Music

This Week's Best New Music Releases - May 4, 2010

by Josh

Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record

To say this record is a big deal would be an understatement.   Despite wetting our appetites with side projects and solo records in the form of “Broken Social Scene Present”, this is the first actual bona fide album from this collective in five years!   And in true form, the expansive album boasts 31 players in the linear notes, including the usual crew, along with a few fresh faces.  To help launch the new album, Broken Social Scene are treating their hometown to a series of shows at local record stores on Sunday May 9^th, including Criminal Records, Rotate This, Soundscapes, and Sonic Boom.

(Broken Social Scene will be performing live at Criminal Records on Sunday, May 9^th at 2pm)

Label: Arts & Crafts

Justin Rutledge – The Early Widows

If you look up the word “troubadour” in a thesaurus, you’d find nearly every synonym rings true for Toronto’s own Justin Rutledge, who is releasing his fourth album on shit-condemning Six Shooter Records.  This hometown hero was named Toronto’s singer-songwriter of the year in 2006 with is not too alt-country sound and lyrics often lumped in with the likes of Ryan Adams, Leonard Cohen, and Hank Williams.  And while he’s played with some of the greats, perhaps most notably Dolly Parton, it’s on his own in the local tavern where he truly shines.

Label: Six Shooter

The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever

For 600 people, this album is already yesterday’s news.  On Record Store Day last month, the band released 600 copies of the album on vinyl in a limited screen printed package.  While this exclusive package is now bouncing around on eBay for ungodly sums, the rest of us can snatch up the regular edition which contains the exact same music for considerably less hassle.  “Heaven Is Whenever” is the fifth album from the Brooklyn based band, and will no doubt please their already army-like fan base.  When the band formed in 2003, their goal was to emulate the atmosphere in The Band’s “Last Waltz”.  Whether they succeeded in this particular goal is debatable, but their success as a band is undeniable.

Label:  Vagrant

The New Pornographers – Together

Is it a coincidence that Canada’s two largest super-groups are releasing an album on the exact same day?  “Together”, their fifth album, once again reunites Dan Bejar, Neko Case, A.C. Newman and company, along with some very special guests, including St. Vincent, Beirut’s Zach Condon, Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, and the Dap Kings horn section.  The album provides us with a new batch of catchy campy tunes that will be sure to put smiles on faces, and once again reign supreme in Canadian hearts.   And from the New Pornographers, who could ask for more?

Label: Last Gang