July, 2012 CD of the Month

There are some artists that just don’t act their age. And in the case of XPN Aritst To Watch Michael Kiwanuka, that's a good thing! The fact that this singer-songwriter is in his early 20’s will be the last thing to come to mind (if at all) when you make your way through his debut album Home Again. Kiwanuka is the latest in a wave of British soul and R&B singers to captivate audiences. And while connections to his peers like Adele exist, he paves his own path to our ears with the songs of Home Again.

There are some artists that just don’t act their age. And in the case of XPN Aritst To Watch Michael Kiwanuka, that's a good thing! The fact that this singer-songwriter is in his early 20’s will be the last thing to come to mind (if at all) when you make your way through his debut album Home Again. Kiwanuka is the latest in a wave of British soul and R&B singers to captivate audiences. And while connections to his peers like Adele exist, he paves his own path to our ears with the songs of Home Again.

A decade into their career and with their fourth studio album now complete, it’s a good time to take a moment to reflect upon the impact of TV on the Radio. While some bands follow a road map to success, others make their own. The always experimental Brooklyn outfit, TV on the Radio, prove that the latter is not only more impressive but also a more enjoyable trip. Their latest collection Nine Types of Light is an uncanny blend of styles that will surely move your feet, right after you pick your jaw up from the floor.

It's sometimes difficult to critique a band as accomplished and as influential as U2. And it must be equally as challenging to be a band of that stature and continue to create music as stimulating as your earliest works. On their 12th studio album, No Line On The Horizon, U2 has yet again crafted an album that is expansive, and at the same time attentive to that familiar U2 spirit.

We've all been witness to an incredible musical transformation from Beck over these past fourteen years and eight or so albums. The once painfully ironic pop art provocateur and dead-end beatnik of the "Loser" days is now a fully developed, pretty un-ironic grown up who sings about similar subjects, but with a much different point of view. Modern Guilt - produced by Dangermouse - will probably make you recall several of Beck's "periods".

Leslie Feist's third album, The Reminder, is another strong outing from this prolific songstress. She may be best known for her work with Broken Social Scene or Kings Of Convenience, but not for long. This new album reinforces what we already knew... Feist is a very, very good songwriter with a memorable voice.

Beck has done so much in his career, it really isn't fair to compare every new album he releases to Odelay or Mellow Gold, so let's just say that his latest - The Information - sounds like "classic" Beck. There's not a bad song on this record, and there's lots of good ones.