Tag: #carseatheadrest

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Slow Unsteady — Headrests and Morning Jackets

It’s been a relatively quiet couple of weeks in quarantine — the death and unemployment rates continue to climb with worrisome speed and abandon, yet some states are starting to open back up (which feels a bit like ripping off the rubber while you’re still pumping away to me), while the indistinguishable blur of days continues oozing past. (The difference between work day and weekend, at this point, being an extra can of beer and a slightly sassier pair of sweatpants.)  It feels like the stay-at-home orders are finally beginning to take their toll on folks, scrambling their brains and making them a little stir crazy (which perhaps is partly fueling the urge to reopen).  This can cause you to do silly things, like wearing glasses to a mask factory, or putting your underwear on backwards and not noticing it until nearly dinnertime.

It seems like some people’s response now is to just lay there on the couch because even the act of deciding what to watch or order for lunch feels like too much work. That fatigue has translated into the music community, too, as the previous flurry of live streams happening day to day has dropped considerably, with several shifting to the re-airing of old performances in lieu of live ones. Tweedy thankfully remains a nightly stalwart (a true warrior against the Invisible Enemy!), but otherwise it’s been slim pickin’s the past few weeks — Morbzahatchee went on temporary hiatus (sniff), Shaky Knees did a compressed virtual festival showing highlights from previous years as solace for our not being able to be there in person last weekend (sniff), and that’s about it.

Yesterday was actually the first day I had anything non-Tweedy-related to watch in a week and it happened to be good one, an acoustic set from Nathaniel Rateliff from 2019. It was part of Pickathon’s Concert a Day series, which is doing something similar to Shaky, only larger and longer — 60 performances in 60 days, pulling from the festival’s archives to showcase some of the best sets in recent years.  They’ve had sets from Andrew Bird, the Lone Bellow, and others the past few weeks, with folks like Built to Spill, Shakey Graves, and more still to come (they’re a little cagey with the schedule, only releasing a week at a time on their Facebook page, but I got alerts for those already so am hopeful).  It’s been fun to check out the shows while they’re available (you only have three days to watch em, so you gotta stay on point!), which brings us back to Nathaniel’s set.

Recorded just last year, it was predominantly filled with songs from his recently released album (the lovely And It’s Still Alright), which was nice to hear as his show is one of many I was supposed to attend before getting scuttled by the pandemic.  What made the set stand out, though, was Rateliff’s emotional performance, getting choked up with tears towards the end as he talked and sang about his friend Richard Swift, who had helped him record half the album at that point and was the subject of several of its songs. (Swift passed away unexpectedly in 2018.) It was really moving to see someone so openly and honestly struggling with that loss a year later, and it adds a depth and poignancy to the songs (which were already quite pretty). None moreso than the set/album closer, “Rush On,” a song sung directly at Swift (playing on his last name’s implied speed in the title). It’s worth a listen/watch, so catch his performance while you’ve still got time, or check out the album version here if you’re slow and miss it:

Due to the dearth of other options and the letdown of the live streams, I’ve spent the majority of my days obsessively alternating between old My Morning Jacket albums and the new Car Seat Headrest album this week, Making a Door Less Open.  The former got stuck in my head thanks to the virtual Shaky festival, which only played a few songs from favorites like Queens, the National, Manchester Orchestra, and others (including Car Seat), but played the entire headlining set from MMJ on day one.

I’ve always liked these guys in small doses, losing interest when they get overly jammy or hippie dippy, but seeing their set reminded me that when they keep those things in check they’re quite good. (And they are a pretty perfect festival band — I’ve seen em live a couple times and they just seem to pair seamlessly with sunshine and open air.) One that stood out was old favorite “Circuital,” the title track from their 2011 album, which has James’ signature voice soaring out over the crowd as the boys whip them into a lather. It’s a great listen, one I revisited many times this week (along with the rest of the album):

As for the new Car Seat, we’d already heard singles “Can’t Cool Me Down,” “Martin,” and “Hollywood” here before, and they seemed to indicate frontman Will Toledo was moving in a new, more electronic direction (which as the eight of you likely suspect has had me somewhat apprehensive, knowing my love of bands that start including synthesizers later in their careers).  He’d hinted at this before, most notably on 2018’s Twin Fantasy, which re-imagined old songs of his, giving them a dancier vibe than the more traditional indie rock sound on his excellent Teens of Denial and Teens of Style albums.

I’d bristled at that a bit at the time, but after spending an inordinate number of hours with this album this week have apparently come to embrace the new sound (holy hell — he’s growing, folks!) There’s something about the energy here that’s infectious — Toledo always has had the ability to make you want to shout along to certain songs at the top of your lungs (“Killer Whales” and “Bodys” being but two excellent examples) — but that effect is enhanced by the driving groove of some of these tracks.  It’s tough not to move along (maybe tapping both big toes to the beat?!) and none of the tracks is more irresistible (so far) than this one, “Deadlines (Hostile).”  It has all of the above — bouncing bass line, rocking guitar riffs, and several Holy Toledo moments where you’ll be shouting along deliriously (“I know I won’t AAAAAAAAAAALWAAAAAAAAYS needyoulikethis…”) I’ve listened to this easily twenty-five times this week and it still whips me into a frenzy — crank it up and see how it works on you:

