Mannequin Men's Use Your Illusion, Too is the follow-up to Fresh Rot, one of my favorite releases of 2007. This new album is less herky-jerky than Fresh Rot, but still pretty cool. The band seems to have toned down the freak-out aspects of its sound and more closely embraced their love for the Clean. Despite the fact that it's a cliche to say so, Mannequin Men are one of those band that come across far better live than on disc. I've seen them in a record store and an Irish pub, and both times, they played like it was make or break it.
Big D & the Kids Table's Fluent In Stroll comes out on SideOne Dummy. A striking departure from their past sound, Big D's new album is almost entirely devoid of punk, and instead embraces a sound that encapsulates dub, reggae, hip-hop, surf, and hopscotch that the band calls "stroll." It's somewhat intersting that Big D's gone further towards reggae and ska, rather than pulling the usual genre-ditch like most ska-punk acts and going pop (the Hippos) or indie (RX Bandits). The album has its moments early on, but it gets a little dull after a while.
Despite the title Greatest Hits, Vol. 16, the Donnas' new release is all unreleased material. The album is a compilation of live tracks, remixes, and b-sides. It's the second release on the bands' own Purple Feather Records. Despite the fact that the band hasn't really had a hit since Spend the Night's "Take It Off" (since or other than, really), they're still pretty dynamic on the live circuit. The live tracks are the real reason to buy this album if you're a casual fan, but the rest of the material is pretty gravy, too.
American Central Dust is Son Volt's first new album in two years, and both reviews I've found seem to say it's the band's best since Trace. The band's moved to Rounder Records, as well, which is a good home for them. The label's becoming a home to alt country acts that don't seem to shy away from the genre tag.
The Jayhawks recently reformed with the classic line-up, and they're releasing Music From the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology, which is a greatest hit compilation. You can buy either the single-disc edition, or the deluxe edition. The deluxe edition comes with a bonus disc of live cuts, demos, etc., as well as a DVD with all the Jayhawks' videos and two short promo films. Not a bad deal, but if you own Tomorrow the Green Grass, you've 20% of the tracks on this best-of, and four of the five best tracks.
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