Webcuts Music

It hasn’t been an amazing year for music, but surely an entertaining one. Lots of new acts jockeying for position amongst the wily veterans, and plenty of debate even as early as June over love ‘em-or hate ‘em titles such as King of Limbs and James Blake’s eponymous debut and where they belong in the year’s final canonization of greats. Honestly, I can’t remember a year in recent memory when I’ve found so many hyped records I’ve disliked or been entirely disinterested in. Cults? Pass. Tyler, The Creator? Garbage. The saviors from musical banality have consistently been experienced groups who know what they’re doing and get praised for their music and not being arrested in LA and starting riots.

Album number six for these free-wheeling long-haired holdin’ on to black metal giants of Southern Rock.

Esteemed Louisvillian rockers My Morning Jacket have returned with their sixth album Circuital, to be released on May 31. To celebrate the occasion, the band have joined the likes of Arcade Fire and Duran Duran to appear on the “Unstaged” internet live broadcast which pairs a well-known band up with a well-known director. This time around My Morning Jacket go toe to toe with Todd Haynes, better known for the multi-actor Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There” and the loved but banned “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story”, a short film acted out by modified Barbie dolls.

The Blue Depths which focussed on ambient old school synths and majestic, dreamy mood-scapes yielded great dividends resulting in Odawas’ most cohesive album to date. We recently spoke to Michael Tapscott about the beautiful depths of The Blue Depths, the Odawa live experience including SXSW, soundtracks and the mystery of the sea.

North America’s finest show their charitable side with this awe-inspiring collection. Just call it “No Alternative Part 2″.

Ladies and gentlemen, the envelope please! Webcuts favourite albums of 2008 as argued and fought over by us, including star-studded appearances from Beach House, My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes, Nick Cave, Santogold, Okkervil River and many more…

Rough Trade, 2008 Never has a record so wrong-footed me like Evil Urges has. Louisville’s My Morning Jacket were always a band with broad influences in their sound. 2005′s Z was the strongest indication that their fret-tapping southern rock roots had run their course. Playing a solo show in London to promote the album, singer [...]