Just another false alarm...

I've not been writing much recently, and this may continue. One of the more minor of the things pre-occupying me has been the usual thing of trying to find new music for the summer. Two to listen to on this note are Laura Cantrell and Franz Ferdinand (though for summer music I've always found a combination of the sorts of music epitomised by Joni Mitchell and Django Reinhardt quite good).

Laura Cantrell is great country music (Americana? I wish we could find a single good label to describe musicians who aren't averse to banjos) - very breezy on the light songs, very pure in tone. Songs like 'Two Seconds' are really beautiful, while she's got a good number of lighter cuts to appeal to other tastes too ('Little Bit Of You', 'Whiskey Makes You Sweeter'). I think her appeal probably spans beyond the usual country listener, so it might be worth a go for anyone who is averse to banjos...

Franz Ferdinand hit me when supporting Morrissey with a 'Popular New Indie Band Actually Quite Good Shock'. This stuff's punky pop at best - tight, rhythmic, sing-along. I haven't bought the album yet, as I'm waiting to nick it from a friend (and deprive the industry of money - no!), but this lot look like they'll be worth keeping for a little while.