We’ll close with a couple one offs, first from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke who debuted a new song on Fallon last week, “Plasticine Figures.” It’s just Thom and a piano, which is about as perfect a pairing as you can ask for. Check it out here:

Lastly comes the return of the Bowerbirds, who have been missing for eight years (their 2012 album The Clearing was the last we’d heard from them). They’re back unexpectedly with two new songs this week, the best of which is this one, “Endless Chase.” It’s the same recipe as before, warm, folksy vibe riding along on frontman Phil Moore’s voice — it’s a welcome return. Hopefully there’s a full album in store soon.  In the meantime, enjoy this one:

Hang in, hang back… –BS

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Porch Pandemonium: Life During Lockdown

As the weeks start to slowly blend together, with each day a slightly fuzzier echo of the last, I thought it was important to differentiate “this is a weekday where you stay at home and sit around with the dog on your lap” from “this is a weekEND where you do the exact same thing.”  Since one of the minor differences between the two is stopping in here to recap the blur that just went by, here I am. (Honestly, part of me wishes there were badges or something we got for the various milestones we pass — “That’s five weeks of isolation — great job!” or “Congratulations, you put on pants today!” — sort of like AA chips, without the 12-step process and disease.)

Unsurprisingly, this week was very similar to the last — sitting on the porch crushing COVID with the Rizz, listening to a flurry of livestreams while banging away at the laptop.  Aside from recurring highlights from the nightly Tweedy or weekly Waxahatchee/Morby shows, got to hear some decent one offs this week — Pete Yorn, Pedro the Lion, and a BUNCH of John Prine tributes, the two best ones of which were from NPR and Consequence of Sound.  The former had five “tiny desk” style tributes (the best of which was Nathaniel Rateliff’s, second from the last), while the latter had over a dozen artists in their aptly named “Angel from Maywood” concert. (FWIW, Waxahatchee and Morby did a non-Prine “tiny desk” set from their house, which was also pretty great.)

Everyone from Kevin Morby and Conor Meloy from the Decemberists to Norah Jones and Grace Potter showed up to pay tribute.  You can still catch most of the performances on Consequence’s Instagram page — just click the IGTV link and you’ll see the majority of em.  They were all pretty good, but I thought the ones from The Lowest Pair, Sara and Sean Watkins, Whoa Dakota, and Sammy Brue were particularly good.  (Sadly, the one from Head and the Heart is missing, which was one of the best.)  And if that isn’t enough of the Singin’ Mailman you can also watch Prine’s 2018 Austin City Limits concert here, which was his first time on the show in 13-odd years. (Note — you can actually catch any episode from the past three years now by streaming for free on PBS’ site, along with select shows from the archives from folks like BB King and others!)

In the midst of all the tributes and tunes, I also got to do a little reading with some recent album anniversaries showing up in the feeds that are worth sharing.  The first of those is the writeup of Toots and the Maytals’ 1975 debut from Pitchfork, which regularly goes back and reviews old albums to highlight classics from the past.  The article does a good job giving the history of the band, highlighting how Toots’ country upbringing gave the band a unique sound and showing where they fit in with better known reggae legends like the ubiquitous Bob Marley. It’s a good read — I remember discovering Toots by accident when I was driving around the Irish countryside in a beat-up old bus 20 years ago.  It was a week-long trip around the entire country and in addition to listening to regionally appropriate bands like U2 (which remains one of my favorite memories — it made the early albums resonate even more, like they were taking power from their home terrain) the driver kept putting on tapes for this throaty, raw sounding reggae band, which was as alien to those surroundings as a leprechaun in Kingston.

I remember immediately loving it, jarringly out of context or not.  There was a cover of the old classic “Louie, Louie,” the John Denver song “Country Road,” and what I previously had thought was an original Sublime song (and one of my favorites, at that), “54-46 (Was My Number).” Similar to the U2, there was an urgency to his voice that was inescapable. I asked the driver who it was and he responded with his thick Irish accent, “TOOTSindaMAAAAAAAYtils.” “Toots in the metals? Two is in the middles?  I don’t understand.” To which he exasperatedly ejected the tape and tossed it back to me and I finally understood.  These guys remain my favorite reggae band — sure, I like everyone on the planet adore Marley and also enjoy rougher, angrier fare like Peter Tosh, but there’s something about Toots that just sets him apart.  Maybe it’s how I found him on that magic trip around the emerald isle or that connection to Sublime, whose debut album we used to listen to on a daily basis back in college. Either way, he’s great and this album was the breakthrough — pop it on while you read the article, or listen to that beloved song of his time in prison, which Bradley and the boys later gave a punky remake.

Next up on the reading rainbow comes another album from the time of my Toots discovery, the Smashing Pumpkins’ MACHINA, which turned 20 this month.  The Stereogum article does a good job setting this album into the band’s overall output, starting with a hilarious anecdote about frontman Billy Corgan being a characteristically self-important pissant and getting into a “fight” with Soundgarden that he moped about and made into a big deal the next day. The story highlights one of the ongoing difficulties with loving this band — Billy and his monomaniacal egotism (and now batshit crazy conspiracy theories).  At their best the band is amazing — aside from Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie, which are unassailable classics, I also loved Adore and a bunch of their other stuff, including this one — at their worst they are a self-important, overly bombastic trainwreck, almost all of which starts and stops with Billy himself.  (When we saw them a year or so ago on tour, Billy legitimately had a giant Catholic-style idol of himself carried through the crowd.)

