Music for 5/30/19! Erlend Apneseth, Trophy Wives, Lower Dens

@@@ Erlend Apneseth Trio: Undergrunn (Hubro, 2019)  I saw this folk/jazz recording mentioned up on the Twatter by the jazz blogger Bird is the Worm.  I could not find this record on Apple Music but significant chunks of it are on Soundcloud.  The cloud of sound.  Apneseth is Scandinavian and he’s an ‘award winning hardingfele player.’  The hardingfele sounds like a violin/fiddle type instrument and the playing in this tune has South Asian feels to it.  A little Scottish, a little South Indian classical though as the tune moves it recedes back into a decidedly Westering thing.  I believe I hear a kit drummer and a hand percussionist or maybe they’ve been consolidated into one musician but the tune builds and then recedes on its way out.  A mash of slightly New Age world music and some jazz/improv.

@@@ Trophy Wives: Old Scratch (Latest Flame Records, 2011)  A continued look at 50 records out of Louisville Kentucky in the last decade.  Fantastic idea for a record list in my opinion.  It opens up with tune Taste of Your Medicine (clipped below) an energetic power pop punk anthem with great energy.  Great drumming.  Very Foo-ey but I enjoy the singing here and the tunes are a bit more splashy and interesting than typical buckets of Foo.  I like it, I don’t think I need to put it on my iPod but it may work for you more rock-centric listeners.

@@@ Lower Dens: Young Republicans (Ribbon Music, 2019)  A pre-release single I got to via a music publicist email.  It’s an ’80s electro rock track with gated snare sounds, vintage synth sounds presented as video game bloops, shiny arpeggios and some slow moving clouds.  The singer is about the consumption of the lower class by the young Republicans.  Musically, it’s a classic rock mellow in the verse/exploding chorus we’ve heard a million times before.  It’s a classic for a reason.  I’m sensing the tune may more be about climate change as the phrase ‘the world is burning’ surfaces repeatedly.

YTD recordings listened to: 272
Good music, not list worthy: 159
Not good music: 95

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv, Shipping News

Music for 5/29/19!!! Maria Grand, Shipping News

@@@ Maria Grand: Magdalena (Biophilia, 2019)  I got to this female sax player’s spoiken word jazz record via a gig announcement by the Brooklyn venue Roulette.  Not all the tracks are available to stream at bandcamp but about half of them are and the opener is an ode to Mother Earth with all the animals emerging from her moist womb.  Cosmic.  Whether you dig the spoken word poetry here depends on how open you are to the style and feelings presented.  It is some New Age business mixed with jazz for sure and I’m not a big New Age guy.  Grand’s sax tone is rich and her playing is solid.  I have a preference for the fire jazz sax players but she’s good.  Recording quality is very good with really pleasing tones.

@@@ Shipping News: One Less Heartless to Fear (Noise Pollution/Karate Records, 2019)  I saw this live recording from 2009 on a list of 50 important local records in Louisville Kentucky from this decade.  I guess these guys are semi-legendary on the indie scene but since I’m not a follower of the indie scene I haven’t heard anything except the band name which rings a bell.  I was expecting a poor sounding recording but it pops out of the gate with energy and clarity.   They are an indie guitar band and that has become a rarer commodity.  As the recording has been mixed really well the energy of the live performance shines through.  I may not feel the tunes to be elevating but I feel that energy at a visceral level and I like that.  It’s been more than a bit since I’ve felt the rock spirit/energy to be something I have interest in but this record does give rock some spit shine that it desperately needs these days.

YTD recordings listened to: 269
Good music, not list worthy: 157
Not good music: 94

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv, Shipping News

 

Music for 5/28/19!!! Nadia Tehran, Ryan Bingham

@@@ Nadia Tehran — Dozakh: All Lovers Hell (Year 0001, 2019) Off the Line of Best fit, she’s blurbed as part punk rock.  This first track (the title track) is a combination of indie electronic music and world music influences.  Tehran was born in Sweden to Iranian parents so that’s the identity part of the record.  The second tune is sung in English and while it continues with pop electronic sounds, it’s a darker feel she’s into it.  Whoever did the sounds did a great job on the bass and drums, it’s got a solid rhythmic foundation.  I’m on the fourth tune and I do like some of the sounds here but I don’t like her singing and the lyrics as much.

