Sea of Bees - Songs For The Ravens 2010
4 outta 5
A lovely set of acoustic friendly tunes.  Kinda one part Victoria Bergsman, one part Camera Obscura, with a little extra fuzz thrown in once in a while.

Land of Talk - Cloak and Cipher 2010
4 outta 5
Pleasantly surprised by the new Land of Talk album which I didn’t know was due out. Solid, if not including any standout tracks. Gets loud at times which is always a treat, but mostly pretty relaxed.

Various Artists - Kompakt Total 11 2010
4 outta 5
Another solid overview of recent Kompakt output. Love the quirky nature of many of the tracks. Nothing straight ahead or obvious here and a bunch of stuff I had yet to hear. 

Various Artists - Sixteen Candles Soundtrack 1984
3.5 outta 5
31 tracks of summer vibes from the 70s and 80s among other classics. A solid soundtrack for a remarkable film which I watched start to finish for the first time earlier this week. Silly, I know.

Booka Shade - More! 2010
3 outta 5
Every once in a while I hear a Booka track that makes me think I’ve been missing out by not giving their albums a proper listen, but for every top vibe like Donut there are an equal amount of tracks straight outta dullsville. Stick to the singles. 

Blonde Redhead - Penny Sparkle 2010
3 outta 5
Sounding more and more like playing Phoenix about 40 bpm slower. Or maybe I’m just being distracted by the fey chanteuse. Either way, just enough of a refresh from the last album to keep me interested.

Monarch - Monarcy 2010
2.5 outta 5
Nothing on here that matches their first single, The Phoenix Alive, which can be heard in June’s 126 Melancholy Mix. The rest is just too soft, loose; not the same energy or drive. 

Betty Davis - Is It Love Or Desire 1976
2.5 outta 5
It’s a funk explosion of crazy. As much as I’m amused by Superpitcher’s “Lap dance, I wanna lap dance” hook on Kompakt Total 11, it sure doesn’t compare to Betty’s Whorey Angel.

Klaxons - Valley of the Calm Tress 2010
?? outta 5
Yikes! This is all over the place. Not sure if it’s interesting or horrible. It’s sure no Myths.