February 17, 2011

		FEATURED NEW RELEASES James Blake DNA (Original Vinyl Pressing!) Deaf Center Peaking Lights The Babies PJ Harvey Wingless Angels Ballake Sissoko & Vincent Segal Sonic Youth Mogwai OFF! Nouvelle Vague Dream Diary Orlando Julius & His Afro-Sounders     ALSO AVAILABLE Bright Eyes Telekinesis Skull Defekts Arbouretum Asobi Seksu A Hawk and a Hacksaw Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/othermusicnyc Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/othermusic

		FEB Sun 13 Mon 14 Tues 15 Wed 16 Thurs 17 Fri 18 Sat 19   Sun 20 Mon 21 Tues 22 Wed 23 Thurs 24 Fri 25 Sat 26   WIN LE POISSON ROUGE TICKETS: BILL FRISELL & VINICIUS CANTUARIA / JAMIE XX We've got a couple pairs of tickets to give away to some exciting upcoming events at (Le) Poisson Rouge. First, this Saturday, February 19, guitar great Bill Frisell and Brazilian legend Vinicius Cantuária will be performing together(!!) and to enter to see this truly special night of music, email tickets@othermusic.com. The following Tuesday, February 22, the xx's Jamie xx will be playing a very special DJ set in celebration of the release of We're New Here, his album collaboration with Gil Scott-Heron. Also on the bill are Creep and Sepalcure. To enter for these, email enter@othermusic.com. We'll notify the winners this Friday. (LE) POISSON ROUGE: 158 Bleeker Street, NYC

		FEB Sun 20 Mon 21 Tues 22 Wed 23 Thurs 24 Fri 25 Sat 26   WIN TICKETS TO BROKEN RECORDS Scotland's Broken Records have just released Let Me Come Home on 4AD and will be performing two dates in New York next week, on Tuesday, February 22 at the Mercury Lounge and the following night in Brooklyn at the Rock Shop. The group's live performance is sure to be as grand and soaring as the music on their new album, and we've got a pair of tickets up for grabs for each show. Just email giveaway@othermusic.com and list the night you'd like to see in the subject header. We'll notify the two winners this Friday. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 MERCURY LOUNGE: 217 E. Houston Street, NYC WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23 THE ROCK SHOP: 249 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn

		MAR Sun 06 Mon 07 Tues 08 Wed 09 Thurs 10 Fri 11 Sat 12   KURT VILE IN-STORE PERFORMANCE In the week leading up to the release of his new full-length, Smoke Ring for My Halo on Matador Records, Kurt Vile will be playing a series of solo acoustic in-stores at a select handful of independent record shops in the northeast. His final stop on this tour will be at Other Music on the night of the record's release, March 8th at 9PM. This Philly rock wonder is as prolific as he is great, and we consider albums like Constant Hitmaker and last year's Childish Prodigy (his first for Matador) to be new classics. Smoke Ring for My Halo is sure to be added to that list as well. TUESDAY, MARCH 8th @ 9PM OTHER MUSIC: 15 East 4th Street, NYC All Ages | Free Admission | Limited Capacity

		Many of our customers have been enjoying the ease of texting their orders with their mobile phone. To take advantage of this option with the items listed below, go to subports.com where you can create your free Subports account. Afterwards, just text the corresponding subcode listed underneath each item to 767825.

