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Health & Fitness

Local Music Blog: What's New at Kiss the Sky—Sept. 26 New Releases

A review of the week's new music releases available at Kiss The Sky, Geneva's independent record store.

This has been a great week for music lovers! There wasn’t a new release clunker in the bunch, the major reissue was phenomenal and I managed to catch up with an excellent almost overlooked recent release.

We’ll start with Canadian singer-songwriter and Broken Social Scene member Leslie Feist, better known simply as “Feist.” You know her from her catchy 1234 single which, after an iTunes commercial placement, propelled her 2007 The Reminder album all the way to platinum status.

Though you won’t find anything quite as catchy as 1234 on Metals, her fifth album is certainly worth a listen. In 2008, after relentlessly touring and recording for seven years, she headed off to California’s Big Sur and the result is a more intimate and relaxed set of songs.

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In the tradition of the great rock chanteuse’s (Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins), and with a modern edge, Feist subtly delves into the universal notions of heartache and loss—without all that whining and self-pity. Metals is a prefect example of an interesting artist exercising her craft and I highly recommend it.

We all have a favorite artist or group whose lack of major commercial success continually baffles us. For me, it’s the foursome from New Orleans known as Mutemath. And their third album, Odd Soul (love that title), is another compelling endeavor.

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Mutemath manages to mix blues rock, electronica, classic rock, jazz, soul and funk, but just when you think they’re about to go too far, they don’t. Somehow they make this intra-genre hodgepodge work. Entertainment Weekly aptly noted that Odd Soul was like “the bends on Bourbon Street.”

The group neatly tie up this loose package with the soaring and inspirational hymn, No Time. It gives me goose bumps every time I listen to it. As for Odd Soul? I high recommend this one too.

Every now and then, the “less is more” Tao of an album cover piques my interest. This week, it was Siberia by the pop group Lights. Well, much like Feist, Lights consists solely of another Canadian singer-songwriter, Valerie Ann Poxleitner.

You see, if you’re really nice to KTS new release coordinator Mike Messerschmidt, he might just play some Internet snippets of a new album for you. And it was those in-store samples of Siberia that quickly had me hooked.

Lights’ (her professional name) voice reminds me of the powerful, but seductive female lead singers from groups like Metric and The Sounds. And on Siberia, she manages to mix the innocence and synthesizers of Owl City with some dynamic dance beats and the lyrical sentiments of someone far wiser than her 24 years would indicate.

Typically I’m not terribly prone to pop music, but on that rare occasion you come across an artist who not only can sing, but can actually write decent lyrics, I’ll give it a shot. We’re on a roll here folks! Siberia gets that coveted highly recommend nod.

As for our overlooked release, it’s the moody and ethereal second solo effort from Porcupine Tree founder Steven Wilson, Grace for Drowning. I’ve always enjoyed Porcupine Tree’s music, so I thought I’d give this one a shot.

Since I’m a sucker for dark, moody, haunting, and jazz-infused double-disc efforts, I love everything about this album. That said, Grace for Drowning’s progressive nature means it might not be for everyone.

But when you add 80 minutes of fascinating music to a meager $12.95 asking price, I can’t help but issue yet another highly recommended rating.

And speaking of being a sucker, the remnants of Nirvana just authorized a 20th Anniversary remaster reissue of their grunge classic, Nevermind. My original plan was to purchase the four-disc vinyl version, but as you all already know, I simply can’t resist the lure of a “superdeluxe” CD reissue.

In this case it was a $110 four-CD, one-DVD, new Nirvana photograph-laden box set available only through Best Buy. (Did Dave Grohl ever look that young?) Generally, I avoid Best Buy like the plague, but this time my options were limited.

Again, remasters always make me nervous, but as it was with last week’s Pink Floyd reissues, they did a phenomenal job. Without sacrificing any of the grunge group’s original angst and intent, the newfound clarity and balance are so incredible you can clearly hear Curt Cobain’s pick as it scraped the guitar strings.

This superdeluxe set includes outtakes, boombox rehearsals, studio sessions and a concert DVD. If you want to taste the evolution of a groundbreaking album, then this one’s for you. But if you’re not nearly as nutty as I am, you can pick up the deluxe two-CD version at KTS for about 20 bucks. Either way, the 20th Anniversary Nevermind remastered resissue is well worth your while.

Next week it will be Bjork, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Rachel Yamagata and Ryan Adams. I’m also considering Peter Gabriel's New Blood, which reworks his back catalog complete with a full orchestra. And if I’ve had a few beers, I might even pick up William Shatner’s upcoming double CD, Seeking Major Tom.

Until then, you'll probably find me at .

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