The Smiths - Meat Is Murder

Recorded at Amazon Studios, Liverpool and Ridge Farm, Surrey, England. MEAT IS MURDER found the Smiths further honing their craft, tightening and brightening their sound. Unlikely heroes at home in the UK, and starting to break through the cracks in the States, they latched inextricably onto a generation of youth on a global scale with this album, making vegetarians and animal-rights activists out of more than a few of their overcoat-wearing devotees. The most straight-ahead of the Smiths' albums in terms of production, MEAT IS MURDER is a rootsy effort, driven largely by Johnny Marr's lush acoustic guitar arrangements. The album, however, is far from folky. While the frenetic pace and dolorous lyric "Rusholm Ruffians" and the gentle, haunting "Well I Wonder" have acoustic backbones, the blistering fury of "What She Said" and the cascading echoes of "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" are purely electric, and are exactly the reason behind the reverence with which Marr found himself being graced from here on. Morrissey takes a humorous stab at royalty (not his last by any means) over the quick shuffle of "Nowhere Fast." The album closes on an intense, epic note with the dramatic, compelling title track, a graphic anthem for the cause celebre of vegetarianism.
(RS)

R.E.M. - Document

R.E.M.: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitar); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards, background vocals); Bill Berry (drums). Additional personnel: Steve Berlin (horns); Carl Marsh (synthesizer). Recorded at Sound Emporium, Nashville, Tennessee. R.E.M.'s final album for IRS Records, 1987's DOCUMENT was the Georgia quartet's commercial breakthrough. The initial single, the spookily obsessive "The One I Love," was an unexpected Top 10 hit, and its follow-up, the "Subterranean Homesick Blues"-style rant "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," became one of R.E.M.'s most renowned songs. The first R.E.M. album produced by Scott Litt (soon to be a frequent collaborator) DOCUMENT skillfully blends the commercial gloss of LIFE'S RICH PAGEANT and the mysterioso murk of FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION, combining the best elements of both for what would soon become R.E.M.'s signature sound. (Note the thumping rhythm section on the opening "Finest Worksong" and the oddly buoyant melody of "Exhuming McCarthy.") The band even manages to salute one of its favorite predecessors by romping through a loose, fun cover of Wire's "Strange."
(RS)

Frog Eyes - Future Is Inter-Disciplinary or Not at All

Victoria, British Columbia, quartet Frog Eyes are the antithesis of their quiet Canadian village. Utilizing the carnival atmosphere of Rain Dogs-era Tom Waits, the frenetic energy of vintage Cramps, and the diabolical scheming of pre-Murder Ballads Nick Cave, the post-punk collective created an atmosphere of psychedelic unease with their 2002 full-length debut, The Bloody Hand. Lead singer Carey Mercer, who mined similar territories in his previous group, Blue Pine, leads the indie rock ensemble, which also includes Melanie Campbell, Grayson Walker, and Michael Rak. In 2003, after the critical success of Hand, the group released the enigmatic Golden River on the Animal World label, resulting in another flurry of raves and a newly minted fan base. They signed to Absolutely Kosher the following year and released their strongest record to date, the volatile and charismatic Folded Palm, as well as the lo-fi acoustic EP Ego Scriptor. 2006 saw the release of Bloody Hand, again on Absolutely Kosher.
(RS)

