This is Why Chuck Berry is the True King of Rock 'n Roll

Album Stream: The Vaselines - Sex with an X (Sub Pop, 2010)

Scottish twee-pop-pioneers the Vaselines return with their second album Sex with an X, their first album since 1990's Dum Dum. Due September 14 via Sub Pop Records, Sex with an X is streaming in full for two more days at the Guardian.co.uk.

Expectedly, in the twenty years since the Vaselines' first and only album, the band has made some pretty significant strides away from its innocent twee-pop days. Such is obvious right away with the snarling opening track "Ruined," with its twisted guitar-noise-feedback, and "The Devil's Inside Me," which features the same hazy, languid, pseudo-psych riff that you might hear on an early Dandy Warhols' album (although the Vaselines' riff is more brooding than psychedelic). The Vaselines also let their guitar-chops show perhaps more than ever, delving into classic rock with the plodding riff of "Overweight But Over You" and the essentially country rocker "My God's Bigger Than Your God."

But don't get the wrong idea: The Vaselines haven't totally "grown up"; the simple, sunny tunes are still here. The title-track features their typically straightforward lyrics ("It feels so good, it must be bad for me / Let's do it, let's do it again," frontman Eugene Kelly sings). The Vaselines also retain their playfulness with their humourous, Duran Duran-"name-dropping" dig at the 80s, obtusely titled "I Hate the 80s" (ironically, the Sex with an X track "Mouth to Mouth" sounds very 80s).

If you're new to the Vaselines, Sex with an X is actually a good starting point, regardless of the fact that your choices are limited. They play a bit more technically now (by which I mean they play more than just a few chords), but never do they sound like they've abandoned their original sound in order to stay relevant. Sex with an X is a great album in its own right, but it's even more impressive as a come-back album after twenty years away from the studio.

Kings of Leon - "Radioactive" (single) (RCA Records, 2010)

Have Kings of Leon become the new U2 or Coldplay? "Radioactive," the surprisingly catchy and overall good first single from their upcoming fifth album Come Around Sundown is not totally redeeming. Like U2 and Coldplay, Kings of Leon still seem capable of creating a good hook but slather on arena-sized amounts of reverb to make the song sound unnecessarily huge. But regardless of that minor fault, "Radioactive" is still good enough to make me want to check out Kings of Leon's new album. I also still rather enjoy their album titles and quite dig their svelte new motif:

Album Stream: Superchunk - Majesty Shredding (Merge Records, 2010)

Only two days left to stream 90s indie rock stalwarts Superchunk's latest album Majesty Shredding at NPR.org. Majesty Shredding is the band's first album since 2001's Here's to Shutting Up.

Interview: Pete International Airport

Great interview with the Dandy Warhols' guitarist Pete "International Airport" Holmstrom by the Portland Mercury.

It's always interesting to hear form Pete. I've always considered him the silent, most level-headed Dandy, and his opinions on the Dandy Warhols' recent material and his sentiments towards the band's creative process proves it. It's good to see that at least one member of the Dandy Warhols hasn't been down with the band's last two albums and thinks that having all the time and digital tools in the world to create is not necessarily a luxury. Hopefully, the Dandy Warhols will follow Pete's prescription for their future albums.

Pete International Airport releases his debut self-titled solo album on September 21 via Custom Made Music.

Free Download: The National Trust - "The National Trust: The Album (The National Trust, 2010)

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-events-sounds/

This year, the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty collaborated with former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker to produce an album of sounds recorded at eleven of Britain's historically significant sites.

I don't know if The National Trust: The Album can be considered field recordings - my basic understanding of field recordings is that they strictly capture non-human-made sounds - but many of The National Trust's tracks feature sounds such as human footsteps, a music box, billiards being shot and doors opening, all of which were likely coordinated. But The National Trust features enough natural sounds such as birds chirping and waves gently undulating that I personally consider it to be an album of field recordings.

The tracks are short, ranging from thirty-three seconds to three minutes, sixteen seconds (the whole album is just shy of twenty-six minutes) and diverse enough to keep listeners' interest. So, if you want a short, relaxing and, above all, interesting listen, The National Trust: The Album might just be for you.