Music for 9/29/17!!! The Aces, Deep State, Kasha, Primus

@@@ The Aces: Stuck (N/A, 2017)  I got to this all female indie band single from a publicist email.  So far this falls much more — oh wow it segues out of the intro to a super sweet ’80s synth pop explosion.  Extensive but not excessive vocal harmonies in the verse and then it slips right into that synth groove which is catchy but a bit low IQ.  The plinky guitars and the pong synthesizers are the bubbles in this ginger ale.  And they use the word ‘babe’ a ton, like my mother in law.  Not a bad association for others, but not great for me.

@@@ Deep State: Time Unrivaled (N/A, 2017)  Another music publicist single.  I’m peeping it because they have the Minutemen as one of their sonic references in their spieling email.  I don’t want to be a dick (sometimes) but I hear more of the Go Gos than the Minutemen.  It’s more sweet guitar bounce than the fried punk weirdness of the Minutemen.  And crunchier too, in the guitars.  That’s supposed to be a little poetic there.  And crunchier too (pause, nod your head meaningfully, stroke your soul patch), in the guitars.  Yeah right on.

@@@ Kashaka : Tropa Da Jogador (Subterranean, 2017)  I saw some Afrique music festival in the BK this weekend and these guys are listed.  But if my ears are correct this is a Brazilian outfit.  Let me consult with the interwebz, ah the webs.  Ah, it’s a collaboration between artists in Brazil, Brooklyn and Africa.  It’s a true mash with elements of hip hop, Brazilian music, and weird ass keyboards that sound cool.  There’s a lot going on but it holds together rhythmically and it works for me.

@@@ Primus: The Desaturating Seven (ATO, 2017)  Primus is back with their original lineup.  The first tune sports a spoken word opening section that is part Lord of the Rings and part Wizard of Oz.  When the music starts it’s more theater show than Primus punky weird ass funk.  Maybe that will commence.  Ah the weirdness is slowly trickling in.  Ah, the second tune gets into the ol’ school Primus — weird Al freakshow vocals and chopped up funk.  I like it pretty good yo.  This is a concept record based on a children’s book which I think works because the singer works that childlike, anti-social vocal tip well.  The tunes have a slow unfolding quality which you have to be in the mood for.  I respect the ambition of what they’re trying to do here. This third tune is the best of what I heard.

YTD recordings listened to: 636
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 341
Not good music: 269

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker

Music for 9/27/17!!! Roger Harvey, l’rain, Big Brave, A Boogie wit da Hoodie

@@@ A Boogie wit da Hoodie:  Say A’ (N/A, 2017)  A hip hop single off the Apple Music hot tracks section.  It’s rocking an upbeat flow while rhyming about being stopped by the police.  It’s a cousin to DRAM’s tune Broccoli from last summer.  The tune turns itself over both musically and lyrically and I find that pleasing and creative.  The piano hook is mad catchy but the slideshow of beats and the arrangement gives the tune body.  This is a fat track so it goes to the top of the reviews.

@@@ Roger Harvey: When the Lights Come Up (Chunksaah, 2017)  A pre-release single that I got to via a music publicist.  It’s a ’70s soft rock inspired tune with a straight rock beat and a plethora of guitars.  The main vibe here is one of fatigue and longing tinged with sadness.  I’m giving this tune a second listen and it’s a slack version of something you might hear from that Roy Orbison/Tom Petty project from back in the day.  Straight rock with some literate lyrics.

@@@ l’rain: l’rain (Astro Nautico, 2017)  An electronic record this week’s CFUV playlist email.  This first tune is a lush New Age r&b kinda jam with lots of ooh/ah vocals, pillowy synths.  Other notable musical components include the clean guitar playing focusing on single line melodies and the female singer with her attendant background vocals.  Of which there is a plethora.  The drummer pumps some funk but not George Clinton over the top.  It’s not really an electronic record, I got that wrong.  It’s a band record with some synths and a high minded r&b approach.

@@@ Big Brave: Ardor (Southern Lord, 2017)  I go out of my way to check out Southern Lord releases as they’ve put many records in my ‘collection’.   I saw this record in the loud section on the CFUV playlist email.  The record consists of three long ass jams that total 40 minutes so that tells me the pace will be slow.  The first tune comes out with the guitar squall mingled with a slow riff and lots of drum toms.  And up jumps the female singer — that’s unexpected and a welcome unpredictable move.  She’s not shrieking like a stuck pig, it’s actual singing as if it were not such a metallic backdrop.  Let’s peep some more.  The second tune includes a slowly bowed cello and it almost comes off as a lovelorn tune, something the metal genre does not dabble in much.  Points for mashing shit up!  Excellent bass tone, feedback guitars, bashy drums and a singer.

