For the Record

Author: Emily Temple

So here's some of what I expect will be cool this fall. Check it out, kids.

The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America. Vagrant Records.
Release date: October 3.

If you've heard the first two Hold Steady albums, you're probably thinking (or you should be thinking, if you have any sense at all), "Wow, these guys rock. They probably couldn't rock any harder if they tried." You'd be wrong though, because it seems that they can. I heard a bunch of tracks from their upcoming release (titled after a line in Kerouac's On The Road and their first album on a major label) at their Montreal show this summer. While I was really there to sing along to all my favorite songs and salivate over Craig Finn's druggy vocals, the new stuff didn't suck to hear. In fact, it was one of the best experiences I've had with music that I didn't know at a concert in a long time. After getting my paws on the new album proper, it seems obvious that the group has matured somewhat - but don't worry, not in that gross, serious way. It's just a little more back to basics. On their website, Finn says that their idea for the new album was to sound like "five guys playing music together" again. You can hear the sentiment, and it rocks. Unfortunately for us, their fall tour to support the album kind of skirts the Middlebury area (imagine that), but if you're down, there are upcoming shows in Hamden, Conn. (Sept. 30), New York, N.Y. (Oct. 1) and Boston, Mass. (Oct. 30).

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife. Capitol.

Release Date: October 3.

Here's another October 3 release from an indie mainstay who has just switched to a major label. Hoo-ray. The album is conceptually based on the story of "The Crane Wife," which is adapted in the 12 minute, three-part, epic title track. Whew. And it's not the only 12 minute long track on the album.

The story in question is a Japanese folktale, and it goes like this: A man is out hunting in the forest when he sees a wounded crane. He helps it, removing an arrow from its wing, allowing it to fly away. Soon after, a beautiful woman comes to his door. He falls in love with her and asks her to be his wife, though saying that he is very poor and cannot offer her everything she desires. She agrees, saying that she can weave fabrics to sell at the market so she can help make money. She sets up her loom in a small room of the house and makes him promise never to look at her while she is working. He is puzzled, but agrees, and every day she produces a new beautiful piece of fabric that sells at a high price at the market. One day, the man can no longer contain his curiosity and he peeks in at his wife while she is working at her loom. He is amazed to see that his wife is the crane, and that she is plucking out her own feathers to weave into the cloth, bleeding so that she can create it. Seeing her husband in the doorway, the crane wife looks at him with sad eyes and flies away forever.

This album is gorgeous. It's the Decemberists we all know and love, but somehow fuller and more ambitious in parts ­- the whole becoming a mix between old and new, prog-rock and poppier fare, and all lovely.

If new music isn't a visceral enough experience for you, check out these embodiments of compositional prowess performing at Higher Ground.

All hail Higher Ground. They have an outstanding calendar lineup this fall and best of all, it's 45 minutes away. No one has any excuse not to go see these shows. I mean it.

Elf Power - Sept. 26: Elephant 6 collective members Elf Power are low-fi gods. Worship.

Built to Spill - Oct. 1: If anyone else was depressed for a week when their April 30 Higher Ground show was cancelled, here's a chance to redeem your tickets/dignity.

Secret Machines - Oct. 6: I'm not actually sure that this will be a good show. Their latest album was merely "meh" - the songs all ran into one another, kind of putting me into an electro-coma. The previous album was pretty good though, so I plan on giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Go and be enlightened.