RIYL: globalism and gettin' down

Fool's Gold - (s/t)

on IAmSound records (2009)

Much-hyped L.A. collective embraces all kinds of world music influences—including afro-pop, Hebrew lyrics, and Latin percussion—fusing them together in a resulting sound that's beautiful, gloriously post-racial, and impossible not to move your ass to.

I can't get past "Surprise Hotel" and "Nadine" before wanting to play them over again.

RIYL: haunting reverb and George Harrison

Yim Yames - Tribute To

respecting elders on ATO records (2009)

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James pays homage to George Harrison here by covering a handful of the Beatles axeman's tunes. All six songs on the EP are sparse, acoustic affairs that feature little more than James' desert-highway croon slowly working through Harrison's familiar melodies. The austere cover art says it all.

"My Sweet Lord" and "All Things Must Pass" are especially beautiful interpretations. Check 'em out.

RIYL: troubadours, banjos, and Napoleonic talents

The Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave

out now on gravitation records (2008)

A lot of attention has been focused on Swedish singer/songwriter Kristian Mattsson's less-than-average height, but perhaps only because it's all the more noticeable given his enormous talent. Performing as The Tallest Man On Earth, Mattsson's gravelly ballads are hard to deny, as are his uncommon banjo chops and knotty, usually heavy-hearted lyrics. Give a listen to "The Gardener" or the title track and you'll hear what I mean.

No LaLa support on this one, unfortunately.

RIYL: Neil Young, lo-fi folk, and more Neil Young

Woods - Songs of Shame

rockin' in the free world via Shrimper records (2009)

Funny how an outside nudge is all it takes to give a once dismissed record a second, more receptive look. In this case that nudge came from a friend, and man was he right; this record rules. True to the grower credo, Songs of Shame takes some breaking in over a few listens. Volume helps.

Check out the fragile fuzz-rock of "To Clean," "Echo Lake," "Rain On," and "Gypsy Hand"

RIYL: your funk on ice, shoegaze guitars, and breakbeats

Yppah - They Know What Ghost Know

playing it cool on Ninja Tune records (2009)

Yppah is the solo project of Lone Star state native Joe Corrales. I wasn't at all familiar with his first album, but the kaleidoscoping psychedelic-rock/funk/hip hop workouts on this one, his latest record, have got me hungry for more. Granted, I've been on a bit of an electronic-flavored kick recently.

Check out the secret-agent smooth vibes of "Gumball Machine Weekend," and head onto "Shutter Speed" or "The Tingling" from there.

RIYL: murky experimental-pop, childhood, and Animal Collective

Blind Man's Colour - Season's Dreaming

blowing minds on Kanine records (2009)

Blind Man's Colour are Kyle Orhan and Ben Ashton, two best-friends from St. Petersburg, Florida who've been making music together since they can remember. The duo wears their obvious Animal Collective worship on their sleeves, and they even covered some AC songs and posted them for free download on their blog. But if Animal Collective embodies what lies ahead for music, the lo-fi murkiness of Season's Dreaming feels more like some long-lost field recording from the past. The album's nostalgic songs are awash in a dreamy haze of found-sound samples, reverbed melodies, and enveloping electronic noise. It works.

Try album opener "Warm Currents Pull," the trippy "Jimmy Dove," or the unfolding horizon of "Shells"

RIYL: the 1950's, effortless pop, and the perfect wave

The Drums - Summertime EP

yours to own on TwentySeven records (2009)

Upstart Florida duo makes yearny pop songs after moving to Brooklyn. This debut EP is not the most consistent record ever made, and it sometimes gets obnoxiously too-cool-for-school. Lead-single "Let's Go Surfing" is more than worth the price of admission, however, with its breezy hook and beckoning optimism. The music video's pretty great, too.

RIYL: country miles and Music From Big Pink

The Moondoggies - Don't Be A Stranger

out now on Hardly Art (2008)

More favorite records from 2008, this time from Seattle's own downhome-rockers The Moondoggies.

RIYL: itinerancy, psychedelic pop, and Kiwi's

The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion

around the world in 80 days via Sub Pop records (2008), and just recently pressed on vinyl for the first time.

