Another Tuesday is upon us and lots has been doing over here. I hope those of you who celebrated Halloween this weekend got more treats than tricks – but if you didn’t ,there’s some great new music out today that you can have instead. Also, my Twitter buddy @Michnykrs sent me this awesome video and fantastic song to check out yesterday, so there’s an extra treat for you all.
The top spot this week was really a toss-up but I had to go with my own mood and, well, there are two gal pals in Girl In A Coma, so I suppose the decision was less hard than I thought. The GIAC ladies have such a unique talent they bring to their sound. For me, it’s kind of fascinating to listen to. While many other artists have been putting out “throwback” albums lately, most haven’t tackled the dirty rock ‘n roll sound. I’m talking music from the wrong side of the tracks; music that gets banned on Ed Sullivan for making you swivel your hips too much; music that makes you want to win a drag race in order to be able to take it home in your car with you. These ladies freaking own it. Lead singer-guitarist Nina Diaz‘s voice has this magic ability to go from softly lilting vocals a la Morrisey into a guttural (but somehow still beautiful) growl. I can’t say enough great things about this album and, to top it all off, they put on one hell of a live show. Listen to the entire album over at Spinner.
Girl in a Coma – Smart by The Vinyl District
Oh Flo, you give me the feeling. Florence Welch’s voice has remained as powerful and dramatic as her incredible debut, Lungs. These songs are so vivid in instrumentation and using her vocal intonations to tell a story that there is no doubt in my mind there will soon be many movies using songs from this album as a major force in their soundtrack. You can stream the album in its entirety over at Pretty Much Amazing.
Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials by mr_awk
I have been playing the hell out of this album for the last two weeks thanks to the Spotify early-release fairy. This ferocious pairing of Talib Kweli and his frequent collaborator, Res, is one of my favorite genre-mashing albums of the hip-hop soul-rock movement. Kweli is a fantastic MC but I’m happiest to see it’s time for Res’ star to shine.
Idle Warship ft. Jean Grae & Jay Knocka “System Addict” by idlewarship
Softly sung dark new wave jams not far off from Joy Division’s moodiness, but more of Ladytron‘s electronic pulse. This Portland act might make you crave a good old fashioned Halloween party every weekend of the year, even with the walk of shame home the next morning. Videotapes by BLOUSE
I fear that I’m turning into that old perv from Family Guy who whistles when he speaks. My first thought before even listening to the album was, “Oh please be old enough for me to find you hot.” My second thought was, “Please don’t be an overly-Christian rock band with an alternative look.” I mean, these girls are super cute and I love that one of them is wearing a Walkmen shirt. The bad news is, I still don’t know how old they are. Oh, and they’re twins. So cute. Anywho, their music is what I would consider a great punkish starter album. It’s kind of like someone going into Hot Topic for the first time. Do they jump right to the plaid tight pants with tank top and suspenders? I don’t think so. They start off small with a vintage British glam rock shirt and maybe a leather bracelet. Absolute pop-punk and hotter than Blink 182. Oh crap, I just found out how old they are.
While I wouldn’t put her into Florence territory just yet, Adaline has a flair for the dramatic. And while she is what I would mostly consider an electro-pop artist, you can hear some Spanish influence as well.
That’s What You Do Best by Adaline
This pop-country cutie sets the warm time of her album with opener “All Kinds of Kinds,” a feel-good story about how the world needs all different types of people in it. I will take that as a shout out to the gays and maybe the LARPers, because they need love too. While country isn’t my thang, I can appreciate a pretty voice and think a Southern twang is utterly adorable when sung with that voice.
Miranda Lambert-Dear Diamond by Famehausofgaga
Honorable Mentions: Phantogram (EP), Buraka Som Sistema (very cool, definitely check them out if you like Bonde Do Role), Tashaki Miyaki (who is incredible and I wish there were more information on the web for her. Call me and I will hook you up girl!), Tracey Thorn (EP), Justin Bieber, Brite Futures (formerly Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head), Megadeth, Nero, Mike Patton, Lou Reed and Metallica (I couldn’t have made this up), PYYRAMIDS, Steel Panther, Tyrese and Wale.
That’s all for this week but come back tomorrow for your dose of Weekly Women to Listen to and as always, you can follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or see what I’m listening to on Spotify.
