Dig These Discs :: The Decemberists, Eperanza Spalding, Magnetic Fields, Jay Brannan, Addison Groove

It may be spring, but the Decemberists are rocking the airwaves with their new 20-track live double album. Esperenza Spalding keeps modern jazz alive with her new release, and Magnetic Fields show that after decades of songs, there is yet more to be heard. Boy rocker Jay Brannan takes it slow and acoustic, while Addison Groove moves from dubstep to deep bass in his new release.

"We All Raise Our Voices to the Air" (The Decemberists)

The Decemberists stoke spring fever with the release of their new, 20-track, live double album from their recent tour, featuring songs spanning their first decade as a band. It follows their acclaimed 2011 release, "The King is Dead," which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. Lead singer and guitarist Colin Meloy, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, guitarist Chris Funk, bassist Nate Query, and drummer John Moen rock the stage in this collection of songs culled from performances at a dozen live venues. Influenced by Siouxsie and the Banshees and Morrissey, their sound is country, blues, folk, rock, and even emo. The songs range from instrumentally lush ballads to upbeat pop, and feature the accordian, Hammond and Wurlitzer organs, and upright bass. This Portland, Oregon-based band opens with the "The Infanta," a fast-paced rock epic. The band's folk-rock sound comes alive on tracks like "Rise to Me," which smacks of later Grateful Dead tunes, ambling along in no particular hurry. Ditto for "All Arise!" a song about a ship at sea. They perform "Down By The Water," a song they have showcased on a number of late-night talk shows. Meloy sings, "So knock me down, tear me up/ But I would bear it all broken just to fill my cup/ Down by the water and down by the old main drag". "The Soldering Life" is a stalwart ditty about life in the face of war, and "The Rake's Song" is a fast-moving rock tale with the backbeat of a Thin Lizzy tune. "Calamity Song" is simply introduced as a song about the end of the world, and falling "into the arms of the angels." And "We Both Go Down Together" is a somber song about a forbidden love, with the lyrics, "Meet me on my vast veranda, my sweet untouched Miranda." The album includes the expansive "The Crane Wife 1, 2 and 3," which goes on for 16 minutes, and Meloy showcases "the worst song he ever wrote," "Dracula's Daughter." "Rox in the Box" is a solid folk-rock number about blue-collar workers, shovels in hand. And "Billy Liar" is a humorous tune with a precious percussive break, with the audience singing it to a close. As is the band's tradition, the crowds also join in on the epic sea shanty, "The Mariner's Revenge Song." The Decemberists are known to stage reenactments of sea battles and other events on stage; in this song, the audience is encouraged to scream out as though they were being consumed by a whale, while onstage, the band pretends to die. The energy of the crowd really elevates the live recordings in a way not present in studio albums, and to good effect. This two-disc live album is a nice primer for newcomers, and a must-have for fans. (EMI Music)

"Radio Music Society" (Esperanza Spalding)

Newcomer Esperanza Spalding made waves last year when she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, upsetting Justin Bieber's apple cart and making her the first jazz artist to win the award. This Portland, Oregon native got her start as a child playing with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon, and left at age 15 to play blues clubs. By then, she had switched to the bass and was attending Berklee College of Music. By 20, she was teaching there. Spalding follows her 2010 hit "Chamber Music Society" with this new "companion" album, a collection of 12 tracks with accompanying conceptual music videos. The disc's opening track, "Radio Song" is a catchy little ditty with the lyrics, "You can't help singing along, even though you never heard it... this song will keep you grooving...this song's the one." Spalding's voice vacillates between rapid-fire lyricisms and breathy, dreamy crooning. It is well-suited to her oeuvre, which she hopes will soon enter the world of mainstream radio play. Perhaps best situated for that is her horn-heavy track, "Crowned & Kissed," in which she sings, "My kisses are your crown and I'm your queen so now let you be my king/ I'm here to love you." Her track "Black Gold" is also garnering critical attention for its catchy hook. "Vague Suspicions" is a torch song, full of yearning, and "Hold On Me" is all that, plus some nightclub noir thrown in for good measure. "Smile Like That" and "I Can't Help It" are slow, lyrical tunes with a soft scat jazz feel to them. "Endangered Species" has the feel of a later Steely Dan hit, a la "Green Earrings." "Let Her" -- peppered with the sounds of tinkling keys and answering machine messages -- is a break-up song, with the lyrics, "Now is this another of her cruel jokes, or she made good those threats to finally leave you?" Spalding even takes on patriotism with "Land of the Free," a short tune about miscarried justice, set to the familiar organ strings heard at Big League games. This talented young artist is very serious about her craft, and the sound and structure of her song reminds one of Joni Mitchell, still a few years away from the keen storytelling ability of this legend. Before long, Spalding should have cemented her reputation as one for the history books. (Concord Music Group)

"Love at the Bottom Of the Sea" (The Magnetic Fields)

