eMUSIC ROUND SIX

My new eMusic download period starts on Tuesday, so I should mention what I picked up on the last go-around. I've been listening to iTunes on shuffle for a couple weeks so I haven't really heard these pickups as much as I usual do, so I can't comment a whole lot on specifics.

Spoon/Soft Effects - This EP was just rereleased along with Telephono by Merge Records. I have a copy of that album and Series of Sneaks thanks to some guy in Iowa, so I just grabbed the songs I hadn't heard yet. It's more goodness from a band that just keeps rising up my list of bands I love. And if you don't have either of these, go buy the reissue. Now.

The Drams/Jubilee Dive - This is the band that rose from the ashes of Slobberbone; Brent Best is the man behind the mic once again. The Drams fall more into a pop/rock vein than the country/rock of Slobberbone and it's a bit more polished. That's not to say there aren't good songs here because there are. I'm still trying to sort through this one, so I'll leave it at that.

The Format/Dog Problems - I'd never heard of this band until I saw their name pop up on eMusic's chart of popular downloads. I investigated them further and saw a lot of good reviews - I'm always up for good power pop. Here's the thing, though...I don't know that I would classify them as power pop. A couple songs, yes. But on the whole? I'd call them pop music in the best sense - solid lyrics and songcraft with all sorts of instrumentation. A really nice find.

Harvey Danger/Little By Little bonus disc - This album just got reissued as well and it deserves a wider audience. If I had heard it in 2005, it would be right up at the top of my best-of list (hmm, maybe I should do a post about that). They swapped in a song called "Picture, Picture" and sent "Incommunicado" to the bonus disc along with some b-sides and writing snippets. I grabbed what I didn't have and it's all good. Still, the original album is perfection to me.