Which brings us back to this album — not counting the companion piece MACHINA II that was released/leaked shortly thereafter, this is the last time the band I loved did anything worth listening to.  It was the last time the two sides of their sound were (mostly) in balance — the thundering drums and roaring guitars, which were undeniable once they got going (Jimmy Chamberlin, alongside Dave Grohl, is one of the best drummers of his generation), counterbalanced by the shy, stark sweetness of Billy’s lyrics and melodies. Subsequent albums like Zeitgeist, Oceania, and the album/non-album Shiny and Oh So Bright seemed to believe that the reason legions of people loved the Pumpkins were because they RAWWWWKED SOOOOOO HARRRRRRRD (and/or thought Billy’s lyrics about fairies and other rambling bullshit in the “epic” ten-odd minute tracks were the draw).  As a result, we got albums full of sludgy, overly loud songs with next to no heart. They were the equivalent of WWE wrestlers, puffed up meatheads beating you over the head with folding chairs (not as odd an analogy as you may think for Corgan).

On MACHINA, though, there was still relative harmony between those sides.  Sure, the edges were starting to fray and in retrospect you could see the disappointing path that would lead to those subsequent albums, thanks to Corgan’s fundamental misunderstanding of what made his band great, but for the most part things held together one last time. This was one of two new albums I listened to on almost endless repeat when I was living abroad, aside from my compilations of older material (this being the early internet days I was still operating off a Discman with a small binder of mix CDs, since space was of a premium) and it, along with the Counting Crows’ This Desert Life, were my tether to home, helping me beat back the intermittent blues and pass the hours between class/work/travel.  Both those albums immediately transport me to that remodeled janitor’s closet I was living in at the time — it was legitimately three arms’ lengths wide and as long as a twin bed (the building unsurprisingly ended up being condemned shortly after I moved out) — and both still hold up today.  This one was always one of my favorites — give it a ride while you read:

Last up is another anniversary article from Stereogum, this one on the Hives’ Veni Vidi Vicious turning 20 this month.  I didn’t discover these guys until I got home from that trip, as the Strokes and all the bands that came in their wake started exploding later that year.  As Lizzy Goodman details in her fabulous Meet me in the Bathroom (which I wrote about here), they came in waves — first the Strokes, Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD, and the Walkmen, then bands like the National, Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, Kings of Leon, the Vines, and more.

The Hives broke as part of that second wave, but as the Stereogum article relays the album that would eventually catapult them into the limelight came out before all those first wave albums (including Is This It?)!  It highlights some of the fickleness behind who makes it (and when) and who doesn’t, especially in the pre-internet age with its much more limited opportunities for exposure.  I remember the first time I heard “Hate to Say I Told You So,” with its undeniable hook and limitless energy — by the time you get to the bass breakdown (a sighting more rare than that Jamaican Irishman) you were ready to Kool-aid through the walls of your dorm room.  Thankfully these guys eventually cracked through and have mostly kept up the high level of quality they established on Veni.  They also remain one of the best live bands around, so if you’re looking for a way to get pumped during the pandemic, check out this breathless, blistering set from 2004, which was so good they made it a DVD.  Enjoy the Tussles in Brussels here:

We’ll pull ourselves off Memory Lane for a couple new additions I caught floating by this week — first comes the latest single from beloved Built to Spill’s upcoming album, a covers album of Daniel Johnston songs.  (Creatively titled Built to Spill plays the songs of Daniel Johnston, due June 12.) It initially seemed an odd choice for a band known for its guitar heroics, but upon hearing their version of songs like “Life in Vain” and this one, “Mountaintop,” you see how seamlessly it fits with the bands sweeter, melodic side. Excited to hear the rest of the album — enjoy this little slice of heaven here while we wait:

Next comes the latest from indie Super Friends outing Muzz, which sports former Walkmen drummer Matt Barrick, along with Interpol frontman Paul Banks and indie hopscotcher Josh Kaufman (he’s played with Bonny Light Horseman, the National, Craig Finn, etc). Since releasing their first single (the excellent “Bad Feeling”) the guys have announced a full album (Muzz, due June 5) and released another track from it.  Similar to their previous release, this one finds the trio hanging back a bit, riding a languid vibe in lieu of some of their former outfits’ more raucous affairs.  It works well — we’ll see how the rest of the album sounds soon.  In the meantime enjoy “Red Western Sky” here:

Next comes the latest from Magnetic Fields, back for the second time this month with a new track from their latest concept album, Quickies. As noted two weeks ago, the album will have 28 songs, each less than three minutes long, and will be out May 15. This one is classic Mags, showcasing Stephin Merritt’s singular style — part showtunes, part satire — this one’s lyrics are at turns hilarious and sweet, just like the band at their best. Enjoy “I Want to Join a Biker Gang” here:

Up next comes the latest from Will Toledo’s Car Seat Headrest, whose upcoming album Making a Door Less Open comes out in a couple weeks (due May 1).  The first two singles “Can’t Cool me Down” and “Martin” were both really good tunes, and the latest, “Hollywood” is no different.  It’s a scathing ode to the titular town and it’s unclear who the guest vocalist is, but their rap-like cadence counters Toledo’s sleepy drawl well.  Getting excited to hear the rest of the album — sounds like a hopeful rebound to 2016’s excellent Teens of Denial. We’ll see in a few short weeks — in the interim enjoy “Hollywood” here:

We’ll close with a couple tracks from Gorillaz, former Blur frontman Damon Albarn’s hit or miss cartoon collective, which he recently revived as part of his Song Machine project.  As I wrote about before, he plans to release a series of “episodes” over the course of the year, with each episode detailing the fruits of a new collaboration. The last one with rapper slowthai was pretty good, as are the most recent ones — “Desole,” a breezy jaunt through the Caribbean with African vocalist Fatoumata Diawara, and “Aries,” a cool drive through 80s nostalgia with New Order bassist Peter Hook.  Three for three has me more enthusiastic about what’s to come than Albarn’s recent work would normally have me.  Let’s hope he keeps up the hot streak in the coming months!

Until next time, my friends… –BS

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A Massive Dose of Sunshine: Quarantunes

As the corona pandemic continues its slow burn across the planet and state after state here shuts down, I thought I’d jump in to help the inversely proportional number of inhabitants who seem to be grappling with a growing mix of anxiety, stress, and stir craziness (fueled nicely by a hearty helping of booze).  Acknowledging first-hand how important both structure and variety are after only two weeks of locked down, work from home life (you can only binge watch so many shows before even your back fat and muffin top start to feel lazy, after all), I thought I’d offer a little bit of both with my quarantunes playlist.

A couple of rules behind what this is and is not — 1) it IS a giant mix of songs (over 60 hours’ worth!) that relate to the pandemic in some form or fashion (at least to my crazy brain).  There’s songs about illness and how you might feel, songs about being stuck at home and slowly going nuts, even songs about drugs and other ways to pass the time.  2) Each of these connections to the pandemic and its myriad effects come ONLY from the song titles.  While it was tempting to include lyrics referencing these things (“hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching yoooooooouuuuuuuuuu!” for example, from “Sweet Caroline” or “Abra-abra-cadabra — I wanna reach out and grab ya” from Steve Miller Band) or to go off band names that do the same (ie The Airborne Toxic Event or the Argentine band Virus, say) I had to set some rules for this little game, otherwise I’d never come out of the rabbit hole.  (And even with these rules I still spent the better part of my Saturday rifling through songs.)

Two additional caveats — 3) the songs ONLY come from my personal catalog (instead of anything available on the interwebs) and 4) the songs MUST be ones I like enough to play without skipping.  So while the latter caveat is somewhat implicit in the former — if I felt strongly enough to pay money for these songs, I must like them a little — but even in that down-sized population there are some things I’d rather not be reminded of (I’ve seen some of the clothes you buy — a blazer with colored elbow patches, eh? — we’ve all got our demons…) As a result I didn’t want to just pick songs whose titles worked, but I didn’t actually want to listen to.  And therefore what you have before you is the fruits of all this winnowing — a playlist that spans genres and runs the gamut of topics tied to our collective isolation.  Some of the bands you’ll recognize from posts over the years, some even I was surprised to find in the crates.  I think it’s a fun mix, though — some connections are literal and obvious, others a little more subtle or silly — hopefully you’ll enjoy ’em either way.

I’ll keep adding to it as the days go by — I’ve had to stop at least six times while I was typing this as another song or theme popped into my head — so keep it on shuffle and see what shows up.  Gimme a shout if there are any you think I should add — or shoot me your own playlist and we can highlight your creativity/chops here!  Enjoy mine in the meantime:

Before we go, there were a couple new releases this week that were also worth flagging — first comes the latest single from the UK-based Squid, a five-piece from Brighton who mix some solid, jangly guitar riffs with a punkish energy that goes down nicely.  Frontman/drummer (be still, my beating heart…) Ollie Judge has a half-howl delivery reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and the rest of the band (guitarists Louis Borlase and Anton Pearson, bassist Laurie Nankivell, and keyboardist Arthur Leadbetter) conjure a comparably propulsive, almost danceable groove as Murphy’s former outfit.  (For all these reasons Squid also calls to mind recent fave Silverbacks, who showed up a few posts ago.) This is hopefully the sign of more to come with a full-length shortly in tow — in the meantime enjoy “Sludge” here:

Second, Conor Oberst recently announced he was reuniting his former band, Bright Eyes, having spent recent years on a series of side projects (including most recently with Phoebe Bridgers as Better Oblivion Community Center).  This week they released the first single from the upcoming album, their first new music in nine years.  (No title or release date on the album yet.) It’s in line with the rest of the band’s output, which is a welcome return after all this time — it also sports bagpipes, which aside from toilet paper might be the single thing we need most these days, whether we knew it or not. Check out “Persona Non Grata” here:

Next up comes the latest from Car Seat Headrest and the second single from their upcoming album Making a Door Less Open (due May 1).  Thankfully frontman Will Toledo appears to no longer be re-recording old material (as he did most recently for 2018’s Twin Fantasy), opting to give us products from his recent history.  Similar to first single “Can’t Cool Me Down,” this one balances electronic elements with Toledo’s customary guitar, and it works quite well. Toledo’s sleepy croon remains a magnetic draw and he’s still got an ear for a winning hook.  (As well as unique accompaniments — this one’s got a trumpet break at the end, so between the bagpipes and this one we’re really letting the unsung band camp heroes shine this week.) Let’s hope the rest of the album lives up to these first two — check out “Martin” while we wait:

We’ll close with a one-two wallop from much-loved Run the Jewels who dropped a pair of singles off their upcoming album on us this week (the aptly named Run the Jewels 4 — no release date set yet.) The first, “Yankee and the Brave,” is a straight ahead banger — just Mike and El just trading verses over a big, booming beat and bleating siren — while the second (“Ooh, La La”) is a touch smoother, riding along on a beat and line from Gang Starr. (That outfit’s legendary DJ Premier supplies the beat, while it also yanks a line from their song “DWYCK” by Greg Nice of Nice & Smooth fame.) Both are great reminders why this tandem is so irresistible — nimble verses, rock solid beats, and buckets of energy (particularly when you see em live).  Color me even more excited for the much-delayed album — I’ll be givin’ these a workout in the meantime.  You can do the same here (and check out the albums that made El, according to his interview with Pitchfork — some shared faves in there as well):

(PS — since we’re not allowed to travel anywhere, I added another location to the list on the right just so folks can vicariously enjoy/plan their first trip post-quarantine.  See Richmond’s entry in the “I’ve Been Everywhere, Man” section…)

Stay safe, amici… — BS

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Spring Forward — Less Sleep, More Songs

Of course it being the weekend and finally having an opportunity to sleep in a little, my body decides to wake up even earlier than during the week (4am instead of the normally sporty 5), compounding the deficit we’ll all shortly have with the extra hour of sleep we lose tonight.  Whether you lose a bunch like me or you lose just the single hour tomorrow, there’s a ton of new stuff out to help you wile away the time.  It’s another sign of the coming spring after a long stretch of cold, barren months — new songs and albums popping up like bright green growth from last year’s bulbs. It’s a welcome sight and hopefully bodes well for a bounty harvest. Since there’s so many I’ll bore you less with my insights than normal (the eight of you got your wish!), so without further ado let’s kick off a round of Sunshine Speed Dating!

DING! “Hi, what’s your name? Grian? How do you spell that? Oh you’re in a band? What’s it called?  Oh…….[long pause] you know that place is filled with assholes and idiots, don’t you…” [cue both parties looking at their watches, neither of whom are actually wearing one] First up meet Fontaines D.C., a band from one of the best places on earth (Ireland) whose name calls out one of the worst (this shitbox) and whose frontman’s (Grian Chatten) I’m still not sure how to say.  Don’t let the monikers keep you away, though, as these guys have some pretty catchy tunes on their debut, Dogrel, which comes out in April.  None moreso than the lead single, “Big,” which is the perfect soundtrack for one of these rounds — bright, energetic, and just about two minutes long.  Give it a ride here:

Next!  “Oh you look familiar — Czarface, isn’t it? Something’s a little different, though — did you ombre your hair?! No? You just brought in another emcee?  Mmm…I dunno, I still think you did something to your hair…”   State of the strands aside, the touch of color Czarface bring to their already good getup is Ghostface, teaming with his Wu brother Inspectah Deck (along with Esoteric and 7L) for the first time since that band’s official albums. This group continues its recent pattern of pairing with another big name act to make an album (along with their overall hit or miss streak), dropping this on the heels of last year’s partnership with MF Doom. Similar to that one, it’s got a couple good tracks on it, including this puppy, “Mongolian Beef,” so check out the latest fishscale here:

 

Next up — “Oh hi! Good to see you again — Will, isn’t it? Ha, yes, not Will-i.am, that guy’s a bit of a clown. You have spent the last few years re-recording your early material as synthy dance tracks, though, so…” [insert awkward silence and shuffling] The Will in this case is Toledo, the frontman/brainchild of Car Seat Headrest, and while he has spent more time reworking (“improving”) old songs than I’d like (as on last year’s Twin Fantasy), it seems like he’s been writing new material based on some recent shows. One of those tracks is “Can’t Cool Me Down,” which despite the nearly two minute synth intro (honestly — if one more band starts dicking around with synths………..) is a pretty catchy tune.  We’ll see what else he churns out — in the meantime, see what you think:

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeext! “Oh hello! My that’s a lovely accent you have.  Oh all five of you have it — meoooow!  Where are you from again?  Oh nice — ha yes I’m sure you all have a tremendous amount of thunder down under, but I’m quite fine not seeing it firsthand, thanks…” The lads with the didgeridoos in their Dockers here are the Aussie quintet Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever who look to be coming back from their full-length debut last year (which landed at #13 on my list) and releasing some new material.  The first single is “In the Capital” (which apparently will be followed by one called “Read My Mind,” based on the cover) and it’s another winner in the vein of War on Drugs or Roadkill Ghost Choir — bright guitars, shining melody, and the perfect soundtrack for a drive on the coast with the windows down. Take it for a spin yourself:

NEXT! “HELL-o, laaaaaaaaaaDEEZ… Pleased to make your acquaintance.  Or should I say ‘acquaintances.’  Cuz there’s three of you.  I’m good at counting. I took math a bunch.  In school.  What?  No I’m not nervous. Why would I be? Girls don’t terrify me. I read an article on what they search for on porn sites and it totally didn’t make me break into a sweat…” (Side note — I’m very worried about what’s happening in Iowa, Missouri, and Maine… special shout out to the Uzbek women as the globe’s sole proponents for research on MILfs) The ladies in question here are Mary Timony’s posse from Ex Hex who are back for the first time since their debut, 2015’s aptly named Rips (which landed at #13 on that year’s list), and it sounds like they’ve lost none of their edge the past four years.  They’ve already released a couple singles from the upcoming album (It’s Real, due out March 22nd), but this third one “Rainbow Shiner” is my favorite so far — another ripper right in line with 80s rockers from Joan Jett and Heart (and their debut). Break out the leather and Aqua Net and crank up the volume:

NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXT! “What’re you doing here? I thought you were dating the Waxahatchee lady? She’s got a pretty voice — I love her first couple albums.  The covers you two have been doing together are pretty great, too.  Hey has anyone ever told you you sound a lot like Bob Dylan?  Oh all the time?  Literally every person you meet?  Well that’s a bummer.  You really do sound just like him, though…”  That’s right, the boy who sounds like the bard is back again, ready to drop another album full of gems on a mostly unsuspecting population.  That’s a real shame because Morby has quickly become one of my overall favorites, dropping a string of great albums the past few years — City Music landed at #4 on my 2017 list, Singing Saw at #6 on my 2016 one, and Still Life at #10 on my 2014 one.  He’s back with another full length (Oh My God, due out April 26th), which he says will tackle religion and spirituality.  Seems like a dicey proposition, but based on the initial track will likely be worth a listen.  It’s a different subject matter for him and maybe as a result so is the sound he’s surrounding it with — in addition to the hand claps there’s also flute, sax, and piano with almost nary no guitar to be found.  It still works, though, so we’ll see what the rest of the album brings — in the meantime check out “No Halo” here:

LIGHTNING ROUND! “Oh man! You used to be in the Walkmen! (You guys were one of my absolute faves) But now you’re doing solo stuff (that’s also been really good, very glitzy and Sinatra-like) and you did one album with the dude from Vampire Weekend (I know he left, but you’ll be fine — that’s why you’re here!) but you also did an album with your old guitarist in there that no one heard about (Dear God). It came out three years ago?  Eesh, I’m really sorry — well I really like the one song I found, “Proud Irene” — I’m going to go look for the rest of the album now.  Hope to see you again soon — good luck!”

DING! “Oh hey, you’re the guy who sounds like Dave Grohl when he sings!  I love Dave Grohl.  He seems like the coolest dude.  I’d love to have a drink with him or just hang out. He is just so funny! And MAN what a drummer — our generation’s John Bonham. Do you know Dave Grohl?  Oh right sorry — no I really like your band Pile too.  I’ve written about em a couple of times on my blog.  Well, don’t get too excited, literally like eight people read it.  But I try. One day I’ll break into double digits… Anyway, I really dig you guys. You really rip when you let loose.  I’m glad to hear you’ve got a new album coming out (Green and Gray, due May 3).  The first single is pretty cool — I’m not sure what a “Bruxist Grin” is (is that the smile of a Marxist Teddy Ruxpin or something? I should look it up…) but it sounds cool.  I’m looking forward to the rest of the album — hopefully it rocks a little more than Hairshirt, that was a little weird…”

DING! “OOOOH Chemical Brothers, you guys NEVER come to the States.  It’s an honor!  I saw the video for “We’ve Got to Try” and it’s pretty great.  Where’d you get the idea to have a dog drive a racecar? And then become an astronaut! Ha, that was really funny.  My dog doesn’t do much but snuggle and fart — sometimes at the same time.  Just like my wife!  I kid, I kid.  Anyway, I’m glad to see you guys have a new album coming out soon (No Geography, due April 12th) — your ninth!  That’s super impressive.  You guys are always really good — I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of the album.  By the way — can you please do some shows in the States? I’m too lazy to travel and afraid of foreign food — just fast food and golf carts for me.  Just like the President!  Wait where are you going? It’s nothing to be ashamed of!”

DING! “Wow. That is a huge glass of red wine, Mr Berninger.  What is it, merlot? Remember that scene from the movie Sideways? ‘I am NOT drinking any fucking merlot!’ That was a pretty funny scene.  That guy kind of reminds me of you.  Bearded, smart, kind of cranky and forlorn. Do you know him? I think we’d get along well together — I mean, YOU’D get along well together.  I’m nothing like that… Anyway.  I love your band — the new single’s nice.  The female vocalist was a nice touch, but I wish you guys would let up with the electronic stuff a bit, though.  You trying to be Radiohead or Bon Iver?  Wait Justin Vernon is really tight with your guitarist? And they were actually in a band together and curated a festival last year? Oh wow right, I forgot.  Anyway, you guys always make my year end lists (2017, 2013, 2010, and 2008) and Boxer’s one of my all-time faves.  Yeah yep, I write a blog, one day people will read it, it’s about the love of the music and doesn’t matter how many people hit it, I know, you’re right.  Boxer, though, what an amazing album.  It was the soundtrack to one of my old relationships and its explosive end.  Yeah it was a MESS. That is kind of a dark album. Time, too.  Man oh man, what a show… but we get out of it — you’re right. I’m glad you’re in a better place, too, Mr Giamatti — hey do you mind if I have a sip of that merlot?”

