May ’06 Mix

May 30, 2006

1) Pull Shapes – The Pipettes – The Pipettes

The Pipettes debut record brings cheerleading dynamics to the old girl group act for one a fantastic freshman effort. It’s like LeTigre goes Motown, and it’s endless fun.

2) So Many Ways – Bring It Back – Mates of State

I will almost always fall in love with call and response vocals and big upswelling choirs. This song has both, and has a joyous Langley School vibe to it.

3) Rise Up In The Dirt – Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives – Voxtrot

I’m already dying for the first Voxtrot full-length. Their two EPs are some of the best chunks of music I’ve come across this year.

4) Dream at Tempo – Carnavas – Silversun Pickups

Silversun Pickups have their first record ready for the masses soon, and it has all the giant guitars dynamics are Corganesque vocals of their previous work. I find their songs tend to drag a bit long, and when the singer sings “I couldn’t end it there” abour 3:30 in, it baffles me. YES, YOU CAN END IT THERE.

5) Summertime Blues – B-Sides and Rarities – Black Keys

The Keys with a pretty straightforward cover, with a intriguingly uninterested vocal by Dan Auerbach.

6) The Great Salt Lake – Everthing All The Time – Band of Horses

Band of Horses sounds kind of like all those other bands, but the nasal male vocal still has a lot of mileage to it, I tell you!

7) Don’t Know Why (You Stay) – Cannibal Sea – Essex Green

I’m really into the song because it starts off like Jesse’s Girl, which is one of my favorite 80s songs of all time. The tweeeeee vocals create a really cool contrast to the Rick Springfield musical revue.

8) When You Were Mine – B-Sides and Rarities – Tegan and Sara

Insert your own Wenda And Lisa joke here.

9) Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl – You Forgot It In People – Broken Social Scene

This is a slow burning song that I can’t imagine any 17yr old girl listening to, but Emily Haines turns in some effects laden vocals that remain mesmerizing through the trickery.

10) More Adventurous – Live at Fingerprints – Rilo Kiley

This is not appreciably different, but it’s still nice to hear Jenny Lewis bring it in a bare acoustic set.

11) In California – Canadian Amp – Neko Case

Speaking of sparse, this is reverb drenched song (I believe) was a kitchen recording, and Case kills it. Since it’s a song about LA, it’s got a shortcut to my heart, but it captures Big City Loneliness perfectly.

12) Invincible – Cover of the Week – eric Metronome

Metronome’s cover of the week project is extremely daunting at times. His fragile Elliot Smith-like reading of Pat Benetar’s warrior anthem is beyond brilliant, and my track so far.

13) Saul Bellow – The Avalanche – Sufjan Stevens

I’m always this close to burning out on Sufjan, not because the songs are bad as much as they are close to identical. Still, you mix them up with some other artists on a playlist and it still seems like genius.

14) Sing – Yes Virginia – Dresden Dolls