Been awhile since I've done one of these round-ups of music I'm currently listening to and you oughta be listening to. Hopefully, it will serve as an introduction for some of you to a band or two you might never have heard otherwise. In the four previous Now Hear This posts, which you should check out here, here, here and here if you haven't already (and are worth revisiting if you have!), I've culled a fairly eclectic mix of goodies. This post follows in that spirit.
It's a big wide Internet out there, and it's full of tunes. Some are good, some are bad; some you can acquire legitimately, some...well, not so much. It's enough to make your head spin! Friend, I'm here to help. I've done the hard part - I've separated the wheat from the chaff and come up with a list of 10 more excellent musical curios for your musical curio shelf...er, iPod. These aural treats are not presented in any particular order, and I am receiving no compensation of any kind from the artists, other than the sheer enjoyment of listening to their creations. Almost all of these are very recent, but some are not. Some aren’t even actually released yet. That's just the way it is – deal with it. Let's dig in!
Rancid - ...Honor Is All We Know
Might be my most highly anticipated release of the last half of 2014 – the first new Rancid album in six years is scheduled to hit shelves October 27. Thanks to a three-song preview video (and allowing those songs to be had in advance through iTunes), we can rest assured that …Honor Is All We Know will see the mighty Rancid doing what they have always done so well. Their particular brand of 1977 punk rock nicked directly from The Clash’s playbook and strained through filters of two-tone, rockabilly, and street life has always been right in my musical wheelhouse – I love this stuff, and cannot wait for the entire LP. Meanwhile, this trio of tunes has been played regularly and loudly in anticipation…
James Williamson - Re-Licked
Also looking forward to this one, scheduled for official release on October 29. James Williamson joined The Stooges in 1970 and continued writing and recording with Iggy even after the band dissolved. Here he takes a handful of leftover Stooges material and presents all-new recordings paired up with a variety of vocalists from Gary Floyd of The Dicks to Jello Biafra to Jim “Foetus” Thirlwell. This re-imagined “lost” fourth Stooges album takes a better swing at it than the old Kill City release, if the early leaked tracks are any measure. “I’m Sick Of You” (with Mario Cuomo of The Orwells on vocals) is one of those tracks and has been on high rotation here in Ruttville for the past week or so. Re-Licked can be pre-ordered over at Amazon.com.
Sonic Scream - Up Your Sleeve
Sam Sergeant and Terry Knight make one heckuva racket for two people, but it’s a racket worth raving about (as I did back in May of 2013!). The lads from Hertfordshire are back with a brand new batch of brain-thumping grungy goodness. Up Your Sleeve continues in the same vein as its predecessor; tracks like “7” and “Ain’t Having That” roll in like thunder and shake the floorboards. It’s meant to be played loud, friends, so crank it…
The Electric Mess - “Better To Be Lucky Than Good”
Another favorite of the blog, NYC’s The Electric Mess, released House On Fire this past April. With it came the simply fantastic clip for the single “Better To Be Lucky Than Good,” which demonstrates that even though MTV may have abandoned the music video, the format is still viable and, in the right hands, powerful. This one is the running for song of the year if’n you ask me, and the whole album is well worth picking up.
Wheels On Fire - "I'm Turning Into You"
Every now and then something turns up on the ol’ iPod that’s been hanging around in my collection but somehow always just stayed under the radar. Then, one day, it leaps through the earbuds, grabs me by the eardrums and shakes some freakin’ sense into me. Like this track from Ohio’s Wheels On Fire. How on Earth I haven’t been raving about this since its release on their 2009 album Get Famous I can’t say – I can only apologize and insist that you listen to it and revel in its farfisa-driven wonderfulness with me now. Ready? Go!
