jb’s music review

It’s that time again: time for the occasional What Josh’s Been Listening To update.
I can unreservedly recommend the new Elvis Costello record. I was never a Costello disciple — I thought his ’70s stuff was nice enough, but nothing I got excited over, and I gave his Burt Bacharach disc a pan in my rock critic days — but this record is terrific. The single sounds ripped from 1977, and the slower stuff manages to be moody without being wussy — a balance he’s had a hard time striking the last few years.
I absolutely loved the first album by Enon — smart art-pop with a little punk and a love of fuzzy vocals. At first, the followup, High Society, didn’t thrill me, but it’s grown on me and I can’t get it out of my head. (I’m not sure it’s this good, but it is damned good.) They’ve added a new vocalist, ex-Blonde Redhead Toko Yasuda, who adds a sort of naif Europop vibe to some of the songs. The songs are probably a hair weaker than the first album, but it’s more fun — this would make a great party record if you had a very cool crowd of people coming over. (Check out an MP3 of one of my favorite tracks, the very Dismemberment Plan-influenced Natural Disasters.)
In the late-to-the-party department, I’ve become a late adopter of Rufus Wainwright. His last disc Poses and his self-titled debut have both eloquent songwriting and great delivery — it’s really the Tin Pan Alley sort of sound that an Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach should have produced. Fun to sing along to.
Spoon’s A Series of Sneaks has become my de facto car music. I heard the more polished Girls Can Tell first (and liked it enough to name it crabwalk.com Album of the Year 2001), so the rougher-edged Sneaks didn’t jump out at me. But man, is it great — the perfect bridge between the Pixies and the White Stripes, if either of those bands appeal to you.
Other recent listens: Sea Ray’s Reveal EP still sounds great a month or two after landing in my mailbox. The new Girls Against Boys is growing on me — seemed a little too dumb-metal at first, but Scott McCloud’s club-weary vocals keep pushing it higher in my estimation. The new “back to our indie roots” Guided By Voices hasn’t thrilled me yet, although that may because I’m one of the few who liked their last few studio-heavy discs more than the Bee Thousand-era stuff. The new DJ Shadow is better than I thought from MP3s, but still no Endtroducing. (Not that that’s anything to be ashamed of.)