Hello again, fine folk of FAN.
As some of you know, 2013 has already been an entirely eventful year, with countless reunions, numerous album announcements, and a surprising amount of surprises.
I know I’m a month off, the second month of the year has also been history making. Beyoncé just performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, and Fall Out Boy announced a new album and tour dates after a three year hiatus.
This week sees three big releases from Coheed & Cambria, Eels, and My Morning Jacket‘s Jim James!
Coheed & Cambria – “The Afterman: Descension”
Four months after part one was released (which I previewed right here) sees the release of the second part. “The Afterman” series is a concept album of sorts, kind of like The Who‘s “Tommy” or Green Day‘s “American Idiot.” The story is based around a fictional character named Sirius Amory, who is involved with the Amory Wars, which ties into the popular comic books the band writes. A movie based on the comics is coming in the future, and will feature everyone’s favorite white 90’s rapper, Mark Wahlberg.
Jim James – “Regions of Light and Sound of God”
Thanks to the internet, I got to listen to this album in whole thanks to a stream courtety of NPR.org, of all places. If someone were to ask me to recommend them an album that you could listen to to feel completely and utterly relaxed and care free, it would be this album right here. For those unfamiliar, like I stated earlier, Jim James is the guitarist and singer for the popular alternative band My Morning Jacket. MMJ was the focus of a season 5 episode of FOX’s American Dad (cleverly titled “My Morning Straitjacket”). In the episode, the main character Stan originally despises that his daughter listens to the band, but ultimately falls in love with their music and follows them on tour. If you thought any of the three or four songs used in that episode were space-y and far out, you haven’t heard anything. Just listen to this song for proof.
Eels – “Wonderful, Glorious”
Another album I got to listen to via a stream, this time thanks to the wonders of SoundCloud, “Wonderful, Glorious” has an amazing display of garage rock that is highly rare to find, especially in 2013. The first track, “Bombs Away,” is VERY Tom Waits-esque, and if you know me, you know that’s everything I look for in a musician or a band. The second track, “Kinda Fuzzy,” definitely sounds inspired by the musical stylings of Beck. Never a bad thing. However, not every song is fast and upbeat. Songs like “Accident Prone” and “True Original” sound like new age ballads, and that’s a bit of alright.
There you have it. I honestly don’t have anything planned for next week besides the release of the new Pissed Jeans album, but I love that band so much, I honestly wouldn’t mind devoting an entire article to them and them alone.
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