President's Day Roundup.

Fran King-My Sweet Elixir. This Irish singer-songwriter caught my attention with 2005's Beautification, a Neil Finn/David Mead-type disc. He's back with My Sweet Elixir, and it's another winner. If Finn and Mead were the touchstones for the debut, this time around it's more Emmitt Rhodes/acoustic McCartney. "No Remorse (I Feel Every Word)" opens things nicely, a midtempo number with a killer chorus courtesy of King's falsetto, and the gentle, lovely ballad "Upstream" is another standout. As is "All About Me", a vaguely-jazzy, vaguely-60s styled number, and while "I've Got a Feeling" isn't a McCartney cover, it's a folky number that I'm sure Sir Paul would enjoy. Popcraft at its finest.


MySpace | iTunes

The Bulletproof Vests-Attack! Mention Memphis and Ardent Studios, and Big Star comes to mind. Well, here's a Memphis band that enlisted Adam Hill, an Ardent Studios engineer, to mix and produce their debut, and darned if these guys don't have a little Chilton in them. They manage to mix power pop, rock and R&B in an intoxicating mix, and grab you from the get-go with "Magic Wand", 3:16 of rollicking goodness that brings to mind the classics as well as current bands like The Whigs. "Down in Yer Pocket" could be The Black Keys mixed with Booker T & The MGs, and "Darlin' Wait" is an awesome rave-up. Elsewhere "Picture Show" sounds like a lost Nugget, "Don't Cry" is a dusty barroom ballad, and "B&E" rocks with abandon. Although you don't hear the "Memphis sound" much any more from new bands, these guys do it proud.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Some more eMu's.

A couple of more discs of interest that have just been added to eMusic:

Fran King's Beautification. This one was #52 on the best of 2006 list (it seems like every week one or two more from the list get added), although going back and reading my original post on the disc I see that it was really a 2005 release and shouldn't have been on it. Oh well, it's the music that matters, not the year, so hop on over and download it.

Also added is the brand new disc from Steven Mark, Racing Grey. For those familiar with his previous releases, Aloneaphobe and Distraction (both of which are also available at eMu), this is more of the same high-quality densely produced Lennonesque pop, albeit with some social commentary in tracks like "Paris Hilton Generation" and "God on High".

CD of the Day, 3/25/06: Fran King-Beautification

Here's the pedigree for Dublin's Fran King: opened for David Mead, Brendan Benson and Tears for Fears. Helped out Pugwash on his Jollity album. That should give you a pretty good idea of what Fran King sounds like, and Beautification lives up to the standards of his colleagues.

Another name to throw into the mix is Neil Finn; in fact this album reminds me a lot of the Finn-ish David William disc that's residing near the top of my best of 2006 list. This album actually came out last June, but I've only come across it in the last week; had I been aware of its existence, it may have very well secured a top 20 spot for 05. Aside from the bookending title track instrumentals, Beautification is one great midtempo number after another (no out-and-out ballads, no rockers either). Particular highlights are "When You Come Around", "Never Enough", "Misunderstood" and "Fine Day". The first three of these can be streamed at his myspace page. Here's an mp3:

Never Enough (radio edit)

Several additional tracks can be sampled at cd baby, which is the best place to purchase it. Fran King isn't going to reinvent the wheel here, but if you like sophisticated adult pop in the vein of Mead, Finn, et al, you'll love this disc.