Today's (other) Track - Bonnie 'Prince Billy : "Beware Your Only Friend"

Having heard so little of Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's music before listening to this song, I was unsure as to what I should expect. His albums have supposedly focused on the darkness in life, and he has an intense personality to match his music. Well, that's what the internet provided me with anyway. Within seconds of listening to this track, I was introduced to his long-lost twin brother, I'm guessing, and provided with with layers of acoustic guitar, fiddle, slide guitar, some da-da-dums and what sounded like a gospel choir. It was pretty cheery, too. Darkness? What darkness? The BPB I had just met seemed more like a friend whose tales and tunes served to entertain all around the campfire; he was hardly the chilling emotional hardcore I was expecting.
Anyway, the figurative comparisons I have been brought up by the music press to make aside, it's a great song. Listen and enjoy.

Today's Track - Bob Dylan: "Feel A Change Comin' On"

This track, the second songs revealed to the public from 'Together Through Life,' is a taste of the romanticism Dylan has promised will line the new album. At five and a half minutes, the song is repetitious in terms of chord progression, though its length allows time for a feature new to Bob Dylan records - the accordion - to shine in its full capacity. The electric guitar also plays a prominent role, with bluesey solos spread out through the piece, adding yet another flavour to a song with ingredients so vast.

Today's Track - Peter Bjorn and John: "Blue Period Picasso"

I wasn't as impressed with PB&J's Living Thing as I was hoping to be. There are a few ridiculously pointless tracks, and 'Nothing To Worry About', the first single, is catchy for about the first thirty seconds but gets hopelessly tiring; however, there are a few songs that provide the same sort of pop sensation that was present throughout Writer's Block - a truly terrific album that spawned not only the massive radio hit 'Young Folks', but also many other tracks of equal quality. 'Blue Period Picasso', like Animal Collective's 'My Girls', is all about vocals and harmonies, and though PBJ's attempt is less intricate, as wells as shorter, it provides the same effect with fantastic results. With a few synths, beeps, programmed drum beats, and bass, this song is fairly minimalistic affair, though eventuates to a larger capacity and the guys start going on about art thiefs, along with a few other Picasso and oh-so-arty references. 'I Want You!' was the first track off the recently released album to truly grab my attention, though 'Blue..' just beats it by two and a half millimeters. Nice.