Maceo and the All The King's Men: Doing Their Own Thing

Do you own a pin stripe suit? No? You should. This record would complement your new suit perfectly and I wouldn't steer you wrong. In fact, I know a guy who can get you into a gold pocket watch and suit this afternoon, real cheap. Some cologne too I think. Well, thank you sir, it is funky as hell isn't it? Indeed. You too. Goodbye.

Maceo Parker was born to light your ass on fire. This is fact, I can prove it with data and I've got a lab full of funky motherfuckers in lab coats that will back me up on this. Think I'm wrong? Nope. James Brown had faith that Maceo Parker was bad enough to lead his band and that's about all I need to know. Besides which, all you really need to do is listen to this album and let your hips do the voting.

Even among the least funky of crowds say, a retirement home in Ohio, the head-nodding quotient is higher among Maceo Parker control groups than any other listening segment. It's science bitches, and it works. This album is the King's Men at the height of bad-assery and it they burn it up through the entire album. This is melting a hole through my laptop with Breakestra, James Brown, The Quantic Soul Orchestra and Parliament.

Good for: Lighting you up when the world really wants you down.

Check out some tracks at Last.fm!

Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

I'm watching the stars glide past my eyes in the back of a 1976 Buick station wagon, the smell of the vinyl seats mixing with the pine trees flying past. This is a late night trip down an ancient road past the city lights and noise. Here is the sound you need while you watch moths struggle to join the fluorescent oblivion of a gas station parking lot sign on the road back from a place you never wanted to be.

Neko Case weaves your desire for a better life around a rusted state road sign and wraps the whole thing in an old newspaper before passing it down the bar to you. This album exists in that incredible undefined space between country music, indie folk and singer-songwriter material. It makes me remember why I think genre is bullshit. It's so hard to pin this album down and it's even harder to try and put a label on Neko Case.

Her work has ranged significantly since starting out and it just keeps getting broader and better the more she works. On another awesome note, she grew up in Northern Virginia which is none too far from my own city of Richmond and knowing a bit about the area gives me an understanding of the musical authenticity she's seeking. For those who don't know, Northern Virginia is like Disneyland for conspicuous consumers. It's ridiculous, trust me. This album is rocking me gently with Ryan Adams, Nick Drake, Gillian Welch and Ron Sexsmith.

Good for: Watching blue smoke curl off the bar in a Waffle House just down the road from the dump.

Listen to samples at Last.fm! I recommend you check out Star Witness, soooo awesome.

Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant EP

If we were a tribe in a Zach Braff's head, this is what we'd be playing every night around the fire. There's this other worldly thing floating around Fleet Foxes, like the monsters from under your bed have all come out to join the band. I'm standing in a field watching a faerie tale evolve in front of my eyes and I cannot move. Fleet Foxes play what they describe as baroque harmonic pop, but I think it sounds like the Doors have come floating down through the ages to sit in on a Decemberists session and play the tambourine.

There is this amazing vocal harmony work running throughout the album and other passages that hit a simplicity that I really only find in traditional bluegrass and the like. This EP is their second and I'm really looking forward to going back to their self titled EP and being just as mesmerized by these shining strands of hope and loss that they call songs.

This EP is glittering in my mind with TV on the Radio, The Flaming Lips, Broken Social Scene and Neutral Milk Hotel.

Good for: Watching birds dance high above the tree lines, smoking a pipe and thinking it might rain.

I don't normally do this, but they don't have anything on Last.fm.
You can hear a few tracks on Myspace.com