Album Preview

The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights

In the summer of 2007, shortly after the release of their sixth album Icky Thump, The White Stripes headed north of their hometown of Detroit to embark on an ambitious journey across Canada. The plan was to play a show in every province and territory in Canada, from B.C. to Newfoundland to Nunavut.

Broken Bells: Broken Bells

The buzz surrounding Broken Bells started early, over a year ago, when rumors swirled about a collaboration between The Shin’s frontman and songwriter James Mercer and Grammy winning producer Brian Burton a/k/a Danger Mouse. The pair were inspired to work together when they met in 2004 at the Roskilde music festival in Denmark where they discovered they were fans of each others’ work. Their first sessions, however, didn’t start until March 2008 when Mercer joined Burton at his home studio in Los Angeles.

Josh Rouse: El Turista

Sometimes you want to listen to music that transports you to another place, that tells you a short story, and makes your day feel slightly more bright and thoughtful. Josh Rouse’s latest record “El Turista” offers exactly that type of melodic antidote -- the kind of album that invites you to forget your to-do list and demands your attention.

Field Music: Measure

Hailing from the English burg of Sunderland, Field Music return after a three year hiatus with a new 20 track album of British art rock. After two previous critically-acclaimed albums in 2006 & 2007, brothers and co-front men David and Peter Brewis took a break in 2008 to recharge their batteries with their respective solo projects, released under the names of School of Language and The Week That Was. This year they reconvene to release a masterpiece of pastoral power pop, full of echoes of a wide-range of artists such as XTC, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, The Blue Nile and The Penguin Café Orchestra. Heady but never pretentious, their song-craft soars over a double-album’s worth of catchy riffs, circular rhythms and melodious vocals.

Peter Gabriel: Scratch My Back

Peter Gabriel’s career has traveled through a variety of musical signposts, from prog-rock radical to international pop superstar to world-beat activist. On his latest project, Scratch My Back, Gabriel brings his personal style and sonic imagination to twelve favorite songs that he performs with solely orchestral instruments and voice. The album is the first part of a series of “song exchanges” in which Gabriel and other leading artists reinterpret each other’s music. The project is the first of its kind, and a collaboration of sorts. All the artists whose songs Gabriel has recorded here are returning the favor by each recording a song of his. The fruits of this exchange will be heard on a forthcoming companion volume, I'll Scratch Yours.

Local Natives: Gorilla Manor

Silverlake’s Local Natives created waves at SXSW in 2009 when they performed as an unsigned act. The band drove for two days to get from Los Angeles to Austin in order to play nine spectacular shows that saw them sprinting, instruments in hand, from one gig to the next. Their hectic schedule paid off as Local Natives left Austin with the attention of the music industry. On their debut album Gorilla Manor the indie rock band delivers a gorgeous record that transcends any single genre.

Beach House: Teen Dream

Recorded in upstate New York in a converted church, Teen Dream is the third album from the Baltimore-based duo Beach House. Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand first came together in 2005 when they charmed indie music enthusiasts across the blogosphere with their dreamy & languid lo-fi sound. The new album gives voice to a new, fuller universe of unbridled imagination. It features tracks that feel intimate while lushly orchestrated and irresistibly sprinkled with Legrand’s Nico-esque vocals.

Corinne Bailey Rae: The Sea

On the follow-up to her Grammy nominated debut album, UK songstress Corinne Bailey Rae reemerges after a four-year break with an extraordinarily intimate and impassioned record.  “The Sea” was recorded following one of the darkest times in Corinne’s life, after the sudden death of her husband in 2008.  Corinne’s voice, always expressive and soulful, resonates with a poignant and newfound depth on the new tracks. Loss and grief are recurring themes yet a sense of beauty and wonder ultimately radiates from the album’s dark corners.

Vampire Weekend: Contra

With their 2008 self-titled debut, New York City’s Vampire Weekend skidded onto the music scene with a determination and individuality that catapulted them immediately into the spotlight. Their sophomore release is one of the most anticipated albums of 2010 and features the band’s unmistakable sound: music that is exploratory yet somehow happily familiar, with indie rock and Afro-pop-inspired melodies and rhythms. On Contra, the band delivers the recognizable, uniquely crafted sound that marked their debut while exploring fresh territory – both musically and lyrically.

Duke Ellington: Three Suites

As one of the most important and influential jazz musicians of the 20th Century, Edward "Duke" Ellington led a band from the early 1920s until his death in 1974. He composed new material relentlessly, specifically writing to get the best out of his band members. At the height of his career in 1960, Ellington decided to devote an album to arrangements of other composers’ work.

Laura Veirs: July Flame

Singer-songwriter Laura Veirs writes starkly beautiful songs tinged with romantic intoxication and personal vignettes. Her first album was self-released in 1999, and features just her and a guitar recorded live. Over the next few years Laura went on to release six more titles.

Max Richter: Memoryhouse

Inara George: Accidental Experimental

"Accidental Experimental" isn't like a regular record, according to Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Inara George. The 11-song digital-only release is filled with love letters in many forms, like digging into the back of the closet and bringing out your favorite winter clothes. And Inara George wears many outfits. Also known for her work as one half of The Bird and The Bee, Inara has simultaneously released solo albums

Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young

“Phrazes for the Young” is the debut solo album from Julian Casablancas, well known as the lead singer and songwriter for The Strokes. For his first solo effort, Casablancas wrote and orchestrated every musical detail on the album, from poly-rhythmic drum beats to harmonizing guitar solos.

Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom Live