As for my 2 cents on this week’s new releases: I enjoyed ‘Metals’ and was surprised by how uncommercial it was; I couldn’t bare listening to that new James Blake EP. I am now officially caught up with the Drake. -ed.

Drake’s Take: New Releases 10.03.11

After last week’s bountiful harvest, this week looks downright paltry in comparison. The obvious pull here is Feist’s third solo release, but don’t over look new releases from Colin Stetson, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Zola Jesus, Loney Dear, s.c.u.m., Prince Rama, DJ Shadow, the return of Misfits, along with another idiosyncratic EP from James Blake (available for download only right now), and a compilation of artists (led by Bob Dylan) paying tribute to Hank Williams with interpretations of some notebook entries never before put to music.

Playlist: New Releases 10.03.11

Feist – Metals
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

One of the things that Feist has always been able to do is to take a somewhat moody sentiment and make it sound a bit chipper, while still keeping a big toe with the indie cred built upon her Broken Social Scene beginnings. With Metals, much of what made Sesame Street come a calling is gone, and mood wins out. Feist is still balancing her sound here, but instead making the painful more palatable in the mood of the song, it’s the rich production that does the heavy lifting in balancing out the recent VH1 crossover fans with her indie sensibilities. While our ears are clear winners in the battle (Metals is majestic in its beauty), on the whole it feels like neither side is fully served. You’d be hard pressed to find a radio hit here and, likewise, any artsy weirdness that would make early BSS fans moan in indie ecstasy.

More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
James Blake – Enough Thunder / Album Stream vis Spotify
Colin Stetson – Those Who Didn’t Run
Zola Jesus – Conatus
We Were Promised Jetpacks – In the Pit of the Stomachs
Loney Dear – Hall Music / “My Heart” [mp3]
s.c.u.m. – Again Into Eyes
Prince Rama – Trust Now
DJ Shadow – The Less You Know, The Better
Talkdenomic – Ruins / “Revival” [mp3]
The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams
Masters of the Hemisphere – Maybe These are the Breaks
Charalambibes – Exile
Modeselektor – Monkeytown
Misfits – Devil’s Rain
Merle Haggard – Working in Tennessee
Indigo Girls – Beauty Queen Sister

REISSUES
The Beach Boys – The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album

Topspin Metals album sampler widget after the jump.