via//chicago

5 songs I've been thinking about lately...

"Kill the Director" - The Wombats (taken from A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation)
This Liverpudlian trio has made minor inroads in their native England, scoring two Top 15 hits with their 2007 single "Let's Dance to Joy Division" and 2008's "Moving To New York", but they seem to have been met with little fanfare on this side of the Atlantic. Which is a shame, because I think there are quite a few that would be taken in by their highly melodic take on the current Britpop sound. Lyrically they remind me of a more cheeky, less insular Arctic Monkeys; but it's the infectious melodies and soaring harmonies that keep me entertained. This single, originally released in 2007, is a perfect example of what this band is all about.

"Circus of Horror" - Quiet Village (taken from Silent Movie)
Quiet Village is the nom de plume of electronic musicians Joel Martin and Matt Edwards (also known as Radio Slave) and Silent Movie is their much blogged about debut full length. It's difficult to describe their sound in one easy sentence, but think of what the film score to a 1970's Italian beach bunny flick might sound like. Got it? You're probably close. Silent Movie blends exotica, field recordings, film scores, jazz, disco, funk, found sounds and pop (among many, many other things) into a blissed-out martini mix. This stuff certainly isn't for everyone, I'm still not sold on every track, but when these guys are... just, damn. They've taken some heat lately for not crediting all of the samples they pulled in for this mix, but then again so have these guys. I'll just enjoy the music. This particular song, one of the funkiest cuts on the album, would probably soundtrack one of the grittier scenes in your imaginary movie.

"Paljon On Koskessa Kivia" - Korpiklaani (taken from Korven Kuningas)
Finnish folk metal. Seriously. In addition to your standard metal attack consisting of bass, drums, and dual guitars - these guys rock the violin and the accordion. Really. And it sounds, well, pretty awesome. I know, I know. I wouldn't believe me either, if I hadn't heard this infectious disc. The stomp and swagger is hard to ignore and you'll find yourself swinging a fist in time before too long, especially once this track hits. The lyrics are mostly in Finnish (and the ones that aren't, well, you'll wish they were), but their sound is unique in a good kind of way. I know the pagan metal fans have been on these guys for sometime, but this is not something most of you would normally come across; so I thought I would share.

"Moab" - Conor Oberst (taken from Conor Oberst)
My admiration for Mr. Conor Oberst (a.k.a. Bright Eyes) is well documented, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I absolutely adore his first nationwide release under his given name. What may surprise some of you, is that I think this may just be his best release yet. Conor Oberst plays up to nearly every single one of his songwriting talents, while thankfully leaving some of his more self-indulgent tendencies at the door. This is eleven (not counting one minor instrumental piece) tracks of Oberst at his best - wrapping his pop, country and folk influences in his signature delivery while telling timeless tales of love and loss. The Dylan comparisons that have dogged him his entire career have never been more apt, especially on "Get-Well-Cards". The track I'm thinking about here, though, is an open road song of the finest sort. This is guaranteed to make many a back-to-school driving mix as we head towards September. As it damn well should.

"Stand" - Candlebox (taken from Into the Sun)
I'm thinking about this song because, well, I don't know. Maybe because I was flabbergasted to find out that Candlebox was still a going concern in 2008, let along releasing new material. Or maybe because I was further amazed to hear the first single from their latest album and realize that it sounds like it came straight out of the alt-rock radio heydey of 1993. Seriously, from the opening riff alone it's clear that this song could (and considering how bad the rest of this album is, probably should have) been on the self-titled debut. If you happen(ed) to be a big Candlebox fan back in the day, consider this a lost gem.