I know it was just, like, a few days ago that I posted "Alligator Bop", the first track off the debut album by A Great Big Pile Of Leaves, but since that posting I have fallen so thoroughly in love with this band that it's pretty much insane.

In the last 9 days I've listened to this album over 15 times. I don't think there's a bad track on the album (even the meandering/filler instrumental "Race Car Driving" is simply a nice interlude, serving to pace the album) and I'm almost ready to declare that most of the songs are really really good. There's a lot of good moments: the chorus to "We Don't Need Our Heads"; the live audience cheering ("Wooo!") right before "A Few Screws Loose" breaks back into the raucous revival of the chorus... the list could really go on and on. ("Dearest... pumpkin-innn... why do you have to leave?")

The point I'm trying to make is that this is a damn fine album. If you enjoyed Ted Leo's release this year I can't imagine you wouldn't enjoy this. Admittedly it took me about three or four listens to really get this album, but now that I have I think this is probably going to end up as one of my favorite new artists of the year and it's definitely secured itself a spot in my Top 10 of 2010.

Please, please, please go to their website and download this album for free. I'm begging you. Do it. Do it now. I think I am going to buy one of their shirts.

What a damn good way to start off the decade, you know? 2010 is turning into one bitchin' year for music, and it's barely half way over. We still have so many great new releases to go this year...

This song kicks ass for a lot of reasons. One, the bouncy folksy verses paired with the vocally explosive chorus (which could be inspired by either Ted Leo or We Were Promised Jetpacks' live shows). I don't know what it's about, but I like to imagine that he's singing about friends in youth going adventuring with beer in the woods and having an awesome summer day not thinking about much and just dicking around.

You know, innocent days like they have in movies but never happen in reality except for very rarely. Maybe that's just the glasses I wear that color my world, that it's not that someone always fails to have a good time or gets uncomfortable, it's that I am generally a douche and I just don't like doing things with other people.

Maybe there is some place out there in the world where there's a group of friends who laugh and smile all the time and they never argue, and when they do they quickly realize it's silly and share a manly hug and then drink beer and talk politely about women they'd like to bed. Do they have this in Omaha? Kansas? Or do we need to go deep into Real America territory? Then instead of discussing women they discuss Obama's Kenyan birth certificate?

I don't know. I've never been friends with many people who didn't seem to subtly dislike each other under it all. Can you have a group of more than four mutual friends who don't end up talking shit on each other and building up animosity until you can no longer have fun as a cohesive unit? Does it happen? I'm rambling...

This song is good! You can download almost all of their album for free over on their website. It's a pretty good album. The guy has a good & unique voice, and that's like the most important thing.