sunshine, but regardless of what he's singing about, he makes me feel like everything will be alright. Honestly. This is big for me, as you know. In fact, when I listen to The Golden Beatle I almost feel--dare I say it--contented.

    "Beginners" is the latest single. It's upbeat and full of joyous energy. Prior to receiving the album, I'd heard "Poor Me," "Kites" and "My Own Pollution." It's weird, but I find that sometimes when I become very familiar with songs without hearing them in context, I'm sort of over them by the time I hear them on the album. But not this time. EFJ reworked the songs and they're different enough to make me be able to hear them again like it's the first time, which I really appreciate.

Eugene Francis Jnr.--"Beginners" mp3 off The Golden Beatle (buy)

    If you'd like to see what I've said about EFJ in previous posts, go here and here. As you may have guessed, I really can't say enough good things about him.

p.s. Normally I don't repost p.r. blurbs, but this is so cool that I have to share it:

    I'm a sucker for certain things, musically speaking, and a well-placed horn part is one of them. It doesn't have to be a big solo or even all that prominent. It simply has to be an integral part of the the song.

    See, it occurred to me that lately I've featured a bunch of songs that have horn parts and that maybe I should mention them in one post. Both Teitur's "Catherine the Waitress" and "We Still Drink the Same Water" have wonderful trumpets in them (see here). "Blind" by Hercules & Love Affair does too (see here). And Devotchka, well, the entire album A Mad & Faithful Telling is rife with trumpets and even some tuba.

    The fun, fun band I'm From Barcelona has a multitude of players in it (29 at last count), including at least one who plays the trumpet. I love the trumpet line in "This Boy" even though it's not all that pronounced.

I'm From Barcelona--"This Boy (Feat. Loney, Dear)" mp3 off Let Me Introduce My Friends (buy)

    I'm quite partial to a young Swedish singer named Bjorn Kleinhenz and what do you know but he's got a new single out and it features a lovely horn motif throughout.

Bjorn Kleinhenz--"A Quest For Your Heart" mp3 off Quietly Happy and Deep Inside (buy--album comes out this fall) 

    Of course, Broken Social Scene makes wonderful use of brass, for example in the last minute or so of "Ibi Dreams of Pavement." When I saw them a couple of years ago, they had a whole horn section on stage when they played and it blew me away.

Broken Social Scene--"Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)" mp3 off Broken Social Scene (buy)

    And last but not least, perhaps my all-time favorite trumpet solo is in Cake's cover of "I Will Survive."

Cake--"I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor Cover)" mp3 off Fashion Nugget (buy) 

    Here's a little story that might help illuminate my attraction to all things brass. When I was in 5th grade we were deemed old enough to begin learning to play instruments. I had a hard time choosing which one (some things never change) and I finally settled on the French horn. Aside from thinking it was extremely cool, the deciding factor was that my brother's friend Bill, who was really cute and funny, just happened to play it too and it meant that I'd get to sit next to him in band practice. Hence the beginning of my lifelong romance with horns.

Hey man, what's up? I'm feeling under the weather, under the weather . . .

    This has got to be one of the best hook lines I've heard in a while. I find myself belting it out loud at the oddest moments.

    The band is A'tris and the song is "Automatic Doors." They're from Boston and Mason Taylor, keyboardist, frontman and lead singer, has a really fluid voice that he uses to full advantage. The music is strong and tight and slightly sinister.

A'tris--"Automatic Doors" mp3 off Lensing (buy)

A'tris--"Dark Lotus" mp3 off Lensing 

    Their myspace has several songs for download, so if you like this you should check it out too. They seem to play around Boston and the East Coast but don't have much on their calendar at the moment. Lensing is their second full-length album. I hope they make more.

    I so wanted to love Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree and I sincerely hoped Toad would be wrong. Alas, neither is the case.

    I do realize this is old news, as the album came out Feb. 28th, but I just picked it up the other day (albeit used), so hopefully it's not too late for me to chime in.

    I like it, it's pleasant music, the kind of stuff I might turn on as I go to sleep when I won't be listening too closely. I think the main problem is that it's far too much of a throwback to the 70s. That's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, except that it happens to embody the cheesier aspects that the 70s music scene had to offer, which is a bad thing.

    The best song is definitely "A&E" and I understand why they selected that as the first single. Had they chosen the album opener, "Clowns," I bet no one would have bought the record! The strings in it are exceptionally tacky. Unfortunately there are numerous other equally horrid moments, some coming straight from Alison's mouth. ("Monster Love" in particular. Egads!)

    I'm really disappointed in this but I'm sure I'll get over it. Every band is entitled to a misstep and I'm willing to look past this and look forward to whatever they come up with next, coz it certainly couldn't be any worse!

    How's about the Hercules & Love Affair remix of "A&E" as a consolation prize? You know I loves me some Hercules!

Goldfrapp--"A&E (Hercules & Love Affair Remix)" mp3  

    Come to think of it, listening to this album makes me feel kind of like what Alison looks like in the above picture--ever so slightly wtf? 

    Sometimes you just have to face facts. Sometimes no matter how much you wish something could be, it simply isn't ever going to be. Sometimes regardless of how hard you try or how much work you put into something, it's never going to be enough to make it happen. 

    I'm thinking a bit of Hillary here, but this is a lesson I'm sure we've all had to learn at some point in our own lives. For you and me it's more than likely been on a less grand scale, of course, but no less significant or disappointing. 

Beck--"Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" mp3 off Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Soundtrack (buy)

Aaron Stout--"Story of My Life" mp3 off Queens Live in Caskets (buy)

The Alarm--"Absolute Reality" mp3 off Standards (buy) 

    I think you might be able to tell I had fun with this week's contrast podcast. The theme is "Alliteration" and it was my choice, so I got to do the main intro and everything. Go here to listen to all the fun.

    As is so often the case--and even though it was my choice--I still had trouble picking a song. There are quite a few songs that have titles that start with the same letter and, being the obsessionist that I am, I had to wade through every one I had in my library. I finally picked "Clip-Clop" by Cloud Cult mainly for the double alliteration, but also because throughout the song he repeatedly sings alliterative pairs of words. Listen and you'll hear what I mean.

Cloud Cult--"Clip-Clop" mp3 off Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus (buy)

    My second choice was "LLL" by Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. I love the guitars on this. She really wails in parts and you can definitely hear some Neil Young/Crazyhorse influences. I have to thank Danielle for introducing me to her music. "Those were happy times . . . "

Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter--"LLL" mp3 off Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul (buy) Is that not one of the best album titles of all time?

    Next week's theme is "Sloth," the next in the seven deadly sins series, and it's open for submissions, so don't be a lazy bum. Get off your butt and submit something!