		$25.99 CD   JAMES BLAKE James Blake (Atlas/Polydor) "Wilhelms Scream" "Limit to Your Love" Over the last year we've heard the name of young British producer James Blake grow from a whisper to a scream, on the strength of a pair of stellar, hard-to-find 12" EPs for the R&S label. CYMK and Klavierwerke were great slices of postmodern dubstep, a blend of R&B vocal cut-ups (alongside Blake's own dynamic voice), shuffling percussion, heavy low-end drops and slight piano flourishes, delivered with a light touch that was hard to match (his closest comparisons were probably Mount Kimbie or Actress). The first preview of his much-anticipated full-length came on a limited 10", where Blake really flexed his vocals and showed his pop aspirations with a cover of Feist's "Limit to Your Love." This was the music of a different animal; much like Jamie Lidell had done previously, Blake has jumped from a fresh and faceless producer in the electronic scene to more of a songwriter and frontman aiming at a much broader crowd (evidenced by the sound as well as the major label affiliations). And where it took Lidell years to morph into his new persona, Blake has done it in mere months. The self-titled debut full-length by this 21-year-old boy wonder is exactly that, a wonder. What's most striking to fans is the choice to make an almost beatless album, at times even a cappella. Yes, there are bass pulses, manicured clicks and pops, percolating digital thumps, and scratchy textures, yet the core of the record relies on Blake's voice, sung, sampled, processed, and looped. This opens up a whole new group of comparisons; at his best, Blake touches on Arthur Russell's tender repetitive pleas, Bon Iver's Auto-Tuned lonesome cowboy, Thom Yorke's digitalized soul, and the xx's style of stark minimalist R&B. That said, on the other end of the spectrum he can seem like a lost youth in cyberspace, caught in the k-hole of his laptop's glow, unable to fully craft, sculpt, and create dynamics within an album context. Where his singles were vibrant and soulful, full of dynamics and overall refreshing in sound palette and technique, a sure sign of skills, the full-length can at times feel stuck. It is full of good, even great, moments, yet they can sometimes feel overshadowed by what is left out, what has been stripped away from the stunning production we know Blake is capable of. Where the album shines brightest is when Blake is able to blend his voice with his immaculate sound design, creating whirlpools and one-man choirs out of simple phrasing. And when the beats do drop, you feel it, like an exhalation. The record is an exercise in restraint, and the framework is so minimal here, that every stuttering vocal, every sonic crackle feels piercing and poignant. Unlike fellow former dubsteppers Darkstar, who in morphing from producers to a band, found a place to include their dubstep past into their present, Blake isn't so considerate overall; at most he sensually teases the listener by hinting at what could be. He takes a similar road as Arthur Russell, exploring different avenues to express his varied interests from dance music to minimalist songwriting, the connecting strand being his imagination. Blake has shown us what heights he's capable of creating for the dancefloor, and now he's showing us a different side of the coin. That Blake is so open to expressing these different sides of his creativity can only be a good thing, but for a fan I hear these songs with mixed emotions. And though in many ways he seems to have turned away from the audience that made him, many of whom may feel they are still owed the fruits of their enthusiasms, he has offered an intriguing, intimate, magnetic and at times coyly emotional album. This will appeal to a vast audience, from fans of Bears Panda and Grizzly, to those who knew and loved the Feist original, to the post-dubstep crowd looking for that perfect comedown soundtrack. Maybe this is the record he's dreamt of making, his World of Echo, and that should be acknowledged. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating, and in fact there is much here to love -- yet I still dream of what could have been. Could James Blake be the first head-scratcher of 2011? I think we have a winner. [DG] Order CD by Texting "omjamesblake" to 767825

		$29.99 LP   DNA A Taste of DNA (American Clave) Now this is what I call a warehouse find! We were fortunate enough to stumble into a box of this absolutely essential piece of NYC post-punk/art-rock/mind-melt history -- ORIGINAL, SEALED copies of the lone 12" EP by the final incarnation of no-wave legends DNA. By this record's release in 1981, DNA's lineup and sound had shifted dramatically; vocalist and keyboard player Robin Crutchfield had left the group to focus his energies on his own excellent Dark Day project, and his seat had been taken over by bassist Tim Wright, who had played on Pere Ubu's amazing first two singles. Wright's addition dramatically mutated the makeup of the group; whereas before, the band moved in sharp, jagged fragments of orchestrated noise, Wright's trained musicality and more pulsating attack gave the group hips as well as the elbows and knees with which the earlier incarnation had moved. A Taste of DNA's short running time was even more staggering -- six songs in 10 minutes, meticulously arranged, rehearsed, and delivered in damn near perfect form. As jagged and obtuse as these dense pieces could be, you could actually DANCE to a few of them, and that was a revolution in its own right. Guitarist and vocalist Arto Lindsay plays his 12-string guitar like an electric berimbau, its percussive, electric attack scrabbling in sharp angles around Ikue Mori's taiko, samba, and Burundi-inspired drumbeats. Writer Glenn O'Brien once described this version of the group as a cubist rendition of the band Cream, and as silly as it may sound to no wave purists, it's spot-on. A Taste of DNA is fucking perfect, and it went on to influence damn near every band who was lucky enough to have heard a copy back in the day, Sonic Youth and Blonde Redhead (who named themselves after one of the songs on this record) among them. I seriously doubt you'll see another copy of this record in this condition again at this price, so if you know what's good for you, you won't sleep. Limit one per customer. [IQ]

