Recommendations

Busy Joel = fewer blog posts. But here's a few albums I've been enjoying lately:

Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Ritter is one of the best Americana songwriters out there today, and it really feels like he's found his voice and style on the last two albums. If you liked Animal Years, you'll like this one, though there's more layers here, less raw acoustic. I don't know if there's a track as incendiary as "Thin Blue Flame," but a couple are close. The extras track you get on iTunes and Amazon are worth it, as well.
mp3: Josh Ritter - To the Dogs or Whoever

Okkervil River - The Stage Names
I have a feeling this will end up in my best of 2007 list. These guys went from folk to rock with great success, and singer Will Sheff sings with the intensity of Arcade Fire's Win Butler. Sometimes indie rockers feel like having raw emotion shine through isn't hip. Not an issue for Okkervil River.
mp3: Okkervil River - Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe

Dappled Cities - Granddance
I bought this album solely because the band is labelmates with Sea Wolf, and it's one of those that reveals its pop hooks more and more with each listen. And I love the fact that frontman Tim Derricourt sounds really Australian.
mp3: Dappled Cities - Fire Fire Fire




The Mendoza Line - Thirty Year Low + The Final Remarks of the Legendary Malcontent

Plenty of artists sing about failed relationships, but this album documents what appears to be a quite bitter divorce. That would be interesting in and of itself, but it's performed by the former husband/wife team who did the divorcing, Timothy Bracy and Shannon McCardle (her tracks shine brighter). It's sad, tragic and uncomfortable at times--exactly what a breakup album should be.
mp3: The Mendoza Line - Since I Came
mp3: The Mendoza Line - Thirty Year Low

On the fence:
Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
It's certainly diverse, and it sounds like it was recorded in a conch shell, as Devendra is want to do. There's some Doors (see "Seahorse" below), some reggae and lots of Spanish I don't understand. We'll see.
Devendra Bahnart - Seahorse