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Records That Licked My Face in 2013

2013-12-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

Charli XCX- True Romance

Great pop record from up and coming Brit hitmaker

Disclosure- Settle

Most enjoyable dance record from barely out of their teens English brothers

Montage- Phases

This exceptionally gifted Montreal native, Antoine Bedard, wrote a composition every month for a year, the result being Phases, a pastiche of psychedelia, krautrock, dance music, and muted electronic ruminations. It's simply a really thoughtful collection of superb songwriting.

Kurt Vile- Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze

Philly's favorite slacker delivers another satisfying slab of Neil Young inspired jams

Ketamines- You Can’t Serve Two Masters

Infectious punk pop record displays this Calgary quintet's burgeoning songwriting chops.

Hooded Fang- Gravez

Another North of the Border band delivering frosty surf psychedelia.

Glenn Jones- My Garden State

Beautiful acoustic finger-picking, a la John Fahey.

Parquet Courts- Light Up Gold

"I was walking through Ridgewood Queens/ I was flipping through magazines/ I was so, so stoned and starving"

Purling Hiss- Water On Mars

Some blistering guitar work from Philly native Mike Polizze, harkening the heyday of Blue Cheer

Obits- Bed & Bugs

Preeminent garage rockers explore some different sonic structures, an evolving sound.

Speedy Ortiz- Major Arcana

Interesting chord progressions, very reminiscent of great late 80’s indie rock, with vocals that harken Liz Phair.

Foxygen- We Are the 21^st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

-Dylan, The Stones, & The Kinks all wrapped up in a silly Mexican blanket on a Santa Monica beach.

Rhye- Woman

Official reissue of 2012 release from sultry, understated lounge burning LA duo

Queens of the Stone Age- Like Clockwork

America's favorite stoner rock band is back with a mature, but no less satisfying, effort.

Bill Callahan- Dream River

The most distinctive voice in American music dives into his version of acid folk with flute, bongos, and some distorted slow jams.

Blood Orange- Cupid Deluxe

My favorite album cover of the year and best stone-cold grooves from in-demand producer Dev Hynes.

BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME opening next week

2013-06-30T15:35:00.003-07:00

BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME is a feature-length documentary from Magnolia Pictures about legendary Memphis band Big Star. The film opens in New York at the IFC Center on July 3 and will also be available that same day on iTunes and via most on demand video services. A special Los Angeles opening is also set for July 5 & 6 at the Nuart. Big Star tribute concerts in Chicago and New York are taking place this weekend, featuring Jody Stephens, the band's sole surviving original member & drummer, in anticipation of the film's release (more info. here). The film's soundtrack was just released this week via Omnivore Recordings.

While mainstream success eluded them, Big Star's three albums have become critically lauded touchstones of the rock music canon. A seminal band in the history of alternative music, Big Star has been cited as an influence by artists including REM, The Replacements, Belle & Sebastian, Elliot Smith and Flaming Lips, to name just a few. With never-before-seen footage and photos of the band, in-depth interviews and a rousing musical tribute by the bands they inspired, BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME is a story of artistic and musical salvation.

Among many ardent music fans and critics the band, Big Star, is widely regarded as one of the greatest bands in rock history. Never experiencing popular success in their time; even today their greatest notoriety is from their song, "In the Street" the title theme for the Fox sitcom, That 70s Show. But despite their unique distinction of being famous for not being famous, today Big Star's influence can be heard in the music of artists as diverse as R.E.M., The Replacements, Wilco, Beck, Jeff Buckley and Elliot Smith, just to name a few.

BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME traces the origins and history of the legendary band from the late sixties with lead singer Alex Chilton sky-rocketing to stardom at the age of sixteen with The Box Tops and their #1 hit, "The Letter" to the serendipitous meeting of Chilton and local Memphis singer-songwriter-guitarist, Chris Bell; through the tumultuous recording of the group's three landmark albums, #1 Record, Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers (Ardent Records); culminating with their implosion due to failed record sales, personal breakdowns and the tragic death of Chris Bell in 1978.

