* Album Stream: Feist - Metals
* Album Stream: Bjork - Biophilia
* Album Stream: Mutemath - Odd Soul
* Thrice is giving away the track ‘Words In The Water’ from their new album ‘Major/Minor’ via RCRD LBL.  This is currently my favorite song on the new album.
* Daytrotter has released new sessions from Mat Kearney and Alexi Murdoch.
* Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead performed on Fallon.

Mat Kearney - Runaway (from the Soul Surfer soundtrack)

I haven’t put up a New Music post in quite some time, so I think this essentially equates to most of the records I bought during the second half of 2010 (which means that some of it by now isn’t all that new).  Rather than give a complete list (which would be ridiculously long), I thought I’d just give the highlights:

* Lovedrug - EP Part II [I like EP Part I a little better, but all of the new Lovedrug stuff has been really good.  EP Part III is going to be released next week on January 25.]
* Eric & Magill - All Those I Know [One of my albums of the year.  Available as a free download here.]
* Iron Chic - Not Like This [One of my albums of the year.  Pay what you want for it here.]
* Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans - The Falcon Lake Incident [One of my albums of the year.]
* Iron & Wine - Walking Far From Home [1 song from the upcoming album Kiss Each Other Clean and 2 b-sides.]
* Mat Kearney - Black Swan Shadow 10” [Read my post about this.]


* Menomena - Mines [This barely missed being one of my albums of the year.  I liked the previous record (Friend And Foe) better, but this is another solid record.]
* Frontier(s) - The Plains [2 song single.]
* Frontier(s) - There Will Be No Miracles Here [Full length debut from the new band from Chris Higdon of Elliott.  This didn’t blow me away, but I have enjoyed it.]
* Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP [This EP is longer than most albums I own.]
* Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz [I was told that this was worth more than the price of a latte, but that’s all I paid for it.]


* Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Volumes III & IV [I love Ryan Adams, but this album didn’t hit me immediately and I’m still waiting to see if it grows on me.]
* Jonah Matranga - You’re All Those Things And Then You’re None V.1 [Jonah Matranga released this first version of his new album with just acoustic guitar and vocals.  Then he posted play-along tracks for the entire album and let people write and record parts for it.  He recently finished assembling V.2 with everyone’s contributions and it will be out soon.  How cool is that?]
* Anberlin - Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place [Catchy enough, but this record is a little disappointing to me.]
* Owen - Abandoned Bridges 7” [The new single from Mike Kinsella.]
* Girl Talk - All Day [This will make your head spin.  Download it for free here.]
* Brett Detar - Bird In The Tangle [Brett (the lead singer from The Juliana Theory) said this would be folk/country and to my amazement, it is actually folk/country.  Download it for free here.]


* Deftones - Diamond Eyes [A very solid record.]
* Aaron Robinson - We Are Racing Ghosts [Donation based download available here.]
* Nada Surf - If I Had A Hi-fi [An all covers album.]
* Harper Blynn - Loneliest Generation [I saw these guys open for Greg Laswell and Cary Brothers and they were very good.  I dig this album.]
* Harper Blynn - EP [The new EP.]

Mat Kearney - Black Swan Shadow

I recently went with my girlfriend, my roommate, and his brother to see Mat Kearney at Club Cafe.  It was a good show.  Rather than touring with a band like he normally does, Mat was touring with just another guitarist and playing acoustic versions of his songs.  He recorded 4 new songs just prior to the tour and put them out on a 10” record.  The record is called ‘Black Swan Shadow’ and as with the tour, the recordings are primarily acoustic.  It’s worth checking out if you track down a copy.  Here’s the track list:

A1. Head Or Your Heart (3:27)
A2. Rochester (5:40)
B1. Virginia Is For Lovers (3:54)
B2. Hawthorne (2:58)

Edit (07/07/2011):  Mat Kearney’s new album ‘Young Love’ is set to come out on August 2 and ‘Black Swan Shadow’ hasn’t been made available beyond the limited vinyl-only release, so at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if it never does get a widespread release.  Since a few people have asked, I thought I’d post a vinyl-rip of the 10”.  You can download it here.  Also, be sure to check out Kearney’s song ‘Runaway’ which was recently released as part of the Soul Surfer soundtrack.  Enjoy!

I bought the following new music over the past couple of weeks:
* John Mayer - Battle Studies [Maybe I’m a sap, but I enjoy John Mayer.  This new album sounds similar to the last one to me.  I’m digging it so far.]
* Dashboard Confessional - Alter The Ending [I bought the deluxe version of the album which contains acoustic versions of all the songs on the regular album.  I’m not sure which versions I like better, but both sound pretty good.  I’ll have to see if this grows on me like the last couple of albums did.]
* John K. Samson - City Route 85 [John K. Samson is the lead singer and guitarist for The Weakerthans.  These songs sound like stripped down Weakerthans songs.  I’m still waiting for this to really grab me.]
* Mat Kearney - Daytrotter Session [I think the latest Mat Kearney album (City Of Black And White) is really catchy.  This session sounds a little more raw, but it is cool to hear a different approach to these songs.  You can download it for free here.]
* Gary Jules - Daytrotter Session [I haven’t heard that much from Gary Jules, but I have enjoyed all the stuff I’ve heard.  This is really simple and really good.  You can download it for free here.]