Brandon's Buzz

Work got absolutely nutty at the beginning of March, so the record store reports temporarily had to fall by the wayside. And now it’s freakin’ May, and A has begun to axe me if we’re ever gonna get another one. But better late than never, yes? Herewith, a quick recap of the brilliance which has populated the new release wall over the past couple of months:

• Her comeback single “A Little Bit Stronger” is a slow-burning smash this spring at country radio, and now country sweetheart Sara Evans returns with her latest full-length effort Stronger, which also contains a cover of Rod Stewart’s 1989 gem “My Heart Can’t Tell You No.”

 

• The amazing Augustana are back with a strong new self-titled
  release, the tantalizingly fine lead single from which popped up in
  Honey from the Hive earlier this week.

 

• In honor of the series’ upcoming tenth anniversary,
  American Idol: The Hits, Vol. 1 pulls together modern classics from past winners (and runners-up) Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, and Fantasia.

 

• While on the subject of former Idol participants: Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson steps up with her stunning sophomore effort as a recording artist, I Remember Me. And that garish goofball
  Adam Lambert pops in with a live CD/DVD set, Glam Nation Live.

 

• The ever-angelic Emmylou Harris still drives quite the Hard Bargain, boys.

 

• It took sixteen years and seven albums to accomplish the feat, but
  Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters have finally hit #1 on the Billboard 200
  with their latest effort, Wasting Light.

 

• Those pesky fops from Glee are still chugging along in cruise control, with a pair of new albums — Glee: The Music, Volume 5 (featuring the cast’s takes on such varied material as Katy Perry’s “Firework,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now”), and
  Glee: The Music presents The Warblers (a collection of tunes featuring the sparkling Darren Criss, easily the best thing about this maddeningly uneven series) — as well as a new DVD, Glee: Encore,
  a handy collection of every music performance from the series’ Emmy-winning debut season.

 

• Superstar pals John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Tony Bennett,
  Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney stopped by to help the legendary Billy Joel bid farewell to one of the country’s most iconic ballparks, and a chronicle of the event — the three-disc set Live at Shea Stadium — has just arrived in stores.

 

• Punk-lite’s reigning crown princess Avril Lavigne is back with her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby.

 

• They nearly touched off a riot recently when they played a free show here in Austin; looks like rock fans across the lands are rejoicing that The Strokes are back from an extended hiatus with Angles,
  their first album in five years.

 

• He started out as a pop singer, but pop radio is no longer interested in developing real, refreshingly adult voices, so Josh Kelley has now joined his fellow compatriots Darius Rucker and Jewel over on the country side of things with the release of his latest album, Georgia Clay.

 

• His recent smash collaboration with Sir Elton John deservedly has his wonderful work back in the spotlight; now, the highlights of his four-decade discography have been streamlined onto one terrific disc documenting The Best of Leon Russell.

 

• Lotsa activity on the Brit-rock front, as those rascals of Radiohead slip back into view with their latest album, the short and sweet King of Limbs. Not to be outdone, pop icons Duran Duran have issued a physical edition of All You Need is Now, which has been available in digital form since last fall. Meanwhile, enterprising alums from a pair of immensely influential British bands are up with new projects: former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft is back with his latest effort — his fourth album as a solo artist — United Nations of Sound, while Liam Gallagher has regrouped with a couple of other Oasis refugees to form Beady Eye, and their debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding is just out. (Also garnering massive buzz from across the pond: newcomer James Blake, whose disarmingly mellow self-titled debut is a hypnotic blend of electronica, rock, and pure blissful pop. And last but not least: you gotta get this one as an import from jolly old England — at least for the moment — but it’s worth the toil and trouble to hear George Michael‘s brilliant reinvention of New Order’s house classic True Faith, which becomes, in King George’s hands, an achingly slow, simmering torch tune. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one.)

 

• New entries from the Icon series of hits collections include discs from country stars Josh Turner and Billy Currington, as well as rock legends Cat Stevens and Joe Cocker.

