Just wanted to share the wonderful news that after five long years Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band are at it again! They're recording a new album called "Magic" which reportedly ushers a return to Springsteen's classic rock sound with the Garden State wall of sound from legendary guitarists Steve Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, bassist Garry Tallent,
drummer Max Weinberg, keyboardists Federici and Roy Bittan, sax man
Clemons, violinist Soozie Tyrell, and vocalist Patti Scialfa.
The new 11-track album, released October 2nd by Columbia Records, promises to be "high energy rock" and "immensely entertaining".
Listen up! Here are a few new releases that everyone should have in their iPods says me:
TEGAN & SARA, "The Con" (Sire/Vapor)
Ever fiercer and more mysterious, these Canadian twins have just dropped their best work to date. Listen to this album from start to finish for a mounting slate of transfixing, obsessive hurt-rock, best enjoyed alone and in the dark, but not in a creepy way.
Download: "Relief Next to Me"
SMASHING PUMPKINS, "Zeitgeist" (Reprise)
Zeitgeist
heralds a triumphant return for this acclaimed and mighty team of
hard-rock-candy marauders. After the headaches and heartbreaks of an
accessory band disintegration, Billy Corgan revisits the buzzing hive
of electric guitars that created a generation of insatiable, fawning
rock 'n roll fiends, myself included. This parade of searing,
thunderous symphonies awakens a menacing, though prideful, glibness and should leave anyone nostalgic for the 90's.
Download: "Starz"
FEIST, "The Reminder" (Cherrytree)
The prolific and sweetly juvenile Leslie Feist is known to her fans for unfurling candid, melancholy, trouble-torn folk-rock and basking in the dissension of yearning and possibility. Here, she once again packs a powerful punch with more of the acoustic charm and originality that has already made her a staple on any sorority music shelf.
Download: "So Sorry"
THE MAGIC NUMBERS, "Those the Brokes" (Astralwerks)
In a hot revamp of 80's indie pop, The Magic Numbers deliver a graceful, alluring, and frequently-optimistic fugue. Pairing boy-girl harmonies and well-placed falsettos with eighth-note bass-lines, The Numbers corner the market on simple, honest expression that demands an encore.
Download: "Mornings Eleven"
THE BRAVERY, "The Sun and The Moon" (Island)
No longer lost in the looming shadow of The Killers' success, The Bravery marry a fighting attitude with some great songwriting to affirm their true promise as legends in the making. These New York rockers have all the gusto, poetic self-mastery, and winsome polish to take the world stage by storm. This latest release dubs The Bravery the new pop hook kings with an overload of playful electro-rock anthems to declare, bravely, "it's all about the good times".
Download: "Time Won't Let Me Go"
RYAN ADAMS, "Easy Tiger" (Lost Highway)
The pert prince of moody alt-country expertly sculpts yet another smooth, mellow-sounding masterpiece. Easy Tiger finds Ryan Adams as introspective and subdued as ever. Here, he aptly connects with the tragic bends of life and love in a neat and gratifying mostly-unplugged set. Adams' best work remains the tearing, gritty Rock N Roll.
Download: "Rip Off"
BRIGHT EYES, "Cassadaga" (Saddle Creek)
In typical college-radio fashion, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst negotiates his way through angsty ferocity, exaggerated acquiescence, fumbling adoration, resentful separateness, and finally, the somber cool of fantasies aborted. One of the most impassioned lyricists of my generation by far, the young artist here collects himself just long enough to indulge a modest apprehension of vocal inflection and solicit a near-primal response with simple, striking string arrangements, organs, and lush background vocals.
Download: "Coat Check Dream Song"