This film is a unique portrait of an incredibly talented group of musicians who crafted three albums now considered pop masterpieces (all of which charted on Rolling Stone's Top 500 albums of all time). The group strived for stardom but fell victim to the corporate stranglehold of the major record labels and radio stations who dominated the music business at that time. BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME is seen as a cautionary tale of the growing corporatization in pop music in the 70's as great American independent labels like Memphis-based STAX (Ardent's distributor), were swallowed whole or marginalized by the music conglomerates. Artists whose musical vision and style were not deemed worthy of radio play were doomed to obscurity until many were discovered by a new breed of musical upstarts who arose from places like CBGB's in New York and in college towns throughout America. Eventually aligning under the term "Punk Rock," the movement by the late 1970's sought to topple corporate control over the music industry and remind the world what rock and roll is all about. It was the leaders of this movement-bands such as REM, The dB's, The Replacements--and the passion of many frustrated music writers at such publications as Rolling Stone, Creem, and Musician Magazine who brought about Big Star's resurrection and eventually defined the term "alternative music," articulating a genre lying outside of the mainstream and brimming with the vitality and soul on which rock and roll was built.

www.bigstarstory.com

Drink A Toast To Innocence: A Tribute To Lite Rock

2013-06-15T11:33:00.002-07:00

This compilation is the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign started by Andrew "The dream is still alive in Portland" Curry. The music genre represented here is often referred to as "soft" rock or "yacht" rock, I've always called it dentist office waiting room music because these are the types of songs I would here while waiting to have my braces cleaned & tightened once a month. I looked forward to hearing this music about as much as I looked forward to having my gums pinched by tiny rubber bands. The craftsmanship and sheer hooks put into a lot of this music has grown on me as I've matured (aged!), and I can say that I was intrigued when I heard about this project.
Drink a Toast To Innocence states that the listener will "hear the classic Lite Rock hits of the late '70s and early '80s, reinterpreted by today's best power pop and indie pop artists". The record covers two discs and over 25 artists doing everything from "Dance With Me" to "Sentimental Lady", to "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)". This particular project would be better served if incongruent artists did faithful renditions of some soft rock songs, ex. Queens of the Stone Age covering Chicago's "Wish You Were Here" or Nick Cave doing Ambrosia's "Biggest Part of Me". The production is good and the performances are strong, but there's nothing here to convince you that hearing the original versions wouldn't be more rewarding.

Buy this record if the Captain lost Tennille on a desert island while Loggins hunted for wood to help Messina build a fire.

www.monstersofliterock.com

Charli XCX- True Romance

2013-06-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Charli XCX, nee Charlotte Aitchison, has been working on her debut record since she was fourteen (she's twenty now). A co-single she released with Icona Pop in May of 2012 called "I Love It" became the theme song for Jersey Shore alums JWoww & Snooki's spin-off show, creating an instant, albeit alternative, fan-base for the British singer/songwriter. A subsequent series of supporting tours for Marina and the Diamonds, Coldplay, and Ellie Goulding further broadened Charli XCX's appeal and increased anticipation for the release of True Romance.
Ms. Aitchison's music is a mixture of bubblegum pop and dance music with liberal references to clubbing and drug use, sample lyric from the ludicrously catchy "Take My Hand":
Why you gotta go to sleep
Don't go to sleep
Don't go to sleep
Let's go out
Get blown away
Lost in the dark
Get real high
And never come down
She has a penchant for bridging verses with spoken-word raps delivered in a hushed British Cockney that is equal parts sultry and callow, fellow Brit artist MIA immediately comes to mind.
Aitchison has stated she would love to become a hitmaker for the likes of Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani. This is entirely plausible, True Romance has at least four legitimate, potential singles: "Nuclear Season", "Take My Hand", "What I Like", and "You're the One". She can deliver mass appeal hooks but there is a slightly Gothic quality to her pop songs. Her subject matter, while sometimes generic, tends toward adult themes and she laces her songs with occasional profanity. This elevates her above standard teenybopper fare to a place where both five-year olds and hipster parents alike can appreciate it without a wink of irony.

Buy this record if your wife insists you play children's music when driving the kid to karate class.

www.charlixcxmusic.com

A Tribute to Scott Miller feat. AC Newman, Will Sheff, Ted Leo

2013-06-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY, JUNE 29th AT Cake Shop: A TRIBUTE TO SCOTT MILLER of Game Theory and The Loud Family

All proceeds go to The Scott Miller Family Memorial Fund
http://www.gofundme.com/2nz0vk

featuring performances by:
A.C. Newman
Will Sheff of Okkervil River
Ted Leo
Doug Gillard
Charles Bissell of the Wrens
Jennifer O'Connor
Home Blitz
Beth Wawerna of Bird of Youth
Tim Thomas of Babe the Blue Ox
Kleenex Girl Wonder
BELLS with Matt LeMay
Tiger Dare

Plus readings by Matthew Perpetua, Jon Solomon, Greg Milner, and more.

