Andy Partridge –“I Lovely Cosmonaut”
From Monstrance on Ape House
Over a year ago, XTC founder/guitarist Andy Partridge, original XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews and drummer Martyn Barker (longtime bandmate of Barry’s in Shriekback) began to discuss convening as a trio to make improvisational music under the name “Monstrance”. These three finally got together to record live for three days amassing nearly eight hours of material which was subsequently sorted and mixed by Future Sound Of London guitarist Stuart Rowe and engineer Merv Carswell yielding Monstrance’s self-titled debut, a two disc set of overdub/edit-free music.
The Rosebuds — “Get Up Get Out”
From Night of the Furies on Merge
Night of the Furies is the third full-length from The Rosebuds, and will have fans heading for the dance floor with “Get Up Get Out” and “Hold on to This Coat.” Stylistically, however, Night of the Furies follows a logical progression from their earlier work, The Rosebuds Make Out (2003) and Birds Make Good Neighbors (2005). The danceable beats meld with catchy melodies built on themes both dark and seductive. Thematically, the songs are presented as individual and random parts of a larger story. The mood is ominous yet enticing; dangerous yet enchanting. Lyrics explore revolution and struggle, actions and consequences, but also love and redemption. One could easily just bounce along on the infectious pop hooks. Dig a little deeper, however, and a larger story and unified themes begin to unfold.
CocoRosie — “Rainbowarriors”
From The Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn on Touch and Go
This album is a departure from the obscured blur of stained glass rêve to a more self-exploitive memoir. Parts are dreamy and parts are savage, but, as with an opera where death represents a secret heaven, the whole record feels like a black diamond in the snow. From her humble beginnings in the South of France, the saga sailed the Seven Seas all the way to that icy crack in the Earth’s crust just outside of Reykjavik. Upon her return to her Parisian homeland, she shared a mystical rendezvous with beautiful sailors Pierre et Gilles, the album cover being the consequence of that affair.
