Move

On their second time out Portland Oregon's uniquely lovable quartet-cum-septet Blanket Music decidedly take their hand to the fun knob and turn it up to ten. Nay, eleven-and-a-half. Yes sir, complete with the smooth backing vocals of Corrina Repp and Esperanza Spalding, Blanket music have come back from summer vacation with a new sense of self, as if the band woke up one morning, looked into the mirror and whispered confidently, "party time." A groove and hook-filled tropicalia and jazzpop affair, Move combines the modern verve of polyglot rhythms and electronic flourishes with good old-fashioned showmanship, recalling a myriad of performers from Marvin Gaye, Mose Allison, The Temptations, to Belle and Sebastian, Al Greene, Paul Simon (Graceland), and Antonio Carlos Jobim. If you're feeling jaded on music, Move will cure you. The packaging features a full color 12 page booklet with lyrics, complete with a cute little cocktail umbrella preserved in the spine. A handsome addition to any collection.