VA - Now Hear This! The Word Magazine, May 2009

Tracks
01. Horace Andy & Ashley Beedle - When the Rain Falls (4:27)
02. Bitter:Sweet - Get What I Want (3:24)
03. Great Lake Swimmers - Pulling on a Line (3:20)
04. Sara Watkins - Long Hot Summer Days (4:45)
05. XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear - Brainiac's Daughter (4:00)
06. The Leisure Society - A Short Weekend Begins with Longing (3:18)
07. N.A.S.A. feat Tom Waits & Kool Keith - Spacious Thoughts (4:32)
08. The Boy Least Likely To - I Box Up All The Butterflies (3:30)
09. Salim Nourallah - It's Not Enough (3:46)
10. Alasdair Roberts - You Muses Assist (4:32)
11. Marianne Faithfull - Black Coffee (5:39)
12. Matt Duke - The Father, The Son & The Harlot's Ghost (3:54)
13. Gomez - Airstream Driver (3:59)
14. Jeniferever - Lives Apart (6:54)
15. Diana Jones - Henry Russell's Last Words (4:23)

Total time: 1h 4m 23s


What's on the CD with the May issue.

1. Horace Andy & Ashley Beedle - When The Rain Falls
The second in the new Inspiration Information series on Strut pairs Studio One reggae legend Horace Skylarking Andy with revered UK producer and remixer Ashley Beedle for what's described as "a new and unique soundclash".
From the album Inspiration Information Vol 2

2. Bitter:Sweet - Get What I Want
The duo is the standard operating unit of all things electronica. Bitter:Sweet is made up of Shana Halligan and Kiran Shahani and this is their second album. They've already had their music used on a number of American TV series and also been employed to advertise Victoria's Secret and the Zune.
From the album Drama

3. Great Lake Swimmers - Pulling On A Line
From Toronto, Great Lake Swimmers proffer their heartland credentials by claiming that some of their second record was recorded in rural areas in such actual sites as old churches, community halls and abandoned grain silos. This is a great tune.
From the album Lost Channels

4. Sara Watkins - Long Hot Summer Days
Along with her brother Sean and mandolinist Chris Thile (who has previously featured on a Now Hear This! tracklist), Sara was a member of the much-acclaimed bluegrass trio Nickel Creek. This is from her first solo record, which was produced by London's own mandolin aficionado John Paul Jones.
From the album Sara Watkins

5. The Dukes of Statosphere - Brainiac's Daughter
The Dukes Of Stratosphear was the umbrella under which Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding flexed their psychedelic muscle in the late '80s when they were on leave from XTC. There are those who think that they did some of their best work under this guise. This is from their second album, which is re-released on Andy Partridge's own label with extra tracks.
From the album Psonic Psunspots

6. The Leisure Society - A Short Weekend Begins Withy Longing
Burton-on-Trentonians the Leisure Society's first year was spent demoing and playing increasingly bizarre gigs. A move to London to collaborate with fellow Burton luminaries Christian Silva followed, with LS stalwart Nick Hemming and Christian Silva singer/flatmate Christian Hardy bringing home new band members to augment The Leisure Society's ever-expanding ranks. Which brings us to the present, and this offering.
From the album The Sleeper

7. NASA - Spacious Thoughts (feat. Kool Keith & Tom Waits)
N.A.S.A. are a DJ collective who have managed to gather together a top-rank lineup of hip-hop stars and admirers to make an album that pushes out the boundaries of the genre. The album features everyone from Method Man through George Clinton to David Byrne and this track is fronted by Kool Keith and Tom Waits.
From the album The Spirit of Apollo

8. The Boy Least Likely To - I Box Up All The Butterflies
The Boy Least Likely To is not one but two boys – composer/multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs and lyricist/singer Jof Owen. The pair met while still at school in Buckinghamshire and formed The Boy Least Likely To in summer 2002, setting up Too Young To Die Records to release their material. I Box Up All The Butterflies is taken from their second album.
From the album The Law Of The Playground

9. Salim Nourallah - It's Not Enough
Salim Nourallah is a singer/songwriter/producer from Dallas, Texas. Ten years ago he recorded his debut with his brother Faris as the Nourallah Brothers. Before it was even released he and his brother had gone their separate ways. Since then Salim has made a number of records of his own. This is the fourth.
From the album Constellation

10. Alisdair Roberts - You Muses Assist
On his fourth album Scotland's premier folk singer – who first got his break after handing a demo tape to Will Oldham after a concert in 1995 – integrates new compositions alongside his take on traditional music. It's intended "to sing us back to our ancient home", according to the press release.
From the album Spoils

11. Marianne Faithfull - Black Coffee
Originally recorded by Sarah Vaughan and made famous by Peggy Lee, this is one of those songs that every chanteuse has to get round to eventually. This is from Marianne's new album, in which she tackles other people's songs, often with the assistance of distinguished admirers such as Teddy Thompson and Cat Power.
From the album Easy Come, Easy Go

12. Matt Duke - The Father, The Son & The Harlot's Ghost
Hailing from New Jersey, Matt Duke cut his musical teeth playing shows around Philadelphia and on Manhattan's Lower East Side. A self-taught guitar-player, he graduated from mastering all kinds of styles to create a sound very much his own. However, he admits that initially he picked up a guitar "solely for the purpose of getting girls". What else?
From the album Kingdom Underground

13. Gomez - Airstream Driver
Late-'90s indie darlings and erstwhile Mercury Music Prize winners Gomez are back after a relatively lengthy absence with their sixth studio album, A New Tide. They've recently made friends with Dave Matthews‚ subsequently signing to the US rock heavyweight's label, ATO.
From the album A New Tide

14. Jeniferever - Lives Apart
Jeniferever are a post-rock quartet hailing from Uppsala, Sweden. Often placed in the same basket as Iceland's revered Sigur Rós, the band's past achievements include releasing a 40-minute, four-track EP on the Big Scary Monster Recording Company label. By way of random example, The Strokes' entire debut album weighed in at a paltry 36 minutes. We doff our caps to their admirable stamina.
From the album Spring Tides

15. Diana Jones
Adopted as an infant and raised in New York, Diana Jones left home at the age of 15 in search of her roots. It wasn't until she was reunited with her birth family and the music of the Eastern Tennessee hills some years later that she discovered why country music had always moved her. She has toured with Richard Thompson, who describes her as "a consummate singer and writer who doesn't sound like anyone else".
From the album Better Times Will Come