Greetings. What an engaging week in new music. The styles were quite varied too. So without further adieu…let’s take a gander.

I’d like to start out with a band out of the Seattle, WA area called Fleet Foxes. Mike Mathews, our Program Director, played this for me last Thursday and I really wanted to let you know about them right away. The album, RAGGED WOOD is not due out until June. The song is “White Winter Hymnal” and the harmonies and the texture of the song are bewitching. I am looking forward to listening to the rest of the album.

Last night I played “The Fix,” a new song from the Manchester, England based band Elbow. They described their music as “Prog Rock without the solos.” The new album is titled THE SELDOM SEEN KID and it’s a well-crafted, thoughtful piece that, unfortunately, won’t get any mainstream airplay, which is why Public Radio is so important. Another track worth mentioning is the cheeky “Grounds For Divorce.”

Let’s keep things moving here with a tune from Jukebox The Ghost, who will be visiting us next week for our inaugural First Thursday, May 1st. I am really looking forward to it. The new album is LET LIVE & LET GHOST and it is filled with cleverly penned, piano based tunes. Invariably they will be compared to Keane, which is fair enough, but Jukebox has more of a whimsical feel to their music. I played track number two, “Hold It In.” Check the tune out on their myspace page, it should get your feet moving, or at least your head. Another track worth mentioning is “Good Day.”

I must mention the latest from the six-piece band out of Melbourne, Australia; Cat Empire. I just like these guys. They do a great job of blending jazz, ska, funk and rock with heavy Latin rhythms. Have you ever noticed the Cat Empire Logo? It’s a cat’s eye with a crown on top. They just call it “Pablo.” There are so many good tracks on this CD but I can only play one on the show and I chose the title track, “So Many Nights.”

Billy Bragg is back. He has had a long and successful career. He’s tracked well in the UK charts but never really got above a cult following here in the US. His latest effort is MR. LOVE & JUSTICE and it’s probably his best work since DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME. The selected single here in the States is “I Keep Faith,” but in the UK it’s “O Freedom,” which takes on the serious subject matter of individual rights versus keeping a society safe. That’s probably a wise decision by the record company but I found “O Freedom” quite poignant. So I played that.

New music from a different direction is the new release by Rachael Davis. I played track number nine, “Music Sunday” and it’s from her new album ANTEBELLUM QUEENS. If you go to her myspace page you can download several songs, including that one. Rachael is just getting started on her music career. She is from Park Lake, MI and just signed with Fox On A Hill Records. She leans toward the Folk and Americana genres and plies her beautiful voice well within them. Another track of note is “While The World Is Sleeping,” a great Sunday morning, drinking a cup of coffee, while reading the newspaper, song. Did you get all that?

And finally we will finish with Big Head Todd & The Monsters. The album is ALL THE LOVE YOU NEED and I played “Under A Silvery Moon.” But there are many fine choices on this disc such as: “Her Own Kind Of Woman,” “Blue Sky” and “Ever Since Ya Pulled Me Under.” This trio built its reputation and career on touring. They actually released this music for free to their fans back in January. It’s all part of their marketing strategy and it works for them.

There were other selections as well and I will list them:

Flamingo Crash “It’s Mystery Music” TRIANGLE ISLAND

Bon Iver “Skinny Love” FOR EMMA, FOREVER AGO

Jordan Zevon “The Joke’s On Me” INSIDES OUT

Ladytron “Seasons Of Illusions” VELOCIFERO

Adele “Chasing Pavements” 19

When all the shows songs are played in context, it sounds wonderful. Send me an email if you’d like the actual song order. I designed it sonically for flow and consistency.

Speaking of flow and consistency, check out my new compilation CD – The Uptown Blues Party, Vol.1. It’s available on CD Baby. Buy it. Help out a struggling artist. ;^)