Here's the second part of the list.
I've included links to full reviews if they were originally reviewed here on the Active Listener.
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Available as CD / Digital
What I Said In My Original Review : It's a very strong set of songs, very much in the vein of the underground acoustic folk albums that labels like Harvest and Chrysalis were releasing in the early seventies - Tir No Nog, Magna Carta and Tudor Lodge are all names that immediately spring to mind. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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DR JOHN - LOCKED DOWNAvailable as CD / Vinyl / Digital
What I Said In My Original Review : Recapturing the swampy voodoo groove of his early Night Tripper work this alternates effortlessly between tight, structured numbers like first single, Revolution and looser, organic jams like the fabulous Lies. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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BOB DYLAN - TEMPESTAvailable as CD / Vinyl / Digital
Dylan regains his writing focus with his strongest set of songs since at least "Love & Theft". Great lyrics and his touring band are, as always, superb.
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EGYPTOLOGY - THE SKIES
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital
A great French piece of retro synth based electronica. All the right buttons are pressed - Ghost Box, Jean Michel Jarre and more. Lovely stuff.
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GRIZZLY BEAR - SHIELDSAvailable as CD / Vinyl / Digital
Grizzly Bear's most immediate album and definitely my favorite so far. They seem to have put aside the Beach Boys influences for now in favor of a much more rustic sound that will please fans of Midlake and the Fleet Foxes.
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Available as a Free Bandcamp Download
What I Said In My Original Review : With their brief band bio describing them as "Three beards playing instruments", coupled with their woodland photo shoot album cover, I expected these guys to be soothing backwoods nu-folk of the Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes persuasion.
Bad call by me it seems. Houdan the Mystic are a much more diverse outfit than I ever expected. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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KADAVARAvailable as CD / Vinyl / Digital
Once you've seen the cover for this you know exactly what it's going to sound like. Fantastic early seventies style riffy hard rock / early metal which draws from the masters at least as well as the likes of Witchcraft and Graveyard. Very nice indeed.
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Available as CD / Digital
What I Said In My Original Review : "On Sunset Lake" is a pleasing concoction no mistake - equal parts cosmic Americana, west coast psychedelia, and pastoral Englishness, a combination of impeccable songwriting and arranging and particularly lush production - potentially the nicest sounding album I've heard this year, including major label releases. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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LEISURE BIRDS - GLOBE MASTER Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital
What I Said In My Original Review : Apart from sporting a particularly bad-ass cover, "Globe Master" is one of the most hypnotic pieces of space rock I've heard in ages. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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THE MARBLE VANITYAvailable as CD / Vinyl / Digital
A great piece of homerecorded garage pop with nods to Flying Nun, baroque pop and all sorts of other things that will make you feel warm inside. Marvelous.
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See my first ten choices here.
Ten more coming very soon.
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