Album Stream: Chromeo, Blonde Redhead, The Walkmen, Of Montreal

September 14 is a black Friday of sorts for the music world. There is an embarrassment of riches, new release-wise, set for that Meg Tuesday. NPR realizes this, so they're giving you a head start by offering album streams of 14 albums to be released next Tuesday. Which just so...

By Michael Lopez

September 7, 2010

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September 14 is a black Friday of sorts for the music world. There is an embarrassment of riches, new release-wise, set for that Meg Tuesday. NPR realizes this, so they're giving you a head start by offering album streams of 14 albums to be released next Tuesday. Which just so happens to be the 14th. See what they did there?

Leading the way are new albums from Of Montreal, The Walkmen, Blonde Redhead and Chromeo.

People shit themselves sideways about The Walkmen, and while it's not my place to ascertain why exactly that is, I know their sixth studio album Lisbon is hotly anticipated. If anything they produce is ever better than the song "The Rat" from 2004's Bows + Arrows, then so be it. I don't see that happening, though.

Listen to an album stream of Lisbon here.

Of Montreal triggered their descent into madness back on 2007's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? It was then that lead singer/figurehead Kevin Barnes started wearing stilts onstage and donning reject-Ziggy Stardust makeup, much to the delight and/or chagrin of the band's fans. Many feel 2008's Skeletal Lamping was the band's finest effort, but some still reserve that honor for 2005's The Sunlandic Twins, myself included. One thing is for sure -- if we are to take Of Montreal's performance of "Sex Karma" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as a guide -- False Priest is going to be harmoniously melodic, if not weird as shit.

Listen to an album stream of False Priest here.

Having heard the latest release from New York's Blonde Redhead, Penny Sparkle, the whole way through, I can say that the album finds it's niche in a whole hell of a lot of ways. Kazu Makino holds the reigns for the majority of the album, but she is also helped out by Amadeo Pace's male vocals on some songs, to a rather odd degree. However, listening to the album opener "Here Sometimes" cements Sparkle's undeniable charm, thanks to Makino's cherubic vocal style. It was her belting out "Equus" off 2004's Misery Is A Butterfly that got my attention in the first place, and not much has changed, thankfully.

Listen to an album stream of Penny Sparkle here.

That leaves us, then, with Quebecois electronic/indie/dance/funk duo Chromeo. Their third album Business Casual follows a dangerous precedent set by their debut album, 2004's She's In Control. That album gave us "Needy Girl," 2007's Fancy Footwork offered up "Mama's Boy" and "Bonafied Lovin' (Tough Guys)." What can Dave 1 and P-Thugg do for an encore? Well, the funk-riffic "Don't Turn The Lights Out," for starters, followed by "Night By Night." It should be noted that Business Casual is being produced by Cassius' Phillipe Zdar -- Canadian electro/disco mastermind Tiga had produced Chromeo's first two albums. The difference is noticeable, yet it is in all the right ways.

Listen to an album stream of Business Casual here.

Hear 14 Handpicked Albums Before They Come Out On Sept. 14 [npr.org]

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