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Scream with Laffing Life and Mindless Attack – Kung Fu Necktie (Philadelphia) – April 16, 2012
Look for a review up soon!
Lambchop – World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) – April 18, 2012
Look for a review up soon!
Lambchop – Mr. M (Merge)
They played this album from start to finish at their recent show here, but that was OK since it’s really good. And yes, I’m including “Guess I’m Dumb”, the Glen Campbell-performed, Brian Wilson-written track (with The Beach Boys on backing vocals), a version of which appears only on the double album vinyl version!
The Band – The Band (Capitol)
RIP Levon Helm! This is The Band’s best album and I’ve been playing it a lot lately for obvious reasons.
Funkadelic – Free Your Ass and Your Mind Will Follow (Westbound)
I’ve recently (and finally) started diving into the early Funkadelic albums originally on Westbound and this one is an absolute stunner. Imagine an even more psychedelic and funkier CAN circa the Malcolm Mooney era and you’re almost there.
Side by Side – You’re Only Young Once… (Revelation)
A late ’80s straight-edge hardcore staple that I underrated back in the day, I put it on a few days ago and wondered why. This is some of the best “youth crew” type stuff ever recorded and it’s like a mix of The Cro-Mags and perhaps Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits.
This is the other band of Fiona Campbell, drummer extraordinaire from the amazing Vivian Girls. It’s a guitar/drums duo with Madison Farmer and though not quite as grimy and flat-out pummeling as their earlier singles, this debut full-length from late last year trades some scuzz for pronounced pop hooks that at times invite comparisons to Vivian Girls themselves or perhaps fellow Vivian Girl Katy Goodman‘s La Sera project.
Lambchop – “I Can Hardly Spell My Name”
This song appears on their side of a split 7” with a band called Cyod. I purchased it at their recent show here and it’s from the mid ’90s. The Cyod side is more typical of the indie rock of that era sounding at times like Pavement’s early EPs. Both sides are good, though.
Screaming Females – Ugly (Don Giovanni)
Please see my full review here.
Vivian Girls – Share the Joy (Polyvinyl)
I’ve returned to this one in the last week or so after grooving heavily on the recent (and stunning) Coasting, Frankie Rose and La Sera albums. A year after its release, it still slays me and is their best work to date. Between this band and their various offshoots and solo projects (some of which I identified above, though that isn’t even close to all of it) and affiliated artists, it’s astounding how much talent they have and how many great records they’ve made in recent years.