DING! “Dan Auerbach! Man I love your band.  You and Carney have been faves since thickfreakness. I’ve seen you live like a gajillion times.  There was one stretch where either you or the band were at Lolla for like five years straight.  It was almost like you were the house band! I’ve written about you a ton too — Attack and Release was my album of the year back in 2008 and Turn Blue came in second in 2014.  What? Oh yeah I have a blog.  No, not many people read it, you’re right.  Ha yep, you have more albums than I have readers, that’s probably true. Very funny, Mr Auerbach…  Anyway, I know you’ve been busy producing a bunch of people the past few years — Pat too — but I’m really glad to hear you two have an album coming out soon. Yeah I know it doesn’t sound very different from your other stuff, but that’s ok — the world could use a little consistency and rock and roll right now.  Yeah, I know Greta’s doing rock and roll — have you heard their lyrics though? Fucking cornball fantasy nonsense and cheesy cliches about getting high when you’re low. Wait you guys have a line like that too?  In this song?! I’m sure it’s just a coincidence — I didn’t mean you guys were corny.  I love you guys — come back!”

DING! FINAL ROUND!  “Oh hey Local Natives! You guys are great — and back with TWO new singles?!  Who are you trying to impress?  Ha oh right, me, that’s why you’re here. “Cafe Amarillo” was nice and I really liked “When Am I going to Lose You.” I saw Kate Mara in the video for that one — she’s really pretty.  Did you get nervous talking to her? That never happens to me, but I hear it does to some people. Particularly when you think about what they’re thinking about.  Like — do you know what girls in New England look for on the internet?  Squirts, and I don’t think they’re talking about the beverage… Anyway, you guys are great — I love how chill your albums are.  Your last one made my year end list (Sunlit Youth, #8 in 2016). What?  Yeah I have a blog.  No, I know not many people read it.  Yeah I could see why you’d think that’s a big waste of time.  Yeah particularly when I’ve been doing it for over ten years.  For this page.  Other ones were…..exactly the same.  But yeah, you guys are great.  Hey it’s really been fun to talk to you — where’s Berninger with that fucking merlot…”

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The Sound of the Wrecking Ball — Parades, Gazes, and a Pile as Big as Texas

Now that the last minute negotiations failed and the government is officially shut down, I know what you’re thinking — “If I can’t count on my elected officials to get things done, and civil employees aren’t allowed to come to my rescue now, surely I’m doomed.”  And while I see the merit in that logic, and how dark these times seem, I know your need to believe is strong and you haven’t quite given up.  So this civil servant isn’t going to let you down. I’m going to save you the only way I know how — by telling the three of you who read this thing about some great music.  And do so on my day off.  For free.  Because the country needs it. And I believe in you.  You’re welcome, America.

All kidding aside, one of my favorite things about this time of year — other than this town being largely vacated and the precious two to three weeks of peace that means at the office, on the commute, and just generally day to day as the majority of the sh#$birds are off contaminating other areas — is the abundance of similar year end lists to yours truly’s where kindred spirits offer their highlights and I get to discover bands or albums I might’ve missed during the year.  Despite my constant vigilance, there’s always a handful that slip through undetected, so part of the fun is discovering these treasures every year post holidays.  Really helps grind out the hardest part of winter, bringing a little warmth to the coldest days of the year.

This year’s been no different, as I’ve already stumbled on a couple new obsessions to share, so what better time than now when you’re in the midst of a crisis of faith and the temperature is hovering around Congressional approval rating levels or lower? So without further ado, here’s some of the happy discoveries I’ve made thus far!

First up is the latest release from the flock of Canadian geese flying south for the winter, the lads from Wolf Parade back with their fourth album (their first in over six years), Cry Cry Cry.  I’d never really listened to these guys, but this one kept showing up on several of the lists and I keyed in on the frantic, joyous tones used thanks to the band’s prolonged hiatus, so thought I’d give it a try.  The album grabs you from the outset with an ominous lower octaves piano run and a cryptic opening line that immediately seizes you attention — “Lazarus online, I received your message. You’re a fan of mine — your name’s Rebecca, and you’ve decided not to die.  Alright, let’s fight — let’s rage against the night.” It’s a great line, a rebellious sentiment suited for the times and one that swells as the song goes on.

The band calls to mind several touchstones that resonated as I worked through the album — frontman Spencer Krug’s voice reminds you of Beck at times (before he went pop and was still endearingly weird), the organs/pianos/keys hearken to quintessential Canadian bands like New Pornographers/Broken Social Scene/etc, and there’s an epic swell to the songs that is reminiscent of early Arcade Fire (a band they used to open for ten-odd years ago, coincidentally). It all works really nicely — aside from the aforementioned “Lazarus,” other highlights include Dan Boeckner’s guitars at the end of “Valley Boy,” the driving percussion and sentiment of “Incantation” (“remake my heart — let morning come!”), the jittery buildup of “Baby Blue” that erupts in blissful chaos at the finish, or the shapeshifting epic “Weaponized,” which should be a set closer for them for years. It’s a really solid album and delving into their earlier albums similarly rewards the ears (I’ve been spending a lot of time on the debut Apologies to the Queen) — check out a medley of their stuff here:

Next up is Male Gaze, the band from San Francisco that proves the Schoolhouse Rock rule that three is indeed a magic number.  The band itself is a three piece (frontman/guitarist Matt Jones, bassist Mark Kaiser, and drummer Adam Cimino), back with their third album (Miss Taken), and their sound is an interesting hybrid of three distinct styles — there’s a new wave vibe (think Joy Division with less gloom), fuzzed up garage rock (Black Angels kept coming to mind), and 60s style psychedelic (take your pick of British invaders).  Somehow they all flow together well and make for an enjoyable listen.

