Like BUZZCOCKS’ – Trade Test Transmissions, MISSION OF BURMA’s – The Obliterati and WIRE’s – Send, this qualifies as one of the greatest comeback LPs ever, a truly rare thing. Just for the incredible opener, “We’ve Come So Far (To Be Here Today)” alone, this LP is a bit of a stunner, 28 years after their last studio LP was made circa 1978, Living Eyes. Don’t miss this when it appears August 22, they haven’t lost any of their original Aussie punk fire! And love those wistful keyboards.
Make that two straight lovely acoustic folkpop albums in a row for Frame, the former Scottish boy wonder from the prized Postcard Records days who, after some early brilliant work, made a few too many bland white soul-pop records in the later ‘80s. Once again, this finds him tapped into what he did (does) best; just letting his moving voice and the unadorned sound of his acoustic (and some light backing this time) carry the tunes/day.
Someone should definitely sign these guys here, as this is one of the best post-punk debut LPs without a doubt of the last 20 years. While the newer songs can’t match the sensational spikey-punky-pop quality of the singles, all of the a-sides are here (including the brand new one “She’s Got Standards”) and that alone makes this a can’t miss proposition. Jump all over this, it’s out now!
Though he may never match the insanely great orchestral pop solo records he made in the ‘90s for Sub Pop, the former CARDINAL mainstay still has that breathy voice and baroque arrangement touches, and this is quite solid in the same manner as last year’s comeback EP, “Six Kinds Of Passion Looking For An Exit.”
OK, I haven’t stopped playing this every day since I first got it two weeks ago. I’m still mourning the demise of the great New Zealand popsters THE MUTTONBIRDS, but some of the sting has been taken off by the fine work by one of the ex-members ALAN GREGG as MARSHMALLOW and now, at long last, this first ever solo LP by the band’s ex-leader and industry vet. Right off the bat there’s a couple of great pop tunes that will remind you of his best former work (like “While You Sleep”) such as “This is London” and “Toy Factory Fire,” which as ever feature his lovely voice and knack for the little things in his observations.
Never mind the import designation, this is about to come out here with three extra tracks as the 7 From the Village domestic mini-LP, and you’ll definitely want that judging from these four tracks and the previous, killer “Song For the Fields” single (which will likely be the other tracks!). This is superb ‘80s indie pop style C-86 stuff, high on melody and unstoppable guitars, with nice harmonies and sighing lyrics that aren’t cloying.
Such a beautiful debut solo LP by THE POSIES veteran, I just keep playing and playing and playing this! Really lovely stuff, not at all like his band, much as I love them too. This is what solo LPs are for!
The club’s sound was typically terrible (gym-like), and they played a few songs decidely too fast, ruining them somewhat. But even then, one can’t help but thrill to a Buzzcocks show. There’s just too many stunning songs, and that wall of guitar attack you can’t escape. Good to hear “16” for the first time in eons, as well!
Speaking of Burma, they were the first band I’ve ever seen that sounded good at Warsaw. These three guys ripped for 90 minutes like a band half their age (like Burma in fact did it circa 1982), blasting out all the hot new songs from their new LP (The Obliterati) with the old greats, and throwing in a cover of SYD BARRETT’s PINK FLOYD hyper-waltz “Astronomy Domine” for good measure, to mark his sad passing. I still can’t believe I am seeing Mission of Freakin’ Burma pound out something like “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate.” Extraordinary!
Don’t think I ever thought I would see the New York Dolls in my lifetime, let along half a dozen times now… let alone for free in an East Village record store! The world loves a free show, and with a new LP to promote (their first in 32 years!), the reconstituted band was all smiles rockin out the new tunes (the best: “We’re All in Love”) followed by two old classics (“Looking For a Kiss” and “Personality Crisis”). Yeah!