$30, 8pm doors
21+, please bring your ID

Tickets go on sale Monday, 6/10 at noon: http://scottmillercakeshoptribute.brownpapertickets.com/

Disclosure- Settle

2013-06-04T13:02:00.003-07:00

The Lawrence brothers were still teenagers in the London suburb of Surrey when they released their first single "Offline Dexterity" in 2010. A string of remixes and the four song Face EP followed, with each successive release showcasing the brother's uncanny ability to tap into the mainstream currents of modern electronic dance music. The first single from Disclosure's debut record, "Latch", had already reached top 20 status in the UK months before the June stateside release of Settle. Hype was beginning to turn into mania in the EDM world. While the coincidental release of Daft Punk's new opus Random Access Memories blunted some buzz here in the U.S., Settle has (ahem) settled in nicely as the current number one download on itunes.
The first U.S. single "When A Fire Starts To Burn" revolves, weaves, and flutters around a motivational speaker's plea "When a fire starts to burn, and it starts to spread, she gonna bring that attitude home". It's very reminiscent of the work on Dan Snaith's Jialong project Daphni, where he sampled heavily from 70's West African rock songs. The song is fairly monotonous, but signifies a progression from the comfort zone of Disclosure's earlier candy-coated club songs. The Lawrence brothers are keenly aware that the proliferation of EDM into the mainstream is dependent on tracks with professional singers and a good deal of the record features vocals from the likes of Sam Smith, AlunaGeorge, James Woon, and Jessie Ware.
Settle finds Disclosure falling back on some generic beats and samples but the innate talent here is undeniable. In a recent interview, after their 2nd U.S. show, the brothers said that the only time they fight it's usually about food. Let's hope that there's plenty of steak and lobster waiting for them in future backstage dressing rooms, because they're bound for A-list treatment.

Buy this record if you need to find faith in a future generation.

disclosureofficial.com

Purling Hiss- Water On Mars

2013-03-23T13:16:00.001-07:00

Here comes another crew of long-haired Hesher types from Philly. Is anyone from Philly anymore? You used to go there and you'd never run into someone who wasn't from Philly. Now everyone you meet there is from somewhere exotic like Wichita, Kansas or Milton, Delaware. They all want you to try out this great new restaurant in West Philly, but all you can think about is bombs being dropped down someone's chimney. Then you remember that Hall & Oates used to have long hair just like Kurt Vile. Kurt Vile is another homegrown Philly talent and the person responsible for spreading the Purling Hiss gospel. The Hiss play guitar-centric rock that is unrefined, unprocessed, and unfettered. What began as a one-man project, Mike Polizze recording blues-inspired, static-charged bursts of sonic grandeur on a 4-track, has grown into a (dare I say) semi-polished power trio. Polizze's music is a convergence of Dinosaur Jr. and Crazy Horse, yet despite the fuzzed and distorted guitar sounds, he seems to have a bit of the folk songwriter's soul in him.
Call me crazy but, after the smoke rings clear and the psychedelic squeals have dissipated, I can envision Purling Hiss playing a twilight set on stage at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the next generation of Heshers nodding intently as they search the parking lot for fresh cigarette butts.

Buy this record during those late night runs to Wawa for 6" turkey/cranberry shorties, Tasty Klairs, & Rosenbergers Ice Tea.

www.facebook.com/PurlingHiss

Waxahatchee- Cerulean Salt

2013-03-15T13:27:00.002-07:00

Another sparse, emotionally revealing effort from Alabama cum NYC cum Philly native Katie Crutchfield. Katie's guitar playing is simple, alternating between acoustic ballads and distorted three-chord punk arrangements, often recalling Guided By Voices. Her vocals alternatively recall Jeff Mangum, Alanis Morissette, and Mirah. Katie took umbrage with her own statement in a NY Times article in which she said that she doesn't identify herself as "punk", that labels in general stifle self-expression, but you can confidently apply the terms DIY and Riot grrrl to Waxahatchee's Cerulean Salt.

