The two records or CDs or collections of downloadable media that I've been listening to that are both relatively new and good are The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers and Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.
Jack White's side project made a damn good record. The pop single, Steady As She Goes, rocks with an uptight back beat and massive choruses. There's a pretty impressive Rush impersonation on Hands. But the stand out track for me is Blue Veins - a slow blues that just blows it down (and I'm no blues fan). The last verse is entirely backwards and the production is amazing.
Arctic Monkeys have thoughtful lyrics and hooky melodies. The singer/songwriter/guitar dude is the whole show. The rest of the band sound like 18 year old punks, which is a) not bad, and b) what they are, but any other young punk rhythm section would probably do. The lyrics are prescient ("there's only music so that there's new ring tones") and the tunes are crafty (When the Sun Goes Down opens with the singer and a guitar playing an almost 20s vaudvillian intro), and this makes the record.
Listen to enjoy.
(Written by el ticknor)
Check out Broken Boy Soldiers
Also, check out The Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
