The Levellers - Levelling The Land (1992)
Today is a nineties day. This is a brilliant, brilliant album. My therapist recommended me it months ago and I regret waiting this long for it, really, because GOD, this is good. It’s upbeat and pretty and happy and even where the electric stuff kicks in it retains this nice acoustic feel and it’s all very casual and country and it makes efficient use of harmonicas and violins, it’s really lovely.
Get it on iTunes.
Get it on Amazon.
Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)
Recently discovered this on an old hard drive, ain’t it a gem? It’s a great little acoustic set by Sam Beam. A few tracks have a little bit of a motown feel to them, like Teeth In The Grass, while the others are so folksy they could pass off as hymns (maybe for an easygoing congregation). Give this a listen, you won’t regret it.
Get it on iTunes.
Get it on Amazon.
Secret Dakota Ring - Do Not Leave Baggage All The Way (2004)
Say hello to brilliance on a CD. Secret Dakota Ring is the brainchild of Andy Ross, the *cough* extremely hot *cough* guitarist of OK Go. This was his first album, which is unfortunately sold out on everything except mp3 format. I find this incredibly saddening, because I would have really loved to own that shit on vinyl, or even CD.
This is, to be put frankly, really, really good. It’s got everything; your typical poprock tracks, your dialogue songs, witty lyrics, beautiful melodies - unless you’re not really into that sort of thing at all, you’ll enjoy it. It’s just poppy enough that you can enjoy it without being ashamed of ruining your street cred, and each time you listen to the album, you uncover new layers, both of it and yourself. A lot of the album is acoustic, but you’ll scratch over the odd rockier track, which is always a refreshing change.
Favourite tracks on this one are Math Is Power and Broken Cars.
Having this album on repeat on iTunes is the real killer here, because you can have it on for hours without even breaking a sweat. I haven’t disclosed which tracks are more rock-orientated and which are less so because really, you should discover it for yourself.
Get it on iTunes.
Elliott Smith - XO
I’ve recently been introduced to the wonderful world of Elliott Smith by Elizabeth (www.bornandraisedforthejob.tumblr.com), and I must admit (not that I have any objections to doing so) that it’s one of the most incredible things I’ve ever come across in my life. As a matter of fact, my brother used to listen to one of Elliott Smith’s songs a lot when I was in his presence, and when I came across it on this album, I was very close to crying.
Elliott Smith in general was damn good at what he did. Fancy riffs, easy listening, the man was a genius. Some of his stuff was very, very depressing, but you’ll listen to it anyway. Why? Because I’m telling you to! Or, if you’d rather have a good reason, then because it’s a fucking brilliant addition to your library.
This album is a very minor toned album, full of little delicacies and intricacies that show the care put into it. There’s a lot of good quality music in there, something that anyone in the next generation up will complain about the lack of nowadays. There are lyrics in there too meaningful for me to understand, and it’s all tied together with Elliott’s dulcet tones.
My favourite track on here is Waltz #2. I find that whilst it’s depressing, it’s danceable; its minor highs and lows soothe a harsh mood on a rough night, and really hit the senses. There’s so much feeling in this song that you can practically feel it drip off your tongue as you sing along.
Get it on iTunes.
Get it on Amazon.