YTD recordings listened to: 632
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 339
Not good music: 267

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker

Music for 9/27/17!!! Miley Cyrus, Light, Kevin Gates, David Crosby

@@@ Miley Cyrus: Week without You (RCA, 2017)  The rehabilitation of mainstream Nice Cyrus continues with this third pre-release single.  Oh no more pasties, bending over, dancing little people and stripper poles for Cyrus as she reaches back to the late ’50s/early ’60s for some vintage girl soul (including outfit — see below!)  Lyrics that can be played at family dinner.  It’s more than a bit like an Elvis track.  Let’s all move to Cali, put on the radio and kick back to the vintage pre rock ‘n roll stylings of shapeshifter Cyrus (who needs to make some payments on her Lamborghini).  Oh I kid, I kid.  It’s not a high bar to beat but she sings better than Taylor Swift.

@@@ Kevin Gates: By Any Means 2 (Bread Winner’s Association, 2017) A hip hop record occupying primo front page real estate on Apple Music’s front page.  This first tune is super Dirty South with some eerie vocal delays, super deep trunk bass, and some cough syrup skitter beats.  After a little intro it goes full gangsta with the gunplay and the dealing of the drugs and the fight to survive.  Whoever did the bass on this track deserves a medal for funk.  It’s just nasty and blobby and extremely satisfying.  Gates’ rhyming style is middle of the road — he’s not super quick but he’s crisp and rhythmic.  He also takes some turns at singing but it’s not extensive.  Where a lot of hip hop records are a loop and a little arrangement and then some blunted dude rhymin’ and rhymin’ these tracks are more fully fleshed out and focused so big points for that.

@@@ Lights: Skin & Earth (Warner, 2017)  Blurbed on the All Music notable release email as ‘a sweepingly romantic, post-apocalyptic, comic book concept album rife with sophisticated pop hooks.’  Oy, that’s a mouthful!!  I predict super slick production and a medium sized tidal wave of cheese.   Oh she’s got the finger snaps working in the verse of this opening track and then there’s a cheesy multi-tracked vocal explosion in the chorus.  She can sing, I’ll give her that but the pimped out production detracts from her performance.  On this third tune she’s doing that breathy near-orgasm shit that drives me insane.  If you need to go rub one out in the bathroom, fine go do it, this is America, but I don’t need to hear you get really close to your peak and sing at the same time.  She’s got a gentle dancehall sway to this tune Until the Light.  Some folks spent a lot of time on this record but it comes up more than a bit short on soul.

@@@ David Crosby: Curved Air (BMG Rights, 2017)  A pre-release single off the Apple Music hot tracks.  You gotta give Crosby credit for not making a CSN single as here he takes Joni Mitchell’s jazz fusion period and takes it for himself.  It’s most notable in the rhythm section where the bass player is very active and the drummer is also not straight hippie rocking it.  He also has a keyboard player and a flutist to round out the ensemble as previously described.  Crosby’s singing is straightforward and it’s not featured with a lot of vocal harmonies as it has been heard for decades.  I did not follow the lyrics closely but it appears they are serious and contemplative.  There ya go!

YTD recordings listened to: 628
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 336
Not good music: 266

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker

Music for 9/26/17!!! Benjamin Booker, Hex One, Phoebe Bridgers, The National

@@@ Benjamin Booker: Warning (ATO, 2017)  I have some All Music notable release emails from the past few months that I scour when I’m looking for new music to peep.  Booker is  being marketed as a new generation bluesman from New Orleans, mixing non-blues sounds into his blues.  I like this first tune which sports a little punk flow to it and I appreciate him not sticking with the classic blues sound palette.  I’m on the third tune and this is pretty fresh — Booker’s gravelly voice is pleasing and the non standard guitar tones serve the music well and imbue it with some new energy.  Imma swing back on this record when I can check the whole sandwich but this record could end up on my year end list.

@@@ Hex One: Peep the Steeze Ft. Skyzoo (N/A, 2017)  I got a music publicist email about this hip hop single and I’m checking it as I like Skyzoo.  Steeze is style with ease so that can help you understand the boasting on the track.  I hear this as retro NYC beats with quick and sharp rhymes passed back and forth betwixt the MCs who believe that you do not have any skills and they have many.   The arrangement is pretty sparse with some mellow keyboard slid in between the beats and the vocals.

