Madeline - White Flag (2009)

I’d been highly anticipating this album, and I gotta say, it was well worth the wait. I’ve been a fan of Madeline since 2006’s “Kissing and Dancing” and she doesn’t disappoint. The album opens with “Sorry,” a tale of a relationship failed, and the listener is captivated by the slow and steady river of melody. The albums folkier tracks, “Telephone Daydream” and “This Train” are a lot of fun. One feels like they’re in a saloon in one of those old-timey pictures. Lyrically, my favorite track is the subtle, yet dancy number “You Can’t Break My Heart” which has its home near the end of the record. Proud and defiant, she tells the subject of the song, “You can’t break my heart, because it’s made of wires, glass and little icicles. These are not tears I cry. No, darling, I have champagne flowing from my spectacles.” The electric piano in the penultimate track, “Dirty South (Tie One On)” is pleasantly reminiscent of material off of The American Analog Set’s classic record, “Know by Heart.” Do you, per chance, like female vocalists whose material is unsullied by the excretions of today’s mainstream? Then this album is for you.

For fans of: Feist, Jenny Lewis, Maria Taylor

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Murder by Death - Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them? (2003)

Murder by Death's second full-length release, Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them?" is a concept album based around the Devil and a small Mexican border town which he wages war against. In addition to having an abundance of Americana noir accented by haunting cello and ringing guitar, this album features guest vocalists Gerard Way, Geoff Rickly and William Elliott Whitmore on tracks 1, 2 and 3 respectively (hey, 2 outta 3 ain't bad, eh?).


For fans of: Cursive, Tom Waits

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