new music sunday.

Today was New Music Sunday! I went a wee bit overboard and got a bunch of new tunes today:

Corinne Baily Rae: Neo-soul songstress; sounds like: Macy Gray, Jill Scott, Craig David, Erika Badu.

Lily Allen – Alright, Still: With her omnivorous musical tastes and cheeky attitude, London-based pop singer/songwriter Lily Allen made a name for herself almost as soon as she released her demos on the Internet.

Bloc Party – Weekend In the City: Equally inspired by Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Gang of Four, and the Cure, South London art-punkers Bloc Party mix angular sonics with pop structures.

Lenine – Lenine: This career spanning comp showcases a samba-rock fusion more rhythmically lush, with Hendrix-ian guitar and fat electrobears pushing the sound into a heavy funk territoy. It’s music for wine bars that don’t mind a few broken glasses.

Amos Lee – Supply and Demand: On an album all about what’s been bought and sold, both personally and collectively, it shows how in tune Lee is with this land of ours and how good he is at selling his soul in the best possible way. Similar artists: Ben Harper, Norah Jones, Tyrone Wells.

Gym Class Hereos – As Cruel As School Children: Melding elements of rap, rock, R&B, and funk into one cohesive and melodic sound, upstate New York’s Gym Class Heroes had diverse appeal based on their impressive musical dexterity. Often touring with indie rock and pop-punk bands, they didn’t fit comfortably into one specific genre; the quartet’s music was rooted in traditional hip-hop, but featured live instruments instead of looped samples or beats.

The Blow – Paper Television: The Blow set lyrics that sound like unverbalized thoughts to herself to minimal, often electronically textured basic pop melodies. A bold juxtaposition of sounds pays off more often than not… marrying Maricich’s charismatic vocals with beats and arrangements inspired by mainstream and urban pop

Excerpts taken from All Music Guide and Rolling Stone.