1004. Vetiver - Vetiver

The thing with Devendra Banhart is that he can be a bit too freaky - his voice is so animated that if you're not careful all of a sudden you're in a fucked up place. But with Vetiver his voice falls in perfectly with the rest of the band - you start the cd off and by the time it ends with "On a Nerve" you're like the character on the cover: in it.

8 out of 10

1003. Califone - Heron King Blues

It would be easy to dislike Califone's "Heron King Blues", but the truth is it's a whiskey soaked, foot stomping, pan handling and banging good time. The sounds are almost gutteral, and ooze in like a hot sweat on a cool night. Not something for every day but more than good for the occasional night.

8 out of 10

1002. Gravenhurst - Flashlight Seasons

Gravenhurst are part folk, part brit pop and fit comfortably lakeside in a cool august night.

7.4 out of 10

1001. Castanets - Cathedral

I was pretty bummed out after a break up and I wanted to get something that would cheer me or help me wallow in my melancholy - I picked this up because of all the positive buzz it had received. The CD sounds like an abortion, except instead of a poorly formed fetus toy soldiers are coming out and the little bastards are firing at you.

3.4 out of 10

1000. Grizzly Bear - Horn of Plenty

Funny that this is my 1000th CD... and yay that I've broken 1000! I must be the only person who has this Grizzly Bear CD and not Yellow House, you see I wasn't that impressed with the debut that I got a long time ago, so why get the follow up? Makes sense no? The trick is though that it went from a one man gig to a full band and that supposedly made a lot of difference. Horn of Plenty is low, staticky and if there is too much background noise you may miss it. There are some interesting moments but it never transcends into the beauty you think it would.

6 out of 10

999. Mojave 3 - Ask Me Tomorrow

Mojave 3 is Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell, Simon Rowe, Alan Forrester, and Ian McCutcheon. Many of these guys have been in other bands together, and although most have solo careers now they plan on releasing another lp soon. This quiet meditative release starts picking up speed right at the very end - still it's a pretty good album for a brisk fall sunday.

6.6 out of 10

998. Pernice Brothers - Yours, Mine & Ours

The Pernice Brothers are a more adult pop oriented version of The Sea and Cake with a bit of Spain - so the results are very, very pleasing but a tad expected as well... perfect if your parents are coming over and you aren't sure what to put on, or for a commercial on green technology or investment firms. I mean all this as a compliment.

6.9 out of 10

997. Calexico - Feast of Wire

Calexico sound like an amazing mariachi band that have traveled the earth, drank everything every culture had to offer and play with a sobriety I can only hope to some day have. Part soundtrack, part serenade, part confession - Feast of Wire is pretty amazing.

9 out of 10

996. Iron & Wine With Calexico - In The Reins

This combination works very well actually (the live show also worked well - first Calexico, then Iron & Wine and at the end a joint set). The simplest way to explain the outcome is Iron & Wine's slow churnings were revved up to Calexico's speed, and Calexico had an added layer of sweetness to their already lonesome tunes.

7.8 out of 10

995. M. Ward - Transistor Radio

When I first saw M. Ward live it was for the Transfiguration tour - and he played by himself with a piano and guitar and it was a perfect show. The second time was for this album and he had a full band - unfortunately the intimacy and magic behind his solo performance was lost when he had a band with him - and Transistor suffers from a bit of the same problem though it is a solid album it lacks the spark of his previous effort.

7.1 out of 10

994. M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent

As an ode to a passed friend, Transfiguration was my first exposure to Matt and it's a near perfect tribute. The songs are deeply intimate, exploring a range of emotions and feelings, mimicking a collage of home movies that capture the inner workings of our own quite imaginations.

9 out of 10

993. M. Ward - Duet for Guitars #2

This is a pretty good intro to M. Ward's lo-fi, hushed sound. Duet is a rambling man's disc, not sure where the day will take him but savoring each spot along the way.

7 out of 10

992. Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea

I'll keep this brief. I knew of Silver Jews as a side project from one of the guys in Pavement though I had never actually 'heard' them. The cd before this one had received very positive reviews so when this came out, and I found it used, I said why not. It's folky but there is something about it that makes it very endearing.

7.1 out of 10

991. Danielson - Ships

I've been conned into seeing Danielson three times, by the same person, Ellen... Danielson is an odd folk singer - he has a metalesque voice that is slightly chipmunk like and his music hops from one little tale to another - it's part theatrical and part prog and all around weird. But he's a funny guy and I think this is best release so far - musically it's the most sophisticated and has an added dimension of fantasy to it.

7.4 out of 10

990. Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche

Boy he's a prolific son of a bitch! Even if you're like me, all Sufjan'd out you can't help but appreciate this album's worth of out takes - great stuff.

8 out of 10