Devendra Banhart
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Beggars Xl Recording 2007

Devendra Banhart made the transition from wandering ex-art student to celebrated folk personality in less than five years, and his latest album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon proves Banhart will remain a musical force for years to come. Expanding on the full band format he conceived for 2005’s Cripple Crow, the 16 songs on Thunder Canyon showcase everything from upbeat samba to ‘50s Hebrew pop, with orchestral arrangements and gospel choruses thrown in for good measure. “Wait,” you might ask, “didn’t you say this guy was a folkie?” Well, yes and no.

MANU CHAO
La Radiolina
Nacional Records 2007

Manu Chao gave credence to the emerging Latin alternative movement in the 1980s as a member of Mano Negra, but simply relegating him to the Spanish-speaking scene neglects about 3/4 of his personality. Born in Paris to Spanish parents, Chao also sings in Portuguese, French, and English, and has cultivated a global-citizen image that allows him to fit in no matter where he travels. Whether it be supporting Spanish anarchist organizations, sympathizing with leftist South American rebels, or embodying the plight of France’s immigrants, Chao has successfully broken down national boundaries on his way to international success.

JUNK SCIENCE
Gran’Dad’s Nerve Tonic
Definitive Jux/Embedded Music 2007

While the heated gangsta subgenre has dominated rap music for the last 15 years or so, small pockets of holdouts have managed to keep the fun-loving side of hip-hop alive. One of the younger proponents of late ‘80s-inflected boom is Brooklyn-based Junk Science, a duo whose latest album, Gran’Dad’s Nerve Tonic, combines dusty basement beats and a smooth lyrical flow reminiscent of groups like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.

TUBERS
Shell Out
Bakery Outlet Records 2007

Local St. Augustine bands typically play easy-going covers to pay the bills, but the trio Tubers concentrates on original guitar rock interspersed with jagged melodies and intelligent vocals, tourists be damned. Their latest release Shell Out, on local label Bakery Outlet, contains enough post-punk riffs to please any fan of thinking man’s hardcore. But unlike bands like Minor Threat or Fugazi, the Tubers boys shy away from blatantly political lyrics in favor of personal and heartfelt odes to complicated relationships, natural surroundings and the intricacies of modern life. A rootsy, home-recorded vibe keeps Rich Diem’s shouting vocals and noisy guitar fragments organic, especially on “Ambulate” and “Dine on the Process.” A little bit of indie rock appears on the instrumental “P52,” while “No Ornament” embodies the angular guitar work and start-stop song structures of popular (and hard-to-classify) bands like Pavement and Built To Spill. “Schooner Than Later” and “Late Bloomer” feature incredible interplays between Diem’s vocals and Jeff McNally’s basslines, proving that Tubers have put in their practice time and know how to create complex yet enjoyable songs.

EZRA FURMAN AND THE HARPOONS
Banging Down the Doors
Minty Fresh Records 2007

Imagine, if you will, a hypothetical new reality show entitled “America’s Next Bob Dylan.” Contestants would have to perfect annoyingly nasal vocals, grasp abstract-yet-relatable subject matter and sport the most authentic frizzy hairdo, complete with cheap plastic sunglasses.

If the idea ever gets the green light, Ezra Furman may just sweep the competition and unanimously earn the title of “America’s Next Bob Dylan” based on his debut album Banging Down The Doors from Ezra Furman and The Harpoons.

GOGOL BORDELLO
SUPER TARANTA!
Side One Dummy 2007

Every once in a while, a band comes along that not only defies categorization but throws any hope of description out the window. In 2007, that band is Gogol Bordello, whose latest album Super Taranta! combines poetic gypsy waltzes, European folk and pulsing punk rhythms to form an exuberant explosion of clashing cultures. Comprised of nationalities from across Europe (lead singer Eugene Hutz was a Ukrainian refugee after the Chernobyl disaster), Gogol Bordello formed in New York City and eventually took that city by storm with feverish performances full of violins, accordions, found percussion and maniacal vocals. And although they resemble some sort of discarded circus side-act, Gogol Bordello fills their gypsy rock out with political, personal, and at times hilarious lyrics detailing the life of America’s immigrant class.