The Rosebuds - Love Deluxe (Self-Released, 2012)

The Rosebuds
Love Deluxe
Self-Released
2012

Rating: 8 ordinary loves out of 10

I love the Rosebuds and I love Sade.  But Ivan from the Rosebuds really really LOVES Sade, so much so that he decide to record a cover of her "Love Deluxe" album in it's entirety.  I sorta went into this from a novelty perspective, but it actually works pretty well.  It probably helps that I listened to this Sade album a lot in high school (an album I came to from skateboard videos of all things), so all of the songs are incredibly familiar.  The best part - it's free!  Maybe you're a Sade fan who doesn't know who the hell the Rosebuds are, or a Rosebuds fan wondering what the hell they are thinking, or even someone like myself who is a fan of both...it costs the same for everyone.  Grab it here. 

Rites of Spring - Six Song Demo (Dischord, 2012)

Rites of Spring
Six Song Demo
Dischord
2012

Rating: 9.5 electoral votes out of 10

On the one hand, you already know all of these Rites of Spring songs from their completely perfect full-length record "End on End" from 1985.  All six songs are just different takes/versions recorded at the same time as the album.  On the other hand, it's Rites of fuckin' Spring...you could probably release a seven inch of the band farting and I'd jump on it quicker the Fonz can fix a jukebox. 

Mogwai - A Wrenched Virile Lore (Sub Pop, 2012)

Mogwai
A Wrenched Virile Lore
Sub Pop
2012

Rating: 6 vocoder solos out of 10

I've been a Mogwai fan for a long time, but it's interesting how time can change your opinions on a band and their music.  When they released the collection of remixes called "Kicking a Dead Pig" in 1998, I couldn't get enough of it.  I listened to that double CD constantly, and it was probably the single most played item at my video store gig...it seemed to go well with alphabetizing old horror movies or making sure creepy perverts weren't stealing from the porn room in the back.  

Now it's fourteen years later and the band has released another batch of remixes called "A Wrenched Virile Lore," all alternate takes and remixes of songs from the album "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will."  And honestly, I couldn't be any more nonplussed about the whole matter.  It sounds totally fine and I'm sure plenty of Mogwai fans will dig it, but I'm just not sure I need remixes of their songs in my life at this point.  The originals are plenty.  Well, the Zombi remix of "Letters to the Metro" is pretty boss, but other than that, <insert photo of shrugging shoulders here>.  Soft Moon and Tim Hecker and a bunch of other people I've never heard of also do work here. 

Fuzz - This Time I Got a Reason 7'' (Trouble in Mind, 2012)

Fuzz
This Time I Got a Reason 7''
Trouble in Mind
2012

Rating: 7 loud cicadas out of 10

Fuzz is a new band out of SF featuring Ty Segall and Charlie Mootheart.  At this point I've given up trying to keep up with all of Segall's releases, but with only this seven inch under their belt I can at least say I'm up-to-date on Fuzz.  This isn't a typical Ty Segall affair - like the name implies, this is distorted hard rock in the vein of Sabbath or the always underrated Blue Cheer.  Segall on drums and vocals, Charlie on guitar, the smell of bong smoke in the air.  It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's hard not to like some good stoner rock jams. 

It will be interesting to see how far the guys take this - hopefully a full length is in the works.  Knowing Segall, a half-dozen full lengths are in the works, all to be released before the summer gets here.   

Allo Darlin' - 7777777 7'' (Where It's At Is Where You Are, 2012)

Allo Darlin'
7777777 7''
Where It's At Is Where You Are
2012

Rating: 7 wrapped sandwiches out of 10

This Allo Darlin' seven inch is part of some limited subscription-only series that is apparently already sold out, so if you want this you're gonna have to drop some loot on eBay or scrounge the internets for a download.  Three songs, all mid-tempo affairs...not the catchiest songs the band has ever written but worth seeking out if you're a fan.  And I'm on record that Allo Darlin' is one of the best pop bands currently in existence, so even some b-sides make for a good listen.  Based on the attendance last time I saw them play not enough people are loving this band the way I do - pull your collective heads out of your collective asses people, and listen to this great band.  

