Yoga? Fu? Yoga Fu?

More music coming soon, but here is something that lives at the intersection of awesome and kick-ass to hold you over until then...

SPOON

'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga'

After their last release, 2005's 'Gimme Fiction', I didn't know what to expect from Britt Daniel's latest release. While there were definite moments of said album I really enjoyed, that album's foray in to more of soulful sound than some of it's weirder more-angular sounding older siblings never quite hooked me to put it into regular rotation. It was with the taste of that album still in my mouth, that I looked forward to 'Ga * 5' w/ a little bit of trepidation.After listening to it at least twenty times since then, i'm happy to say that is album actually exceeded my expectations and seems to be getting better w/ each listen.

An amalgamation of everything from The Stones to The Clash to The Jam to The Pixies...this disc seemed to take equal parts of elements from all their previous releases and meld them together into one cohesive and enjoyable Spoon album. The band channels a Motown sound complete w/ xylophones and saxes on my favorite track 'You Got Your Cherry Bomb' (sample to the right) and peppers a tasty groove ditty w/ some of those trademark weird Spoon sonic flourishes on the also excellent 'Finer Feelings'.

Like previous albums, a lot the lyrics sometimes border on nonsense (yet sounding so perfect and clever coming from this band), but this one throws in a few political digs at the current administration...the 'nuclear dicks with their dialect drawls' line on 'Don't Make Me a Target' is excellent wordplay.

The album's official release date is July 10th, but you can get a taste via the blogosphere leaks that have been underway for weeks. That said, this is a keeper and worth shilling out $ for once it drops. Much like Voxtrot and The National, I see this one finding a spot somewhere on the list come year's end. SPOOOOOOOON!

THE NATIONAL

'Boxer'

Up until a few weeks ago, I hadn't fallen sway to the hype around Ohio's The National until catching a few tunes from this release on the countless blogs heralding it's impending release. Once I finally dipped my toe into the pool, I saw what everybody had been talking about since 2003's 'Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers' and actually ended up being so enamored I copped 2005's 'The Alligator' a day or two after first hearing this one.

'Boxer' seems to kind of bridge the sounds of the two previous releases together...full of both sullen folk and punchy indie rock. Throw in the addition of some orchestral flourishes via brass and strings (done up great on lead track 'Fake Empire') and you have one of those albums that you can't help but want to listen to from start to finish. Lyrically, this disc is just a moody as it's predeccessors and the oft sullen vocals of Matt Berninger bring to mind a noontime bender in a dark, nearly-deserted dive bar...only to have the music wash you in sunlight when you finally head into the world outside.

Like I said, this an album in the truest sense of the word...one to be enjoyed in it's entirety. If put into a corner, i'd pick the mid-album trifecta of 'Apartment Story', 'Start a War' and 'Guest Room' as my favorite tracks. Watch for this one to be placed atop many an indie cool kid's 'Best Of' list...maybe even mine. It's out now, so go pick it up!

VOXTROT

'Voxtrot'

Another bunch of indie darlings I was late to the dance on, the band Voxtrot initially caught my attention earlier this year w/ the title track from their mid-2006 EP, 'Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives'. Said EP ended up on a lot 'Best of '06' lists, but I didn't really heed the hype until much later. Hailing from the indie music mecca of Austin, TX, these kids seem to continue to build upon their sound and improve w/ every release.

The album kicks off w/ the excellent string-laden 'Introduction' that kind of crescendos into what the rest of the album has in store...a really fantastic multi-layered but less glossy version of 80's new wave for 2007. The band squeezes some wild sweeping sounds from the guitars and it meshes well w/ the keyboard flourishes w/out sounding as contrived as say...The Killers. Some of the chiming riffs found on standout tunes like 'Kid Gloves' and 'Firecracker' wouldn't sound out of place coming from a U2 album. It's the lyrics and vocal stylings of frontman Ramesh Srivastava that keep this album indie versus arena rock. I don't mean that as a diss either, as the duality of the wordplay/vocals w/ the big sounding guitars/drums make for a fantastic listen.

Like I said earlier, the album was released prior to me getting my review out and you can now purchase it by your normal means. A shoe-in for my 'Best-Of' list, I highly recommend picking this up.