Now Downloading: New Releases 05.19.09

I took a couple weeks off from dishing on the new releases due both to being ridiculously busy and not being inspired by enough I was hearing. I'm still busy, but it's hard to ignore this week (and the next,) with the latest from Jarvis Cocker, Grandaddy's Jason Lytle and White Rabbits. Meanwhile, Phoenix's wonderful Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has been digitally available for a few weeks already in Rhapsody (and a week in iTunes) and there's other new releases from John Vanderslice, Passion Pit, Au Revoir Simone, Jeffrey Lewis, Apostle Of Hustle, Clues, The Field and the rarities collection from Iron & Wine.

Playlist: New Releases 05.19.09

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Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

There's always been a sort of weird parallel between Jarvis Cocker and Nick Cave, and with Further Complications, Cocker has released his own kind of Grinderman, the raw and rockish side project from Cave. Both projects reflect the artists at the height of depravity -- libidinous come-ons and bruising put downs. "Leftovers" is the song most will refer to, with the opening line (a callback to the Pulp classic "Common People") "I met her in the museum of paleontology / And I make no bones about it," "I said, 'If you wish to study dinosaurs, I know a specimen whose interest is undoubted.'" Then later, if we've somehow missed the hints of Cocker cocksure, we get "I don't need a relationship, I need a receptacle." Steve Albini as producer is a perfect match for Cocker's cartoonish bravado, with that big drum sound forcing Cocker out of his usually more laid back delivery. It's a big and dumb clever rock record that's a kick.

Download: "Angela" [mp3]

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White Rabbits - It's Frightening
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Just like Jarvis Cocker, Brooklyn's White Rabbits breathed new life into their sound through a new producer, in this case Spoon's Britt Daniel. It's Frightening is marked by the same 'less is more' that Daniel's Spoon has perfected over many releases, and it suits White Rabbits well. Emphasis on rhythm and space in songs make up for the occasional dip in songwriting. The album sounds (and feels, thanks to the emphasis on the pounding skins) great.

Free AOL Album Stream

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Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, The Commuter
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

When Jason Lytle disbanded Grandaddy, it was understood he would carry on solo with much the same sensibility as his old outfit, but Yours Truly, the Commuter feels like more like outtakes from previous albums than a step forward. There's a few songs that would be standouts on previous Grandaddy albums, but here they suffer from getting lost in a certain sameness a Lytle lazily sticks to the mellow side, giving up on the occasional dynamics that his former outfit would throw our way. In the end, it's pleasant, but yawn-inducing all the same.

Free AOL Album Stream

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
John Vanderslice - Romanian Names / "Too Much Time" [mp3]
Passion Pit - Manners / Free AOL Album Stream / "Moth's Wings" [mp3]
Au Revoir Simone - Still Night, Still Light
Iron & Wine - Around the Well / "Belated Promise Ring" [mp3]
Jeffrey Lewis - Em Are I / Free AOL Album Stream / "Slogans" [mp3]
Apostle Of Hustle - Amatoria / Free AOL Album Stream
Clues - Clues
The Field - Yesterday & Today / Free AOL Album Stream
True Blood: Music from the HBO Original Series
Elfin Saddle - Ringing for the Begin Again
The Curious Mystery - Rotting Slowly
The Warlocks - The Mirror Explodes / "Red Camera" [mp3]
Method Man and Redman - Blackout 2

REISSUES
Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead / Free AOL Album Stream
Nick Cave - From Her To Eternity
Nick Cave - Your Funeral... My Trial
Nick Cave - Kicking Against the Pricks
Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule: 20th Anniversary Edition

tags: music, album review, phoenix, white rabbits, jarvis cocker, jason lytle, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody