| Mueller's
Musings: A Look at February
This will be the first of
what will hopefully be a monthly look at upcoming releases in the world
of mainstream rock and pop. I make no claims as to how good any of
these albums will be, and there are some decided prejudices in favor of
my personal tastes, but I'll try to throw in other stuff that some readers
might be interested in. I also make no claims as to the accuracy
of the release dates. Remember, this is the record industry, where
"yes" means "no " and "black" means "white."
Anyway, here is a look at
what is coming out during the month of February.
Among the top releases for
February are a few indie albums. TW Walsh (friend and cohort of Pedro
the Lion) releases the Pollen Songs EP on the My Pal God label on
February 11th, and he continues his reputation as the saddest guy in music.
Meanwhile, Damian Jurado and his band, Gathered in Song, release I Break
Chairs on SubPop on February 19th. Jurado, also an associate
of Pedro the Lion, continues to rock out a bit as he did on his last disc,
Ghost
of David. Also coming out on February 19th is Capricornica,
the latest disc from Midnight Oil. On February 12th we'll hear the
latest release from Aussie Kasey Chambers called Barricades and Brickwalls.
Chambers is a "folk-country" singer who has been influenced heavily by
the likes of Buddy and Julie Miller, as well as Emmylou Harris and Lucinda
Williams. Her U.S. debut was 2000's The Captain. February
also brings about a lot of reissues, including a remastered version of
Point
of Know Return from Kansas. For the younger set, Kansas was one
of the seminal art-rock bands of the 70s with music and lyrics that were
heavily marked by the spiritual journey of Kerry Livgren. In the
late 70s Livgren became a Christian and, in addition to continuing on and
off with Kansas, he released a number of important solo albums. Point
of Know Return is a great album that will delight anyone who listens
to music for intelligent lyrics and spirituality.
Now a complete look, week
by week, of new releases:
2/5
(delete the King Crimson
entry...being rescheduled)
The CHurch - After Everything...Now
This
Robin & Linda Williams
w/ Garrison Keillor - Visions of Love
various artists - Rock Music:
A Tribute to Weezer (including Further Seems
Forever and Dashboard Confessional)
various artists - The Electronic
Tribute to Pink Floyd, vol. 2
Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks
volumes 13 -18 (limited time only)
Soft Cell - Non-stop Erotic
Cabaret (rerelease w/ bonus mixes)
The Nice - Swedish Radio
Sessions
2/12
(delete the Meshell Ndegeocello
release...bumped to april)
Luka Bloom - Between the
Mountain and the Moon (Sinead O'Connor guests)
Josh Clayton-Felt - Spirit
Touches Ground
The Mendoza Line - Lost
in Revelry
N*E*R*D - In Search of...
Tom Paxton - Your Shoes,
My Shoes
Freedy Johnston - Primitive
Years
Richard Shindell - Courier
(featuring cover of Springsteen's "4th of July,
Asbury Park")
Teenage Fanclub and Jad
Fair - Words of Wisdom and Hope
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient
Works '85 - '92
Aphex Twin - Classics
Chet Atkins - Picks on the
Grammys (rerelease)
2/19
(delete previous entry for
teenage fanclub as it is now on 2/12)
Apoptygma Berzerk - Harmonizer
The Bottle Rockets - Songs
of Sahm (tribute to the late Doug Sahm)
Echo and the Bunnymen -
Live at Lipa
Josh Rouse - Under Cold
Blue Stars
Sneaker Pimps - Bloodsport
The BoDeans - Slash and
Burn: The Best of
2/26
...And You Will Know Us
by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
The Alarm - Acoustic Standards
Black 47 - On Fire Live
2001
The Breeders - untitled
Club 8 - Spring Came, Rain
Fell
The Czars - The Ugly People
vs. The Beautiful People (U.S. release)
Extol - EP
Still Breathing - September
Neil Finn - 7 Worlds Collide
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
- Live at the Quick
Great Big Sea - Sea of Cares
Tonio K. - 16 Tons of Monkeys
Eric Lichter - Palm Wine
Sunday Blue
Lasse Lindh - You Wake Upat
Sea-Tac
Rev. Horton Heat - Lucky
7
Under Oath - The Changing
of Times
Violet Indiana - Casino
various artists - Steel
Guitar Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd
Various artists - a tribute
to Tool
Original SOundtrack - Roswell
(featuring Dido, Coldplay, and Sarah
MacLachlan)
various artists - Fast Folk:
A Community of Singers and Songwriters
3/5
Billy Bragg and the BLokes
- England, Half-English
Brandy - Full Moon
Natalie Imbruglia - Whitte
Lilies Island
Jars of Clay - The Eleventh
Hour
Led Zeppelin - IV (re-release
on 2 cds)
Lo-Fidelity Allstars - Don't
Be Afraid of Love (w/ guest Greg Dulli of
Afghan Whigs)
Pop Unknown - The August
Division
Psychedelic Furs - reissues
of Forever Now, Psychedelic Furs, and Talk Talk
Talk
Songs: Ohia - Didn't It
Rain
Volumizer - Gaga for Gigi
3/12
Califone - Sometimes Good
Weather Follows Bad People
Calibretto - Adventures
in Tokyo
Hayden - Skyscraper National
Park
Masters of the Hemisphere
- I Can't Believe the Volume
Bob Mould - Modulate
Six Parts Seven - Things
Shaped in Passing
Squad Five-O - Squad Five-O
Uncle Tupelo - Greatest
Hits
3/19
Luna - Romantica
Pine Valley Cosmonauts -
The Executioner's Last Songs (featuring Steve
Earle, Neko Case, Johnny
Dowd, and others)
Rye Coalition - On Top
Six by Seven - The Way I
Feel
Patti Smith - Land 1975
to 2002 (2 CD featuring hits, outtakes, demos, live
songs, and poetry)
Ultimate Fakebook - Open
Up and Say Awesome
3/26
Low - video compilation
(DVD)
Woven Hand - Woven Hand
(16 Horsepower side project - European release only)
4/9
Mark Eitzel - Courage and
Confidence (all cover songs)
Gloria Record - Start Here
Patty Griffin - 1000 Kisses
Tom Waits - Alice
Tom Waits - Blood Money
4/16
Pedro the Lion - Control
4/23
764-HERO - Nobody Knows
This is Everywhere
Elvis Costello - When I
Was Cruel
Promise Ring - Woodwater
Paul Westerberg - Stereo/Mono
(1st studio release in 3 years)
4/30
Weezer - Maladroit
5/2
DJ Shadow - to be announced
5/7
Sparta - TBA (At The Drive
In spinoff)
Also coming out in mid-may:
Box Car Racer - untitled
(side project of Blink 182 members)
In June:
Loudbomb - Long Playing
Grooves (electronica project of Bob Mould)
Starflyer 59 - EP
In September:
Bob Mould - Body of Song
(acoustic album)
More to come...
Ken Mueller
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