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Fujiya and Miyagi – Lightbulbs (Tirk/Deaf, Dumb & Blind)
I liked their debut Transparent Things, but their second album really ups the ante. This is highly infectious, danceable music in the vein of some of the stuff on DFA. The first track, “Knickerbocker,” nods to NEU!, as do some of the others, but I also hear KRAFTWERK and early ‘80s electro in the mix as well. If they keep putting out records this good, they could be to this decade what STEREOLAB were in the ‘90s.
Sonic’s Rendezvous Band – Sweet Nothing (Mack Acorn Rhythmic Arts)
Do you like rock and roll? I mean, REAL, hard, fast, noisy, nasty, punch-in-the-gut, spitting blood rock and roll. If that’s the case and you’ve never heard this album (which admittedly I’ve only been familiar with for a few weeks now after coming across it in a used CD bin), then you should rectify that situation as soon as possible. It’s possibly the best live record I’ve ever heard, even out-rocking THE SAINTS’ incredible 1977 show at the Hope and Anchor in London. Unfortunately it’s out-of-print, so if you see a copy, grab it!
Marginal Man – Double Image (Gasatanka/Enigma)
After looking for this album on vinyl for years, I finally came across a copy for $5 at a local record store recently. Their second release (the first was the Identity EP, which was released on Dischord) after they changed their name from ARTIFICIAL PEACE, this is a great, extremely underrated mid ‘80s DC record that while recorded at the same time as well-known, landmark releases like RITES OF SPRING’s debut LP, GRAY MATTER’s Food for Thought, and EMBRACE’s first recording session (later compiled with a second recording session in 1986), is far less known because it was out of print for so many years. That’s a shame because any fan of the above records will enjoy this immensely. Some will known the song “Friend” from the New York hardcore band H20 band’s cover of it on the Punk Rock Jukebox record from the mid ‘90s.
Dag Nasty – Field Day (Giant)
I had the immense pleasure of seeing PETER CORTNER, the singer on this album and Wig Out at Denko’s, sing this album’s “Things that Make No Sense” on stage at the Tritone the other night, so of course I listened to it the next day. Although I don’t love every song on it, it’s always been my favorite Dag Nasty record. It’s still underappreciated, misunderstood, and overlooked as, unlike their first two albums, it has almost nothing to do with their hardcore punk roots and everything to do with hard jangle-pop that’s more similar to, say, THE LIBERTINES U.S. than most of their other D.C. or L.A. (they formed in D.C. and moved to L.A. to record this album) punk and hardcore contemporaries at the time. Still, though, the punk roots show in the speed of some of the songs and BRIAN BAKER’s guitar work on this album is a bit more metallic than on their previous ones, foreshadowing his short-lived stint in the L.A.-based hair metal band JUNKYARD, who released their debut in 1989, a mere year after this great album came out. Anyway, I’ve gone on and on about this record in the past, so I’ll just stop here. It’s out-of-print, so if you see it, snap it up.
The Thirteen – Tritone (Philadelphia, PA) – September 12, 2008
This fantastic new Philadelphia band, led by Staten Island native and former guitarist of Staten Island pop-punk band SERPICO (when they were still known as SLEEPER, before the more well-known U.K. band of the same name forced them to change it) SAL CANNESTRA, played their first show the other night as part of guest bassist PETER SANTA MARIA (of the also excellent JUKEBOX ZEROS)’s monthly “Positively Sick on South Street” garage/punk/power-pop night at the Tritone. And boy were they great! They started off on fire, playing several songs that sounded like outtakes from the immortal BUZZCOCKS during their late-‘70s heyday. The slower songs weren’t quite up to the same standard, but with lyrical references to City Gardens (the Trenton, NJ where I spent many a night in the early ‘90s) and what not, they hit many of my sweet spots. In any case, I absolutely can’t wait for their record to come out next month! Go here to listen to some of their songs now, though!
As the cherry on top of an already sweet set, they got Peter Cortner to sing the Dag Nasty classic “Things that Make No Sense” with guitarist JOE IACOVELLA backing him up on guitar. It was first appearance on a stage in 20 years, too!
