T he Posies, at the height of their early 90s commercial appeal, were one of those bands that I always kind of considered a fine power pop outfit (Who doesn't like "Dream All Day" or "Solar Sister?") and nothing more until hearing Ken Stringfellow's 2001 album, Touched , followed by Jon Auer's 2006 album, Songs From The Year Of Our Demise , at which point I realized the error of my previously held belief. The Posies ' latest full-length and first in five years, Blood/Candy , is easily their best [...]
M any years ago, I received in the mail an awesome compilation titled The Violence Inherent in the System that contained 22 killer European garage and punk rock tracks that were compiled by the ever resourceful Steve Gardner of NKVD Records . It's certainly one of the better compilations that I've ever heard and the last I checked Steve was all but giving them away (although in some cases he was doing that as well). Anyways, out of all the bands contained on the comp., the ones I gravitated towards the most were [...]
I n an effort to jump-start the idle activity this blog has seen in recent months, I thought it might be kind of fun to count down daily to Christmas Day some of my favorite musical discoveries that I made throughout 2010 in lieu of doing any kind of "best-of" list. Let's face it, many of these lists all look the same and since I also discovered a fair number of not-so-current acts in an effort to round out my constantly growing collection, I though it might be worthwhile to include some of those as well. That being [...]
I think as far as the majority of those who are actually aware of them, XTC is a "love 'em" or "hate 'em" type of band with very few people in-between. Arguments range anywhere from production that comes off as being too slick to just what the hell Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding are going on and singing about, a trait that I've always found endearing as it lead to a certain amount of mystery and cache over the song's subject matter. The fact that the band drew heavily from the mid-to-late 60s [...]
I 've been going back and blasting the hell out of these guys through the trellises' speakers for the past several weeks now. Every once in a while you just want some good ole' fashioned "balls-to-the-wall" rock 'n' roll that you can get your fingernails dirty to and these guys have it in spades. The Hellacopters ' earlier albums straddled that fine line between arena-styled metal that veered precariously close to being posture driven and Detroit-fury styled punk which was probably just as equally posture driven. If anything, they remind one of [...]
W hile I'm not one to jump up and down and clap my hands ecstatically when presented with the idea of bands re-recording their earlier work, at the same time I can't claim that it's a prospect that completely turns me off either dependent on the situation. In the case of Vancouver's The Subhumans , taking their debut album, Incorrect Thoughts , plus an EPs worth of extra songs written at the same time for another spin in the studio and releasing it as Same Thoughts Different Day is [...]
N o new musical territory being discovered on this one but if you like Sell Out -era The Who…if you like The Kink Kontroversy -styled Kinks…if you like The Jam's best album, The Modern World as well as lesser known groups who play in a similar vein like The Attack, The Move, The Jolt and The Chords then there's no way you don't end up liking something about the Len Price 3 's third album, Pictures . While I enjoyed this Medway, U.K. trio's previous albums, it [...]
T he spectacular weather us Chicagoans currently have going for ourselves until at least next Tuesday, as well as the fact that I've been on my annual late-Spring, early-Summer Flying Nun Records kick, seemed like nice motivation to break out this one from Andrew Brough's post-Straitjacket Fits outfit, Bike . Their debut full-length, Take In The Sun , was all this unassuming band left behind which is a huge shame as nowhere could it be suggested that Brough was finished making quality, swirling guitar-styled pop music not unlike what the Velvet Crush did. One [...]
A t the expense of running with the majority, you can chalk me up as yet another who really, really enjoys the National 's new album, High Violet . It's like this epic, solid record that comes off like what records used to be; the kind where you sit in-front of the stereo pouring over the sleeve and its linear notes while the vinyl itself spins on the turn-table. The National's music as a whole has a very classic rock feel to it; music that reminds one of Dylan's Blood on the Tracks , the [...]
A n album that's sure to get lost amongst the excitement of yesterday's highly anticipated release of Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record and the New Pornographers' Together is the just as anticipated for ourselves release of the second full-length album, Aquatic , from Lancaster, PA's Highspire . You're probably not gonna read about this one on Pitchfork, no. The band's previous album, Your Everything , was not only one hell of a hot record that faithfully mined the swirling atmospheric rock of such dreampop/shoegaze [...]