		$15.99 CD $9.99 MP3   DEAF CENTER Owl Splinters (Type) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Six years on from their successful debut, Pale Ravine, and Deaf Center deliver an even better album in Owl Splinters. Mining similar territory, while expanding upon those ideas, this duo goes well beyond mere dronescape into composerly territory. A tangle of cello and other stringed instruments announces the opening "Divided" and immediately a bleak, cavernous atmosphere is created. The sound palette is not-unlike mid-period Dead Can Dance, but if they were trying to evoke a swamp rather than the heavens. Piano is used to brooding and ominous effect throughout, and helps to achieve a real claustrophobic atmosphere. While there are sonic similarities to Erik Skodvin's Svarte Greiner project, here his scrape and bow tendencies are placed in a much more musical context. The aching ebb and flow of mournful cello and ringing guitar on the album's centerpiece, "The Day I Would Never Have," is simply sublime and builds to a powerful climax before dissolving into a pool of echo-laden piano and crackle. I never understood what Felt meant by the title Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty, but that phrase came to mind as melancholy piano and buzzing shards of cello brought Owl Splinters to a close. [MM] Order CD by Texting "omcddeafowl" to 767825

		$12.99 CD $14.99 LP $9.99 MP3   PEAKING LIGHTS 936 (Not Not Fun) "Birds of Paradise" "Marshmellow Yellow" Just as we've finally gotten the confidence to set our sights on spring, Peaking Lights make us crave full-blaze summer. With music influenced by the untamed Wisconsin wilderness where they make their home, and recorded to tape in a barn that used to host artistic happenings back in the '70s, Peaking Lights scrape together richly-textured, beat-heavy psychedelic music that fuses their experimental pop background with a deep love for dub. After the break-up of Indra Dunis' post-punk-prog trio Numbers, Dunis and Aaron Coyes played together in the San Francisco trio Rahdunes before moving to the Madison area and starting up a vintage clothing shop / art gallery / d.i.y. venue. The intriguing "f-ed pop" that the couple have created in the time since, released on the likes of dark experimental Iowa City label Night-People and Woodsist affiliate Fuckittapes, has been inspiringly fresh, deeply soulful and instinctively raw, created with hand-built and scavenged instruments and gear. This is the duo's most fleshed-out, cohesive release to date, and the pop sensibility of 936 is strong, with songs like "All the Sun That Shines" assembling bass, synth, and guitar hooks into masterfully mellow yet driving, danceable dub with Dunis' voice drifting atop, melodic but detached, sure to appeal to fans of Anika or Broadcast. Come to think of it, her vocals are wonderfully prominent on this record; during the intimate, delicate "Key Sparrow," a soft synth echoes Dunis' quiet sing-song melody, with '70s sci-fi oscillations spiraling off into the ether, and psychedelic, wandering guitar piecing together another one of the duo's immersive dreamscapes. These are no single-bite snacks; Peaking Lights invest and explore each one of their partly-improvised songs to the fullest -- about half of the tracks are seven or eight minutes long -- but they never tire, there's just the right balance between looseness and structure around a theme. It helps that 936 was so painstakingly recorded -- all the layers of guitar and synth are spatially separate, with equal respect given to each essential part. A slow-burner that locks into the groove for a full 50 minutes, this might be the strongest release yet on the Not Not Fun label, and a great discovery for fans of Woods, Sun Araw, Gang Gang Dance, and Dirty Beaches. [KS] Order CD by Texting "omcdpeaking936" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlppeaking936" to 767825

