Now Downloading: New Releases 04.27.10

This week merely serves as a stop-gap before May's bonanza of anticipated releases. But there's still a few releases that of note, like the self-titled debut from Avi Buffalo, Gogol Bordello, Unnatural Helpers, Emily Jane White, Frog Eyes and the train wreck that is Courtney Love's Hole (previewed on Monday).

Playlist: New Releases 04.27.10

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Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Sub Pop is at it again... with their latest find, Avi Buffalo, it's almost as if they cloned label stars The Shins and Band of Horses, and had them raised by The Danielson Family. Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg and his fellow 19-year old band mates have released a debut that's wide-eyed and brimming with obvious talent. Given how young the band is, there's understandably some consistency issues, swinging from beautiful pop to head-scratching weirdness, but when they balance the two, like they do with standout tracks "What's it in For?," "Jessica," and "Remember Last Time", they can do no wrong. It's a great introduction to a band I expect great things from.

Download: "Remember Last Time" / "What's It In For" [mp3]

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Gogol Bordello - Trans-Continental Hustle
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Eugene Hütz and co.'s major label debut doesn't sway too far from what got them on Rick Rubin and American's radar. The band does, however, attempt to expand their gypsy punk sound to include some Brazilian fervor into the action ("In The Meantime In Pernambuco"), and with Rubin behind the board, the band occasionally achieves the frenetic loud punk sound of their live act ("Immigraniada"). If there's one drawback it's that after awhile, it's difficult to distinguish one song from another, but at least it's a good energy that's being replicated here.

Free AOL album stream

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
Unnatural Helpers - Cracked Love & Other Drugs / "Sunshine / Pretty Girls," "Girl in the Window" [mp3]
Emily Jane White - Victorian America / Free AOL album stream
The Boy Least Likely To - A Fairytale Ending
Frog Eyes - Paul's Tomb: A Triumph / "Lear in Love," "Flower in a Glove" [mp3]
Hole - Nobody's Daughter
Balkan Beat Box - Blue Eyed Black Boy / Free AOL album stream
Ariel Pink'S Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round
Piebald - Volume 1
The Black Swans - Words Are Stupid
Bullet For My Valentine - Fever / Free AOL album stream
The Mynabirds - What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood / "Numbers Don't Lie" [mp3]
Naked On the Vague - Heaps of Nothing

REISSUES
Big Audio Dynamite - City of Daughters (Bonus Tracks)
Ane Brun - Sketches
Ane Brun - Live in Scandinavia
Ane Brun - Spending Time With Morgan

tags: music, album review, avi buffalo, gogol bordello, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody