Larry Jon Wilson
Larry Jon Wilson
(Drag City)
The fifth album from Larry Jon Wilson is his first studio album since 1980, although "studio" might be an inappropriate way to describe this self-titled collection. Larry Jon Wilson was recorded in a condo; every song except one is a first and only take, and the only thing you hear besides Larry Jon and his guitar is an occasional soulful violin that stays in the background. The result is an intimate musical experience more like an impromptu concert in a farmhouse kitchen than an over-produced studio release. His lyrics are country and Western—loving and leaving—and his acoustic guitar playing incorporates chord progressions like those of a sophisticated singer/songwriter. —Jennifer Burwell
Random Access Orkestra
Random Access Orkestra
(independent)
Random Access Orkestra is a miasmal cut-and-paste smorgasbord of loops, live instruments and vocals, spoken word rants and almost propagandistic samples from old movies and educational videos. The musical bed ranges from '70s-era Weather Report fusion to Chemical Brothers trance-dance to modern industrial, though its overall m.o. seems to be to stroke rather than jolt. Several musicians are credited in the liner notes, but it's unclear who plays what. The guitar work is among the highlights on the record, weaving intricate Eastern scales in Frippian feedback tones, and de-tuned pianos keep the feel organic and Randomly accessible. Nothing here, however, sounds accidental. —Tom Sturm
Camera Obscura
My Maudlin Career
(4AD)
Initially it was easy to write off Camera Obscura as Belle & Sebastian knock-offs. But over the course of four albums, the Scottish band have developed their own increasingly sophisticated sound. On My Maudlin Career, they've concocted swirling tunes that harken back to the glamorous '60s pop of Bacharach and Spector. They're buoyed by the confident vocals of singer/songwriter Tracyann Campbell, who keeps the songs afloat even when an overzealous string section threatens to capsize them. Camera Obscura is best known for penning heartbreak ballads, but the highlights here are bubbly uptempo romps.The closer features surging horns and a soulful shuffle, along with a bright outlook that suits the band surprisingly well. —Jeff Jackson
Snow Patrol
A Hundred Million Suns
(Geffen)
Snow Patrol indulges a love for post-U2 melodramatic pop tropes, spinning out songs driven by stories of relationship and heartache over a pounding grandiosity mixing busy drums with loads of slow-moving keyboard. Singer Gary Lightbody sounds reliably on the verge of emotional distress. Textures change on the album from piano-based pop to frantic acoustic guitar harking back to bands like fellow Scotsmen Big Country. Though the album gets more introspective and moody as it progresses, the goal seems to be a continuation of the grand-scale pop of bands like Radiohead and Coldplay. Though Snow Patrol has been at it since the '90s, their efforts don't ring with the same convincing urgency as those bands. —James Heflin
