Now Downloading: New Releases 04.03.12 - Lotus Plaza

The second album from Lotus Plaza, the solo project for Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt.

April showers are bringing a big ol' bouquet of new releases, and while there's little at the top of the heap this week (stand up please, Lotus Plaza), there's a colorful array of auditory wonders that smell pretty enough to the ear. Take comfort now, my dear friends, that my Spring flower gardening metaphors are now spent for the duration. Besides the aforementioned gem from Lotus Plaza, other new blooms (whoops!) this week include ones from Bear in Heaven, Robert Pollard, The Lumineers, Dr. John (working with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach), a soundtrack from Black Mountain, Great Lake Swimmers, a compilation from fIREHOSE, Willis Earl Beal, Of Monsters and Men and more.

Playlist: New Releases 04.03.12: Spotify

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Lotus Plaza - Spooky Action At a Distance
Preview or Stream via Google / iTunes / Stream via Rhapsody / Stream via Spotify

Einstein coined the physics concept of Quantum Enganglement as "spukhafte fernwirkung," ie, "spooky action at a distance," so the choice of title for Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt's 2nd solo release (both under the name Lotus Plaza) has elicited more than a few science geek boners. And Spooky Action... fully lives up to its title, building on Lotus Plaza's shoegazing debut (The Floodlight Collective) with a dreamy pop sheen. Not entirely content to play second fiddle to Bradford Cox in the great Deerhunter, Pundt's solo outlet has proven more is a good thing when it comes to his main band's output.

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Bear in Heaven - I Love You, It's Cool
Purchase [mp3 vie emusic] / iTunes / Stream via Rhapsody or Stream via Spotify

With their third album now under their belt, it's becoming more apparent that the electro-pop outfit Bear in Heaven is that kid who talks about clubbing yet you'd be hard pressed to ever find him dancing. After breaking through with 2009's Beast Rest Forth Mouth, the Brooklyn (by way of Alabama) trio have seemingly traded hooks for auditory bliss, with added sequencers and fuzzier synths to color their looser song structures. While the end result is indeed full of auditory bliss, I think I Love You, It's Cool comes out on the short end of that trade. The band seems to hit upon a sound right off that is incredible, but they think it's incredible as well and several songs of Jon Philpot's smooth vocal bed riding the endless sequencer synths starts to sound the same -- aside from the brief respite of "Sinful Nature," it's a smooth ride that promised some dancing, but that E you thought you took turned out to be a simple tranquilizer. Still, an enjoyable ride, just not the one you'd hoped for.

Download: "Reflection of You" [mp3]

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
Robert Pollard - Mouseman Cloud [Insound] / Free AOL Album Stream / "Mouseman Cloud" [mp3]
The Lumineers - The Lumineers [Google] / Free Album Stream
High on Fire - Songs [Google]
Black Mountain - Year Zero: The Original Soundtrack [emusic]
Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is an Animal [Google]
Great Lake Swimmers - New Wild Everywhere [Insound] / Free Album Stream
fIREHOSE - Lowflows: The Columbia Anthology ('91-'93) [Google] / Free AOL Album Stream
Willis Earl Beal - Acoustic Sorcery [Google]
AU - Both Lights [Insound] / Free AOL Album Stream
Breton - Other People's Problems [Insound]
White Woods - Where Did You Go (Single) [emusic]
AU - Versions
UV Pop - No Songs Tomorrow [Google]
White Fence - Family Perfume, Vol 1 [emusic]
Tycho - Dive [Google]
REISSUES
Bright Eyes - Letting Off the Happiness [Google]

tags: music, album review, lotus plaza, bear in heaven, indie rock, new releases