this is what i've been listening to recently...

Tellison, Sam Isaac, Dave House & Hot Club de Paris have been rocking the iPod (no stereo for ages!) recently. not new, but cracking none the less.

really beautiful songs from:

Andrew Bird: listen to Armchair Apocrypha, it's beautiful. try a track called Scythian Empires

Alexi Murdoch, an album called Time Without Consequence. the opener, All My Days is really nice.

Jason Collett: Lots of collaborations with people like emily feist and emily haines on the album Idols of Exile.

Anathallo are great. japanese influences in an american band. stunning arrangement.

Beruit's Flying Club Cup is great as well. a bit more "european".

i got the new deathcab and weezer. they were good. new hold steady is good as well. not as good as boys and girls in america.

oh, and i got an album by a female! this is very rare for me... kimya dawson (her off Juno). really good album.

watashi wa are perfect pop in a silver sun vain if anyone is interested as well. and did anyone else get Rivers Cuomo's solo effort? okay...

there's loads more, i've not been around for about a year i don't think!

Wow, that's tons of stuff I haven't heard of. Lots of listening to do!

Hooray - welcome home Alex!

Current listening on the Damo stereo...

Eureka Machines - Do Or Die (not surprisingly)
Clearlake's two recent singles and another track that isn't out there yet (7 more to record this year, all written, and they have an album)
The National - Alligator, Boxer (bit slow to this but I got there)
Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel

And a revisit

My Vitriol - Finelines. Forgotten what a great record that was.

amazon keeps telling me i should like The National but i wast convinced. i'll give it another go sometime i think.

i went on a singer-songwriter rampage and found some wonderful stuff out there. really really good. unfortunately i've not found consistency. the albums are one-off by the artists. shame.

oh and how could i forget:

Rocky Votolato - Makers. sod ryan adams, this guy absolutely rules. this album is stunning. i cannot praise it enough. smooth voice, great acoustic guitar.

I like some of Andrew Birds stuff...A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left is one I remember! I like some Beirut too, but not enough to be tempted to travel to see them live...

Your description of Anathallo sounds interesting, I'll go and check them out.

I've discovered Gene Clark this week, I've always been aware of him, since the Teenage Fanclub song called Gene Clark, and with him being in Big Star, but I'd never knowingly heard any of his solo stuff. On the radio last week, Gene Clark by Teenage Fanclub was played (which I found very exciting), and this was followed by a song by Gene Clark, hence my discovery of a full album of his on last.fm. :D

I think Armchair Apocrypha is brilliant - and keep hearing bits of it on various TV programmes. Much like Boxer as well!