New(ish) Albums
You should definitely buy
Golden Ocean - 50 Foot Wave: This is Kristen Hersh’s new band, and I’d somehow missed out on them for ages, but the album’s just great. It’s a lot more punky than Throwing Muses were (and obviously moreso than her solo stuff.) It sounds like it should make for an excellent live show.
Supernature - Goldfrapp: Unashamedly cheesy electropop. It’s not as good as Black Cherry, and mellows out a lot after the first few tracks, but it’s still enjoyable. It turns out that it’s great for working to, since it’s not too intrusive and helps the “zoning out into a coding trance” process.
You should maybe buy
Takk - Sigur Ros: After the first two songs, I thought this was going to be my new Favourite Album Evar. The track ‘Glosoli’ is just amazingly good, but sadly the album sort of bogs down after that. I still like it, and it’s more coherent than ‘()‘ was, but it sounds a bit like they’ve hit a formula and are happy to stick with it.
You probably shouldn’t buy
Howl - B.R.M.C.: They’ve moved away from the Love and the Rockets style of their first two albums, and it’s not a change for the better. The album’s a largely acoustic, dusty Americana kind of thing. It’s sort of passable, but there are lots and lots of better alternatives, if that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for.