5 Interesting Albums Released This Month

Gord Downie the Sadies & Conquering Sun:



The Secret Sisters:
Put Your Needle Down



Ian Anderson:
Homo Erraticus




Krishna Das:
Kirtan Wallah:




Brian Blade:
Landmarks

 

Probably the release I am anticipating most. Crossing fingers Auerbach did not hijack it, and it is not mastered loud.

 

I am also waiting for this but I am expecting bad results. My guess is that Auerbach will hijack it and it will be mastered very loud.

 

God I hope not.

 

The Both
Heathers-Kingdom
Ikebe Shakedown
Bobby Bare, Jr.-Undefeated
And really looking forward to Ben Watt-Hendra

 

Just received my copy of this today! Love them, love the first album and can't wait to hear this: really looking forward to seeing them again on the 29th as well.

And along those lines, this is certainly worth having if you don't already - from earlier this month....

 

Great list! Interesting indeed! I would add Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Phosphorescent Harvest. Coming out on LP in the US on the 29th.

 

Ikebe Shakedown!!!!!! Yes. Very intriguing album.

 

Agree. Maybe his most interesting work in a while.

 

Lucky you! Yes, the Nickel Creek album is worth a hear for sure. I actually lean towards the Punch Brothers.

 

I don't get all the hate for Dan Auerbach as a producer. I think he's really talented. So he puts his stamp on the music, big deal. If the artists didn't like his sound, they wouldn't go to him. And I'm sure if Ray didn't like the way the album turned out, it wouldn't be coming out.

 

It is not hate. The issue is when a producer gets not, and artists start flocking to them you get a whole bunch of albums that start sounding the same.

 

I started streaming the new Gord Downie the other day and it wasn't sounding good to me at all. Maybe it was just my mood right then. I'm a pretty big Hip fan, and I kinda liked The Grand Bounce, but Gord's solo stuff generally hasn't appealed to me.

 

Interesting, what in your opinion is an example of how Dan Auerbach improved a record? I'm very intrigued at how producers can help or hurt a record even though the artist has to have some input on the final product.
My favorite album "Sparkle in the Rain" was blasted by a lot of SM fans for supposedly drowning out the bass and when you listen to it, the bass does sound more like a kind of rumble instead of chords being struck but it actually works and Derek Forbes never felt the bass was silenced.

Has Ray Lamontagne released any albums that were compressed and if so, why do you think he would allow that?

 

I have no idea who SM is.

I just like Auerbach's sound in general. Yes it's grungy/distorted/loud, but for some that's part of the appeal.

 

I will jump in to answer the Ray Lamontagne question...his first 3 albums sound excellent. The last one God Willin'...is superb...very analog sounding with just about zero loudness.

 

Simple Minds you youngster..

 

I agree with you in general. But I think the Sadies bring something different to the table. Great band.

 

Oh duh, and I had that album when it first came out. I played Waterfront endlessly.

 

One of my all time favorite albums.

 

"Homo Erraticus is a progressive rock album which, according to Anderson, also blends folk, rock, and heavy metalmusic styles.Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called the album "as close to 1970s progressive rock as is possible in 2014".

.... and I'll have to give Sparkle in the Rain more listens. I enjoyed it when I had a physical copy, but felt that it was a step downward from the brilliance that was Sons and Fascination/Sister Feels Call and New Gold Dream.

 

Listening to the LP of the Bobby Bare Jr. right now. To my ears, it's really poorly mastered ... to get the sonics to approximate how the digital version sounds I had to crank the treble most of the way and dial down the bass most of the way. It's a really flat, muddy and bassy LP, and a noisy, warpy United pressing to boot. Disappointing, as the music is great as always. I'll be interested to hear others' opinions on this one, maybe I just got a dud. And, of course, it's possible they were going for a totally different sound for the LP (and maybe this is an LP which sounds better if you really crank the volume ... it's certainly going to have plenty of low end punch at least).

Now I need to find out what that Sadies LP upthread is!

 

I still wonder daily why vinyl folks are willing to put up LPs. Especially on digital recordings.

 

Well, it can work out just fine, and often does ... but it's definitely been a crapshoot of epic proportions during the vinyl revival. Unless you know who's mastering it, you just never know what you're gonna get. Typically Bloodshot has been pretty reliable in the past, but the last couple LPs I've picked up from them have appeared to be mastered in-house at United, and haven't sounded good to me at all, which has made me wary unless it's a band I really love.

In my case, I buy the LPs because that's my format of choice. I never stopped, even in the '90s. Not really any logic to it, it's just what I do ... unless warned off first by seeing a lot of pans here. heh. The Forums have saved me from some duds, that's for sure. But it's a weird balancing act in these days of limited pressing runs; sometimes if you wait too long to pick something up it's gone.

 

Sex Machineguns. Japanese hair metal band.