Nat Baldwin -- "A Little Lost"

There is often little room in my life for precious and beautiful music. That may seem strange to some, but in reality I often don't have the time to give certain, most typically "pretty," albums their deserved amount of listening time simply because I have to keep up with so much of what is being listened to in the indie "blogosphere." Moreover, the music that strikes me first is normally never orchestral in its arrangement. This notion changed a great deal when I heard Nat Baldwin's People Changes. Nat Baldwin, for those of you who aren't familiar with him, is the bass player for indie darlings Dirty Projectors, but has been doing his own stuff without Dave Longstreth and the gang since 2003. Nat Baldwin's music is absolutely stunning, most notably for the beautiful double bass that is featured on the album. However, what I love most about Baldwin's music is that it can strike you as simple pop, as well as it can strike you as beautiful jazz/folk. Such is the case with People Changes' opening cut, which is actually a cover of the Arthur Russell song "A Little Lost." This song is simply amazing. It is so good that it took me an hour to listen to all of Baldwin's People Changes (only 30 minutes long) because I couldn't stop listening to this song. Great lyrics, great instrumentation, great voice... great song. Can't get enough of this song.

Nat Baldwin -- "A Little Lost" (Arthur Russell Cover)

-- Greg

Top 10 Albums of May

1. Fleet Foxes -- Helplessness Blues
2. My Morning Jacket -- Circuital
3. Death Cab For Cutie -- Codes and Keys
4. Gang Gang Dance -- Eye Contact
5. Beastie Boys -- Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
6. Tyler, the Creator -- Goblin
7. Wild Beasts -- Smother
8. Son Lux -- We Are Rising
9. Liturgy -- Aesthethica
10. Thurston Moore -- Demolished Thoughts

-- Greg

Death Cab For Cutie -- "You Are A Tourist"

Like all of Death Cab For Cutie's past work, I have come to this first single off of their new album (Codes and Keys) late. I will be honest, I came late to this band because I can't stand Ben Gibbard's voice. I can't be the only one... I have never been a huge fan of this band, but I gotta' say that I really like the new album. I wasn't surprised by the album's fantastic production because that has always been a given with this band. Producer and guitarist, Chris Walla, not only produced many, if not all, of Death Cab's past albums, which all sound great, but also has produced albums for bands such as Telekinesis, Ra Ra Riot, and Nada Surf to mention a few. The man is a fantastic producer.

Moreover, what impressed me most about Codes and Keys was the songwriting. I have previously disliked a lot of Gibbard's songwriting because of its languid and rather bleak nature, but it really works for me on this album. Their is a lot of lyrical detachment on this album, which has always been common in Death Cab songs, but their is a certain experimentation, but yet straightforwardness to their musicality on Codes and Keys (I know that may seem confusing, but try to follow me). This is arguably their most experimental record to date, but more so than past albums, they actually just go for it here, which is truly something to admire. "You Are A Tourist" is not at all one of the more "experimental" songs on the album, but it is however a great song. If you enjoy this then I highly recommend giving the rest of the album a listen.

-- Greg

Death Cab For Cutie -- "You Are A Tourist"

My Morning Jacket -- "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)"

My Morning Jacket's newest album, Circuital, certainly isn't brilliant by any stretch of the imagine, but it is damn good. The album has been released (or rather, actually will be released next week) at a perfect time... or at least that's applicable to my life. It is the perfect album to hone in the approaching summer sun. The song I have chosen to post tonight maybe isn't the most "summer" sounding song on the record, but I feel that it totally captures the mental freedom one can achieve during the summer. Lyrically it is fantastic:

With the sun on my shoulders
And the wind at my back
I will never grow older
At least not in my mind


... musically, like anything MMJ has ever put out, it is beyond fantastic.

-- Greg

My Morning Jacket -- "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)"

Smith Westerns Cover Petty's "American Girl"

Covers ain't easy. I have heard some horrendous covers over the years (Aerosmith's cover of "Come Together" - why cover a great song by doing nothing to it?) and I have heard some really fantastic covers over the years (Johnny Cash's "Hurt"). The first aspect of a great cover is performing a great song, which is why I love A.V. Club's Undercover project, which selects 25 great songs and then gets 25 bands to cover these songs. They practically do half the battle for you. The second aspect of a great cover is actually doing something to the song. I have read a lot of people hate on the following cover, but I couldn't care less. It takes a great song and puts a unique Smith Westerns stamp on it. Changing the tempo of a piece of music is an underutilized aspect of song writing. Meanwhile, Smith Westerns have mastered this concept, which can be seen and heard in the following cover. Check this out!

-- Greg


Smith Westerns cover Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers