kagablog

6. Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. (Kranky/4AD)

- with their third and, I suppose, their fourth albums (since the fact that the two impressively evenly high quality parts of this double disc have different names and at least superficially if not fundamentally a different feel - and were recorded several months apart - suggests that the band might have made each to stand up on its own) the wide variety of indie rock influences informing the sound of Atlanta’s experimental noise-rockers/avant poppers (the point is to give you some clue of the sonic territory you’re in – the band refers to itself as ambient punk) has coalesced into a whole where you can still spot the touchstones that give the albums their internal variety, but will nevertheless be seduced and eventually captured by Deerhunter’s originality

7. Toumani Diabaté – The Mande Variations (World Circuit) / Rajery, Ballaké Sissoko & Driss El Maloumi – 3MA (Contré-Jour)

- the Diabaté is absolutely solo, a breathtaking kora recital almost classical in nature, on which the virtuoso star of such more obviously crowd pleasing endeavours as Songhai, the phenomenal Symmetric Orchestra and the Ali Farka Touré alliance, so steeped in not only the music of his chosen instrument but its musicality as well, draws you in, reassures you with his touch and tone, and then slays you with his brilliance – the title of the “3MA” collaboration refers to the native countries of the protagonists … Madagascar, Mali and Morocco (in French), and these masters, respectively, of the rippling valiha, the shimmering kora and the sturdily exotic oud, each so musically fundamental to its homeland, encourage, cajole and intuitively support each other while creating a cross-cultural product of elegance, charm and sometimes dazzling beauty

8. Alejandro Escovedo – Real Animal (Back Porch/Manhattan)

- in the hands of veteran producer Tony Visconti and the songwriting and guitaring company of fellow unsung hero Chuck Prophet, Escovedo, who more or less epitomises Texan music for me, has finally made a record whose sound and feel transcend his home state, though without in any way diluting his string-driven, roots-based strengths – there’s a noticeable increase in punch and drive at rocking tempos, while the improved clarity of those gorgeously melancholic ballads makes them even more heartrendingly poignant, the songs harking back to early days as a glam rock loving punk and cowpunk and even recalling a California upbringing passing himself off as a Hawaiian surfer when his Mexican heritage might have ostracised him - there are only two possibilities with Escovedo, either you love him or else you’ve never heard him

9. Blitzen Trapper – Furr (Sub Pop)

- Blitzen Trapper sounds like one of those mix tapes I (and, no doubt, you) used to make for friends (you know, the ones the industry used to claim were killing music, despite the fact that your friends often then went out and bought albums they otherwise would never have heard); where the young Oregon band’s acclaimed previous release “Wild Mountain Nation” occasionally ranged too widely for its own good, there’s nothing about this absolutely unpretentious record I don’t like as it traverses a stylistic scope where acoustically picked folk and pedal steel swooning country rock rubs shoulders with and is sometimes sparked by riffing, jamming classic rock, soaring ‘60s influenced power pop, indie squonk and even electronic noise – it might be my year’s least expected favourite

10. Dave Douglas & Keystone – Moonshine (Leaf)

- “Keystone”, the 2005 album that gave this band its name (only the keyboards have changed, with Fender Rhodes lending more of an electro-jazz shiver to the sound), was designed to accompany a silent movie, and it worked wonderfully, as the Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle DVD that accompanied the album demonstrated – this time the sense and even the sensibilities are similar (Buster Keaton’s photo is a focal point of the artwork and the band is pictured accompanying the Arbuckle movie), but the music is more flexible, inspired by silent film rather than providing it with a soundtrack, reflecting, in the words of the brilliant trumpeter/leader, “the atmosphere of those innocent/zany black and white images, refracted through 21st century jazz sensibility, interpreted by an eclectic collection of gifted musicians” – exactly!