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The Megaphonic Thrift – s/t LP (Sonic Unyon)
2011’s “Decay Decoy” LP was just the beginning of something all-together new, something I doubt anyone saw coming. Megaphonic are from Norway and play post-rock with male and female vocals, initially I thought the male vocalist sounded something like Jeremy Enigk singing for Live Skull. But there’s so much more happening here, everything from Flipper to Spiritualized. Hard to think of another new band that sounds more colossal.
Lee Ranaldo – Between The Times And The Tides (Matador)
Incredible is the only word I can use to describe this. Few months ago I re-read the Sonic Youth biography and I’m always surprised by the part where they discuss how Ranaldo’s songs were sometimes cut. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where his songs would take a backseat to some incomplete filler or intentionally disjointed 30 second bursts of noise, but it happened. More than a few times. Which begs the question – did that force him to become a better songwriter? Did they push him to his absolute limit? Judging by this record alone, I’d say it did. Everyone in Sonic Youth is great at writing songs and making records (solo and otherwise), but this is something entirely different, an area that until now has been pretty much unexplored. Assembled and conceived with help from Steve Shelley and Nels Cline, by far his bravest and most imaginative work in years.
Whirr – Pipe Dreams (Tee Pee Recordds)
Fast and dense shoegaze with male & female vocals, who could ask for anything more in 2012? Using layered delay pedals, they’ve pushed the vocals far back into the mix, which creates instant atmosphere. But it’s the tightness of the rhythm section that keeps everything moving, and that’s what 90% of indie rock bands can’t understand or won’t admit to themselves. Kind of reminds me of LSD and the Search for God, or a lush version of Chisel. Captivating to say the least, looking forward to more from these guys.
Ketamines – Spaced Out (Southpaw)
Face melting garage rock from Alberta. Guitar reverb set to 10, along with textured vocals that have so much delay on them that at times they just fall apart or sound like broken cymbals. For fans of Crystal Stilts and Weekend. What the Pixies might sound like after an night of drinking and hash brownies.
Radar Eyes – LP (HoZac Records)
Upbeat garage rock with a distinct shoegaze feel, reminds me of early Three O’Clock or Jesus & Mary Chain, and that’s never a bad thing. Killer beats with enough meat on the bone to satisfy even jaded rock dudes.
The Wedding Present – Valentina (This Will Be Our Summer)
Impressive and thought provoking new LP, way heavier than anything they’ve done in years. Still reversing melodies, still louder than shit when they want to be, still creating choruses inside of choruses, still writing the kind of lyrics that just roll off the tongue, the kind that you wish you thought of first. When is this band going to tour the US?
Fidlar – No Waves / No Ass 7” (Mom & Pop)
West coast surf punk, the kind that’s perfect for skating and/or kicking ass and taking names. If you can find their live set from KXLU I would recommend that as well. “Bummed” and “White on White” from that session are both furious punk sludge. Well timed and well recorded.
Father Murphy – Anyway, Your Children Will Deny It (Aagoo)
Modern classical meets dramatic noise, somewhere between Nick Cave and a migraine headache. Kinda like the soundtrack to an Argento movie that doesn’t exist, as interpreted by an Italian post-rock band. For fans of Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu, made for people who like having bad days.
T. Rex – Singles: A’s and B’s 1972-77 (Music on Vinyl)
Triple LP set. Radio hits and some B-sides from the Marshall stack years (as opposed to the folky acoustic ballad years), all of which were groundbreaking in terms of guitar, drums, bass, singing, style, wearing stove pipe hats and being fucking awesome. Essential.
Led Zeppelin – Physical Rarities (Bootleg)
Another in the latest Zeppelin bootleg series, this one compiling 19 tracks of unheard demos and live tracks, starting with the wild instrumental “Jennings Farm Blues”. The only thing holding this one back is that it features a lot of the material that ended up on Coda, and that’s an era that some people would rather forget. Although, demo versions of “Wearing & Tearing and “Ozone Baby” from 1968 do confirm that John Bonham had a lot of input on the writing and arrangement of those tracks. My understanding of Coda was that a lot of the material was overdubbed and manipulated in the studio, but apparently that’s not the case, at least not 100% of the time. Other highlights include an early demo of “No Quarter” from the Headly Grange session in early 1971, which is much heavier than the final version. “Willow Tree” is previously unreleased, and comes from the same session, along with an early draft of “Black Dog”. But the real gem is the last track, an R & B blowout called “Baby Come Back Home” from an Olympic Studios session in 1968.
