GUSTAV & THE SEASICK SAILORS

Like many others of late, I have been all entranced and enraptured with the indie rock/pop that's been swirling out of Sweden. I can probably trace my particular infatuation back to my discovery of the MP3 blog Swedesplease in the spring or early summer of 2005. I'm sure that it must have been there that I stumbled upon Gustav & the Seasick Sailors and their nifty little ditty "Angels Fable."

I posted said ditty back in November, as well as three songs from the band's first album, Vagabond's Polka. Now, their second CD, SIRKUS, has been released, and I have two of its songs to offer. If you like what you hear, I hope that you'll visit Gustav & the Seasick Sailors' blog and/or MySpace page and/or Marilyn Records, where you can find out how to purchase their music, regardless of where you happen to exist on this planet.

(By the way, you will find the great "Angels Fable" lurking on SIRKUS.)

From the LP SIRKUS, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Charlie Fay"
[MP3] "Something Weightless"

From the LP Vagabond's Polka, 2004 >>>
[MP3] "Mr. Moment & Miss Clarity"

ST. PATRICK'S DAY (WHEN IRISH EYES ARE IMBIBING)

Initially, today's post was to include just five or six tunes by various Irish artists. Alas, I couldn't help adding tracks, and, before I knew it, the whole thing had gotten tragically out of hand.

So... here's a St. Patty's day sampler to sate your holiday hunger.

(Best enjoyed with corned beef, cabbage, a Shamrock Shake, and a hearty helping of Catholic guilt. Tear that pope to pieces, Sinead! He IS the real enemy!)

Left-click [here] to download.

TRACKLIST:

1) Sinead O'Connor/You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart
2) Sinead O'Connor & Shane MacGowan/Haunted
3) The Pogues/Tuesday Morning
4) U2/Van Diemen's Land
5) JJ72/October Swimmer
6) The Frames/Pavement Tune
7) The Cranberries/Ode to My Family
8) The Divine Comedy/Perfect Lovesong
9) The Corrs & Bono/Summer Wine [live]
10) Damien Rice/Older Chests
11) Ash/Sometimes
12) JJ72/Take from Me
13) U2/One [live/War Child]
14) Sinead O'Connor & the Edge/Heroine
15) Sinead O'Connor/This IS a Rebel Song

MANSUN (1995-2003)

Born out of the Britpop bubble of the early-to-mid '90s, Mansun was one of the many bands that briefly blew up, then quickly slinked back into insignificance. In retrospect, their 1996 LP Attack of the Grey Lantern remains their only real claim to fame. While it's certainly no OK Computer, it is an ambitious, stylish opus that holds up relatively well - even a decade down the road.

Unfortunately, Mansun's subsequent efforts were somewhat colorless, and they eventually, inevitably went the way of the dinosaur and dodo. Now... have some fun with the following fossils....

From the LP Attack of the Grey Lantern, 1996 >>>
[MP3] "Wide Open Space"
[MP3] "The Chad Who Loved Me"
[MP3] "Take It Easy, Chicken"

From the LP Little Kix, 2000 >>>
[MP3] "I Can Only Disappoint U"

[MP3] "My Idea of Fun"

ALL MIGHTY WHISPERS

All Mighty Whispers are a Franco-Anglo trio (working with a Polish producer) whose cool, elegant sound evokes comparisons to Air, Trembling Blue Stars, and Mercury Rev. Fortunately for us, they write actual "songs," as opposed to artsy-fartsy "soundscapes" that just drift listlessly hither, thither, and yon.

Besides the tracks offered below, you can download three more at their [website], as well as stream their entire debut album, Love Revolution.

[MP3] "Heaven Have Me Now"

[MP3] "Bringing Down Hush"

[MP3] "Winter Love"

HARD-FI

The English four-piece Hard-Fi is releasing their debut album, Stars of CCTV, in the U.S. tomorrow - a full year-and-a-half after its initial release. Of course, much has happened for these guys since then. A subsequent UK release in June of 2005 spawned a string of hit singles and nominations for two Brit Awards and the Mercury Prize. Then, earlier this year, Stars of CCTV went to #1 on the British charts.

In a way, I'm sorry that this record won't be eligible for my eventual 2006 Top 10 album list, since I've been pretty well underwhelmed by most of the things I've heard so far this year. I'm clearly never going to be a Fiery Furnaces fan. The new Flaming Lips was a huge disappointment for me. I found about four worthwhile songs each with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Neko Case, and Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins. But this damn Hard-Fi thing is pleasing me to no end. It's got a drive and energy to it that I've been needing, apparently (not to mention some boffo basslines). I don't care what critics want to call this type of music - rock, ska, punk, hip-hop, blah, blah, blah.... It just sounds like pretty great pop to me.

The band is currently playing some gigs on the West Coast and will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live this Wednesday night (along with Janet Reno!).

[MP3] "Feltham is Singing"

[MP3] "Gotta Reason"

[MP3] "Better Do Better"

BEST OF FEBRUARY

Here are my favorite tracks from February in a downloadable zip file. A bit more mellow than the January mix, I would say. Hopefully, you can find some new and/or worthwhile tunes to choose from.

Just left-click [here].

(Last I checked, January's mix was still available [here].)

TRACKLIST >>>

1) The Indelicates/We Hate the Kids
2) Mighty Six Ninety/Have You Ever Asked Yourself
3) Love is All/Felt Tip
4) Starlight Mints/Inside of Me
5) The Pipettes/Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me
6) Ted Leo & the Pharmacists/Under the Hedge
7) Anna Ternheim/To Be Gone
8) Unbunny/Nightwalking
9) Sibylle Baier/Tonight
10) Band of Horses/The Funeral
11) The Concretes/Chosen One
12) Matt Mays & El Torpedo/Cocaine Cowgirl
13) Neko Case/Hold On, Hold On
14) Calexico/Cruel
15) James Blunt/High
16) Chris Mills/You Are My Favorite Song
17) The Stills/Retour a Vega
18) Cat Power & Karen Elson/I Love You (Me Either)
19) She Wants Revenge/Spend the Night
20) Controller.Controller/PF
21) Division Day/Dayenu
22) The Arrogants/Butterflies

LUNA (1992-2004)

[Third installment in our series of broken-up bands.]

Luna was born out of the break-up of Dean Wareham's previous band, Galaxie 500. I can't be sure, but I think I discovered them with the song "California (All the Way)," which remains my favorite Luna tune till this day. I don't know what it is, exactly, about Wareham's voice that I like so much. It has a certain unassuming, "woozy" quality that leaves me halfway between sadness and laughter (actually, a hell of a lot closer to "laughter").

All things considered, the group had a good, 12-year run, though I've heard a lot of Galaxie 500/early Luna fans bitch about the quality of the later albums. Granted, Rendezvous may not have been the strongest of swansongs, but there is ample solid material on each of their records to satisfy this listener.

Dean Wareham, by the way, released an album with second Luna bassist Britta Phillips in 2003 called L'Avventura. Their voices work well together, so I was happy to see that they're currently in the studio recording a follow-up with producer Tony Visconti. Stay tuned.

From the LP Bewitched, 1994 >>>
[MP3] "California (All the Way)"

From the LP Penthouse, 1995 >>>
[MP3] "Double Feature"

From the LP The Days of Our Nights, 1999 >>>
[MP3] "Superfreaky Memories"

From the LP Romantica, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "Mermaid Eyes"

From the LP Rendezvous, 2004 >>>
[MP3] "Astronaut"