This week's best new music releases - September 28, 2010

by Josh

September 28, 2010

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This week brings us new music from Women, No Age, Neil Young and Deer Hunter. Check out our guide to the best new music releases after the jump:

Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest

From album to album, you never really know what you’re going to get when you throw on a new Deerhunter album. You know it’s going to be left of centre, but you never know how far. And you know it’s going to be psychedelic and strange, but you never know just how much. For their latest album, Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter have parted ways with their label, Kranky, under which they released their highly successful Cryptograms and Microcastle, and signed on with 4AD. Halcyon Digest takes a lot of ideas from their previous albums and perfects them. The ever-present shoegaziness of My Bloody Valentine shines through, and their tour with Spoon seems to have rubbed off on them too. Halcyon Digest just might be Deerhunter’s masterpiece.

Label: 4AD

No Age – Everything In Between

Was the previously mentioned Deerhunter album not “hard rock” enough for you? Los Angeles band No Age is back with their second full length album, Everything In Between. Creating more noise than your average duo, No Age take influence from many genres and mash them into neatly in the “rock” category. The album features 13 songs, ranging from up-tempo garage punk, to Sonic Youth-like shoegaze grunge. They are also no stranger to critical acclaim, including high praise from Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and coincidentally enough, Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, who called No Age his favourite new band of 2007. And if the music isn’t enough to sell you, the package for the vinyl is well worth the purchase.

Label: Subpop

Women – Public Strain

To get an idea for who Women are, knowing their label is a good place to start. Flemish Eye, a Calgary based label, is known for releasing eccentric and esoteric albums; perhaps most notably Chad VanGaalen, The Cape May, and Ghostkeeper. Women are right at home on Flemish Eye, bringing their own brand of arty shoegaze dirges (yup, that’s the third time I’ve used “shoegaze” today). Their self titled debut album caught the ears of critics, both domestic and abroad. With their second release, Public Strain, finds their album getting a release south of the border on Jagjaguar. Industry jargon aside, is Women a band for you? If you find yourself in line at your local record store and have both the new No Age and Deerhunter albums in your hand, consider adding this one to your pile.

Label: Flemish Eye

Neil Young – Le Noise

When you’re one of the biggest musicians of all time, you can do whatever the hell you want. Bob Dylan released a Christmas album last year, and released a video for his rendition of “Must Be Santa” that scared any child old enough to use YouTube. Brian Wilson recently released his own spin on old Gershwin tunes, and used a marketing tool almost equally as old – making the album available to preview by calling a 1-800 number. Santana has been milking his “I’m Santana, Bitch!” status for years, releasing collaborations with Rob Thomas, Michelle Branch, and Sean Paul. So what has Neil Young gone and done? When it comes to Neil Young, he chooses to keep it simple. This time around, it’s just him, a guitar and Daniel Lanois.

Label: Reprise

Tags: Music, neil young, No Age

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