RIYL56

Despite sagging album sales, record company executives evidentially can still afford to take long Memorial Day vacations. How else do explain the dearth of new releases this week, right when every artists should be putting out the song of the summer?

Richard Thompson Sweet Warrior It seems fitting that guitar genius Richard Thompson puts his new disc out around Memorial Day, since the first single from it is the anti-war "Dad's Gonna to Kill Me" ("Dad" being shorthand for "Baghdad"). Warrior is being advertised as Thompson's return from his recent acoustic work to the electric guitar of the '90s that brought so many fans (including me) to the former Fairport Convention folky. Thompson's old-school stingy with the free samples, with "Dad's Gonna" being the only mp3 being offered up on his website (and even that doesn't seem to be available anymore). That song isn't doing much for me, though, and while it's always nice to hear an anti-war anything, Thompson's entry comes so late that it already feels dated (which only goes to show how just how long this ridiculous war has dragged on). The 30-second samples at Amazon do sound like Thompson may have returned to his successful Rumor and Sigh/Mirror Blue/Mock Tutor style, but without longer listenings available it's hard to tell if he's using it to move forward to a new stage or to return to where he's already been.

Voxtrot Voxtrot What's it with new discs from American bands that sound like they're from England? Last week it was Boston's Wheat and this week it's Austin's Voxtrot. Voxtrot has been around for a few years without releasing anything longer than an EP, so this disc marks their initiation into the world of long plays and it sounds pretty darn good. In the past Voxtrot has put out some bouncy Belle & Sebastian-style pop - and the new album's "Steven" follows that form - but for the most part on Voxtrot the band uses louder guitars and heavier drums to create a backbeat strong enough to get you hooked on the entire disc. You can hear a bunch of new songs at the band's myspace page.

Voxtrot - "Kid Gloves" [mp3]

This week's list:

1. WILCO Sky Blue Sky
2. THE NATIONAL Boxer
3. VOXTROT Voxtrot
4. AU REVOIR SIMONE The Bird of Music
5. PETER BJORN AND JOHN Writer's Block
6. THE CLIENTELE God Save the Clientele
7. FEIST The Reminder
8. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT Release the Stars
9. GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS Ongiara
10. THE SHINS Wincing the Night Away
11. ROSIE THOMAS These Friends of Mine
12. LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III Strange Weirdos
13. TRAVIS The Boy With No Name
14. THE ROSEBUDS Night of the Furies
15. WARREN ZEVON Preludes
16. BRIGHT EYES Cassadaga
17. MY MORNING JACKET Okonokos
18. BJORK Volta
19. FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE Traffic and Weather
20. RICHARD THOMPSON Sweet Warrior
21. WHEAT Everyday I Said a Prayer for Kathy and Made a One Inch Square
22. JOE STRUMMER The Future Is Unwritten
23. ANDREW BIRD Armchair Apocrypha
24. PATTI SMITH Twelve
25. SON VOLT Search
26. GOLDEN SMOG Blood on the Slacks
27. THE AUTUMN DEFENSE The Autumn Defense
28. ERIN McKEOWN Sing You Sinners
29. ALBERT HAMMOND, JR. Yours To Keep
30. THE DECEMBERISTS The Crane Wife

Dropping off the list this week:

• ARCTIC MONKEYS Favourite Worst Nightmare
• KRISTOFFER RAGNSTAM Sweet Bills

RIYL for the week beginning May 28, 2007. Backstory here.

Comments

[The Velvet Blog]

I used to be Richard Thompson's Biggest Fan in the World. Then I kind of stopped listening to him--I'm not sure why.

Still, the best stuff he ever did is his work with Linda. God, what a voice!

One of my favorite concert moments is standing outside an outdoor venue in Central Park, waiting for RT to go on, when his soundcheck, Goffin/King's "Goin' Back," came wafting over the walls. Gorgeous. (He didn't do it in the show, though.)