Music I like...

I've been in a huge folk phase lately, and it was all brought on by The Bowerbirds' album Hymn For A Dark Horse. The album is full of intelligent lyrics, vibrant melodies and a really nice pacing. I'm very impressed with the band's ability to do so much with so little. A few of the songs on the album are just one vocalist and guitar, but the band really pulls it off. The Bowerbirds set the bar really high as far as folk bands go, and its a shame that I haven't been able to find many other bands that are on the same level. Not since Devendra Banhart have I found a folk artist that is so exciting.

If you are not afraid of a lot of treble, and I mean, a lot of treble, then you might want to check out Times New Viking's newest album Rip It Off. The band offers up a lot of great tracks, and even though it took me a while to warm up to them, they've got a great sound. Just a word to the wise, be careful what speakers you use to listen to them. I made the mistake of using my laptop speakers when I first got the album, and that was not a great experience. If you're willing to be patient and take a little bit of time with the album, I think you should check them out.

Pinback's newest album, Autumn of the Seraphs captures what I like most about the band. The band does such a great job of creating rich textures and layers. Bordering on math-rock, they do a lot with rhythm and tempo. The multiple layers and intricate rhythms give the band a sound thats unique entirely unto them. Autumn of the Seraphs is a great example of Pinback's sound, and gives a sample of some of the experimentation they're into. What's nice about the album is it feels like Pinback is moving in new directions, while still focusing on the sound that they're known so well for.

The Dirty Projectors are a band that I've just started listening to, but I'm really impressed with them. They have a very unique sound that I haven't seen elsewhere. Sounding like a cut-up symphony mixed with a whole bunch of loop pedals, its sometimes a little hard to get through but the album has moments like I've never heard before. Sometimes I wish the moments lasted longer, but they are worth the time spent listening for them. There one of the few bands that I've heard lately that I can't really describe by making an allusion to some kind of strange copulation between two other bands.

I love this band! The Go! Team have so much energy, mixing school-yard chants with heavy drums and some awesome guitar riffs, Proof Of Youth is great pump-up album. Some people have waved off the band as all hype, but I think this group from U.K. has a lot of potential. This is only their second album, but everything they've done so far has really impressed me. I've heard that their live shows are even more filled with energy than their albums. The Go! Team have a lot of potential of becoming one not just a simple dance-music band, but something more sophisticated. They're a band I plan on watching for the next couple of years, to see what they can do.

Girl Talk's third album, Night Ripper is one really imaginative album. The posterboy for mashup music, Girl Talk takes hundreds of samples from the Top 40, indie music, and everywhere else and creates entirely new music from it. His first two albums are impressive, but they seemed as if they were made by someone who was still learning how best to create mashups. With Night Ripper, Girl Talk takes a large step ahead of everyone else, showing his mastery. All of the songs on this album feature seamless transitions and integration, not feeling so much like music mashed together but instead blended perfectly.