@@@ Ryan Bingham: American Love Song (Thirty Tigers, 2019)  Some ’70s honky tonky influenced country that I got to the Line of Best fit weekly email.  Bingham has a fairly gruff voice and his band brings a pretty authentic country energy.  There is some fairly extensive wah wah solo guitar so it’s got a fair amount of rock embedded in it.  I’m on the third tune and the idea that this is a more country version of the mid ’70s Stones sound has been affirmed.  Of course, it has the great fortune to not be sung by Mick Jagger.  Bingham does good work on the mic, nothing particularly revolutionary as he’s a traditionalist but he’s got it down well.

YTD recordings listened to: 267
Good music, not list worthy: 156
Not good music: 94

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv

Music for 5/24/19!! Young Thug, Ed Sheeran

@@@ Young Thug: The London (300 Entertainment, 2019)  The contest for song of the summer is on as it’s Memorial Day weekend!  This track is the first one listed in the Apple Music hot tracks section and it’s a club pussy anthem.  Multiple MCs/vocalists, trap beats, fat bass — you know the basics.   Solid funky energy, the vocal parts stand out the most but the sounds/arrangement don’t really raise the heat of the track much/enough.

@@@ Ed Sheeran: Cross Me (Warner/UMG, 2019)  Ed Sheeran is pulling a Taylor Swift and evolving from a trubadour to a whiteboy dancefloor banger.  Some cheesy ass 1980’s sounds and a coupla of rappers, I find it to be an unconvincing blend of sounds.  I think the problem is the beats, they just weak, Lionel Richie weak so when the MCs come with rhymes it all sounds shopping mall.  This is strictly for suburb teenage boys and girls and it will be interesting if Sheeran’s fans will go along for the ride.  I’m guessing some will but as I said I don’t buy the formula.

YTD recordings listened to: 265
Good music, not list worthy: 154
Not good music: 94

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv

Music for 5/23/19!!! Francine Honey, Silence in the Snow

@@@ Francine Honey: Stay (N/A, 2019)  I got to this tune via the music blog Indiepulse.  A bluesy torch song in the vein of Lucinda Williams but more straigh ahead.  Ms. Honey has a really nice voice and she rides over some minimal guitar noodling, a mellow organ swell, a piano player, drums and bass.  Right around 3 minutes in comes the tambourine when the emotion of the tune reaches its peak.  You can’t fuck with tambourine or cow bell for that matter.

@@@ Silence in the Snow: Break in the Skin (N/A, 2019) I got to this heavy record via an email from the hardcore indie radio station KFJC in California.  Great station with djs with great taste.  I thought this was going to be some ill ambient dark goth metal electro shit, but it’s pretty straight forward dark electro pop.  Frankly I would prefer the other formulation but this is probably better for most folks.  The female singer sounds a bit like Patti Smith and the tunes are dramatical.  This music is an updated ’80s guitar/synth rock but with more drama sauce.  It’s not bad, it’s just not for me.  Check it out if you’re headed out on the town with the black eyeliner.  Maybe they could have held back a little on the delay on vocals.

YTD recordings listened to: 263
Good music, not list worthy: 153
Not good music: 93

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv

Music for 5/22/19!!! Clay Renderings, The Band Gooch, Black Pistol

@@@  Clay Renderings: Black Vows (N/A, 2019)  This is a dark indie track I got to via a music publicist email.  Female singer, a repeating tom tom drum, an occasional somewhat dirty guitar chord.  It’s a downer track and I never discriminate against the downer tracks cuz they’re downer.  While the tune does build slowly over its almost five minutes it doesn’t have a lot of movement to it and qualifies as more of a vibe than a verse/chorus kinda thing.

@@@ The Band Gooch: Stuck With You (  , 2019)  Another music publicist email band peep.  Opens up energetically with lots of power chords and a somewhat detached but not downer vocalist.  Big power pop/punk rhythm section.  As I listen to him, the vocalist really reminds of Alex Chilton though a little bit more straight ahead.  Standard rock tune arrangement, the singer stands out here.  Not that much to say to be honest.

