DOWN IN A MINE

Antarctica Takes It! - “C & F” The first music from Antarctica Takes It in ages, and Dylan sounds just so thrilled to be singing. It's as if he's chomping through ice-cubes as quickly as he can, jubilant and foolhardy, paying no heed to bleeding cheeks and broken teeth; crunching at ice and swallowing at ice-water, glowing with happiness that he's found someone who loves it when he does this. And I love it when the late-Belle-&-Sebastian jangle gets interrupted with some Elvis/Byrne whoa-oh-oh bulldog mumbles. Yeah. [MySpace]

Max Henry - “Dark As A Dungeon” A drowned rendition of Merle Travis's classic, suitable for last call at the bar or maybe stumbling home through the glen. In this song's early morning lull, a piano can feel like a memory (a good one), a brook can sound like a pair of squalling guitars. Max has painted the song in ambers, greens, clears - all the slurring shades of drink. And he sings it tenderly, like a man who has broken things before. [MySpace]

- Sean Michaels