Will Johnson - Scorpion (Undertow, 2012)

Will Johnson
Scorpion
Undertow
2012

Rating: 6.5 freeway dividers out of 10

Will Johnson apparently likes to keep busy.  He has Centro-matic, presumably his main band; South San Gabriel, an offshoot that I always assumed was his solo work; but then he also records under his own name.  And that's not to mention all the other various side projects he's involved in like Monsters of Folk and writing/recording with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers.  How he decides what songs go to which bands is beyond me, but it seems more than reasonable to call him the Robert Pollard of the alt-country/folk rock world.  

"Scorpion" is a nice, pleasant (and possibly depressing depending on your mood) folk record.  It's mostly just Johnson, his guitar and his signature gravelly voice, with the occasional bit of drums or organ or whatnot added in for color.  It's not nearly as exciting as the fantastic Centro-matic record from last year, "Candidate Waltz," though it's still worth a listen if you're in the mood for some rainy day music.  Hell, it might even sound good on a bright sunny day.  

Spider Bags - Shake My Head (Odessa, 2012)

Spider Bags
Shake My Head
Odessa
2012

Rating: 8.5 tough titties out of 10

To call Spider Bags unclassifiable is to state the truth.  There is no real unifying factor throughout all of their songs other than them being of extremely high quality.  They're so unclassifiable I find a hard time summing the band up in one of my shitty short reviews.  Their music is this weird stew pot of punk, garage, country, old school r & b...basically, everything short of polka and field recordings of the ocean.  Perhaps the most contemporary artist you could think of comparing them to would be the Golden Boys, but when I listen to them they always make me think of the Replacements.  Not so much in sound, and certainly Spider Bags singer Dan McGee sounds nothing like Paul Westerberg, but they have the same spirit, the same moxie or some such shit.  As an added bonus, they are just mesmerizing and amazing live.  This probably shouldn't color a review of their record, but in my mind the two things are intertwined.  And as they are a local group for me, I get to see them live a lot - though not as often as I want to listen to this record.     

Lightships - Fear and Doubt (Geographic, 2012)

Lightships
Fear and Doubt
Geographic
2012

Rating: 7 broken spokes out of 10

I'm not sure I knew Lightships was the solo project of Teenage Fanclub's Gerald Love when I found this EP online.  If I did know it, my brain has since purged itself of this information.  But even coming in not knowing jack, any longtime supporter of the Fannies (one of my all-time favorite bands) knew exactly what was going on as soon as the unmistakeable vocals of Love kicked in on the first track "Fear and Doubt."  Also featuring members of the Pastels and Belle & Sebastian, this music is pretty goddamn twee and there ain't a thing wrong with that.  All four songs on this short player are quite enjoyable, and now I need to seek out the band's full-length that also came out in 2012.  Hopefully Love is also saving some of these great songs for a future Teenage Fanclub record as well. 

Pinback - Information Retrieved (Temporary Residence, 2012)

Pinback
Information Retrieved
Temporary Residence
2012

Rating: 6 Miami nightclubs out of 10

I have absolutely nothing of note to say about this Pinback album.  It pretty much sounds like every other Pinback album, a statement that can be seen as a good or a bad thing depending on your opinion of Pinback. You could do worse.

Two Gallants - The Bloom and the Blight (ATO, 2012)

Two Gallants
The Bloom and the Blight
ATO
2012

Rating: 6.5 bug collections out of 10

It feels like it's been a long time since I've paid much attention to the Two Gallants.  I don't mean that to sound as bad as it does, it's just when I used to live in SF I saw them play live quite a few times and listened to their records frequently, and then for whatever reason when I moved back to the East Coast they sorta dropped off my radar.  

In listening to "The Bloom and the Blight," the first album of theirs I've really paid attention to since "The Throes," this almost sounds like a different band.  Not that that should be surprising nearly a decade later, but I was surprised at how upbeat and rockin' this new record is.  Their older material felt so intimate and delicate, but these tracks are thick and robust like a television advertisement for spaghetti sauce.  The first three songs are all rollicking affairs, and you don't get back to the old alt-folk version of the band until the fourth track "Broken Eyes," and then the tempos shift intermittently for the rest of the record.  

I'm really not sure what to think of this new direction...it's an enjoyable record to be sure, but in some ways a little off-putting to someone like me who doesn't handle change well when bands go in different directions.  I'm totally guessing but I bet this album really translates well live, probably even better than in the recordings.  Guess I'll just have to see them live again and verify this. 

