Colin Meloy
Colin Meloy Sings Live!
(Kill Rock Stars)
Recorded during a two-week solo tour in 2006, Colin Meloy Sings Live! is a stripped-down acoustic guitar-and-voice document of the Portland, Oregon-based Decemberists front man at the height of his musical powers. With snippets of songs from Fleetwood Mac, The Smiths, Pink Floyd and R.E.M., and healthy doses of his trademark witty stage banter—including a self-deprecating examination of "the worst song I ever wrote, 'Dracula's Daughter'"—peppering a walk-through of his back catalog, the album serves as a snapshot of a confident songwriter and performer in command of his craft. A few of the tunes fall a bit flat, but Meloy achieves his stated goal of a "campfire sing-along."
—Matthew Dube
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Lie Down in the Light
(Drag City)
After over a decade of shape-shifting, chameleon-izing and sonic-morphing, Will Oldham (aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy) now sounds like he's become an actual old-timer, not just someone who plays one at the Pitchfork festival. He could pass for Merle Haggard on a folky kick. Oldham's had a tendency to tilt toward a somber, bleak and grim palette, but here he seems to have found a state of grace.
Much as I like the genial chill maturity, I'm not so sure the addition of clarinet is a wise choice. Oldham doesn't always match the low-fi and detached verbal-absurdist heights of his early career; still, some songs, like the fantastic "So Everyone," with its energetic guy-girl vocal back-and-forth, skeletal guitar and elegant horn arrangement, are simply beautiful.
—John Adamian
M83
Saturdays = Youth
(Mute)
M83's latest is a concise, catchy fantasia about 1980s teenagers. While M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez is too young to actually remember the decade, his ability to embrace various styles without irony prevents this from becoming another empty exercise in unremembered nostalgia. The swooningly romantic Saturdays = Youth refashions the gauzy dream pop of Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins into an abstracted and modernized version of '80s music. The songs mix female vocals, surging guitars, earnest monologues, sighing synths and melodramatic flourishes, creating a sonic tapestry that conjures teenage feelings without actually being authentic representations of them. An artificial but heartfelt wonderland, the album is often as bewitching as the subjects it celebrates.
—Jeff Jackson
Le Vent du Nord
Dans les airs
(Borealis)
There's not much that induces instant happiness like Quebe?ois music, and Le Vent du Nord is among its finest ambassadors. Compared to previous releases, Dans les airs is more concert savvy than kitchen floor polish. The recent addition of R?jean Brunet allows Le Vent du Nord to sport button and piano accordion at the same time. Brisker moments occur when hurdy-gurdy notes dance among Olivier Demers' fiddle flights. Hearty vocals are anchored by Nicolas Boulerice, but all four members are fine singers, which makes call-and-response choruses crackle. There are subtle tunes on the album as well, but the incessant foot tapping reminds that this music is supposed to make you move. If you don't, check yourself into a morgue.
—Rob Weir
