The Killers new album Day & Age returns to the uptempo pop styling that I fell in love with in their first release, Hot Fuss.  If The Killers was a person, Hot Fuss would be the hyperactive and innocent 4 year old, Sams Town would be the pubescent teenager melancholic, Sawdust would be the 19 year old fresh out of high school not sure which path to take and Day & Age is the mature 22 year old who has realized the best path is the one that made you happy as a child.

“Spaceman” is my favorite song this year, there’s something about how Brandom Flowers says “And you know I might,Have just flown too far from the floor this time” that gives me a combination of chills and deja vu of a song I can’t place . What makes this album as a whole great is that while each song is full of The Killers style you also get a range of themes or types of songs from the Dance for Joy of “Joy Ride” to the reflective and sad of “This is Your Life”.

The album is set to release in the states Nov 24. but luckily the album has already been released in Japan and is readily available on the internet.

Normally when an actress trys to break into singing it ends badly with one more horrible album released on the world. Alot of people are trying to say this is true with Scarlett Johansson and her Tom Waits cover album anywhere I lay my head but I respectfully disagree.  These people would probably tell Tom Waits he’s a bad singer simply because his voice doesn’t match their tuning fork. While in fact it is this uniqueness that made Tom Waits the great artist he is today. The same holds true with anywhere I lay my head, the ambient eclectic toy box styles of producer David Sitek(of TV on the Radio) producer combined with the shoegazing voice of Johansson work together to form a sound worthy to cover Tom Waits.

Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Ark 1is one of the most interesting albums I’ve probably heard all year.  Beyond The Wizards Sleeve did a great job at puttting together a beautifully orchestrated psychadelic album you can actually enjoy with out following any white rabbits down strange holes.  The one thing about the album that I like way more than I probably should is the weird british dialogue going on in some of their songs especially Winter in June. I think it has something to do with the guys voice sounding like most book on tape voice actors.

Seventh Tree is Goldrapp’s fifth album and its a step back to the folk electronic of Felt Mountain but with a pleasantly warm dose of ambience. Seventh Tree wraps you up in its lushous vines and lifts you up to chill on its branches basking in the the warm sun.

The Ting Tings new album We Started Nothing is an all night dance party with a snappy English chick. Julie Whites voice combined with Jules De Martino beat is a nice shock to the heart. If you are throwing a party and are looking to play something a little(i.e. ALOT) more fun to “cut the rug” to than the latest Soulja Boy, definitely give this a spin or two or more if you have the endurance of a posessed river dancer.

Hailing from the most not even remotely weird and certainly not eccentric city of Austin,TX,  The Calm Blue Sea’s self titled debut album has a delightfully distinct post-rock feel. By that I mean the album sounds somewhere between a fairytale and a peaceful dream. The Brothers Grimm kind not the prancing looney tunes version and by peaceful dream I mean your taking a nap in a boat in a sea in a dark storm.

They are playing at notsouh this Friday(Nov 14th), its a good venue so if you like what you hear go out and support this group of mono-syllably named guys(Noah=one, yes?).

“Instrumental post rock” seems too cold a classification for music full of such intense beauty. I’ve met an Astronaut but have yet to meet God so I cant tell if God is in fact an Astronaut. However I’d imagine looking down on our blue and green planet from the cold black of space would humble the greatest egos. And it is this ethereal experience is what is drawn into my imagination when listening to this album.

God Is An Astronaut the album is set to be released tomorrow Nov 7th.

The WalkMen

The Little Ones

Young Mammals

Awesome Show today,

Thursday Oct 9 @ Walters on Washington.

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I picked this album solely because it is titled after a city I was planning on going to today, New York City.  However, instead of making it to New York I somehow ended up in Tampico. And that same twist is exactly what happened with the Brazilian Girls soon to be released album (Aug 5) New York City.

I was expecting a good electronic/indie record from the title and cover art and at first they went along with my expectations with the pleasant “St. Petersburg” and then out of nowhere, in “Losing Myself”, Sabina Sciubba(who’s the only girl and not Brazilian) the singer breaks into french but this is more like a franglish song, they switch from english to french multiple times and the cool part is this is done on purpose, not for lack of fluency. If you want completely french songs, they have a beautiful story about a “L’Interprete”. If you want Spanish, They have the haunting “Ricardo”.  And of course the very English song “Good Times”.

The beauty of this album is not just its language switching but their ability to combine their very unique style with that of another country to create a truelly great “Internacional” record.

You can find more information about Brazilian Girls as well as information on their upcoming album at their website