Albums
Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (XL)
For album five, Dev has expanded the size of his band and dramatically upped his range to include soul, jazz and pop.
Akron/Family - Love is Simple (Young God)
Starts with a short ditty alarmingly reminiscent of Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’, then disappears down many wonderful and beautiful musical paths.
The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City (Thrill Jockey)
Chicago’s brother-sister outfit The Fiery Furnaces may have arrived on a wave of excitement and hype with their accessible 2003 debut, Gallowsbird’s Bark, but since then they’ve seemed hell-bent on constantly challenging the many fans that album won them by prolifically releasing music that laughs in the face of normality and approachability.
Clinic - Funf (Domino)
A collection of odds and sods and B-sides from a band whose odds and sods and B-sides are actually worth hearing.
Frank Black - 93-03 (Cooking Vinyl)
So, the solo work is not as good as the Pixies material, but here’s proof that Daddy Frank is only poor when compared to himself.
Jennifer Gentle - The Midnight Room (Sub Pop)
Truly eccentric fare from a once band that sounds like it ought to be woman but is now just an Italian man called Marco.
Blanche - Little Amber Bottles (Loose)
The length of time it’s taken for the second album from Detroit’s Blanche to arrive suggested they were struggling.
