Currently Listening to...

Last week's big musical excitement for fans of the indie/OC/Scrubs/Grey's scene was the release of the new Shins album, "Wincing the Night Away".  Unfortunately, I've seen quite a few glowing reviews of it.  This reviews combined with the general catchiness of the first single, Phantom Limb, lead me to believe that you will not be able to avoid this song for approximately the next two months.  Thankfully, I tend to stay out of the Gap and don't listen to the radio (I don't have a car).  For longtime Shins fans, back to "Oh, Inverted World" and "Chutes Too Narrow", this cd completes their gradual transition to a more mainstream sound.  Honestly, their first LP sounded a lot like it was recorded in someone's basement.  Their newest offering still provides clever lyrics and quality songs but has superior sound quality.  If you aren't familiar with a lot of their music, I would recommend sampling the entire cd, via Rhapsody or some other music player, before buying the entire album.  I would purchase the cd.

Rocco Deluca (UK) has been in the national spotlight lately, going on tour with Mat Kearney ("Nothing Left to Lose") as part of the VH1 "You Oughta Know" tour.  In my opinion, you ought to know that the album is a mixed bag, with VH1-type romantic songs mixed in with more standard blues-rock fare.  Either on their own are good but present such a striking contrast with one another that the overall cd suffers.  I would not purchase this cd.

Lastly, I've recently become a big fan of Ray LaMontagne's album "Till the Sun Turns Black".  It was recently a featured selection on BMG, which hopefully means that BMG is actually picking good music for the featured selections and I won't accidentally get stuck with any more Switchfoot albums.  It's listed by Rhapsody as "adult alternative" which I guess means that it's not electric.  It's a very stripped down, bare sound.  It's a pretty mellow, semi-depressing cd, which one would probably expect with a title like "Til the Sun Turns Black".  If you're looking for something that rocks, look further.  His show at the 9:30 club in DC was a seated show.  It's much better for drinking red wine with a date than beers with your buddies.  My sister and I agree that he can probably sleep with any woman he wants on the strength of his voice alone.  I would pay for this cd, but not the $21 you have to pay when you forget to send in the reply card to BMG.

[ Props. to the Judge]