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Ten New Records I’m Looking Forward to Hearing in 2013
Honorable mention: new Suuns LP in March from Secretly Canadian. In Feb there is a slew of new records coming out including new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, new Mark Kozelek as well as a new LP from Veronica Falls. Low, Quicksand and OFF! are all touring in the beginning of the year, hoping to catch all three of those shows as they roll through Denver.
The Entrance Band – Face The Sun (self-released)
TEB have a new LP coming out soon, all of which is being funded by a Kickstarter campaign. In joyous anticipation of their new record they have released a winter mix tape on Soundcloud that is well worth looking into. In the meantime, they have leaked one song from the record (called “Mellow Fantastic”) on YouTube in the form of a short film. If the song is any indication of how the final product is going to sound then we’re all in luck. Kickstarter geeks: You should definitely give this band all of your money. Immediately.
Red Hare – LP (unknown)
Red Hare is a new band featuring three-fourths of the almighty Swiz (Shawn Brown, Jason Farrell, and Dave Eight) along with drummer Joe Gorelick of Retisonic and Long Island’s own Garden Variety. Details are scarce, but two weeks ago they posted a song called “Horace” on YouTube and it’s pretty disgusting. I liked Sweetbelly Freakdown although the record lacked a certain punch-to-the-balls that I felt I deserved as a listener. Red Hare seems to be hellbent on a different path, maybe a kind of corrective action both musically and historically. The song itself is sublimely mastered and shows that these guys still have the tightest rhythm section east of the Mississipi. Which coincidentally, is where Swiz drummer Alex Daniels now lives. I’m sure I speak for every red blooded American when I say that we all miss his style and flair. However we’re also in dire need of Swiz, so. He’s sitting this one out, you know, for the team. More info on this soon. Meanwhile, Retisonic‘s latest record (released last year on Artic Rodeo), “Robots Fucking” is helping me bide my time.
Grouper – LP (Kranky)
In December Kranky announced a slew of reissues from Grouper for the new year, including CD versions of both A I A records (Dream Loss and Alien Observer, respectively) as well as a reissue of her “Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill” LP from 2008. But the really good news is that in February Kranky will be releasing an album of previously unreleased recordings from the 2007 – 2008 era. This is probably my favorite era of her music, so I’m pretty jazzed. In 2007 she put out a 7” EP called “Tried”, which marked a significant change in how she sang and recorded vocals. In 2008 she released a split with Inca Ore that continued that progress in vocal arrangements and songwriting. Lyrically and sonically it’s an extremely powerful and moving piece of music and it’s hard to even describe in words how life crushing and hauntingly beautiful her world is. Actually I think she recorded “False Horizon” for the City Center split during this time period, too, which is one of my favorite Grouper songs. Personally I have to be in the right mood to listen to her music, but when the stars are aligned and the time is right it’s like therapy. Her work is not meant for casual listening, it is not to be consumed in the car or at work or put onto a playlist, mainly because it will fucking ruin your day. For me it’s headphone music, I take late night walks and I’ve found that it’s an excellent fit with that kind of contemplation. Kranky Records rules and they continue to churn out consistently amazing material, I’m pretty confident that the unreleased material is going to be well worth the wait.
The Joy Formidable – Wolf’s Law (Atlantic)
New LP, comes out Jan 22nd here in the states. TJF have been blowing up practically every platform of social media with updates and photos from their recording and touring, which is good to see. Personally, I’d like to see them on SNL this year because they deserve that kind of exposure. But to be fair, I’d like to see them at the Superbowl too so maybe I’m the wrong person to ask. They have leaked snippets from the record here and there, including one on YouTube from a song called “Little Blimp”. The production on these records is just incredible, such a breath of fresh air. Also, speaking of their use of social media I like that they have fun with being a band. You can tell that they love making music and they genuinely want to spread that cheer around. It’s funny but you can’t really say that about a lot of bands now. And TJF shows them all how to do it because they don’t have to concoct an illusion. Some mainstream artists who profess a mastery of web 2.0 are really just the ones with the deepest visible cracks in their façade.
Absolution – LP (unknown)
Absolution recorded a marathon session in 2012 that is still in it’s production phase. I haven’t caught them live since they reformed but I have heard some snippets of the new recordings and they were super impressive. It can’t be easy to pick up the pieces of songs you wrote and rehearsed 25 years ago, but as with most of the projects that these guys work on they seem to defy odds with the greatest of ease. People throw around terms like under-rated and over-rated or under-appreciated all the time, especially in HC circles. Yet none of that even applies here and it never has. They aren’t riding the gloat boat to reunionsville. They put the work in, that’s what it’s all about. And it shows. Also. Djinji Brown still has that incredible voice and he’s not afraid to use it.
Johnny Marr – The Messenger (Sire / ADA)
I have little to no info on this latest solo record but I know it’s coming out on Feb 26th. Of course it’s going to be great. Duh.
Abazagorath – The Satanic Verses LP (unknown)
I should start off by saying that Abazagorath are easily my favorite black metal band out there. If you happen to like black metal, then this is mandatory listening. In 2012 they released a self-titled five song EP that blew basically everyone away and renewed my faith in their ability to deliver the goods. They haven’t even begun recording the new LP but it’s already on my top ten for 2013. Part of the sameness of black metal can be attributed to it’s roots, it’s a form of music that is stripped down to bare bones and the more stripped down it is the more it is valued by the listener. Because of this factor, and because of the very limited selection of influences and material to cull from, a lot of the bands suffer creatively. Not these guys though. Abazagorath have much deeper roots that stretch into noise, hardcore, japanese grind-core and 80’s Scandinavian crust. Their palette is much wider and diverse than your average gaggle of corpse-painted forest teens. In fact they are so good at what they do that it makes other black metal bands look like total chumps. For the uninitiated, good places to start listening: 2004’s “Sacrements of the Final Atrocity” LP, “Spirit of Hatred For Mankind” 7” EP (but be warned: one copy circulating around the internet was ripped at the wrong speed and sounds like doody) or their 2008 split with Blood Storm, “Ancient Entities Arise”.
Bad Religion – True North (Epitaph)
I haven’t heard a new Bad Religion song in a long time. Kinda missed the boat with the last few records so I’m curious to see what they are up to. This has 16 songs and runs at 32 minutes long, so it’s probably going to be great. Occam’s razor, you know. It’s all very scientific.
Neurosis – Honor Found In Decay (Relapse)
Double LP on 180 gram wax with 16 page booklet, recorded by Steve Albini. Need I say more? Neurot put out the CD version in October but I’m holding out for the vinyl.
Iceage – You’re Nothing (Matador)
Comes out on Feb 19th, their first release for Matador. Definitely looking forward to hearing this. Still kicking myself for missing them at a $3 house show last year. Whatever. They will be back. They better be.
