The Rob Gordon Shuffle: Not Enough Time to Blog Edition

This should have been up hours ago. Sorry guys — second week of school and all. I’m trying to get good grades this year. Here are a couple of bands I’ve wanted to post on all week.

Lullaby Baxter – “Rattled Little Clam”: mp3
Goddamn this is cute. Bathed in the same neon glow as the new Belle & Sebastian record or Sondre Lerche’s “(I Wanna) Call It Love,” “Rattled Little Clam” is my favorite track from Lullaby Baxter’s excellent Garden Cities of To-Morrow. Like New Buffalo, Baxter’s voice is disguised in its own humble breathiness, but her shy, sweet songs have their own brand of heartache and humor. (Buy from Boompa Records)

Summer Hymns – “Pity and Envy”: mp3
Backward Masks is the album Wilco could’ve recorded after Being There instead of the near-orchestral Summerteeth. It stems from the same pop aspirations but without any of the pretenses, preferring the tender mistress of summery folk instead. I really hope the Shins have a few copies of this record handy while they’re finishing up their next album. (It’s due Nov. 21 on 2006 All-Star Misra Records)

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The Rob Gordon Shuffle is a weekly Sunday rundown of fascinating songs and albums without any particular regard to genre or timeliness. It is absolutely not a top 5.