I had a surprise business trip come up this week that is forcing me to see way more of the East Bay of San Francisco then I could ever imagine. In the 12 hours of preparation I had I made sure to fill up my iPod and grab a bunch of new cd’s that I have been meaning to listen to. Driving around today listening to my Garmin instructing me where to go I discovered some great new bands that hadn’t had a chance to dive into yet.
Dr. Dog, “We All Belong”:
I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about this band from the musical tastes makers that I trust the most (see: favorite local and national writers, band mates, and friends). The album was everything I expected it to be. Most people seem to say that they remind them of the Beatles. I have a hard time hearing that, because while everyone WANTS to be the Beatles, nobody but the Beatles actually is. Luckily, these guys don’t let down. The whole album is full of great songs that make you want to sing along, listen intently to the changes or just rock out. These guys are great, I’m really looking forward to appropriately absorbing the album over the next month (or more).
Two Gallants, self titled:
The Stranger is all over these guys as the savior of music, in general. As a loyal reader, I felt obligated to give them a listen. They’re good, not great. Good songwriting, interesting (enough) melodies, and good musicianship made it worthwhile. Kind of reminded me of Tom Petty (?).
West Indian Girl, “4th & Wall”:
They’ve got it all, good horn sections, nice songwriting, and (I never thought I’d write this) good electronic dance beats. The combination makes me feel okay about listening to it. I don’t think there is a single bad song on that album and enough variety to please the whole family.
btw, I really wish the Rockies would win a couple games to make this World Series interesting. Another sweep would be really, really, really boring.
Hey Brad,
Just found your blog! Yay! You’ve been about as active a poster as I have lately…. Anyway, nice to hear your voice again. What’s this about the Preons on Amazon? Is it true? Could it be?
Happy Christmas!
Brooke a.k.a. the queen bee
P.S. Geno’s been obsessed with the Two Gallants for the past 6 months, I have to agree with you – good, but not ggggggreat. My current music obsessions include elvis perkins, feist, peter bjorn and john, kate nash and i’ve recently resurrected pavement from my youth – damn steven malkmus is amazing. What are yours?