The Letter N

As you may or may not remember/care, I've been profiling five bands/artists that begin with a particular letter. I started it over on my personal xanga site, did the letter M on the Bipedal prototype, and then got distracted and forgot all about the alphabet.

But now I'm back to let you know I can really shake 'em down.

N

The New Pornographers
I suppose it's a little weird that I heard of the band first and then Neko Case and AC Newman later. I work supergroups backwards. Anyway, peppy bouncy (yet perfectly restrained) indierock. For those of you expecting the sultry country stylings of Case you're going to be disappointed. For those of you expecting candycane rock 'n' roll... well, here you go. Their new album, from the bits I've heard at least, is more subdued (but no less awesome) then their previous releases.
"Myriad Harbour" .mp3 (via Matadorrecords.com)
"My Rights Versus Yours" .mp3 (via Matadorrecords.com)
"Twin Cinema" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"The Laws Have Changed" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
[Note: for the tracks from Insound, you may have to physically type .mp3 at the end of the file name. Or you might not.]


A.C. Newman
Speaking of Mr. Newman...
His solo stuff is very similar to that of the New Pornographers (he is the band's principle songwriter), just not as zesty. That's not necessarily a bad thing as his solo style leaves the door wide open for introspection and soft little nuances.
Give the two songs on the A.C. Newman Matador page a listen.


Nurse & Soldier
An Oneida side-project, Nurse & Soldier is a male-female duo (though I think they've added more members now) specializing in foggy rhythmic fuzzrock. While the cloudy guitarwork may be reminicent of Oneida, the vocals and song presentaton are more pop oriented (though no less rewarding).
You can download the entire Nurse & Soldier 7" as well as an excellent hypnotizing track from their Marginalia album HERE.


Salim Nourallah
Some nice contemporary Texas-based folk music about love and unlove and 1978. There's nothing terribly striking about the music or the vocals, just sit back and enjoy the good songmanship. In fact at times Nourallah comes across as mellow George Harrison (as if George Harrison could be any mellower). Salim also has a brother named Faris who's got his own records too, and sometimes they'll record together as the Nourallah Brothers.
"The World is Full of People Who Want to Hurt You" .mp3 (via Insound.com)


The National
Low-key (but driving) indierock with some strings and stuff. Sounds about what Interpol would be if they went a different direction. You'll first notice the deep vocals (no sissy high notes here), then you'll notice the layers of surprisingly beautiful music. Sometimes a guitar or some sort of horn will pop out and say hi, and sometimes (like on "Slipping Husband") the band will for a brief moment go ballistic, but for the most part The National's music is pretty steady.
Three tracks are available for download on their website (along with a terrible picture of somebody's toes).
"All the Wine" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"Son" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"Beautiful Head" .mp3 (via Insound.com)