I just found out that, since I've been gone (sort of), the new Of Montreal, Shins, and Earlies discs came out. Great! I guess I actually have the Shins. But the Earlies and Of Montreal; I am stoked to hear them both.
Meanwhile, I've been listening to Of Montreal's "The Sunlandic Twins" over and over. Man, is it good! It kicks off with the fun "Requiem for o.m.m. 2", rolls along into "I was never young" and "Wraith pinned to the mist and other games" (aka that Outback steakhouse song), two great songs layered over thumpy drum-machine basslines that actually make ME want to dance (!). And THEN you hit the pinnacle of the album, either "The Party's Crashing Us" (featuring the lyric: "We make love like a pair of black wizards/ you free me from the past/ you fuck the suburbs out of me") or the nearly sonically perfect (I don't know if it's acoustically perfect like Peter Gabriel) "So Begins Our Alabee". Then it gets a little dreamy and psychedelic. But when your "worse half" of the record includes hits like "Oslo in the Summertime" and "The Repudiated Immortals", that's a good disc. Everyone's abuzz about Kevin Barnes's songwriting, and rightfully so. This work is a gem, and I can't wait to hear his next.
Also, and less notable: DangerDoom's "The Mouse and the Mask" (an annoying circle jerk between Danger Mouse, MF Doom, and Cartoon Network... if you've heard it, you know what I mean) and Matthew Freidberger's "Holy Ghost Language School" (which, as usual, is interesting, but Hey Matt, layering some noodly piano nonsense over you telling some noodly story in hushed tones isn't ALWAYS actually a song.).
Equally notable, but I don't know how so: Scott Walker's "The Drift." Have any of you listened to it? This guy sounds like an opera singer or something. It's kind of haunting. I can't bring myself to listen to it again, because I need a mental boost right now, not a giant downer. Plus it's slow.
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