Well it seems there is some benefit to end of year listings other than just proclaiming your favourites and perhaps trying to look cool with a few left of field artistes. They have nudged me to check a few otherwise unkown or un-listened to bands:
AA Bondy has had numerous plaudits for When the Devil’s Loose and I can see why. Laid-back, articulate and beautifully constructed, it may take some time to sink in but given a little time it will. The BBC review sums it up for me and tracks are of course streamed via Myspace .
The Rural Alberta Advantage sound as much a statement
as a band. The album, Hometowns, is full of nostalgia and emotion, serious songs played seriously. Pitchfork of course have an excellent review and Myspace streams
Doveman is the slightly fey band title for Thomas Bartlett keyboard player with a slew of quality musicians including The National, Antony and the Johnsons, The Swell season amongst them. The fragile and quiet songs with multiple guest appearances are affecting and although I can see how some find his vocals odd they sound good to me on this his third album, The Conformist. Again Pitchfork reviews and Myspace streams
Finally something for later in the year – Broken Bells is a project between Danger Mouse and James mercer, guitarist and vocalist of The Shins. There is a load of dubious web hype knocking around but from the one track out there at present, The High Road, it sounds like it may well be a good set of work. The Broken Bells have a web site and the single streams from Myspace
The "Music Always Gives Me A Lift" Blog 