Last go around I wrote about some of the more mainstream artists new releases and the replies I got pointed me towards a throng on Indie and almost-indie artists.  This go round I decided to let you on a few of the cooler indie and "almosts" that I've gotten into in the past month.

Starting with a band out of Dallas, The Old 97's are a refreshing band who will make you wish Cleve Anderson was still drumming for Blue Rodeo!  They've been around since the early 90's doing the bar scene and having fun.  The group describe themselves as an eclectic version of Beatles, meets the Pixies meets Merle Haggard!   Their new CD, the 10th CD as a band, is titled Blame it on Gravity.  This disc puts me in mind of Outskirts, the debut from Blue Rodeo. While the singing is more Keelor than
Cuddy - it's a rootsy return to rock with a rockabilly/country feel.  Great iPod fodder that you can lose yourself in.  A recent appearance on Leno has got this new CD climbing the Indie charts and catching on.                                            http://www.hmv.ca/hmvcaweb/en_CA/displayProductDetails.do?sku=1235837

Brother Peter threw me onto Vampire Weekend after the last issue.  Thanks - very new sound, cool vibe and totally off the mainstream sound.  One problem I have with these bands is the unbelievable freedom with which these new bands throw about the F-bomb.  While I make every attempt to include it in every sentence I use every day - I am not trying to appeal to an audience.  Vampire Weekend is one of those bands with a happy (almost 60's) vibe and should be cool to share with the kids - but not.  Still the swearing doesn't tame my taste. From a 60's sound to a reggae ska sound and then an almost African-Paul Simon thing, there were few tracks on this disc that didn't appeal to my senses!     http://www.hmv.ca/hmvcaweb/en_CA/displayProductDetails.do?sku=1227367

My choice for Disc of the Month;  Nuttin' but Stringz is a very odd and refreshingly different offering.  Two brothers born and raised in Jamaica, NY, in the heart of Queens, big brother takes up the violin at age 8 and soon after the other follows.  This movie is probably not the most common sight in this urban Jungle.  Their influences are obvious, rap, HipHop and other typically Urban styles are blended together with the boys classical string influences to create something different enough to make my list.  Urban, Hip Hoppy. But with enough of a difference.  "From the subway to the charts" while released in 2006 is a really fresh disc for me.   http://www.hmv.ca/hmvcaweb/en_CA/displayProductDetails.do?sku=676170