Music Under Fire

The experimental giddy-up from artists this week should help shed some light on what this year has really been for us - a constant relearning of what good music is.

Health//Disco and Tim Hecker fit the bill at the electronica end while Bishop Allen and Elvis Perkins in Dearland headline the indie section.

Don't blame Health//Disco for any lack in remixes in your collection, as most of the top 8-bit and blipping programming experts have added to the extensive list of songs remastered. On the solo side of electronica, Tim Hecker, Pictureplane and Julien-K add their own flavor to this genre.

Bishop Allen sounds like a solo act, but the Brooklyn bunch led by Christian Rudder and Justin Rice have a quirky quality that's enjoyable at any track. Elvin Perkins in Dearland caught us with their self-titled release and the folksy breath of life it offered.

Handsome Furs, one of the more experimental groups on Sub Pop, has been hit or miss for us. Each album from the Quebec couple has a conceptualized idea rigid with emotion and an almost tangible aura that can exceed expectations from the get go.

Lastly, if Eddie Vedder's rock style moves you, check out Baltimore's Arbouretum. Enjoy the week in music.

MP3: Arbouretum - False Spring (buy)
MP3: Razorlight - Wire to Wire (buy)
MP3: Handsome Furs - Cannot Get, Started (buy)
MP3: Bishop Allen - Dimmer (buy)

31 Knots - Climax Anti | Climax (Official) (MySpace)
Abstract Rude - Dear Abby (Official) (MySpace)
Anarbor - Free Your Mind EP (Official) (MySpace)
Anni Rossi - Rockwell (Official) (MySpace)
Arbouretum - Song of the Pearl (Official) (MySpace)
Architecture in Helsinki - That Beep (Official) (MySpace)
Ballas Hough Band - BHB (Official) (MySpace)
Bell Orchestre - As Seen Through Windows (Official) (MySpace)
Bishop Allen - Grrr (Official) (MySpace)
BLK JKS - Mystery EP (Official) (MySpace)
Blktop Project - Lane Change (MySpace)
Blue Giant - Target Heart (vinyl) (Official) (MySpace)
Calexico - Spoke (U.S. LP issue) (Official) (MySpace)
Capracara - King of the Witches (MySpace)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Advance Base Battery Life (Official) (MySpace)
Chris Cornell - Scream (Official) (MySpace)
Clipd Beaks - Visions 7" (MySpace)
Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen (Official) (MySpace)
Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Elivs Perkins in Dearland (Official) (MySpace)
Extra Golden - Thank You Very Quickly (Official) (MySpace)
Flower-Corsano Duo - Four Aims (Official) (MySpace)
From Monument to Masses - On Little Known Frequencies (Official) (MySpace)
Handsome Furs - Face Control (Official) (MySpace)
HEALTH//DISCO - HEALTH//DISCO (vinyl) (Official) (MySpace)
Hopewell - Good Good Good Desperation 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Julien-K - Death To Analog (Official) (MySpace)
Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Dracula Boots (Official) (MySpace)
Long Lost - Long Lost (Official) (MySpace)
Luka Bloom - Eleven Songs (Official) (MySpace)
Madeleine Peyroux - Bare Bones (Official) (MySpace)
Mark Sultan - Hold On b/w I Hear A New World 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band (MySpace)
My Cat is an Alien & Zaffiri - Through The Looking Glass of Tomorrow (Official)
New Found Glory - Not Without A Fight (MySpace)
Number Twelve Looks Like You - Worse Than Alone (Official) (MySpace)
Peter Walker - Spanish Guitar (MySpace)
Pictureplane - Trance Doll 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Razorlight - Slipaway Fires (Official) (MySpace)
Roxy Epoxy And The Rebound - Band-Aids For Bullet Holes (Official) (MySpace)
Swan Lake - Enemy Mine (MySpace)
The Bats - Don't You Rise 7" (Official) (MySpace)
The Mummies - Play Their Own Records (Official) (MySpace)
The Weight - Are Men (Official) (MySpace)
Thermals - Now We Can See 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country (Official) (MySpace)
Zoroaster - Voice Of Saturn (Official) (MySpace)