Jen’s album picks for January

Another year is upon us and so far it has been a good one. This year kicked off with good films in the theatres, good bands touring and some records worth buying (instead of downloading). Here are my picks for January (since I have not listed my album picks for a while, some have been out for a couple months). Enjoy!

Glen Hansard of The Frames and Marketa Irglova both star in the film ‘Once‘ that came out last year. If you have not had a chance to see the film, make a point of it. ‘Once‘ is a modern day musical where the soundtrack tells the story. Both Hansard and Irglova deserve an award for composing the album. This soundtrack is lyrically based and has a tinge of irish folk rock. Hansard and Irglova also play in a band called The Swell Season.

Radidohead released ‘In Rainbows‘ for online distribution back in October and you were able to purchase the CD in December. This album is amazing, if you like Radiohead. You also have the option of buying the double CD box with photos and inserts that will most likely be collectible.

Vampire Weekend recently played at The Casbah and put on a fantastic show. Their album officially drops January 29 but you can pre-order the album on Amazon.com. I wanted to give you a heads up on these indie-rockers from New York City. The band members met while attending Columbia University and had one of their songs listed in Rolling Stone as one of the top 100 songs of 2007. Vampire Weekend have been touring with The Walkmen and interestingly enough categorize themselves as “Upper West Side Soweto.” You can pick up their 7″ entitled ‘Mansard Roof’ prior to buying their self-titled full length.

Local boys Pinback released their album ‘Autums of the Seraphs’ back in September of 2007 but I thought a reminder of their latest release was necessary. Pinback’s latest album shows that Pinback are really good at melodic power pop.

And as a bonus - I have to mention Led Zeppelin’s Mothership (The Very Best of Led Zeppelin). This two-CD collection features 24 remastered studio tracks. Not only did Sheppard Fairey design the artwork for the CD but the order in which the songs are listed on the CD’s kick ass. I have had this little gem on high rotation lately. Mothership came out in November of 2007 and will definitely be a collector’s item.