New Jams

too long without a post here! i know. been Portastatic-ing here and there. also been visiting the CD store. possibly preventing a huge financial hemorrhaging when i visit NYC (and other music) this weekend, but i doubt it! here's some recently picked up stuff i've been listening to..._Pelican - City of Echoes_ the worst thing about metal is usually the vocals. Pelican conveniently leaves that part out for your listening pleasure. heard a track on Salon and went out and got this one, their newest, and while it drags in places there are some really fantastic, heavy-but-pretty moments on here. reminds me of some of Bitch Magnet's more epic episodes. damn wish i woulda seen this band at Primavera! along with..._Wilco - Sky Blue Sky_ i'm loving the gentle Wilco mode, especially the first song "Either Way" and "What Light." i also like the "weird Wilco" of Ghost, Yankee, etc which wasn't really that weird at all, but much of this album sounds more natural to me. damn i wish i woulda seen this band at Primavera._Tracey Thorn - Out of the Woods_ psyched to see this get a domestic release. ever since the Marine Girls , i've been pretty much "gimme some Tracey Thorn" from the wispy indie days through the Everything But the Girl disco nights til now. this is still on the electronic tip but some of the keyboard sounds could almost be tounge-in-cheek...a bit lighter in mood than some of the later EBTG. Thorn's voice always manages a great balance of detached and wounded. i just saw on the EBTG site that the b-sides to her new single are Magnetic Fields covers, you can hear 'em on her myspace page and they sound Magnetic Fields-y._Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls_ whereas i often prefer my metal instrumental, i like my Electrelane with singing and there's more here than ever. earlier records i enjoyed but didn't engage me like this one, which seems less controlled, more propulsive, and with the aforementioned vocals carrying the hooks along. immediate and lovely.