		$13.99 CD $9.99 MP3   THE BABIES The Babies (Shrimper) "Run Me Over" "Sick Kid" It's tough to check your baggage at the door when it comes to the Babies. The group's founders, Cassie Ramone and Kevin Morby, are also members of two of the biggest bands in Brooklyn: Vivian Girls and Woods, respectively. Both of those acts took a couple of spins around the blogosphere rinse cycle, so it was inevitable that the Babies would be saddled with expectations, from fans and detractors alike. Add to Ramone and Morby a crack rhythm section featuring Justin Sullivan (of the late, great Bossy) on drums and Nathaniel Stark (of Bent Outta Shape) on bass, and the whole "indie supergroup" label starts to fill up the corners -- and all that without having heard a lick of the record. The Babies, the band's debut album, is a total pleasure start to finish -- energetic, surprising and relentlessly catchy. Instead of just phoning in the girl-group instincts that power her songwriting in Vivian Girls, Ramone focuses on complementing Morby's infectious, wild-child bawl with her own affecting howl. When their voices stick together, the resulting sound is oddly and chillingly beautiful, as on the moody "Sick Kid" or the jangly rave-up "Caroline." Even more intoxicating is when the two of them duet, Johnny Cash and June Carter-style -- during "Sunset," Morby sings the bulk of the song, but hands the microphone to Ramone for a touching breakdown that reads like a prayer; on "Breakin' the Law," both singers trade line for line like kids playing catch. To be sure, The Babies is a rockin' record. It's filled with brash energy, fritzed-out electric guitar, and hits like the charming outer borough anthem "Meet Me in the City." But what sold me is the depth of the songwriting, tailored for the anxious nerves that run through the Babies sound. "Sunset" is about the death of your closest friend, and how that crushing feeling is "only lonely," nothing more. Ramone's "All Things Come to Pass" rides the same melancholy territory, but with an unsinkable spirit. Like the Replacements or the Exploding Hearts, the Babies can't help but mean everything they sing -- and the result is a group that is greater than its individuals. Whatever your opinion on their other projects, you've got to meet the Babies. [MS] Order CD by Texting "omcdbabiesbabies" to 767825

		$14.99 CD   PJ HARVEY Let England Shake (Vagrant) "The Words That Maketh Murder" "Written on the Forehead" PJ Harvey returns with Let England Shake, a beguiling, curious album, and a great one too. This has been making the press rounds as an anti-war protest record, much being said of the stark, blunt imagery depicted in the lyrics as if it's some new form of expressionist territory for Harvey. What's most interesting about the imagery of Let England Shake, though, is that it seems less an album about war and the art of protest and more so a record about the documentation of war and the art of protest. Harvey expands upon the musical landscapes she mapped with White Chalk, which over the past few years has become my personal favorite album of hers; that album's use of pianos, autoharps, zithers, et al. to create a dense and dusty cloud of ambience continues here, but is ably blended with the raw, skeletal electric rock on which Harvey built her reputation. You'll be hard pressed to find any of the swampy blues of PJ's past, though -- instead, you'll hear electrified British folk forms and a bit of Cocteau Twins-esque dreamscapes, spliced from song to song with snippets and samples of Russian folkloric melodies, rockers reggae, marching band music, even a clever quote from "Summertime Blues" on "The Words That Maketh Murder." Her use of sampling is odd, often letting the seams show to unsettling effect, but with successive listens these ravaged landscapes bear fruit and their mutated beauty reveals itself. This record is a grower, not a shower -- the music's dreamy, hallucinogenic subtlety contrasted with the lyrics' weighty tone very much subscribe to the idea of what Crass once called "poison in a pretty pill," and if you've enjoyed much of what Harvey's done in the past five-odd years, chances are you'll grow to love this one as well. She's stepping up her game to show that she has become a challenging, talented songwriter who has outlived many of the trends that have buzzed and withered around her, always evolving and always searching. Her records have staying power, and this is one of her best. [IQ] Order CD by Texting "omcdpjlet" to 767825

