June means Swine Flu

Download 5 Free Mp3s - the Bicycles, the 1990s, the Handsome Family, Karen Dalton, Kingsbury Manx

The Kingsbury Manx- Over the Oeuvre

The Manx' fifth LP is their first on their own boutique label, Oddessa. The North Carolina quartet stays with the previous formula though, dolling out the most gentle melodies around. This is the second track, a bouncy and infectious little number.

RIYL: the Byrds, the Sea and Cake, the Kinks

the 1990s-Kickstrasse

Who knows if there's a rivalry between 1990s and Franz Ferdinand, but Cookies was better than anything FF ever did. The new album, Kicks, isn't quite as urgent, though. Not as raw. Less guitar, more keyboard. In general EN-D's disappointed, though Kickstrasse is the kind of track that got EN-D hooked on the first album.

RIYL: David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, Pulp

The Handsome Family- A Thousand Diamond Rings

After two lackluster albums, EN-D's favorite country band the Handsome Family are back with another winner, Honey Moon. It's a celebration of their twentieth wedding anniversary and another collection of lilting Appalachian mountain songs. A Thousand Diamond Rings displays everything EN-D loves about them, great guitar harmonies, Brett's great big baritone, and Renny's incredibly keen lyrics.

RIYL: George Jones, Merle Haggard, Uncle Tupelo

Another band cribbed from EN-D's girlfriend, the Bicycles are a bouncy, sugary, pop group from Toronto. Walk Away is about as dark as they get and it's still relentlessly upbeat. This is work-out music, assuming you're not too cool to be seen sweating.

RIYL: The New Pornographers, Elvis Costello, The Apples in Stereo

Karen Dalton-Something On Your Mind

Something On My Mind starts out with a huge, muffled bass. It sounds like something from the acid-rock era, or at least a revivalist band like the Warlocks. Then everything else kicks in and it goes to the other end of the spectrum, a beautiful, delicate song led by a drug-addicted Charokee woman with bad teeth and a jazzy, lithe voice. It's difficult to say what EN-D loves about this song, but the album cover captures the mood perfectly. It's tragic, melancholy, romantic, a portrait of the 60's as we imagine it.

RIYL: Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, The Band