I cannot, will not, stop talking about how amazing the new Beach House album, Teen Dream, is. Beach House has become hands down my favorite new band of the last couple years, thanks to their lush, shimmering sound and Victoria Legrand's husky, aching vocals. Their previous album, Devotion
Listening to a new album from a beloved band is always a tenuous experience. It's a mix of giddy anticipation and self-protective anxiety. There is fear that one will be left cold, that the magic won't be there the way it had been previously. But 4 seconds after hitting play, I knew that Teen Dream was every bit as special as I hoped it would be.
Yes, the album feels a bit more produced than the first two, as tends to happen the bigger a band gets. But in Beach House's case, the higher production value is an asset. The album swells with romance and cavernous pining, and at times is even a bit more upbeat than one might expect. I would never use the word "pop," to describe it (the signature croon of the organ and tambourine punctuations keep things cast in delicious shadow), but I will say there are extremely melodic, catchy elements to it that keep it accessible, while still having the reverby emotional depth one has come to expect and adore.
You know the feeling of being at the school dance, sitting on the sidelines longing so deeply for that certain someone? Well Teen Dream is the sound of dancing with that person, of clutching them with your heart and and drowning in a wall of dark sonorous sparkle. Melodramatic, perhaps - but in the best way possible.
will be released. There will also be a 
that has videos - called "visualettes" - for each and every track. YUM.
: Though her previous albums have been of the haunting folk variety, I actually think I like this most recent, more produced one best. It still has her signature "spectral reverberations" (as the Times calls it), but her sweetly howling voice is all the more striking when it has a lush wall of sound behind it. This album is a bit sad and creepy, in that lovely "listen to this at midnight" kind of way I find irresistible.
: This one's been out for a while, but a new Antony album is always cause for excitement. He is like a crooning cabaret ghost. This album isn't really a departure from his last one, but that's OK by me, because it is all so pretty and sincere and strange.
: There are three songs on this album that cut me to ribbons: the title track, "Vengeance is Sleeping," and "I'm An Animal." I would have been happy with just one! The album in its entirety is wondrous, with complicated, tightly woven lyrics about nature and love, and lots of magical realism. Perfect for a soaring drive on a starry night.
on March 31st
on March 31st
on April 7th
, came out in the states yesterday, and that is cause for much celebration. It's not a huge departure from their previous work, and that is A-OK by me. They make gorgeously languid, soulful desert music, filled with lots of droning organs and incantatory vocal harmonics. This is music fit for a bonfire or better yet, a vision quest. Break out the smudge stick, hang up your dream catcher, enter the sweat lodge, and let it take you over.
: Moody, romantic, and darkly ethereal, this is album to listen to with the lights out.
: These guys remind me of a new incarnation of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, with their soaring harmonics and emotions. They've got loads of indie cred thanks to a
: Summer is the ultimate time to listen to this solo masterpiece by my favorite Beatle. Soulful, mystical, optimistic, and just a little bit slinky in all the right places. 
: A new 
: Eclectic, unapologetically uneven, and always too cool for school, the Breeders are back with a vengeance.
: Many of us never thought we'd see this day, but the new Portishead album is every bit as haunting and cinematic as one could hope for. (The album releases next Tuesday, but you can hear the whole thing at 
: I saw these guys open for the magnificent 
by the Mediaeval Baebes is a collection of traditional songs sung in various languages by a collective of beautiful, gothy women. This is an album to listen to in a room filled with cloves and glittering candles. (Though I have a hunch I'll be playing it year round as it sounds secular enough, and the songs are just so pretty.) HAPPY HOLIDAYS, PHANTASMAPHILES! Postings will be occasional at best until after the new year. XO 
, came out yesterday, and it is filled with spooky loveliness. The songs are piano-based hymns about loss and memory, embellished with such moody instruments as a "broken harp," "zither," and "wine glass." Harvey croons in a ghostly falsetto, sounding a bit like a dead Victorian child communicating through a Ouija board. In other words, perfect music for a long October night. 
if you haven't already, it is gorrrrrgeous.) Also, check out this 
, came out on June 26th. It sounds a bit harder than some of their previous albums, which is just great by me. Cellos tear it up!
, is out today. It is a messy, inconsistent ordeal; a sort of a cross-section of Bjork's brain, if one can venture to imagine such a thing. There are heavy wails and thrums, monstrous beats, ancient instruments from the Orient, hushed electro ballads, banshee mating calls - kind of a sampling from all of her previous works. Yet the album still feels fresh to me, and makes my limbic system happy. We are seeing her perform tonight at the Apollo - my third time seeing her live over the years. I feel certain it will be treat indeed. 
has been showered with critical praise, and rightly so. It's rare to hear music that seems at once modern and nostalgic, and without so much as a trace of irony. This is a lush layer cake of harmonies and startlingly lovely textures. And while Noah Lennox's voice does have some similarity to Brian Wilson's, this is no Beach Boys throwback. This is the sound of Tomorrowland. As an added bonus, the miraculous cover art is done by 
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