Bill Janovitz
Walt Whitman Mall
Self-Released
2013
Rating: 7 king sized candy bars out of 10
I grabbed this Bill Janovitz album on a whim - I'd loved his band Buffalo Tom since I was in high school, even saw them live right around 1992 (and still have the t-shirt from the show!), even if I hadn't listened to them much lately. I had next to no expectations but this is a solid, well-written pop record. He didn't do anything new and exciting, but he did a whole record's worth of songs that are well crafted and worth hearing. It's a record by and probably for the older set like me, mature pop songs with just a tinge of roots/folk/alt-country...honestly, if you called it a Buffalo Tom record instead of a solo Janovitz record I doubt anyone would even notice. And now I'm feeling a strong urge to bust out my copy of "Let Me Come Over"...
Big Boi
Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors
Def Jam
2013
Rating: 8 slices of cheese out of 10
Here's my review of the new Big Boi record "Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors": it's fuckin' awesome. Big Boi does his Big Boi thing like he's done for years, there's a metric shit ton of guest rappers/singers, and any long time fan who isn't happy after listening to this is dead inside.
Superchunk
Me & You & Jackie Mittoo 7''
Merge
2013
Rating: 7 shaggy wigs out of 10
The first single off the most recent Superchunk full-length record "I Hate Music." The title track is fantastic but also on "I Hate Music", so nothing new gained there on this short player. They say it's an alternate version, but it's basically the same. the b-side "Sunset Arcade" is an unreleased track though. and a real gem even on first listen. It would fit extremely well on the new album and is frankly good enough to be a single all by itself, but that can be said of most o their songs. So if you're digging "I Hate Music" at the very least hunt out this song even if you don't buy the whole seven inch, it's worth the trouble.
Warm Soda
Tell Me in a Whisper 7''
Goodbye Boozy
2013
Rating: 6.5 bottles of strychnine out of 10
I already mentioned this with my review of their excellent full-length, but Warm Soda are the new band featuring some former members of the the great Bare Wires. the personnel might have changed but the music is still in the same wheelhouse - glam pop that gets a little scuzzy now and again, like T-Rex and the Strokes shacked up in the same sleeping bag together. Both songs are pretty good but I actually prefer the b-side "This Changes Everything," it's a little more upbeat and catchy. And I prefer the full-length to both songs, but these are still pretty good. Definitely one of my favorite new bands this year.
King Khan and the Shrines
Idle No More
Merge
2013
Rating: 7 piles of cat fur out of 10
King Khan, this time joined by the Shrines (one of many bands he is a part of), stepped up to the big leagues and put a record out on Merge. Maybe that only seems like the big leagues because they're local, I dunno. Anyways, a new record by everyone's favorite Indo-Canadian-German music personality, and how is it? Pretty damn good. If you've listened to the man with the Shrines before, you know their sound is more akin to juke joint soul combined with James Brown-style shenanigans than the garage rock he is best known for. Hell, when I saw this group on tour a few years back they had a cheerleader on stage for the entire set who did nothing but, well, cheer. "Idle No More" very much continues down the same path as "What Is?!" and the compilation "The Supreme Genius of..." that both came out on Vice a few years back - soul hooks (without the prototypical soul voice), horns - damn good party music.
Superchunk
I Hate Music
Merge
2013
Rating: 8.5 half-empty water bottles out of 10
What can I say about Superchunk, one of my all-time favorite bands, that hasn't been said before? And when I say "all-time" I'm talking top five status here people. This new record, "I Hate Music"? IT FUCKIN' RULES. First listen, I'm sold. Though you might have already guessed I'm a soft sell when it comes to these folks. If you ever thought they were washed up they already proved that wrong with 2010's "Majesty Shredding." This just continues that tradition that being, older responsible label owners means you can't still write great songs and rock out. For the most part this record is a little poppier than "Majesty," more akin to their late nineties/early oughts records, but it's not without it's rock - hell, "Staying Home" is basically a hardcore song, probably the heaviest thing they've ever recorded. No fan will leave disappointed after this album.
Divine Fits
Chained to Love 12''
Merge
2013
Rating: 7 healed bruises out of 10
Instead of putting out a 7'' like a normal band, Divine Fits have released a 12'' with both songs on the A side. I suppose that makes the songs easier to listen to on the vinyl, but it's just...weird. I'm additionally confused why the second song is listed first on the sleeve, it's like they are intentionally trying to fuck with my OCD tendencies. Anyways, the songs - much like their full-length, the vibe of the songs seems to directly correlate with who is singing them Dan Boeckner handles the lead on first track "Chained to Love," and to no one's surprise it sounds more or less like a Handsome Furs song. Britt Daniel sings the follow-up track "Ain't That the Way," the better of the two songs which sounds like a classic early 2000s Spoon song. If you loved their record, go ahead and check this out, it continues things in that exact same trajectory.
Calexico
Maybe On Monday EP
Our Soil, Our Strength
2013
Rating: 7 tiger claws out of 10
I don't get quiet as worked up over them as I once did, but I'll always give anything Calexico puts out a listen. This EP is bookended by two different versions of the song "Maybe On Monday," which is also featured on their album "Algiers" that came out last year. In between those two tracks are three covers - The Call's "Walls Came Down," Elvis Costello's "Shabby Doll," and the Replacements' "Unsatisfied." I'm partial to their take on the Replacements' tune since I'm already a big fan of that one, but the real trat is the Call track - I had never heard that song before, and Calexico does a great job making it their own. I'll have to seek out the original now. Oh and the title song is fine, with one version very similar to the original and another acoustic demo version. But it's the covers here that will drive the traffic, and they're worth hearing if you are a Calexico fan.
Man or Astro-man?
