Saddle Creek's Busy Month...

A great benefit of writing an MP3 blog is that record labels and bands send me promo CD’s on a fairly regular basis. As someone who is constantly craving new music it’s a pretty good deal: get free stuff, listen to it, write about/promote the stuff that sounds good.

That being said, Saddle Creek sends me CD’s all the time, and most have been well worth writing about. Bright Eyes’ Four Winds EP and the full length Cassadaga, while not the career defining records one would hope for after the brilliant I‘m Wide Awake It’s Morning, housed some terrific songs, and Maria Taylor’s Lynn Teeter Flower has two of my favorite singer/songwriter tunes of the year (“Clean Getaway” and “Lost Time”). September is the label’s busiest month of the year, as they have recently released new records from The Good Life, Two Gallants, and Georgie James.

The Good Life’s Help Wanted Nights is the best of the 3. Led by Cursive’s Tim Kasher, The Good Life takes a more pop-oriented folk/rock direction than his heavier hitting band. The album was recorded in Omaha by AJ Mogis (of Bright Eyes), and he really seems to have helped the band put the melodies up front - nearly every song contains instant hooks that lock into your brain. By the second time the choruses hit they already sound like a long-lost friend you’ve been waiting years to see again. They’ve already received a solid review over at Pitchfork, as well as a write up from one of my most trusted fellow bloggers. Check it out.

MP3 :: Heartbroke
MP3 :: A Little Bit More
(from Help Wanted Nights. Buy here)

Bonus MP3 :: A New Friend
(from Album Of The Year. Buy here)
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Two Gallants released a noteworthy EP earlier this year called The Scenery of Farewell. More stripped down than their aggressive electric live shows and past albums, the EP showed the band’s reflective side while keeping their trademark spirit. This week sees Two Gallants return with a self-titled full length, the band’s third. Charged by Adam Fontaine’s nasally Dave Pirner-meets-the-guy-from-Rush vocals, the band has yet again turned out an interesting blend of folk, blues, and rock.

MP3 :: The Hand That Held Me Down
MP3 :: Despite What You’ve Been Told
(from Two Gallants. Buy here)

Bonus MP3 :: Seems Like Home To Me
(from The Scenery of Farewell EP. Buy here)
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Georgie James is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist John Davis (former drummer of D.C.’s defunct Q And Not U) and singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn. Their brand of indie-pop is heavily influenced by both 60’s and 70’s pop music luminaries such as The Kinks, Richard & Linda Thompson, and Shake Some Action-era Flamin’ Groovies. Places was released this week as well.

MP3 :: Need Your Needs
MP3 :: Cake Parade
(from Places. Buy here)

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