Friday Five

I can't believe 2008 is almost over. I'm currently compiling my yearly 'best of' mix and the following five tracks might make the final cut, although they face some pretty worthy competition.

Titus Andronicus - My Time Outside the Womb
This year's mix will undoubtedly feature something from New Jersey group Titus Andronicus' debut album The Airing of Grievances. Every track is full-on, joyful, unrestrained rock and roll and 'My Time Outside the Womb' is no exception.

The Decemberists - Days of Elaine
Colin Meloy and the gang are a prolific outfit. On October 14th The Decemberists began releasing singles from a collection called Always the Bridesmaid comprising 5 new tracks and a Velvet Underground cover. The original material is more in the vein of Castaways and Cutouts than the more recent Crane Wife stuff, which is A-OK with me. The band also confirmed that new album Hazards of Love will be released on March 24th of next year.

Shearwater - Rooks
I was a bit slow on the uptake with Shearwater's album Rook. I'm a big fan of Okkervil River so naturally checked Shearwater out some time ago (the band is a side project of Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff from Okkervil River) but failed to give their newest release a proper listen until last month. Better late than never, as they say; it's a fantastic album.

Dosh - Don't Wait for the Needle to Drop
Dosh's album The Lost Take was one of my favourites back in 2006 and this year he produced another gem in Wolves and Wishes. Tracks on the new release feature contributions from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Andrew Bird, Fog and others but it's still purely electronic pieces like 'Don't Wait for the Needle to Drop' that really get my blood pumping.

The Moondoggies - Changing
Another slice of quality rock, this time from Seattle group The Moondoggies. NPR recently named their album Don't Be A Stranger among the top 11 debut albums of 2008, and with good reason. Check out 'Changing' to see for yourself what all the fuss is about.

From Portland, with love.

Along with crunchy leaves and drawn-out sunsets, autumn never fails to materialize with a pretty serious cold epidemic. So while I sit here miserably nursing my sickness and wishing I had spent the extra fifty cents on the higher-end snot paper, I am comforted by what I consider to be yet another fall staple: folk music. Because as the weather cools, nothing warms you up quite like the slow guitars and the soothing voices of bearded men wearing plaid shirts. No?

Now if you’re not already deterred by the fact that I used ‘sunset’ and ‘snot’ in the same paragraph, bear with me, I’ll eventually get to the point.

Here are two bands I have grown quite fond of this week. They both hail from Portland, Oregon, which is the land of The Decemberists, microbreweries and um, roses.

Blitzen Trapper is a six-man (six-person? sextet?) ensemble who have been around for a few years. Their new album is called Furr and is their first release under Sub Pop. The title track was quick to seduce me, with its strange lyrics about a boy raised by wolves. Or maybe it was the sound of loons in the background which reminded me of childhood camping trips (please note that this memory triggered thoughts of hot dogs and juice boxes, causing me to walk away and make snacks, briefly forgetting about this post). In a nutshell: this whole album is beautiful and worth your while.

The second band is called Horse Feathers and are completely adorable. Their quiet but gut-wrenching Iron and Wine-type sound has earned them a spot touring with Jose Gonzalez .Their latest album is called House With No Home and I would like it to be my soundtrack as I bike to work in the morning, please. Here it is.

xo.