Here are the latest CDs that I’ve been spinning on my daily commute:

• A Camp – Colonia
  Previously blogged – I’m going to buy this.
• Air – Love 2
  Things are better when there are no expectations and Love 2 is a great example. It’s not super great, but it’s sufficiently catchy and enjoyable. Maybe I have a thing for French Pop though.
• Imogen Heap – Ellipses
  I realize now that I’ve been listening to the wrong version of this CD, because I only have the instrumental versions! Well I can say that, aside from First Train Home, the “music” is poor. It sounds like a new age relaxation CD. I guess I should listen to the songs with vocals before passing judgment, but I’m inclined to say that this album is crappy.
• John Mayer – Battle Studies
  Yay John Mayer stopped twittering and released a new CD. Unfortunately he seems to be on a downwards slope since his debut album. Surprisingly I can’t detect much blues influence in this album, instead it has some electronic styling and seems to be written for the adult contemporary audience in mind. Maybe I’ll get this, if it’s on sale, for $8.
• La Roux – La Roux
  Ah I have such high expectations for La Roux’s debut album after two amazingly great singles. S/he (they try to be androgynous) sings with a unique timbre in her voice which I can only describe as haughty English. I can see how it might be annoying after awhile, but for the remainder of 2009 it is fresh and interesting. After the 2 big ones, there are a few highlights such as Cover My Eyes but many of them sound like fillers. Since I already have the two singles from iTunes, I’ll probably pass on this one.
  
• Metric – Fantasies
  Metric seems to have a lot of fans, being formed in Toronto. And I think I might have seen them in concert (or maybe I missed them because I was late). Anyways, I didn’t really pay attention to them until I heard Gimme Sympathy which is a great pop/rock track. Fantasies has several other rock songs written in catchy pop style:
  
  The problem I have with Metric is that their lyrics sound like bad teenage poetry. This is especially apparent after listening to A Camp.
• Promo Only for October and November
  Nothing to write home about. Although there is a catchy song by Leighton Meester. I have no idea who that is.
  
• Zero 7 – Yeah Ghost
  It sounds like there is a lot of experimentation on this album and I understand why they want to evolve. But I like Zero 7 from their Garden State days and the only songs worth listening to on this album are the ones where they bring back their mellow electronic style. Unfortunately, too few and far between.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: cdspinoff, driving, music