Chris C. Davis’s Top Ten – August 1
Leatherface – The Stormy Petrel (No Idea)
This album, the newest in a string of knockout releases from Leatherface spanning over 20 years, marks the closest that I have come to being obsessed with a new release in years. I have been playing it almost daily for months now and it only gets better. From the opening notes of “God Is Dead” to the feedbacky fadeout of “Hope”, The Stormy Petrel’s hard driving, melodic punk demands every bit of your attention. Many call this the best Leatherface release since Mush. I am tempted to say that it’s the best period.
Galaxie 500 – Today (Rykodisc)
Where have I been all of these years?! Yes, I’ve always known that Galaxie 500 existed. And I am quite familiar with lead singer/guitarist Dean Wareham’s later work with Luna. But somehow I never worked backwards to his Galaxie years until last week. And, man, was that my loss. Today is one of three solid albums put out by this band over the three-year span of 1988-1990 (On Fire and This Is Our Music are both stunners as well). It features their trademark dreamy, minimal, drugged-out post-*Velvets* sound. I always enjoyed Luna, but this is far superior.
Best Coast – Crazy for You (Mexican Summer)
Since Bethany Cosentino and her LA-based Best Coast began dropping singles in 2009, I’ve been hanging on their every release. Now, finally, an LP! 13 doses of summery, lo-fi goodness, blending garage rock and girl group sounds to great effect, do not disappoint at all. And make sure to hang in there until the end, because the standout track here, “When I’m With You”, also happens to be the last.
Romance of Young Tigers – I Have Supped Full On Horrors (Magic Bullet Records)
This is the 2008 debut LP from Dayton, Ohio’s Romance of Young Tigers. It stands out in my mind as my best YouTube find of the last 3 or 4 months. This percussionless trio, two guitars and a bass, make some truly compelling experimental post-rock that follows the standard blueprint for that genre, soothing shimmery music building to dramatic crescendos and washes of noise, but somehow manages to sound like nothing I’ve heard before. Definitely give this one a try if you can track down a copy.
Sonic Youth – Murray St. (Interscope)
When a band is one of my favorites, I like to periodically go back and give another chance to albums of theirs that, for whatever reason, didn’t resonate with me in a memorable way when they were released. This is how I recently came to listen to Murray St. again. And I must say I can’t figure out what about this near masterpiece (or, more likely, what about me) caused it not to resonate in 2002, but whatever it was is gone now. This album, the first that featured Jim O’Rourke as a member, seems as clean and focused as anything they’ve ever done and might even serve as a logical point of entry to the band, were you ever to find some poor soul who hadn’t already discovered them.
Mission of Burma – The Horrible Truth About Burma (Rykodisc)
By the time that you read this, I will have seen Boston post-punk legends, MoB, play twice this weekend. In anticipation of those shows, I’ve been revisiting this 1985 live release with some frequency for the last week. While I like all that MoB has done since they reunited in 2002, the material covered here (and on other releases from this era) is still what I most look forward to hearing the band play live and what I’m most likely to put on at home too.
The Black Keys – Brothers (Nonesuch)
I did not instantly thrill at a request to write a review of this album for a different website last week. While I’ve always liked the Keys’ output well enough, I’d gotten pretty bored with the last few releases. They seemed predictable, formulaic, unexciting. So I went into listening to Brothers with a healthy dose of cynicism. You can imagine my shock then, when I discovered that, while not wandering far from the blues inflected garage-rock that has become their bread and butter, this is an album chock-full of inspired songs that come from a more soulful place than any of their predecessors.
Walter Schreifels – An Open Letter To The Scene (Academy Fight Song)
This LP from Walter Schreifels, former member of hardcore act Gorilla Biscuits amongst others, is quite removed from the sounds of his past. An Open Letter is a folk-rock, singer-songwriter affair featuring songs that were written for various acoustic shows that Schreifels has performed over the last few years. These 10 songs clock in at around a half-hour and are quite witty and infectious. Nothing groundbreaking or life changing here, but an enjoyable listen nonetheless. If you only listen to one song, I recommend “Arthur Lee’s Lullabye”.
Kenny Burrell – Midnight Blue (Blue Note)
This 1963 classic album featuring Burrell’s masterful, mellow, bop influenced guitar work has been the soundtrack to my reading recently. Never fails to relax me.
Karen Dalton – In My Own Time (Light in the Attic)
In My Own Time was a great recommendation from a friend about 2 months ago. Sounding like a folky, countrified, Billie Holiday, Dalton impresses over all 10 songs of this underappreciated 1971 gem. The first track, “Something On Your Mind” is the must-listen track here.
