New album releases, week of 5-24-2005

If'n you're feeling the need to get your grunge on, Audioslave has a new album this week, Out of Exile. As this album already ranks #6 on Amazon, apparently pretty many people are feeling that need.

For songwriting and playing though, probably the best new bet would be from Robert Cray. He knows what he's doing. The title song "20" apparently is some kind of anti-war thing, a lament from a soldier in Iraq.

Junk food pleasure fest of the week might come courtesy of the Gorillaz' Demon Days. This Blur side project has made more impression on me than the original band. Their platinum first album had the undeniable "Clint Eastwood." Don't know if there'll be anything as good, but I do note a song titled "Dirty Harry." The freaky spotlight, however, apparently belongs to Dennis Hopper for his guest narration on the sure to be a future standard "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head."

Here's the complete list of this week's major new releases, courtesy AMG:

Audioslave Out of Exile Interscope
Post-Grunge, Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

Gorillaz Demon Days Virgin
Alternative Rap, Alternative Pop/Rock, Hip-Hop, Underground Rap

Stephen Malkmus Face the Truth Matador
Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter

Sleater-Kinney The Woods [Bonus DVD] Sub Pop
Indie Rock

The Alkaline Trio Crimson Vagrant
Punk Revival, Punk-Pop, Emo

At the Drive-In Anthology: This Station Is Non-Operational Fearless
Post-Hardcore, Indie Rock, Emo

Belle & Sebastian Push Barman to Open Old Wounds Matador
Indie Pop, Twee Pop, Chamber Pop

Dave Brubeck London Flat, London Sharp Telarc
Mainstream Jazz

Canned Heat The Very Best Of [Capitol] Capitol
Blues-Rock, Boogie Rock, Electric Blues

Popa Chubby Big Man-Big Guitar, Popa Chubby Live Blind Pig
Modern Electric Blues

Common Be [Bonus DVD] Geffen
Alternative Rap, Jazz-Rap

Nikka Costa Can'tneverdidnothin' Virgin
Contemporary R&B, Urban, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock

Robert Cray Band Twenty Sanctuary
Contemporary Blues, Modern Electric Blues, Soul-Blues

Head of Femur Hysterical Stars Spin Art
Indie Rock, Pop Underground

Marques Houston Naked Universal
Urban, Contemporary R&B

Dmitri Hvorostovsky Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death; Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances Warner Classics
Romantic and Post-Romantic Vocal Music

Article Author: Al Barger

Unreformed hawkish Hoosier hillbilly Al Barger runs the still squeezin' down the psychodelic Kentucky moonshine at More Things. What with the paranoid religious visions, the Pentecostal music, visions of God and anarchy running amok and such, somebody …

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