Buy this record if salt in the wound is a salve for the soul.

katiecrutchfield.tumblr.com

Terry Reid- Superlungs: The Complete Studio Recordings

2013-03-15T11:41:00.002-07:00

Terry Reid will go down in infamy as the guy who turned down an offer from then Yardbird's guitarist Jimmy Page to front a new version of the Yardbirds, a band that would soon become Led Zeppelin. Always the gentleman, Terry politely declined and recommended a young Birmingham singer named Robert Plant instead. Terry was also considered for the lead vocalist role with Deep Purple but lost out on that as well. Coulda Shoulda and Woulda's aside, Terry Reid has led a revered musical career. He's done supporting tours with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Cream and The Rolling Stones and has had his songs covered by The Hollies, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, REO Speedwagon, and Cheap Trick.
Reid's trademark has always been his powerful voice, his Superlungs, a soulful, piercing instrument that bears a good resemblance to Steve Marriot's (Small Faces, Humble Pie) unrestrained belting, equally effective on tender ballads or breezy pop songs. "Funny How Time Slips Away" is the perfect amalgam of Reid's allure: understated doo-wop style vocals with inflected vocal accents that evolve into extended multi-octave runs, all over a sublime musical accompaniment of Hammond organ, xylophone, and horns. This is pretty much the definition of the perfect timeless song. Terry Reid is pretty much the definition of a supreme singer.

Buy this record if you imagine this is what you sound like singing in the shower.

www.terryreid.net

SBTRKT Live at Shepherds Bush Empire

2013-02-18T16:21:00.002-08:00

There is a reason radio personalities are behind microphones, not a television camera. There's a reason baseball managers are in the dugout and not on the field playing. And there is a good reason DJs are behind the turntables and not in front of the mic: their voices are terrible. SBTRKT fits this category. A lot of successful recording DJs are realizing that they need competent vocalists to attain crossover appeal to a mainstream audience, but most can't afford to take them on the road with them. It's painful listening to this set.

Buy this record when the Panda-faced ear muffs your wearing start speaking in tongues.

www.sbtrkt.com

Foxygen- We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

2013-02-18T15:21:00.003-08:00

Foxygen lead a fun-house tour into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where lines dividing sincerity and parody are constantly blurred. Its often hard to tell if you should applaud the songwriting, the hooks, or the simple fact that this band crams an intense amount of 60s influences into any one song: here's a Dylan vocal, there's a Rolling Stones verse, here's a Pink Floyd breakdown followed by a Kinks chorus. This is the traditional rock equivalent of a Girl Talk mash-up. It's a refreshing journey through the pantheon or rock.

Buy this record if your ipad has an acid flashback.

www.facebook.com/foxygentheband

Best Songs of 2012: The Toe-Tappingest, Finger-Snappingest Tunes Around

2012-12-21T17:40:00.001-08:00

One more quick list before the end of the world in a few hours. If the world is ending at midnight EST does that mean it will end at 9pm PST here in California? I just want to make sure I finish Season One of Supernanny before the end.
These are songs that I felt were exceptional on their own merit, were fine representations of their respective music genre, and will stand the test of time. I mostly tried to avoid songs from my Best Records of 2012 List, with the understanding that many of those songs I already consider to be some of the best. I instead opted for singles and songs from albums that may not have been consistently great, but did produce fine tuneage, maximum dance-ability, and massive riffage!
Cheers

