Well, it’s been another hell of a week — if you force yourself to remember that “fire and fury” nuclear annihilation was only a week ago, you’ll realize how much fun we’ve been having in the interim. At this point it no longer feels like the adage “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” is appropriate anymore, because it’s too insufficient — this more feels like we’re on one of those Death Valley ultra races where we’re nearly spent 30 min in and we’ve got 187 more miles to go. In 120 degree heat. While being shot at and nearly hit by cars.
Which is a long way of saying — we’re gonna have to dig deep to make it out of this one…
Thankfully the death march had a few bright spots this week, as a couple beloved bands put out some new tracks. First up is another track off Philia, the compilation album against Islamophobia I told you about a few weeks ago (the one with the lovely Ham cover of Shane MacGowan), this one from The Dodos. Meric and Logan have been relatively quiet the past few years, not releasing much since 2015’s so-so Individ, so it was a welcome surprise to see them pop up here. The track, “Mirror Faker,” shows them sticking with what’s worked best over the years — layered, primal rhythms, elliptical, finger-picked guitar parts, and soaring, ethereal harmonies. Hopefully a new album is in the works soon. Check this out in the meantime:
Next up is a track from hometown lads Wilco released in the wake of Charlottesville to raise money for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the civil rights law firm that helps keep tabs on the country’s hate groups, in addition to the number of Confederate statues scattered around the country. It’s a nice little track — a soothing little shuffle to calm the nerves amidst all the bombast and bigotry flying around this week. Tweedy’s accompanying post says it best when dedicating the song to his father who was named after a Confederate general — “if you know better, you can do better.” So let’s get on with it…
Last up is a track from two of my favorite Canadians, Jesse and Sebastian from Death From Above (now no longer strictly from 1979), with the latest single from their upcoming album. This one hits me a little similarly to Queens’ latest in that it’s a bit more of a return to what I fiend for from this/that band after initial singles that were a little unnerving. (Though I have to admit, both of those singles have grown on me in the time since they’ve been released.) There’s nothing fancy going on here — Jesse throws down another infectious riff, Seb bashes/wails away, and two minutes later you’re quickly looking for the replay button so you can get back into the groove. Makes me more excited to see the guys in a few weeks and hear the rest of the album.