Listening Assignments 11.19.07

1. The Lionheart Brothers - 50 Souls and a Discobowl - This one is lightning in a bottle. Pop enthusiasm that rivals Blinker the Star, The Grays, Ben Folds, even Brian Wilson. Bombastic horns and a soaring melody carry it. [from Dizzy Kiss|buy]

2. Chris Walla - Sing Again - No, not Dishwalla. The one from Deathcab for Cutie. His long awaited solo album Field Manual is set for a late January 2008 release on Barsuk Records. This lead single has been touching all the bases online (rollingstone.com, Spinner, etc) and it's worth the hype, with a herky jerky head-bobbing rhythm and a chorus that's scary addictive. [from Field Manual (out 2.29.08)|info]

3. American Music Club - All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco - I keep getting welcome flashbacks to one of my favorite bands (The Pushstars) while listening to this. It's smooth. Maybe a little too polished. Soundtrack material, fo' sho'. It's hard to believe Mark Eitzel & Co. have been making music almost since I was born. [from The Golden Age (out 2.18.08)|info]

4. Ohbijou - St. Francis - It's nice to have an airy-voiced female here to balance things out. It's pleasant, smacks of most Canadian indie-pop, and today that's enough. May Feist be with you (and also with you, Ohbijou) [from Swift Feet for Troubling Times|buy]