What I’ve Been Listening to and Reading Lately
Sharon Van Etten – epic (Ba Da Bing)
This is the best female singer-songwriter record I’ve heard in ages. She dedicates the 7 song, 32 minute album (or is it an EP?) to Fleetwood Mac for changing her life and their influence as well as that of other ’70s singer-songwriter types can be detected, but it’s also a more modern affair. The opening strums of album opener “A Crime” recall those of “Love Goes On” from The Go-Betweens‘ sublime 1988 masterpiece 16 Lovers Lane while the fadeout to the last track “Love More” recalls Death Cab for Cutie‘s “The Sound of Settling”. The influences on the rest of this disc (including the droning “Dsharpg” and “Don’t Do It”, a song that could be a huge hit to my ears) are hard to pinpoint, though, but that’s a tribute to her uniqueness as is the addictive power of these songs and her voice. A must.
Wire – Red Barked Tree (Pink Flag)
This is easily my favorite Wire album of the last decade. Opener “Please Take” recalls the melody of “Map Reference 41 N 93 W” from 154 and several other songs on the album hint at that album’s moodiness as well. Overall, though it has more in common with their last album Object 47, though with better tunes.
Sharon Van Etten – Because I Was in Love (Language of Stone)
Sharon Van Etten’s debut Lp from 2009 is a completely different record from the newer epic (see #1 above). Instead of a fleshed-out, more band-oriented sound, it’s much sparser and is often just Van Etten with her guitar. Produced by Espers‘ Greg Weeks (also a former contributor to The Big Takeover), the album recalls the work of Weeks’ own band and Espers vocalist Meg Baird along with older troubadours such as Karen Dalton alongside contemporaries like Marissa Nadler (with whom Van Etten has toured). This is a lovely record and great to put on late at night, but to those of you who may get this after hearing epic first, don’t expect something similar.
School of Seven Bells – Disconnect from Desire (Vagrant)
This is modern shoegaze/dream-pop revival (I won’t use the hideous term “nu-gaze” other than in jest) music of the highest order. All I’ll say is that if you like early Lush, My Bloody Valentine or Cocteau Twins, you will most definitely like this as well.
Social Distortion – Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (Epitaph)
This may be my favorite Social Distortion album since their 1990 self-titled major label debut. There are some notable changes. There are female backing singers on several tracks in yet another nod to Mike Ness‘ perpetual Rolling Stones influence. Instead of just aping them, though, he and by extension Social Distortion (as he’s the only original member left) have built their own legacy and have their own sound down pat after all this time. Therefore, at this point you pretty much know what to expect and fans of the band should enjoy this greatly.
Frankie Rose and the Outs – Frankie Rose and the Outs (Slumberland)
Here’s another 2010 release that I’m just catching up with now. After hearing it, I wish I hadn’t waited so long because it’s fabulous. Given her status as a former member of both Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts, I expected a bit more noise and distortion. Instead, this release dials that down and puts the focus on Rose’s pop instincts (responsible for Vivian Girls’ wonderful “Where Do You Run To”). This is straight-up ’60s girl-group inspired indie-pop with slight bits of the gorgeous haze and fuzz that were more prevalent in her previous groups. Wonderful.
Gang of Four – Content (Yep Roc)
Although the quality of the songwriting isn’t quite up to the standard of their 1st 3 Lps (though I doubt that few expected that), this (like Devo‘s Something for Everybody from last year, which was their best in almost three decades) is still easily their best album since 1982’s Songs of the Free though only Jon King and Andy Gill remain as bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham have since left (replaced by Thomas McNeice and Mark Heaney, respectively) after the original lineup got back together in 2005. Nevertheless, it’s still closer to the classic sound of the 1st 2 Lps then anything they’ve done since.
It’s currently streaming here.
Patti Smith – Just Kids (Ecco, 2010)
This won a National Book Award recently and I got a chance to see Smith read from it about a month ago, which piqued my desire to read it that much more. I’m glad I did, because this not only feels like part of her autobiography as well as a story of two friends and lovers, but a tribute to the lost New York City of the ’60s and ’70s. Thus, this book will not only appeal to fans of Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, but to connoisseurs of the time period as well.
Paul Collins – King of Power Pop (Alive Naturalsound)
Like former Nerves bandmate Peter Case‘s last album Wig!, this is a sharp left turn away from his more introspective later work and back towards the energetic power-pop he pioneered in The Nerves and later The Beat. I’d speculate that working on the recent Nerves reissue One Way Ticket may have led to this decision, but regardless this kind of stuff fits Collins to a tee. In addition to ebullient originals like “C’mon Let’s Go” and “Losing My Cool”, he does a beautiful cover of The Flamin’ Groovies‘ “You Tore Me Down”, which was also recently covered by Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby.
Radio Birdman – Live in Texas (Citadel)
This is Radio Birdman’s second officially released live album (the first was Ritualism, which captured them in 1996 when they first reunited in Australia and is basically a live in the studio release. This release, on the other hand, captures songs from their at-the-time smoldering set from their second and final U.S. tour in 2007 and as the title implies, was recorded in both Austin and Houston. In addition to the Birdman standards, there tracks from 2006’s Zeno Beach as well as covers of The Kinks (“Til the End of the Day”), The Who (“Circles”) and Blue Öyster Cult (“Hot Rails to Hell”). Though it’s an Australian release, it’s also available via Career Records. I got my copy in 2 days from Montana and I can’t recommend them enough.
