Album Round Up: Miniature Tigers, Pavement, Prince…

No doubt one of your top New Year’s resolutions was to expose yourself to as much new music as possible (everyone is as obsessed with music as me, right?), so check out a few of these new albums that you can get right now and some upcoming releases that are likely to exacerbate your musical addiction (but please, pace yourself).

• Tell it to the Volcano – Miniature Tigers: This new rock quartet from Phoenix released this debut gem in August 2008, but they are finally getting deserved exposure with a recently announced tour accompanying indie-rockers Deer and the Headlights through March. Miniature Tigers sounds like a cross between The Shins and The Fratellis with an occasional Weezer-esque guitar crunch. In other words: pure pop pleasure.
• Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition – Pavement: Although it is a remastered re-release (released Dec. 9), Pavement’s new edition of 1997’s Brighten the Corners features a 24-song second disc of B-sides and rarities that some candid moments in the band’s career. Recommended tracks: “Harness Your Hopes” and “Stereo.”

• Changing Horses – Ben Kweller: On his fourth studio album, to be released Feb. 2, BK ditches his familiar punk/folk mix for a set of 10 country tracks. Yes, country. There’s no other way to describe his rambling-man, seemingly Willie-Nelson-inspired ballads that Kweller delivers on Changing Horses. With this abrupt stylistic switch-up, it seems more likely that we’ll run into BK at Stagecoach rather than Coachella this year.
• MPLSOUND, Lotus Flower, and Elixer – Prince: The ever-ambitious purple-guitar-wielding Prince has announced not one, but three albums to be released over the course of 2009. No official release dates have yet been confirmed, but the first disc, MPLSOUND, is expected to drop sometime this month. The albums will feature a plethora special guests, according to recent interviews with Prince. You can listen to three new tracks, including a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells‘ “Crimson and Clover,” on his new Web site. Encore show at Coachella anyone?