Let it Rock: Winter Warm-Up Music

By Sues

I’m especially excited about this week’s new music releases because it’s January and I’m cold. And all three of this week’s albums are the kind that make you want to crawl under the covers with a mug of hot chocolate and stay for the weekend. When you emerge on Monday morning after listening, you’ll be ready to face a few more months of winter weather.

Bon Iver- Blood Bank

I have been ridiculously excited for a new release from Bon Iver pretty much since early 2008. Of course I wish it were longer than a 4-song EP, but for now, I am content. Because Blood Bank does everything it can to rival the amazingness of For Emma, Forever Ago. You’ll hear that same tranquil smoothness in Justin Vernon’s voice with lyrics like, “And I said I know it well/That secret that we know that we don’t know how to tell.” And you know how people rag on Cher and Kanye for their excessive use of the vocoder? Well, when you hear Bon Iver’s “Woods,” you’ll have an incredible new appreciation for the vocoder, even though Vernon is essentially just repeating the lyrics of the song’s only two lines over and over. If you’re not already a Bon Iver fan, pick up this EP along with For Emma Forever Ago. Because Bon Iver is so different than what many of us are used to listening to, it might take you a few listen-throughs to fall in love, but I’m convinced you will. This EP is going to help keep me warm the rest of the winter.

Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion

Though I’ve been hearing about them for a while now, I’ve never taken the opportunity to check out Animal Collective. But after hearing numerous people rave about their music, I wanted to give their new album, Merriweather Post Pavilion a try. With a distinct, almost psychedelic sound, Animal Collective is surprisingly more accessible than I thought they would be. Each track on their ninth album is incredibly different from the last, but I was especially love “My Girls,” “Lion in a Coma,” and “Brother Sport.” Some of the album might sound a bit disjointed for your liking, but just try dancing along to it and you’ll see how it actually works perfectly. Many of the lyrics seem to be nonsensical too, but when you hear things like “I don’t mean to seem like I care about material things like a social status/I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls,” you’ll find yourself nodding along.

Andrew Bird- Noble Beast

Having always been a semi-Andrew Bird fan, Noble Beast has definitely solidified my fandom. His new album is filled with the same type of heavily instrumental tracks as his past albums, accompanying the same easy-going voice, which is eerily reminiscent of one of my favorites, Ryan Adams. Once again, you might feel like you need to pull out a dictionary at times in order to understand exactly what Bird is saying, but I kind of love his use of big and somewhat obscure words. For instance, in ”Anoanimal” he sings, “The seemingly innocuous plecostomus/Though posthumous/They talk to us/They talk too much.” This is the perfect album for putting on your headphones, getting on the subway, and blocking out the rest of the world while you journey to your destination.

[All images from Amazon.com]