embryonic

Embryonic (2LP Colored Vinyl)(Transparent Yellow & Transparent Blue)(w/Bonus CD)
$24.98
The Flaming Lips have once again created a sonic masterpiece. Embryonic is a fantastic departure from recent albums. The Lips have reinvented themselves again! Great work guys.

There Is No Enemy
$13.98
Having been a fan of Built to Spill for about 10 years now, I couldn't wait to get this album when I heard it was released. Normally, I would listen to albums before I buy, but being a fan, why would I need to right? Well perhaps I should have done in this case. Don't get me wrong, there are some good quality songs on there, but then again, there are some songs which I wonder "Why?" Starting with Aisle 13, it takes us back to the glory of 'Keep it Like a Secret' with nice touches to the little guitar things that Doug does so well. "Nowhere Lullaby" is a great slow song, which reminds me of clouds drifting by. Then "Good Ol' Boredom" hits...which to me doesn't quite sound BTS. Sounds a little more constructed and less of the raw, inspiring and improv song writing and guitar playing I would expect from BTS. The album has a mix of slow and fast songs, from "Life's a Dream" to the rather boring 'punk' style "Pat". I know that many people did not always enjoy "Ancient Melodies of the Future" or "You In Reverse", but this album is struggling to keep me enthused about wanting to hear more from Built to Spill in the future. There just isn't enough 'hooks' to keep me listening to the album. I aim to persist, and I think it can be worthwhile to persist listening to this, but I would recommend listening to it first before you buy.

Monsters Of Folk
$18.98
In one of the more unlikely combos since Tinted Windows came out this year, Jim James (or as he has taken to calling himself Yim Yames) of My Morning Jacket, blues/folkie M Ward and Dylanesque folk-monger Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes have teamed up to mingle their overlapping tastes for this album. Add producer and Bright Eyes multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis, and you get a thoroughly enjoyable folk album that draws on each members' individual bests.

I got to see the Monsters on tour at Philadelphia's Academy of Music and was astonished at just how well these guys blended together. Oberst is probably the closest thing to an old-school folkie of the bunch, with Ward being more a blues singer and James adding a southern accent to MMJ's psychedelic pop-rock. When they unleash a traditional folk song like "Man Named Truth," they hit everything dead center. James brings in the Neil Young school of other-worldliness, used best on the closing "His Master's Voice" or the The Grateful Dead sound-alike "The Right Place." Ward leads on "Slow Down Jo" and the others add harmonies that hold up the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young comparisons that have been tossed at this album.

That kind of hype is a bit unfair to the band, as the Monsters don't seem to have an agenda like CSN did, and "The Travelling Folkberries" seems more apt. There's plenty of great moments here, like "Map Of The World," "Say Please" and the previously mentioned songs. But there's also the occasional trip-up, like the pretentious opener, "Dear God," or the tossed off sounding "Goodway." But again, when they hit the bulls-eye, this is some top-flight stuff. And I have to add, after seeing him playing live, Jim James is a real monster...on guitar. Even more so than the denseness of his MMJ albums reveals.

Embryonic
$13.98
The Flaming Lips have once again created a sonic masterpiece. Embryonic is a fantastic departure from recent albums. The Lips have reinvented themselves again! Great work guys.