On Our Way To Crazy

It’s been a long time since I’ve had new music that I’m really excited about. I’ve been buying a lot of stuff lately, mostly because of the fabulous Amazon MP3 twitter feed, but none of it has really blown me away.

But over the past several weeks a few albums have found their way onto my ipod that I cannot stop listening to. There are 3000 song on that thing, but I’m good with these 40 or so. You should buy them. You will not be disappointed.

1. Barcelona – Absolutes

About a month ago I was browsing the clearance section at the Gap when this song came on. Every time the chorus came around I would stop in my tracks and look up, hoping I would find the band name on the ceiling or something, I guess. When that didn’t work out, I googled the lyrics and found the song, “Stars” by Barcelona. After listening to that one song on repeat for days I finally downloaded the whole record last week. It is so, so good. I read a review that called it the record Keane should have made after Hopes and Fears, and that is exactly right. It’s melodic and flowy and has those building crescendos that make you sit up and pay attention. So good.

2. Jack’s Mannequin – The Glass Passenger

Aaron got me into Jack’s Mannequin a few years ago and for a while there every mix CD I made had “Dark Blue” on it. I love this kid’s voice and his piano playing and his lyrics. I had kind of forgotten about them until I sat down to swipe some music off of Aaron’s itunes and saw that he has a new record out. This one is particularly well done, full of gorgeous piano and sing-a-long choruses. My favorites are “Crashing” and “Hammers and Strings”.

3. Little Joy – Little Joy

My friend Julie gave this one to me. It’s a side project of one of the guys in The Strokes. I don’t know a lot about The Strokes, but I have two of their side projects (this one with Fabrizio Moretti and a solo album by Albert Hammond, Jr) and am completely in love with both of them, so maybe I should check it out. Little Joy has a folksy sound with kind of a bluegrassy twinge and it all sounds like it’s being played through a radio on a porch in the 1940s. It is gorgeous and fresh and fantastic and you should download it immediately.