As promised, I am delivering an update to the replacement music list from a few posts below.

I am really excited to listen to The Gourds. Heavy Ornamental is really fun to listen to. If there is a cross between zydeco and bluegrass and you put it into a jam band, there you have The Gourds. Lots of banjo and accordians and songs about new roommates. Remember how fun their cover of "Gin and Juice" is? It continues on this album. Best of all, this is just a complete change-up from the neo-new wave stuff that has been clogging the musical arteries of most critics as of late.

I am slightly less excited to report about the Deadboy and the Elephantmen album. Not that it's bad, but it's not what I was looking for. The lead singer has a voice that I can best describe as a cross between Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and the guy who sang for Bad English in the late eighties. Kind of a classic rock voice. The guitars are less bluesy than I anticipated, more of a modern sound (see Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade). The pace of the album is also a bit lacking, maybe it's just me. I would strongly recommend this album for those of you who bitch about the White Stripes because you don't like Meg's drumming and can't stand Jack's voice. These two elements are quite different in D& the E-men. Probably not as good overall, though.

Sia's, Colour the Small Things, is not too bad. Nothing like Norah Jones with the exception that she has a Vah-Jay and plays piano. Her songs are quite a bit more spacy with traces of electronica sprinkled throughout. Really good fall asleep music. A very good complement to say, Sigur Ros', Takk or Keran Ann's, Nolita. For all of you Six Feet Under fans, the song you heard as your depressing series signed off is on this album. I'm sure I can now be included in many N.O.W. meetings now that I have given this album some pub.

I still haven't listened to that Jason Collett fella. Actually, I listened to the first song in the car on the way home from Homer's and it sounded like a dude who thinks Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the greatest album of all time and wants everything to stay the same. Okay, that's what I got from the first song. I'll give him a chance to change my mind. Maybe I'm just not in a Wilco-y mood.

Honorable Mention:

We are Scientists. I falsely reported that these guys sound a lot like Bloc Party. Not as new-wave. A bit more straight forward rock. A really good listen. Nothing groundbreaking, but if you want an upbeat listen, this'll do it for ya.

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. Much more country than her work with Rilo Kiley. And she proves that there's nothing wrong with that. Whoever these Watson Twins are, they do a hell of a job with the backing vocals. Imagine all of the slower songs from her previous two albums in a more focused style.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! This guy's voice is the love child of Gordon Gano and David Byrne. The music sounds like the product of a one-night stand between Wolf Parade and They Might Be Giants. Eww. Sounds gross, doesn't it? Well, it's not. It's like childbirth to a father. Hate the sound of it, but when you witness it, it's beautiful.

Cat Power, The Greatest. The happiest album from the queen of sad bastards. Very positive acutally. Bonus points for cool packaging.

Matisyahu, Live at Stubbs. If you haven't heard this dude, find it online and listen. Snow meets Bob Marley meets a rabbi? There's not even a punchline to follow. Check out his beat box skills towards the end of the album.


SO WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO?