Morcheeba - Blood Like Lemonade

Finally, finally, FINALLY...the boys of Morcheeba have brought back Skye Edwards. While I'm also a Daisy Martey fan, there's just something about Skye Edwards and Morcheeba that can't be changed. It's like her voice was meant for the music and the other way around.

Not since bits of pieces of Charango, have I heard such soul out of Morcheeba. Fragments of Freedom rocked my world for the most part, but it just wasn't what I expected and it certainly didn't sound like the Morcheeba that I've come to know and love. And shit, Dive Deep was just a catastrophe. Who let them release that? It was incoherent at best and downright bad at the worst.

While listening to this album, it's hard to believe that it's new. I prefer to think of it as a lost album that should have been released after Big Calm. It's has the maturity of a progressive flow of music, it's just a bit (well, five years) past it's time. They say that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to be able to find your way up...well, Dive Deep was the bottom of that well and their new release, Blood Like Lemonade is the very first handhold for the climb back up. I hope we can only continue climbing from here on out.

This album's got some seriously eerie undertones, but they blend so, so well with Edwards' languid vocals. Everything from vikings to vampires to middle class murders oozes it's way into this album, making it the perfect addition to welcoming fall, in my book.

Oh god, oh god, OH GOD! "Mandala". There's not even Skye's vocals on this one, but it's like her seduction has worked it's way into the Godfrey brothers' souls. They've returned to the irresistible formula of jazzy, trip hop beats, lush vocals, a major lounge factor, and just enough funk to keep you coming back for more (as seen in another semi-instrumental, "Cut to the Chase"). The vocal tracks, well, they involve Skye Edwards, so I'm down. The only song that falls a little flat is "I Am the Spring", and for a 13 track album, that's a pretty good number. As a whole, the album does lack the faster-paced tracks of it's predecessors, but it's got it's own thing going on. It's cohesive, well rounded, and smooth. Oh, so very smooth. For long time listeners, you'll feel like you're right back in 1998. For the new listeners, this is just the album that will prompt you to dive head-long in the wonderment that is Morcheeba. It's really a win-win for everyone involved, so definitely check it out! B

You can actually check it out now, streaming for free on Myspace. Be sure to check the website for all the latest news, as well.

Angus and Julia Stone - Down the Way

Aussies Angus and Julia Stone actually released their sophomore, self-produced album, Down the Way back in March, but hey, I'm running a little behind. A brother/sister band, a la The White Stripes, they've spend the previous three years touring the world, promoting their debut album, A Book Like This, and finally made it back into the studio (and old sawmill on the river banks of Cornwall, and water tank in Coolangatta, and their second home in London, and Queens, New York, for that matter) to release this gem of an album.

Starting from a musical family including another older sister (who I guess didn't make the cut for the band?), Angus and Julia have been collaborating since the early days, including in their father's school band. They didn't really do it professionally until about 2006. Before then, they were both performing, but mostly solo acts at open mic nights. Actually, they still kind of do their own solo things. Angus released a solo album, Smoking Gun, under the name Lady of the Sunshine in 2009, and Julia's working on her own, The Memory Machine.

As for them together...well, it's awesome. It still has the minimal element of A Book Like This, though just ever so slightly fuller. With a new variety of instruments including banjos and harmonicas, more complex arrangements, and a boost of confidence, they fill over an hour with thirteen beautifully composed songs. Juxtaposed, yet complimentary, the siblings alternate vocals. From Julia's fragile, delicate vocals reminiscent of Emiliana Torrini or Karin Bergquist (Over the Rhine) to Angus' slightly tougher vocals. There's a sense of...roots, folk, whatever you want to call it to this album that I haven't really heard since The Decemberist's Hazards of Love, and it's just remarkable. It's quiet and introspective and really just quite beautiful. Definitely check it out. B

PS: Make sure to check out their website, because it's super awesome.

Technorati Validation

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Aaaaand We're Back! With A Centipede Drama.

Remember how I told you that you might not hear from me for a week or two? Well, make that a month apparently. We're officially all moved in and mostly unpacked. Not so bad! It's actually starting to feel like home. There's always those things that you find after you move into a new apartment, though, like the fact that we don't have lukewarm water (we have cold, hot, and boil your insides), or that all the faucets are backwards, or that all the floors are crooked, or you don't actually have an address. Generally, I think that our house was built by a left-handed Pollock. Also, there's bugs. There are bugs in my house, you guys.

They aren't adorable, handsome bugs like this guy, either.

 Where's Allie Brosh when you need her? I need a hilarious MS Paint picture of me cowering in a corner with a bottle of Raid.

When we moved in, there was a considerable amount of webs and bugs and things, but I figured that it had been empty for a month...these things are bound to happen. Well, this is what I thought until that fateful day...

I mean, it's not like we have an infestation, but one bug is seriously too many. Last Friday, Adam and I are hanging out in the office (which I have not yet used for blogging, BTW), watching True Blood, having a glass of wine, and generally relaxing when here comes this Goliath of a centipede racing across the floor. And I mean RACING. Holy shit are those bastards fast. So, at this point, I start screaming at the top of my lungs and pull the classic "dumb bitch in a horror movie". I run INTO the corner because for some reason I think that's a good idea. Now, I don't have any recollection of this part, but I can thank Adam for filling me in after I got my heart to stop beating out of my chest, I start screaming, "Stop" and "No" at it, obviously expecting this centipede to speak English and cease it's running directly towards me. Well folks, I'll inform you: Centipedes do not speak English. At this point, I'm cowering the in the corner using my easel as a shield, because THAT'S appropriate, and this thing is still hell bent on crawling on my feet (I just know that's what he was thinking), so I use the only weapon at hand, and throw my easel at it. I threw an easel. At a centipede. It's like the adrenaline rushed mom lifting a car off of a baby. Except it's me screaming like I'm being murdered throwing an easel at a centipede. I cannot even begin to imagine what the neighbors thought. (Sorry, neighbors!) I only succeed in hitting Adam with the easel and the centipede gets away. Five days later, I still won't go into the office without a chaperone. So then, yesterday, I'm reading about how to get rid of/prevent this situation from happening again, and I read that they can live for THREE TO SEVEN YEARS. I hope that little bastard found his way out of the office. Please, oh please, oh please, let him find his way out of the office. Or hopefully I scared the living shit out of him and he had a little centipede heart attack somewhere behind my bookshelf.

Scariest picture on the internet. The centipede in my office was a cross between this thing and King Kong.

 We do have spiders in the basement and on the porches, which can be expected, and tiny, tiny millipedes. The millipedes are actually kinda cute. They're just like little black inchworms. And I can't see their legs, so we're cool. Also, I'm starting to be okay with the spiders. As long as they're not huge and/or hairy or on me, we're cool. They eat other bugs, such as said centipede, so as long as they do their fucking job, I won't kill them. After Friday's incident, I did kill a few on the porch to set an example. Tell your friends, spiders.

Also in my research of creepy crawlies yesterday, I found this stuff, Eco Exempt D. It's eco-friendly, all natural, and will apparently kill just about anything including ants, centipedes, cockroaches, crickets, firebrats (whatever those are), fleas, millipedes, pill bugs, scorpions, sowbugs, spiders, hornets, wasps, bees, and yellow jackets. Mother fuckers are going down. I just ordered it on the internets yesterday, but I can't wait for it to get here. I gladly fronted the $40 in exchange for Adam spraying the house. He can do the gross boy jobs, thanks. Once we get it sprayed, I'll let you guys know how it works out. Hopefully, it doesn't kill my cat either. It's good for six to twelve months, too, which is pretty cool.

Oh, the adventures of moving. Sheesh.