Listening Assignments 9.28.09

1. The Dodos – Fables – After getting a ton of buzz with their spoons-on-faucets debut Visiter, this SanFran trio is back in a more refined way.  It sounds professionally recorded (gasp!), tighter, clearer. It’s less hairy. I like it. [from Time to Die|buy]

2. Chromeo – I Can’t Tell You Why (The Eagles) – The Eagles really don’t suck as badly as hipsters want to believe and this is case-in-point. Chromeo is undoubtedly cool and makes this song sound positively unwussified.  [from !k7.com|buy]
3. The Avett Brothers – Laundry Room – There is something disarming about the way these two simple voices intermingle.  It’s as if there was some acoustic tractor beam sucking me closer to the stage, doe-eyed and hanging on every word. (Even if the album cover looks like Ma Fratelli from the Goonies.) [from I and Love and You(out 9.29)|pre-order]

4. Owen – Ugly On the Inside – I’m a big fan of Owen (Mike Kinsella), but I’ve got to admit a lot of his stuff sounds very similar. Flawless, rhythmic fingerpicking along with limited melodies that border on predictable (if you’ve heard him before) have become his hallmark, for better or for worse. It’s for the better with songs like this, which throws a really nice curveball at the 1:57 mark. Lyrically, it’s as poignantly bitter as ever. “The lighting in this room doesn’t do a thing for you and your complexion/I’m sorry but it’s the truth, you look like the goddamned living dead.” Preach it, Owen. [from New Leaves|buy]