Dr. Dog - Fate

Yes yes, it's been a long time since we've posted. I apologize for that. It's been more like "Best Album of the Summer" than "Day." If you forgive me for that, I will forgive you for not telling everyone you know about this site. Alright, we have now reconciled. Let's get back to the music...

Dr. Dog. Unique band name. Incredibly cool and diverse sound. Influences ranging from The Band, to the Beatles, to Brian Wilson.

I love these guys! I had listened to their We All Belong album last year but didn't really become a big fan. That is changing with their new album, Fate. It is a sonic masterpiece!

So far I can't decide if my favorite track is "The Rabbit, The Bat, & The Reindeer" (has a supremely CLASSIC sound) or "100 Years" (very Wilco-sounding). While these two songs duke it out for my absolute love and affection, take a listen to this album straight through. Like I said, it's got enough diversity to it to make it a truly enjoyable musical experience.

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Jon Foreman - Summer

Summer is here! We posted Foreman's Spring EP a few months back with great expectations for Summer, the fourth and final installment of Jon Foreman's quad-EP year. In my opinion, this album does not disappoint.

Musically, Summer picks up where the other EPs left off with a nice assortment of instrumentation and arrangements somewhat different that what we are used to hearing with Foreman's everyday band, Switchfoot. The string arrangements are present, as are some less than typical instruments like dulcimer and sitar.

Lyrically, this has become my favorite of the EPs. "House of God, Forever" is probably the strongest track on the album. This duet with Sarah Masen (Foreman's sis in law) is absolutely beautiful.

The track "Again" is a perfect ending to the series both musically and in verse. It's refreshing to listen to a commercially successful artist like Foreman churn out such intimate, spiritually-charged songs. That can be a risk, and it's a risk I'm glad he has taken. I hope he takes the time to do some more albums of this nature in the future.

And once again, Jon, I'm sorry that I thought your band sucked so bad back in 1997. May you accept the multiple endorsements of your current music as my apology. And I accept the greatness of your current music as your apology for sucking so bad back then.


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Danny & The Champions Of The World

I started Best Album of the Day almost two years ago and I think someone has been reading my posts, learning my likes and dislikes, and doing everything they can to get their album listed on this site. His name is Danny George Wilson. His original alt-country band is called Grand Drive and he's also done some solo work.

Danny & The Champions Of The World is the self-titled album by DGW and a bunch of other musicians from various English groups including Brakes, Goldrush (fantastic band!), Electric Soft Parade, and more. It's basically everything I could ask for in a single collection of songs: Great melodies, beautiful orchestration, desperate vocals, natural sounding acoustics, sonic experimentation that doesn't distract from the whole of the song, and a general "big" sound without sounding overwhelming.

There are hints of Golden Smog (many hints actually), Faces/Ronnie Lane, Big Star, Wilco, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Beatles (note the sitar work), and even some John Denver. Trust me, it's cool and you'll love it. You know a band is great when the first influence they list on their MySpace page is The Muppets, the greatest band of all time.

I'm marking this album for consideration as one of the albums of the year which we'll publish next January. It's that good. Listen to "Red Tree Song" and you'll know why I love this one.

And for some useless trivia, DGW's other band, Grand Drive, was once being considered for a record deal by Death Row Records' Suge Knight. Yes, they are a rock/alt-country band and are not hip-hop whatsoever. Amazing.

Even more amazing is that at the moment Death Row's Tupac Shakur was killed, he was listening to Grand Drive's "Tell It Like It Is" in his limo. The band was even invited to play at his funeral which they declined due to prior engagements.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle (~GI JOE).

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Iron & Wine - Woman King

Iron & Wine is basically one guy: Sam Beam. Mostly recognized by his big beard, Beam consistently delivers smooth, melodic vocals and tasty acoustic guitar work with all his music. He uses some guest musicians and vocalists on occasion, but mostly it’s just one guy with a few (primarily acoustic) instruments and multi-track recorder. I love the sonic layering intricacy of what he creates.

Beam has a few full albums under his belt (as Iron & Wine), but my favorite is a six song EP called Woman King. Musically, he creates what seems like rhythmic loops that continue to build and transform as the song progresses. Lyrically, there’s plenty of meaning and depth, although sometimes controversial or mysterious in content. More specifically about this album, Woman King seems to be written about historical women from what I can tell. Honestly, I’m still scratching my head about the meaning or inspiration of some of these tunes, but Jezebel seems to recall some of the events written about in 1 & 2 Kings about Jezebel, who marries King Ahab. It seems like a slightly twisted version of the story, but nevertheless, it’s a powerful song that fits right in to this collection as a whole.

If you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend it. This EP is like a full album with the “filler” songs removed. It’s one worth listening to on repeat mode.

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Jeremy Messersmith - The Alcatraz Kid

I love finding good music I haven't heard before. Last year, I stumbled across a local fellow's myspace page named Jeremy Messersmith. Very seldom do the first few chords and the initial vocal line draw me in the way his did that day. I believe the first song I heard was "Novocain". I listened to that particular track a few times before I moved on to other songs in his collection.

His debut album, The Alcatraz Kid, is solid from beginning to end. He has a somewhat melancholy style of writing, but not in an overly depressing sort of way. Messersmith writes about love (and lack there of), life frustrations, and childhood memories. You get little glimpses of his upbringing through lyrics of a few songs. Apparently his parents really wanted him to be a scientist. From what I gathered from an interview I heard, he was home schooled in Washington State, and moved to Minneapolis in 1999 to study music at North Central University. He used to hand out free copies of his music after live shows wrapped in a brown paper sandwich bag. Eventually, he released The Alcatraz Kid in 2006. He is currently working on a follow up album with local producer Dan Wilson.

Personally, I love this sort of stuff. Infectious melodies, descriptive heart felt lyrics, written mostly in minor keys. I'm excited to hear what the next album has in store. I'm curious to see if the lyrics will be a little more uplifting with the recent success of his first album. Time will tell.

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Jon Foreman - Spring

So can a six-song EP really qualify as a best ALBUM of the day? Well, not really. However, if you put out four of these EPs in a year's time - as Jon Foreman is doing - we'll make an exception. In fact, I think getting 24 songs in six-song installments makes it easier to get to know the songs better. So I salute you, Jon Foreman, Mr. Puts Out a Ton of Songs on Four Albums in a Year Guy. (sung like the beer commercials)

Spring is the third of the four EPs, all of which have been much mellower than anything by Foreman's band, Switchfoot. It is heavily layered with strings, horns, and eclectic percussion, and every song is acoustic-based. So far my favorite song is "Your Love is Strong." I should add that even though I am listing Spring as today's best album, all of the EPs so far have been worthy of that honor.

I don't know if I can come up with any good comparisons for this stuff, but I hear a little bit of Sufjan Stevens, Bright Eyes, Damien Rice, Wilco, and a whole bunch of other stuff I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe a little bit of Beatles' Yellow Submarine???

It's interesting that I'm such a big Foreman/Switchfoot fan. When I was a junior in college, Switchfoot were the opening band for a concert on campus. This is when they were all really young. I thought they were absolutely horrible. I couldn't believe they had even achieved opening-act status. Needless to say, they have improved greatly and I've really enjoyed their last few albums, and I absolutely love Foreman's solo stuff.

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Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces

I like Matt Costa. He writes the kinds of songs I find myself whistling long after I've heard them. This is his new album that just came out today and I've listened to it five times already.

He is pals with Jack Johnson. Jack Johnson only picks cool friends. That's probably why Jack Johnson and I aren't friends.

Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine

I've heard this group on Pandora a lot in the last few months, but was never able to hear the whole album since it wasn't on my music subscription service (Yahoo) yet. Sorry to post yet another "British" sounding album on here (these guys are actually Australian if that helps) but I post what's good, and this is a good album.

They actually pop up on Pandora if you are listening to the Embrace station, so naturally they fit into the same stylistic category. The lead singer's voice sounds a lot like the guy from Reamonn too, and they do a lot of similar harmonies. Good album. I'd be interested in seeing these guys in concert since it looks like they are a trio, and the album sounds a lot bigger than that.

Athlete - Beyond the Neighbourhood

Athlete are probably one of my top-10 favorite bands out there. They aren't anything super exciting that'll blow you away, but it seems like every time I put one of their albums on it just hits the spot.

Beyond the Neighbourhood just came out today and I've probably listened to it 10 times already. Great album with excellent instrumentation and melody. Another artist that I really like is The Album Leaf (check them out!) - I think Athlete does too as evidenced by the opening instrumental track on this release. It's something straight out of TAL's book.

Rest of the album is just great brit/indie rock. I have been really impressed with some of the more melodic guitar-driven tracks on this album. And my favorite track thus far is probably Airport Disco. Good stuff!

Scott Matthews - Passing Stranger

Cool album. The title track is fantastic. It's so good that I'm supposed to be working right now and instead here I am blogging about some unknown album. I guess you'd better check it out.

Etienne De Rocher - Etienne De Rocher

I just listened to this album for the first time today. The phrase that came to mind as I listened to the first few songs was "locked in." De Rocher has the knack of letting songs build from almost nothing into a locked in groove, never letting go of the laid-back easy feeling that seems to be the core of most of the tracks on this album.

As for the sound itself, I'd say it's part Beck, part Elliot Smith, part Sam Roberts, and mostly something I can't quite put my finger on.

The opening track, "Meditation #C.O.B". will get your attention. That song sets the tone for the rest of the album through it's dynamic build. The drums on this track are perfect. Perfect tone, perfect groove. Though this album has an acoustic base, it does not fail to rock! Most of the songs rely on a solid guitar line for a starting point, and some are incredibly "down home" and bluesy.

The next track, "Juniper Rose", basically employs the same strategy as it's predecessor, though it's a much slower build. Overall, De Rocher's voice, guitar, and background blend very naturally and nothing ever sounds out of place on this album.

Other highlights include:

• "Big Black Wall" - cool little flute part
• "Bama Bino Goodbye" - super-original guitar line
• "The Lizard Song" - just because the lyrics crack me up

Etienne De Rocher has put an excellent album together here, and covers many stylistic bases. I imagine his songwriting skills and musicianship will take him far.