It's awfully distracting traveling the world, and I'm admittedly slouching on the blog love front this week—which is why I'm digging deep in the personal favorites bag and posting about one of mine from last year: Sea Lion, by fellow globetrotters The Ruby Suns. Here's something I wrote about the record in another piece:

"There's something universally appealing about Sea Lion: its incredibly fun. So long as the Ruby Suns keep that spirit as their amorphous music's common denominator, I've no doubt we can expect more great things to come from these New Zealanders"

Start with the carnival-inspired Latin vibes of "Tane Mahuta," or "Kenya Dig It?" and its cinematic 80's score. You might recognize the chorus of "Oh Mojave" from that one Microsoft commercial.

RIYL: Pete Rock, instrumental boom-bap, and diggin' in the crates

Visioneers - Dirty Old Hip Hop

on BBE records (2006)

RIYL: nu-folk, coffeehouses, and the slower pace of an era gone-by

Bowerbirds - Upper Air

out now on Dead Oceans records (2009)

This now one-guy-and-one-girl duo make rustic folk music that's anchored in acoustic guitar, accordion, and the pre-amplifier traditions of an older time. Both "Northern Lights" and "Beneath Your Tree" are available for free download courtesy of Dead Oceans.

RIYL: synchronized swim-pop, lethal charm, and paisleys

St. Vincent - Actor

winning-over audiences everywhere on 4AD records (2009)

Tomorrow I take off for a family vacation and will probably have little internet access, so this week's posts might be relatively scrawny. That's still a few hours away, however, and for the present time I want to quickly wax enthusiastic about some great records. I'll schedule them to post one at a time per day.

Today's is the engrossing second album of multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark and her ziplock-tight backing band, who together perform as St. Vincent. Give it a listen. Clark's inventive, meticulously-arranged, and enchanting songs are as innocuously sweet as they are slightly menacing. I'd reccomend "Laughing With A Mouth Full Of Blood," "The Strangers," or "The Party" to start.

RIYL: genre-defiance and beats for days

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue

absolutely killing it on Warp records (2009)

Maybe this is a feeling limited to those of us who fall into the I-was-once-a-middle-school-boy set, but do you remember the sense of eager excitement caused by new ownership of a fresh pair of high-tops? Well, that's sort of how I feel about this new Bibio (aka Stephen Wilkonson) record that's currently running laps around my domepiece—I just can't wait to show it off. Perhaps you've caught wind of this self-taught UK producer's new record by way of its recent 'Best New Music' stamp from PFork. If not, suffice it to say that the hype is accurate. Existing somewhere between the left-field hip hop of Flying Lotus, the instrumental sample-collage of The Avalanches, and the genre-blurring production of DJ Shadow, the ambient beats on Ambivalence Avenue simply bump like no other.

There's some stock to be taken in the album's alliterative title, insofar as the direction and mood of Wilkinson's music refuses to sit still. The record is constantly venturing into new territory—whether it's pulsing hip hop, melodic pop, or bleeping electronica—never settling on one style and all the while incoporating a nostaligc haze of ambient found sounds. This restlessness may have proved distracting if each foray wasn't so damn enjoyable, as there's not a single unispired track on here. My favorites are "S'vive" "Jealous of Roses" "Haikuesque" "Fire Ant" and the title track.

Once again I'm breaking from my own mold a bit by featuring an album not available for embedding through Lala, but have no fear: Warp's website has an interactive "virtual forest" under Bibio's artist page where you can basically stream the entire album for free, and plant some digital conifers while you're at it. Dig?

RIYL: bare-bones folk, moonlight spirituals, and Walden Pond

The Cave Singers - Welcome Joy

soothing souls on Matador records (2009)

Today I want to give a little blog love to local folk-hymnal trio, The Cave Singers, whose sophomore record just dropped last week. Welcome Joy is another stirring album of folk reveries that only slightly fleshes out the stripped-down acoustics, jugband rhythms, and gospel-fed melodies of their previous record, Invitation Songs. This is the soundtrack to a midnight campfire, or a long walk in a secluded woods; solitary music that is best when shared with others.