		$18.99 CDx2   WINGLESS ANGELS Volumes 1 & 2 (Mindless) "Morning Train" "So Sweet" Keith Richards' recent autobiography is endlessly engrossing on so many levels, and while details of his solo work with the X-pensive Winos may not be on the top of the must-read list (though his opinions on Mick's solo career definitely are), his history with a loose group of Jamaican Nyabinghi musicians that he jammed with and recorded at his Ocho Rios estate make for some good reading (and amazing pics of Keef shirtless with the boys). Richards met the crew, led by ska legend Justin Hinds ("Carry Go Bring Come") soon after buying his Jamaican retreat in the mid '70s, but the bulk of the recordings that he made with the group were from the mid '90s, and the first Wingless Angels album was released on Richards' own Mindless imprint in '97. Nyabinghi is Rastafarian spiritual music (often based on traditional Christian spirituals), raw and primal and stripped to its most basic elements. It is built around sacred hand drums and chanted vocals, played under the open sky. For obvious reasons, musical and otherwise, Richards and the Wingless Angels (so named by Richards because "they sung like angels, but could not fly") gravitated towards each other, and soon the Rastas and the rock star were hanging and making music together. These recordings, made in Richards' yard with crickets and peepers filling out the chorus, are warm, beautiful and despite some overdubs from Keith and friends back in the US and UK, very true to the Nyabinghi sound, rather than some sort of hybrid tainted by modern tastes. But Richards colored the basic tracks and added subtle guitar riffs, bass guitar, even fiddle, flute and harmonica at times here and there. The result, on this expanded two-CD version of the original album, is a wonderful classic Nyabinghi sound that pays tribute to the music's roots in blues and gospel without losing any of the rawness that gives this music its heart. Richards added to the sound while still honoring its purity, and as with his book, he's delivered us hours of deep and timeless pleasure. [JM] Order CD by Texting "omcdwinglessvolumes" to 767825

		$17.99 CD $9.99 MP3   BALLAKE SISSOKO & VINCENT SEGAL Chamber Music (Six Degrees) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store This record has been in constant rotation in my home, on my iPod, and just about anywhere else I have been able to play it for the past week; I simply cannot stop listening to it. Malian kora virtuoso Ballake Sissoko and French cellist Vincent Segal have recorded one of the most beautiful albums I've heard in years for the European No Format label (and issued domestically by Six Degrees), perhaps best known for releasing the infamous solo piano album by Gonzales -- another constant favorite whose simple melodic beauty never grows tiresome. Sissoko and Segal spin delicate, majestic webs of complex detail, half composed, half improvised, taking turns volleying rhythmic anchor and sweeping melody, with the results displaying a deep mixture of classical parlor music, African griot meditations, and even a bit of jazz interplay. The intuitive connection between these two musicians is astonishing; throughout they both seem to have a telepathic communication, always pushing each other forward while floating through the music's lovely anti-gravity drift. Both players also display a firm grasp on rhythmic importance as well, keeping these string duos anchored by cyclical phrases and even grooves whose rich textures and deep harmonic interplay consistently hypnotize. There's absolutely no artifice to be found, no silly "crossover" agenda to fulfill, just simply two gifted musicians with deep mutual respect for one another's craft coming together to create something that is truly art, and truly inspired. Records like this don't get made often; this music is truly special, truly inspired, and for all of its quiet modesty, it shouts loudly and clearly that, as the recently departed Ari Up once declared, silence is a rhythm, too. This is the first album to go on my "Best of 2011" list. Damn. [IQ] Order CD by Texting "omcdballakechamber" to 767825

		$13.99 CD $14.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   SONIC YOUTH Simon Werner a Disparu (SYR) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Not long after recording the soundtrack to French director Fabrice Gobert's thriller Simon Werner a Disparu, Sonic Youth returned to their Echo Canyon West studio in Hoboken to flesh out the original takes of the film score into what is presented here. Like any of the previous releases on the group's SYR imprint, the band's experimental tendencies are brought to the forefront; however, given that these tracks were initially written for film, the album as a whole is more subdued and moves in a more deliberate direction than the noisy avant territories that Sonic Youth often travel when freed from the confines of traditional song structure. While the record isn't completely devoid of their trademark dissonant squalls, as a whole these instrumental tracks create a textural dream world. Guided by the band's metallic guitar clank, hazy piano passages, and cresting drums, the album ebbs and flows between motorik romps and tranquil, free-floating stillness. Never mind that this record was initially conceived as a soundtrack; Simon Werner a Disparu surprisingly plays like a proper full-length, and with the group tapping into the atmospherics of their best rock recordings like Daydream Nation, while simultaneously pushing forward into new exploratory yet extremely listenable directions, you can safely add this one to the "must hear" column of Sonic Youth's expansive discography. [GH] Order CD by Texting "omcdsonicsimon" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlpsonicsimon" to 767825

