Music Recommendations Week 07/03/05

The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute
Amazing concept sophomore bilingual (in English and Spanish) album from one of the most respected and influential rock acts right now. Frances The Mute is almost 1.5 hours long with tracks ranging from over 5 minutes to over 13 minutes, where the song changes tone, beat and melody all through, signifying the different parts in each track (think what Green Day did with their American Idiot album). Might get some time to get used to for the newer fans and the reviews for this album are split and varied, but as a former fan of At The Drive-In, I couldn't miss a chance to recommend this album, which could quite possibly be one of my top 10 albums of this year (along with Bloc Party), and its only March. I offer you a download of the first part (of five parts) of the final track Cassandra Gemini, so the ending is a bit off but its the best I could do due to bandwidth and its my favourite part/track of such a long song concept. Track #2 The Widow is currently on high-rotation on most radio stations.
Official Website
Download track #5: Cassandra Gemini I: Tarantism (3.3MB)


The Kills - No Wow
Catchy indie rock duo for fans of The White Stripes but with more focus on the female vocals. The Good Ones is the first single of the album and is already a top 10 hit.
Official Website
Download track #4: The Good Ones (2.4MB)


Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
Cool.Catchy.Relax-Let's-Catchasurf. type music. Jack Johnson is possibly the coolest male singer/acoustica-geetar right now (no contest, Conor). Love it. Jack is going to tour Australia including Adelaide and will be playing at Memorial Drive on March 31st, Thursday, with Xavier Rudd, G-Love & Special Sauce and Katalyst.
Official Website
Download track #1: Better Together (2.4MB)

Featured "past" music recommendation:

Desaparecidos - Read Music Speak Spanish
Released in 2002, Read Music Speak Spanish was one of the records I nearly missed out on (it got lost among the hype of Taking Back Sunday/Victory Records, etc.) but glad I didn't. Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst's fronts this five-piece band whose sound reminds me of old Get Up Kids (one of my personal favourites) but with a more political/literal outlook towards their music, especially compared to Bright Eyes. I definitely prefer this than current Bright Eyes' material, and wished Conor didn't "quit"/halted this band's new music (originally slated for a 2004 release) to record his current two Bright Eyes' albums, but in the meantime, check this out. Anyway, Bright Eyes will be in Australia late this month for his solo and R.E.M. support tour in late March/early April.
Official Website
Download track #6: The Happiest Place on Earth (2.8MB) via Saddle Creek Records