1. A-Trak & Zinc- Like The Dancefloor (feat. Natalie Storm)

2. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe

3. Jessie Ware- Running (Disclosure Remix)

4. Twin Shadow- Run My Heart

5. Kendrick Lamar- Swimming Pools (Drank)

6. King Tuff- Alone & Stoned

7. Chromatics- Lady

8. Screaming Females- It All Means Nothing

9. C. Spencer Yeh- Something Forever

10. First Aid Kit- Blue

11. Death Grips- Whammy

12. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs- Your Love

13. Frank Ocean- Thinking Of You

14. El-P- The Full Retard

15. Memoryhouse- Punctum

16. Poolside- Give It A Rest

17. Deerhoof- Fete D Adieu

18. Mt. Eerie- Through the Trees Pt. 2

19. Shout Out Out Out Out- Now That I've Given Up Hope, I Feel Much Better

20. Bill Fay- This World

21. Robert Pollard- Who's Running My Ranch?

22. R. Stevie Moore & Ariel Pink- Come My Way

23. Hurray For The Riff Raff- What's Wrong With Me

24. Andy Stott- Luxury Problems

25. Bob Mould- Star Machine

26. Opossom- Girl

27. Lindstrom- Vos-sako-rv

28. Pallbearer- The Legend

Best Records of 2012: The Absolutely Exhausting Definitive List

2012-12-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

2012 was a solid year for music. Considering that the world will be ending in a little over a week this is probably the best you're gonna get before the lights go out. Best of Lists are pretty silly. I mean, nobody can hear every record that was released in a calendar year so a best of list is only the best of, or what you think is the best of, what you heard. The list is numbered but it isn't totally based on ranking and reissues are mixed in with new releases. I'm not a big rap fan so that genre isn't really represented. I've also lost my metal mojo (although I did give consideration to the new Pallbearer record).
Plus, I'm getting older so I'm an aging-out demo. I still think the best "rock" music was made between 1960 and 1990. I like electronic music but I know that it will never replace lyrically-driven song structures. These songs appeal to people on an emotional level whereas electronic music generally has a more physical appeal. There is a reason why the most successful electronic artists today are marrying their beats with professional vocalists. Ultimately, storytellers still reign supreme in the world of music. Anyway, here's the list. I'm still thinking about making a best records of the last 40 years list. We'll see how that one works out.
Cheers!

1. Fire Star- Synth Pop & Electro-Funk From Tamil Films 1985-1989

Why compile songs from India's third largest film industry producer? Why draw your sample size from a specific four year period in the mid to late 1980's? Why the fuck not? It sounds great!

2. Tame Impala- Lonerism

Do you remember when you heard Van Morrison's "St. Dominic's Preview" and decided you needed to write your own Van Morrison song but it ended up sounding warped, not necessarily in a bad way, but definitely not exactly how you imagined Van Morrison would sound. This is Kevin Parker's version of bubblegum pop music.

3. Spider Bags- Shake My Head

Self-effacing garage rock with distinctive baritone vocals (think Mike Watt with emotion and sincerity). A truly satisfying batch of songs, full of affirmations of love that reject cosmopolitan living.

4. Frank Ocean- Channel Orange

A star in the making, blends some great influences, namely: Stevie Wonder, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Sly & The Family Stone. Frank Ocean is a storyteller who is finding his voice.

5. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti- Mature Themes

Real curmudgeonly dude but he makes consistently interesting and challenging music. He veers off into Zappa-esque territory but always maintains a genuine pop core.

6. Frankie Rose- Interstellar

Great 80s throwback record, it's brooding yet uplifting. What else would you expect from a 7th level Chaotic Neutral musician?

7. The Beach Boys- That's Why God Made The Radio

Even though most of the Wilsons are still dead and Mike Love is still a huge dickhead, Brian and the crew still make great music.

8. W.I.T.C.H.- We Intend To Cause Havoc

Reissue of the entire catalog from 1970's era African rock band. Bluesy, rootsy, funky, ballsy. All four albums from this Zambian outfit are represented, giving the listener a wealth of great music to choose from here.

9. Jaill- Traps

Best band from Milwaukee since the Violent Femmes or The Frogs. This three-piece is basically a grittier version of The Shins (that's a good thing by the way).

10. Lower Dens- Nootropics

Moody, atmospheric, evocative. It drones like a all good Krautrock records.

11. Wild Nothing- Nocturne

Imminently catchy collection of retro 80's dream pop.

12. Islands- A Sleep and A Forgetting

Melancholic breakup record from former Unicorn's bandleader Nick Diamond. Displays hints of Ray Charles Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music.

13. Elton John vs. PNAU- Good Morning To The Night

Australian electronic dance duo take vintage 1970's Elton John and put it through the modern groove blender. Satisfies ravers and AORers alike.

14. Julia Holter- Ekstasis

An ethereal electronic pop record that unfolds in calculating waves of understated bliss.

15. The Fresh & Onlys- Long Slow Dance

This San Fran band of garage rockers is evolving into a more nuanced songwriting force without compromising the treble & reverb.

16. Matthew Dear- Beams

Another fine collection of pulsating electronic songs infused with Dear's clinical voice. He's mutating into a no-wave force to be reckoned with.

17. The Funk Ark- High Noon

An Afro-Cuban version of the Daptone Records roster from this Washington D.C. collective. Some seriously funkafied instrumental scorchers are wafting by the Prez's door as I type.

18. Demdike Stare- Elemental:I-IV

Ambient, in turns industrial, electronic music that incorporates manipulated slices of obscure horror soundtracks. This is some hardcore electronic music.

19. Mac Demarco- 2

The sheer doofiness of this album cover belies the sophisticated nature of Demarco's songwriting, not withstanding his odes to favorite cigarette brands.

20. William Basinski- The Disintegration Loops

Three repetitive notes, looped for 2 hours, underlain with what sounds like basketballs bouncing on hardwood in a cathedral. The tape decays and the notes literally disintegrate. Its a work that is beguiling, enchanting, & beautiful.