@@@ Phoebe Bridgers: Stranger in the Alps (Dead Oceans, 2017)  The Line of Best Fit has this record as the record of the week.  Apple Music has this blurbed as confessional folk rock which isn’t something that sets my hair on fire but I’m sure I have regular readers that love some confessional folk rock so I will peep it for them.   I can confirm that this record is not as bad as the National’s new effort.  It shares certain qualities including meaningful indie style lyrics and ambient sound goodies used to fill out the tunes.  It is mo slack and if I fall asleep while reviewing this it’s not my fucking fault it’s the slack pill I’m being fed.  Let’s check a little more before my nap!  The second tune has a distorted guitar and a drum beat but there’s no rocking to be had here.  Don’t worry, your feelings won’t get hurt.  The music is okay if you can groove on its relaxed vibe but when I hear this soft, confessional vibe I wonder what the fuck happened to white people?  Cheese eating bags of overwrought feelings.  Jesus.

@@@ The National: Turtleneck (4AD, 2017)  That’s right, we’re circling back to 2017’s magnum opus by the National.  Change your undies and get ready!  This is a rocker and they seemed to be getting worked up over a turtleneck.  Could that be?  The guitar player is actually catching my ear (I say nice things when I have them to say) but I’m reminded that the drummer is a lasagna noodle and the singer, well the singer is important.  I have looked up the lyrics and while I can see that there are references to weed, and the rich and the poor, I don’t really get the part about the turtleneck.  Maybe you’re not supposed to….honestly I don’t have the time to grok it.  It’s a bit of a wanky rocker with some guitar noise and word salad.  We’ll be back tomorrow for more of the National!

YTD recordings listened to: 624
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 334
Not good music: 264

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker

Music for 9/25/17!!! Clientele, Joey La Soldat, Baraka Moon, The Expanders

@@@ The Expanders: Old Time Something Come Back Again, Vol. 2 (Easy Star, 2017)  I saw this record on the WRIR playlist this week and noticed from gathering this video from the GooglePimpTube that this appears to be a re-issue from 2012 as there are videos from this record from that time.  Oh fuck off this is Volume 2 and that was volume 1 — damn you short attention span!  There are three pre-release tunes up on the Apple Music and while I don’t dig the title of the first tune Life is a Funny Thing, it’s a pretty sticky roots reggae vibe with a sweet and though vibe side by side.  These guys are skilled at every position with a great singer, solid rhythm section and a spot on guitar player.  I will most definitely check more of this record out when it comes out and it will most likely be on my best of the year list.

@@@ The Clientele: Music for the Age of Miracles (Merge, 2017)  The All Music blurb says this record has a hefty dose of autumnal grace and warmth.  That is some high end PR diarrhea for sure.  The first tune sounds like a slacker Byrds tune — shiny, chiming guitars and an engaging singer.  The second tune opens up with a piano and you know pianos are a meaningful instrument with a lot of emotions attached to it.  I predict a cheese sandwich here ah no, just an interlude.  The tambourine has made its appearance on this third tune and the orchestral slack vibe has continued.  I like this record all right — it’s a bit of a recycling job as this is very familiar in melody and arrangement but people have the memory of goldfish so it will be huge!

@@@ Joey la Soldat: Burkin Ba (Akwaaba, 2017)  I’m going to have to Duck Duck Go this musician as he opens up the record in French and he’s obviously African but I can’t grok much besides that.  Ah, Burkina Faso.  He does a credible gangster trip on this second tune, Microphone.  I’m on the third tune and I like it.  It is African hip hop but it is not so far from American hip hop with synth based arrangements and tight rhymes with call and response vocals.  He is rapping in French so that’s a big difference there.

@@@ Baraka Moon: Bismillah (Baraka Moon, 2017)  A New Age-y world music mash I got to via the WRIR weekly playlist email.  The pre-release single is called Bismillah and I”m having a tough time tying it to a place.  Let me consult the fantastic interwebz.  Ah, they’re from San Francisco and I hear South Asian influences as well as Australian didgeridoo, guitar and percussion.  So this is truly a mash of world music influences and is going for a Qawwali trance vibe.  I like it all right

YTD recordings listened to: 620
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 332
Not good music: 263

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders

Music for 9/23/17!!! Billie Eilish, Why Don’t We

@@@ Billie Eilish: ocean eyes (Interscope, 2017)  A single off a ‘teen sensation bedroom production’ off the Apple Music hot tracks section.  Think of this track as ’70s soft rock over a thick, modern bass.  There is a truckload of vocals on this track, it’s a curtain of female longing.  You make me wanna cry when you give me those ocean eyes.  It’s a decent hook but she wears out.  If you take the vocals out it’s a pretty thin mint.

