Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#552 in the Series) is The Low Anthem, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (Nonesuch (US), Bella Union(UK)) For this , their 3rd album (but first to be widely available), The Low Anthem really surpassed themselves, conjuring up a magical album, full of ghostly otherworldly ambience, with the odd wonderfully raucous detour thrown in for good measure! The sleeve states that it was “recorded in the solace of a Block Island winter” and that’s entirely fitting, there’s a distinct chilly, spectral feel to the full thing. I suppose it’s a folk album really, just not the kind you’ll have heard before. Probably. They’ve taken some well-worn ingredients, given them a good...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#533 in the Series) is the self-titled debut album from The Little Willies (Milking Bull/Parlophone Records) Have you ever heard an album well after it was released and wondered “How did I miss this one? This is right in my wheel-house.”  No, I’m not talking about an artist that does not get any recognition. It happens all the time with them, some of them are even new acts. It’s easy to get turned onto them the first time years later. I’m talking about an artist that gets a nice amount of play, is on radio and in this case, even performed one of these tracks on late night TV. Well, the “better late...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#504 in the Series) is Patricia Barber,  Nightclub A dark , delicious delight of an album. Take a look through Patricia Barber’s career and you’ll quickly see that she likes to be adventurous and do her own thing, rarely the safe option for her. Most people blessed with a voice and talent like hers would settle for a nice, comfortable career, the easy money. It’s to her credit that she tries not to go down that road too often and it’s her questing spirit which results in wonderful releases like this. It may also be the reason that you might not have heard of her! The aim on this recording was to...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#502 in the Series) is Colin Hay, Are You Looking At Me? One of the cool things about being a music fan is having good friends with whom you can play the “Trust me on this one” game. You know it; you probably played it and never even realized it.  A good friend comes up to you and either hands you a CD, or a cassette or even good ol’ vinyl and says “Check this out” I think you’ll like it.  You look at the title and try and hide your surprise when he or she hands you a title that you would never listen to on your own. In fact, you...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#479 in the Series) is Roddy Frame, Surf I think it would be fair to say that Aztec Camera were one of the very best bands to ever come out of Scotland. Their first two singles were released on the tiny (and now legendary/very influential) independent label Postcard, swiftly followed by a move to Rough Trade. Debut album High Land , Hard Rain (1983)was an utter classic and possibly even the best debut album by a Scots act. That particular gem has already been featured on this site, so its merits need not detain us here. Suffice to say its well worth anyone’s time and attention. The second effort (1984’s “Knife”, produced by...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#468 in the Series) us Chris Hillman, The Other Side. I think most people that are frequent visitors to the Cool Album of the Day site are familiar with our love for “Americana” music are probably familiar with Chris Hillman.  I’m not going to take for granted that that means you!  So before we talk about this 2005 project called The Other Side, allow me to give you a little background on this talented musician. I’m not going to start from the very beginning, that would take hours.  Believe me though when I say it’s a fascinating story.  You would not be wrong by saying that he was one of the originators of the...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (# 443 in the Series) is Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. Sometimes an album that makes perfect sense comes out of nowhere. My friend Fred sent me Art Brut’s 2005 debut years ago. Art Brut writes simple and quick pop songs (the longest tune is 3:45 long). These guys have put the fun back into rock and roll. The absolute star of Art Brut is “singer” and sarcastic front man Eddie Argos. Eddie narrates his songs as much as he sings them. His greatest talent is his bombastic wit and strong sense of cynicism. “Yes, this is my real singing voice” Eddie proclaims. Bang Bang Rock and Roll jumps to a...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#433 in the series Series) is the Jim Jones Revue. Imagine just for a minute. You are a mad scientist in the rock and roll laboratory. You fuse the DNA of Jerry Lee Lewis , Little Richard, and the New York Dolls. What do you get? London’s Jim Jones Revue. Jim Jones (ex-Thee Hypnotics) and his band push the term rhythm and blues to its furthest limits. While Jones is the undeniable star of the show, the band fights Jones for every bit of the spotlight. The album is produced by Jones which produces shocking results. This record is very loud. Undoubtedly, the needles on the sound board were well into the red...

Today’s  Cool Album of the Day (#376 in the Series) is Frank Black and the Catholics, Dog In The Sand Who the heck actually knows how many solo album’s Frank Black has put out by now? Jeez, probably even Frank himself has lost count! But it’s a lot. By my reckoning we’re talking, as of May 2011, 15 albums. Roughly. He’s a prolific guy. There’s been a remarkable output over the last 18 years and what’s even more remarkable is the consistency and high standard of the material , they’ve all been pretty good albums. Which is why there’s so much debate amongst his fans about which one is actually the best. That’s a question i wouldn’t even attempt to...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#367 in the Series) is Ben Folds, Rockin’ The Suburbs Ben Folds’ 2001 solo debut Rockin’ The Suburbs is one of those albums that kind of took me by surprise. If you’ve ever listened to his work either solo or with his 90’s band Ben Folds Five, it’s like sitting down listening to a friend tell a story. This release, however, was his first solo effort, and manages to balance  cleverness and vulnerability while maintaining some pretty impressive consistency. North Carolina native Folds is reasonably prolific, with over 20 albums, EPs, and compilations, and if you think you haven’t heard him before…well, you most likely have. He contributed to the soundtracks of Over...