Martha - Love Keeps Kicking (Dirtnap, 2019)

Martha
Love Keeps Kicking
Dirtnap
2019

Rating: 7 albino alligators out of 10

Can I just say Martha is the British version of Swearin’ and leave it at that, or do I need to say more on the topic?  Both are more or less punky pop (as opposed to pop punk, obviously), have both male and female lead vocals, lots of mid-tempo numbers, and just an overall similar vibe.  Hell, just to make sure I wasn’t imagining the comparison I went back and listened to some Swearin’ and reaffirmed I wasn’t just making this up.  They’re not exactly the same obviously - Martha is a little janglier, has more harmonies between the lead vocalists (and in fact, though the dynamic is the same, the vocalists for each group sound very different from one another), and occasionally venture into a Promise Ring-like emo pop territory (see album highlight “Sight For Sore Eyes” or “Wrestlemania VIII”).  The best song on “Love Keeps Kicking” is actually the title track, a tune that will immediately get stuck in your head and that sounds like an outtake from the debut Exploding Hearts record (I seldom offer praise this high in this genre).  This song is so good that it actually makes the rest of this otherwise very enjoyable release seem lackluster in comparison.  Strong, strong contender for song of the year, if I actually kept track of such things. 

Ex Hex - It’s Real (Merge, 2019)

Ex Hex
It’s Real
Merge
2019

Rating: 9 boxy yellow birds out of 10

Did you fall in love with the last Ex Hex record, “Rips,” like I did?  If your answer is “yes” - congratulations, allow me to introduce you to their sophomore follow-up “It’s Real,” one of the very best albums of 2019; that descriptor will be holding strong no matter how many other quality releases come out this year.  If your answer is “no” – I quite literally want nothing to do with you, please go away, you make me sad.  “It’s Real” feels so much like a continuation of “Rips” that I’d completely believe both were recorded during the same session, and I mean that as the highest compliment – when you have a sound so dialed in and perfect right from the start, why fuck with a good thing?  My review of “Rips” was downright middling compared to how much I would go on to listen to (and love) that debut; because of that I came into this one with guns blazing and expectations astronomical, and gladly, I’ve not been left wanting.  Betsy Wright handles lead vocals on a few tracks, including my favorite of the record “Rainbow Shiner,” a song that would have fit in great with her excellent side project Bat Fangs (think a slightly glammier Ex Hex if you’ve never heard them); Mary Timony is in the lead for most of the album though, and her best track “Diamond Drive” is nearly as good.  In fact, it should come as no surprise given my effusive praise and the high rating above that literally every song on “It’s Real” is great, and I truly can’t wait to listen to this over and over and over.

Polvo - Vibracobra 7'' (Rockville, 1991)

Polvo
Vibracobra 7''
Rockville
1991

Rating: 1 billion million out of 10

FUCK YES IT'S FUCKING POLVO GODDAMN I LOVE THIS BAND.

I'm so stoked I finally found a copy of this.  

No review is ever necessary for Polvo.  It's perfect.  The end. 

Superchunk - Our Work Is Done 7'' (Merge, 2018)

Superchunk
Our Work Is Done 7''
Merge
2018

Rating: 9 dancing zephyrs out of 10

Superchunk has been pumping out so many great singles the last few years it's about time for a fourth singles comp so I can listen to these things in an efficient fashion.  The title track is very catchy, and features Fucked Up singer Damian Abraham on guest vocals during the chorus.  His voice is so gruff it kinda doesn't fit in the composition, but I still like it and I'm not sure if this is in spite of or because of Abraham's contribution.  The b-side, "Total Eclipse," is a cover of a Klaus Nomi song from his 1981 self-titled record.  The cover sounds nothing like the original electro dance pop classic outside of the same basic song structure - 'Chunk definitely make it their own.  Will be interesting to see if they ever play it live - despite their love of covers, the only one they seem to regularly include in their set is "100,000 fireflies" by Magnetic Fields.    

Unwound - Corpse Pose 7'' (Kill Rock Stars, 1996)

Unwound
Corpse Pose 7''
Kill Rock Stars
1996

Rating: 8.5 big bold boys out of 10

A classic band with a classic seven inch featuring a classic song.  Classic!  One of my great regrets was only getting to see Unwound live once (circa their last album "Leaves Turn Inside You," an amazing fucking show), but as a consolation I've listened to "Repetition" four billion times so I've got that going for me.  The a-side here, "Corpse Pose," can also be found on that record.  The flip is a track called "Everything Is Weird," a song unique only to this release* that sounds like Unwound covering Sonic Youth.  Yeah, Unwound often sounds like Sonic Youth, but this track is extra Sonic Youth-y.  It goes without saying you should pick this one up if you ever get a chance, and just listen to more Unwound in general.

*That is until the 2014 Numero Group comp "No Energy," which compiled all of these b-sides into one place.

The Twilight Sad - It Won/t Be Like This All The Time (Rock Action, 2019)

The Twilight Sad
It Won/t Be Like This All The Time
Rock Action
2019

Rating: 8 sticky green tabs out of 10

I’ve legitimately been meaning to or actively trying to write about this newest Twilight Sad album “It Won/t Be Like This All The Time” for two months now, and I’ve gotten nowhere.  What’s worse, I have no idea why – it’s a very good record but it’s not like it’s some transcendent piece of art that defies words.  It’s probably my favorite release by the Scottish band since their debut full-length “Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters,” and may well be one of my favorites at the end of 2019, but ultimately it’s only slightly better than the bulk of their consistently great catalogue.  There is decidedly more keyboards/electronics here than you typically get on one of their releases – it often verges into “Disintegration” era Cure* territory, with the most obvious difference being singer James Graham’s insanely thick Scottish accent (which has never stopped being one of the most delightful aspects of this band, FYI).  I think of the Twilight Sad as being a fairly morose/downer band, but there is a tinge of brightness to the songs of “It Won/t Be Like This All The Time” that almost push it into the vibe of a spring/summer record instead of something that sounds like the soundtrack to being hunkered down under blankets in a blizzard. 

*I read after writing the bulk of this review that the Cure’s Robert Smith actually had a hand in helping the Twilight Sad make this record, so duh.  Also, I listen to a shitload of the Cure so there is no wonder I made this connection, even if subconsciously.  More bands should probably get Robert Smith into the studio, because the world would be a better place if more bands sounded like the Cure.