@@@ Why Don’t We: Invitation (Signature Entertainment, 2017)  A pre-release from a white boy teen group off the Apple Music hot tracks section.  I love the boy bands, they inevitably swirl down the toilet in a torrent of drugs, homosexuality, and puberty.  I want to go out of my way to say that I have nothing against homosexuals.  It’s a little surprising that one of the vocal hooks is about picking her up at 8pm cuz they don’t look old enough to drive!  Maybe Momz will drive and he’ll be in the back singing to her.  Check out the hairdo on heartthrob Lower Right.  That’s some dope curly bird’s nest action.  The tune is pretty standard white boy funk — Justin Timberlake-y in spots.  I think the dude in the middle is the homosexual — we’ll see in about 10 years!  I kid, I kid, Heartthrob Upper Left is the Gay One.

YTD recordings listened to: 616
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 331
Not good music: 262

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny

Music for 9/22/17!!! Darius Rucker, Avey Tare, Ritual, Daphni

@@@ Darius Rucker: Don’t (Capitol Nashville, 2017)  Friggin’ Hootie is back — I know he’s huge with the new country crowd but honestly I wouldn’t wipe my ass with some of this new country music.  It’s so fucking cornball, what the fuck?  This is off an upcoming full length.  Now Hootie is different, well not really as he was in a band called Hootie and the Blowfish.  That’s tough to live with.  Is it my imagine or does Rucker look like Dave Chappelle in this video clipped below.  I would love to hear the country lyrics of a tune written by Dave Chappelle as I’m sure they would be way less ernest and more entertaining!  It’s pretty standard, I know these lyrics are standard for the genre but it’s just baby food.  I thought we were adults here.  Oh Hootie we hardly knew ye.

@@@  Avey Tare: Eucalyptus (Domino, 2017)  An experimental rock record from the Domino imprint in the UK.  This first tune is lo fi and ambient and indie all in one sandwich.  It’s not somber, it’s more trippy and inward sounding but it’s low energy.  It also has a distinctly fish and chippy/British smell to it.  Let’s peep more.  It’s a dude and his guitar with a lot of weird ass garnish on these first two tunes.  Oh there’s a single drum but not a kit.  Not judging just describing.  This third tune, Ms. Secret, is the best of what I heard.  It’s still mad trippy but with more energy and melody.

@@@ Ritual: In this Moment (Roadrunner, 2017)  Metal off this late July All Music notable release email.  It’s opening up cinematically — regular readers know I hate the intros just get on with the skull crushing already for chrissakes.  Oh, I heard this during the summer, it’s a blues/ hard rock mix.  I don’t really like this formula but I’ll give the band some precious real estate on this blog which is a huge blog so this space is mad valuable.  Ha!

@@@ Daphni: Hey Drum (Dan Snaith, 2017)  I was looking for a record by these guys but alls I got was this single.  It’s house music with some bass that barely registers on my headphones.  I like the arrangement but he’s wearing the fuck out of this ‘hey drum’ vocal sample.  Oy, over and over I feel like I’m at Guantanamo Bay.  Oh, he broke from it, great.  And we’re back after a little house keyboard break.  Oh Jesus I want to kill him or me — I can’t decide.  I made it to just shy of 4 minutes and he’s busted out into a very funky club groove.  He shoulda cut the shit on the hey drum, edit the fuck out of that and get on with the funk.  Ah well.

YTD recordings listened to: 614
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 329
Not good music: 261

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny

Music for 9/21/17!!! Sparks, Nick Jonas, Electric Wizard

@@@ Sparks: Missionary Position (N/A, 2017)  I’m not sure if I’ve peeped this band yet as publicists bombard my inbox with the same band over and over ’til I’m confused.  These guys are from the UK and they are wacky.  References might be XTC but more tongue in cheek, and maybe a little Beatles action in the vocal melodies.  I hate to use the Fab Four as a reference as it makes people shit their pants.  It’s an urgent drum beat with tambourine and piano while the guitars are there they don’t drive the tune or mark it as a rock tune.  It’s all clever lyrics regarding the title.

