My Top 5 New Releases :: New Music Friday :: Week of 11/2/15
1. Summer was a Day :: Pete Yorn
Three-Sentence Review: It feels like Malibu, late afternoon, unseasonably cool for a mid-summer month, ocean spray tickling your senses while you drive with the window rolled down, wistful for a love not quite realized. That’s what I get from this beautifully melodic new song from one of my favorite artists. It may be too early to miss summer, but this song will have you waxing nostalgic for two months ago (I can’t wait for the entire album, ArrangingTime).
Initial Favorite Track(s): N/A (single)
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5+
Summer was a Day
2. The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 12 :: Bob Dylan
Three-Sentence Review: Another volume of a bootleg series that makes us Bob Dylan fanatics (you say fanatic like its a bad thing) drool and quiver in musical excitement. This comes just in time for a short story I’m trying to write about a girl who is obsessed with the song Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again (this newly excavated version is fantastic). I love hearing early takes and undiscovered treasures from singer-songwriters, and this is a brilliant addition to the series that I am bursting with love for.
Initial Favorite Track(s): Highway ’61 (Take 3, Alternate Take), Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again (Take 13, Alternate Take) and Absolutely Sweet Marie (Take 1, Alternate Take)
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5+
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again (Take 13, Alternate Take)
3. Art Angels :: Grimes
Three-Sentence Review: I’m not sure where this record came from exactly, as it is so completely unexpected, from the orchestrated, hauntingly cinematic first track, to the fly me to the stars and dance-dance-dance winged ending. This album traverses the realm of pop, but goes beyond it, into something more complex, trigger-happy and addictive. If you give it a spin, might I suggest you play it late at night, turned up high, in a bit of an inebriated state, giving yourself plenty of room to spin and shake.
Initial Favorite Track(s): California, Belly of the Beat and Flesh Without Blood
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5
Flesh Without Blood/Life in the Vivid Dream
4. Bird Set Free :: Sia
Three-Sentence Review: Sia slays me, her vocals, her lyrics that cut like a katana, slicing me in half, and her emotional delivery that brings tears to my eyes. This song has all of those elements, along with feeling incredibly anthemic — making me want to turn it up so loud my ears ring, as I scream-sing it out, feeling stronger, more free. I hope there is more music (and a new album) on the horizon.
Initial Favorite Track(s): N/A (single)
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5
Bird Set Free
5. Better :: Banks
Three-Sentence Review: Sultry, sensual, edgy with an on the cusp of violence kind of emotion that only jealousy brings. This isn’t desperation, but more of a plea of truth (think Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Maps with an electronic beat). This makes me long for more music from Banks, and has me grabbing for last year’s album, Goddess, to sink into an overdue aural re-visit.
Initial Favorite Track(s): N/A (single)
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5
Better
