Philadelphia Weekly

MUSIC

On The Record

Album reviews in 30 seconds or less.

By Bill Chenevert

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted May. 11, 2010

Broken Social Scene

Forgiveness Rock Record

(Arts & Crafts)

Sounds Like: They’ve done it again with 59 minutes of heartfelt indie rock with a dozen + musicians, effects, instruments, vocalists and biting lyricism.

Free Association: Does justice to You Forgot It In People and the self-titled, which is huge!

For Fans Of: Metric, Stars, Feist, Beck, Pavement, makeups and breakups.

Band of Horses

Infinite Arms

(Fat Possum/Columbia)

Sounds Like: The Carolinas via Seattle echoey southern rock idols grow and deliver on their third with tender, thought-out mid-tempo gems.

Free Association: Don’t let the first single, “Compliments,” fool you. This one’s got teeth.

For Fans Of: Sparklehorse, Grand Archives, My Morning Jacket, beards.

Gogol Bordello

Trans-Continental Hustle

(American Recordings)

Sounds Like: The gypsy punk’s follow-up to the fame-inducing Super Taranta! is a lot of the same; storms of accordion, fiddles and gravelly accented English.

Free Association: Didn’t Rick Rubin used to produce hip-hop records? We’re confused.

For Fans Of: The Pogues, Devotchka, Slavic Soul Party!

Damien Jurado

Saint Bartlett

(Secretly Canadian)

Sounds Like: Unbelievable batch of stripped-down mystic folk from the former Seattle punk, whose gentle voice and earnest songs are gorgeous.

Free Association: For longtime fans it’s business as usual; for newbies it’s a welcome gut-puncher.

For Fans Of: David Bazan, Donavan, Van Morrison, Nick Drake.

Pearly Gate Music

Pearly Gate Music

(Barsuk)

Sounds Like: Debut of the NW’s Zach Tillman is a sparse, smart and brilliantly executed singer/songwriter statement of tempos, moods and imagery.

Free Association: If this is what you hear when you get to heaven, it’s time for some church.

For Fans Of: Fleet Foxes, Neil Young, Menomena/Ramona Falls.

Sage Francis

Li(f)e

(Anti)

Sounds Like: Rhode Island white rapper/poet gets some big help on his Anti debut: Death Cab’s Chris Walla and Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle to name a couple.

Free Association: Tough to take this guy seriously sometimes; “OK, you're deep, we get it.”

For Fans Of: Busdriver, Atmosphere, ICP’s “Miracles.”

Jeremy Jay

Splash

(K Records)

Sounds Like: L.A. indie pop newcomer’s take on dreamy rock is a meandering, spacey and moody record channeling Buddy Holly and Stephen Malkmus.

Free Association: This could be the soundtrack of movies; edgy indies.

For Fans Of: Modest Mouse, Win Butler/Arcade Fire, The Smell.

Widespread Panic

Dirty Side Down

(Widespread Records/ATO)

Sounds Like: The Georgia-born stoner jam icons picked up where the Dead left off in terms of making noodly, bluegrass-flavored free-form hippie dance.

Free Association: They’ve been playing together for more than 25 years and it sounds it; they old.

For Fans Of: String Cheese, moe., Blind Melon, O.A.R.