Please see my full review here.

The follow-up to last year’s excellent Interstellar , her first for Fat Possum after several records on Slumberland, doesn’t change around the formula one iota, except for perhaps the fake-out of opening track “You for Me” and its less atmospheric, heavier sound. The rest of it, however, feels like outtakes from Interstellar. The album is even structured similarly. I don’t think any of that is a bad thing, though. The material is still great and Rose’s voice is light as air as before, making for a wonderful listening experience that’s best enjoyed on headphones. I would take a dozen records like this! Oh yeah, and she does a great version of The Damned‘s “Street of Dreams,” making it sound like one of her own songs.

At its best, this second Lp from the San Francisco band feels like something that Captured Tracks or Slumberland should have put out. “I Want to Go” and “How Do I Move On” are two of catchiest songs you will hear all year and the latter in particular evokes the mood and style of C86-era bands like The Servants or more recently, bands like Wild Nothing. There is, and this is a bit worrisome, a bit of yacht rock style sax on “Living in the USA,” but not enough to affect my enjoyment of this record at all. In fact, side A is so infectious that it’s hard to stop playing it!

Simply put, this band is right in my wheelhouse. This young band from Australia is mandatory listening for fans of The Feelies, Luna, Galaxie 500 and especially The Bats. If you are a fan of that Velvet Underground-inspired sound, you owe it to yourself to check this out. Male and female vocals alternate here. Try “Bondi 98” for the former and the title track for the latter.

Their twelfth studio album in over thirty years as a band, this one is also their first since 2009’s Today is a Good Day. It’s just great that they can keep delivering such high quality material time after time. Justin Sullivan and company have never made a bad record!

I’m a bit surprised that this is on Captured Tracks as it’s a bit heavier and for lack of a better way of saying it, more straight up rock and roll than most of the stuff on that fantastic label (which by and large focuses on dream-pop, indie-pop, shoegaze, et al.) . Regardless, on initial listens this record feels like Iceage with better songs and bigger hooks. I’m willing to bet that they must be a great live band, too.

To be honest, I didn’t really appreciate Sebadoh until recent years. However, I like this Lp, their first since 1999’s The Sebadoh, a lot.

Judging by this song, their upcoming sophomore Lp should be great. It reminds me of Weezer when they were good or perhaps Pavement more than their debut Lp. You can check it out here.

Easily the most aggressive record I’ve been listening to lately, this New York band is a metal-tinged (some have used the word “crossover”, but I’m not sure I agree), hardcore punk powerhouse in the vein of mid ’80s C.O.C. or perhaps even Citizens Arrest.

Here is a brand new song by OFF! that was specifically written for a video game (Grand Theft Audio V). Whatever the circumstances, it’s another corker!