New CD Releases, April 10: Bright Eyes, Grinderman, Blonde Redhead
Bright Eyes “Cassadaga”
Bright Eyes, the indie-rock band led by acclaimed songwriter Conor Oberst, returns with its first full-length batch of new songs since simultaneously releasing two discs–“Digital Ash in a Digital Urn” and “I’m Awake, It’s Morning”–back in 2005.
Oberst was aided on “Cassadaga” by a cast of players that included regular band members Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott as well as such special guests as Gillian Welch, Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater-Kinney) and Ben Kweller.
Oberst and crew will support the new set with a North American tour that begins April 22 in Milwaukee, WI and continues into June.
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Grinderman “Grinderman”
Don’t recognize the name? Well, fans of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds should definitely recognize the sound. Grinderman is the side project of Cave and a few Seeds (drummer Jim Sclavunos, bassist Martyn Casey and violinist Warren Ellis).
The Grinderman release is just one facet of what should be a pretty busy year for Cave and his fellow musicians. Also in the works is the Aug. 26 release of Cave and the Seeds’ first DVD, “God is in the House.” That band is also planning a short tour of North America, currently scheduled to stretch from June 16 to 25.
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Blonde Redhead “23”
No. 23 turned out to be a pretty lucky numeral for Michael Jordan. We’ll see if the number pans out as well for this rock trio of vocalist Kazu Makino and Italian twins Simone and Amedeo Pace.
This is the seventh studio album for the group–which performed last month at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, TX–and its first since 2004’s “Misery is a Butterfly.”
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DJ Tiesto “Elements of Life”
The electronic music star is back with a follow-up to 2004’s “Just Be.” The DJ, who is well known for his work in the trance genre, enlisted vocalists BT and Faithless’ Maxi Jazz to help out on “Elements of Life.”
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Martin Short “Fame Becomes Me”
The gifted comedian, who came to fame as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” delivers the soundtrack to his hit Broadway comedy/musical. “Fame Becomes Me” features original music from the composer/lyricist behind the mega-successful show “Hairspray.”
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Other new releases:
Brother Ali, “The Undisputed Truth” (Rhymesayers)
Chayanne, “Mi Tiempo” (Sony)
The Clark Sisters, “Live One Last Time” (EMI)
Cocorosie, “The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn” (Touch and Go)
Mark Farina, “House of Om” (Om)
Hell Yeah, “Hell Yeah” (Sony)
Bob James, “Angels of Shanghai” (Koch)
Brenda Lee, “Gospel Duets with Treasured Friends” (Reunion)
MiG, “MiG” (Decca)
Scott Miller and the Commonwealth, “Reconstruction” (Sugarhill)
Nekromantix, “Life Is a Grave and I Dig It” (Hellcat)
Sandi Patty, “Falling Forward” (Sony)
Laura Veirs, “Saltbreakers” (Nonesuch)
VNV Nation, “Judgement” (Metropolis)
Wonder Pets!, “Wonder Pets!” (Nick)
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