[insert witty title]

It has been quite a few months since I've gotten around to writing one of these posts, and I do enjoy doing them (here are links to the first two installments: 1, 2)

As per usual I have picked out a few albums I've been listening too recently and nicked quotes from reviews around the internet, so if the grammar and spelling beyond this point look really good it's because I had nothing to do with it! I'll also apologise in advance for all the Myspace links; for a couple of the bands I couldn't actually find any mp3s or videos on the net, so had to resort to using ones embedded in the band's myspace pages!

As per usual the choices are all over the place. I must be like some advert for ADD.

Carrisa's Wierd - Songs About Leaving

Musically, most of these songs reside in chamber-folk territory, with violins swooping over quietly plucked acoustic and electric guitars and barely-there percussion. The opener, "You Should Be Hated Here", sets the sepia-tinged tone for the rest of the album, with Brooke and Ghetto sinuously complimenting each other's voices over a creaky bed of droning guitars. From there, "Silently Leaving the Room" waltzes in with a similarly autumnal mood -- tinkling piano briefly takes the forefront before being subsumed in a fog of swooning violin and Mat Brooke's dejected, half-broken voice.

Practically every song here has some defining, ear-catching moment. Whether it's the gentle guitar arpeggios of "Ignorant Piece of Shit" that morph into a rolling drumbeat, then swan dive onto a soft bed of violins, where Brooke and Ghetto are harmonizing on the words "I like the way you roll your eyes right before you fall down", or the utterly dramatic combination of Ghetto's voice and reverb-laden, claustrophobic-sounding guitars on "Sofisticated Fuck Princess Please Leave Me Alone", this album will drag you into its world whether or not you're prepared to go there. However, one way or the other, it's virtually guaranteed that you'll enjoy the trip.

Carrisa's Wierd (myspace link, four songs in the little embedded jukebox. I particularly enjoy "The Color That Your Eyes Changed With the Color of Your Hair")

Sympathy Bush (live video)

Ignorant Piece of Shit (fan-made video using footage from Brokeback Mountain, so feel free to ignore the video and listen to the music)

Supersuckers - The Evil Powers of Rock'n'Roll

thankfully, for all of us who crave drug-inspired, misogynist punk rock, the Supersuckers have torn up their contract with the artistic gods and re-upped with Satan. And the world is a better place because of this.

Any concerns about the direction of the 'Suckers sound are assuaged as soon as their new album, The Evil Powers of Rock 'N' Roll, begins. Eddie Spaghetti screeches out a chorus that says exactly where his heart is -- with the devil -- while a riff thicker than week-old syrup chugs on behind him. Two tracks later, on "I Want the Drugs," he's praising narcotics more than football players thank God in press conferences. It's classic Supersuckers, and a smile spreads across your face that is only slightly bigger than the gutter that is swallowing your mind. And the tempo never slows down.

The Evil Powers of Rock'n'Roll

Rock'n'Roll Records (Aren't Selling this Year)

Julian Fane - Special Forces

"Special Forces" is the latest in a small but impeccable selection of records that have dared to dip into hugely accessable AND uncompromisingly experimental terrain with one and the same breath. It employs the same hazy distorted instrumentation that can be traced back to My Bloody Valentine and that has typified the likes of Fennesz, Sigur Ros, Dntel and the more ambient stretches of Lexaunculpt over the last few years. There are moments of vast, modified orchestral greatness (Freezing), Harold Budd influenced ambience (The Birthday Boys), Piano-driven late night reflections (In Space) and choral, new wave synth soundtracks (Exit New Year). Julian composes and sings with a beautifully broken fragility that belies the hugely wide scope of his production technique and understanding of new forms and shapes in music. It’s a remarkable debut, one that’s well worth investigating immediately. Highly Recommended.

Julian Fane (myspace link, four songs in the little embedded jukebox. I particularly enjoy "The Moon is Gone")

The Youngblood Brass Band - Is That a Riot?

you could call it part hip-hop, part New Orleans brass band, part football halftime show. This nine member ensemble features two trombonists, three trumpets, tenor saxophone, a hip-hop bass drummer, a snare drummer and sousaphone - not exactly your typical rock group line-up.

Nuclear Summer (live)
Nuclear Summer (live, but in this one you can see how much the tuba player looks like a fat version of Craig Charles)