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Cheap Girls – Giant Orange (Rise)
This is my first exposure to this East Lansing, MI band and boy are they great. One could be forgiven for thinking that they are from Minneapolis. Although I don’t hear the frequent Hüsker Dü comparisons they’ve gotten, they do remind me quite a bit of another band with Minneapolis roots (albeit founded and based in Brooklyn), The Hold Steady. That is, if Craig Finn stopped chronicling the ups and downs of the burnouts of his youth and they just focused on tight, 3 to 4 minute pop songs about relationships in the vein of Sugar circa File Under Easy Listening (i.e. at their poppiest), Sloan, The Posies and especially The Smoking Popes. Anyone who likes any of those bands needs to hear this record ASAP. “Communication Blues” is the song of the year so far and this my favorite record of the year so far. You can stream it here.
D.Y.S. – “(We Are The) Road Crew”
This is exactly what you think it is. The mighty D.Y.S. covering a mighty Motörhead classic and doing a bang-up job of it. According to bassist Jonathan Anastas himself, “15% faster, two guitars to make it heavier, (vocalist) Dave (Smalley) and a great producer go a long way”. You can listen for yourself here.
The Servants – Youth Club Disco (Captured Tracks)
A reissue of the 2006 Cherry Red CD Reserved, this is a compilation of singles and unreleased tracks from a UK band most identified with the C86 scene. David Westlake‘s songs remind me more of Postcard stuff like Orange Juice or early Go-Betweens than any of the other C86 bands, though. It also must be noted that one of our own Jack Rabid‘s reviews from the late ’80s is featured in the montage of reviews that grace the back cover of this vinyl-only release. It also must be stated that this band featured Phil King (later of Lush) and Luke Haines (later of The Auteurs). Good stuff.
Brixton Riot – Palace Amusements (Modern Hymnal Recordings)
In recent years, New Jersey has been home to great power pop bands like Bastards of Melody, The Successful Failures and the like, all of whom have followed in the footsteps of veteran bands like The Smithereens (who released a great, stripped-down album last year, too). One can now add Brixton Riot to the list. I know drummer Matt Horutz from the short-lived, unknown, but fabulous mid ’90s indie-pop quartet Anchor and later The Love Scene, but the other musicians here are totally unknown to me. Still, though their sound doesn’t really match their name (especially if you’re expecting something akin to The Clash‘s “Guns of Brixton” or something similar), this is great stuff.
Bad Religion – “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
This is from a recently released Amnesty International benefit album featuring Bob Dylan covers. I usually deplore covers album, but I’m curious to hear some of the rest as I really like this version. It sounds exactly how fans would expect it to sound. You can read more about it and sample some of the songs here.
Black Face – “I Want to Kill You” EP (Hydra Head)
Before disbanding, the short-lived Black Face (Chuck Dukowski‘s answer to Keith Morris‘ OFF!) recorded a 2-song 7” for Hydra Head. Both of these songs were written by Dukowski for Black Flag‘s 1984 album My War, but never recorded by them. One of these songs was recorded by Dukowski’s post-Black Flag band SWA under a different title. All in all, this is basically what one would expect. It won’t blow folks away like OFF! did with The First Four EPs, but it does sound like mid ’80s Black Flag and I do enjoy it.
Should – A Folding Sieve (Captured Tracks)
Now here’s an oddity. Mid ’90s U.S. shoegaze from Austin, Texas that was recorded (as the liner notes say) on 8-track with airplane noise in the background and without the use of a guitar (instead, many of the noises were generated with a sampler). This is a reissue of a 1995 mini-Lp recorded when they were called Shift (not to be confused with the ’90s post-hardcore band of the same name) and reissued by the great Words on Music label in 2002. The also great Captured Tracks label one ups the Words on Music reissue, adding 4 more tracks to the digital version to up the total from 14 to 18 tracks (though the vinyl only has 9 tracks and it doesn’t include two songs that were on the Words on Music version). My only complaint is that I wish it was a double Lp so all the extra tracks would show up on the vinyl, but that’s OK. Beautiful stuff. I can’t wait to listen on headphones.
La Sera – “Break My Heart”
The second song released as an mp3 and stream from La Sera’s upcoming Sees the Light isn’t as ridiculously catchy as “Please Be My Third Eye” (nor does it have a cool video accompanying it), but it is great and another upbeat pop song as opposed to the melancholy feel of the self-titled 1st Lp. Hear it here.
Bad Sports – Kings of the Weekend (Dirtnap)
The first song I heard from this album was “Inside and Out”. It and other tracks like the excellent “Sweet Sweet Mandi” and “I’m in Love with Myself” sound like a mix of early KISS, The Ramones and The Records. Most of the rest of this album, however, is much more in the typical Dirtnap vein. Think The Marked Men, High Tension Wires, Mannequin Men and Jay Reatard and you’re in the right ballpark.
Jez Hindmarsh – Rider (self-published, 2006)
The former Swervedriver drummer wrote a book back in 2006 that chronicled his time touring in the ’90s. Instead of a straightforward biography, we get little vignettes that feature often-times humorous and occasionally ridiculous and sometimes even sad stories of life on the road. This is a fun, quick read and anyone interested in the life of a touring rock and roll band should check this out.
