Top 5 - Tracey Bleile
1) Calexico, The Black Light (Quarterstick). Call it what you will, garage mariachi, lo-fi Tex-Mex, cowboy lounge - or any other crazy-quilt name you want; it's the street party soundtrack of a multi-hued dreamland. Vibes, accordions, violins, a wealth of trumpets, thunder drums and every kind of guitar you could ever want (heck, they even sing a little bit this time); it's all here. From eerie maracas-thumpy bass-weirdo space noises and a faraway trumpet on "Fake Fur" to genuine-article "paso doble" stomp of "Minas De Cobre (for better metal)", this is the final answer to the cliche, "it can't be explained, it can only be experienced". Giant Sand alumni Joey Burns and John Convertino plus many special guests have outdone themselves on this second go-round. You can't call this sophomore or an effort; this is what geniuses who live in the desert do for fun when the sun goes down.
2) Sonichrome, Breathe The Daylight (Capitol). This is deceptively simple, breathlessly charming, strongly presented pop without a trace of cutesyness or fakery. This disc will give you a crush so bad you'll think puppy love was bearable. From thoroughly modern buzzy gems like the high-speed opener "Overconfident" to the soaring and oh-so-tremulous "There Was 2", Breathe made my year. Unfortunately, it's been one seriously overlooked release. Final thoughts: pop this one in the CD player in the car this winter, and you won't need to turn the heat on.
3) Son Volt, Wide Swing Tremolo (Warner). Strong return to form with some decidedly welcome experimentation from the lyrically cryptic but emotionally wide-open (at least in the music, anyway) Jay Farrar and his tighter and ever more visible bandmates. The album definitely feels like they've sealed their bond with glowing, rollicking songs like "Medicine Hat" and "Driving The View" and enigmatic moments of confusion and enlightenment (just a little poet-envy) on "Flow" and "Streets That Time Walks". They're super-tight without sounding mannered or overdone; the results of having rehearsal and recording space all rolled up in one and the luxury of time to work things out, try new things and let their efforts speak for themselves.
4) Tim Easton, Special 20 (Heathen). There's always one sneaky one that shows up late and hangs around for good; I discovered this disc only a few weeks ago, but it's been on steady rotation ever since. Late of the roots rock combo The Haynes Boys, Easton makes solid bluesy countryfied toothsome rock 'n roll (yes, all at once!). From the 4-track recording-amp in the bathroom-improvised drum rumpus of "Just Like Home" which leaps effortlessly to a big garage beat in "Torture Comes To Mind", this album snaps you out across a big ol' dance floor and then pulls you back close with a some swingers and some slow ones ("Help Me Find My Space Girl", and the quietly tragic "Everywhere is Somewhere). Slipping under the wire at just over 30-some minutes, Special 20 leaves you restlessly tapping yer feet for more.
5) Massive Attack, Mezzanine (Virgin). Deep, dark lush ambient grooves. Samples and beats and hypnotic vocals that remind you forcefully why this studio and team of musicians are named as they are; a veritable musical tsunami that rolls up, breaks over you and washes you out to an alternate plane. My superlative cup runneth over with purple prose for the studio genius of Massive Attack. The silky vocals of Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins) on the eastern-spiced "Teardrop" are framed with the relentless tribal hammer on "Risingson" and "Inertia Creeps". Get some headphones on and be somewhere else instantaneously.