		$13.99 CD $19.99 LP   MOGWAI Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Sub Pop) "Mexican Grand Prix" "San Pedro" After the familiar-sounding, soaring opener "White Noise," Mogwai ventures straight off into quite surprising territory on their latest full-length, the group's first for Sub Pop. New single "Mexican Grand Prix" is a straight-ahead motorik number complete with organ that sounds like it was borrowed from a Stereolab tune from the Transient Random Noise Bursts era. This is not a bad thing. By the end of the track it is convincingly their own, and it's risk taking such as this that has given Mogwai longevity. They've proved to be far from the one-trick, loud-soft post-rock band detractors tried to write them off as; the chemistry they have as players allows them to incorporate stylistic variance while remaining true to their core sound. Vocals make a return on this album, after the all-instrumental The Hawk Is Howling (2008). However, unlike earlier albums, there's no bleak ballad, and vocals are used much like texture on several tracks. Conversely, on the instrumental "Rano Pano," the lead melody is so strong it comes off much like a narrative vocal. The keyboards that form the basis of "Too Raging to Cheers" are a different texture than heard before on any of the previous records. Mogwai always had a gift for writing tracks that are at once melancholic and uplifting, as evidenced here on "Death Rays." The album ends on a high note, as "You're Lionel Ritchie" features an extended solo guitar passage followed by a full band blowout sounding like an older, wiser "Like Herod" (from Mogwai's '97 debut Young Team). It's refreshing to know that they there are still groups who refrain from releasing an album every year, and it's worth a three year wait when they're this good. [MM] Order CD by Texting "omcdmogwaihardcore" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlpmogwaihardcore" to 767825

		$10.99 CD $5.99 MP3   OFF! First Four EPs (Vice) "Poison City" "Fuck People" Zeroing in on the sound of Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP and the Circle Jerk's Group Sex LP, and basically nothing else, OFF! blasts through sixteen songs of unbridled, OG hardcore fury on their debut The First Four EPs, collecting their much-loved 2010 7" series in one handy digital package. Given that this is the new band of Keith Morris, who was a founding member of both Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, it should come as no surprise that their sound and approach feel like they were cryogenically frozen in 1979 and left undisturbed until 2010. Even still, the band's debut sounds as fresh and exciting as the first time you heard "Wasted." Of course, while Morris' voice and lyrics dominate here, the cast surrounding him (Mario Rubalcaba of Earthless/Rocket from the Crypt/Clikatat Ikatowi on drums, Steven McDonald of Redd Kross on bass, and Burning Brides' Dimitri Coats on guitar) have their own rich pedigree as well. Splitting the difference between old school punks and the slightly newer school dudes that were influenced by them, OFF! torch through some gems in just over 18 minutes, as songs like "Darkness," "Poison City," "Killing Away," and the surprising eulogy that is "Jeffrey Lee Pierce" get right to the point and then get out before any chance of overstaying their welcome. To be sure, while OFF!'s sound is nothing new, this record is refreshing and invigorating, especially when you've been drowning in indie rock and the like for the last 20-odd years. [MC] Order CD by Texting "omcdofffirst" to 767825

		$18.99 CD   NOUVELLE VAGUE Couleurs Sur Paris (Kwaidan) "Marcia Baila" feat. Adrienne Pauly "So Young But So Cold" feat. Charlie Winston French ensemble Nouvelle Vague have built a reputation for themselves via a series of albums which have reworked famous and influential punk, post-punk, and new wave songs into soothing bossa nova, samba, and folk-inspired lullabies, sung by a rogues gallery of contemporary French chanteuses in often woozy, breathy tones that add humor to the lyrics of some cuts, and add greater weight to others. For Couleurs Sur Paris, the group's fourth album, they steer away from the American and British songs they generally focused on for their back catalogue and instead explore new wave, synth-pop, and cold wave from their homeland. For the rotating vocal seat, they call upon many of France's contemporary hitmakers like Vanessa Paradis (Mrs. Johnny Depp!), Yelle, Helena Noguerra, Camille, Soko, and Coralie Clement, to give their own renditions of vintage French hits. Many of the songs on this album were either massive chart toppers in France, like Taxi Girl's "Je Suis Déjà Parti," Les Rita Mitsouko's brilliant "Marcia Baila," and Lio's "Amoreaux Solitaires," or deeply influential underground seeds for bands to come, like Kas Product's "So Young But So Cold," here given a wonderful arrangement for Brazilian percussion, piano, and acoustic guitar, or TC Matic's underground political punk smash "Putain, Putain," here sung by NV alumnus Camille, showing the impressive vocal ability she has developed since her early days with the group. On the whole, I've got to say that this may just be their best album yet; every song is focused, every note is in the right place, and every song is brimming with real feeling. Where some of the group's past covers felt a bit silly and overwhelmingly kitsch (a samba version of "Just Can't Get Enough" or "Too Drunk to Fuck" done bossa style, anyone?), on Couleurs Sur Paris, the band sounds both relaxed and confident, flexing their muscle yet showing remarkable restraint when necessary, and that confidence shines through. They also try a few new tricks, like the wicked Compass Point disco bounce of Lili Drop's "Sur Ma Mob," here sung by Mareva Galanter. For past fans, if you've enjoyed their versions of the Wake's "O Pamela," Tuxedomoon's "In a Manner of Speaking," and Bauhaus's "Bela Lugosi's Dead," some of their most radical reworks which hang on to the intensity of the originals while re-clothing them, then you'll find much to love here. And even if you've shied away from this band in the past, give this one a shot -- it's a winner; it's one of the best spring soundtracks I've heard yet this year. [IQ] Order CD by Texting "omcdnouvellecouleurs" to 767825

