Recent Purchases – Field Music, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Antibalas

Since I was still underwhelmed by the new releases, I bought 3 albums I have been meaning to buy for a while.

Field Music, Tones of Town.

I love this album. I first heard it on Music for Kids Who Can’t Read Good in January. This is what I wrote then:

Field Music is buoyant Britpop (and British Pop), while being more than the sum of its parts. The songs are catchy and I have a sneaking suspicion that this album will be one of my favorites for this year.

I particularly enjoy “Give It Lose It Take It,” which reminds me of early Beatles and early Oasis, and “A House Is Not A Home,” which Fluxblog says “seems effortless in the way that only the best songs can, and has a way of sneaking into the back of your mind and setting up residence like a welcome, yet uninvited guest.”

Buy it on iTunes, Amazon, or eMusic.

Rodrigo y Gabriela, Rodrigo y Gabriela.

I have been loving this song Tamacun since I first downloaded it as a free iTunes download. I heard it again as walked around Town Lake last weekend, and realized I had to get the whole album.

It’s defies easy description. It’s acoustic, latin, jazzy, and extremely sophisticated. The Amazon review outlines it well:

Rodrigo and Gabriela are two fast-fingered, Dublin-based, Mexicans with a unique sound created on acoustic guitars. Their music is difficult to define, straddling both world and rock, and often imbued with the timeless Hispano classical influences. The fire in it comes from their life-long passion for metal music.

Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?

Buy it on iTunes, Amazon, or eMusic.

Antibalas, Security.

I meant to buy this weeks ago, but just never got around to it. Frankly, I wanted to pick it up on cd, as I do with most of my jazz purchases.

Buy it on iTunes, Amazon, or eMusic.

 

Blog Round-Up – Aloe Blacc, Beirut, Field Music, the bird and the bee

Here are a few links from around the web today that I will definitely be checking out:

Analog Giant posted a new song by DJ Day featuring Aloe Blacc and a new Stacey Epps song from Stones Throw Records.

Brooklyn Vegan has “I.C.E.” — a new Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra song. (Fans of TV on the Radio should definitely check it out.)

Covert Curiosity posted Arizona and My Party from the new Kings of Leon album Because of the Times, which is scheduled for an April 3rd release. Mr. Curiosity says it’s decent, but not great. That fits pretty well with the early critiques I have heard. Still, I am looking forward to hearing more of it, and looking forward to seeing the On Call video # worked on a few weeks ago.

Free iTunes Downloads has a link to the new k-os single “The Rain.” k-os is a hip-hop artist from Ontario.

Idolator posted a couple of Los Lobos songs from The Town and The City. I really like Los Lobos. I saw them live at ACL fest a few years ago, and they were really great.

I Guess I’m Floating has a Beirut demo, entitled “Interior of a Dutch House.” As you all know, I am a huge Beirut fan, so it’s great to hear something earlier than Gulag Orkestar. Check out my earlier Beirut posts here.

Instrumental Analysis has three Jeff Buckley songs from Grace. Because I listened to Tim Buckley a lot as a kid, I have always loved Jeff Buckley.

Lifehacker posted 12 iTunes scripts I am excited to use. The scripts do everything from removing dead tracks (the ones with little exclamation point) to automating adding lyrics (without using Sing That iTunes on the dashboard).

Noise for Toasters has three songs from Field Music’s Tones of the Town, one of my favorite albums of the year so far, and the video for She Can Do What She Wants.

So Much Silence has a review of the bird and the bee. I have really enjoyed them lately, and I will get around to posting about them at some point.

Austin Sound has a track from Austin band The Carrots, who I originally heard via The Voxtrot Kid.

 

Field Music – Rave Reviews In

I love Field Music.

As I mentioned before, they are an excellent band, reminiscent of early Beatles and early Oasis, who make buoyant Britpop (and British Pop).

They are getting rave reviews for their new album Tones of the Town. The metacritic score is an 85, which is “universal acclaim.”

Buy it on iTunes here and on Amazon here.

Download Tones of the Town, Working to Work.

 

New Music – Field Music

Field Music released their second album on iTunes this week in the US.

I have been reading posts about them this month on Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good, Covert Curiousity, and Fluxblog.

Field Music is buoyant Britpop (and British Pop), while being more than the sum of its parts. The songs are catchy and I have a sneaking suspicion that this album will be one of my favorites for this year.

I particularly enjoy Give It Lose It Take It, which reminds me of early Beatles and early Oasis, and A House Is Not A Home, which Fluxblog says “seems effortless in the way that only the best songs can, and has a way of sneaking into the back of your mind and setting up residence like a welcome, yet uninvited guest.”

Buy it on iTunes.