The laundromat, the grocery store

Once in a while, a CD will show up in my mailbox that I know nothing about but turns out to be one of my favorite things.

Creaky Boards - Brooklyn and The Songs I Didn't Write.

Creaky Boards' new record Brooklyn Is Love doesn't come out until November, but I didn't want to wait until then to write about it. I've been listening to it repeatedly all week, and the first track, "The Songs I Didn't Write", has been in my head for days. (Here's where I feel obligated to note that this was the band who "accused" Coldplay of plagiarizing. It seems pretty clear now it was all a joke.)

Brooklyn Is Love has a consistent sound - glibly put, it's Brian Wilson by way of Lou Reed and Phil Spector - but each song is distinct. There's "Brooklyn", the stomping paean to Creaky Boards' hometown; the giddy "You Can't Turn Me Off"; the soulful "I'm So Serious (This Time)". They're all different, but they're all the same in the right ways.

I highly recommend Brooklyn Is Love, which comes out Nov. 11. You can pre-order the record on the band's MySpace page. Do it!