Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

I’d never heard of Janelle Monae before seeing the cover to The ArchAndroid. The obvious Metropolis parallels in the imagery immediately appealed to the nerd in me. So I had to check it out.

One of the best decisions I’ve made in recent memory.

Her artistic vision- The ArchAndroid comprises suites 2 and 3 of a saga continues from her first EP- is great. If you’ve seen the videos, her visions of a futuristic dystopia are music to any good sci-fi nerd’s ears. And of course, there’s the music itself.

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Noun - Holy Hell

Noun is the solo project of Marissa Paternoster, vocalist/guitarist for the indie-punk band Screaming Females, who have released several awesome records on Don Giovanni Records. And, apparently having a number of songs that don’t fit her primary band, she’s released this debut solo record, Holy Hell.

And it’s definitely different from her material with Screaming Females.

Well, except that fantastic voice of hers. That’s here and in fine form, thank goodness.

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Sundowner - We Chase the Waves

Sundowner, if you didn’t know, is the solo project of Lawrence Arms guitarist/singer Chris McCaughan. He keeps busy during his primary band’s unfortunate downtime with this act, and We Chase the Waves is his second release under this moniker, the follow-up to 2007′s Four One Five Two (Red Scare Industries).

I can’t think of a witty intro about Chris. I just get all emotional that I’ll probably never see The Lawrence Arms live. So let’s get down to business, eh?

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Greenland is Melting - Our Hearts are Gold, Our Grass is Blue

Greenland is Melting had been on my radar for a little while now. They signed to Paper + Plastick- perhaps the label with the most solid and awesome line-up currently- so that’s a good sign, and the album title caught my eye, with the obvious reference to bluegrass music. Now, I love me some bluegrass. Béla Fleck’s Tales From the Acoustic Planet, vol.2: The Bluegrass Sessions is the kind of album I can put on anytime, anywhere and be extremely happy with my choice. And from the song samples I heard, they sounded pretty great. Thankfully, despite my debilitating laziness, I was able to procure the CD through a contest from the excellent Rocket Fuel podcast.

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Iron Chic - Not Like This

Alright, I know I’ve been off the grid- blog-wise, anyway- for a while, but let’s get back into this. And what better way to kick this scene back into gear than with the just-released debut LP from the hyped Iron Chic! The band posted the record to their bandcamp page very recently, a free download if that’s your scene. (link at the end of the post) So let’s get to it.

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Chuck Ragan - Gold Country

So I’m sitting here listening to this album, thinking about how much I like it, and I realize that I never posted about it here. Which is a shame, because it’s a great album that deserves to be talked about!

Obviously, you now already know how I feel about it. Like any good bearded .Org-lurker, I have a deep love for the works of Mr. Chuck Ragan. Hot Water Music made some incredible records (Fuel For the Hate Game and A Flight and a Crash in particular), and his post-HWM solo albums and collaboration with Austin Lucas (Bristle Ridge) have represented a fairly dramatic stylistic shift, but one that really lets his deep, rich voice shine, and allows his excellent songwriting to come through.

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Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks

Realizing recently that my listening habits this year have often included spins of the latest record from “beloved indie/punk” band Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, I really ought to discuss the record here. Ted Leo should need no introduction, and in a fair and just world, he would be a household name. Since debuting this act with tej leo (?), Rx/pharmacists in 1999, the band has toured relentlessly and released a number of great albums. Following 2007′s well-received Living With the Living, the band signed on with Matador Records and hit this year with The Brutalist Bricks.

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The Will - The Will EP

I’d never heard of the Will before yesterday. This SoCal trio popped onto my radar when I was hooked up with a copy of their eponymous debut EP, with the promise that it was very Hot Water Music-influenced. In fact, these boys even do a cover of HWM’s “Never Ender.” Well, I’m intrigued. I love me some Hot Water Music, and if they do too, I can at least give it a listen, eh?

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Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

Some of you may or may not know this, but life over here at GDTS World Headquarters is not all punx. Sometimes, we listen to other genres. The Pet Shop Boys, for instance, have visited these hallowed halls. Well, their CD has. Anyway, electronic pop music will always have a place here, and it is with that in mind that Lady Gaga is here today.

It’s only been like a year, I’m not that behind.

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The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

So, the Gaslight Anthem. Through some pretty relentless touring- not to mention some killer songs- they became darlings of the underground punk community. At least, the portion of said community that spent hours and hours hitting refresh to drop witty comments on Punknews.org. Personally, over the course of a year, (2008) I saw them go from opening for the Loved Ones, headlining a 90 person room, headlining a 600 person room, and finally opening on a national tour for Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, and Thrice. During that year, they managed to release the much-lauded The ’59 Sound and expand their audience significantly. Backlash, sell outs (except they’re still on an indie, kids), etc. They kept at it, touring hard, building a fanbase, playing with Bruce Springsteen in the UK. Crazy.

Now, in 2010, they’re dropping their follow-up to The ’59 Sound, the greatly-anticipated American Slang.

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