Amyl And The Sniffers
Amyl And The Sniffers
ATO
2019
Rating: 7.5 speckled rock hens out of 10
Australia have absolutely dominated the punk scene for at least the last decade, and based on this self-titled offering from Amyl And The Sniffers, the land of koalas and kangaroos is showing no signs of letting up. I feel like I’ve been hearing about this band forever, having released a half-dozen singles/eps over the last few years, but this is surprisingly their debut full-length. I’m not sure why it took them so long to release a proper debut, but IMO it was a smart decision, as it allowed the band to refine their sound and channel their anger into this thirty minute survey of the entire punk landscape. At times they can come off as anything from garage (“Angel”) to verging on hardcore (“GFY”), and nearly every subgenre inbetween. But my favorite moments of the album are the opener (“Starfire 500”) and closer (“Some Mutts”), which are closer to a Stooges-esque proto-punk sound, and by far the best version of the band. “Some Mutts” is especially good, my pick for top song of the record, and a direction I hope these Aussies expand on in the future.
The Flaming Lips
King’s Mouth (Music And Songs)
Warner Bros
2019
Rating: 8.5 triangle pants out of 10
If you would have told me going in that on their fifteenth full-length release, “King’s Mouth (Music And Songs),” the Flaming Lips would release a (typically oddball for them) concept album about a hero taking down an evil king baby, with narration by Mick Jones from the Clash/Big Audio Dynamite throughout, and it would be the best record they’ve released since their career high water marks of “The Soft Bulletin” and “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots”…well, here we are, and I’m just as shocked as you are. Shocked that the narration and goofy story doesn’t annoy me, shocked that they have gone back to their sound from that perfect period of the early oughts, and more than anything, shocked that more people aren’t talking about this fantastic album. Part of that might be because it’s not been released widely yet (there was limited release for Record Store Day, with full release is coming in July), but in this modern age of internets and streamery it’s not that hard to find. Perhaps equally at play is fatigue for the band – maybe other folks are less willing to tolerate the silliness of Wayne Coyne and company in search of perfect psychedelic pop, but the Lip’s whole aesthetic still works on me. I totally get that the band isn’t for everyone, but as an avowed non-lyric person, their particular brand of nonsensical fantasy is so tied in with the idea of incredibly catchy songs that it’s hard to imagine it not being this way. I mean, and obviously I’m not the first to say this, all of this shit is just the continuation of the Beach Boys ethos in the “Pet Sounds” years or the Beatles during the heyday of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”…nothing is too weird if it sounds good and has a hook.
I know this whole record is tied in with some sort of art exhibit that Coyne created, but the true calling of “King’s Mouth” is to be the soundtrack of a fantastical cartoon…something along the lines of what Harry Nilsson did with “The Point,” just some beautiful, trippy animation that visually tells the story of this terrific album.
Marbled Eye
EP 2
Melters / Digital Regress
2017
Rating: 6.5 snake aunts out of 10
I legitimately don't remember buying this Marbled Eye seven inch, even though it's clearly brand new and not just something grabbed out of a bargain bin. It's a good thing I like it I guess! Four songs total (two each side), I'd describe it as by-the-books Sonic Youth-inspired post punk. Not new or original, but totally fine. My main complaint are the vocals are too low through the entire thing, making the lead guitar feel more like the lead than the actual vocals - and maybe that was intentional, but I'm not sure it's the right choice. There's something here though...like a baseball player that needs seasoning in the minor leagues for a couple of years, I'd like too check out what these kids are doing a couple of years from now and see how they've progressed.
Pavement
Trigger Cut Plus Two 7''
Matador
1992
Rating: How do you rate perfection? Oh yeah, 10. It's a 10.
How to put into words the strength of my feelings of one of the greatest songs ever, from one of the greatest albums ever, recorded by one of the best bands ever? Let's go with...it's pretty good. Pavement could do no wrong for the bulk of the nineties, and if "Trigger Cut" isn't the top of the heap it's real damn close.
And I know the b-sides here nearly as well as the title track...I'm not even sure how I know "Sue Me Jack" by heart (maybe an old mix tape?), but "So Stark (You're A Skyscraper)" was also on the bootleg "Stray Slack," which I might have as memorized as I do all of "Slanted & Enchanted." From an era when bootlegs had real value, and I may have spent WAY too much money on a few import ones.
For the love of god, buy this if you ever come across it.
Paws
Your Church On My Bonfire
Ernest Jenning
2019
Rating: 7 fixed conglomerates out of 10
Most know Paws as a pop-punk band from Scotland. Not that kind of pop punk, the kind you think of when you first hear that genre name mentioned, the kind that go on the Warped tour and put their releases out on Fat Wreck Chords. But it’s still an apt descriptor given their music (a) on the punk spectrum and (b) the songs are usually really goddamn catchy. The thing is, on their most recent offering “Your Church On My Bonfire,” Paws have shifted their location on that pop punk spectrum WAY more towards the pop end. I’m not complaining – it’s the hooks that drew me to this band in the first place, and there are still plenty of those on this fourth full-length release from this trio of Glaswegians. Standout tracks like “Not Enough” and “Honoured To Be Honest” still feel enough like classic Paws to hold the attention of old fans, but the mellower, more somber vibe definitely dominate the bulk of the album. It made sense after listening to “Your Church On My Bonfire” a few times that I found out Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan recorded the record, because…well, Frightened Rabbit is exactly the best comparison to this new, softer version of Paws. Which is fine, and honestly wouldn’t have been a surprising natural progression for the group even without the obvious connection, but once you hear it you can’t un-hear it.
Starflyer 59
Young In My Head
Tooth & Nail
2019
Rating: 7 hard pears out of 10
Outside of a few specific songs, I would likely be hard pressed to differentiate between Starflyer 59 records. There is a sameness to the music of Jason Martin, sure, but that’s ok: not everything has to be groundbreaking and new, it’s ok for some music to function basically as modern nostalgia (hell, that’s mostly what I listen to OLD PERSON ALERT). Or better yet: when you’re this damn good, why fuck with a sure thing? Martin has held steadfast to his version of laid-back, poppy shoegaze since the mid-nineties, and more than twenty five years and fifteen full-lengths later, nothing has really changed – nor should it IMO. When I saw there was a new Starflyer 59 record, I had very specific expectations on what this would sound like, and those expectations were fully met. The title track “Young In My Head,” easily my favorite of the release, could be stuck in the middle of any of Starflyer’s other records and fit perfectly. Even by my own usually short-and-pointless review standards I don’t have a lot to say here...this music is like an old favorite t-shirt: familiar, comfortable, and a part of your life for a long time. I look forward to entirely recycling this review for the sixteenth release.
Also, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, someone fucking re-issue their 1998 record “The Fashion Focus,” my personal favorite of all fifteen of the band’s albums. I mean, they need pretty much their entire catalog re-issued, but that’s the most important one. And make it more than 500 copies!!! They did a re-issue of their first record “Silver” last year (which I would also like to have) and it sold out quickly and now costs an arm and a leg.
