Travis ~ Ode to J. Smith

For the eclectic ear and fans of the Brit Pop genre of music, Travis' latest release could be just what your ears have been craving. Led by singer and primary songwriter Fran Healy, the Scottish band from Glasgow, on this their sixth studio release of original songs, provides a set that captures the listeners attention throughout by keeping it fairly interesting. For instance, the first three pack quite a punch. "Chinese Blues" - the opener - a pop/rock and piano driven track is catchy and really quite good. This is followed by the title track, "J. Smith," - a song with a different sound that ends with a choir singing the final verse in Latin. The third, the short, sweet and grunge inspired "Something Anything" is surprisingly the first single off of the album - mostly because the previous tracks mentioned are stronger. Another song worth mentioning is the final one - "Before You Were Young." This is perhaps the most out-of-place song here, but maybe also the most beautiful as it accentuates Healy's depth and quality both lyrically and vocally. Aside from a few blunders such as the somber and vocally broken, "Broken Mirror," this collection of music from Travis is catchy and proves itself especially better with time.

Whitley - The Submarine

While I didn't know that there was such a genre of music, folktronic (a mixture of folk and electronic) is precisely what you hear from the debut release from the Australian born Whitley. I've never heard anything quite like it to be honest and I must say it was a pleasant surprise. You can read my full review at WYCE or you could simply go listen for yourself at Whitley's myspace page here.

Ray La Montagne

Wow, I've been listening to a lot of really good music lately. One artist that's been around for awhile but I've only recently discovered is Ray La Montagne. Soulful and beautiful sounds are what you find on his most recent release - Gossip in the Grain. Check out the review on my Squiddo page.

Leona Naess

A recently discovered artist (for me anyway) is Leona Naess who has just released her latest album titled Thirteens. You can read my review at WYCE for more info about the particulars but let me just say that I am overall impressed.

She has a beautiful voice and offers her listeners something to keep coming back to. While not necessarily an upbeat and optimistic effort, Naess does offer us some interesting reflections on life in general.

Check it out when you get a chance!

Neil Diamond - a musical disappointment

I recently had $10 to spend at Best Buy and so I searched and searched until I found something I could buy for this amount and some change. After a couple of weeks, I purchased Neil Diamond's latest recording upon its release on Tuesday titled Home After Dark.

Honestly, I was blown away by his performance on American Idol a few weeks back when he sang his song Pretty Amazing Grace. Powerful and inspiring to say the least. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the entirety of the album. While admittedly I'm not a huge Neil Diamond fan, I do like his stuff and own one of his greatest hits recordings from a few years back. Sadly, outside of Pretty Amazing Grace, this album leaves few memorable tracks. A musical disappointment to say the least. Oh, well, there's always Def Leppard's new recording...

Matisyahu

While I admit that I've been late a time or two when it comes to discovering good music (my most famous example is Coldplay), I've been caught tardy once again. I recently checked out of the library the Jewish sensation Matisyahu and his most recent release (two years old now) titled Youth. Even though I've heard some of his music before and have noted the acclaim he's received, I've never delved any deeper than that. Well, what I discovered was a pretty good mix of music albeit difficult to understand at times. My youngest son Zachary wondered why we were listening to Spanish music of all things! I had to explain to him that it was actually in English but that the raggaishness (not a word I'm sure) made the lyrics difficult to grasp. Anyway, I would most definitely recommend Matisyahu to anyone that's looking for something a little different. If you're a fan of Bob Marley, then this just might be what your looking for- but with a Jewish twist.

Enjoy the Silence

Most of my closest confidants (mainly my wife) know that my favorite band of all-time is Depeche Mode. Since my earliest days of listening to music, Depeche Mode has been in some form of regular rotation on either the turntable, the tape-deck, the CD player, and now digitally in my itunes library on my computer.

Last week in preparation for services, we normally have some music playing in the background as people are walking into the gymnasium for service. I was standing next to the sound table when I heard the familiar opening of Depeche Mode's song Enjoy the Silence. No, it wasn't their version but one recently recorded by Anberlin (labeled by many a Christian band) and included on their recent release titled "Lost Songs." I must say, it kind of freaked me out - to hear one of my favorite DM songs playing before a church service. And then I thought, hey this is cool. Music can cross many spectrums. After all, as Rick Warren once said, the only difference between Christian Music and Secular Music is the lyrics. Next Sunday I hope to walk into the service and hear Johnny Cash's version of DM's song Personal Jesus. What I hope I don't hear is the latest rendition of Depeche Mode's controversial and yet honest Blasphemous Rumours. That, my friends, would be down right blasphemous.