Some stream of consciousness on some stuff that I've been checking out lately so far this year. Some of this goes back several months because I either haven't had much time to comment on it or I've procrastinated on listening.
I've started listening to The Men. Their louder, faster stuff reminds me of Japandroids, who have a new album out of their own that I have yet to listen to.
Guided By Voices... I should be all over their new one, but I've only given it one listen and didn't like much of what I heard. With GBV, you know that anything they release is going to leave you sifting thru a bunch of crap to find the gold nuggets, but I came up empty this time.
I can't remember if I mentioned Sharon Van Etten's latest release in this thread. It's one of my favorites of the year so far. She is the real deal female solo artist that everyone in the indiesphere was trying to say that Lana Del Rey would be.
Billy Bragg & Wilco have released Mermaid Avenue Vol. III. It is sold as a standalone album digitally, or as part of the Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions CD/DVD box set. It was released to commemorate what would have been Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday earlier this year. Though not as strong as the first two volumes, I like what I hear overall. I'm glad for the inclusion of "When the Roses Bloom Again". I've been listening to that one for years now in its bootleged demo form or performed solo by Jeff Tweedy. It did get released several years ago on the soundtrack to Chelsea Walls, an Ethan Hawke movie that nobody watched (including myself), but I'm glad the song has now received a proper release.
Jack White's new one is another that will probably be among my top albums of the year. Of course, you can hear a lot of elements of The White Stripes, but it doesn't sound strictly like a White Stripes album. It includes what might be the best kiss-off song since John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?"
The best pure rock song I've heard all year is "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sleeps" by Father John Misty. That's the new stage name for the former drummer for Fleet Foxes, and the song and the solo album are a drastic departure from what he was doing with that band. The song is apparently about having sex with girl in and on other peoples' graves. Pretty weird, but it's an awesome tune.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tHJB9Po_Hc"]Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings - YouTube[/ame]