Saturday, April 9, 2011

3 albums I wish you were listening to

Ha Ha Tonka - Death of a Decade
























I've been interested in Ha Ha Tonka for a while, and have generally liked their stuff, but I have not owned a full album of theirs until Death of a Decade. This album brings it all around for me. Further proof that Bloodshot Records still knows what they are doing.

Songs of note: "Made Example of" and "Lonely Fortunes"



Dolorean - The Unfazed

























For one reason or another, Dolorean fell off my radar the past few years. They are back. Al James is simply brilliant. Partisan made a great decision putting this record out.

Songs of note: "Thinskinned" and "Hard Working Dogs"



Middle Brother - Middle Brother
























I approached the record as a big fan of Dawes & Deer Tick, but not a lot of familiarity with Delta Spirit. Thus, while the odds were in the record's favor, I still had reservations about how well they could pull off an entire record without drifting off into some John McCauley-led debauchery halfway through.

That said, I gave the record a couple of listens on the way down to SXSW, and while I liked a number of tracks, I didn't completely connect with the record as a whole. Enter the Partisan Party at SXSW, where Middle Brother & Johnny Corndawg brought the house down in one of the better performances of the festival, and I grabbed a spot on the Middle Brother bandwagon. This album is strong all the way through.

Songs of note: "Mom and Dad," "Blood and Guts," and "Someday" (and basically every other song)