21. Poolside- Pacific Standard Time

Totally infectious dance record that is the perfect compliment to a backyard summertime barbeque.

22. Daphni- Jiaolong

Combines African roots samples with a shitload of mesmerizing synth sounds. Dan Snaith changes monikers so often( from Manitoba to Caribou to Daphni) I'm beginning to think his renegade grooves have made him a fugitive.

23. Flume- Flume

20 year old Australian Harley Streten makes music well beyond his years, a heady concoction of mid-tempo electronic beat music with assured hip-hop and R&B/soul vocals. Really promising debut.

24. Coke Weed- Nice Dreams

Great druggy name for this Velvet Underground influenced crew of Mainers.

25. Tim Maia- Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia

Tim Maia basically introduced soul music to his native Brazil and is considered a national treasure there. The Luaka Bop label has reissued a veritable greatest hits record to commemorate what would have been Maia's 70th birthday. If you like Tropicalia, 70's pysch, soul and roots music then this is a must add.

26. Chris Cohen- Overgrown Path

Member of indie legends Deerhoof takes a sun-dappled journey into solo record territory. Overgrown Path is a record of mellow guitar driven songs that recall the 70's pyschedelic folk, but with the quirky time signatures that mark his playing in Deerhoof.

27. Mind Spiders- Meltdown

Satisfying blend of garage and new wave, gets your feet tapping, makes you want to smash shit up.

28. Le Super Borgou De Parakou- Bariba Sound

Another mega-funked up African reissue (see W.I.T.C.H. above). Le Super Borgou De Parakou was a supergroup comprising some of the best musicians in Benin in the early 70's. The music created during this time period in Western Africa was incredibly influential on future Western music.

29. Deep Time- Deep Time

A pensive pop record from stripped down Austin, TX duo. Jennifer Moore's laconic vocals, which bring to mind Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier, can be both disorienting and alarmingly soothing.

Honorable Mentions

Blondes- Blondes

El-P- Cancer 4 Cure

Opossom- Electric Hawaii

Country Funk 1969-1975

Death Grips- The Money Store

Jensen Sportag- Pure Wet EP

Disclosure- The Face EP

Gomma All-Stars feat. Peaches- Casablanca Reworks

How To Dress Well- Total Loss

Shout Out Out Out Out- Spanish Moss & Total Loss

Chromatics- Kill For Love

King Tuff- King Tuff

Matthew E. White- Big Inner

DIIV- Oshin

Cadence Weapon- Hope In Dirt City

Chelsea Wolfe- Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs

FRKWYS Vol. 9: Sun Araw & M. Geddes Gengras Meet The Congos

Chrome Sparks- My Heart

2012-11-11T13:18:00.002-08:00

Uplifting downtempo music from percussionist/electronic tinkerer Jeremy Malvin, a Michigan youngster who is relocating to Brooklyn, NY to concentrate full-time on his music. Somewhat precious in its instrumentation, but sweeping in stature, overall a futuristic version of what pop music will sound like.

Buy this record as a supplement to the hypertension medication you've been prescribed.

chromesparks.bandcamp.com

U.S. Girls- GEM

2012-11-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

Like filtering the Ronette's " Be My Baby" through a car's carburetor. This Philly native's one-woman band leans toward traditional R&B, albeit masked in layers of reverb, tape hiss, and pre-programmed drum beats. Meghan Remy's voice has been justifiably compared to Ronnie Spector and is ripe for mass exposure. Right now she's manipulating knobs on the floors of dingy clubs but could easily find herself haunting the acoustic halls of Carnegie Hall.

Buy this record if you want to know what to sing in the shower with the water turned off.

yousgirls.blogspot.com

Jaill- Traps

2012-08-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a garage rock version of The Shins, look no further. The vocals are grittier, the guitars are crunchier, the sound is overall bombast compared to the introspective, orchestral leaning of James Mercer. Traps hasn't left my disc player in two weeks, I keep finding myself going back for more.

Buy this record when you need to add a fifth teaspoon of sugar to your coffee.

www.jaillonline.wordpress.com

Cailfornia Wives- Art History

2012-08-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

Basically, an uptempo version of American Analog Set that teeters on the edge of twee-pop innocuousness. Their sound works best on "Better Home", with a vaguely Fleetwood Mac feel: muted, pulsing guitar strumming and angelic "oh-oh-oh" background vocals, that provide the perfect compliment to a convertible car ride down Sunset Strip, or in California Wives case, a cruise around their hometown Chicago Loop's Lake Shore Drive. It's a well-produced record with some satisfying moments but ultimately elicits an anesthetized listening effect.

