How Do We Jump This High? - Deep Stationary

Straight ahead punk-tinged rock that leans toward the mid-tempo. It's occasionally plodding, with sometimes emotive guitar picking. I wasn't a huge fan of the vocals. These guys sound sort of like an unhappy Latterman. This EP didn't quite click for me; but it was awful close to doing so. It's certainly worth a listen; someone with more refined tastes then mine would probably like it a lot.

I enjoyed the tracks that bookend the EP the most: "See Ya In The Funny Papers" and "Four Day Weekend."

Also, the cover art looks pretty delicious.

Available for free download on If You Make It.

Take Manhattan - An Audio Coloring Book

I somehow happened upon this a couple weeks ago on Punknews. There is some pretty good stuff here on this generally upbeat Indiana group's debut EP.

I particularly enjoyed "The Trials and Tribulations of Beefy E." Gang vocals and COWBELL = <3. My inner Christopher Walken was in full effect for this one. Best of the bunch.

It's available for free digitally from the band's website, complete with lyrics and PDFs to print out and color in. Awesome.

Album releases this fall I'm stoked for

Tuesdays are only good for one thing, in my book. And that, my friends, is new records. Here are some key dates coming up:

September 22
Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
Admittedly I only just found out about this indie supergroup of Jim James, M. Ward, and the one and only Conor Oberst (via Rainn Wilson's blip.fm page no less), but the concept alone has piqued my interest. Latter-day Traveling Wilburys? We'll see.

Not wowed by this, but holding out hope for better cuts. "Say Please"

September 29
The Swell Season - Strict Joy
Thoroughly enjoyed the film Once and the accompanying Oscar-winning tuneage provided by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. The man's got some serious pipes and the two of them are quite the team, even if they've moved on from the whole March - July romance thing.

This song isn't from the new album, but it's an awesome live Van Morrison cover they did that I listen to all the time. Enjoy. "Into the Mystic"

October 6
The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come
I'm a pretty big Mountain Goats fan, which is to say that I'm only mildly obsessive (unlike this guy). Bible verses as titles? Maybe a bit presumptuous. But I'll give JD the benefit of the doubt. On the other hand, the cover art is SICK.

Reminds me of BNL's "The Old Apartment." A solid though not outstanding track. "Genesis 3:23"

Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
It's been far too long since Ben Nichols and company's last effort, 2006's Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers. Must say that I enjoy the whiskey-soaked, Southern rock-meets-country-meets-punk Americana purveyed by 'em and can't wait for their newest installment to drop.

Judging from this track, sounds like it was worth the wait. Awesome. "Hey Darling Do You Gamble?"

The Greatest Game of All of Time

Though you wouldn't know it by my previous post, I'm not one for shameless plugs. However, once again I cannot help myself--for you see, in recent weeks I have been all-consumed by a computer game that I have come to recognize (and I most assuredly will end up taking some flak for this) as the greatest that I have ever had the pleasure of playing.

The game is Pinch Hitter 2. I have not played the original, but I'm sure it was also ballin'.

It can be found here. I have been a Tetris lover ever since my Windows 3.1 machine came preloaded with it way back in '93, but other than the likelihood that I will probably develop carpel tunnel playing Pinch Hitter, it is very much in the same league as Tetris.

Not that this game is without fault (some hits are inexplicably turned into outs), but it sure is a great way to waste your precious days.