Wounded Astronaut
Culled from the recording sessions of this singer/songwriter’s well-received 2004 LPTell It To the Dust, these half-dozen songs--at first glance--seem to serve more as an addendum to that album than as a new recording. But it only takes seconds into the six-minute, high-volume blast of melodic fury that is the title track to make a pair of observations: it’s evident why the Brooklyn native kept these selections away from the more calm and subdued Dust; and followers of Anders Parker’s former bandsVarnalineand Space Needle will find familiarity in Astronaut’s jagged pace and vocal sincerity. A bevy of musical pals, including Jay Farrar, Richard Bucker and Joan Wasser (Those Bastard Souls), spark collaborative efforts on the psychedelic "Everyone Will Shine," the sweeping pop number "The Smile" and the crunchy-chorded "Fast and True."  Then Parker reaches deep in his gut for the Cobain-esque "Come Off" ("Let’s cure the evil that lurks within"), adding another line to his resume as one of music’s vastly underappreciated artists.--Scott Holter