The Mystery Lights - The Mystery Lights
The Mystery Lights have apparently arrived here (or at least in NYC) from 1968. They play a seething, eerie kind of psychedelic lo-fi freak-out music that all but demands to be played loud wherever swirling lights and neon colors and altered states of mind abound. Their four-track debut is uniformly excellent, with the standout being the final track, “What Happens When You Turn The Devil Down,” which will snake its way into your skull and slither down your spine in a most pleasing fashion. Hit up their Bandcamp site for more.
Radiohearts - Nothing At All
Fans of bands like The Buzzcocks, The Knack, Generation X, The dB’s and other like-minded late-70s powerpop/punk bands (the younger set might use The Exploding Hearts and The Cute Lepers as frames of reference), rejoice! There exists a band today who knows what you want to hear, and it is exactly what they play. Well. Radiohearts’ new EP, Nothing At All, practically bubbles over with high energy melodic hooks dressed in skinny ties and wraparound shades. The only drawback here is that there are only four songs. More! Give us more!
Lexxi Vexx & the Modern Gentlemen - The Evolution Of The Modern Gentlemen
Punk done Portland style. Lexxi has been around for a bit in the underground scene; this is her latest combo, and possibly the best of the bunch. A lot of ground is covered on The Evolution Of The Modern Gentlemen. At times the sound develops a decidedly metallic glint; other times echoes of west coast punk groups like The Nuns, UXA, and even The Avengers ring out. Lexxi doesn’t come by that booming voice by chance – her dad, Todd McPherson, in addition to being one of the Modern Gentlemen backing her, has been a member of The Kingsmen (yes, those Kingsmen) since 1992. That’s about as killer a Portland rock ‘n’ roll pedigree as you can ask for. This is one not to be missed – get over to Bandcamp and grab this’n. If you need proof, listen up:
The Empty Hearts - The Empty Hearts
The Empty Hearts are Wally Palmar of The Romantics, Elliot Easton of The Cars, Andy Babiuk of The Chesterfield Kings and Clem Burke of Blondie. And that, my friends, should tell you roughly what it sounds like, why I like it so much and why you need to get yerself a copy. If it doesn’t, I’m afraid you’re going to have to retake That’s What I Was Going To Say 101 next semester. The video for the single “I Don’t Want Your Love (If You Don’t Want Me)” will make a good study guide in the meantime.
The Cheap Cassettes - All Anxious All The Time
“Big guitars and big hooks” is how The Cheap Cassettes describe themselves on their Bandcamp page, right after listing a sizeable selection of their musical influences ranging from Big Star to Redd Kross to The Replacements. OK, sold! Their debut LP, All Anxious All The Time, is out now, and you can hear a couple of tracks from it on their page as well. They even offer up a pair of bonus free downloads of otherwise unreleased covers of The Vibrators’ “Whips And Furs” and The Jesus & Mary Chain’s “Happy When It Rains.” What are you waiting for?
Showing posts with label Electric Mess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Electric Mess. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Monday, March 11, 2013
Now Hear This!
I just looked at my calendar this morning and realized that we're almost halfway through March already! Jeez, where does the time go? It's been awhile since the last round-up of good music you ought to be listening to. Figured it's time to catch you up with what's been blaring from the speakers around Ruttville lately.
It's a big wide Internet out there, and it's full of tunes. Some are good, some are bad; some you can acquire legitimately, some...well, not so much. It's enough to make your head spin! Friend, I'm here to help. I've done the hard part - I've separated the wheat from the chaff and come up with a list of 10 excellent musical curios for your musical curio shelf...er, iPod. These aural treats are not presented in any particular order, and I am receiving no compensation of any kind from the artists, other than the sheer enjoyment of listening to their creations. Almost all of these are very recent, but some are not. That's just the way it is. Let's dig in!