Sonic Youth - Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities

Devoted to the more open-ended rarities that have gathered in Sonic Youth's discography in the decade spanning from Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star to Sonic Nurse, The Destroyed Room serves as a reminder that even the band's sketches and non-album tracks remain fascinating. Pieces like the Murray Street outtake "Fauhemians" and "Campfire," which originally appeared in the 1999 collection At Home with the Groovebox and sounds like static kisses, are great examples of Sonic Youth's ability to make dissonant, weird, and otherwise unexpected sounds feel soothing (something they've done especially well in recent years). Likewise, "Fire Engine Dream," the ten-minute Sonic Nurse-era jam that kicks off The Destroyed Room, is pretty subtle despite its hypnotic fuzz; along with the shimmering sound collage "Loop Cat," it shows that the band's seemingly far-flung experiments are balanced with structure and restraint. Given that many of the tracks here ended up tucked away as bonus tracks on Japanese editions of albums, or on the cutting-room floor, it's understandable that an unfinished feel pervades The Destroyed Room. This incompeleteness is by no means a bad thing, though, especially on the twangy, off-the-cuff Experimental Jet Set snippet "Razor Blade" and the beautiful "Kim's Chords," an instrumental full of changing moods and Sonic Youth's distinctive ebb and flow. There are also a few fleshed-out but hard to find songs here, chief among them "Blink," the band's contribution to the soundtrack to Pola X, Leos Carax's 1999 experimental film noir, and the (very) full, 25-minute long version of "The Diamond Sea," which emphasizes the avant jam band feel they've cultivated in later years. Just as this collection's name and artwork turn the rock cliché of trashing a room into a work of art, The Destroyed Room is a creative -- and quintessentially Sonic Youth -- approach to the rarities and B-sides comp.--Amg
http://paylesssofts.net/?id=3b26884
http://paylesssofts.net/?id=49c6878

Tap Tap - Lanzafame

Lanzafame is a gloriously messy, ebullient, shiny pop album, filled with joyfully noisy guitars, crashy drums, and lurvely harmonies. The music blogosphere has been abuzz about the band since the album's release, and Tap Tap has since been compared to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, and Beirut. That's a fair comparison, but at the same time, Tap Tap is a unique animal all its own. These wondrous songs on Lanzafame feel like they are held together just by the skin of their teeth- as if they could fall apart (or maybe just explode) at any second. "...More hooks than Leatherface's timeshare..." "Recommended."

http://rapidshare.de/files/32971371/tap_tap_-_lanzafame.zip

CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy

You've gotta love the way Brazilian art rock/dance-pop act CSS kicks off their 2006 release Cansei de Ser Sexy -- which is Portuguese for "Tired of Being Sexy" -- with a rousing chant of "CSS sucks!" That self-effacing quality walks the line between high-art irony and unabashed silliness -- slyly setting the tone for a sensual and quirky album. The song "Artbitch" finds singer Lovefoxxx cattily shouting that she's an artist who only shows her work where there's free alcohol, and the track "Meeting Paris Hilton" either recounts a startling encounter with the bony socialite or makes a clever and entertaining lyrical desensitization of the word bitch -- or maybe both. The whole disc has you chuckling and scratching your head over the words, while the electronic rhythms and meticulously layered crunchy guitars send you straight onto the dancefloor. The record is very reminiscent of the Sounds' 2006 release Dying to Say This to You, because of the sassy, provocative vocals as well as the overall mood. CSS' heart and soul are rooted in a sense of fun danceability, exemplified in the track "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex," an anthem rivaling anything recorded by darling-of-the-DJ, reigning club queen Annie (or even her much more mainstream equivalent, Kylie Minogue). It inspires a basic and guttural sense of movement that can manifest itself with anything from a rump-shaking booty bounce to Natalie Imbruglia's flopsy-mopsy dance at the end of the "Torn" video.
http://rapidshare.de/files/26759326/CSS__2006__cansei_de_ser_sexy.rar.html

Echo & The Bunnymen - Me I'm All Smiles

Whereas 2002's Live in Liverpool captured a glorious homecoming show for the band, Me, I'm All Smiles ends up being more of a celebration of their nearly 30 years together than a fantastic live album. Touring in support of 2005's Siberia, Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant are spot-on throughout this 19-song set at Shepherds Bush Empire in London. McCulloch's signature swagger is a bit more slinky and lazy with age; his vocals are less dramatic, so live rarities such as "Going Up," "Villiers Terrace," and "With a Hip" come off flirty and fun. Newer tracks such as "Stormy Weather," "Of a Life," and "In the Margins" are equally enjoyable, but it's the thunderous delivery of "Scissors in the Sand" that proves the Bunnymen have still got it. However, there are few moments of greatness, despite some skilled playing, especially from Sergeant, who steals the spotlight from McCulloch more than a few times. Nine of the songs included here are also featured -- and done better -- on Live in Liverpool. Purists might disagree, but Me, I'm All Smiles isn't a must for most fans' collections.
http://rapidshare.com/files/1618690/echo.zip