January: Is's and Ought to be's

Hello everyone, I thought I would try something new today with the blog. A segment tentatively called "Is's and Ought to be's". In this segment I will talk about the most anticipated albums of the month and what is the albums that lived up to the hype and what was ought to be a great album, but yet, did not live up to the hype for me at least. This is not a ranking of albums or telling you what you should or shouldn't listen to you, simply what I have enjoyed in the past month and what let me down. Enjoy and please feel free to provide feedback.

The Is's:

The Decemberists - The King is Dead



After the last two albums I was left questioning the progressive style The Decemberists were taking, it didn't feel natural to me. However, with the January release of the The King is Dead they return to what they do best. Album highlights include "Don't Carry It All", "January Hymn", "June Hymn" and "This Is Why We Fight". This is my most listened to album of new year and my "Is of the Month" and something I would definitely recommend giving a listen to.

The Decemberists - This Is Why We Fight

Matt Mays - iTunes Session



As Bryce mentioned a must have for any hardcore fan of Matt Mays. This iTunes Session has Matt Mays, a guitar and piano playing a stripped down versions some of his best written song such as "Chase the Light", "Terminal Romance", "City of Lakes" and "Cocaine Cowgirl".

Matt Mays - City Of Lakes

Cold War Kids - Mine Is Yours



Cold War Kids' latest effort Mine Is Yours may not be as critical well received as albums in their past. Nonetheless, working with the producer that brought us Kings of Leon's Only By The Night has taken CWK in a different direction that resulted in a very enjoyable album. Highlights: "Mine is Yours", "Out of the Wilderness", and "Skip the Charades".

Cold War Kids - Mine Is Yours

The Ought to Be's:

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean



Don't Get Me Wrong, I am a huge fan of I&W and did enjoyed parts of this album. However the album as whole did not live up to my expectations. I appreciate that Sam Bean has ventured away from the whispering style on this album but the songs on this album did not make the same impact that Iron & Wine have done in the past. Overall, this is not a bad album by any means and I recommend that you check it out or at least listen to "Walking Far From Home", "Tree By The River" and "Half Moon".

Iron & Wine - Walking Far From Home

Amos Lee - Mission Bell



In the case of Mission Bell, I think Amos Lee is a victim of his own songwriting. His self titled album features some of the most amazing songwriting I have ever heard, such as "Arms of a Woman", "Colors", and "Seen It All Before". Mission Bell was a strong effort and decent album but just couldn't match his efforts of past. However "El Camino", "Violin", and "Learned A Lot" are worth a good listen.

Amos Lee - El Camino

Say Hi - Um, Uh Oh



Admittedly I didn't have high expectation for Um, Uh Oh in the first place but I was hoping this could be the underdog of the month and Say Hi would really surprise me with an interesting album. Didn't happen, anyway a couple decent tracks of the album include "Dots on Maps" and "Devils".

Say Hi - Devils

So I hope this helped you with sifting through the vast amount of music that is released each month and maybe gave you something new to listen to. Remember this just my opinion, and if I didn't like an album you did or miss one you thought was great then let me know because here at Blue Sloth we are simply just trying to spread the word.

- Spence