 

• Scala & Kolacny Brothers, the Belgian chorale outfit who first
  grabbed American ears last fall with their brilliant reworking of Radiohead’s “Creep,” which was featured in the trailer for
  The Social Network, make their official stateside debut with a full-length, self-titled album, on which they tackle classics from the likes of Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, and Kings of Leon.

 

• I’m running out of creative ways to call out that atrocious trollop Ke$ha on her rampant ridiculousness, which has only gotten worse with the release of I Am the Dance Commander + I Command You to Dance,
  a collection of remixes for all of her inexplicable hits.

 

• There’s no doubt that Sherry Ann is pleased as punch that a handful of her favorite artists are all back with new albums: singer/songwriter
  Alexi Murdoch returns with his second album, Towards the Sun; up-and-coming troubadour William Fitzsimmons arrives with his latest, Gold in the Shadow; and rising rock band Yellowcard return with their fourth album, When You’re Through Thinking Say Yes.

 

• The legendary Paul Simon is back with a spectacularly elegant effort — his eleventh as a solo artist, and first since 2006’s Surprise — entitled So Beautiful or So What. (Also on the Simon front: a 40th anniversary deluxe re-release of Bridge Over Troubled Water, a classic collaboration with his former partner-in-crime Art Garfunkel.)

 

• Hot stuff from the TV-on-DVD battle lines, with the fifth and (sniff) final season of NBC’s landmark, emotionally shattering small-town drama series Friday Night Lights, as well as both seasons of the CW’s charming, little-seen underdog Life Unexpected, and —
  just ahead of TNT’s highly-anticipated reboot, set to debut this fall — Dallas: The Movie Collection, which contains all three telefilms — a “prequel” and two reunion specials — based on the classic CBS primetime soap.

 

• Fans of the aforementioned Friday Night Lights will be thrilled to see that Explosions in the Sky — the beyond brilliant Austin-based instrumental band that provided most of the series’ riveting, sumptuous soundtrack — are back with a new album of original material,
  Take Care, Take Care, Take Care.

 

• Thirty-six artists — including John Legend, Justin Timberlake, U2, and the white-hot Adele — have come together to create Songs for Japan, a special two-disc tribute album whose proceeds are being donated to the titular country to help with the recovery effort from the massive earthquakes that crippled the nation in mid-March.

 

• Following up their 2009 update of their iconic breakthrough album Ten, Pearl Jam has just re-released their second and third albums, Vs. and Vitalogy, in a new three-disc package replete with bonus tracks and a pristine recording of a 1994 concert at the Orpheum in Boston.

 

• Also on the deluxe edition front: one of the most arresting debuts of the past decade — Pete Yorn‘s magnificent musicforthemorningafter — commemorates the tenth anniversary of its original release with an invaluable two-disc set which contains a coveted recording of Yorn’s 2001 appearance on Morning Becomes Eclectic — where he introduced the album with a handful of brilliant acoustic performances — plus a selection of rare b-sides and demos.

 

• Still not done with deluxe edition madness: two of the year’s most celebrated breakthroughs — Mumford and Sons‘ smash debut
  Sigh No More and Florence + the Machine‘s Lungs — are each fleshed out with bonus live tracks and rarities (and, in the case of Sigh, a special four-part documentary chronicling Mumford’s introductory world tour.)

 

• A pair of alt-country pioneers have returned with new projects:
  Steve Earle with his latest album, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive, and the kooky k.d. lang, with Sing It Loud.

 

• Following a triumphant, mega-selling detour with Robert Plant,
  Alison Krauss has reunited with Union Station for a new album,
  Paper Airplane. (Pick this up at your local Target store if you haven’t already, as their exclusive expanded edition of Airplane contains six bonus tracks.)

 

• Local hero Bob Schneider is back with a fun new record, Perfect Day.

 

• It’s Britney, bitches: La Spears returns with a new chart-topping smash, Femme Fatale.