Tracks like “Keep Yr Kools,” “Pale Gaze,” and “If U Were My Girl” fall into the former category with Jones nailing both the delivery and lyrics of that era (“if you were my girl the future wouldn’t look quite so bleak, I might actually feel something — if you were my girl” on the latter track), “All Yours” and “African Ripoff” charge forth from the middle one like amped up mustangs, while “Didn’t,” “Tell Me How It Is,” and the title track brightly glide from the latter. It’s a really cool mix, balancing between funky, muscular riffs and jangly, chiming counterpoints as you move from song to song. The previous two albums tipped more towards the first two categories (which I truthfully prefer a bit more to this one, particularly the smoking debut Gale Maze), but the band’s growth in that span, releasing an album a year and adding the new elements here, is impressive.  Definitely one I’m going to be keeping an eye on moving forward — check out what they can do here (for some reason the new one is MIA online, so enjoy the stellar debut):

Last up is a magic band from Beantown that I’ve been obsessing over the most since finding them, Pile. Similar to the above bands who I’ve discovered several albums into their career (four and three, respectively), raising the slightly maddening question of “how the fu#$ did I miss these people?!” every time it happens, that point is driven home with a hammer fist with these guys as they’ve somehow eluded me for SIX albums, including this one (A Hairshirt of Purpose). And they’re really effing good.

They showed up just outside the top ten on The Onion’s top twenty of the year list (#11) and the writeup’s characterization — that the band “plays its songs…as if they were horror films…running right up to the edge of a cliff to dangle there precariously” — was what caught my eye.  And then I played the video embedded in the article, which belongs to the aptly named monster “Texas” and I was done. Sounding like the beloved hometown Jesus Lizard, the song is just over two and a half minutes of wild, noisy fury like that band at its thunderous best.  It’s the high point on the album, which is a more subdued affair than previous outings.

Here they opt for a more muted, atonal tone mostly — from the opening “Worms” to “No Bone,” “Milkshake,” and “Making Eyes,” or the frond end of songs like “Rope’s Length,” “Leaning on a Wheel,” and “Slippery,” the band opts to keep its knives sheathed more than normal.  (They brandish them rather wickedly at the end of those latter three, thankfully, violently thrashing to life like the person on the cover after his head slips below the surface of the tub.)  Outside of “Texas,” though (and comparable freight trains “Hissing for Peace,” “Hairshirt,” and “Fingers”) it’s a much more subdued affair, and if I’d only listened to this album I might’ve let these guys remain out in the cold.  Thankfully what I heard on that first track intrigued me enough to check out their earlier stuff, and that’s where I really fell in love.

On albums like Jerk Routine and Magic Isn’t Real (sorry, Stephven) the Lizard vibe comes through even stronger and the band flattens you with what it can do.  Frontman Rick Maguire has a wail that vacillates between a pair of Daves — the aforementioned’s David Yow and the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl — on the rockers, while guitarist Matt Becker, bassist Matt Connery, and drummer Kris  Kuss (whose name appropriately calls to mind both ‘percussion’ and ‘concussion,’ the former causing the latter in his playing) bludgeon you in the process.  There’s nary a bad song to be found, and the spell continues on later albums Dripping and You’re Better Than This, which dole out even more punishment.  When the band does quiet down (as it does so frequently on Hairshirt, while much more sparingly on the others) you notice how much warmth Maguire’s voice has, drawing you in close before smashing both fists into the side of your head.  It’s a potent juxtaposition, and as the Onion writeup says, it’s “both lovely and ugly, even when — especially when — it doesn’t make a lick of sense.” For me the heavier earlier albums where this punishing whiplash is in such high supply are more irresistible, but I never would have discovered ’em without a little trip to “Texas” on Hairshirt.  See which version you prefer here:

We’ll close with some odds and sods from the last few weeks — first a video from fellow Scotsmen Frightened Rabbit that they dropped on Christmas Day.  It’s the single “No Real Life,” which was released to support Alzheimer’s research, and is a characteristically lovely tune from the lads.  They’re coming to town soon to play their classic The Midnight Organ Fight in its entirety for its ten year anniversary, so super excited to see that shortly.  In the interim, enjoy the new one here:

Next comes the latest single from the upcoming release for Portland’s Mimicking Birds, and similar to the first single “Sunlight Daze,” it’s a bit more amped up and electrified than their earlier, folksier work.  We’ll see how that works across the broader album once it comes out, but does well enough on its own so far.  Check it out here:

Lastly we’ll close with the latest single from the ever productive Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest, whose upcoming album Twin Fantasy (a re-recording of a previous effort of the same name) drops next month (Feb 16). He, too, seems to have been bit by the 80s/synth bug, but it isn’t as jarring as some of the other bands fussed at on this site since his stuff already sounded a bit like the Cars at times.  This one’s a glammy, upbeat revisiting of “Nervous Young Inhumans” and hopefully the rest of the album sounds as good as this one the second time around.  Check it out here:


Until next time, amici… –BS

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