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Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

March 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Album reviews

The newest album from alt-country songstress and New Pornographer Neko Case was recorded partially in a barn in Vermont, and the influence is clear: the songs within focus primarily on nature and our relationship with it (the record ends with a 30 minute field recording from a pond near her house), all delivered with an amorphous and hooky mixture of instruments and styles, not to mention Case’s undeniably powerful and gorgeous voice, making Middle Cyclone one of the most subtly enjoyable albums of the year so far.

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Various Artists – Dark Was the Night

February 20th, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted in Album reviews

An AIDs charity compilation offered by 4AD and Red Hot, Dark Was the Night gathers the most recognizable names in the world of indie music for two discs worth of new recordings, the first folk-centric and the second more electric; as one would expect the results are mixed, with some big highlights – excellent contributions from Grizzly Bear (“Deep Blue Sea”), Arcade Fire (“Lenin”), My Morning Jacket (“El Caporel”), a team up between David Byrne and Dirty Projectors (“Knotty Pine”), and one of Bon Iver’s best songs yet (“Brackett, WI”) – and some disappointments – Spoon seem to phone it in on “Well-Alright” and Sufjan Stevens’ 10-minute epic “You Are the Blood” is not nearly as impressive as it thinks it is – but who cares because it’s for a good cause so you should buy it anyway.

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