New Releases - 11/7-11/13

All India Radio - Echo Other (Minty Fresh) This is one of those albums that walks the very fine line between hip downtempo/ambient electronica and new age cheese, though overall I think it does mostly succeed in the former. The best review of this Australian group that I've read so far theorizes that they sound like a collaboration between Kruder & Dorfmeister, The Alan Parsons Project and Calexico. Of course, as with just about any downtempo band, you could also compare these guys to Air, which makes me wonder if the acronym for the band (A.I.R.) is more than just a mere coincidence.

Download: All India Radio - "Four Three"

-Arab Strap - Ten Years of Tears (Chemikal Underground)

-Babybird - Between My Ears (Babybird)

Isobel Campbell - Milkwhite Sheets (V2) Solo album number three from the Scottish chanteuse is a decidedly "low-key" album (even by Isobel Campbell standards) heavy on folk influence. The project was actually conceived while she was working on Ballad Of The Broken Seas and finished shortly afterward. "Mark took some time to work on his vocals, so I had all this time to play with...When we started Ballad…I wasn’t really that knowledgeable about folk music. There’s so much folk music I can’t listen to, the stuff that’s more arran sweaters and drinking ale than anything else. But while making these albums, I immersed myself in the folk music that captivated me, listening to the Harry Smith Anthology Of Folk Music over and over… Natural, earthy songs that belong to the people." - Isobel Campbell

Download: Isobel Campbell - "O Love Is Teasin'"

-The Evens - The Evens Get Evens (Dischord)

-Gescom - MiniDisc (Or UK)

PJ Harvey - Peel Sessions 1991-2004(Island) Harvey joins a list of artists including Pulp, House of Love and Siouxsie and the Banshees whose Peel Sessions will be released for the first time, during a month of commemorative events, to mark the second anniversary of John Peel's death. '"John loved the sessions and was thrilled to have Polly record so many for his show. He considered her a wonderful artist and they were great friends. It's fantastic that they're coming out on CD. I think he'd be very proud.'" Louise Kattenhorn - Producer, The John Peel Show

Listen: PJ Harvey - "Sheela-Na-Gig"

-Talib Kweli - Ear Drum (Reprise)

-Iomos Morad - Go Head (All Natural Inc)

-Michael Mayer - Immer 2 (Kompakt)

-Ol' Dirty Bastard - A Son Unique (Koch)