Maston
Shadows
Trouble in Mind
2013
Rating: 7 tangled cords out of 10
Trouble in Mind have been on a real roll putting out quality psychedelic pop records lately - the stunning Jacco Gardner release is my favorite of the year so far, and this record "Shadows" by Maston is a damn nice release itself. Maston is apparently Frank Maston, a kid from LA who is looking backwards to make his forward and enjoyable music. The music almost has a "space age lounge" vibe to it ala Combustible Edison, though much more pop and not as jazzy as those cats were. Do the kids even have any idea who Combustible Edison are anymore? Maybe if I make a reference to later-era Beach Boys minus the harmonizing vocals, that will get better response. Hell, you could almost even throw a Burt Bacharach comparison in there if you wanted to. The only real difference is the vocals - Maston has a fine voice, and he pairs it with quite a bit of effects, but he's obviously no Bacharach or Brian Wilson - but few people are. It's gotten to the point that I will listen to anything Trouble in Mind releases, because they never let me down anymore. Great label.
Shout Out Louds
Optica
Merge
2013
Rating: 6.5 proper goodbyes out of 10
I'm at a loss as how to classify Shout Out Louds - there is no easily identifiable genre name for their music, despite there being plenty of bands that fit in this niche. Adult-oriented, mature pop with a heavy gloss to it but still not sounding overly commercial or, well, cheeseball. The Swedes seem particularly adept at this sound, the Shout Out Louds probably being the very best. Or maybe Acid House Kings. Let's just call it a tie. Anyways, good record...loved their first two, not sure I even listened to their third; this one is a step below those first two, but I'm not talking about any huge drop off. I don't really have anything more fruitful to say here - good, mature pop.
Mount Moriah
Miracle Temple
Merge
2013
Rating: 7 wifi passwords out of 10
Being a local band here to the Triangle, I've followed Mount Moriah from very early in their inception. It makes me both happy and sad to see them signed to Merge and getting greater recognition around the country. Selfishly, the shows are not only less frequent locally, but much less intimate; but I'm incredibly happy for the band, as they definitely deserve it.
I'm not in love with "Miracle Temple" the way I was with their self-titled record from 2011. And I would have been highly surprised and impressed if I was, as that record is one of my favorite things of the last few years. Nothing stands out on this one the way "Lament" did on the first album, but it's a very strong record from start to finish. My favorite song is actually the last one, "Telling the Hour," an interesting inclusion as a live version of this track was released as far back as their "The Letting Go" EP - the first thing they ever released as a band as far as I know.
This is still likely to be one of my favorite records of the year, but it;s definitely a grower compared to past albums. And let it be said if you were to give bonus points to a record review based on a band's live performances, this one would be ranked beyond perfect.
Bleached
Ride Your Heart
Dead Oceans
2013
Rating: 7 banana runts out of 10
Bleached set a pretty damn high bar with the release of the seven inch "Carter" in 2011, specifically because of the song "Think of You." One of the catchiest tracks of the last few years by any band for my money. I'm not entirely sure their first full-length "Ride Your Heart" quite measures up, but it comes a lot damn closer than I ever expected. Their sound has matured and gotten a lot "cleaner" - not sure if this was intentional, the natural progression of a young band growing, or just the by-product of recording on better equipment. There is nothing on this record quite at the earworm level of "Think of You," but "Dead in Your Head," "Waiting by the Telephone," and "Love Spells" all put in a good effort. I'm fully on the fence over this release right now - is this a quick sugary fix or will I still be listening six months from now? Only time will answer that. One thing is for sure - if you're looking for sunshiney California alterna-pop with a small nod towards sixties girl group harmonies, you could do a hell of a lot worse.
The Men
Electric 7''
Sacred Bones
2013
Rating: 7 joke camels out of 10
Highly listenable new seven inch from hot shit band The Men. It's kinda weird how different this band sounds from when I saw them a couple years ago, but I've genuinely liked all their different incarnations so...yeah. First side "Electric" is an anxious nineties alt-rocker, a wall of guitars that is impossible not to tap your toes to, as cheesy as that sounds. But I really like the flip side "Water Babies" the best of the two, which I would bet a thousand dollars was a Dinosaur Jr cover if I didn't know better. Maybe a little less guitar histrionics than J Mascis, but other than that holy shit was I surprised how much the Men sounded like them here. I could listen to these two songs over and over. In fact, I just did.
