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Thurston Moore with Meg Baird – First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia) – August 30, 2011
Please see my full review here.
Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts (Matador)
This may turn out to be one of my favorite releases of the year. Before hearing this, I didn’t know Thurston had such a soft, quiet, heartfelt singer-songwriter record in him. Beck ‘s production definitely helps, as parts of this remind me of records of his like Mutations and especially Sea Change.
The Rifles – “Tangled Up in Love”
The Rifles are previewing a new track from their upcoming record Freedom Run. If the rest of it is as good as this track, it should be another winner like their last one The Great Escape. Honestly, I was worried this wasn’t going to be up to snuff given the departure of several members since their last album came out, but this sounds just like that record and with Belle and Sebastian -esque string/orchestral elements added which work like a charm. You can listen to it here.
Scream – Complete Control Sessions (Side One Dummy)
To be honest, while I like some of their stuff quite a bit, I’m not that huge of a Scream fan. I really like this record, though. Others who are bigger fans say it picks up right where 1993’s Fumble and the “Mardi Gras” single left off, but I like this better than either of those releases. There’s a cover of Bad Brains track “At the Atlantis”, which is retitled “Jammin’ at 606”, but that’s by far the weakest track on here. It’s forced speedy hardcore whereas the real strength here is the melodic emo-core sprinkled throughout the rest of this record. A great comeback!
Paul Westerberg – “This Machine” EP
Late last year, Westerberg released a 7” under the alias of Mr. F. The tracks here, “This Machine” and “Foolish Hand Shake” are very much in the mold of his 2002 masterpiece Stereo and are my favorite things he’s recorded since then. The 7” is way out-of-print now, but may be available digitally. If not, the songs are out there on YouTube.
Noel Gallagher – “The Death of You and Me”
I’m not a big Oasis fan, especially regarding the stuff after their first two albums, and they were also one of the most boring live bands I’ve ever seen. With that said, when he’s on, Noel Gallagher is a great songwriter and I really like this new single. It reminds me a lot of Supergrass circa the underrated Road to Rouen or maybe even The Kinks circa “Death of a Clown”. You can hear it here.
Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
I’m happy to report that the new Wild Flag album is a million times better than the 7” they released for Record Store Day. In fact, both songs from the 7” have been re-recorded in much better fashion and the album is a highly enjoyable, joyous affair. As for the sound, it’s basically what one would expect from ex-members of Sleater-Kinney , Helium and The Minders , but I’m a sucker for anything Carrie Brownstein does and for anything Janet Weiss plays drums on as well. It’s streaming on NPR now.
Marginal Man – Double Image (In Your Ear)
I picked up this 2000 reissue of their 1985 classic 2nd 12” Double Image at their recent reunion show at the Black Cat (review here). The sound is fantastic and it also includes several videos (remember the pre-YouTube days when CDs used to come with those) from the mid ’80s.
Vivian Girls – Live on WFMU (Troubleman Unlimited)
I found a vinyl copy of this not that long ago and must say I’d almost forgotten how frantic their early live shows were back in 2008. I’m really looking forward to seeing them again here in a few days, though I wonder how the more subdued material from Share the Joy will fare in a live setting.
Coasting – “Same Old Same Old” EP (M’Lady)
I’m a little late on this as it came out last December, but this is the 3rd single from the other band of Vivian Girls drummer Fiona Campbell. Their name implie that this record mines similar territory to other beach-minded outfits like Best Coast, Beach Fossils, Beach House and others. To a certain extent, that’s true. However, in practice this is a guitar/drums duo that has a rougher sound than many in this genre. It may make you think of Fiona’s other band or perhaps the first time you heard Yeah Yeah Yeahs, especially on the B-side “Discovery”. Hear it here.