The Sea and Cake - Runner (Thrill Jockey, 2012)

The Sea and Cake
Runner
Thrill Jockey
2012

Rating: 7.5 jump shots out of 10

The Sea and Cake!  They might keep sorta releasing the same record over and over and over, but fuck if they don't have that indie-jazz-pop sound of theirs dialed down to a science.  A really awesome sounding science. The album kicks off with the upbeat "On and On" and it only gets better from there.  According to the label website the band took a different approach to recording this record - Sam Prekop wrote the songs on a synth, then sent the tracks out to the rest of the band to be fleshed out... and while this may sound neat, to my ears it just sounds like another in a long line of very enjoyable Sea and Cake records.  For long-time fans picking this up should be a no-brainer.  Looking for a place to start with this iconic Chicago group?  "The Biz" would be my first choice, but not a damn thing wrong with starting right here.

Boomgates - Double Natural (Bedroom Suck, 2012)

Boomgates
Double Natural
Bedroom Suck
2012

Rating: 6.5 book ends out of 10

If you're like me, you're listening to or interested about this Boomgates record because it features a member of the super great Eddy Current Suppression Ring.  Specifically, the two bands share the same singer, so you can guess exactly where the comparisons are going to go when trying to review Boomgates in the half-assed fashion that is typical from me.  This group doesn't have the Gang of Four-terseness or Television-influenced guitar work of Eddy Current.  This is a little poppier and janglier, sounding more akin to the Kiwi pop of the early eighties than anything else.  Think of Boomgates as a Clean cover band, only with original songs.  Then again if they (or anyone) chose the throw in a "Tally Ho" cover, no one would ever complain.   

Jason Lytle - Dept. of Disappearance (Anti, 2012)

Jason Lytle
Dept. of Disappearance
Anti
2012

Rating: 8 firestarters out of 10

The differences between those final Grandaddy albums and the pair of solo albums Jason Lytle has released are really in name only.  I mean no slight to the rest of the members of Grandaddy, but Lytle seemed to be such a decisive force over their sound and direction that only the superest of super Grandaddy fans could probably tell a difference here.  Lots of synths and keyboards make up the bulk of the music here as in all Lytle-related recordings, with a simple drum backbone, a week but of guitar strumming and Lytle's easily-identifiable vocals.  I read somewhere that this album (and really, any of his albums) sounds like a late night by yourself - introspective and maybe a little lonely.  Being an only child, I like and am very comfortable with being by yourself, and maybe that's why his music speaks so well to me.  

Mono - For My Parents (Temporary Residence, 2012)

Mono
For My Parents
Temporary Residence
2012

Rating: 7.5 shock troops out of 10

As with most instrumental post-rock bands of this nature, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to say about this new Mono record "For My Parents," especially to those already familiar with their work.  When you play the sort of bombastic music these Japanese rockers have been churning out on multiple albums for the past decade or longer, it's kinda hard to differentiate from one set of the music to the next.  It's all immaculately played, beautiful stuff.  My heart will always rate the first record of theirs I listened to a lot - "One Step More and You Die" - as their finest work, but there is no reason someone couldn't feel the same way about this newest release.  I would guess the only real difference is the orchestral strings backing most of the songs, and the level of quiet-loud-quiet bombast that was their early hallmark seems to have been taken down a notch.  I think that means the music is prettier and less aggressive, or something along those lines.  If Explosions in the Sky are the soundtrack to slow-motion Texas football, Mono feels like the score to a Kurosawa samurai picture (and if that seems racist, I mean it be more geography-ist).

Jehosaphat Blow - Natural High For Low People (Cold Slice, 2012)

Jehosaphat Blow

Natural High For Low People

Cold Slice

2012

Rating: 6.5 containers of cumin out of 10

I got an email from Jehosaphat Blow to check out his music, a one-man band thing out of Chicago.  There was some mention of it sounding like Mark Sultan which is all it took to get me to listen.  Turns out that was a most fair assessment of this album - dirty, lo-fi one-man garage stomp with some slight soul vibes to add color.  The songs are all pretty catchy - my juvenile side especially liked "She Doesn't Give A Fuck".  At 12 songs in barely over 25 minutes, this is a quick listen and seemingly a good introduction to Jehoaphat Blow...and hell, I think if you go his Facebook page (linked above) he even points folks to free downloads of this album.