Three Albums You Can Set Your Watch To: Or Three Records I Hope To Be Streets Ahead

The Tallest Man On Earth - There's No Leaving Now - June 12th

The Tallest Man On Earth had nothing short of a fantastic year in 2010, releasing both "The Wild Hunt" and the "Sometimes The Blues Is Just a Passing Bird" ep within mere months of each other. Both received widespread critical praise and spread the singer/songwriter's fan base wider than the Pitchfork crowd. Well deserved, we've waited two years for a follow up, and hopefully we'll be happy with this new full-length.

Here is the title tracked played live, and played beautifully.

The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten - July 24th

 It's hard to believe that the last two albums by New Jersey's the Gaslight Anthem weren't released by a major label. Both "The 59 Sound" and "American Slang" had slick production and big sound for records released on an indie label (SideOneDummy). We'll see if the band can get any slicker or any bigger sounding on "Handwritten", their debut for Mercury records.

In the meantime, here is the debut single "45" which shows much of the same from the band, but with the energy of their first record "Sink or Swim" mixed with a new found speed that was lacking on "American Slang".

Against Me! - TBA/Transgender Dysphoria Blues - TBA

Earlier this month, Against Me! band leader Tom Gabel announced that he had been going through transgender dysphoria for most of his life, and was going to make the transition to physically become a Woman through hormone treatments and electrolysis while staying married to his Heather Gabel and raising their daughter Evelyn. This news comes a year and a half after the bands departure from their first major label partnership with Sire records, and even less time since third drummer Jay Weinberg joined the band after replacing Hot Water Music's George Rebelo. But in that short window of massive news, Against Me! has released a new single on their on record label Total Treble music, which was recorded in Gabel's own studio. It has a new, raw energy, as have their live shows and Gabel's solo acoustic sets where new songs have been heard that seem to have a personal and urgent edge to them.

 We're hoping that Gabel's transition to Laura Jane Grace shoots a new life into a band who has put out nothing but solid music over their career. Meanwhile, here's a short clip of a  live version of a new song Gabel performed recently called "Osama Bin Laden as the Crucified Christ".