@@@ Nick Jonas: Find You ( , 2017)  Off the Apple Music best of the week playlist.  Regular readers know Imma huge Nick Jonas fan.  He’s mad hot and super talented, a panty quaker in the tradition of Bieber and (gasp!) Harry Styles.  Harry Styles you rule my world!  Jonas is biting Bieber’s ballad style pretty hard.  Oh my the auto speller changed ballad to balls and for a second Nick Jonas was bitting Bieber’s balls.  That’s really too much.  This is more romantic than lustful but I’m sure the video is full of Jonas hotness.  I don’t like the track much but it’s pretty restrained for major label business.

@@@ Electric Wizard: See You in Hell (UMG, 2017)  Retro hard rock a la Black Sabbath in a tune I got to via the Apple Music heavy metal playlist.  Caveman drums, but not modern metal sounding with crunchy, angry flower power style guitars.  Riffs that are old school not classic metal but the first wave back in the day.  The tune is building with more frantic drumming and wah wah guitar.  It’s a familiar formula but they do it well.  Check out War Pigs if you want the classic business.

YTD recordings listened to: 612
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 327
Not good music: 259

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny

Music for 9/20/17!!! Sowflo, Resinated, Hippo Campus

@@@ Sowflo: Farmer in Suburbia (Sowflo, 2017) I got an email from a music publicist promoting a post hurricane music benefit in Florida.  There are two dozen plus bands playing and these guys are one of them.  This is on the Sublime side of reggae affairs — light with touches of white boy rock.  A schmear of 311 as well, but I dig the drummer and the trombone player.  Oy this Safari auto spell check is a bit anti-Semitic — I typed schmear and I got schemer.  That’s offensive right?  I can’t wait for the spelling robot chip to be put in my head so we can avoid these situations.

@@@ Resinated: Smoke Signals (Right Coast, 2014). More weed friendly roots reggae from the aforementioned email above.  This opening tune has a little Jimmy Buffett up in its reggae flow, especially the lyrics.  The second tune has a bit of disco doobie in it, oh Lord these guys are gonna be dropping all manner of little flavors.  The singer has some Red Hot Chili Peppers in his business.  He sings better than Chili Pepper Duder but the tone is very similar.   I’m not feeling these lyrics, try them for yourself.

@@@ Hippo Glow: warm glow ep (Grand Jury Music, 2017). These guys are headlining one of the nights at this festival in Cocoa Florida.  They are also near the roots neighborhood but they add other influences including mainstream soft rock and frat boy rock.  They swirl a little prog guitar action into this second tune (clipped below!).  These guys do present a tight rhythm section but they’re not devoted to traditional reggae vibes, they feel comfortable rocking other sounds.  It’s a tad fratty and soft for my taste but that’s just me.

YTD recordings listened to: 609
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 325
Not good music: 258

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny

Music for 9/19/17!!! Alice Glass, Evil Invaders, Dan Walsh

@@@ Alice Glass: Alice Glass EP (Loma Vista, 2017) Female fronted space pop off this week’s CFUV playlist email.  The most notable feature of the first tune is how much the low end has been sliced out of the singer’s voice and she sounds about seven years old.  This sort of club music requires slick production — a lot of shine to go with the booty rocking bass.  The record tries to be both dance music and lyric driven songs but I don’t buy these as songs, they leave me feeling not much, if anything.

@@@ Evil Invaders: Feed Me Violence (Napalm, 2017)  Some revved up classic metal/thrash that I got to from the same CFUV playlist email.  The singer is really a singer, and the guitarist(s) provide quite a bit of rhythmic chord chunking as well as the occasional pig squeal.  There are two pre-release tunes up and this second one As Life Slowly Fades follows the same basic premise as the opener.  Fast tempo, lots of drum fills followed by thrash beats, and wicked piercing pig squeals/guitar blasts.

@@@ Dan Walsh: Verging on the Perpendicular (Roksmere Records, 2017)  Some roots/folk music off the CFUV email.  This second tune (clipped below) is banjo playing and singing.  It’s really pleasant playing and the singing is pretty with more modern lyrics.  There are two instrumentals in the three first tunes which is fine as Walsh can surely play the banjo.  For old schoolers.

YTD recordings listened to: 606
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 322
Not good music: 258

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny