Best Albums of January 2009

I've slipped on keeping up to date on the monthly list of best new albums. I'll start getting caught up with this post of The Wheel’s Still In Spin’s list of the best new releases of January 2009.

1. Coconut Records – Davy | CD MP3
   Download “Microphone” (mp3)
   In 2007, the actor and former Phantom Planet drummer Jason Schwartzman released his first solo album under the band name of Coconut Records. He has followed that up with Davy. The ten songs that make up this release have a decided indie pop sound with layers and mixing peppered with Beatles influences.



2. Otis Gibbs – Grandpa Walked the Picket Line | CD MP3
   Download “Caroline” (mp3)
   This album is a batch of acoustic based songs led by Gibb’s poignantly raspy voice. Following in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and Billy Bragg, these songs chronicle the lives of individuals and groups. The subject matter deals with struggles and dreams, regrets and rambles, civil disobedience and unions.



3. The Cotton Jones Basket Ride – Paranoid Cocoon | CD Vinyl MP3
   Download “Gotta Cheer Up” (mp3)
   This band has a soulful and seraphic sound with vocal pairing of its two members, Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw. The music is rooted in soothing folk rock with hints of psychedelic influences. The production and added reverb make the songs feel as though they were recorded in a celestial garage.



4. Myka9 – 1969 | CD MP3
   Download “Inner Knowing” (mp3)
   Myka9 has a melodic, fast paced rapping style with a phrasing that makes for a seamless flow. The backing tracks are full of jazz and soul instrumentations with horns, organs, staccato guitars, and uprights bass.



5. Evening Magazine – The Ride Across Lake Constance [EP] | MP3
   Download “Apple Eye” (mp3)
   Download “Eddie” (mp3)
   This debut EP, which was digitally released, has a multi-layered pop sound. With horns, keyboards, guitars, and prudent percussion, the album has an omnisciently distinctive quality. It may only consist of 5 songs, but each one is well developed and superbly produced.

6. Peasant – On The Ground | CD MP3
   Download “The Wind” (mp3)
   Peasant is the musical cloak of Damien DeRose. This album is, at its core, a sincere singer songwriter with an acoustic guitar. The songs are subtly flushed out with additional guitars and the occasional keyboard or piano part. There is a beautiful intimacy to these songs.



7. Ugly Duckling – Audacity | CD
   This hip hop group has an old school sound, similar to De La Soul and Licensed to Ill-era Beastie Boys. The beats on this album, the 4th full-length from the trio, are tight and addictive, and full of a diversity of drum heavy and rock instrument samples. The scratches are well placed and skilled, as are the MCs.



8. xDarren Hayman & The Secondary Modern – Pram Town | CD MP3
   Download “Losing My Glue” (mp3)
   Download “Amy and Rachel” (mp3)
   Download “Big Fish” (mp3)
   This is a self-described folk opera. The subject matter revolves around a planned community and how it never evolves into its intended vision. As Hayman has described it, “This record is about good ideas gone bad.” All enveloped in an album of indie goodness.



9. Leopold and His Fiction – Ain’t No Surprise | buy directly from band
   Download “Ain’t No Surprise” (mp3)
   Download “Come Back (Now That I’m Here)” (mp3)
   This San Francisco trio plays blues rock music that combines of grit, soul, and intelligence. The album begins with a slow build up – a subtle electric guitar strums, then vocals, then the drums creep in until the song romps its way to its end. That song is a good representation of the ripening strength of this album.



10. Franz Nicolay – Major General | MP3
    Download “World/Inferno Vs. The End of the Evening” (mp3)
    Franz Nicolay is the mustachioed keyboardist from The Hold Steady and accordion/piano player for The World/Inferno Friendship Society. The opening track, “Jeff Penalty (with Demander),” has the high energy assault of a Hold Steady song. After that, the album becomes more diverse and eclectic, drifting into some cabaret punk sounds before careening back to Craig Finn-like vocals.

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