The Magnetic Fields wield wit like a finely honed sword. In content, their songs are akin to early They Might Be Giants comic nonsense, but with a higher caliber of instrumental accompaniment. Lead singer Stephin Merritt thrills with his love songs chock full of odd or neutral gender roles, and his tongue-in-cheek jibes. "God Wants us to Wait" is a hilariously mock-somber song, with the lyrics, "I love you baby, but God wants us to wait." "Quick" also has a wry tone, with Merritt singing, "You better think of something quick because my suitcase is packed." "My Husband's Pied-a-Terre" is a wife's hilarious lament about a place where more girls stay than the YWCA, where "everyone gets the keys but me." The chant intro gives way to electronica. "Infatuation (With Your Gyration)" is another electronica tune, heavy on the keyboards and synthesizer, with a definite '90s Dead or Alive feel. "I've Run Away to Join the Fairies" is delivered in a deep sotto voce, and reeks of love and loss and absurdity. "I'd Go Anywhere With Hugh" is a parody of a '60s surf rock ditty, sweet and light, but with a comic foil. "I Don't Like Your Tone" is a dour dirge, and "The Horrible Party" is like a sailor's ditty with a key-party feel, with the lyrics, "Don't make me stay at this horrible party...people are shedding their inhibitions and their clothes...everyone seems to be shoving something up his nose." "Going Back to the Country" is a song about leaving the too-small big city for Laramie, Wyoming, because a man "don't need more than one tree house/ but there's none at all." "Your Girlfriend's Face" is a tune about a man who's taken out a contract on his rival's life for stealing his girl -- no surprise, it's curtains for her too, as the Fields sing, "I've taken out a contract out on ya'll for making me feel infinitely small/ in the evenings I devise your death, being buried alive on crystal meth." "The Machine in Your Hand" is an odd emo song in which Merritt sings, "You're not really a person, more like a gadget....". "Born for Love" sounds like Johnny Cash on Valium, deep and slow and very old-fashioned. And in a deep baritone, Merritt sings, "the only girl I've ever loved is 'Andrew in Drag.'" Magnetic Fields has dished up their synthpop thrillers since 1991, and with this new release, prove that they are nowhere near the end of this ride. (Merge Records)

"Rob Me Blind" (Jay Brannan)

Soft-spoken crooner Jay Brannan drops his sophomore album, "Rob Me Blind," a follow-up to his critically lauded 2008 debut, "goddamned." Brannan first gained attention performing his hit "Soda Shop" in John Cameron Mitchell's film, "Shortbus." He will find the limelight again with his new release, expertly produced by Grammy Award-winning David Kahne, who keeps Brannan's signature honesty and sparkling melodies, while adding instrumental texture. The title track is a soft acoustic strummer with lyrics like, "it's like looking for hay in a stack of hypodermics... everywhere there's statues with their arms open wide, surrounded by fences that you can't get inside." "Beautifully" is a sad song about unreciprocated love, in which the man tells the woman, "it's not that you're not beautiful, it's just that you're not beautiful to me/ she said 'How beautiful do I have to be?.'" The story here is of a friend falling for another close friend, who doesn't feel the same way. Brannan tells a story with his songs -- one that doesn't always have a happy ending. He tackles a bilingual chorus well in "The Spanglish Song," in which he implores a woman to be his ESL lover. "Rob Me Blind" is a whisper-soft tune tinged with loss. "Greatest Hits" sounds like a John Denver song with a definite edge, with Brannan singing, "I don't sing for the rainbow, because I taste the rain. They spit you up and they scoff, I laughed you down and fuck off, and get roughed up against the grain." And in "La La La" Brannan channels Liz Phair's "Fuck and Run," singing, "Fourscore and a few days ago, I asked if you would open me slow, I guess in a way you did your part/ but bitch, I meant my heart." His tune "Denmark" is so jumpy and angst-filled it sounds like an Ani DiFranco tune. The pain resurfaces in "Myth of Happiness," when Brannan sings, "Why won't you liberate me, I'm a captive refugee from this myth of happiness." He sings, "Welcome to the 'State of Music', population spoon-fed", referencing breathtaking finger work and "the Irish goddess whose voice rivaled the Pope." In "A Love Story" he channels the slow feel-good sentimentality of David Wilcox. Brannan's acoustic stylings feel very close to the bone, and the lows and highs of his vocals are touching. He may not be the best singer/songwriter you've ever heard, but he is among the most authentic. His music has no gimmicks or fancy footwork; he is simply a man with a guitar, pouring his feelings out to a soundboard. And for that, Jay Brannan earns respect. (Nettwerk Music Group)

"Transistor Rhythm" (Addison Groove)

By 2003, Anthony Williams, aka Addison Groove, had already achieved legendary status within the dubstep scene. With his 2012 release of "Footcrab," he shook the scene with one of the biggest bass music tracks of the decade. Inspired by Chicago ghetto tek and juke, Addison Groove went on to impact the UK bass music scene like wildfire. His hectic touring style allowed him just enough time to drop his newest album, "Transistor Rhythm." And if you like deep bass tracks, this is the thing for you. "Savage Henry" ribs deep in less than three minutes, and "Rudeboy" is an experiment into laying beats that evolves into a reggaeton-influenced jam. Addison Groove teams up with Spank Rock for "Bad Things" and "Beep." The former samples the vocal tracks, "Ooh that pussy gets" and "Let's get into some real bad things," over and over. "Beep" sticks to the basics, with the sample that sounds like "Fuck you" laid over synth video-game sounds. "Night to Remember" tops a solid percussive drum intro with African-style vocal samples and Bollywood hooks. "Sooperlooper" is a trip down memory lane to the early days of dance club techno, a la L.A. Style's "James Brown is Dead." "Skylight" also relies on beats, tempered by vague female vocals. "Starluck" goes back to the deep bass, and "Incredibly Exhausted Bunny Ears" mixes it up like Spyro Gyra on Ecstasy. "Dance of the Women" features Mark Pritchard and a classic dubstep beat, with a chorus of female vocal samples and a catchy whistle sample, like being on the crowded dance floor in the halcyon days of the Limelight. Addison Groove's reputation leaves him with nothing to prove, but "Transistor Rhythm" goes right ahead and proves it anyway. (50WEAPONS)