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Beach Boys – That’s Why God Made the Radio (Capitol)
When I listed this album on last week’s list, I noted that I thought it was “the best Beach Boys album since at least 1979’s L.A. (Light Album). The more I listen, the more I like it and I may even amend that statement to say that it’s their best in 35 years (since the incredible and similarly Brian Wilson-dominated Love You in 1977).
Infinite Void – Infinite Void (Poison City)
I have to thank Simon Woodley from the Big Takeover mailing list for turning me on to this fabulous Australian band recently. Their bio lists Wipers, For Against, Sleater-Kinney and Sonic Youth as influences and sure enough, I hear elements of those bands and styles in this. Mostly, though, this record sits alongside fellow Melbourne post-punk revivalists Love of Diagrams. In fact, I thought it was Love of Diagrams’ singer Antonio Sellbach‘s new band as their voices and style are so similar. As one who loved (and still loves) Love of Diagrams’ 2007 Matador album Mosaic and the EP that preceded it, this is a very welcome record indeed. Melding punk, post-punk and shoegaze, at times this band even comes off like an Aussie take on The Joy Formidable. I love this record. You can hear a few songs (including the incredible “Pay for What It’s Worth”) from it here.
The dB’s – Falling Off the Sky (Bar/None)
Please see my full review here.
Love of Diagrams – “In My Dream” EP (self-released)
Hearing the new Infinite Void record reminded me of these fellow Melbourne post-punk revivalists and not knowing what they’d been up to since 2009’s Nowhere Forever (a good if disappointing follow-up to 2007’s excellent Mosaic), I found out that they’d self-released a 2-song 7” (only in Australia) and digital single under everyone noses. The single picks up where Nowhere Forever left off and you can hear it here. Though this doesn’t reach the heights of some of their earlier work, it’s still enjoyable and I’m glad they’re still at it!
Cheap Girls with Static Radio – Trocadero (Philadelphia) – June 8, 2012
Please see my full review here.
The Clean with Times New Viking – Johnny Brenda’s (Philadelphia) – June 6, 2012
Please see my full review here.
Having not really paid much attention to them circa their 2009 debut Post-Nothing but liking what I’ve heard in the past, I checked this out on the recommendation of my wife Anne Leavitt-Gruberger and I’m glad I did. Not only does this record remind me favorably of Cheap Girls (whose Giant Orange is one of my favorites of 2012), but they have the good taste to cover The Gun Club‘s 1st Lp classic “For the Love of Ivy” and actually do it justice. Plus, there’s a song called “The Nights of Wine and Roses” (a clear nod to The Dream Syndicate‘s debut Lp The Days of Wine and Roses). These guys know their music history!
The Trypes – Music for Neighbors (Acute)
This band was around in the early ’80s and at times featured Glenn Mercer, Bill Million, Brenda Sauter and Dave Weckerman of The Feelies as members. However, they actually started in the same part of northern New Jersey without any Feelies members and were led by John Baumgartner and his wife Toni Baumgartner. Musically, they sounded less like The Feelies at times than like an American answer to Young Marble Giants‘ pioneering 1980 Lp Colossal Youth! This long-overdue vinyl plus digital download code reissue collects The Explorers Club EP alongside demos, alternate versions and live tracks (none previously released aside from “A Plan, Revisited”, which appeared on the Luxury Condos compilation in 1985).
Beauregarde – Testify (Zeno)
Beauregarde was a professional wrestler in the early ’70s who put this album back then and a few years Zeno reissued it. My interest in it is mainly that a then 17 year-old Greg Sage (already a prodigious guitar whiz and a big wrestling fan well into adulthood as well) plays guitar on this. As for the music itself, though, this is early ’70s hard rock/blues rock (so don’t expect anything Wipers-like here) and Beauregarde is a competent if not phenomenal vocalist. The most interesting song lyrically is “Super Star Super Star”, which details then recent (this originally came out in 1970) deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. Overall, this is an enjoyable record if you like the style.
Lydia Loveless – Indestructible Machine (Bloodshot)
Her cover of Elvis Costello‘s “Alison” (the B-side to the Record Store Day 7” with the A-side of “Bad Way to Go”, the album’s opening track as well), which I put on last week’s list, is a huge red herring as most of this rocks with the kind of abandon that most alt-country doesn’t touch. At its softest, this is still as rowdy as some of Neko Case‘s early stuff circa The Virginian and its hardest it can echo a female-led Flat Duo Jets or something in that vein. I like this a lot.
