New Music Releases for August 18th, 2009

Wow - another godawaful week for new releases. Here are the "highlights".

New releases: it's a great week if you love marginally talented one-hit wonders from the late 90's as both Third Eye Blind and Sister Hazel are dropping a deuce in your local record store this week. The 3EB album is already released (today, for some reason) so you can maybe listen to that today and it might kill your desire to buy more washed up loser rock tomorrow.

Marginally talented one-hit wonder from the 80's Colin Hay (the cockeyed guy from Men At Work) returns with a new one as well.

Otep's new album is getting a big push and looks like a hit in the world of extremely personal metal. Two versions come out tomorrow on Victory records.

The other new releases worth mentioning are a new Brendan Benson solo album (Benson is a compadre of the White Stripes Jack White in the Raconteurs). Previous albums have been pleasant, if slight, power pop exercises. Hopefully this one will have more balls.

Two Dark Horses this week. The first is a new Joe Henry album - he's a talented singer-songwriter whose best work (Short Man's Room, with the Jayhawks backing him) is long out of print. Sadly for him, he married Madonna's sister, so he's better know for banging old ropey-arms relatives than his music, which is a shame.

Dark Horse #2 is the soundtrack to Inglorious Basterds - Tarnatino's soundtracks are always worth a listen.

Catalog: the Cult's beloved "Love" album gets a deluxe 2 CD release this week, which may be good if it doesn't expose what a crappy band they actually are. Don't get me wrong, they made some good records with talented producers (and this is one of them) but they always sucked live and without a heavy hand in the studio they have failed to make worthwhile records for decades now.

The Accused re-release a long-lost thrash classic this week, way too late to capitalize on any interest there was in the late 90's and early part of this decade.

Gov't Mule release more archival stuff. The Rolling Stones re-release the worst of their compilations to the sound of crickets. Who cares?

More people will buy the Stones comp than the most ill-concieved Tribute album of all time - to 80's has-beens Love & Rockets. What is the track list going to be, ten versions of "So Alive" and "No New Tale To Tell" by unknown indie bands? Yes.

Here's your reason to not go to the store tomorrow:

ACCUSED-Curse Of Martha Splatterhead

ALPERT, HERB/HALL, LANI-Anything Goes

AS TALL AS LIONS-You Can't Take It With You

AS TALL AS LIONS-You Can't Take It With You (Deluxe Edition)

ASPHYX-Death The Brutal Way

BENSON, BRENDAN-My Old Familiar Friend

BETTS, DICKEY -Offical Bootleg (2 CD)

BLUE FLOYD-Begins (2 CD)

BREATHE CAROLINA-Hello Fascination

BROADWAY CALLS-Good Views, Bad News

BURNT BY THE SUN-Heart Of Darkness

CABLE-Failed Convict

CASCADA-Evacuate The Dancefloor

CHOIR OF YOUNG BELIEVERS-This Is For The White In Your Eyes/ Burn The Flag

CRAIG, JONNY -Dream Is A Question You Don't Know How To Answer

CULT-Love (Deluxe Edition/2 CD)

DEPEDRO (JAIRO ZAVALA/CALEXICO)-Depedro

EMMURE-Felony

GIANT SQUID-Ichthyologist

GOV'T MULE-Deep End Vol. 1 & 2 (2 CD)

GWAR-Lust In Space

HAY, COLIN-American Sunshine

HENRY, JOE-Blood From Stars

INWARD EYE-Throwing Bricks Instead Of Kisses

KIDS LIKE US-Game

K'NAAN-Dusty Foot On The Road

MAXWELL, NATHEN (FLOGGING MOLLY)-White Rabbit

MCCLINTON, DELBERT-Acquired Taste (CD/DVD version)

MCCLINTON, DELBERT-Acquired Taste

MCENTIRE, REBA-Keep On Loving You

MUTE MATH-Armistice

O'RILEY, CHRISTOPHER-Out Of My Hands

OTEP-Smash The Control Machine

OTEP-Smash The Control (Deluxe Edition)

PAUL, SEAN-Imperial Blaze

PISSED JEANS-King Of Jeans

RAVAGE-End Of Tomorrow

REATARD, JAY-Watch Me Fall

ROLLING STONES-Jump Back: The Best Of Rolling Stones

SISTER HAZEL-Release

SOUNDTRACK-INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

STICKY FINGAZ-A Day In The Life Soundtrack

THIRD EYE BLIND-Ursa Major

THOMPSON, RICHARD-Walking On A Wire: '68-'09

TROWER, ROBIN-Rt@ro.08 (2 CD)

UMPHREY'S MCGEE-Mantis (2 CD)

VARIOUS ARTISTS-MONSTER BALLADS-The Ultimate Set

VARIOUS ARTISTS-TRIBUTE TO LOVE AND ROCKETS-New Tales To Tell

VARIOUS ARTISTS-ULTRA TRANCE ANTHEMS