The Lovers' Album of the Week

Studio Yearbook 1

- Audio samples can be found on Studio's Myspace page.

Thursday's Tidbits - Great Lake Swimmers

Despite the fact that Great Lake Swimmers' website claims that their new album Ongiara isn't scheduled for release in the States until May, it's already downloadable on both iTunes and eMusic. I'm not sure if this is a goof up or not, but I wasted no time in finding out. On first impression, the new one hasn't instantly drawn me in like Great Lake Swimmers' previous album, Bodies and Mind. Ongiara just might be one of those albums you have to spend some time with for awhile. And heck, I've got nowhere to go.

- If you need proof that Great Lake Swimmers' singer/songwriter Tony Dekker has one of the most achingly beautiful voices out there, listen to the evidence:

Bodies and Minds
from Bodies and Minds

I Will Never See The Sun
from Great Lake Swimmers

The Mid-Week Recommendation

Matt Marque Get There

My first introduction to Matt Marque's music was through his representative label, Truckstop Records. From 1999-2001, the output from this small (now defunct) Chicago label was nothing short of spectacular, producing some of the loveliest songs of the indie singer/songwriter genre. T.W. Walsh's "Old Fashioned Way of Speaking," Pinetop Seven's "The Fear of Being Found," Simon Joyner's "I Will Find You," and The Lofty Pillars’ “At the Station” are all underrated masterpieces. These are songs that once you hear them you become lost within their narrative landscapes, and you long to revisit them promptly after their running time has expired. The same could be said of the music of fellow labelmate, Matt Marque. Admittedly, Marque is the less polished of the bunch, but it doesn’t make his efforts any less impressive. His debut, Get There (2001), is an unassuming album that sounds like a cross between a demo and a fully realized undertaking, which is less a comment on Marque’s musical abilities than it is on the album’s honesty. Sure Marque’s voice cracks but that’s part of the charm. By the way, Marque’s real talent lies within his songs, which are cleverly crafted over an acoustic guitar and his lyrical rime. Now, it would be a disservice not to mention Marque’s strong backing band - Michael Krassner (Boxhead Ensemble), Glenn Kotche (Wilco), Fred Lonberg-Holm (God is my Co-Pilot), and Steve Dorocke - whose talents give color to Marque's lovelorn world. The highlight here is "Unknown Flowers On Your Dress," a rolling ballad where Marque's wispy voice duets with Dorocke's pedal steel. It just might be the most beautful song released on Truckstop. It's also a song that I must have listened to over a thousand times. So, in a lot of ways, revisiting Get There is a bit like getting together with an old friend.

Unknown Flowers On Your Dress

Bonus Track:
Blowback
from Nothing Personal*

*Marque's follow up was released in 2004, three years after Get There. Since it's 2007, I suspect (hope) we will be getting a new Marque album real soon.

New Releases Tuesday

Personal Picks:

M. Ward - To Go Home EP
Jesu - Conqueror
Explosions In the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
LCD Soundsytem - North American Scum (single)
Richard Swift - Dressed Up For The Letdown
Television Personalities - My Dark Places Remixes
Charlie Louvin - Charlie Louvin

Explosions In The Sky - Welcome, Ghosts

Free Music Monday - Pela

Starting last week and continuing until April 24, Brooklyn's Pela are putting out a free song each week from their upcoming release, Anytown Graffiti. The ploy must be working as Pela headlined a sold out show last week at The Mercury Lounge in NYC. "Lost to the Lonesome" expands on the guitar driven rock found on the group's 2005 All In Time EP, complete with crafty lines like "Hey, we should crash the party on Christmas Eve. Hey, we should write our name on every wall we see. Hey, we should break our wallets at every bar. Hey, we could break the bed without broken hearts. La La La". Enjoy!

Lost to the Lonesome