Five For Five

New albums hit the stores every Tuesday, and you’ll find me almost every Tuesday around 6PM at either Other Music or Tower Records on 4th and Broadway. Yesterday, I scored big. All five of the albums I bought are winners:

1) Celebration - S/T
I’ve posted about these guys before and I have a feeling they're gonna be big. They put on a wild live show and the album does a good job of capturing some of that energy. Apparently recorded in a day, the album showcases a young and confident band with a lot of power and ideas, invoking The Clash, Siouxsie, Blonde Redhead and TV On The Radio (who had a hand in producing this album). Hear a song sample on their myspace page. They next play NYC on 11/5, opening for Calla at The Bowery Ballroom.

2) Mouse On Mars - Live 04
No other blip hop group rocks as hard live as Mouse On Mars. For their most recent tour, gearheads Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner brought on drummer and vocalist Dodo Nkishi (I believe for the first time), and the results are thrilling. They've always been the best at making electronic music sound like it's "of this earth", but by adding a human drummer, they heighten the visceral experience. Some song samples buried in their website, but you should just trust me on this one.

3) Matt Pond PA - Several Arrows Later
MPPA play a dense slightly pensive pop similar to The Shins. Thanks to a song featured on The O.C., this small-label indie band has garnered a lot of fans in a short amount of time. I caught their excellent live show this Spring surrounded by screeching college girls with fresh Spring Break hickeys. The new record offers smart lyrics to swoon over too, as well as some catchy tunes, both especially well represented on the title track. Their website has yet to be updated, but you can hear some older songs on their myspace page which give an idea of what they're up to.

4) Deerhoof - The Runners Four
I’ve been a big fan of prog-punk band Deerhoof for quite a few years even though I can only listen to them in small doses. Most of their albums have as many unlistenable songs as gems. But when they rock, they really rock. This album, as a whole, is a much moodier and mellower than usual, and at times, very sweet. On the best songs, like "Twin Killers" and "Rrrrrrright" that balance that sweetness with the screechy punk that they've always done so well. Hear some samples of the new 20-track album on their myspace page.

5) Lpfunk - E.P.
If you can imagine the musical intersection of The Violent Femmes, Van Halen and the folk-rock of Rod Stewart, you get a good idea of what LPfunk is up to. His brand new 4-song EP produced by Don Dilego (who also produced a few tracks on my album) is a rollicking good time, capturing some of his live energy while filling out the songs with some nice and subtle flourishes. No online samples yet, but you can catch him live every Tuesday at Jack's Stir Brew Coffee, 138 West 10th Street, Manhattan.