Siren Records - Doylestown, PA

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25 E State Street
1st Floor
Doylestown, PA 18901
215-348-2323

Mon - Thurs
11am - 9pm
Fri
11am - 10pm
Saturday
10am - 10pm Sunday
11am - 7pm

SIREN COUPONS BELOW

circa vinyl

Siren Records Weekly Update

June 30, 2009

sunny

25 EAST STATE STREET
1ST FLOOR
DOYLESTOWN PA 18901
(215)348-2323
www.sirenrecords.com
siren myspace
siren facebook

HOURS
MON 11am-9pm
TUES 11am-9pm
WED 11am-9pm
THUR 11am-9pm
FRI 11am-10pm
SAT 10am-10pm
SUN 11am-7pm

ORDER SIREN GEAR HERE!

circa vinyl

MORE NEW RELEASES

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
Killswitch Engage
CD

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

Killswitch Engage
Special Edition CD+DVD

ROB THOMAS
Cradlesong
CD

BJORK
Voltaic
CD+DVD

BJORK
Voltaic
2 CD + 2 DVD

DINOSAUR JR
Farm
CD / LP

TORTOISE
Beacons Of Ancestorship
CD / LP

THE LEMONHEADS
Varshons
CD

THE MARS VOLTA
Octahedrom
CD

SUNSET RUBDOWN
Dragonslayer
CD / LP

REGINA SPEKTOR
Far
CD

DREAM THEATER
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
CD / Deluxe CD

GOD HELP THE GIRL
God Help The Girl
CD / LP

Here are this week's New Releases. They are 15% OFF all week long.

WILCO
Wilco
CD / LP

Rock & roll lifers that they are, Wilco knows the implications of a self-titled album, how any record bearing an eponymous name is bound to be seen as a reintroduction. That's why they puncture Wilco (The Album) with a parenthetical aside, a slyly ironic joke that deflates the notion that Wilco is returning to its roots while signaling that the band is finally lightening up again, a notion reinforced by the llama birthday party on the cover. And, to be fair, "reintroduction" is indeed too strong a term for a band that never went away, they merely spent a decade-and-a-half on a walkabout, consuming anything that came their way, changing their tone and tenor from record to record. Wilco (The Album) finds Wilco the band happily returning from the wilderness, taking stock of where they've been and consolidating all they've learned into one tight, likeable record. (The Album) never veers too far into the experimental -- nor does it dabble in country-rock, a sound that's largely remained verboten in Wilco ever since their debut -- but the reverberations of the Jay Bennett era can be heard in how "Bull Black Nova" builds to a shuddering, noise-filled coda, or the band's general mastery of varying degrees of light and shade. All this studio texture is not the focal point, it's the coloring on a collection of straight-ahead rock and pop songs, tunes that are generally soft, sunny, and hazy -- quite exquisitely so on the '70s George Harrison pastiche "You Never Know" and the nearly Baroque "Deeper Down" -- but also jangly and sparkly, as on "Sonny Feeling," or that have some measure of backbone, as on the spiky "I'll Fight" and the cool shuffle of "Wilco (The Song)." If Wilco (The Album) as a whole is considerably less ambitious than its predecessors, it compensates with its easy confidence and craft: it's the work of a band that knows their strengths and knows what they're all about, and it's ready to settle into an agreeably comfortable groove. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

BJORK
Voltaic
CD / CD+DVD / Deluxe CD+DVD

Leave it to Björk to make a concert release that can be treated as part of her regular body of work rather than a side note. While Björk fans have occasionally complained about the amount of repackaging of her albums, Voltaic reaffirms just how important the live aspect is to her music, and provides a couple of different perspectives on it as well. Volta sparked a particularly inspired and lavish tour that, arguably, ended up being bigger than the actual album was, but tapped into the most dramatic, primal, and elegant aspects of Björk's art overall. It's fitting, then, that the chronicles of the Volta tour are just as thoughtfully crafted as the shows were (and since Voltaic comes in several different releases ranging from a single live disc to a CD, DVD, and vinyl extravaganza, fans can pick the size that suits them best). The basic version of Voltaic offers a live CD recorded in one take at London's Olympic Studio, just hours before Björk and her band -- which included Volta collaborators Mark Bell and Chris Corsano as well as the ten-piece all-female Icelandic brass section/choir she put together for the album -- played 2007's Glastonbury Festival. Given that the live CD was recorded in better conditions than many studio albums are, it's no surprise that the sound quality is excellent -- almost too excellent. This is not a warts-and-all concert recording with the occasional muddy audio and lots of crowd interaction; instead, it feels like the listener is hiding in a studio booth as Björk and her band perform a flawless rehearsal. While this approach is a little removed, the results are impressive: the Volta tracks ("Earth Intruders," "Wanderlust," "Vertebrae by Vertebrae," and "Declare Independence") actually have more impact here than they did on the original album, while the classic songs ("Pagan Poetry," "All Is Full of Love," "Hunter," "I Miss You") adapt to the percussion-heavy Volta approach well. Wh

LEVON HELM
Electric Dirt
CD

In a musical career that has spanned six decades, Levon Helm has made more than a few excellent albums working with other folks -- most notably as drummer and vocalist with the Band, as well as backing Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Muddy Waters, John Martyn, Rufus Wainwright, and literally dozens of others. But as a solo artist, Helm's record has been considerably spottier, with well-intended disappointments outnumbering genuine successes, so it's good to report that at the age of 69, Helm has found his second wind as a recording artist, cutting two of his most satisfying solo sets in a row. Following 2007's excellent Dirt Farmer, Electric Dirt is every bit as impressive and finds him sounding even stronger than he did on that comeback set. Dirt Farmer was Helm's first album after a bout with throat cancer nearly silenced him, and his vocals sounded firmly committed but just a bit strained; two years on, Helm's voice is nearly as supple as it was during his days with the Band, and even when it shows signs of wear and tear, his sense of phrasing and his ability to bring the characters in these songs to life are as good as they've ever been. While Dirt Farmer leaned toward acoustic music in the Appalachian tradition, Electric Dirt aims for a broader and more eclectic sound; "Golden Bird" sounds as if it could have been gleaned from the Harry Smith anthology, but the opening cover of the Grateful Dead's "Tennessee Jed" swings with a solid New Orleans groove like an outtake from the Rock of Ages concerts, a pair of Muddy Waters numbers are subtle but passionate acoustic blues, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" is joyous gospel-infused R&B, and "White Dove" is fervent and heartfelt traditional country. Larry Campbell, who co-produced Dirt Farmer, returned for these sessions, as did most of the same band, bringing a similarly organic touch to the music, and the bigger sound of this album seems to suit everyone involved, with Helm's drumming sounding especially lively and well-grounded. And though Helm only wrote two songs for this album, they're two good ones, especially "Growin' Trade," a tale of an aging farmer who has taken to raising marijuana, and what could easily have been played as a joke is a moving account of one man's conscience as it wrestles with his heritage and love of the land. Not unlike his old buddy Bob Dylan from Time Out of Mind onward, Levon Helm seems to have rediscovered his knack for making great records in what some might have imagined would be the latter days of his career; Electric Dirt sounds fresh, emphatic, and as effective as anything Levon has cut since the mid-'70s, and one can only hope he has a few more discs in him just this good. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Thanks for reading!

Siren Records
25 E. State Street
Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901

As a reminder, we buy & trade CDs, DVDs, LPs, and pretty much anything else we cary in the store. We offer cash & store credit. So come swap or sell your stuff.

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