Grumpy Old Punks
Punk's not dead; it's just old and grumpy. Also, wickedly funny when served up by LouB, KRoy, Brian, and Guzda, collectively the Grumpy Old Punks. A grand old party perhaps (with the emphasis on old!), but this GOP seriously rocks. They don't take the easy Weird Al-style parody route; their songs are original and quite solid on their own merits. These would be killer tracks even if they weren't snarling about their adjustable rate mortgages or wondering where their glasses are. Two EP's are available, 2011's self-titled debut and last year's Anarchy in the Prostate. And you must head to their website to catch their as yet unreleased cover of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." Yes, you read that right. Now get the hell off my lawn!
GABBA
I am utterly embarrassed to admit that I completely missed these guys in 1999 when their simply astounding Leave Stockholm album was issued, but I am definitely playing catch-up now! The so-obvious-it's-oblivious crossbreeding of ABBA and The Ramones works more often than it flops, although the points at which it doesn't quite gel can be enormously disappointing (hopes were so much higher for their take on "S.O.S." than the results produced.) Still when Bjöey and Anneky harmonize on "Waterloo," you wonder why no one else ever thought of this. Genius!
Compressorhead
The machines have taken over, and as it turns out, they just wanna rock. Stickboy, Fingers, and Bones form "the world's heaviest metal band," the all-robotic Compressorhead. Whipping through head-thunking covers of AC/DC, Motorhead, and The Ramones, these precision machines are programmed to rock and roll all night and party every day. Listen up, meatbags!
Shear/Shazar
Regular readers of this li'l ol' blog are likely quite familiar with both halves of this husband-and-wife duo who have released their first official collaboration this year (what took them so long?!?). If you don't know Jules Shear or Pal Shazar, get thee to Google! Get yerself some Polar Bears and Slow Children records and get yerself schooled, kiddo! Or, better yet, join me in bopping along to some incredibly literate, deeply touching music that manages to be yearning without being unhappy, and manages to be crunchily hippie-ish without reeking of patchouli and weed. It's folksy, folk-y, and funky, just like the artists who created it. Outstanding!
Scott Walker
I discovered the music of the enigmatic and fascinating Scott Walker by happening across the excellent documentary 30 Century Man (find it and watch it!). Walker's story is compelling: he achieved and utterly rejected pop stardom in the early '60s UK, became a troubadour in the tradition of Jacques Brel, cultivated a rather purposeful obscurity, and began creating recordings of highly experimental and personal musical expression. His stunning and unmistakeable baritone may be the only continuity in his career's twisting, turning journey, but his works have inspired and influenced many: Brian Eno, David Bowie, Gavin Friday, and Marc Almond, among others, all show up to praise him in the film. Walker has a new album out, his first in six years, Bish Bosch. The first single from it, "Epizootics!," is jaw-droppingly good:
Palmyra Delran
In the 1990s, Palmyra Delran headed up all-girl punk band The Friggs. These days, she's a solo act; a girl with a guitar and an attitude and, as of last week, a brand new album, You Are What You Absorb. The first single from it, "Shut Out," has been being played often and loudly around here lately. Delran bears more than just a passing sonic and vocal resemblance to the late Paula Pierce of The Pandoras, so you know exactly what you're in for. Delran delivers on this cut; can't wait to hear the rest of the LP!
The Electric Mess
With a psychedelic paisley-punk farfisa snarl that brings to mind a chance meeting of The Fuzztones and The Three O'Clock on board a yellow submarine, The Electric Mess burst out of NYC a few years back with the in all ways wonderful "You've Become A Witch." This year, they've damn near topped it with the single "The Girl With The Exploding Dress," from their sophomore album Falling Off The Face Of The Earth. Awesomely good stuff, sez me!
