Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian, 2007)

I was at school in 1995, when I noticed that someone had scrawled "I hate myself and want to die" across the desk I happened to be seated at. In the spirit of sharing, I don't mind telling you that I had my fair share of angst throughout my teen years (that's the whole point of being a teenager, isn't it?), however, I was taken aback by the sight of those seven words. I was genuinely concerned for whomever had written them and hoped they were simply venting in the odd way that teenagers tend to do, rather than harboring any genuine ideas of self-harm. I'm not sure how much later it was that I discovered that it was Kurt Cobain, Mr. Angst himself, who had made the phrase "I hate myself and want to die" (in)famous.
Life can be hard, hearts can be broken, and people can be cruel. I argue, however, that it would have been far more constructive if Kurt had have said "I hate myself and need a hug". Which, brings me to Jens Lekman's wonderful Night Falls Over Kortedala: an album that is the musical equivalent of the hug you need when life has used you as its own personal doormat.
Jens is a pop-classicist of the highest order and each of the album's 12 songs is catchier than the next. He is also a highly talented lyricist, which is best exemplified on A Postcard To Nina, in which he is asked to pose as his lesbian friend's boyfriend at a family gathering.
Incorporating doo-wop, sock-hop and pop orchestration that would do Hal David and Burt Bacharch proud, Night Falls Over Kortedala is an album that will pick you up, dust you off, and send you back out on your way.

Key Tracks: And I Remeber Every Kiss; The Opposite Of Hallelujah; A Postcard To Nina; Your Arms Around Me

Check Out: http://www.secretlycanadian.com/onesheet.php?cat=SC160

Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (2008, Earthology)

Cloud Cult have long been an In(High)Fidelity favorite, and, with their latest album Feel Good Ghosts (Tea Partying Through Tornadoes), our love for all things Cloud Cult has been affirmed once again. It is a fantastic album and you should buy it.
You should buy it because of the great music, however, you should also buy it because Cloud Cult are a band that stand for something beyond their music.
Despite repeated offers from record labels to sign the band, Cloud Cult determinedly self-release all of their albums so that they are able to maintain complete artistic control over both the sound of their albums and the manner in which they are distributed. Cloud Cult work diligently to ensure that their releases leave no carbon footprint on our hastily perishing planet. The packaging they use is made entirely of recycled materials and the band tour in an eco-friendly van.
I have written much of Cloud Cult here on In(High)Fidelity and for good reason. If you have limited funds to put toward music purchases, why not put them towards a band that actually gives a shit about something real. Visit www.cloudcult.com now, to purchase the album directly from the band, before it is officially released in April.

Check Out: www.cloudcult.com

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar, 2008)

When I discover an album such as For Emma, Forever Ago, I immediately despair. I despair because I know my talent with words could never do justice to the beauty of the sound I hear.
For the past two weeks, I have been staring blankly at my computer screen, quietly becoming overwhelmed with the task of imploring you - the reader - to listen to an album of which you may have otherwise never heard. Is it enough to tell you that I have listened to this album repeatedly for weeks now, reveling in its quiet fragility; allowing the warmth of songs such as Flume, and, my current favorite, Skinny Love, to wash over me time and time again.
In trying to describe this album, the best I have been able to come up with is as follows: It is an album that makes me happy and sad at the same time; it is beautiful and fragile; it is a bit like the sound in my head when I try to think of how my heart truly sounds.
I'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone but myself, or if, indeed, it makes any sense at all. I do know, however, that For Emma, Forever Ago is one of those special albums that appears at the very time you need it most. J'aime Bon Iver.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/boniver

Key Tracks: Flume, Skinny Love, The Wolves (Act I and II), Re:Stacks

Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals (We Are Free, 2007)

There has been much written in music pages recently, about Vampire Weekend and the way in which they have gotten all Paul Simon on our arses and injected afro-rhythms into their much-lauded self-titled debut album. From what I have heard of the album, it sounds like they have done a rather good job of incorporating these rhythms into their particular brand of indie-pop, however, our subject today is not Vampire Weekend. Nay, my friends, today we are here to talk about the band Yeasayer, and the beguiling album which they released a few months ago to quiet acclaim - All Hour Cymbals.
To be frank, when I brought this album home from the record store and threw it into my stereo, I thought I had been duped. I had heard only good things about the album from reliable sources, however, what I heard was... well, it was alright. It certainly didn’t blow me away upon first listen; or even the second listen for that matter.
However, through repeated listens, All Hour Cymbals began to open itself up to me. Instruments that I had not heard on previous listens; strange, engaging Eastern rhythms; layers of sound that danced around one another; a mélange of voices: singing, chanting, moaning. I was stunned that this sound had come from four guys holed-up together in Brooklyn.
Yeasayer’s sound is one that defies easy genre categorization. At times brooding, at others celebratory; thematically and stylistically, Yeasayer are all over the map, which, perhaps, may be their greatest charm. All Hour Cymbals is an album well worth taking the time to explore; and, having seen them put on one of the best shows thus far in 2008, I can vouch that Yeasayer are a band worth seeing live when they pass through your town.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/yeasayer

Key Tracks: 2080, A.H. Weir, Forgiveness