I Walked : Sufjan Stevens

A quick word. Sufjan Steven's upcoming album The Age of Adz is set to be released Oct. 12 (Hey! That's tomorrow!) and I had a few fleeting moments at work today to hear it streaming on NPR. I didn't get all the way through, but I made it to "I Walked," which so far is my favorite track. Upon Googling, I realized that my alter ego-- the Hyde to my Jekyll, if you will, apparently downloaded it for free off his Band Camp site and immediately forgot. How do I put this-- song is fantastic.

It's definitely a different feel from Sufjan Stevens's other records. Stephen Thompson from NPR described the sound as being less "precious." I think that's a really good way to put it. It's more electronic-- drum machines and all that business. At the same time though, there are parts of this song that have that "precious" feel that we've come to know and love from Stevens.

While part of me is intimidated at the 25-minute track that closes out the album, I think I want to pick up The Age of Adz anyway. I'm just thinking that my collection needs these sounds in it. Guess we'll see.

Crossfire : Brandon Flowers

Let me see if I can explain this. So, Charlize Theron rescues Brandon Flowers, who's bloodied and tied up in this warehouse, but he's dressed like he just escaped from the 1890s, which is weird because she's dressed like Lara Croft. Did I mention the ninjas? Every story needs villains, I guess. Anyway, so there are ninjas, but Theron is such a b.a. that she beats them, three times in a row. How Flowers keeps getting abducted, I don't know. You'd think if Theron was that good at rescuing him, she'd be pretty adept at protecting him too. After all the trouble and sweat, the two share a dramatic glance as Flowers sort of smiles at her, but she just stares back. And at the end? They hop in her truck and drive (Flowers in the passenger seat, p.s.) off into the... urban decay, or something.

I'm sure there's a deeper, girl-power-type analysis in there, but the ninjas were too distracting.

Anyhoodle, all I know is that this song isn't bad and didn't dissuade me from wanting to purchase the album when it comes out on September 14.

Radiohead to release new LP

Just so happens I wrote it up elsewhere....

Th National Name Album, Set Release Date

Winter '08 we heard that The National was heading back to the studio, so surely a new album was right around the corner, right? Just about a year later, we've got a name and a release date!

According to Drowned in Sound, expect High Violet on May 11th. TMI is pretty excited. Boxer was truly a wonderful album and I look forward to another cerebral, intricately layered production by the coolest self-aware-sort-of-adults around.

Check out the website they set up for High Violet.

Other than that, details are few. Stay tuned though, you'll find them here as soon as they trickle in.

Worldsick : Broken Social Scene

This cover art from their '05 self-titled beats all.

Somehow I say that I never have enough time on my hands to really listen to Broken Social Scene. Today I decided this must change.

They're coming out with an new album called Forgiveness Rock Record on May 4, 2010. I always associate them with the Ryan Gosling movie Half Nelson-- they had several songs in the soundtrack, if I remember correctly. It's one of my favorite movies.

In the meantime, carve out 6:48 minutes of your day and listen to their new song "Worldsick." The guitar is wonderful.

The National to Release New Album

Time has been tight around here, but I did just want to post this quickly-- The National is officially coming out with a new album in May. No other details as of yet, but stay tuned. I think one of the last things we heard of the band was when they announced that they would be heading to the studio in the Spring of '09.

Maybe the Vampires are Why the Rabbits are Frightened

March 9th. Mark it down in your calendar. Now. Why? Frightened Rabbit. New LP. You should be excited. But in all seriousness, the Scottish band is all set to release their follow up to 2008's Midnight Organ Flight. This was a really great album, partly because Frightened Rabbit has a way of coming off honest and human while at the same time being gritty and somewhat uncouth. It's fascinating and really terrific.

That said, TMI is obviously looking forward to The Winter of Mixed Drinks. And no, that's not TMI's holiday plans. Check the track list below.

01. Things
02. Swim Until You Can't See Land
03. The Loneliness and the Scream
04. The Wrestle
05. Skip the Youth
06. Nothing Like You
07. Man/Bag of Sand
08. Foot Shooter
09. Not Miserable
10. Living in Colour
11. Yes, I Would

*Note- I've seen writers refer to Frightened Rabbit recently as "Frabbit" and I think it's a riot.

In other news, Vampire Weekend released the B side to "Cousins." It's called "California English Pt. 2" and as Pitchfork observed, it's got this weird Animal Collective thing going on. Have a listen.

Vampire Weekend : Horchata

As Vampire Weekend's new album, Contra nears its release date, we bring you their first single, courtesy of Drowned in Sound, one of my fav British music websites.

"Horchata" is exotic, syncopated goodness. This bodes well-- not a watery continuation or a divorce from their signature sound. Take a listen.



You can catch Contra January 12th.