Go - Jónsi

Go by Jónsi (2010)


first time solo album from this Sigur Rós front man.

Favorite: "Boy Lilikoi"

LotusFlow3r: MplSound - Prince

LotusFlow3r: MplSound by Prince (2009)


wow, he took it back to the sound of the "Purple Rain" days!

Favorite: "Crimson & Clover" -Prince's version of a mash up with "Wild Thing"! "Here" "4ever" "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful" "$"

Surfing The Void - Klaxons

Surfing The Void by Klaxons (2010)

Favorite: "Venusia" "Flashover" - intro & chorus are HARD!! (not so into the verses)

The Red, White & Black - The BellRays

The Red, White & Black - The BellRays (2005)


A little less polished than I like, but her voice is amazing!

Favorite: "Black Is The Color"

Wild Young Hearts - Noisettes

Wild Young Hearts - Noisettes (2009)

Favorites: "Don't Upset The Rhythm" "Never Forget You" 

Cizana De Los Amores - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

Cizana De Los Amores by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (2010)

yet another solo album from this prolific musician - front man of The Mars Volta (formerly of At The Drive-In).
He's accompanied by a female vocalist on this one. her voice gets kind of annoying at times, epescially on tracks like "Infiel Hasta La Muerte"

Favorite: "Nada De Amor"
Least Favorite: "Infiel Hasta La Muerte"

Brothers - The Black Keys

Brothers - The Black Keys (2010)


I really like these guys. Was glad to hear a new project from them this year.  Sadly, I did miss them when they were in town a couple weeks back. :(




Favorite: "Tighten Up" "Everlasting Light" "Sinister Kid" "The Go Getter" "Unknown Brother"
Least Favorite: "Ten Cent Pistol" - not that it's bad, just a little too similar to other tracks on the album.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix (2009)

slightly disco-influenced rock from this French band. 

Favorite: "1901" & "Lisztomania" have both been played to death.  I dig the vibe of "Fences".

nice to hear the variation on the L'Aiglon Remix of "1901" on the bonus disc. 

Come Around Sundown - Kings Of Leon

R.I.P. to  my mom.  2 years today.  Hard to believe.  :(

Come Around Sundown by Kings Of Leon (2010)
this all kind of blends together. kind of monotonous really. 

Favorite: "Radioactive"


had the opportunity to work with the production team behind this video shortly after they shot it so I got to see the video in several stages as they edited it. I think it came out pretty great.... the toughest shoots usually do.

Red Velvet Car - Heart

Red Velvet Car by Heart (2010)

First new album from this sister-duo in 6 years! I didn't realize they even had a release that recently....

there are no "Crazy On You"s or "Magic Man"s on here.
nothing's really jumping out at me...

Favorite:
"There You Go" [file is in FLAC, not mp3] "Red Velvet Car"
Least Favorite: "Queen City"

XX - The XX

XX by The XX (2009)

really chill debut album from this British trio who have been blowing up since it dropped last year.

The XX live at the Hollywood Palladium - September 22, 2010

got to see them live a couple weeks back at the Hollywood Palladium as they kicked off their most recent (and apparently last, for a while) tour. Great show. remarkable amount of lesbians there.


Favorite: "Shelter" "Infinity" "VCR"


Loving this remix by Nosaj Thing too: "Islands" (Nosaj Thing remix)

and their videos are very well done - especially this one, directed by Saam Farahmand...


The xx - islands (Official MV) from JOOONAE LEE on Vimeo.

To Lose My Life - White Lies

To Lose My Life by White Lies (2009)

British rock - very new-wave influenced

Favorite: "E.S.T." "From The Stars" "The Price Of Love"

Consolers Of The Lonely - The Raconteurs

Consolers Of The Lonely by The Raconteurs (2008)

Favorite: "Many Shades of Black" - very heartfelt fantastic soul song. sounds like it could be a cover of a '60s soul track.



"The Switch & The Spur" "Carolina Drama"
"Five On The Five" - not such a fan of the singing/lyrics but they rock HARD on this one.

Least Favorite: "Rich Kid Blues"

Fantasies - Metric

Fantasies by Metric (2009)

really pop-y rock (or rock-ish pop) but I dig it.  the female vocalist, Emily Haines, has a very straightforward, sweet voice that pairs nicely with their simplistic keyboard-heavy melodies.

Favorite: "Sick Muse" "Front Row" "Stadium Love"

Least Favorite: "Gimme Sympathy"

Sea of Cowards - The Dead Weather

Sea of Cowards by The Dead Weather (2010)

2nd album in as many years from this quartet of rock stars.  Uneven as their first, with the singing taking on an even rougher edge this time around.  There are some gems tho, for sure, just none that grabbed me as much as "Hang You From The Heavens" did from their first album, "Horehound".

I did see them live after the release of both albums tho and thoroughly enjoyed both shows.  I'd recommend seeing them live without hesitation...go see them if you get the chance!

Favorite:"The Difference Between Us"

This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem

This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem (2010)

most recent (and apparently last ever!) album by this electronic rock outfit.  some songs are more rock, some more electro.

"Pow Pow" reminds me of something from David Byrne/The Talking Heads.

Favorite: "I Can Change" "You Wanted A Hit" "Home"

Least Favorite: "Drunk Girls" "One Touch" gets too repetitive with the shouting on the hook

Maximum Balloon - Maximum Balloon

Maximum Balloon by Maximum Balloon (2010) 

I take no effort to conceal my adoration for TV On The Radio. So when I heard that there was a side project coming out from their engineer, I was all about it.  Then I forgot all about it until a remix of the first single popped up on RCRDLBL.  

I'm still kind of digesting the full album. There's definitely a lot going on there. Tons of guest appearances (on every track actually), including one by David Byrne! 

Favorites: "If You Return" (ft. Little Dragon)  "Tiger" (ft. Aku Orraca-Tetteh)  "Pink Bricks" (ft. Ambrosia Parsley) "Absence of Light" (ft. Tunde Adebimpe) and I really like that remix! 

Georgia Warhorse - JJ Grey & Mofro

been listening to a lot of new music lately.  just keep forgetting to take some time and post about it here. I'm going to try to remedy that going forward here.... but reviews will likely be more sparse. 

Georgia Warhorse by JJ Grey & Mofro (2010)

heard an interview with JJ on NPR the other day. That's how I found out this album was even around. He did a live studio performance of "Lullaby"...very pretty.
The rest of the album has more of a rock edge, but is all very soulful.

Favorite: "Lullaby"

Something For The Rest of Us - Goo Goo Dolls

"Something For The Rest Of Us" by the Goo Goo Dolls (2010)

Guess I'm not the "us" they're talking about for this title.
Nothing appealing about this for me... to the point that I couldn't even listen through every track to find a favorite & least favorite.
Too much good music to waste my time listening to things that don't do it for me.
Actually, just finished skipping through, and the final track "Soldier" isn't awful, but I probably wouldn't add it to the rotation.

IRM - Charlotte Gainsbourg

IRM - Charlotte Gainsbourg (2009)

beautiful, eerie and overall very enjoyable.  I think she did a good job of capturing her surreal experience in an MRI machine and representing it musically. Read her explanation here
I like that it's not all sad, shoe-gazey stuff tho: she rocks out a bit too, on "Trick Pony"
I also like the driving rhythm of "Voyage"

Favorite: "Heaven Can Wait"
Least Favorite: "Greenwich Mean Time"