Karl I HAVE FRIENDS IN TOWN FROM DALLAS this week and may not get to round up the usual suspects today. So with the holiday shopping season just around the corner, I thought I could at least give you a hand in compiling your wish lists with a list of what's been turning my musical crank this year, along with links for streaming or downloadable audio. It's certainly not a comprehensive list — and some of these aren't available in the US yet — but I figure most of you have heard or heard of bands like Son Volt and Wilco; if not, I just mentioned them, too.
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: Their new album Feels, may be the band's most accessible to date, though it's very strange and atmospheric. It's streaming as the Album of the Month at Radio Indie Pop. Note there's a link to skip registration for the site.
THE ARCTIC MONKEYS don't have an album out yet, though you can buy their stuff online. Fun, funky and punky, the boys know they've been overhyped, but there are reasons why so many got excited. You can stream a few from MySpace (though the page wasn't set up by the band). And *Sixeyes can hook you up to legal downloads of demos.
ART BRUT doesn't have their album out in the US yet, either, so the WFMU live set may be the best way to hear this punk-on-the-cusp-of-new-wave-with-generous-Modern-Lovers-influences band do their thing. Very tasty.
BIG STAR 2.0: In Space was almost bound to fall short of expectations for an album carrying the brand of Alex Chilton's legendary power pop combo… but it's still better than most of what you might hear on your radio. You can sample clips at the official site for the album.
BLACK KEYS: one of the few bands that made me regret skipping Lollapalooza. Kinda like the White Stripes, but blacker and bluesier. *Sixeyes can link you to the legal downloads available through the band's label.
BRMC: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took a rather large turn from JAMC-esque noise pop toward Americana on their latest album, Howl. You can stream the results, which are pretty darn good.
BRENDAN BENSON: his Alternative To Love is pure pop for now people — the Raspberries, Beatles, Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and Wilco are all folded into the mix here, as you can hear at his MySpace page, with even more at his website.
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE: The shambling bohemia of prime Pavement with the dynamism of early U2 (plus brass) is still evident on this year's self-titled album, the follow-up to the collective's wonderful You Forgot It In People. The streams of the new album seem to have dried up, but you can see their video or stream their acoustic set from KCRW. A recommended live act, too.
CAT POWER: The Greatest isn't out yet, but you can download the title track from the album that may just be Chan Marshall's Dusty In Memphis.
CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH: Like the Arctic Monkeys, this band from NYC may have been overhyped on the irresistable story of a totally DIY band breaking nationally by Internet buzz — the serpent that swallows its own tail. But if you stream a fewfrom MySpace or download from the band, their stuff (oft compared to the Talking Heads, though that's mostly Alec's vocals) holds up pretty well.
THE DECEMBERISTS: Colin Meloy's minor-key take on Robyn Hitchcock-esque psyche-folk rolled on this year; you can stream “Sixteen Military Wives” and three more at MySpace. A good live act also.
DITTY BOPS have their entire album of Americana streaming at their website, in both Windows Media and Quicktime formats.
DUNGEN: Bluesy, occasionally jazzy psychedelia, sorta like Cream, but Swedish. Check out the band's MySpace page. A good live act, too.
RICHARD HAWLEY has a retro style and a voice deep enough to be compared to Lee Hazelwood and Johnny Cash He has exclusive downloads at his site and Lonesome Music is killing music with a track from his current album, Cole's Corner.
THE HOLD STEADY: This Brooklyn combo is almost single-handedly making bar band music hip again, with lyrics as densely packed as the first two Springsteen albums. Download “Your Little Hoodrat Friend,” stream the band's NPR gig and thank me later. A good live act also.
IRON & WINE: Sam Beam, the one-man lo-fi Americana machine has plenty of MP3s and a link to MySpace via SubPop. Of course, he wasn't just one man this year either, teaming with Calexico for an EP. As a bonus, check out Calexico covering Love at ACL Fest, in glorious Quicktime.
THE MAGIC NUMBERS: Sugary classic pop in a Beatles meets the Mamas and the Papas sorta way. The band has a couple at MySpace, but you can stream the whole album with the band's sampler.
MY MORNING JACKET may have covered “Freebird” in Elizabethtown, but the band's newest album, Z steps back a bit from its more southern-sounding predecessors. You can hear both styles at the band's MySpace page.
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle's indie folk got more personal on The Sunset Tree. Sadly, you can only hear samples of the songs at the 4AD site. However, the band doesn't seem to mind the unofficial site offering loads of downloads from the band's back catalog.
THE NATIONAL: More than a few bloggers who caught Clap Your Hands Say Yeah opening for The National ended up at least as impressed with the latter's amalgam of sounds, ranging from Country-rock to Britpop. And the band has downloads for you.
NEW PORNOGRAPHERS started as a bit of a side project for a number of Canadian artists from other bands, like A.C. Newman and Neko Case, but seems to be becoming the maing gig for many of them. Matador Records has audio and video, with the title track from Twin Cinema being a frequent earworm of mine.
OKKERVIL RIVER: As I'm late to this party, I'll repeat what I wrote at the beginning of the month. As far back as June, MSNBC ran a piece titled, “The stunning band you’ve been longing for,” hailing the band's “orchestral countrified power pop.” Frontman Will Scheff used to be a music critic for the Austin Chronicle and his lyrics are often compared to those of Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy. Black Sheep Boy and the impending Black Sheep Boy Appendix (due Nov. 22nd) pay tribute to 60s folk casualty Tim Hardin. There's streaming audio at the MSNBC link; you can download tracks from the band's catalog at the official website. And they have a MySpace page also.
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS' Naturally remains one of my favorite albums of the year. It's like a classic Stax or Atlantic R&B album that just turned up in a time capsule. You can get clips via Daptone Records. Another recommended live act.
SILVER JEWS: Although most found this band due to the involvement of Pavement's Steven Malkmus, David Berman's lyrics and more folkie stylings are a horse of a different color. Tanglewood Numbers is a little more rocking than American Water, as you can hear via MySpace.
SUFJAN STEVENS is topping many end-of-year lists, from the Amazon Editors' Picks to Information Leafblower's blogger poll. Deeply spiritual, multi-instrumental, sometimes controversial, there's no one quite like him. Check out his MySpace page and the easily tempted may kill music by visiting Largehearted Boy, a blog from which I steal mercilessly.
