Wednesday 25 March 2009

A couple of new releases by well-established artists for Spring.

Sorry for the missing Watchlist - it will be back next week, I just haven't gotten around to make one on the weekend.

I got a chance to listen to the new Thermals-record already, and... it is amazing. It carried me through the day, or rather, pushed me like that one good friend you have that always tells you to finally get up and get your shit together. For some reason I was really afraid that "Now We Can See" would disappoint me, especially since the previous record was so good, but it did not. You can listen to the title-giving song "Now We Can See" on several music blogs (for example here on Stereogum). There is a big chance that this will be my personal record of the year, and yeah, I'm willing to say that in March.

PJ Harvey's new record is called "A Woman A Man Walked By". It will come out tomorrow or the day after, and there is already a video out for the first single, featuring an inflatable bouncing castle.

PJ Harvey & John Parish - Black Hearted Love



And finally a surprise. I like the Decemberists, but not enthusiastically. On their previous record "The Crane Wife", Colin Meloy was joined by Laura Veirs to sing a ballad about a dead soldier during the Civil War - and seriously, Veirs might as well have sung the contents of some catalogue, the voice alone makes me tune in, but I love songs that tell a story, and The Decemberists are the masters of storytelling. On their new record, "The Hazards of Love", they tell a rather long, complicated one, that has a murderous husband, a frightening Queen (the part is sung by Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond), and a shapeshifting lover. The song below reminded me of a terrifying Violent Femmes-song called "The Country Death Song", also a first-person narrative about a murderous father. PopMatters goes as far as comparing the record to "Mulholland Drive".

The Decemberists - The Rake's Song


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