Here’s a quick list of what I’ve been listening to a lot lately in the last few months:
Half-handed Cloud: halos + lassos [asthmatic kitty]
A great little poppy set of short songs. think of a one-man version of saturday looks good to me, or maybe just a really joyful john ringhofer. I’ll hopefully be going to see HHC on April 1 at the Halfway Inn in Ann Arbor…
david crowder*band: a collision (or 3+4=7)
The bredth and depth of this record is really something. I generally listen to the first half, but it’s strong all the way through.
john davis: john davis [rambler]
This has become a real favorite after receiving it for Christmas. Great pop songs with some lyrical depth and lush production. John Davis plays everything on the record, and has some gorgeous Beach Boys-like moments of melody and harmony.
various tracks from the Thinner netlabel [http://www.thinnerism.com]
Thinner has been putting out great stuff for quite a while now, all for free download. I recommend the “Crossways” and “Silent Season Dub” releases, but there’s a lot of good stuff there.
loscil: stases [one netlabel: free from http://one.dot9.ca/2/releases.php?id=027]
This is a collection of ambient drones and slow-moving soundscapes that works great on headphones. And it’s free!
LABKLIK: Quilting with Dan and Tim [deepspace5 records; available for digital download via: http://www.forthelistener.com/store_downloads.php]
All the classic LABKLIK stuff I never heard since I wasn’t listening to indie underground Christian hip-hop in the nineties. It’s kind of like a 2-man white, rural, Christian version of the Wu-Tang Clan recorded on 4-track cassettes that got mailed back and forth. Everything is super lo-fi and dirty, and you can really see the evolution of Listener through this material into his later Deepspace5 and solo work. Makes me wish I’d gotten the original cassettes that were for sale back when this material was first being put out.
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue [Sony]
Really, what could I say about this record that hasn’t been said before? Classic.