New CDs in stores today come from an ex-Beatle, an Icelandic band that used to sing in a made-up language and an indie-rock collaboration made in heaven.
Paul McCartney, “Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard” (Capitol) At 63, McCartney is getting some of the best reviews in two decades with this record, which Nigel Godrich (Radiohead’s “OK Computer” and Beck’s “Mutations”) produced.
Sigur Ros, “Takk …” (Geffen) Not that anybody on this continent can tell, but this is supposedly the first Sigur Ros album sung in Icelandic – and not
Hopelandic, the made-up language that has dominated each of the band’s previous records. This CD is a quiet fury compared with some of the sonic experimentation of the previous efforts – but it’s still every bit as lush as you’d expect.
Iron & Wine/Calexico, “In the Reins” (Overcoat Recordings) Expect more Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) here than Joey Burns (Calexico), but this collaboration is a smart, self-aware record. Calexico backs up Iron & Wine and adds a symphonic thickness and density to Beam’s music, which is otherwise whispered, acoustic and stripped-down.
