And I thought last week's release schedule was a bit bare. I might have spoke just a wee little bit too soon. Some weeks are low on albums I'd actually buy but have some titles destined to be big sellers and some weeks it's just the opposite. This week seems to lack sales punch and 'must-own' titles. Because most of this week's list is uninspiring to me, I'm going to use this opportunity to highlight a release that has sort of released and has completely inspired me.
Barrett Martin
Zenga
Barrett Martin is the former drummer for Screaming Trees and Mad Season, the latter featuring Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and Alice in Chains' Layne Staley. He co-founded Tuatara with R.E.M guitarist Peter Buck and has also worked with R.E.M.
I've been writing about this album for more than a year. I've been listening to it for months and now you can, too… digitally. While the physical album won't release until August 18th (my anniversary, as it turns out), you can download it from Amazon and iTunes and you really should. It won't be the planned double album but its 11 tracks run 74 minutes and these brilliant musicians take full advantage of every one of them. With many compositions stretching longer than on previous Martin records, the musicians are free to discover and explore. All that interplay leaves plenty for listeners to discover, as well. Martin's world/jazz hybrid dips more heavily into the jazz side but both elements are again present.
The Minus 5
Killingsworth
Speaking of Peter Buck and R.E.M. collaborators, we have this latest from Scott McCaughey's other band. I've never met Buck or McCaughey, but I feel I already understand them on some level. When these guys aren't busy singing for their supper, they make more music. We all have hobbies. It's somewhat rare that our vocation and our hobby would be the same. It is for McCaughey and Buck. Buck has R.E.M., Tuatara, The Minus 5, and The Baseball Project. McCaughey isn't a full-time member of Tuatara but he has worked with them. He also works with R.E.M., heads up The Minus 5, and is a member of The Baseball Project. He also has his band the Young Fresh Fellows (who have a release out this week). McCaughey is a talented music junkie. It's what he does.
R.E.M.
Reckoning Live at The Olympia EP
And while we're on the subject of Peter Buck and R.E.M., I say, let's talk about this. Similar to the Barrett Martin release, this is a digital-only release and is an appetizer for what is still to come. R.E.M. is releasing a set from their five-night run in Dublin prior to the recording of their most recent studio album, Accelerate. Over those five nights, they tested out songs that would later make that record and wowed fans with a serious run through the band's full catalog. The full version is due in stores in October. In the meantime, you can check out this EP.
Drive-By Truckers
Live from Austin, Texas
Ah, yes, the Truckers. I'm a half-step removed from these guys. My mysterious sidekick 11 went to high school with ex-Trucker Jason Isbell (now fronting his own band). I've never heard any of their records or met any of them, but I hear much about them being from this area. They've built quite a following, and that's based in part on a reputation for live music. Here's a live record from them, recorded in Austin, TX.
Here is the full list of new releases for this week…
The Jayhawks
Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology
Maxwell
BLACKsummers'night
The Minus 5
Killingsworth
Son Volt
American Central Dust
Tiny Vipers
Life on Earth
Thomas Adès
Thomas Adès: The Tempest
As You Drown
Reflection
Benni Hemm Hemm
Murta St. Calunga
Jeffrey Biegel
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Billy Boy on Poison
Drama Junkie Queen
Bowerbirds
Upper Air
Broken Records
Until the Earth Begins to Part
Enrico Bronzi
Nino Rota: Concerto per Cello No. 2; Concerto per archi; Trio
Carl Carlton
Everlasting: The Best of Carl Carlton
CéU
Vagarosa
Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker!
Death by Stereo
Death Is My Only Friend
Discovery
LP
The Donnas
Greatest Hits, Vol. 16
Drive-By Truckers
Live from Austin, Texas
Enso Quartet
Ginastera: String Quartets
The Fools
Sold Out/Heavy Metal
Forever the Sickest Kids
Underdog Alma Mater [Deluxe Edition] [CD/DVD]
Jeff Garlin
Young & Handsome: A Night with Jeff Garlin
Teddi King
Mr. Wonderful: The Complete RCA Singles (1956-1958)
Kris Kristofferson
Border Lord/Jesus Was a Capricorn
Kris Kristofferson
Spooky Lady's Sideshow/Shake Hands with the Devil
Kris Kristofferson
Surreal Thing/Easter Island
Kris Kristofferson
Who's to Bless and Who's to Blame/To the Bone
LMFAO
Party Rock
Marcy Playground
Leaving Wonderland… In a Fit of Rage
Cass McCombs
Catacombs
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana 3 [CD/DVD]
Nurse with Wound
Surveillance Lounge
Barack Obama
Days of Hope
Oneida
Rated O
Klaus Tennstedt
Mahler: Symphony No. 6
Original Broadway Cast
Rock of Ages [Broadway Cast]
The Pine Hill Haints
To Win or to Lose
The Pointer Sisters
Black & White [Bonus Track]
The Pointer Sisters
Energy [Bonus Tracks]
The Pointer Sisters
Priority [Bonus Track]
The Rural Alberta Advantage
Hometowns
Silk Flowers
Silk Flowers
Sleepy Sun
Embrace
stellastarr*
Civilized
UUVVWWZ
UUVVWWZ
Various Artists
Black Rio, Vol. 2: Original Samba Soul 1968-1981
Various Artists
Speaking My Mind: New Rubbles, Vol. 2
Various Artists
Surf Wax: Songs of the Beach
We Were Promised Jetpacks
These Four Walls
Matt Wilson Quartet
That's Gonna Leave a Mark
The Young Fresh Fellows
I Think This Is