Several potentially major releases came their way to me this month. Firstly, I finally grabbed a copy of Plastic Beach, the new Gorillaz album. Although I do enjoy it's surprising R&B vibe, I must admit that it's a bit shorter on hooks than Demon Days and a bit longer of multi-mediated concepts. I find the music far more enthralling when fooling around with the online extras.
Other notable releases come from some Canadian heavyweights, Broken Social Scene and New Pornographers. It's funny how much personal preference can play in our perspectives of things. I've listened to a lot more BSS over the last few months than their West Coast counterparts, and probably as such, I found Forgiveness Rock Record sounding a lot like a simple continuation of Broken Social Scene but with added effects' pedals. Together on the otherhand, strikes me as a more reinvigorated New Pornographers, energized in a way I haven't heard them for years, but, like I said, I haven't crossed paths with the New Pornographers as much in the last few years either.
Rounding out the Cancon, is Latin, Holy Fuck's follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2007 debut. It's an album that somehow manages to catch the block rocking spirit of mid-1990s Chemical Brothers, brilliantly constructed through a mixture of live instrumentation and children's toys.
Speaking of electronic music, Calgary's heRajiKa had two singles on the new Introducing! compilation Beats + Pieces.
This month also saw me become reacquainted with the ska band The Slackers. Their debut album, Better Late Than Never, was an instant classic, but The Great Rocksteady Swindle suffers from some uneven songwriting.
Finally, I just got hold of The National's High Violet and preliminary listens are encouraging...