		$10.99 CD $14.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   DREAM DIARY You Are the Beat (Kanine) "El Lissitzky" "Tombs of Love" While Kanine Records may be best known for having introduced the indie world to Grizzly Bear, Professor Genius and Chairlift, the Brooklyn label's roster continues to grow and impress, with the breakout success of Surfer Blood last year, and now, only a few months into 2011, with albums from promising upstarts like Braids and Young Prisms. Add Dream Diary to the list, and though the band may not be the most original group on the Kanine roster, they're certainly one of the most tuneful. There's no shortage of new artists channeling the jangly heyday of indie pop, and while Dream Diary's debut full-length would be an easy fit for Slumberland or Sarah Records, this NYC trio's songs are fully formed and ultimately trump the twee nostalgia card. Tracks like "Is He Really Mine?" find Jacob Danish Sloan and Madison Farmer's gentle, yearning harmonies recalling Teenage Fanclub's "The Concept." But where the Fanclub wears their love of Big Star and American power pop on their Scottish sleeves, Dream Diary are looking towards the other side of the Atlantic for inspiration, at bands like the Field Mice and Another Sunny Day. Songs like "Paper Flowers," "Something Tells Her" and "El Lissitzky" bounce along at a jaunty pace that could even put a smile on Morrissey's face, as guitars sparkle and chime around Sloan's softy, pretty melodies, which are never delivered much louder than a whisper. Groundbreaking, Dream Diary is not, and it's just as well. This young group has picked right up from where our favorite groups left off, and they're breaking hearts just as gently as the best of them. [GH] Order CD by Texting "omcddreamyou" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlpdreamyou" to 767825

		$12.99 CD   ORLANDO JULIUS & HIS AFRO-SOUNDERS Orlando's Afro Ideas 1969-72 (Ekosound) "Home Sweet Home" "Esamei Sate" Orlando Julius was a superstar in Nigeria at the dawn of the '70s, but was largely overlooked in the West, at least until the recent deluge of Afropop reissues. These tracks were recorded in the wake of his classic debut, 1966's Super Afro Soul, and show his music inching from that powerful blend of highlife and soul to the funkier sound which would soon be termed Afrobeat. Not to say that this is a transitional period -- the tunes here are fully-formed, offering a smoother, more sensual, but no less danceable take than the furious grooves of a certain Afrobeat legend's 1970s output. "Alo Mi Alo" will already be familiar to anyone who's heard the landmark Nigeria 70 compilation. A few of the song titles, like "Psychedelic Afro Shop" and "James Brown Ride On," the latter paying tribute to the JB's without aping their style, make explicit some of the Western influences. But Orlando Julius incorporates the elements so successfully it's almost a Rorschach test -- I swear I even hear go-go music in some of the guitar work and chords. But with grooves as downright seductive as "Mura Sise" you'll be too busy dancing to pull them apart. Crucial stuff. [JB] Order CD by Texting "omcdorlandoafro" to 767825

