Casual Listening
a review of cool new music
by Jeff Pinzino
* Pretenders – Break Up the Concrete (rock)
Forget the three songs you’ve heard in endless rotation on classic rock radio. Pretenders have rediscovered the jagged soul of rock & roll and etched it into this record. They’ve traded in the Hall of Fame for the garage, and pumped up their sound with strong shots of blues and country. Possibly the best work they’ve ever done.
Listen to Pretenders “Boots of Chinese Plastic”
* Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 (folk)
Bob Dylan’s outtakes are better than 99% of other songwriter’s best. This series covers the period from 1989 to the present, when most agree he resumed making excellent music. It’s mostly simple and straightforward songs, some solo, others with a band, but with the singing in the spotlight. He’s at a point in his life where he’s got something to say and nothing to prove, which makes for some powerful music.
Listen to Bob Dylan “Red River Shore”
Eccodek – Shivaboom (world)
A global mosaic of beats, vocals, drums, and instruments ranging from piano to kora. Serious influences from
Listen to samples of Eccodek here.
Juana Molina – Un Dia (experimental)
Trippy. Molina’s repetitive patterns of affected vocals and percussion have a hypnotic quality. Her music has a global sensibility that seems to emanate from a parallel universe.
Listen to Juana Molina “Los Hongos De Marosa”
* highly recommended
! highest recommendation
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