jbrotherlove

Adele is preparing for the 2011 release of her sophomore album, 21:

I’m very excited, nervous, eager, anxious but chuffed to announce my new album! It’s taken a while and it knocked me for six when writing it. It’s different from 19, it’s about the same things but in a different light. I deal with things differently now. I’m more patient, more honest, more forgiving and more aware of my own flaws, habits and principles. Something that comes with age I think. So fittingly this record is called 21.

If the rest of the album is anything like first single “Rolling In The Deep” (or her fantastic debut 19) we are in for a huge treat.

From his new album, Lasted. I agree with Pitchfork’s :

The music Thomas Meluch makes as Benoît Pioulard has always sounded cinematic. Using his deep, hushed voice, acoustic guitar, and smattering of electronic textures, his mix of dusky, introverted soft-focus indie-pop and ambient textures bring to mind flickering, aged film footage. This trend continues on Lasted, Meluch’s third full-length under the name. The songs here share sonic concerns, but have no specific or overriding theme connecting them. Lasted sounds like a well-curated collection of miniatures that Meluch had stored away for later use, dusting them off and presenting them together when they felt ready. But it also feels like it’s best experienced whole.

More here.

While you were sleeping, Joi, keeper of underground soul/rock/funk/electro/ badass-ness, has been busy hosting weekly jam sessions in downtown Atlanta while crafting her much-belated new album. On the way, she teamed up with partner Davon Lee to form Hot Heavy & Bad.”One” is the first video from their forthcoming album. It’s gritty. It’s genre-defying. It’s sensual. It’s Joi.

On why she hasn’t blown up after all of these years and accolades:

“I don’t think there’s any one reason in particular,” she answers, a soft sigh escaping her. “That’s the only thing that I know for certain. I really try to judge [my music] by its worth and the beauty of the creation. I have to, because if I had to judge it by hard numbers, then I would feel like a failure. And I don’t feel like that.”

More at Creative Loafing Atlanta