It is embarrassing to admit when something gets past your radar completely unnoticed. I finally put it together that Elliott Smith sang “Needle in the Hay” on the fantastic soundtrack for The Royal Tenenbaums. “Oh yeah, I remember hearing about him and his tragic young death.” Ok, so I am slow, but its better late than never.

I bought Either/Or on iTunes (they ripped me off and shorted me one track, by the way) and it is very good. Since I am relatively new to Smith, I don’t feel qualified to give too deep of a review, but I would definitely recommend you look into him. Don’t let the album art above trick you into thinking he is a thug, his voice is soft and kind, and his songwriting is melancholy and contemplative. Think Nick Drake. I am not sure if it is the best place to start, but just last week From a Basement on the Hill was released Posthumously. I think I will tackle some of his older albums first but it is nice to see that there is at least one more album out there. To end on an overused cliche, why do the good die young?

Pressure Chief is Cake’s newest album in a series of consistently great albums. You have to appreciate a band that doesn’t feel like it has to reinvent itself each time it puts out a new album. That’s not to say the music is formulaic or boring, but the sound has the unmistakable Cake stamp. I will keep this review short and simply say this is another great album in the Cake anthology. I recommend you buy it here.

In support of Cake’s consistency, the album art is the same style as past releases. The album art is always designed by lead singer, John McCrea. I got a big kick out of their website that says:

“Due to today’s volatile and uncertain music business climate, CAKE songwriter John McCrea has decided to once again sell t-shirts for a living. Before making records with CAKE, he made a meager living selling his own hand-screened t-shirts.”

It makes me like John McCrea all the more to know that he is a fellow screen printer. Not many bands have the ability to pick good album art let alone be able to create it themselves.

Chan Marshall is the singer and songwriter behind the oddly named Cat Power. Her vocals work magic over sparse guitar or piano accompaniment on her new album, You Are Free. That is not to say that the music is simple, though. The raw nature of the stripped down sound contribute to the extremely intimate nature of the songs. Even on the more layered tracks you feel like you are witnessing an intimate performance. When something this original comes around, it isn’t surprising to hear Marshall described as the “premier female singer-songwriters of our generation” and “one of the most original and compelling singer-songwriters around.” I have to admit this album took a while to grow on me. If you give it a chance, this amazing album will surely become a favorite in your collection.