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Also on the list of bands with new albums out - or, in this case, soon to be out - is this pleasant surprise: OMD! Always one of my favorites back in the day, OMD's brand of synthpop was a bit more erudite and sophisticated to my ear than the run-of-the-mill stuff of the early '80s. Songs like "Electricity," "Joan Of Arc," "Souvenir," and "Telegraph" were constantly on my high-school-era playlist, and even when they moved into the more commercial sound of "Tesla Girls," "If You Leave," and "So In Love," they were always a class act. And now they're back! Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphries, just like the old days! (Yes, yes, I know, the comeback album was actually three years ago when History Of Modern was released. Jeez, do you hafta spoil all my fun?!?) The first sounds from the forthcoming album, English Electric, could have been happily ensconced in the grooves of 1983's majestic Dazzle Ships, which is a good thing - a damn good thing! Behold:
Lifestyle
Freezepop's The Other Sean T. Drinkwater's other band, Lifestyle, has a couple of new releases out via Bandpage.com. At the end of last year the synthpoppers issued a crisp new seven-song set, Artificial, and in January they gave a properly restored and remastered reissue release to 2005's Adventure. Both are excellent, and will carry you back to 1985 on the backs of glistening synth washes and memories of Simple Minds, Spandau Ballet, and later-era Roxy Music. But, as with Drinkwater's other other band, Lifestyle isn't a nostalgia act. Their work is solid and enjoyable pop music - and that's not a crime, right?
The Popdogs
If you don't find yourself smiling and tapping your feet along with The Popdogs' debut Cool Cats For Pop Dogs, you probably want to have your fun meter readjusted. If there isn't already a genre called Sunshine Power Pop, there needs to be, and The Popdogs need to be filed under it. They jangle like R.E.M. but wear much brighter colors; their songs are catchy and hummable bits of ephemeral ear candy that seem to evaporate upon arrival yet leave joyful echoes bouncing around your head. Check out the lead track, "Honest Guy," for proof:
It's a big wide Internet out there, and it's full of tunes. Some are good, some are bad; some you can acquire legitimately, some...well, not so much. It's enough to make your head spin! Friend, I'm here to help. I've done the hard part - I've separated the wheat from the chaff and come up with a list of 10 excellent musical curios for your musical curio shelf...er, iPod. These aural treats are not presented in any particular order, and I am receiving no compensation of any kind from the artists, other than the sheer enjoyment of listening to their creations. Almost all of these are very recent, but some are not. That's just the way it is. Let's dig in!
Grumpy Old Punks
Punk's not dead; it's just old and grumpy. Also, wickedly funny when served up by LouB, KRoy, Brian, and Guzda, collectively the Grumpy Old Punks. A grand old party perhaps (with the emphasis on old!), but this GOP seriously rocks. They don't take the easy Weird Al-style parody route; their songs are original and quite solid on their own merits. These would be killer tracks even if they weren't snarling about their adjustable rate mortgages or wondering where their glasses are. Two EP's are available, 2011's self-titled debut and last year's Anarchy in the Prostate. And you must head to their website to catch their as yet unreleased cover of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." Yes, you read that right. Now get the hell off my lawn!
GABBA
I am utterly embarrassed to admit that I completely missed these guys in 1999 when their simply astounding Leave Stockholm album was issued, but I am definitely playing catch-up now! The so-obvious-it's-oblivious crossbreeding of ABBA and The Ramones works more often than it flops, although the points at which it doesn't quite gel can be enormously disappointing (hopes were so much higher for their take on "S.O.S." than the results produced.) Still when Bjöey and Anneky harmonize on "Waterloo," you wonder why no one else ever thought of this. Genius!
Compressorhead
The machines have taken over, and as it turns out, they just wanna rock. Stickboy, Fingers, and Bones form "the world's heaviest metal band," the all-robotic Compressorhead. Whipping through head-thunking covers of AC/DC, Motorhead, and The Ramones, these precision machines are programmed to rock and roll all night and party every day. Listen up, meatbags!
Shear/Shazar
Regular readers of this li'l ol' blog are likely quite familiar with both halves of this husband-and-wife duo who have released their first official collaboration this year (what took them so long?!?). If you don't know Jules Shear or Pal Shazar, get thee to Google! Get yerself some Polar Bears and Slow Children records and get yerself schooled, kiddo! Or, better yet, join me in bopping along to some incredibly literate, deeply touching music that manages to be yearning without being unhappy, and manages to be crunchily hippie-ish without reeking of patchouli and weed. It's folksy, folk-y, and funky, just like the artists who created it. Outstanding!
