As with any other recordings by The National, it can take a few listens to fully appreciate all that it encompasses. That's why I wanted to wait until I had listened to it a few times before I gave my opinion on it. Their last CD " High Violet" is probably my favorite album of all time and I still listen to it every few days. As always, what makes The National special is a few things: a) Matt Berninger's beautiful baritone, b) his heartfelt and poignant lyrics, c) Bryan Devendorf's underrated drumming, d) Aaron and Bryce Dessner's amazing musicianship. Their latest CD "Trouble Will Find Me" continues the path of excellent recordings since their 2nd album "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers". My personal favorites on this right now are "Slipped" which is probably one of their best ballads they've ever recorded, and the uptempo songs "Graceless" and "Don't Swallow The Cap". The other songs are great as well, and I will probably add them to my favourite list as I continue to listen to this amazing CD. The National to me are the best band out there right now. If you've never listened to The National, you could start with this one or any one of their last 4 albums. They are that good.

This is an amazing retrospective of Canada's best independent label. The constant thing about Arts & Crafts is they keep on releasing class recordings not only from this country's best artists, but from great bands from around the globe as well. This 2-CD compilation consists of great songs such as "7/4 (Shoreline)" by Broken Social Scene, "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" and "Elevator Love Letter" by Stars, "I Feel it All" by Feist", "Being Here" by The Stills, "Rows of Houses" by Dan Mangan , "I'll Bring the Sun" by Jason Collett and "Are You Gonna Waste My Time" by Zeus. The 2nd disc includes b-sides or songs that hadn't been included on any other recording. One of the songs on that 2nd disc "Islands in the Stream" by Feist and The Constantines is worth the price alone. Also a new compilation called "X" is due out May 28th featuring collaborations by 20 of the label's artists on 10 songs comprising of interpretations and new music. I personnally cannot wait to purchase a copy (or 2).....Love Love Love this label :)

Like millions of Bowie fans, I was more than surprised when a while back on his 66th birthday, he announced the pending release of his next studio album. Almost no one expected this of course, but most of his fans I'm sure were grateful and more than anxiously awaiting this new release. Now, "The Next Day" is here and this CD stands as his best release in years. It has elements of some of my favourite David Bowie recordings (Lodger/"Heroes"/Heathen). The fist song and title track starts things off with a defiant bang and is one of many defining moments on this. "Dirty Boys" follows and it's just a perfect 3 minute song. The next 2 songs (The Stars (Are Out Tonight), and Love Is Lost) are my favourite songs on this. Other highlights on this for me are "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die" and the closer "Heat" which reminds me a bit of "Sunday" off of Heathen. In all, one of his best CD in years.

Somewhere Else is the debut CD by Danish artist Soren Lokke Juul. The music on this recording is not very immediate, but after a few spins it reveals itself to be a thing of beauty. It's a good blend of acoustic and electronic music that doesn't jar the listener. I really love the title track, also "New", Bird" and "Melt". For fans of Grizzly Bear, the Antlers, Bon Iver etc... A very good debut :)

This collection "Noise and Girls..." is mostly a variation of their 1st CD "A Secret Wish" which was released in 1985. Propaganda was unfortunately underplayed and underrated in North America. Their 3 singles (Duel, Dr. Mabuse and p:Machinery) are here in various forms. Duel is one of my favourite songs from the 80's. The sound quality on this is very good as well. Highly recommended.

What a great collection this is. I guess what sets it apart from the other FGTH collections, is the sound quality. It is very crisp and clean. The packaging is of very high quality. The CD case itself is a standard jewel-case with a glossy insert. It's also perfectly sequenced and flows really well. One thing to mention about the songs though is that "Relax" is not the standard version that we've come to know from the radio. It's included twice in remixed forms. Aside from that, all the classics are here, the gorgeous single "The Power of Love", the rather still timely "Two Tribes", and also most of their essential songs. If you want to buy a great collection of songs, I would highly recommend this one.

An amazing recording from one of Canada's best bands. Arias & Symphonies certainly deserved to be re-released on CD as it's a new wave classic. Aside from the great single "Nova Heart", it also includes the spectacular title track, plus standouts "Smiling In Winter", "No Electrons", "Walk The Plank". The rest of the songs are great as well. A must-have CD in your collection :)

I absolutely love this album. I am a huge St.Vincent fan and did not hesitate for a minute to purchase this recording. That being said, I wasn't sure how their styles would gel. It's not a recording where you get everything in on the first listen. But what it does, is reveal itself to be a totally unique, imaginative and artistic piece of work. Favourites include the beautiful "Ice Age", "Optimist", "Dinner For Two", "Lazarus", "Lighting". All in all, a very solid recording.

Coexist is the 2nd CD by this brilliant young band from London. Not so much a step forward from their debut, but a great companion piece. The xx's music is not immediate, but rather gets better with each listen. Most of the songs have sparce arrangements, but punctuated by beautiful melody that impacts every note and lyric. This is as assured as their debut and should more than please its fanbase. Highlights are numerous including the fragile "Angels", the upbeat "Swept Away", "Tides", "Reunion" etc... One of the better CDs so far this year :)

Katalogue is a 2-CD best of collection chosen by the band members spanning their 20-year career. Disc 1 includes their most recent work from Trespassers, No Balance Palace and Zitilites. Disc 2 includes 2 songs from Zitilites and tunes from their other CDs The Good Life, Cruzential and Travelogue. I prefer their later work, so basically everything from Disc 1 is amazing. Disc 2 is a more acquired taste, but still has some gems like "Surfing the Warm Industry", and "In the Sand". Definitely one of my favourite bands of recent years. Very underrated though, which is a shame as they are a truly great band.