Buy this record if the squeaky hinge needs some oil.

www.myspace.com/californiawives

23 Best Records of 2012, So Far, That I Haven't Heard Of

2012-08-11T12:39:00.001-07:00

23. Slivers- Something Crawls
22. Death Balls- Ride The Pony
21. The Ice Cream Clouds- Mostly Sunny With A Chance Of Sprinkles
20. Bear On A Wolf's Bidet- Derivations
19. My Asscrack- Casual Eruptions
18. The Deacon Bishops- Pawn in the Frond of a Jeweled Magic Wand
17. Bylton Clynton- Mid-Southern Man
16. Los Beer Goggles- I Pee Me
15. Ex-Girlfriend- You Fucking Ruined My Life
14. Childless Couples- Sheer Bliss
13. My Mailman- Some Days You Show Up, Some Days You Don't, What's the Deal?
12. The Bloggers- The Sound of My Own Voice
11. PPPOOPOO1122- Personal Movements
10. Kid Combine & the Tractor Trailer Assembly Line Leader- Guided By Voices
9. Hep C- It Took An Ocean of Needles To Keep Me From Drinking
8. Cynthia Watkins- Ripples in Tides of Pools
7. ROTC- Not the Army: Right On Toking Corporal
6. Kim & Kanye- The Biggest Assholes
5. Disemboweled Kitten Fetus- This is How You Spell Evil
4. Prentiss, Somers, & Whitbey- Aperitifs in the Study
3. SPAzz- Irony and Detachment
2. Foxy Lickers- Barbados
1. Mash Up & On Your Face- Stop It

Poolside- Pacific Standard Time

2012-08-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

A band that feels as if it's been together since the advent of dance music creates the ultimate summer record of 2012, It's particularly fitting that they're named Poolside, how has that name not been used already? It's actually two DJ/producers from LA who've conjured up this sublime slab of nu-disco, chock full of supremely digestible dance grooves, and this is actually their first proper record together. Requisite hand claps and novelty dance beats abound but there's enough heady production to keep the listener curious, and engaged. Bonus spins for turning Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" into a stone-cold lounge classic.

Buy this record if you wanna feel what it feels like to feel good, and you like to dance.

poolsidemusic.com

Duran Duran- Arena

2012-07-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Duran Duran was one of the first non-metal bands I got into as a budding teenager. My slow segue way from Judas Priest, Icon, and Scorpions cut-off tees into Spandau Ballet leisure suits was abetted by my friend Mike. He indoctrinated me into the cult of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax" while conning me into believing I'd meet girls at a Wham concert in Philly, a show that saw them opening, AND closing, with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". But at Mike's house, the recurring soundtrack to our suburban malaise was always Duran Duran's Arena, a live record culled from their Sing Blue Silver tour after the release of their Seven and the Ragged Tiger album. Full of really weak vocals from Simon LeBon, ham-fisted riffs from Andy Taylor, and a hastily produced single, "Wild Boys", thrown into the middle of a live set?, it's clear that without the visual images of young attractive Brits to accompany flimsy ditties of unquenchable sex drive, the music loses its vitality. A few DD nuggets are included, "Is There Something I Should Know", "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Save A Prayer", but the exclusion of their hits "Rio", "Girls On Film", and "Reflex" is inexplicable ("Rio" and "Girls On Film" were included as part of the 2004 reissue). John Taylor, Duran Duran's other token pretty boy, is the most musically competent in the group, steadying the band with some fortified bass licks, and free-flowing locks. Arena is one for the vaults, meaning it should literally be sealed in a vault and forgotten about.

Buy this record if you're trying to make sense of your youthful transgressions.

www.duranduran.com

Fergus & Geronimo- Funky Was the State of Affairs

2012-07-08T12:52:00.002-07:00

Pop regurgitators engage in pure self-indulgence on this new release. They've quickly segued from garage rockers aping Rolling Stones riffs to a bastardized amalgamation of The Mothers of Invention & Devo, tossing a little New York No Wave into the mix as they navigate a world of aliens, Roman Numerals, and wiretapping on this lo-fi concept album. Endearing in a "we don't give a shit what anyone thinks" kind of way, ineffectual on a fundamental "we're gonna run with this alien concept idea" level.