Scott Walker
I discovered the music of the enigmatic and fascinating Scott Walker by happening across the excellent documentary 30 Century Man (find it and watch it!). Walker's story is compelling: he achieved and utterly rejected pop stardom in the early '60s UK, became a troubadour in the tradition of Jacques Brel, cultivated a rather purposeful obscurity, and began creating recordings of highly experimental and personal musical expression. His stunning and unmistakeable baritone may be the only continuity in his career's twisting, turning journey, but his works have inspired and influenced many: Brian Eno, David Bowie, Gavin Friday, and Marc Almond, among others, all show up to praise him in the film. Walker has a new album out, his first in six years, Bish Bosch. The first single from it, "Epizootics!," is jaw-droppingly good:
Palmyra Delran
In the 1990s, Palmyra Delran headed up all-girl punk band The Friggs. These days, she's a solo act; a girl with a guitar and an attitude and, as of last week, a brand new album, You Are What You Absorb. The first single from it, "Shut Out," has been being played often and loudly around here lately. Delran bears more than just a passing sonic and vocal resemblance to the late Paula Pierce of The Pandoras, so you know exactly what you're in for. Delran delivers on this cut; can't wait to hear the rest of the LP!
The Electric Mess
With a psychedelic paisley-punk farfisa snarl that brings to mind a chance meeting of The Fuzztones and The Three O'Clock on board a yellow submarine, The Electric Mess burst out of NYC a few years back with the in all ways wonderful "You've Become A Witch." This year, they've damn near topped it with the single "The Girl With The Exploding Dress," from their sophomore album Falling Off The Face Of The Earth. Awesomely good stuff, sez me!
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Also on the list of bands with new albums out - or, in this case, soon to be out - is this pleasant surprise: OMD! Always one of my favorites back in the day, OMD's brand of synthpop was a bit more erudite and sophisticated to my ear than the run-of-the-mill stuff of the early '80s. Songs like "Electricity," "Joan Of Arc," "Souvenir," and "Telegraph" were constantly on my high-school-era playlist, and even when they moved into the more commercial sound of "Tesla Girls," "If You Leave," and "So In Love," they were always a class act. And now they're back! Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphries, just like the old days! (Yes, yes, I know, the comeback album was actually three years ago when History Of Modern was released. Jeez, do you hafta spoil all my fun?!?) The first sounds from the forthcoming album, English Electric, could have been happily ensconced in the grooves of 1983's majestic Dazzle Ships, which is a good thing - a damn good thing! Behold:
Lifestyle
Freezepop's The Other Sean T. Drinkwater's other band, Lifestyle, has a couple of new releases out via Bandpage.com. At the end of last year the synthpoppers issued a crisp new seven-song set, Artificial, and in January they gave a properly restored and remastered reissue release to 2005's Adventure. Both are excellent, and will carry you back to 1985 on the backs of glistening synth washes and memories of Simple Minds, Spandau Ballet, and later-era Roxy Music. But, as with Drinkwater's other other band, Lifestyle isn't a nostalgia act. Their work is solid and enjoyable pop music - and that's not a crime, right?
The Popdogs
If you don't find yourself smiling and tapping your feet along with The Popdogs' debut Cool Cats For Pop Dogs, you probably want to have your fun meter readjusted. If there isn't already a genre called Sunshine Power Pop, there needs to be, and The Popdogs need to be filed under it. They jangle like R.E.M. but wear much brighter colors; their songs are catchy and hummable bits of ephemeral ear candy that seem to evaporate upon arrival yet leave joyful echoes bouncing around your head. Check out the lead track, "Honest Guy," for proof:
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