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Saucerful of Fire, Young and Sexy, from The Arc (Mint Records)
This gliding, harmonically mobile song from Vancouver's Young and Sexy renews itself as it goes along, like the bird rising from its own flames in the lyrics. Seems bound to be reborn as a piece for jazz ensemble.
A Few Words In Defense of Our Country, Randy Newman, from Harps and Angels (forthcoming from Nonesuch, listen to them here.)
Newman looks at the American empire in the context of other grand dominions of the past, and finds it's not as bad as we thought, and even worse. A great subversive miniature, couched in a homey ragtime, from one of the best satirists around.
Willow Tree, Chad Van Gaalen, from Soft Airplane (forthcoming on Flemish Eye, streaming here.)
In this sweet, swinging tune for banjo, harmonium and his own high voice, Calgary's Chad Van Gaalen contemplates the freedom of no longer having a body. Or maybe he's singing about the long sleep that most of us accept as ordinary life. For such a simple song, it's wide open – all the more reason to look forward to Soft Airplane.
One of Us, Wire, from Object 47 (Pink Flag, listen to them here.)
The legendary new-wave band launches its latest disc with one of its poppiest, most inviting numbers ever, with a heavy bass riff and Colin Newman's brainy lyrics about overreaching and regret: “one of us will live to rue the day we met each other.”
