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BILL CARROTHERS & WENDY LEWIS: The Language of Crows
Both haunted and wide-eyed, this pair seems to have stumbled upon the Great American Songbook in an old spooky attic, its yellowed pages covered in dust and darkness. Bill Carrothers & Wendy Lewis have created an intimate, sepia-toned collection of hushed vocal/piano duets that are part creep-pop, part Gershwin, and part hyper-literate art song or torch ballad (similar to Elvis Costello’s work on the album ‘North’). In the end, though, “The Language of Crows” is not a fusion of styles so much as a mixture of passion and playfulness.
CD price: $15.00
JIMMY STURR AND HIS ORCHESTRA: Polka Cola
With more Grammys than most musicians have albums, Jimmy Sturr is keeping polka fresh, fun, and evolving. After traveling the world, hosting his own musical TV show and raking in the awards, this talented multi-instrumentalist (drums, saxophone, clarinet) and bandleader knows that the appeal of polka isn’t just some nostalgia trip. Jimmy’s ability, skill and irreverent playfulness, make polka music sound as vital as ever.
MP3 price: $9.99
SULTANS OF STRING: Yalla Yalla!
Canada’s “ambassadors of musical diversity” return with a fresh mix of world fusion that combines flamenco, gypsy jazz, parlor, pop, and Middle Eastern folk music traditions. The band’s instrumental prowess and sensitivity to dynamics assures that each tune, whether broad and filmic or miniature and homey, is given just the right amount of energy and space. Part Acoustic Alchemy, part Gypsy Kings, part Devotchka, Sultans of String are truly “celebrating fusion and human creativity.”
CD price: $15.00
AARON STRUMPEL: Elephants
It's hard to say much about Aaron Strumpel's brilliant "Elephants" that hasn't already been said, such as "If Nine Inch Nails sang the Psalms and invited avant-garde jazzbos, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, to the studio, it might sound like this" - Andy Whitman, Senior Contributing Editor for PASTE magazine. The praise goes on from other critics. The thing is - this album totally deserves it. It's rare to hear an album such as this, that makes you stop what you're doing and say, "Holy crap, I have to know what this is and hear more of it!" And this isn't hyperbole; these are the plain facts. Drum machines, folk guitar, jazz guitars, trumpets, weirdo percussion, and layers of Strumpel's vocal melodies and counter melodies all collide into a wonderful cacophony that lands somewhere in the company of Sufjan Stevens, Jeremy Enigk, and Bright Eyes, but with an outsider bent to them. It's some delirious, joyful, introspective, imaginative madness that you'll want to get lost in.
Recommended if you like Radiohead, Ryan Adams.CD price: $14.99 / MP3 price: $9.99
CONRAD KORSCH: Live Love Leave
Based on the high quality of the recording and production here, it's no wonder that Conrad Korsch is a pro musician. It's a wonderful surprise to discover these intimate, fun and rocking tracks here are from Rod Stewart's bassist. If anything, Korsch's intricate arrangements and perfect mix of folk, jazz, and rock with evocative arrangements call to mind the late great Jeff Buckley. From the rocktastic syncopated cellos on "True Love or Bust" to the mournful chamber folk beauty of "Weeping Willow" to the sparsely layered upright bass and vocals on "Love Story of a Blade of Grass and a Pine Tree," this albums is filled with charm, warmth and slightly melancholy grandeur. There's not a bad song on the album; check it out right now.
CD price: $11.99