Buy Buy Buy! ... and Don't Buy!

Ok, so I feel like I should come up with a new title for this (when does something stop becoming ironic?). But anyways, here's the second edition of Buy Buy Buy! ... and Don't Buy!

New(ish) Buys!
Bill Callahan - Woke up on a Whaleheart (Drag City, out April 17th)
Surprise! Ex-(Smog)er Callahan comes up with another awesome album. Whaleheart comes loaded with soul thant most songwriters only dream of developing. Callahan has always had a skill at making the most mundane seem the most fascinating. Who else could write a song as captivating as 'Sycamore'? Although this album does hold up that well to previous albums like Knock Knock or 2005's A River Ain't Too Much to Love, it's still really solid start to finish.

Joanna Newsom - Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band (Drag City)
How can I not follow up Callahan with his partner in crime Newsom? Anyways, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Ys was a BIT of a dissapointment for me. I emphasis 'bit' because I still love the album, but miss the intimacy that made The Milk Eyed Member one of my favorite albums of the last ten years. Once I got over the 'holy crap it's Van Dyck Parks!' phase, I found the orchestration on the album (as beautiful as it was) to actually separate Newsom from the listener a bit. Listening to 'Emily' made me long for 'Sprout and the Bean.' This is what makes this Ep of stripped down versions of old songs (including a great version of 'Cosmia') so refreshing. Here is a more exposed, more vulnerable Newsom than we're ever allowed to get on Ys.

Kode 9 and the Spaceape - Memories of the Future (Hyperdub)
This album actually came out last year, but I didn't get a chance to really listen to it until recently. I can't get enough of this dubstep stuff, and Kode 9, along with Burial, seem to be the cream of the crop. This is the type of album that continues to haunt you as you go about your day. It paints such a clear and disturbing picture of south London as a ghost town that you can't help but go out and see Winnipeg in a similar light.

Old Buys
Fairport Convention - Unhalfbrick (Carthage, 1969)
This is the epitome of what a transitional album should look like. You get glimpses of the British-folk music the band was going to develop more fully on their next album Leige & Lief in midst of the American folk-rock the band was known for up to this point. Highlights include the awesome opener 'Genesis Hall', 'A Sailor's Life' and the French version of Dylan's 'If You've Gotta Go, Go Now' (here entitled 'Si Tu Dois Partir). Plus the album sports one the best from covers out there (see above). Unfortunately this new sound was short-lived as part of the band was killed in a car crash soon after the album was released.

Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth (Rough Trade, 1979)
Released during a time where it seemed everyone wanted to add as much to their music as possible, Young Marble Giants go the opposite route putting together an amazing collection of songs focusing on the vocals of Alison Statton and the minimal instrumentation of the Moxham Brothers. While the original album is perfect on its own, the re-release with the edition of the the Final Day ep ('Final Day' is one of the most beautiful songs you'll ever hear), only enhances the albums greatness.

Sonic Youth - Experiemental Jet Set Trash and No Star (Geffin, 1994)
Often considered to be one of their biggest dissapointments, this album with always sit well with me as it was the first Sonic Youth album I ever bought. I picked up when I was in grade 8, played it for my mom thinking she would be excited that I found something I thought was so interesting. Instead she started crying thinking 'what's gone wrong with my son?' Considering how long this album has sat with me, whenever I pull it out for a listen (which really is only once every couple of years), I can't help but get all nostalgic.

Don't Buy
The Fall - Reformation - Post TLC (Narnack, 2007)
This happens every few albums by the Fall. When an artist insists on having a new band for every album, sometimes it just doesn't gel properly. The album is lazy, unfocused and meandering. Sometimes those qualities actually work out (and it has in the past for the Fall), but here it is a dissapointment.