Richard Swift - The Atlantic Ocean - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Double EP love affair with old rock 'n' roll to satiate fans and intrigue the uninitiated while he works on the follow-up to 2007's critically acclaimed debut full-length InchDressed Up for the LetdownInch. Vinyl comes pressed with good vibes while the CD comes in awesome InchAt BudokanInch-style double wide fatty jewel cases, tailor made for the kid in US who still likes a little weight between our fingers.

Employing an archaic attitude of tempered restraint on a fresh collection of ten songs, without appearing shamelessly retro or kitschy. Swift leads the faithful further into a melancholic world draped with colorful sonic landscapes. This is his first new material recorded since 2001 and is the follow-up to the re- of his double CD InchThe Novelist / Walking Without EffortInch in 2005. He's toured with My Morning Jacket, the Walkmen, Elbow, Josh Ritter, Jens Lekman, and Earlimart, earning a reputation for a live rock revivalist, conjuring up images of classic period Dylan and the Band from the late '60s and early '70s.

Reason in Decline, Archers of Loaf's first studio album since the 1998 of White Trash Heroes, is no nostalgic, low-impact reboot. When they emerged from North Carolina's '90s indie-punk incubator, the Archers' hurtling, sly, gloriously dissonant roar was a mythologized touchstone of slacker-era refusal. But this new LP is an entirely different noise. In fact, it's a startling revelation. Guitarists Eric Bachmann and Eric Johnson, once headstrong smartasses inciting a series of artful pileups on the band's four studio albums and EP, are now a fluidly complementary, sonically advanced unit. Notably, Johnson's signature trebly lines peal clearly above the din instead of struggling to be heard. Today, singer-songwriter Bachmann's lyrics balance righteous wrath with a complex tangle of adult perspective. He still spits bile, but it's less likely to concern scene politics, music trends, or shady record labels thwarting the dreams of a young rock band. Bachmann puts it bluntly InchWhat I really think about going back to the Archers and doing a new record is that the three other members of this band are awesome. It's not about responding to the past or whatever our bullshit legacy is. I just wanted to work with these guys because I knew the chemistry we had and that we still have. I knew that was rare.Inch