@@@ Black Pistol: Pick Your Poison (N/A, 2019) I got to this rock duo single via a music publicist email.  Standard updates on classic rock again, I wonder if this is gonna be a trend going forward.  Similar formula as the tune above.  Energetic rhythm section, a fair amount of rock guitar and a singer with personality.  With this tune you get some oooh, hoo woo doos background vocals and even some tambourine.  So if you’re calculating the amount of rock stuff you get the tambourine and the more complex vocal arrangement go for this one.

YTD recordings listened to: 261
Good music, not list worthy: 152
Not good music: 92

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv

Music for 5/21/19!!! Bodywash, Esperanza Spalding, Eljuri

@@@ Bodywash: Eye to Eye (Luminelle, 2019) I saw this self described lush indie single mentioned on the Twatter.  A cloud of synthesizers float in with a twinkly one panning back and forth in the stereo field to open up the tune.  I guess there’s a thin line between lush and soft.  Or maybe something can be lush and firm but if it’s too lush it can be soft.  Regardless of the linguistics of this point this is soft synth rock firmly anchored in the fabulous 1980’s.  I would be more open to these sounds if the singer wasn’t quite so laze.  That’s a cross between lazy and gaze, f’real.  At around 3 minutes it does firm up but I’m already deep in chamomile tea mode and not engaged, thinking about the difference between lush and soft.

@@@ Esperanza Spalding: 12 Little Spells (Concord, 2019) I saw her new music namechecked on the Twatter.  I’m not a huge fan of Spalding’s but I do listen and can change my mind.  I believe this is a concept album with 12 tunes with body parts in parentheses after each title.  12 Little Spells (Thoracic Spine) for example.  The music here is a prog/jazz fusion mash.  I like Spalding’s singing, and her bass playing is pretty restrained here.  What I hear is the fevered work of music nerds lacking in passion.  The arrangements are trick and the vocal melodies are impressively serpentine but there’s a difference between listening with one’s intellect and just listening as an emotionally engaged experience.  I feel like I’m at the circus watching acrobats.

@@@ Eljuri: Resiste (Cecilia Villar, 2019)  I got to this reggae single via the music blog Indiepulse.  Female reggae, I can get with that!  It opens with a reggae/rock blend and a rocking wah guitar intro.  The female singer, I’m guessing her name is Eljuri, works in Spanish which changes the vibe of the tune. I like her singing but I prefer not to have too much rock in my reggae, I like the fully ganja-tized reggae.  Murky sounding, polyrhythmic, etc.  This is more for frat boys, maybe Spanish frat boys.  It’s also a bit weird but not bad to hear someone going for the rock guitar shredding in a reggae context.  Not to be disallowed but not my first choice unless the shredding is more interesting.

YTD recordings listened to: 261
Good music, not list worthy: 151
Not good music: 93

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv

Music for 5/20/19!!! Injury Reserve, Amyl and the Sniffers

@@@ Injury Reserve: Injury Reserve (Seneca Village, 2019) Left field hip hop off this week’s Line of Best fit.  Left field hip hop can be a big bucket to throw records into so more description is necessary to make a solid judgment.  The arrangement in this first tune, Korune and Lime, consists largely of one note samples and a lot of human voices pitched and otherwise processed. I like the sounds  On the second tune, a marimba opens and drives the track.  In addition to a large swath of unusual sounds, there is a plethora of MCs on the record which keeps the record revolving and fresh.  I really like the sounds here and I was super into the first two tracks but that feeling went down a bit as I listened more.  The energy is solid and I can picture some folks really getting into it.

@@@ Amyl and the Sniffers: Monsoon (ATO, 2019) Also off the Line of Best Fit’s weekly email. The melodic riff is almost completely ripped from a tune — c’mon hard drive, please make the connection here for my listening peeps!  An aggro female is on the microphone not full on losing it but she’s agitated for sure.  The band is pumping pretty good.  I think I got it, part of that riff is off the Minutemen’s Three Way Tie for Last.  It’s the tune the Red and the Black which is a cover of a Blue Oyster Cult tune which I’ve clipped below.  They changed the melody a tad but they bit it pretty good from where I’m sitting.  However the most important point here is that my mind is still functioning.  Barely.  The tune is solid punk rock, I think if she whipped a complete shitty I would have liked the track more.  If you’re gonna whip a shitty you gotta whip a big one, no half stepping just lose your shit.

