Listening Assignments 1.21.08

1. The Battle Royale - Shook Up - Immediately gripping and sounding like a glorious team-up of Page France and Cloud Cult, this Battle is laying their cards on the table up front. It's an acoustic sing-a-longer with a nice unexpected piano bridge. I doubt this song will ever feel dated. [from Wake Up, Thunderbabe|buy]

2. The Parson Red Heads - Crowds - This is lovely, and it reminds me so much of The Arts & Sciences, a band I'm 98% sure that none of you have heard of. A kind of melding of seminal influences from the Beach boys to Crowded House, this track a downtempo and smoldering example. [from n/a|myspace]

3. Half-Acre Day - Brown - Heather over at IAF,YAF often tips me off to something new and exciting, and this is no exception. Somehow, I conjure images of bunnies running through wooded areas and squirrels singing in the trees in impromptu choreography when I hear this song. It's soft, spunky and likeable. Just like a little bunny! [from Fourteen Trips Around the Sun|buy]

4. SS Cardiacs - Age of Navigation - It is merely a coincidence that the Cardiacs' lead singer Jessie Stein is a part of the live incarnation of my current guilty pleasure Miracle Fortress (who appeared in last week's assignments), but the coincidence speaks to something here: I'm a sucker for wurlitzer and a great melody. Suck. Er. [from Fear the Love|buy]