I'd vote for "VV" or "Hen Of The Woods" as the best place to start. Matador's blog is offering "Beach House" for free download as well.

RIYL: zombie-rockabilly in the key of thrash

Thee Oh Sees - The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In

melting faces via Tomlab records (2008)

A lot of bands mine the 1960's garage/psychedelia/pop sound these days, but few own that confluence as convincingly as San Francisco outfit Thee Oh Sees. For some disappointing reason, LaLa doesn't yet have their outstanding 2009 record, Help, which I'd argue is even stronger, so I've embedded (the already-excellent) TMBIWSANI. Not a bad place to start.

The band's quirky blend of spastic pop hooks and trippy guitar feedback may take some initial getting used to, but try "Enemy Destruct" (from Help), "Ghost In The Trees," or "Adult Acid" on for size and tell me you aren't feeling the love.

RIYL: the sun overhead, a little twang, and endless listenability

Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band

out for glory on Sub Pop records (2009)

For his latest Fruit Bats release, Eric Johnson has assembled another solid group of merry men (including Califone's Tim Rutili and Jim Becker) to serve as studio band and help with production duties. It's fair to say that The Ruminant Band's lilting and country-tinged folk-rock doesn't ever stray from the sunny-days Americana sound found on previous Fruit Bats albums, but Johnson's comfort zone is a hugely pleasant one. I can't stop listening to this record. Start with the title track, "Primitive Man" or "The Hobo Girl."

RIYL: the symphony on LSD, handclaps, and glam minus the eroticism

Electric Light Orchestra - All Over The World: The Very Best Of ELO

available on epic records (2005)

Rising like the proverbial phoenix after the demise of English art-pop group The Move in 1970, Electric Light Orchestra announced its intentions to "pick up were I am the Walrus left off" and never looked back. The band's adventurous blend of pop and classical music with pomp theatrics and galactic concept-art perfectly embodied the 1970's spirit of psychedelic experimentalism and excess. ELO's melodramatics are kind of hard to take seriously today; but the music is as good a time as ever.

Most listeners will instantly recognize "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Evil Woman." Be sure to get down to the disco-symphonies of "Shine A Little Love" and "Turn To Stone" as well.

RIYL: athletic beats, sing-song flows, and the golden boy of Rawkus Records

Mos Def - The Ecstatic

yours to own on Downtown Music (2009)

Ten years, a rock band, several acting roles, and one uninspired release later—the boogie man Mos Def is back with a bonafide follow-up to his 1999 classic Black On Both Sides. On the gumbo-like Ecstatic, mighty Mos rhymes, scats, and sings his way atop a globetrotting collection of beats, his agile flow leapfrogging from style to style with swagger and ease, whether it's Madlib-laced Bollywood, Trap-hop, Afro-beat, or more conventional jazz and soul-samples.

BOBS was and continues to be a hip hop landmark; but 1999 was a long time ago. This latest record should appease Mos fans from the Rawkus glory days, as well as secure him a score of new ones looking for hip hop's direction one decade later. Lend "History" and "Casa Bey" your eardrums.

RIYL: fireside harmony, drifters, and percussive minimalism

Nurses - Apple Acre

on the heavy hittin' Dead Oceans label (2009)

Three best friends from Portland-via-Chicago-via-Idaho just released this focused, playful record--their second--of stripped down freak-folk. Each track is based on one or two core hooks, out from which like concentric circles build layers of jug band drums and flurries of piano keys and oddball electronic noise. It's experimental, yet steadfastly pop. Start with "Lita" or "Caterpillar Playground" and go on to repeat album listens from there.

RIYL: Simon, Garfunkel, and sepia-toned daydreams

Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic

available on Western Vinyl (2009)

This Brooklyn-based band makes folky, ambient pop tunes for the 21st century: gently-plucked guitars, syncopated rhythms, and a haze of electronic flourishes coalesce with hushed male vocals in songs that move and swirl about as if underwater.

Their self-titled record was released this past February, and is full-blown awesome. Give your first listen to "Only Pieces" or "Fangela", and check out the abstract music video for "Tunnelvision."