The great thing about writing a blog is that people will contact you and ask if they can send you their book or CD, with the hope you'll review it. Sometimes that leads to an awkward, "Um, it's not quite my thing" sort of exchange when they get in touch to see what I thought. Those instances are more than balanced by the times when I'm blown away by something about which I'd been unaware.

Such was the case when Justin Stivers got in touch to see if I'd be interested in hearing a couple of albums from his one-man band, Pet Ghost Project. I went to his site, downloaded one of the discs, and loved what I heard. He sent me the other one, and I was floored by the quality and the variety. I'd be hard pressed to say it's the same act if I didn't know better.

For the uninitiated -- a group that's sure to shrink once Stivers' music gets out there -- Stivers is a New York by way of Seattle musician who was a one-time member of The Antlers (more on them later). Having recorded on his own over the years, he decided to leave that band and pursue the Pet Ghost Project full time. These two new releases are the result. It was the right decision.

My favorite of the two albums is Idiot Brain/Genius Heart, an EP, really, at 27 minutes and five songs. Stivers has a sheaf of press clippings that compare him to Animal Collective, Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel, Brian Wilson and Built to Spill, and while at least some of those elements are here, this doesn't feel derivative. The songs skitter and dive, bursts of noise giving way to euphoric blasts of pure pop glory. Stivers is offering a free download of the disc, and I suggest you go get it now.

The other album is no less accomplished, though it is slightly less accessible. The Wordless Conversation is aptly named. There are occasional vocals, but no real lyrics. Tortoise is dropped as a reference point, and there is certainly some math-rock in the album's DNA strand. Again, however, this is noisier and less predictable than most of what is associated with that tag, and that's a good thing. Stivers is offering three of the seven songs on the 36 minute album as a free download, which offers a great chance to check out his range. (Grab "They Built a City in My Country Mind" to get an immediate taste).

Live, if you're lucky enough to live in New York, you can catch Stivers supported by two other musicians. On record, it's just him, an impressive feat.

Meanwhile, The Antlers, another band built on the work of a wildly creative individual -- in this case Peter Silberman -- will see its self-titled album, Hospice, reissued by French Kiss Records on June 23. It's no stretch to see why Stivers and Silberman hooked up; they have somewhat similar musical sensibilities if their latest releases are any indication. Stivers seems more enamored of noise and chaos as vehicles for eventual blissful beauty than Silberman, who, at least on Hospice, strips away extraneous sound to get to the emotional core of his music.

Hospice, an album of songs about caring for a terminally ill patient who may lash out at the caretaker, is a bracing, intimate work. It's an easy album to hear on multiple levels, the music offer a soothing balm that leavens the lyrical content whose power is revealed on repeat listens. (Try "Two"now.)

That's a lot of great music to stumble across in the past few days, and a couple of artists to definitely keep an ear out for in the future.

Labels: music