YTD recordings listened to: 258
Good music, not list worthy: 150
Not good music: 91

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv

 

 

Music for 5/16/19!!! Della Mae, Full of Hell, General Purv

@@@ Della Mae: The Butcher Shop EP (Rounder, 2019)  I’ve dug Della Mae records before.  They do the bunch of females harmonizing but they’re a bit more rocking than some of the more mainstream versions of their formula who bring more cheese to the singing and the playing.  This first tune, Bourbon Hound, pumps the tempo and the energy.  The rock three uptempo barn roof raisers before they get to a bluesy rendition of ‘Sixteen Tons’.  These are all classic tracks but it’s the energy they bring to them that makes it a worthwhile listen.

@@@ Full of Hell: Weeping Choir (Relapse, 2019)  Three pre-release tracks up on the Apple Music with the first one being Burning Myrrh (clippped below for your earholes)  It’s pretty close to double red bull time — a delicious storm of octopus drumming, guitar noise and an orc sounding bitch on the microphone.  Not just an orc as I believe this to be a multi-vocalist crew.  It’s a quick 2:12 blast of dirty crunchy ass so I will stick around for another one to catch the other flavors.  Armory of Obsidian Glass is a detuned, oozing thing though this could be the intro before they whip another shitty.  It does break out into a medium slow grind with a pretty complex vocal arrangement.  It’s a 7 minute biscuit and Imma gonna tip after about 5 but it’s solid metal.  I really dug the opening meltdown.

@@@ General Purv: The Astounding Exploits of General Purvis Attaboy (Baffled Octopi)+. First off, great band name and album title.  I found it on this week’s CFUV weekly playlist email.  I thought it was going to be a classic punk throwdown but it’s an electronic record with an arena rock attitude.  The beats are solid but the stars here are the synthesizer, well arranged and rocking.  I like these tracks, they’re unpredictable, funky and spontaneous.  If you are a listener that has checked out electronic music before and found it more than a bit nerdy, these guys/gals/humans could be a good fit for you.  Much more accessible but not stupid, there’s some good doobie in these arrangements as they’re not committed to doing one particular thing with their music.  I’m going to swing back on this record and listen to it when I have more time.  Check it out!

YTD recordings listened to: 256
Good music, not list worthy: 148
Not good music: 91

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams, General Purv

Music of the 5/15/19!!! Divorcer, Protruders, PUP

@@@ Divorcer: Debt Jubilee (No Sun, 2019)  Off kilter old school guitar indie with a female singer that I got to via the CFUV weekly email.  It’s a Minutemen/Breeders love baby thing.  I like the band but I could use some more energy from the singer.  Jumpy song sections and a general lack of respect for the way things are done.  Which I like.  The synths come on for the third tune (clipped below) and I liked this best of what I heard.

@@@ Protruders: Poison Future (Feel It, 2019)  It’s gonna be angular white people indie rock day.  This time the the female singer is replaced with a dude with some distortion on his voice.  He does raise the energy of the Velvet Underground on Red Bull vibe of the band.  A similar decision to break down the songs into shards which is fine though this second track, Tax 101, is pretty straight ahead rock.  Generally more energetic and more rocking than the grrl band and I’m just describing not judging.  Whichever way you go, I could give a shit.

@@@ PUP: Morbid Stuff (Little Dipper, 2019) And we end today’s listening with some major label pop punk guitar business out of the Canada.  A hooky opening track (clipped below) with AC/DC and Green Day pubes.  I read a blurb about this record and it’s about depression which is a serious thing.  The never ending debate is whether addressing these serious things in a pop music context is good or does it dilute the seriousness by presenting ideas in a spoon fed manner.  I’m telling you kids, I think this is a case of personal preference.  I like this band and some of the songs work for me and other ones don’t work for me so be a thinking adult and decide for yourself.  I found the opener less effective than the other tracks.  Often the label will put the hookiest shit up front to snag people with short attention spans.   That might be you!

YTD recordings listened to: 253
Good music, not list worthy: 148
Not good music: 91

Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, 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, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Horndal, Wyxz, Tarek Atoui, Hawktail, Saicobab, Shannon and the Clams