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Dispatches from the Highlands
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Album Notes from Erickson “The Soundtrack to your Chill”
the rst installment le o 19 months ago. Ian Parton's bouncy, upbeat retro-leaning creations again conjure nostalgic feelings of a schoolyard playground that mixes bubble- gum, the Jackson 5, and aural double Dutch. As always, it's feel good music that makes you want to...ahem...get up and go.
Gorillaz Cracker Island
Lou Reed and Snoop Dogg; Vince Staples and Benjamin Cle- mentine; Elton John and St. Vincent. Gorillaz have a way
Shakey Graves Roll the Bones
of weaving disparate artists throughout an album to varying success. is time it's un- dercat, Beck, and Stevie Nicks. Chalk one up in the win column. Cracker Island is Damon Albarn back doing what he does with the usual stable of guests in tow along with his cartoon band, now eight LPs into this chapter of his career. Aer the last decade plus of largely underwhelming Gorillaz output, Cracker Island represents a high point since at least the Gordon Brown premiership. Lyrically, the subject matter of humanity and social commentary remain common themes for Albarn. Musically, it sounds like the most fun he's had in years. e hip hop is dialed down, the vibes are decidedly more jubilant, and the result is a concise, focused 37 minutes of synth-pop goodness.
I know nothing of Lee Lengwell's politics. But I can state with certainty
that during his time as mayor of Austin, he got at least one thing right: Declare a Shakey Graves Day in February. When he did so in 2012, I have no idea how Mr. Lengwell was even aware of the Gentleman from Texas. Maybe he was a fan of Friday Night Lights . Perhaps he liked the artist's debut from 13 months prior. Or maybe he, like me, just had a bro crush on the guy. Who's to know. Since 2012, every February 9 has been another edition of this marvelous day, one on which Alejandro Rose-Garcia plays a show in the Austin area and makes pretty much his whole catalog of unique folk/blues/country/ rock available at a rate of "pay whatever you feel like" on Bandcamp, but only aer add- ing a nugget or two. ( is year it's A Shakey Graves Day Anthology .) And since we've covered nearly all of Shakey's previous major releases in this space, it's time to ll in that last remaining gap and bring it back to where it all started: his debut. Roll the Bones is DIY through and through, but a number of tunes still dot his setlists and stand as fan favorites. Picking, plucking, and singing his heart out, all of the elements of what makes Shakey Shakey are here from the beginning, suitcase drum included.
e Go! Team Get Up Sequences Part Two
Sequels rarely outshine their pre- decessors, but when they're named parts 1 and 2, it's harder to clearly demarcate. e
Go! Team's Get Up Sequences Part Two picks up, and arguably improves upon, where
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