Ty Segall
Would You Be My Love 7''
Drag City
2013
Rating: 6 water bottles out of 10
A rather uneventful seven inch by the current god of the garage underground, Ty Segall. Side A is the title track "Would You Be My Love," which is already available on the "Twins" record - good song but nothing new there. The B-side "For Those Who Weep" is a mellow acoustic track that sounds a lot like the Beatles to be honest. Not my favorite work by Segall but a nice track. This release is worth grabbing if you're a big fan, but nothing I'd go out of my way for.
Mean Jeans & Big Eyes
Split 7''
Dirtnap
2013
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 for Mean Jeans, 6 out of 10 for Big Eyes
This split features two songs by each band. The front half is Mean Jeans, one of the best Ramones-ish pop-punk bands working. First track "I Miss Outerspace" is classic Mean Jeans, very enjoyable. then they cover a Big Eyes song "Since you Left," and definitely make it their own. The flip is Big Eyes, a band I didn't know shit about. They have more of a glam pop sound with female vocals, and pull the flip formula from the Jeans - one of their own and then a Mean Jeans cover. Not as into their half of the record, but it ain't bad. The Mean Jeans side is aces though.
Guided by Voices
The Bears for Lunch
Guided by Voices Inc.
2012
Rating: Watch me bulldoze every bulldozer away.
Hey, another Guided by Voices record! Imagine that! Look, it sounds pretty good. Some hooky songs, some filler, typical GBV. It's like this - never heard of these guys? Go buy "Alien Lanes,"it's one of the greatest records by any band of all time. Then work your way up and/or out to their more recent work, but get completely dick deep in their nineties output. As for longtime fans like myself...if you're keeping up with this recent resurgence, you might as well get this one too. You won't be disappointed, but you probably won't be wowed either.
Jon Mueller
Death Blues
Taiga
2012
Rating: 7 artificial cherries out of 10
I really love this Jon Mueller record "Death Blues" and want to promote it to anyone who will listen, but at the same time I feel completely unable to properly describe it in a way that would make people want to listen. This record makes me feel dumb, and despite my outward appearance it's not a feeling I'm accustomed to. Mueller is a drummer by trade, and percussion is definitely the foundation of all these songs; but he layers on top of that a smattering of other instrumentation including monk-style chanting and playing the guitar like a hammered dulcimer. It's very rhythmic and repetitive, but never boring. If I was the person in charge of genre naming, this one would go under "monastic kraut drone." Again, really loving this despite the stupid review.
A$AP Rocky
Long.Live.A$AP
RCA
2013
Rating: 7 laser blasts out of 10
Despite my typical taste in hip hop, I'm digging this A$AP Rocky record. God knows I'm not the audience he is shooting for, and the lyrics are pretty inline with the typical dumb pop rap that dominates the charts, but something about this stands out...the tone maybe, and definitely the music. I'd likely listen to an instrumental version of this, the music is so good. A$AP has a nice, pleasant voice and flow, something I don't say too often about today's popular rappers. I can't imagine my words are going to move any more units so I'm not going to waste them, but for anyone on the fence this record is worth a listen.
Low
The Invisible Way
Sub Pop
2013
Rating: 7.5 cup sleeves out of 10
Another new record by the musical institution known as Low. They've been a part of my life for so long that it's hard to imagine what it was like not being able to hear their delicate, wonderful music. Apparently "The Invisible Way" marks Low's 20th anniversary as a band, and they are one of a very small fraternity that I find just as riveting now as when I first heard them probably 18 years ago. They've done this by keeping things relatively the same and very simple - sparse instrumentation, quality songwriting, and some of my favorite vocals in all of music. I've read Jeff Tweedy of Wilco was their producer this time in the studio, but to these ears you can 't tell a difference - it still sounds like vintage Low. To be perfectly honest, so long as the record includes Alan and Mimi singing, they could probably put out an album that was 90% fart sounds and I'd be happy to listen. No fart sounds here though, just beauty.
