Eight Get Over Excited

(Today we preempt the Anita O'Day investigation again. Why mess with tradition?)

Certainly a prime benefit of starting Ribaldry & Schmaltz has been the many novel songs I've heard thanks to the refined tastes of the other Rhapsody bloggers. My ears thank you all.

Case in point: A few weeks ago I posted about the fine Architecture in Helsinki song Spring 2008. I first heard this band on a Current Australian music playlist Amanda put up around that time.

Well, the new Architecture in Helsinki album "In Case We Die" is finally Rhapvailable, and has cemented itself into the Play tab here at R&S HQ.

It's a peppy, freaky, rich tub of musical bouillabaisse. Processed layers of urgent call and response co-ed vocals walk the beach with gunshots, galloping horses, fireworks, and bird sounds. There's herky jerky orchestration of an everything-AND-the-kitchen-sink collection of instruments. Appearances are made by percussion instruments I haven't heard since third grade music class: sandpaper, wooden blocks, that hollow ridged wooden fish you rub with a dowel. Despite all this, it doesn't sound at all muddled or over-the-top. Here's a detail I think really helps this album avoid disaster: real drums throughout, usually sparse but always aptly and tastefully applied.

The whole album is worth a listen, but here's a snack-size sampler for the time-pressed or indecisive:

In Case We Die Sampler

Tiny Paintings
Do The Whirlwind
Frenchy, I'm Faking

Of note, Architecture in Helsinki appear to be on tour in the USA right now.

Addendum: In related news, Covalent Bond turned me on to the Apes a couple weeks ago. I see that a "virtual" two-song single of songs from their new album Baba's Mountain is up on Rhapsody. Another delicious rare bird, for sure.