This Week's Episode - Delayed (and New Date)

The Music Lovers Monthly Review will be pushed back another week (4/10), a few days before WEVL's Spring Pledge Drive. Also, all future programs will now air on the second Tuesday of each month from 4-6pm.

The Lovers' Album of the Week

Nadja Touched

The Mid-Week Recommendation

Shelby Bryant Cloud-Wow Music

The Walk

New Releases - Tuesday

If you can't get enough of Panda Bear, eMusic has released Panda Bear Live at ZDB, Lisbon, Portugal, September 2004 Part 2, which features an 11:23 minute version of "Bros". This version fades in, so we can only assume that Part 1 of this release refers to the first part of this already epic song. But since eMusic doesn't provide it, and there is no mention of the release on Carpark Records (who apparently put it out), we have no way of knowing at the moment. Oh well, enjoy another version only on eMusic.

Free Music Monday - Headache City

Headache City has a bit of a misleading band name. Sure, they come from Chicago. And sure there are days when living in this Windy City can cause the worst of migraines. But my first reaction was "noise pop/rock". Well, forget the noise and concentrate on the pop and the rock. Featuring members of the Motards and CoCoComa, Headache City create foot tappin' (even addictive) pop gems, such as "Suicide Summer," which just might be the best song I never heard in 2006. If you're in Chicago, make sure to check out a free(!) show from them tonight at the Empty Bottle.

Throw Up Red

TML Monthly Review Playlist - Episode #4

1. Bluebells - Patrick Wolf from The Magic Position
2. Nobody Sees Me Like You Do - Yoko Ono (w/Apples In Stereo) from Yes, I'm a Witch
3. You Kept Me Waiting Too Long (Ratatat Remix) - Television Personalities from My Dark Places Remixes
4. Because Tonight - The Besnard Lakes from The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse
5. Fairy Stories - Black Lips from Los Valientes Del Mondo Nuevo
6. Pretty Voice - Cloud Cult from The Meaning of 8
7. Fountains and Tramways - Beirut from Pompeii EP
8. I'm Your Man - John Hancock from Part Mongolian
9. I Am John - Loney, Dear from Loney, Noir
10. Bubbha's Dance - J Rocc from Chrome Children Vol. 2
11. Oh Well - Tim Fite from Over the Counterculture
12. Paragraphs Relentless - Dälek from Abandonded Language
13. Vanitas - Bobby Conn from King for a Day
14. Medicine - Jesu from Conqueror
15. So Long, Lonesome - Explosions in the Sky from All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
16. Origin - Studio from Yearbook 1
17. The Campaign For Real Bread - Ollo from The If If
18. Everyone Is Someone's - Rio en Medio from Bride of Dynamite
19. Beautiful Life - Gui Boratto from Chromophobia
20. Human Punching Bag - M. Ward from To Go Home EP
21. Knoxville Girl (featuring Will Oldham) - Charlie Louvin from Charlie Louvin
22. Words You Use To Say - Dean & Britta from Back Numbers
23. Put There By The Land - Great Lake Swimmers from Ongiara

Watch Out, Here I Come!

Tune in to WEVL 89.9 on Tuesday, March 13, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. I'll be live in the studio bringing you my favorite releases from the last month. You can also listen online. Rock on!

Friday Night!

This Week's Episode - Postponed

The Music Lovers Monthly Review will not be airing this Tuesday (3/6). Since I will be in Memphis next week, I will be able to host a new episode live at the WEVL Studio. So, tune in Tuesday March 13 for my favorite releases of the past month.

The Lovers' Album of the Week

Dälek Abandoned Language

Paragraphs Relentless

Thursday Tidbits - Asobi Seksu

This one slipped past me on Tuesday, but Asobi Seksu released an iTunes Exclusive EP called Live from SoHo. The set is entirely made up of songs from last year's release, Citrus, which certianly isn't bad thing. The live EP includes "Thursday," the single from Citrus, which perfectly blends the dreaminess of My Bloody Valentine and the pop beauty of say, Camera Obscura.

The Mid-Week Recommendation

Summer Hymns Clemency

Wet Mess

New Releases - Tuesday

Looking around for albums to recommend today, one of the most interesting (or unexpected) I've come across is an "eMusic Only" release from Beirut called Pompeii. Hardly even an EP (there are only two songs), the tracks are still rather strong and, along with Lon Gisland EP, will have to hold us until Beirut's follow up to Gulag Orkestar.

Also, everyone's favorite hip-hop label, Stone Throws, releases Chrome Children Vol. 2, featuring Madlib, J Rocc, Aloe Blacc (w/Four Tet), Oh No, and others on the Stone Throws roster.

Free Music Monday - Tim Fite

"I want you to buy my record so I can sell out in 60 seconds. At the Best Buy, I want to be the best guy," raps Tim Fite on "It's All Right Here" on his new album Over the Counterculture. Despite such declarations, Fite's latest release is being offered free on his website. As with most hip-hop, it should be noted that if this was found in Best Buy, it would be donned with a Parental Advisory sticker. My favorite track is "Oh Well," which doesn't even feature Fite's stylings but a hilarious sampling from an unknown (at least to me) interview:

Oh Well
from Over the Counterculture

The Weekend - Ennio Morricone

Sure, there is a new album out there right now celebrating the work of legendary film composer Ennio Morricone with artists ranging from Celine Dion to Metallica, but for a more daring tribute you might want to take a look at John Zorn's The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone. According to Zorn, The Big Gundown was an album that even Zorn thought was a bit pointless, since who could improve on Morricone? Despite his early reservations, the project was funded and gave Zorn a chance to get back into the studio. And the results even impressed Morricone. I am mentioning all this because it's the day of the Oscars, and Morricone is receiving an Honorary Academy Award. Of course, for the ultimate Morricone experience, you can't go wrong with a piece by the man himself. Without hesitation, my suggestion would be for Morricone's work on Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti Western, Once Upon A Time In The West. It still ranks as one of my favorite soudtracks of all time.

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