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Bob Mould – See A Little Light (Little, Brown and Company, 2011)
Please see my full review here.
Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade (SST)
I’ve been listening to a lot of Bob Mould’s music since I started reading his memoir and though I finished it last week, I’m still on a big Hüsker Dü kick. What more can I say about this one that hasn’t already been said thousands of times over? This is one of the best albums ever made and the best record Mould has ever been on. Period.
Sugar – Copper Blue (Rykodisc/Creation)
Mould’s finest post-Hüsker Dü accomplishment is also, at least as far as I know, the most successful record of his career. “Changes” has always been my favorite song on the record, but I think “Fortune Teller” has recently overtaken it. It was stuck in my head for days!
Bob Mould – Life and Times (Anti)
While I regard 2005’s Body of Song as his strongest recent work, after revisiting this, his most recent album from 2009, I have to conclude that it’s a diverse and strong album as well. Sure, parts feel as serene as 1989’s solo debut Workbook and are mainly acoustic-based (though with Mould’s trademark intensity), but other songs rock like Sugar or one of his ’90s solo records. And what to make of the (in Mould’s own words) “blatant attempt at AM airplay” “I’m Sorry Baby, But You Can’t Stand In My Light Any More”? I think its gall (including the long title) is admirable, but that’s typical for a career marked by reinvention and trying new things while moving away from the obvious and expected.
Wild Nothing with Twin Shadow – Johnny Brenda’s (Philadelphia) – July 11, 2011
Please see my full review here.
Wild Nothing – Gemini (Captured Tracks)
One of my favorite albums of 2010 is still going strong and I’m still playing it regularly. I can’t wait to hear what Jack Tatum offers up next.
Wild Nothing – “Gruesome Castles”
This is one side of a split 7” with Beach Fossils that Captured Tracks (the label of both bands) put out on Record Store Day as a tribute to the long forgotten but now reunited ’80s Glasgow band The Wake (also now signed to the label). Having never heard The Wake before, I can say that after hearing Wild Nothing’s absolutely fabulous version of this song, I’d really like to get the original. Oh and I must say that the Beach Fossils track “Plastic Flowers” is really good, too, though I slightly prefer Wild Nothing’s contribution.
Naked Raygun – “Burning Red” EP (Riot Fest)
Naked Raygun’s single series continues with the 3rd 7” they’ve released in the last few years. The titular A-side is a fine Pierre Kezdy tune that fits in nicely with their recent output, but side B “Black Eyed Blue” takes the cake here. It’s a Bill Stephens-penned tune that interestingly, has lots of references to Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry song titles and lyrics in the lyrics, though the music doesn’t sound anything like them.
Vivian Girls – Share the Joy (Polyvinyl)
I reviewed this record a few months ago when it came out. That review can be read here.
All I’ll add to the review is that this one just keeps getting better and better. I think it’s the best thing they’ve ever done and one of my favorite albums of the year so far.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on Rabid in the Kennel
This just-aired session is definitely one of my favorite Rabid in the Kennel sessions and can be heard here.