 

• The most successful duo in country music history —
  Wynonna & Naomi Judd, y’all! — celebrate their incredible career as a team with a new hits set, I Will Stand By You: The Essential Collection, which also contains a pair of new tunes.

 

• A couple of new original motion picture soundtracks which require your attention: Arthur, which features three new tracks from the dazzling Daniel Merriweather, in addition to Fitz and the Tantrums’ frothy remake of Christopher Cross’ ’80s classic “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)”; and Soul Surfer, which disc contains an exclusive new track from the marvelous Mat Kearney (but, curiously, nothing from Carrie Underwood, who actually stars in the film).

 

• Speaking of Merriweather, he turns up on the iTunes-exclusive collection Live from the Artists Den: Season 3, whose latest batch of episodes just debuted on public television and feature the delicious likes of Ray LaMontagne, Grace Potter, and Joshua Radin.

 

• And now we find out if The Airborne Toxic Event can avoid the dreaded sophomore curse with the release of their second album,
  All At Once.

 

• Electro-pop rebels Dirty Vegas hit the jackpot with their latest record, Electric Love.

 

• Still abfab at age 61, former Wonder Woman Lynda Carter returns to the music world with a new album, Crazy Little Things, a collection of classic covers like “Up On the Roof” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

 

• That insufferably bratty twit Natalie Maines has dipped her toe back into the recording bidness with a middling cover of The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” which was featured on the series finale of HBO’s
  Big Love.

 

• A pair of quirky singer/songwriters coming on strong: Matt Wertz returns with the lovely Weights and Wings; and Brett Dennen offers up his latest, Loverboy.

 

• Those beloved punk hunks of Green Day document their most recent tour with the new CD/DVD set Awesome As F**k.

 

• That whole emo revolution fizzled fast, but Panic at the Disco are still plugging away with their latest effort, Vices and Virtues.

 

• And last (!) — but absolutely not least — thirty-one years and fifteen albums into one of the most extraordinary careers rock music has ever witnessed, Michael Stipe and the boys from R.E.M. roar back with their best album in at least a decade, the compelling Collapse Into Now, which closes with yet another intoxicating cameo from the peerless
  Patti Smith, with whom Stipe has crafted magnificent magic before.

names dropped with reckless abandon: "American Idol", "Dallas", "Friday Night Lights", "Glee", "Life Unexpected", A, Adam Lambert, Adele, Alexi Murdoch, Alison Krauss, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Art Garfunkel, Avril Lavigne, Beady Eye, Billy Currington, Billy Joel, Bob Schneider, Brett Dennen, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Cat Stevens, Christopher Cross, Daniel Merriweather, Darius Rucker, Darren Criss, Daughtry, Dave Grohl, Dirty Vegas, Duran Duran, Elton John, Emmylou Harris, Explosions in the Sky, Fantasia, Fitz and the Tantrums, Florence + the Machine, Foo Fighters, Garth Brooks, George Michael, Grace Potter, Green Day, James Blake, Jennifer Hudson, Jewel, Joe Cocker, John Legend, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Josh Kelley, Josh Turner, Joshua Radin, Justin Timberlake, k.d. lang, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Kelly Clarkson, Kings of Leon, Lady Antebellum, Leon Russell, Liam Gallagher, Lynda Carter, Mat Kearney, Matt Wertz, Michael Jackson, Mumford and Sons, Naomi Judd, Natalie Maines, Nirvana, Oasis, Panic at the Disco, Patti Smith, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Pearl Jam, Pete Yorn, Peter Gabriel, R.E.M., Radiohead, Ray LaMontagne, Richard Ashcroft, Robert Plant, Rod Stewart, Sara Evans, Sherry Ann, Simon and Garfunkel, Steve Earle, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Beach Boys, The Judds, The Strokes, The Verve, Tony Bennett, U2, William Fitzsimmons, Wynonna Judd, Yellowcard