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Rocktober Record Roundup

(Have fun at your monster parties this weekend.)

As I mentioned in the post for my latest podcast, the past few weeks have had a slew of noteworthy releases. The sheer quantity has meant that it's been difficult to listen to any single one enough to write a thorough review.

So how about some non-thorough reviews?

The following are a bunch of recordings released this month you might want to check out, each summarized in a single sentence. I've pulled this stunt once before, which I'm mentioning as either a way of admitting I'm repeating myself or trying to get credit, 140 character limit or not, for beating Chris Weingarten and Discographies to the punch.

I'm going to try and give each of these some more listens in near future, despite even more good stuff coming in November. (Oh, Parting Gifts and Reading Rainbow, why you gotta be so good?) When I'm going to have time to listen to each is another issue though it's probable that any of the below are a better soundtrack to the World Series than Buck and McCarver.

Idle Times s/t (HoZac)

Just when you were sick of all the lo-fi poseurs, pretenders and bandwagon jumpers, this slab comes along to remind you that feeling the heat of the flame is a lot better than licking the soot.

Belle and Sebastian Write About Love (Matador)

Missing much of the playful bounce of 2006's The Life Pursuit, B&S revert to "sad bastard" mode, which should endlessly please their core fanbase.

Fresh and Onlys Play It Strange (In The Red)

Beats Best Coast for California album of the year, sounding something like a lost collaboration between Arthur Lee and the Gun Club.

Pop. 1280 The Grid (Sacred Bones)

A nice slice of synth-laced Birthday Pary/AmRep-style gnarl that may be a sign of great things to come.

The Corin Tucker Band 1,000 Years (Kill Rock Stars)

Maria Tessa Sciarrano of Her Jazz and WPRB said of this semi-solo debut from the Sleater-Kinney singer/guitarist "I believe this is what a mommyblog would sound like, if it were in musical form," which is too on the nose to comment further.

Cheap Time Fantastic Explanations (and Similar Situations) (In the Red)

Many people whose opinions I respect greatly praised Cheap Time's debut to the heavens though I deemed it merely "good" and I suspect the same will hold true here.

The Extra Lens Undercard (Merge)

I haven't actually listened to this yet but its inclusion here allows me to score cred points by mentioning Shrimper Records and linking to this.

The Unblinking Ear Podcast: My Cup Runneth Over

(You wouldn't believe how many images of cleavage a Google Image Search of "my cup runneth over" yields. Then again, you might.)

Though you'd never know it from my lack of posts (a fact I'll blame on the MLB playoffs), I've found myself in the enviable conundrum of having a rather large amount of new (and new to me) music grace my ears in the past few weeks. Enviable because much of it is quite good. A conundrum because its quantity means that I'm skipping around from record to record, enjoying most but giving any enough repeated spins to fully process them in a manner that would allow me to write an insightful account for presentation to you, dear reader.

Combine this with my finds from the WFMU Record Fair this past weekend (which will likely dominate my next podcast) and the records sitting on the Ikea Tullsta next to my turntable (still unplayed after weeks or months), and one can see that I'm currently residing in the land o' plenty.

So consider this podcast a cursory sampler of stuff you should give a listen. I'll admit, it's not my best "flowing" podcast but it's still probably more enjoyable than your average CMJ showcase.


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