It's time for candy and costumes, but the only thing scary about this week's new music is how good some of these albums are, and I'm not saying that for the (candy-)corny joke's sake.  That new Swell Season album is jaw-dropping, the new Tegan and Sara redeems their previous album for me, and we're even getting some tejano versions of Disney songs that aren't half bad.  Plus there's an album from the chick who was backing Michael Jackson on guitar as he was gearing up for his concerts.  Yes - scary good.  See for yourself:


3
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
Atreyu
Awesome New Republic - Hearts - a dance-tastic indie duo (+touring drummer) that hits me like a hip update of Erasure - lots of disco synth-pop with solid backbeat and outrageously good vocals that hold up just as well when the tempo slows down
Devendra Banhart
Bassnectar
Between the Buried and Me
Birdman
Blind Boys of Alabama - Duets - just what it says, and the duets are with a roster including Ben Harper, Jars of Clay, Susan Tedeschi, Toots Hibbert, Asleep At the Wheel, John Hammond, and even Lou Reed.  I suspect this is mostly just older recordings, but some of these are new to my ears and they're all pretty good, in the suped-up contemporary style the Blind Boys have been sporting for the better part of this decade
The Bravery
Broadcast & the Focus Group
James Brown live
Creed - yes, THAT Creed, with the original line-up
A Day to Remember
Florence and the Machine
Former Ghosts
Garage a Trois
Glass Ghost
Glasses Malone
Gov't Mule
Gregorian - Christmas Chants - it's a German modern rock band with gregorian monk singers, curbing their normal rock/pop leanings in the holiday spirit for some traditional Christmas classics, but with their contemporary styling thrown in for good measure
Euge Groove
Halford
Hem
Hollywood Undead
Hot Chellie Rae
Jack Johnson live CD/DVD
Kid Sister
The Longcut
Los Lobos - Goes Disney - if you couldn't guess from the title, this seriously is Los Lobos playing Los Lobos versions of classic Disney songs (i.e. rocking them out tex-mex style)
Yo-yo Ma box set
Brian McKnight
Morningwood
The Mother Hips
Joe Nichols
John Nolan
Orianthi - Believe - everyone would've been talking about this golden-locked guitarist if Michael Jackson's concerts had gone off as planned, and the "This Is It" film should get some buzz going just the same.  She's basically a modern-day Jennifer Batten (MJ's Thriller-era guitarist) out of Australia, and she's already taken the stage with Steve Vai, among other six-string noteworthies.  She does sing fairly decently, but it's the instrument in her hands which sets fire to these songs
Pelican
Pink Martini - Splendor In the Grass - one of the most versatile overall bands in the non-traditional pop world, seamlessly incorporating jazz, swing, and world styles into a thoroughly enjoyable multi-lingual hybrid of intoxicating classic dance music.  China Forbes' sultry singing is but one of many highlights to be found...
Radio Disney
R.E.M. - Live at Olympia
Kenny Rogers
Carly Simon
Keely Smith Christmas
Stephen Stills live
Sting live CD/DVD
String Cheese Incident
Suffocation
The Swell Season - Strict Joy - I was all set to write up a longer review of this album before having to work 17 of the last 24 hours.  Rest assured, this album is worth lots more words than I can give it - Glen Hansard is no stranger to making quality music, and his seasoned hand is well on display in the songcraft, the arrangements, and production (shared with Peter Katis, another expert hand) of this complete work.  Marketa Irglova's wistful voice and piano provide the perfect counterpoint to Hansard's weary tenor and urgent guitar playing, and the competing ideas which kept occurring to me listening to these tracks are "filling in the corners" and "keep it simple" - there are expert touches in the album's small spaces (a backing vocal here, a sustained string swell there), but never any overcrowding, each stroke masterfully applied.  These are not simple pop songs, they are small journeys that alternate course, taking detours through a busy city or stopping on the roadside to admire the scenery.  And that's just the music - Hansard and Irglova's shared songs put the album's title to the test, veering from quiet celebration to winsome pleading to wide-eyed, regretful wonder.  Indeed, when Hansard sings "I'm stuck here killing myself" in standout "The Verb", you'd be hard-pressed to tell whether it's from despair or wry-smiled self-deprecation.  This is a dynamite follow-up to their Oscar-winning debut, and if this is the direction they're headed, we can expect even better...
TechN9ne
Tegan and Sara - Sainthood - for any of you uninitiated, these Canadian twins have more than just the nasally sweet voice which dominated their last two albums, and if anyone enjoyed their first two LPs (This Business Of Art and If It Was You), you'll be happy to hear their soulful, heavyweight rock voices making some appearances on this new LP.  I personally felt a bit cheated by the brevity and scrappiness of the songs on their last album (though I shouldn't - they called it The Con so it was right in the title), so I am happy to report this is a much meatier work: better songs, more musicianship, extra keyboard layers (the kind that made So Jealous so memorable), almost prog-level dynamics, and much bolder lead vocals from both of the Quin sisters.  Last album had them composing separately (a mistake), and they began collaborating again on this one, which is evident in its significantly improved overall quality.  A great return to form
Tia Carrerra (the band, not the actress)
Train
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Night Castle - yes, a new one, and it's a second non-Christmas entry into the prog/Broadway/rock ensembles catalog, so less holiday fare but still plenty of classical intertwinings and underpinnings
U2 - Unforgettable Fire 25th Anniversary
Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg - still calling them "Wolfmother" is a bit misleading, as it's now just singer/guitarist/afro-helmet Andrew Stockdale and 3 brand new guys.  However, Stockdale is the sound of this band with his classic-rock riffage and high-register vocal histrionics so proper album #2 is a faithful continuation of the chunky, riff-driven retro-metal style laid down so thickly by their (his) earlier releases.  The music on the album is great and all, but I might buy it just for the cover alone


This is a decent lead-up to the holiday season, so get'em while they're hot.  I'm about to burst with all the good music going into my ears from these last few weeks, I'm almost glad the flood will soon trickle down to a quiet stream... almost.  Until next week, see you when I read you


Meow (a(a)


p.s. as if reading about them wasn't enough, you can enjoy a playlist featuring most of these fine artists on my MySpace Page.  Ennjoy