Now Downloading: New Releases 06.09.09

What a great year for music this has been... and even with all that's come prior, the latest from Dirty Projectors might just be the best of the year. Meanwhile, Sonic Youth's The Eternal is also a welcome return to rock and roll for the legendary band. Other new releases of note are an EP from Deerhunter, and the latest from Rhett Miller, Kasbian, Elizabeth & the Catapult, Joan of Arc, Cosmos, Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, Los Amigos Invisibles, Little Boots, Busdriver and an interesting soundtrack from British Sea Power.

Playlist: New Releases 06.09.09

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Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

When the year opened with Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, you just knew it was going to be a special year for music, and now the latest from Dirty Projectors solidifies 2009 as a one of the best years in recent memory. Bitte Orca is by far the most accessible release from Dave Longstreth and co. while yet remaining to be complicated enough to no doubt fluster more than a few ears. Previous releases from Longstreth suffered from an almost obsessive need to complicate, and while there's still obsession here throughout, it's far more an enjoyable listen. Just listen to the middle three songs, from the afro-pop bounce of first single "Stillness Is The Move" (featuring Mariah Carey vocal references from Amber Coffman,) to the ballad "Two Doves" (sung angelically by Angel Deradoorian*) to the kitchen sink brilliance of "Useful Chamber." It's the best three song ride in any album in some time, and really, the whole album is full of unbelievable joys for the mind+ear combo. Just be careful if you're walking and listening to "Temecula Sunrise" at the same time... add in some chewing gum and you're liable to trip and fall.

*Just to illustrate that this album is a bit more accessible, I caught my 4-year old singing this song (nearly brought a tear to my eye).

Free AOL Album Stream

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Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Back on an independent label (Matador, this time out) for the first time in nearly three decades, the legendary no wave'rs let loose from the start with the rocker "Sacred Trickster" and bob and weave throughout the album with varied success. The album on the whole is uneven, but still welcome in it's return to the kind of revved up rockers we haven't heard from the band since Goo.

Free AOL Album Stream
Download: "Sacred Trickster" [mp3]

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
Rhett Miller - Rhett Miller / Free AOL Album Stream
Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP
British Sea Power - Man of Aran
Kasbian - The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum / Free AOL Album Stream
Elizabeth & the Catapult - Taller Children / "Taller Children" [mp3]
Cosmos (feat. ROBERT POLLARD) - Jar of Jam Ton of Bricks
Joan Of Arc - Flowers / "Explain Yourselves #2" [mp3]
Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey - Here and Now
Los Amigos Invisibles - Commercial
Little Boots - Hands / Free AOL Album Stream
Busdriver - Jhelli Beam / Free AOL Album Stream
Illinois - The Adventures of Kid Catastrophe
Mos Def - The Ecstatic / Free AOL Album Stream
The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin / "Charlie Darwin", "To Ohio" [mp3]
The Aggrolites - IV
Hermit Thrushes - Slight Fountain
Placebo - Battle For The Sun
Nosaj Thing - Drift
Rubies - Explode From the Center
Anti-Flag - People or the Gun
Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D.
REISSUES
The Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue
The Rolling Stones - Some Girls
The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
The Rolling Stones - Undercover

tags: music, album review, dirty projectors, sonic youth, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody