Good music aplenty this month with a bunch of stunners across a variety of genres.

Paul Simon – So Beautiful So What

As someone who still pulls out ‘Graceland’ once a year for a listen I was looking forward to taking this out for a spin.  The album feels fresh, not the sound of a veteran artist falling back on what he knows.  He’s just such a great song writer, and his guitar chops are amazing.  What I particularly like is that every song is a short story.  He deals with some deep issues around the afterlife and what lies beyond (beyond the queues and filling out forms of the opening track).  But the stories are light, thoughtful and cleverly written to be both thought provoking and satisfying little vignettes.

J Mascis – Several Shades of Why
Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts

I lump these two in together because they’re both remarkably similar and strangely interchangeable (fans of either artist will shoot me for that I’m sure). Both artists have shucked off their noisy, edgy bands (Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth respectively) and pursue if not strictly acoustic expressions, then more relaxed, intimate ones.

Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi  – Rome

My favourite little sleeper for the month that I find my self listening to again and again (it’s now July and I haven’t posted this for May yet!).   Great review on Pitchfork which says it all.  I liked this line especially:

And whether or not the album succeeds for you as a score to your own invisible flick, inducing images of fog-swept villas and sigaretta-chomping villains in fedoras as the organs swell and the guitars pluck mournfully away, it’s purely gorgeous.

Others

Just to keep track of other things from May, highlights included:

Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys - possibly my favourite DCfC album.  The others all have highlights but this is certainly the most consistent as I prefer to play albums end to end.

Ben Harper – Give Till It’s Gone - was really disappointed on first listen.  Decided to give it another spin and I started to warm to it.  Some tracks stood out for me, grooves like Waiting on a Sign and Dirty Little Lover.

Now to post this thing and get onto June’s reviews already!