Here's a look at a few CDs that hit stores today, including debuts from Vampire Weekend and Kate Walsh, a solo project from Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, and the 1,473rd album from Willie Nelson.
Paul Simon's Graceland is pretty much the blueprint for Vampire Weekend's eponymous debut full-length, and Talking Heads is a clear influence. What's remarkable about Vampire Weekend is that a band so young has already settled on a recognizable sound.
Chris Walla, of Death Cab for Cutie, is out with a solo record. Just as Ben Gibbard went off to make music with The Postal Service, Walla is showing what he contributes to Death Cab with Field Manual. It sounds so much like a Death Cab record, it becomes clear how much he's responsible for most of the band's sound.
There's something about Willie Nelson's voice right now, at 74, that makes his songs more authentic than ever. This record, Moment of Forever, works most of the time, even though it's produced by the perpetually shirtless Kenny Chesney.
Kate Walsh, like almost every other young, successful British singer right now, put a song on iTunes, had it become the single of the week, and saw her career take off after her work was featured on Grey's Anatomy. Her voice is clear, and the record (called Tim's House) is low-key, but it might put you to sleep.
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