What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:30:32 -0700

It's Tuesday, which means that not only is your Netflix queue getting a shot in the arm, so is your iPod: I've checked out today's new music releases and have some advice for you on what you should download today.

Hipster Halloween Party: I'm pretty shocked by how much I'm enjoying the self-titled debut album from Dead Man's Bones, AKA the band that Ryan Gosling is in. The "goth-folk" concept sounds too campy to work; Gosling and his bandmate Zach Shields have compiled an entire album of creepy-themed tracks, finding inspiration in zombies and werewolves. It sounds ridiculous, but their stroke of genius is adding the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children's Choir. As backup singers, the kids' voices are sweet and catchy, especially on Flowers Grow Out of My Grave. My other favorites are the charm-filled, retro-sounding My Body's a Zombie For You and Pa Pa Power, where Gosling's '50s-toned voice plays off the backing of the young voices.

Spill it: I was eagerly awaiting Built to Spill's latest album, There Is No Enemy, and I'm not disappointed; so far I like it more than their last effort from three years ago, You in Reverse. Enemy is more in the upbeat-yet-deep vein of 1999's Keep it Like a Secret (maybe my favorite BTS album). Lose yourself in Hindsight and Aisle 13, but if you're craving a lilting, classic BTS jam, cue up Things Fall Apart.

See one more release when you read more.

A girl and her guitar: Brandi Carlile hit the pop culture jackpot when songs from her last album The Story were featured on Grey's Anatomy several times. Now she's back with her third album, Give Up the Ghost, and her emotional folk will probably get her back on the show: Dreams ramps up from a slow ballad to heavy rocker, while That Year and Before it Breaks are worthy of a Mer-Der cryfest.