Fleet Foxes

As indie rock is going through its folk movement, Fleet Foxes are capitalizing on this new fad. Their soft woozy style brings back memories of legendary folk-rockers like The Band, Nick Drake, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. 

With their self-titled debut album, Fleet Foxes mix what these acts have accomplished and created their own melodic sound that is easy on the ear. But their pleasant sound doesn't come without a price. The songs wash together without any real change of pace and their lack of intensity can cause a loss of interest after only a few songs. The songs individually are good but I would like to see them try and go outside of their comfort zone. 

I do like where the Fleet Foxes are going with this album and am interested in what they will do next. If you like The Band, you will certainly like this band.

B

Wilco: I Shall Be Voting

The new fad these days for musicians is trying different ways to get their fans to vote. Which I'm completely in favor for. Suffrage is a right that people have been fighting for throughout the history of this country, and the fact that people today have the right to vote and choose note to is incomprehensible to me.  

Wilco is another band trying out this voting tactic. They do it in a way that is at least appeasing to me, giving out a free song while "pledging" to vote. If you go to wilcoworld.net/vote and type in your name and email, you will get Wilco's cover of the Bob Dylan song "I Shall Be Released" emailed to you and ready for download. There is also a link at the bottom to register to vote for those who are not registered. 

Dr. Dog: Fate

Dr. Dog is in my opinion one of the coolest and most creative bands in indie rock. If there is a band today that sounds anything like The Beatles, then it's Dr. Dog. Their light piano, catchy vocal harmonies, and imaginative lyrics makes them have one of the freshest sounds in alternative music. 

With that being said, I found their new album Fate to be fairly disappointing. Not that the album is bad, it's actually pretty decent, but the band brings nothing new to the table. 

"Breeze" starts the album and sounds like your typical Dr. Dog song. The song has a nice melodic sound but doesn't really get the album started. The album starts to move with the second track "Hang On," the song is catchy and is their respected radio hit, but again it seems like they have written this song before.

"The Old Days" is the first highlight of Fate. The piano playing arpeggios gives the song sort of a classical feel, accompanied by guitar and ragtime drums, the song has a distinctive sound. 

After a few decent but forgettable songs, the album hits again with "The Ark."  With a gloomy guitar and inventive lyrics about failure, insecurity, and "Ooh, What does it mean to be here?" this is the coolest song on the disc.

Two other worthy tracks are "From" which sounds like a modern day version of "Here, There and Everywhere." And "Uncovering The Old" which cleverly incorporates a string section, which corresponds well with Dr. Dog's always poppy sound.

B-

Cat Power Jukebox

Cat Power (Chan Marshall) is sticking with her newfound soulful sound with her 2008 release "Jukebox." "Jukebox" is an energetic album, backed by a musically gifted band containing Erik Paparazzi on bass, Jim White on drums, Gregg Forman on keyboards and piano, and Judah Bauer on guitar.

This album is mostly covers but arguably the two best songs are the two originals. "Song To Bobby," is Chan's intimate ode to Bob Dylan in the same fashion that Dylan payed tribute to Woody Guthrie with "Song To Woody." "Metal Heart" is the other original track, the song has a building structure that ends in a erie, melodic jam.

Marshall shows her first-rate taste in music in what she covers. Playing songs of greats such as James Brown, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, and Joni Mitchell. The album starts out hot with the short but groovy tune "New York." The album is structured well because "New York" flows perfectly into the next track "Ramblin' Woman." You could never tell "Ramblin' Woman" was written by country legend Hank Williams. The song has a psychedelic sound, a slide guitar off in the distance and melodic organ chords somewhat reminds the listener of a Pink Floyd jam.

Another highlight is "I Believe In You," a cover of a Bob Dylan gospel song. Marshall remains true to the song, but Marshall's raspy vocals gives the song a new dimension.

Singers with true emotion in their voices are rare to come by and Marshall is undoubtedly one of those singers. She spills her heart out when she sings, which makes her one the premiere female artists of today.

A-

Narrow Stairs

Ben Gibbard is probably the most poetic songwriter of this generation. Love lost seems to be the motif of Narrow Stairs, Death Cab For Cutie's 2008 album. This is a slight rebound from their 2005 release Plans, which was undoubltably their most commercially successful album and in my opinion a little overrated. 

The album starts out strong with two tracks that are both sturdy instrumentally and lyrically with "Bixby Canyon Bridge" and "I Will Possess Your Heart." The intro to "I Will Posses Your Heart" is to cool. With four and a half minutes of a steady bass line and random attacks from the piano and guitar. 

The rest of the album changes mood with short cute songs. "Cath..." and "Your New Twin Sized Bed" are the highlights of these. 

Death Cab seems to have a clearer focus on Narrow Stairs than they did on Plans. As I said, the songwriting is always excellent from Gibbard, and the band's sound is as full as it has ever been.

Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band

Conor Oberst's 2008 self titled release comes with a new band name, a new producer, new recording site, and somewhat of a new sound, I guess.  Following his critically acclaimed 2007 album Casadaga, Oberst keeps his indie-alt-country sound. Most of the songs are simply structured with just Oberst and his guitar accompanied by a subtle rhythm section. 

Cape Canaveral is a good start to the album. With knuckles tapping on the softly strummed guitar the song eases you into what could be next. I Don't Want To Die (In The Hospital) is possibly the strongest track on the disc. Oberst's songwriting is fantastically original and the sound contains an assault of piano accompanied by Oberst's wailing voice.

All around the album is solid, not a noticeably weak track on it. And Oberst keeps up his reputation as the best songwriter of this decade.