Hell-Friggin'-O to 2011!!

We're only a couple weeks into the new year...already fraught with sick kiddo, too many snow storms to count, and currently - approaching negative 20 deg. on a Thursday night, a ginger-bourbon in hand and a couple new tunes spinnin'. All in all, a pretty great kick-off to the new year. oh, and a full moon tonight, a soft 1/2 inch coating of fresh snow to hide the crud out there, and some great tunes in the queue and books on the nightstand. When I was outside this morning at 6am, a flock, nay, a murder, of 100+ crows flew overhead as the bitter cold sun rose against the fading full moon, nary a one dared to desecrate the silence of the moment, even the flapping of wings was silent in the crisp air.

I'm currently nuts over the new Destroyer, Kaputt (at the Cedar Cultural Center April 12). Softer listening than previous outings and a lot more emph. on 70's late night horn sections - if Van Morrison was David Bowie and his Astral Weeks was then sessioned by a 1978 crew of porn soundtrack musicians, we'd be gettin' there...+, of course, some extremely choice songwriting moments and steller production choices. plus, there's this crazy cool video...

Destroyer - Kaputt from Merge Records on Vimeo.

The new Iron and Wine, Kiss Each Other Clean (def. not wild over the title..) is so different than the first couple I&W albums - what I'm stuck on cuz' I didn't ever pick up the past few (the Calexico split and Shepard's Dog...) yet it's very much a Sam Beam affair. It also appeases a personal jones for the Postal Service new one which we'll probably never see, nice female harmonies, some tasteful keyboarding, great, gentle songwriting chops on display...
link to a cool NPR session where they played the whole album live
...reminds me of Laura Nyro -styled music and I also keep thinking it's the new Decemberist's album somehow...pretty lovely though anyhow.

New Akron/Family?! - called, somehow, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT. cool video that's an appropriate mind-fuck...haven't heard the rest of the album yet so I'm not sure what else to say...except their first one and Angels of Light releases stand as some of my fave aural stuff ever...this is a great sounding song and gives me an excited thrill at least to see them live at the Cedar Cultural Center this Feb. 25th, and a premature psyched buzz for the album release in early Feb.

So It Goes by Akron/Family from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.

Are these the 2011 BreakOut albums?...dunno yet, but they're esp. good a few listens in and I look forward to more of 'em.