I'm utterly gobsmacked by how good the new Ted Leo album is. Before this I didn't really listen to Ted Leo. I liked Me and Mia (I mean, who doesn't? Who couldn't?) but his albums left me feeling a little lukewarm. The Brutalist Bricks reverses this trend completely and I'm finding myself thinking about it a lot. This song, Bottled in Cork has been the first "song I'm addicted to" that I've had in a couple months, where every time I get in my car it's the song I specifically seek out to listen to because I like it that much.

There's a couple cool things about the album, one is that it doesn't start off with its strongest songs. Most albums blow their load in the first four tracks, putting the best song in the second place, but that's not the case with Brutalist Bricks. Heck, I'd say one of the weakest tracks on the album is track two. The album just gets stronger and stronger as it goes on, and past the halfway mark you're finally hit with some of the best songs on the album. It's surprising, and, dare I say, absolutely genius. Instead of petering out, this album ramps up, and by the time it ends you want more.

Ted Leo is playing at The Troubadour on Saturday. Despite not being a fan, I went and saw him play near the end of summer last year and he was fantastic. The guy lives and breathes music. He's like the pop-punk version of Bruce Springsteen, giving his all every show and never letting up. Ted Leo is something that needs to be witnessed, and I'll be at his show Saturday (Ted, if you're reading this, please get me, my girlfriend, and my fan of yours friend on some sort of list, just so we can be sure to get in, please!) rocking the fuck out!

See you there...