Looking ahead: May 2008-July 2008

I’ve scoured a number of new release sites, and I can’t really find anything coming up in the next few months that interest me. Oh, there’s lots of music coming out in the next few months — even I’m releasing an EP this summer — but very few things that would get me to the record store.

So instead, here’s a quick round-up of items about which I’ve already posted.

KAREN, MAGGOT IN TEARS, May 2

downy was a short-lived band, but its members have since worked with some heavy hitters in the Japan indie scene. Drummer Akiyama Takahiro plays in Higurashi Aiha’s new band LOVES. Guitarist Aoki Hiroshi splits his time between Ahito Inazawa’s VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE and TOKIE’s unkie. Singer Aoki Robin fronts Dhal, and now Akiyama and bassist Nakamata Kazuhiro teams up with ART-SCHOOL’s Kinoshita Riki to form KAREN. downy has a pretty impressive family tree.

LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, This is LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, May 6

This US debut compilation isn’t intended for the folks crazy enough to buy LOVE PSYCHEDELICO albums straight from Japan. Rather, it’s an affordable means for said crazy folks to get their loved ones into the band. Hacktone promises some impressive packaging and Romanized lyrics. I might get it just to get portions of LOVE PSYCHEDELICO III without having to buy the entire album.

Midnight Oil, Diesel and Dust (remastered), May 6

Diesel and Dust put Midnight Oil on the international map back in the late ’80s, and the album gets the remastering treatment for this release. A DVD of the band’s tour in the Australian interior is included. I can’t believe I’m at the age where I’m a target market for reissues.

Nico Muhly, Mothertongue, May 6

None of the new release sites I visit mentioned this album, and I found out about it when I added the Rate Your Music application to my Facebook profile. Muhly’s previous album, Speaks Volumes, was a 2007 favorite. Do classical composers have sophomore slumps? I guess we’ll find out …

Bill Frisell, History, Mystery, May 13

I haven’t bought a Bill Frisell album in years because the guy just records way too many, although he’s better at spacing them out than Wayne Horvitz. Frisell has knack for focusing on aspects of his very distinctive sound. His writing is as recognizable as his playing, but he constantly reconfigures how it’s presented. So you always know what to expect — but not quite.

Emmylou Harris, All I Intended to Be, June 10

Harris is working with long-time producer Brian Ahrens, so I’m curious to see if she retains the more alt-country sound coaxed by Malcolm Burns and Daniel Lanois.

Chara, Honey, June 25

I didn’t listen to the singles preceding this album very much, so I don’t have much of an impression of how this album may turn out.

Hajime Chitose, "Hotaruboshi", July 2

Is it my imagination, or has Hajime tempered her more ornate singing style?

U2, Boy (Deluxe Edition), July 22

U2, October (Deluxe Edition), July 22

U2, War (Deluxe Edition), July 22

Pause & Play listed these reissues as coming out May 22, then Amazon lists them variously for June. But Billboard says they aren’t coming out till July 22. If they don’t come out on any of the June dates, then I guess Billboard will have been correct!