New releases: Jan. 10, 2006

All right, everybody (clap clap). Break's over. Time to get back to work. There are new CDs to buy, new artists to check out. There are concerts to go to and gossip to trade. The egg nog's gone, and so's the champagne, but at least we have some kickin' music to get us through, eh? And most of it won't leave you headachey and pukey in the morning, so all the better.

Just as we mere mortals are getting back to our normal routines, so too is the music biz. The new releases list this week is back to a healthy level, and it's just going to bulk up from here, I think. We're starting the new year off shit-hot, too, with a new release from the incredibly excellent BR549. You'd think a band this rockin' live (they are, in fact, number one on my list of best concerts ever) would be a bit disappointing on CD, but that's not the case with these cats. Somehow they translate their energy to disc, and somehow they manage to survive endless lineup changes and label switcheroos and keep on doing what they do. Which is rocking. Old-skool. "Dog Days" looks to be no exception. I haven't heard any of the tracks yet, but the CD wraps with a song called "Let Jesus Make You Breakfast," and I think means we can all assume that the boys of BR549 are in top form for this one.

New releases for Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006:
BR549 -- Dog Days (Dualtone)
Jack Ingram -- Wherever You Are [Live] (Big Machine)
Darden Smith -- Field of Crows (Dualtone)
various artists -- Putumayo Presents: The Caribbean (Putumayo)