Blitzen Trapper

These hirsute fellows are returning later in the year with new LP Destroyer of the Void. Despite the title sounding like a black metal album, the first tune to surface is a gentle lilt in the style of 'Not Your Lover' or 'Echo...' from the last album. Not sure that this gives any hints about the rest of the album, but my feeling is that the freakout moments of the first two albums may have been discarded in favour of focus.

See for yourself (via Stereogum):

http://stereogum.com/313602/blitzen-trapper-heaven-and-earth/mp3s/

Julianna Barwick

Oh, there are times when you just want your head to be soothed by music, to let it guide you into a gentle and comforting world. Other worlds, with 'other' music.

Julianna Barwick's music does this for me. A beautiful, harmonious, almost symphonic sound played in some imaginary cathedral. Her wordless vocals seesaw and loop across the electronic soundscapes she creates, and it reminds me of some of Brian Eno's work.

I'd hate to use the word ambient, so I won't. What it is though is blissful, intimate yet unreachable, hypnotic and ethereal.........

http://www.myspace.com/juliannabarwick

http://www.juliannabarwick.com/

Terrible Love - the return of the greatest band in music today...

The National are back! With new LP High Violet coming in May, they paid a visit to Late Was the Night with Jimmy Fallon to debut new song 'Terrible Love'. You can watch it thanks to Stereogum after the jump:

http://stereogum.com/296301/national-debut-terrible-love-on-fallon/top-stories/lead-story/

As the 'gum drop puts it, "are you ready for some good music?". Oh aye.

Update: 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' has also made its presence known in recent days. Instantly recognisable as classic National:

http://stereogum.com/314001/the-national-bloodbuzz-ohio/mp3s/

Review: Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago

Third in the "islands" trilogy of concept albums, The Golden Archipelago shows listeners that the album format is alive and well. At just 38mins long though, it's still not enough time as I could listen to Jonathan Meiburg's voice all day long.

Veering from a whispered croon to operatic holler, Meiburg's vocal variations are mirrored in the music. Gentle glockenspiel, brushed drums and bowed strings (the delightful Hidden Lakes) make way for thunderous, percussive rock (Corridors, a stirring song about prison islands), which in turn fades away to touching balladry (An Insular Life).

Shearwater's baroque pop works incredibly well live, with Thor Harris' percussion almost stealing the show. They're surprisingly muscular, and incredibly controlled in their quiet/loud switches. Twice I've seen them play in Glasgow, and both times it was a breathtaking experience.

However, the tranquil beauty contained in the album makes itself known over repeated listening, each sutble moment and nuance revealing itself slowly over time.

It's a unique album inasmuch as it's the perfect headphones record that still has the power to stun when played by the band right in front of you.

Gone, not forgotten - Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse

The news of the death of Mark Linkous, the genius behind Sparklehorse, was hard to take. I'm sure that many fans of the band (famous and otherwise) have their own favourite memories, so I'm sharing mine here.

In 1995 Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot was one of the first "alternative" or "alt-country" records I bought that made an impact on my life and opened me up to the possibilities previously hidden from me in music.

Having just left school, on my way to embrace the wonders of university and the city, the way that Mark Linkous looked at the world - probably through those weird goggles he wore on the record sleeve - had quite an impact on me. Vivadixie is still my favourite record of theirs, I love the contrast between the bruised beauty of 'Homecoming Queen' and 'Heart of Darkness' and the euphoria of 'Rainmaker' and 'Someday I Will Treat You Good'. It's a brilliant record and I do credit it with opening me up to a world of other music, and I can hear its touch in much of the music I listen to today.

I had the pleasure of seeing him play in Glasgow a few years back, and it was a great experience, Linkous quietly asserting himself over the audience.

The thing about Linkous' approach to music was that he wasn't afraid to work with a variety of musicians, many of whom might not have shared his take on the world - just look at this list: Dave Fridmann, Cracker, Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Nina Persson, Christian Fennesz, David Lynch and Danger Mouse. I'd imagine that they all enjoyed the time spent in the company of Mark Linkous.

He'll be sadly missed.