Aural Fixations
VIC CHESNUTT
Ghetto Bells
(New West)
Songwriter Vic Chesnutt is on a roll. The Georgian hit a career high with his last album Silver Lake; amazingly, the follow-up never falters. Like its predecessor, Ghetto Bells assembles a notable cast of musicians for a quick week of recording, this time overseen by hands-off producer John Chelew. This time Chesnutt is joined by innovative jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and iconoclastic keyboardist/songwriter Van Dyke Parks, among others, and they prove to be perfect foils for Chesnutt's richly atmospheric writing. (more)
THE DECEMBERISTS
Picaresque
(Kill Rock Stars)
When you think of storytellers in popular music, you usually think of a stoic singer/songwriter wielding an acoustic guitar in a smokeless club, playing contemporary folk music. Fortunately, Portland's Decemberists are here to rescue the narrative tradition from such dry presentation. Songwriter Colin Meloy creates a variety of colorful characters on the band's third album Picaresque, and his band of merry minstrels brings them to panoramic life. (more)
What We're Listening To
- Daniel Skon:
- Drive-By Truckers—Live at the 40 Watt (DVD)
- Roky Erickson—Don't Slander Me
- Matisyahu—Shake Off the Dust, Arise
- ScoLoHoFo—Oh!
- Michael Toland, editor-in-chief:
- The Grapes of Wrath—These Days
- Ian Hunter—s/t
- The Pretty Things—s/t
- Mark Sandman—Sandbox: The Songs of Mark Sandman 1952-1999
- Various Artists—Love's a Real Thing: The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa
What are you listening to? Tell us, and we'll tell the world.