Buy this record if your braces start vibrating morse code messages.

hardlyart.com/fergusandgeronimo.html

Twin Shadow- Confess

2012-07-07T13:48:00.001-07:00

The chorus for the opening track "Golden Light" sounds eerily similar to the Gerard McMann penned "Cry Little Sister", which many of you would recognize as the theme song for the movie The Lost Boys. Twin Shadow's George Lewis looks vaguely vampirish on the Confess cover and I could imagine him performing The Lost Boys theme song himself if he had been making music back in the 80's. His music is one giant homage to the slickly overproduced hits of that decade. Twin Shadow's success is also allowing Lewis to live out his James Dean motorcycle rebel fantasy, and I must say, the looks suits him just fine. One of the interesting aspects to Lewis' music is the contrast between his guitar playing and his reliance on synth-laden hooks. After seeing Twin Shadow play live it's obvious that Lewis is a very competent guitarist, but buries his playing under a pile of new wave keyboard notes. It's this infatuation with dated sounds that is, at once, both charming and limiting. Prince is also a deceptively agile guitar player who, having always placed song structure above personal affectations, wavered through personas and his own genre nostalgia: soul and funk music. If the comparison between the two has not already been made, it should. Confess provides more of the same, sonically and thematically, as the debut record Forget, but doesn't display much musical progression. Confess feels like the result of a lot of time on the road, writing at rest stops and in flea bag hotels, recording on a couple off days, touring again, a little writing, recording again while on holiday, etc. I hope that Mr. Lewis finds the time to rest and chart out a musical course because he has the potential for a long and fulfilling career.

Buy this record if you're recruiting future soccer stars from Middlesbrough secondary schools.

twinshadow.net

WITCH- We Intend To Cause Havoc

2012-06-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Remember growing up in the early 70's in the Berkshires? Your parents would drag you out to those all-night parties on the farm with their artist friends? They would tell you that this wasn't the kind of candy you could eat even though they were obviously passing sugar cubes around the table. Strangers would beckon you, saying that time doesn't exist here. They would casually assert that transcendental meditation saved their life in Fez. They would dance in a wild arhythmic fashion, falling, bodies writhing on the floor in a mass of discombobulated flesh. You, being tired and confused, would find your way to the spare bedroom, which had become a temporary coat room, and pass out on the pile of jackets splayed haphazardly across the bed. The only thing you wish you would remember from that night was the music playing on the stereo, that African band who had stolen R&B and psychedelia back from the white man. From what you recall, they were the party.

Buy this record so time will fold in on itself.

www.nowagainrecords.com/witch-we-intend-to-cause-havoc

Dope Body- Natural History

2012-06-06T12:29:00.002-07:00

Baltimore's Dope Body deliver a crab pot's worth of dude rock to feast on. They rant like Henry Rollins with a slightly higher self-opinion. They shun cloying political slogans as they Rage Against the Machine. They extol the time signatures of NYC band Battles and prance at the primal pace of Primus. This is testosterone music for experimental jocks or art school flunkies looking to subvert Led Zeppelin's blues by filtering guitar licks through various effect pedals and laptop programs. Dope Body wears its influences on every groove of Natural History, a prehistoric walk through the halls of near-distant musical relatives.

Buy this record if you're looking for a teen version of Sweating To the Oldies.

dopebody.tumblr.com

The Beach Boys- That's Why God Made the Radio

2012-06-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

The endless summer keeps rolling along for these timeless music icons. They lost two-thirds of the Wilson brothers (Dennis and Carl, R.I.P), as well as a good amount of respectability ("Kokomo", John Stamos serving as the band's drummer, the realization that Mike Love is a big dick) along the way, but with Brian Wilson back at the helm the Beach Boys seem to have righted their ship. The course has been reset for more vocal harmony and pop awesomeness. Most of the album is culled from previously written songs, sounding like a cross between the Sunflower and Love You records with a decidedly nostalgic vibe, and all the surviving original members are on board. There's no doubt that this record sounds like what you'd expect to hear from a crew of 60 year old musicians, but for Beach Boys fans like me, songs like "That's Why God Made the Radio", "Spring Vacation", Isn't It Time", and "The Private Life of Bill and Sue" with the awesome, yet typical Brian Wilson-type opening refrain, "The private life of Bill and Sue/ Can you dig what I'm telling you?", really hit the spot. A lot of musicians talk about making mellow, AOR records, as if it's an act of kitsch, but the Beach Boys live it, and continue to perfect it.

Buy this record if you dig what they're telling you.

www.thebeachboys.com