New Music Monday: 23 March

Blue October: Approaching Normal

Now that’s more like it! After a few weeks of moderate releases, with here and there sparks of pseudo-brilliance, we now finally come face to face with one of those killer record sprees. Here’s just a few names: The Decemberists, Dan Deacon, Fever Ray, Pete Doherty, Royksopp, Papa Roach, Pet Shop Boys and a lot, lot more.

Personal favorites from the week of 23-30 March, are the latest stuff from Mastodon and indie all star cast Swan Lake. I’ve been waiting for Mastodon’s “Crack The Skye” to come out since ’08 and let me tell you, it doesn’t disappoint one little bit! Fact is, it might actually be one of their best efforts yet.

When you’ve got a band formed by a super indie trio like Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes, Daniel Bejar of The New Pornographers, and Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, it’s really hard not to rock, and this collective side project’s sophomore release “Enemy Mine “doesn’t fail one bit. Download, buy, you name it – it’s a crime to miss it. Actually, it would be a good idea to check out most of this week’s new stuff, considering the names and skill featured on it.

Mastodon: Crack The Skye