War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)

Have you ever had an album that people wanted you to describe and the only thing you could come up with is that it’s legitimately good music? That’s exactly what we have here. Sure we could try and pool together a bunch of bands to compare it to. There is some Spacemen 3 in there. Hell, I think there is some old Fleetwood Mac in there. There is also a large blueprint of what the former War on Drugs guitarist, Kurt Vile, has based an entire music career on. Most of all though, we have an album that doesn’t hide behind gimmicks and is the product of some absolutely phenomenal songwriting. Essential purchase.

Listen to “Come to the City” from War on Drugs’ Slave Ambient

Case Studies – The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night (Sacred Bones)

If you’ve been in the store lately, you’ve probably heard us freaking out about some new release on Sacred Bones. They’ve been just absolutely killing it this year with the new Moon Duo, the Men, Human Eye, Religious Knives, Fresh & Onlys, Cult of Youth, Slug Guts…the list goes on. Well the debut release by Case Studies shows the label putting out something a bit different. Featuring the Duke half of store favorites the Dutchess & the Duke, Jesse Lortz, he’s constructed an album that draws heavy comparisons to Leonard Cohen. Some excellent darker folk songs that weave stories, Case Studies trumps anything the Dutchess & the Duke did together, which is not an easy feat.

Listen to “My Silver Hand” from Case Studies’ The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night

Fool’s Gold – Leave No Trace (IAMSOUND)

Fool’s Gold released an album a couple years back, a couple months after Foreign Born released their excellent Secretly Canadian debut, Person to Person. At the time, I didn’t know they shared members but recognized some similarities, such as their penchant to write some excellent summer pop tunes. I eventually put the connection together months later and was ecstatic to see Fool’s Gold were releasing a follow up.

The new album, Leave No Trace, continues the trend of excellent pop songs. To describe Fool’s Gold might best be summed up by this sentiment: It’s like a Vampire Weekend album you don’t feel guilty about listening to. It’s afro-pop infused indie rock in a way that it’s not blatantly ripping off Graceland. An absolutely excellent record to wrap up the Summer with.

Listen to “The Dive” from Fool’s Gold’s Leave No Trace

A bit of a slower release week certainly doesn’t lessen the killer releases out this week. A bit of a surprise with the Fool’s Gold album that features members of Foreign Born, the Fall, and We Are Scientists that is great little afro-pop album. Frank Fairfield’s debut album on Tompkins Square is also a great album. Fairfield is on tour with Fleet Foxes right now with his impressive fiddle and banjo playing. The proper release of Cymbals Eat Guitars album Why There Are Mountains is out this week as well and is a great genuine indie rock record.

Last but not least though is the Record of the Week itself, Om’s newest album God is Good. Om’s fourth album sees a bit of a departure as long time drummer and former Sleep member, Chris Haikus, left the band before the album was recorded. Stepping in to his place is the drummer of one of our favorite bands around here, Emil Amos of Grails. It seems that Emil has had a bit of influence on where Om is going as well as a lot of the Eastern sounds that have been found on the more recent Grails albums are showcased here on God is Good.

God is Good is four tracks long but these are 3 minute songs. The first track, “Thebes,” is nearly 20 minutes long and very trancing. On the second track “Mediation is the Practice of Death,” Amos shows that he is very apt at taking Haikus place behind the kit. The final two songs is a two parter and mostly instrumental.

Om also brings in a bit of new instrumentation to the mix on this record with flute being played on “Meditation…” and tamboura on several tracks as well. All of it makes for a pretty great “stoner spiritual” album. This is one of Om’s finest efforts and it makes you think, with the little amount of time Amos and Al Cisneros had together before this album came out, we’re just seeing the beginning of what is going to turn out to be a great pairing.

"Meditation is the Practice of Death" from Om's 2009 album God is Good

Honorable mentions for September 29th Record of the Week:

• Fool’s Gold - Fool’s Gold (Iamsound)
  "Surprise Hotel" from Fool's Gold's 2009 album Fool's Gold
• Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains (Sister’s Den)
  "Wind Phoenix(Proper Name)" from Cymbals Eat Guitars' 2009 album Why There Are Mountains
• Frank Fairfield – Frank Fairfield (Tompkins Square)
  "Nine Pound Hammer" from Frank Fairfield's 2009 album Frank Fairfield