This Week's New Album Releases (3/8/11)

Each week we highlight notable album releases we care about. Today’s list includes solo records from X’s Exene Cervenka, Orange Juice’s Edwyn Collins and the long-awaited follow-up from Lupe Fiasco.

Alexi Murcoch – Towards The Sun
“Even if you don’t own Alexi Murdoch’s EP, Four Songs, or his first album, Time Without Consquence, you’ve likely heard his music on TV, in movies or driving the emotional core of a car commercial. The on-the-road recording of Murdoch’s third album Towards The Sun imbues it with intimacy and longing.” Read Jeff Gonick’s review.

Bruce Cockburn – Small Source of Comfort
“During a career that stretches back to the late 1960s, Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn has explored introspective mysticism and political protest within a musical framework that encompasses everything from classic folk fingerpicking to a dizzying jazz/folk/rock hybrid. A dazzling guitarist and poetic lyricist, he’s yet to release an album that is anything less than beautifully played and lyrically challenging.” Read Andy Whitman’s interview with Cockburn.

Edwyn Collins – Losing Sleep
“With the release of Losing Sleep, Edwyn Collins has entered inspirational biopic territory. A pair of cerebral hemorrhages in 2005 nearly killed him, and put anything as superfluous as a music career on hold. But by 2007, he was back on stage. The next year, he began the process of recording of this album, joined by young bucks who owe a debt to Collins’ old outfit, Orange Juice: Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand, The Drums and Ryan Jarman of The Cribs.” Read Jeremy Goldmeier’s review.

Exene Cervenka – The Excitement of Maybe
When Exene Cervenka, frontwoman of legendary punk quartet X, announced her recent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, she said, “Many people remain strong and continue to live their lives as productively as they had before an MS diagnosis and I plan to be one of those people.” She’s lived up to those words with her solo release The Excitement of Maybe. Come see Cervenka play our Paste Party in Austin, Texas, next week.

Lupe Fiasco – Lasers
The long delayed followup to The Cool is finally here. We’ll let Fiasco speak for himself: “Jay-Z said I was nice, so as a rapper I’m good. And I’m better than you. And I can really rap. And you’ll even say that I’m better than you. And just when you think that I’m not…go to sleep!”

R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now
“The band’s 15th album, Collapse Into Now, is littered with references to their mighty back catalog: “Alligator Aviator Autopilot” crashlands into “Wake-Up Bomb,” and closer “Blue” churns the same amelodic dirge as “Country Feedback,” completely with Stipe’s delivery straddling talking blues and poetry slam. This is not an act cannibalizing itself for easy radio play or to remind fans of past glories. Rather, R.E.M. are simply engaging with the past and collapsing it into now, as a means of acknowledging that their songs derive from a single collective perspective, one that has aged but hasn’t really changed.” Read Stephen M. Deusner’s review.

STRFKR – Reptililians
On it’s second album, Portland’s STRFKR camouflages lyrics about death and the apocalypse in catchy dance pop. Trade your email address for a free track from the album.

Wye Oak – Civilian
“It’s easy to compare Wye Oak to Beach House—both groups originated in Baltimore, are comprised of boy/girl duos and usually get pegged as dream-pop acts. But Wye Oak’s dark, gorgeous and dynamic record stands on its own. On Civilian, Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner have crafted their best work to date.” Read Max Blau’s review.