Here's one that I bet most of us weren't expecting: an album by former Radiohead drummer, Philip Selway. And an excelent one, at that. Mostly an acoustic affair, it manages to both impress us with the consistent quality of its songcraft and the emotion with which it is delivered. A keeper, then.

Galaxies away from the music his former band used to make, this is an album that feels homegrown and as a result, quite intimate. It's almost like the time had come to put out all those songs that he'd been keeping in his drawer that served as an escape to all the avant-garde musical explorations of his former day job. And we're all glad he did. At least I am. This is a very gentle sounding album, much in the vein of the one on the below post, its difference being on the musical ambients Selway manages to conjure, which are in turns mysterious and at times romantic.

Listen to The Witching Hour, the album closer.

Here's a band I've been warming to quite recently, norwegian duo Kings of Convenience. Paraphrasing Vanilla Sky, they had me at the Simon and Garfunkel vocal harmonies. I was literally and instantly hooked on their sweet sounds. And I've been rotating this, their second album - Riot On An Empty Street - quite heavily for the past few days.

Their main appeal is actually quite simple and straightforward. It stems for their exquisite talent in crafting the gentlest melodies I've heard in quite a long time. Because that's just what this is: a collection of gentle songs, gently sung by - yes, why not? - two very gentle men. It's the kind of record you put on a Sunday morning and slowly get into the groove of a new day, preferably spent at home cuddling your pet(s) and drinking latte in front of the TV or on the front porch.

As a taster, I leave you with Misread, one of my favorite tracks at the moment.

I admit to having a strange ritual choosing my aural selections: frequently, I choose them visually. Confused? Don't be. I explain: for me, album artwork is almost as important as the musical contents. I cannot take them apart and I often times feel disappointed when a great album jacket doesn't correspond musically or vice-versa. This one here today is not the case, thankfully.

Headless Heroes is a project by a very eclectic New York combo headlined by singer Alela Diane who decided to assemble a collection of songs of famous contemporary songwriters and do some covers. The Silence of Love is the final result and it is beguiling. Since I'm not that familiar with the original versions, it was almost like hearing them for the first time ever, not even registering the fact that they are in fact cover versions.

I'm going to leave you with To You, my current favorite track of this, an album I'm sure I'll give a lot of spins to.

Camera Obscura's follow-up to the immensely enjoyable Let's Get Out Of This Country finds them again on familiar territory: exploring big soundscapes, keeping in mind the Phil Spector legacy and soothing us with the lead vocalist feminine ramblings on men, love and anything that passes her mind. You don't change a winning team, that's for sure.

My Maudlin Career is a perfectly respectable follow-up to one of the best records of late and, if anything, it even succeeds the impossible: it one-ups it. Maybe the songs are not as easily recognizable this time around but that is just a question of letting them enter your consciousness and soon after, you'll start humming them almost unawarely.

Much like She & Him's recent Volume 2, this album surprises in its unwillingness to change. All they have to offer is more of the same and I, for one, thank them for that. I'm going to leave you with the title track - My Maudlin Career, for those not keeping track... - and wish a great week all around.

Sorry for the lack of posts but I've been immersing myself into new music, both old and recent and haven't had the time or disposition to write about it. I had to first let it all sink in in order to make sense of so many new sounds that I'm hearing. Plus, I've been making some bad ass CD compilations for myself and some friends and they also have been keeping me busy all this time. Maybe someday I'll share them with you, who knows. Now, off to Ms. Gainsbourg's new album.

Co-written and co-produced with american indie superstar Beck, IRM is the new album from the daughter of that gallic legend that went by the name of Serge Gainsbourg. And the album really shows the influences: it does feel like a record co-written with Beck with a touch of the french chanson here and there, so I guess you can say that it's a perfect marriage of sorts. Made at a time of intense introspection and soul-searching on the part of Gainsbourg (IRM is a sort of medical X-ray exam you do to your brain), the results are both mysterious and schizophrenic, but intensely addicting and multi-layered. The end result of all this is that you'll find yourself going back to it time and again to hear that particular track that left you wondering and wanting for more.

One of the highlights is LE CHAT DU CAFÉ DES ARTISTES, a cover of a song written by Jean Pierre Ferland. Currently it's my favorite track in the album and you can check it out just below. Enjoy it.

It's funny the way I find myself approaching some things. I remember seeing the cover for Camera Obscura's Let's Get Out Of This Country album on a store somewhere and thinking, "that's a really cute cover". Nice wallpaper, too. And I also remember thinking that I would someday get to hear it but just not that day in particular, even though I perfectly could have. Well, that day has come.

I guess some things you have to ready for. And now I am. This is a perfectly delightful record and one of the most upbeat albums I've ever heard without it being too irritating. You know what I mean, I'm sure. The singer, Tracyanne Campbell, delivers her vocals in such a nonchalant way, as if she doesn't care, that the overall effect is one of sweet freedom and carelessness. The production is also one of its major assets, reminding us of the big band sound that used to be the trademark of one Phil Spector.

The whole album is a winner but to get you in the mood, I'll leave you with one of the best singles this part of the 21st century: Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken. Enjoy.