Jawbox – Grippe (Dischord)
Although I like all of Jawbox’s stuff, their debut album has always been my favorite. I know this isn’t a popular opinion (J ROBBINS himself hates this album), as their later stuff is better-regarded, but I always thought they were at their best as a more melodic, almost pop-punk trio with more overt post-punk leanings ala NAKED RAYGUN (a favorite of Robbins and an obvious influence on this album) instead of the heavier, HELMET-inspired band they became later as a quartet, starting with 1992’s Novelty. Highlights here include the incredible “Bullet Park” and a great cover of JOY DIVISION’s “Something Must Break,” but really all of it is great. The CD also has five bonus tracks comprised of early singles and a compilation track, including alternate versions of “Tools and Chrome” and “Ballast.”
Also, if you don’t know about J and his wife JANET MORGAN’s son CALLUM ROBBINS and his struggle with spinal muscular atrophy, please click here for more information on how you can help. You can also buy this and this as they both directly benefit this cause.
The Muffs – The Muffs (Warner Brothers)
One of the finest power-pop albums of the ‘90s, this is also the best album that the always wonderful Muffs have ever made. Almost every single song could’ve been a hit single in an alternate universe as this is packed with more hooks than an entire fishing supply store (forget the tackle box)! It’s tempting to compare vocalist/guitarist KIM SHATTUCK’s mighty roar with say, JOAN JETT, or other female rockers, but I’ve always heard many more classic ‘60s and early ‘70s bands referenced in their sound. For instance, I hear riffs that remind me of mid ‘70s FLAMIN’ GROOVIES (circa Shake Some Action) in songs like “Baby Go Round” and “Don’t Waste Another Day.” The incredibly joyous-sounding and catchy music is also a nice counterpoint to lyrics that mostly concern break-ups and the like.
Brian Wilson – That Lucky Old Sun (Rhino)
Brian’s first studio album since 2004 (when he released both the excellent Smile re-recording and the abysmal Gettin’ In Over My Head) is also (with the exception of Smile) by far his finest work since the never-released but excellent (and totally underrated) 1991 album Sweet Insanity.
It’s essentially a continuation of where Smile left off, except concentrating on California and specifically his hometown of Los Angeles instead of the journey that the pioneers undertook to head out west. VAN DYKE PARKS contributes some lyrics here and Brian recites a verse in Spanish at one point and while it’s a bit awkward, this disc is a thing of total beauty otherwise. Sure there’s obvious elements of nostalgia on songs such as “Forever She’ll Be My Surfer Girl” and references to his troubled past on songs like the wonderful “Oxygen to the Brain,” but as a major Beach Boys fan, it’s extremely moving for me to hear him come to terms with that past. Others will dismiss this as cheap nostalgia, but my guess is that the real fans will love it.
Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby – Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby (Stiff)
Eric and Amy are a married couple who live in France, so it’s natural that they would record an album together and on Eric’s former label Stiff no less. It’s not what one would expect from either of them. Instead it’s an organ-heavy, mellow drone fest that’s heavily indebted to THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’s self-titled third album and even to some of YO LA TENGO’s more recent work (I hear elements of 2003’s Summer Sun on some of these tracks). The second track “Astrovan” even almost sounds like SYD BARRETT-era PINK FLOYD at times! Amy’s funny but biting lyrics come to the fore on songs like “Men in Sandals” as well.
Green Day – 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (Lookout)
I’ve been listening to a lot of music I loved as a teenager recently, so it’s only natural that I would get to this. I hadn’t listened to it in almost 15 years, but I’m happy to report that their earliest material holds up nicely and makes me remember why I loved them so much back then, way before they were major-label rock stars and when they only an album and some 7”s out. Anyway, this stuff needs no introduction, but it’s some of the finest pop-punk ever, before it got co-opted and watered down for mainstream consumption. I lost interest in them once they became rock stars, but I’ll always love this compilation of their first album and early singles and their second one Kerplunk! as well. I should also note that since Lookout no longer owns the rights to this album, it was reissued on Warner Brothers a few years back.
