In very few words, here is what your Monkey thinks are the top candidates for album of the year thus far…
- Mumford & Sons — “Sigh No More” (a sweeping, swelling and moving reinterpretation of English folk)
- Sleigh Bells — “Treats” (overmodulated electro noise that is super sweet, like a sugar-coated punch in the face)
- Midlake — “The Courage of Others” (melodic, melancholy, and medieval)
- Phosphorescent — “Here’s To talking It Easy” (golden, sunkissed acoustic rock with surprising variety and depth)
And the top single of the year thus far…
Bloodbuzz Ohio by the National (A melodic lament framed my shimmering waterfalls of snare drum percussion. Really?!)
And the best audiobook heard thus far (admittedly this list is not based on extensive listening)
War by Sebastian Junger — a gritty look at war that neither glamorizes it nor downplays its more exciting moments. Junger does an amazing job of describing the chaos of war, the randomness of death, and the frustrating tedium of waiting for the next battle to start.
Check this stuff out already.