Defcon 5...4...3...2...1
Communicating Vessels
2013
Rating: 7 charged ions out of 10
I was as surprised as the next guy that Man or Astro-man? had released a new record, but then again nearly every band I loved in the nineties that broke up has since gotten back together and at least toured if not recorded new material. For those that have never listened to the band, they're a (mostly) instrumental surf rock band with a silly back story about being from space and they always but on a damn good show. If you're already a fan, this record picks up pretty much where their last couple of full lengths dropped off, more of the same surf rock but the with occasional vocals added to a few of the songs. Believe it or not, there was a period on the mid-nineties where this sort of space-age surf rock and lounge music were top tits...it was a fun time. Honestly there is really only so much you can do with this sound, but somehow I've never stopped enjoying Man or Astro-man?. So keep it up fellas.
White Fence
Cyclops Reap
Castle Face
2013
Rating: 6 torn envelopes out of 10
White Fence really really REALLY sound like a lost psychedelic band from the sixties. Like they sent their music to the Nuggets people to be added to the compilation, and the tapes got lost in a basement only to resurface these past few years. It's a very enjoyable listen like most of the other White Fence records, but at the same time feels a little "put on." Of course I listen to a ton of bands you could say this exact same thing about, but for some reason with White Fence it bothers me - not a lot, just a little bit, but the feeling is there. Tim Presley, the man behind the band, knows his way around a trippy pop hook though, and based on his release schedule he might have the makings of the next Robert Pollard.
Speedy Ortiz
Major Arcana
Carpark
2013
Rating: 7 bubble lights out of 10
I scanned another review of this Speedy Ortiz album and it said something about this being a throwback to the nineties, and then a friend mentioned one of my all-time favorite bands Polvo in comparison, so I had to check out this record ASAP. The verdict? It sounds pretty much just like Helium, so both comparisons were on point. For those who don't remember, Helium was another band that Ash, the guitarist of Polvo, was a member of. Sadie Dupuis' voice might be a little higher on the scale than Helium's Mary Timony, but outside of that I'm not seeing a ton of differences. Don't read that as an insult though - Helium was a rad band, their music is coming up on twenty years old, and I'm guessing most young folks have no idea who they were..so now the kids get their own new version of Helium. Now lets wait and see if a new modern Sleater Kinney or Liz Phair pops up...
Holopaw
Academy Songs, Vol. 1
Misra
2013
Rating: 7 peppermint candies out of 10
At one point I was really into Holopaw, back in the early 2000s, due in equal parts to my love of Ugly Casanova (a side project of Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, featuring Holopaw singer John Orth), and getting free review copies of those first couple records they released on Sub Pop. Then I kinda spaced on the band's new material, though I often revisited that first self-titled record as well as Ugly Casanova over the years. But somehow I got back on task with this most recent record "Academy Songs, Vol. 1" and I'm very much glad I did.
I'm not even sure what the fuck you'd call this band - space country? Nobody has a voice like Orth, it's breathy and deep and there is vibrato all over the place that matches up well with the band's shimmery guitars. The overall sound of the band seems more important than individual songs...at times while listening to the record I don't even notice they're play a new song, they sort of just meld together. That's not the same as saying all the songs sound alike mind you, just that they work well together and there are no grand stylistic jumps between tracks.
It's a good record from a band most people have either forgotten or never knew existed. Make an effort to search this out.
Camera Obscura
Desire Lines
4AD
2013
Rating: 7.5 small stars out of 10
I honestly can't imagine why Camera Obscura isn't beloved by everyone. I can understand that bands like A Minor Forest or Saviours or Whatever Brains aren't for everybody, but when I listen to this group of Glaswegians and their perfect pop songs it boggles my mind that there are people who hear this music and think "that's terrible." Tracyanne Campbell's vocals are amongst the best in all of music, indie or otherwise, so sweet you could mix it in your tea and fool even the most ardent Bojangle's fan (note: this reference may not make sense outside of the south...or in it for that matter). I suppose you could dock them points since "Desire Lines" sounds more or less like everything else they've released, but I like their sound and am personally glad they haven't much wavered from it.
Airstrip
Willing
Holidays for Quince
2013
Rating: 7 paint swatches out of 10
Once upon a time there was a band called Veelee made up of a couple. They once played a Young People cover and were all-around awesome (the awesomeness should be implied by the fact that they covered Young People as it's a sign they have excellent taste in music). Then that couple broke up, and the dude half started this new band called Airstrip. They released a record called "Willing" and then a good six months later I got off my lazy ass and decided to write something about it. Because just like his previous band, Airstrip is all-around awesome, but differently awesome. This band is darker, heavier...at times they sound like a metal band who decided to play indie rock. The lyrics might also be dark but I never pay much attention to those - certainly they don't seem to be about puppies and kittens and rainbows. If they weren't local and on a local label, after listening to this I'd assume this was a Sacred Bones release. That may or may not make sense, but for some reason it's a thought that sticks with me.
Mikal Cronin
MCII
Merge
2013
Rating: 8.5 golden turnips out of 10
It's so nice to see some of the kids embracing pure pop as an art form, and Mikal Cronin is one of the best up-n-comers on the scene. He gets street cred through his connection to Ty Segall, but his music is much more polished and straight-forward than most of the material in that garage-pop-punk scene. Mikal is writing music that would sound at home on a Teenage Fanclub record, or before that a Big Star record, or before that a Beach Boys record. Ok, the guitars are maybe a little heavy for the Beach Boys, but the hooks are definitely there. His self-titled first album was a great start, but "MCII" is a huge step forward in my book. Was it maturation? Merge money? Sheer luck? I don't know and I don't care, so long as I get to keep listening to this record over and over and over. If this album isn't near the very top of my year end list come December, that means the last half of this year is going to be one of the greatest new music time periods ever.