H oly shit, does this one take me back to 1992 but in oh-so many good ways. Many people fail to remember that concurrent to the rise here in the States of Nirvana and grunge in general, many of the early 90s greatest guitar records came out from bands on the other side of the Atlantic. Think about it: Ride's Nowhere was released in 1990 and the following year, 1991, saw the release of the mighty Swervedriver's Raise , My Bloody Valentine's immortal Loveless , Chapterhouse's Whirlpool and Breathless' [...]
T reading the same "postpunk/powerpop/messtheti cs" water as our friends over at Hyped2Death Records, Washington D.C.'s Acute Records released earlier last month the 1980-81 recorded output of Athens, GA's much loved and underappreciated Method Actors whom some guy named Peter Buck states as "a kind of secret history of the Athens' scene." This Is Still It compiles the band's early singles as well as selected tracks from their full-length double LP, Little Figures . No amount of accolades could properly lay tribute to the amount of influence David [...]
I went and saw Echo & the Bunnymen last night here in Chicago and afterwards I walked away kinda wishing I hadn't. What's the saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me ? This was the second time I'd seen them play since they reformed in the late 90s and this gig was only slightly better than the last time. And while I didn't start this site to slag anyone off (a task I consider far easier than writing about how or why you actually love something), let's just say that [...]
...is the electro-jangle pop of Here We Go Magic 's "Collector," the first pre-release track from the band's upcoming second album, Pigeons , which will see the light of day on June 8th via a release from Secretly Canadian . This is a terrific song that more than adequately channels the glorious weather Chicago is currently experiencing on this fine April Fool's Day. It's as if someone like the Feelies or the Bongos or Speed The Plough found themselves locked in a recording [...]
A fter a 6-year hiatus, Sunderland, U.K.'s favorite band, Leatherface , return with a brand new full-length, The Stormy Petrel , that mixes all of frontman Frankie Stubb's favorite styles of punk, hardcore and folk music into one delicious package. And while the new album, the first to be released on the band's own Big Ugly Fish Recordings label, will probably be seen as more of a down-tempo effort than 2000's incredible Horsebox , there are a lot more hooks and melodies present than there were on 2004's rather [...]
T he cover of the Lizard Train 's 1987 mini-LP, Thirteen Hour Daydream , as well as a cursory spin of the first track, "Seventh Heaven," would suggest a nice collection of flower-pop type tracks contained within. Not so. Many distinctive styles come into play throughout the span of this record, ranging from introspective, melodic pop to downright, almost violent, catharsis; most evident by guitarist and lead vocalist Chris Willard whose style goes from sweet to snarling in a heartbeat. And while the band did fit in nicely with the then [...]
W hile I'll always adore the Saints ' debut album, (I'm) Stranded , and in particular the title track it spawned (one of the top 25 singles of all time), it was the band's 1978 follow-up, Eternally Yours , which proved to be the Saints' true masterpiece. Adopting a more R&B approach to the music which incorporated elements of jazz by way of an infused brass section, Chris Bailey would further utilize and hone this approach on subsequent Saints' records following the departure of founding members Ed Kuepper (guitar) and Ivor Hay (drums), culminating with [...]
G o here on eMusic to read an article from one of our favorite music writers regarding our absolute favorite album of the 90s and then, while you happen to be over there, go here to download it. Twenty years and it still sounds as good as ever.
H ere are a couple of new songs for your weekend listening pleasure. Following in the footsteps of early 90s UK bands such as Mega City 4, China Drum and Ash who in turn followed the trail blazed by late 70s groups like the Buzzcocks, Vibrators and Adverts, comes the Nottingham foursome, Lovvers , who will be bringing their take on the raw-garage meets pop-punk genre to the west coast before settling in Austin for South by Southwest this March. Taken from their late 2009 debut full-length, OCD Go Go [...]
O h my, is this band really good. Being touted as Chicago's very own shoegaze collective, Apteka creates intense dream pop atmospherics that permeate in a wall of swirling guitars which somehow manage an ethereal quality while simultaneously smashing you over the head. Our friends at Crash-Avenue were kind enough to send us both the band's previously released EP , which is stunningly-great, as well as their equally-as-stunning current 45 , Traitors . I was totally unprepared to be bowled over the way I was after [...]
The Poor Ditching Boy
First Aid Kit – Emmylou
Childish Gambino - "Heartbeat" (Official Music Video)
James Blake – Live Album
Mux Mool
