Monday Music Roundup

Oh, let’s have some fun today:

Music Will Not Last
Jamie Lidell
One of THE best recommendations to me last week was to check out an artist named Jamie Lidell, and his new blue-eyed soul disc (after his past history in electronica, which nicely evidences itself in the rich sonic layers here). I give this song my highest recommendation; it weaves together elements that I just can’t get enough of. Sounds like if Ray Charles was practicing in one studio, circa 1965 Atlanta, and The Temptations strolled on through with Prince & Sly on their arms, poked their head in the room. And this goodness commences. The percussion alone is enough reason to listen; the hi-hat just about kills me.

Please check out Jamie’s whole excellent album Multiply (2005, Warp Records). There are several other great tracks on there, it was tough to choose just one for today’s roundup: notably the title track “Multiply” is almost flawless (falsetto harmonies, a kickass bassline, and enough soul to meet your daily quota – and you DO have one), and “You Got Me Up” made me dance around this morning in ways that I half thought white girls couldn’t do.

Unnamed
Leona Naess
This is my second highest recommendation for download this week – a new one from Leona Naess‘ upcoming unreleased album (Thirteens). This rip is from a track streaming on her MySpace page and is definitely her most singable, radio-friendly, and excellent sounding song in a while. With great couplet lines like “Shake these hips and let them persuade you / Take my songs – they’re always about you,” and a catchy chorus about the perils of loving someone who is also a famous singer (?):

“I can hear your songs / Through my radio
Singing soft / Singing slow
Songs I love / the songs I know“

The lyrical writing style is classic but the sound is uptempo & fresh. I love her voice, and how she can switch from that rich sing-song to the bluesy yowl, which she gives glimpses of on this track, towards the end. Good stuff.

In The Morning
The Heavy Blinkers
I’ve been reading about Canadian orch-pop quintet The Heavy Blinkers on a few different blogs, and finally downloaded some songs because of the inevitable Beach Boys connection that everyone points out. Listen to this and you will understand why. Bring on the summertime and the sun/sand/surf, which we all know to associate (obviously) with the Heavy Blinkers’ hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their fourth studio album The Night and I Are Still So Young will be released next week in the US on the Cooking Vinyl label. And the link above (on their band name) will lead you to a free mp3 download for the title track.

Rain All Summertime
(45 second clip)
Darren Hayman
One just for fun, and I am posting only a 45 second clip of it – since I can’t find a full-length. I heard it last week, featured by my co-podcaster Mike (from Take Your Medicine, out of Sheffield, UK) on the Best of 2006 So Far show.

From Darren Hayman’s oddly named, limited edition April 2006 EP Ukulele Songs From The North Devon Coast. Lighthearted ukulele joins with fuzzy guitars & synth beats for a feel-good electronica summer song. The clip jumps in at kind of an odd place in the song, so wait until it hits about 20 seconds in to hear the riff that drew me to post this. The sample here is so you can buy it from Static Caravan and enjoy it all summer long. You can also hear the whole song on this video.

Shelter
(RAY LAMONTAGNE cover)
Kelly Clarkson
I . . . I can’t even speak about this one, I just thought you might like to hear it. I will admit that it is better than I had anticipated, but still it feels like an unnecessary affront for some reason. It was marginally okay when Taylor Hicks covered “Trouble” on American Idol. But OHKELLYCLARKSON! Not so much for me.