Jacco Gardner
Cabinet of Curiosities
Trouble in Mind
2013
Rating: 8 red hots out of 10
I didn't know dick about Jacco Gardner when I came across this record, but pretty much anything Trouble in Mind puts out is worth taking a chance on. Turns out Jacco is a young kid from the Netherlands, and it sounds like he got teleported straight from 1968. And I don't mean that he sounds like a modern dude mimicking those classic psychedelic pop sounds - he truly sounds like an actual relic from that age.
So, dude sounds like a "throwback" if you will - but what sort of throwback exactly? There seems to be a whole lot of harpsichord here, so comparisons to the Zombies is going to be frequent, and deserved. Jacco's vocals may not be in the same category as Colin Blunstone, but that is meant as no slight - I'm someone who holds the Zombies in exceptionally high esteem. When people want to argue Beatles vs. Stones, I always get cross looks for choosing the Zombies; so when I say he's slightly inferior to that band, that's actually serious praise.
This is going to get a lot of spins from me for the rest of the year. Good pop music is timeless, and this is very, very good.
Chelsea Light Moving
Chelsea Light Moving
Matador
2013
Rating: 7.5 caramel creams out of 10
When you're in a band like Sonic Youth for nearly three decades and then start a new band, it's gonna be damn hard for even the best reviewers to put aside their preconceived notions and give it a fair shake...and I am far from one of the best reviewers. But that is exactly what Thurston Moore did, putting the Youth on hiatus after his split with Kim Gordon and starting Chelsea Light Moving. Yeah there are three other band members including dudes from Hush Arbors and Sunburned Hand of Man and a gal who plays some violin, but let's not fucking kid ourselves - we're listening to this to see Moore is up to post-Gordon.
Turns out, what he is up to is releasing a record that sounds pretty much exactly like Sonic Youth minus the parts where Kim Gordon sings. I'm sure some other more verbose folks will wax poetic on this release and draw some other random parallels, but let's not beat around the bush - it sounds like a bunch of songs that might have been outtakes from Sonic Youth's early-to-mid nineties period..."Dirty," "Jet Set...," those sort of records. And I ain't complaining. Hell, I like this better than I have any Sonic Youth releases in quite some time.
Sometimes change is good. In this case, pretty much staying the same is even better.
Floating Action
Fake Blood
Harvest
2012
Rating: 7 coffee filters out of 10
It's only fitting that Jim James of My Morning Jacket is pushing to get Floating Action heard more in the world, because before I even heard of James' fandom, Floating Action brought to mind a strong whiff of MMJ (the older stuff, before they started sucking), a smidge of Sparklehorse (his more straight-forward pop songs), and the obvious tie-ins to various canyon rock bands from the late sixties and early seventies (aka shit that Gram Parsons was either a part of or friends of). Floating Action, at least in it's recorded form, is just one man - Seth Kauffman - and it honestly sounds like a bedroom project with one man obsessing over it, but that's not a bad thing in my book. Years ago I might have said something like "this album might be hard to get your hands on, but it's worth the search" - but fuck that shit these days, the internet makes everything available to everyone. The sentiment holds true though - this is worth searching out if you like subtle pop music with just enough earthy vibe to keep it grounded.
Hot Lunch
Hot Lunch
Who Can You Trust?
2012
Rating: 7 bad neighborhoods out of 10
The type of hard rock that Hot Lunch plays never seems to go out of style. It may not be at the top of my personal list, but it's a timeless, heavy sound that has been going strong since the likes of Blue Cheer and MC5 came on the scene in the early seventies. You could probably also make parallels to a band like Fu Manchu, but perhaps that is the skateboard cover art talking more than anything else. The record slows down and gets weird in a couple of places, and by "weird" I mean elves and wizards Led Zeppelin type shit, and ain't nothing wrong with that from time to time. But mostly, it just rocks. And rockin' is always right.
