New Release Tuesday

This is a sort of catch-up NRT, as I forgot to do this last week and a lot of cool stuff came out last week. So shame on me for the 2nd time today.

La Roux, La Roux (Cherrytree/Interscope)

Elly Jackson has been winning headlines lately over some fairly controversial (and yeah, in some cases outright stupid) statements made in the press about other bands, feminism, etc. However, I do find myself in agreement with something she recently said in The Guardian, the crux of which was that The Musician is an entity separate and apart from The Music. So no, I’m not going to suddenly claim I hate the music of La Roux simply because she makes some daft comment in an interview (usually, we seem to admire this sort of outspoken nature in our musicians).

I’d also point out that she’s barely 21 years old, and that the vast majority of the rest of us were saying all sorts of idiotic and offensive things when we were 21. Remember, an 18-22 year old believes they know everything about anything, and will speak definitively and authoritatively on any subject that happens to cross their mind. Thankfully (or should I say hopefully), we all grow out of it and realize we don’t know nearly as much as we wish we did.

Karen O & The Kids, Where the Wild Things Are, Original Soundtrack (DGC/Interscope)

When thinking about the new WTWTA movie, I feel like I imagine a lot of people who grew up loving this book feel – nervous, excited and hesitant. It’s been built up as so amazing and stupendous, with even original author Maurice Sendak’s enthusiastically stating that Spike Jonze was ‘the only one’ who could have brought his book to life, but like anyone who excitedly entered the theater for The Phantom Menace, I have concerns over something that might be too good to be true.

From the few listens I’ve been able to afford it, the soundtrack seems just about spot on, though. It sounds as though they’ve taken The Arcade Fire as something of a template – at least the song that accompanied previous trailers, ‘Wake Up’ – and ran with it. There’s the potential for it to be a bit too precious if you’re listening to it separate from the film it’s intended to accompany (I’ll put it this way, if you didn’t like Tiny Masters of Today you probably won’t like this), so my honest opinion is to avoid listening to the soundtrack until the film comes out in October. That sounds like a mixed recommendation, but I think you’ll end up appreciating the whole thing in an entirely different way.

Monsters of Folk (Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward, Mike Mogis) – Monsters of Folk (Rough Trade/Shangri-La)

When I first heard of Monsters of Folk, it didn’t seem like anything I’d be interested in. Not because I don’t respect the projects of the individual artists involved, but because supergroups tend to miss the mark when it comes to offering compelling, original material. Usually, it just ends up sounding a lot like one of the constituent member’s existing bands, or it ends up being a fertile breeding ground for said participants less desirable indulgences (*cough* Zwan *cough*).

However, this album is far better than it has any right to be (at least in part based on the aforementioned experiences with so-called supergroups). Of course, this is folk like Muse is metal (conversations with God notwithstanding). There are flourishes of RJD2-ish electronica, full-on Lynnesque symphonic rock and even the populist side of The Grateful Dead. And yes, I know I just used ‘ish’ and ‘esque’, but it’s been a long day. Point being, I think this is actually more interesting than the last albums by either Bright Eyes or My Morning Jacket. I’ll be excited to hear what else these boys come up with.

Richard Hawley – Truelove’s Gutter (Mute)

Richard Hawley made one of my favorite albums of 2007, Lady’s Bridge. It was a gorgeous, crooning delight that soundtracked many evenings spent in quiet reflection. And that’s Hawley’s true gift, really – the ability to convey an incredibly complex set of emotional states in the simplest package. Every song, every verse, every word is loaded with the weight of experience. He’s actually lived enough life to know what regret really is. Listen to ‘For Your Lover, Give Some Time’ and tell me this isn’t magnificent. The only flaw I might find here is that this is a very dark, heavy record, and could be overwhelming if absorbed in one sitting. Don’t drink it all down if you’ve been eying the sharp things around your house, that’s all I’m saying.

Richard Hawley – Tonight The Streets Are Ours

Tags: la roux, monsters of folk, richard hawley, where the wild things are