		$13.99 CD $23.99 LP w/CD 180 Gram Vinyl   BRIGHT EYES The People's Key (Saddle Creek) "Jejune Stars" "Beginner's Mind" The sound of Bright Eyes circa 2011 is a far cry from the dusty Americana Connor Oberst has been exploring of late, instead opting for an angular pop production that combines some of the new wave electro-squelch of Digital Ash in a Digital Urn with a chunky distorted guitar delivery. Otherwise, this is classic Bright Eyes, blending Oberst's sadness with his strut, and it is a solid batch of new songs. Order CD by Texting "omcdbrightpeoples" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlpbrightpeoples" to 767825

		$13.99 CD $9.99 MP3   TELEKINESIS 12 Desperate Straight Lines (Merge) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Michael Benjamin Lerner and his band's latest full-length, 12 Desperate Straight Lines, is noisier and more kinetic than Telekinesis' self-titled debut from 2009, with buzzing power chords and driving beats propelling this dozen-track set. Indie pop doesn't get much catchier than this, but it's deceptively infectious -- as the album title suggests, Lerner delves into life's darker moments. Still, downer music this is not. Order CD by Texting "omcdtelekinesis12" to 767825

		$14.99 CD $18.99 LPx2   SKULL DEFEKTS Peer Amid (Thrill Jockey) Skull Defekts deliver one of the best hard rock albums we've heard in some time precisely because they are one of the more unlikely bands to do so. The Swedish group's pedigree is as heavy with experimentalism and electronic as it is with bruising guitar, and the singer on Peer Amid isn't even in the band. But that vocalist is Lungfish's own Daniel Higgs, who makes a thrilling return to rock fronting on this dense, circular powerhouse of a record. In the great minimalist metal-rock tradition, seriously, this rules! Order CD by Texting "omcdskullpeer" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlpskullpeer" to 767825

		$14.99 CD $15.99 LP   ARBOURETUM Gathering (Thrill Jockey) Apparently inspired by Carl Jung's recently unearthed The Red Book, the heavy sludge of Gathering explores Arbouretum's inner journey, through drawn out, heavy guitar workouts that add in touches of refinement -- some strings, some space -- but generally revel in Dave Heumann's wonderfully dense guitar stylings and thoroughly engaging voice. Order CD by Texting "omcdarbouretumgathering" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlparbouretumgathering" to 767825

		$11.99 CD $16.99 LP+MP3 180 Gr. Pink Vinyl   ASOBI SEKSU Flourescence (Polyvinyl) "Trails" "Counterglow" Asobi Seksu's fourth album finds these Brooklyn dream poppers striking a nice balance between the noisy shoegazing of their first two full-lengths and the icy-synth atmospherics of 2009's Hush. Of course, Yuki Chikudate's melodies are still the group's not-so-secret weapon, playfully cooing one minute and soaring the next above buzzing guitars and day-glo keyboards. Bonus points for enlisting longtime 4AD artist-in-resident Vaughan Oliver to design the unmistakable album artwork. Order CD by Texting "omcdasobiflourescence" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlpasobiflourescence" to 767825

		$14.99 CD $14.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   A HAWK AND A HACKSAW Cervantine (L.M. Duplication) "Mana Thelo Enan Andra" "Cervantine" A Hawk and a Hacksaw's sixth full-length, the first to be self-released by the group, continues in their exploration of Eastern European folk sounds, but adds in a dash more of the shared aesthetics of Spanish and Mexican folk forms, utilizing accordion, fiddle, oompa tuba (and mariachi brass), strummed flamenco guitar and click-clack percussion on this crowded, jubilant, mostly instrumental workout. Order CD by Texting "omcdhawkcervantine" to 767825 Order LP by Texting "omlpdhawkcervantine" to 767825

		PHONE ORDERS Phone orders are accepted at (212) 477-8150 (ext. #2, mailorder) Mon-Fri, Noon - 7pm EST EMAIL For general inquiries or other information please email sales@othermusic.com. Do not reply to this message. REMOVE This is an automated list. If you would like to be removed for any reason, please visit: digital.othermusic.com/subscribe.php   THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS [JB] James Bess [MC] Michael Crumsho [DG] Daniel Givens [GH] Gerald Hammill [[IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [JM] Josh Madell [MM] Marc Moeller [KS] Karen Soskin [MS] Michael Stasiak THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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