Hey there folks. The heat wave is intense I know, but some cool new summer tunes and some old gems that never surfaced will be the cure for what ails ya’.
Some cool new Artist, Albums and Tracks to lookout for
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
Genre: Psychedelic Pop, Experimental Indie Rock, Post New Wave
Ariel Pink is a 32 year old from L.A. that must have spent too much time is his folks AM gold records from the 70’s. This unique album, that conveniently has it’s best track, called Round and Round on a 4AD (record company) free sampler album on Amazon. Cool textures and very bizarre lush synth make this song and whole album a real throwback to experimental and Progressive rock with a really melodic underbelly. It is hard to place this creative group of Pink’s.
Check out the song highlights that certainly don’t have the most charming titles, but you must hear the aforementioned “Round and Round” (again free on Amazon!), the track “Bright Lit Blue Skys” has a Bond, Broccoliesque, pace and cadence with the lush vocal sound that I would think was derived from band The 5th Dimension. It feels like Garage too. It sounds that dated. Very cool and not feeling derivative for it is so creative. The poorly named track “Butthouse Blondies” has a Husker Du, Mould type opening and then kicks into a druggy Americana like the Byrds Tour bus crashed into Velvet Underground. Fans of Paisley Underground bands like Green on red, and The Dream Syndicate will know this sound. Some quality instrumentation continues with the Bluesy yet reverb drenched track “Little Wig.” Fans of Ween would dig this track I think. This album, while bizarre, scores huge points for me in creativity. “I Can’t Hear my Eyes” is another track far removed from it’s release date. Sounds like AM gold like Ambrosia, or maybe (Dave alert) Bread?. That’s how strange this album sounds I know, but for fans of diverse sounds, check ‘er out. The Grover Washington and Dave Koz fans may like the track “Reminiscences” WJJZ could slip this instrumental in there and no one would even notice. Next track “Menopause Man” is again, a really dopey premise and title, but I will not deduct too many point for song titles today, for the song is cool and creative, and breaks out into a Synthy yet catchy hook that even I am having difficulty placing. “Revolution’s a Lie” is a very Joy Division framework. Fans of Gothy Post Punk from Manchester should check this track out
I really enjoy this album more and more as I get more listens, but check out “Round and Round” and if you don’t feel it, they are not for you.
Verdict: 5 out of 6
Wolf Parade – Expo ‘86
Genre: Indie Rock, Post Punk Revival, Canadian Indie
Wolf Parade from Montreal is an Indie Supergroup of sorts with all members having solo success in relative terms in the Indie circles. Dan Boeckner the lead singer, had a cool release with his wife, called The Handsome Furs. Keyboardist Dante Decaro from Hot Hot Heat, and Spencer Krug has led Sunset Rubdown. These guys have a nervous frenetic quality about them that makes itself quite evident on the first track. “Cloud Shadow on the Mountain” is chaotic and disjointed but has a decent payoff in the last minute. “What did My Lover Say” has a Modest Mouse feel about it, which makes sense, for Isaac Brock produced their first LP. “Little Golden Age” is the first of a few songs that have keyboardist, Decaro, channeling Jan Hammer’s Tubular Bells sound. It has moments that are cool, but Wolf Parades songs all go on about a minute too long or so on this LP. A number of 5 minute plus songs are here but they seem a bit forced. “In the direction of the Moon” falls a bit flat for me. “Ghost Pressure” has a cadence that echoes a Clash rhythm, but it chugs along another 5 minutes, when they could have gotten their point across with a servicable 3 ½ to 4 mins. After this comes my favorite track “Pobody’s Nerfect.” This Song has a feel of the Hold Steady’s Pub Rock feel and could be Wolf Parade’s attempt at an homage to The Only Ones. “You just don’t know how to stop it at all” screams Boeckner in this anthemic hot rocker. This is holding up as one of my favorite songs of the year. The final few tracks are pretty cool, as the track “Oh You Old Thing” is a song that wears more Post Punk influence squarely on it’s sleeve, as this song has synth lines that sound like Magazine, or Gary Numan. “Yulia”, a single is tucked next to last is okay. Cave-O-Sapien wraps up the album in appropriate fashion as being a very uniquely sounding Wolf Parade track with the vocal choppiness that makes them fun. The 4:30 mark of this has some really cool keyboards to punctuate and tie this one up.
I’m conflicted a bit. Great influence and good creativity, but more editing and trimming the edges could have made it even better.
Verdict : 4 of 6
Some tracks of recent note I’ve liked (Which are available free on Amazon BTW)
Band Song Why?
Harlem- Gay Human Bones /Great Garage Revival
Camera Obscura- The Sweetest Thing / Silky and Smooth and Scottish
Deer Tick- Twenty Miles /Great Indie Folk , nice Piano
The Dum Dum Girls- Jail La La /Lyrics are great for pace of song
22-20’s- Shake, Shiver, and Moan
The Mynabyrds- Numbers Don’t Lie /Because it’s soulful and pretty
Henry Clay People- Slow Burn
Port O’Brien- Oslo Campfire
I’ve touched on some newer things but the real fun is digging deep in the under-known artists who have attained a modicum of critical acclaim.
It may be old stuff, but it’s new to me, which is just as good.
The Long Ryders- Best of
Fans of The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Tom Petty, The Jayhawks, My Morning Jacket, and many more would really dig the cowpunk, outlaw country rock of California’s The Long Ryders. Tracks like the kicking “Looking for Lewis and Clark”, and “Gunslinging Man” which interestingly enough, fans of The Chameleons UK should notice a guitar line striking similar to Return of the Roughnecks by said UK Goth band. Not sure which track came first. The song “If I were a Bramble and You Were a Rose” is in the vain of Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris and just a beautiful alt-country ballad. First listen of the greatest hit’s of this band, which were only around from 1982-87 got under my skin as some of the catchiest folk rock I’ve ever heard. Hear the track “Man of Misery” and you will understand where My Morning Jacket arose. If you consider yourself well versed in Alt-country, these guys should be on your radar.
Chelsea- The Punk Singles Collection 77-82
I Love my UK Punk. More tuneful than many, I don’t see much praise for Chelsea but these guys provided a true working class punk from the era. Chelsea, was a stop on the way for Billy Idol and his Generation X cohorts who also cut their teeth in this unknown commodity. The track “Right to Work “ sounds striking similar to the approach of working class Cleveland Art Punks, Pere Ubu. “Urban Kids” is another great track with killer Bass work. “No Flowers” is amazing and quite tuneful I think. “I’m on Fire” sweeps around in a downright sophisticated manner for punk. I think the band 999 also had this aesthetic down. Tuneful Punk with artistic quality, “Look at the Outside” and “Stand Out” are also exemplary.
See my Ilike playlists for some samples of some tracks.
Thanks
RF
