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Ketchup Pt. 5
It’s impossible to cover everything. This week’s list shines a spotlight on 10 records I can’t dig into in detail, but are definitely worth your time. Alpha by artist.
Dot Hacker – Inhibition (Org)
Dot Hacker is Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer‘s band away from his day job. Thankfully it sounds nothing like the Peppers. Instead, the androgynous-voiced Klinghoffer makes moody modern rock influenced by (but not in thrall to) the gothic psychedelia of the 80s. Picks to click: “Order/Disorder,” “Puncture.”
Everest – Ownerless (ATO)
For its third record, L.A. collective Everest presents a fine set of melodic rock, pop, folk rock and psychedelic songs that pretty much sidestep category. Nice to hear a band worrying more about tunes than credibility. Picks to click: “Far Off, Away,” “Into the Grey.”
Hathaways – The Parasol Sessions Volume One (Parasol)
Recorded live at Parasol’s headquarters by Adam Schmitt, this record makes a good case for this band’s simple pleasures. Those would be singers/songwriters Kate and James Hathaway’s straight-up folk/pop melodies and sibling harmonies. Much is made of Kate’s use of the Andean charango, but since it basically sounds like a mandolin, it’s more color commentary than raison d’etre. Picks to click: “Drive With Me,” “Giving Up On Love.”
Kandodo – s/t (Thrill Jockey)
U.K. psychedelic thugs the Heads may be keeping a low profile these days, but guitarist Simon Price has this semi-ambient/experimental project to fall back on. Simple, often Middle Eastern-cadenced melodies, lots of sensuous legato guitar lines – like Steve Hillage covering Dead Can Dance without a rhythm section. Picks to click: “Witchdoctor,” “Laud the Hyena.”
Nightstalker – Dead Rock Commandos (Small Stone)
This veteran Greek outfit pretty much toes the 70s heavy rock line on its latest record, but that’s fine as long as it does it well. And from the evidence here, particularly Argy‘s vocals and Tolis Motsios‘ guitar work, the quartet does it very well. Picks to click: “Children of the Sun,” “Dead Rock Commandos”
Jon Porras – Black Mesa (Thrill Jockey)
Half of Barn Owl (whoever that is), Porras plays guitar the way a snake stalks its prey – deliberate, deadly, unnerving, but beautiful all the same. Working along the same lines as Earth, Porras perfectly evokes the desert landscapes implied by the title. Picks to click: “Desert Flight,” “Into Midnight.”
Rainy Day Saints – All These Strange Ghosts (Get Hip)
Cleveland musician Dave Swanson is probably still best known for his stints in Death of Samantha, Cobra Verde and Guided By Voices, but this is his fourth LP as Rainy Day Saints, so can we just call it his day job? Swanson keeps the faith of his prior platters, indulging a hard rockin’ 60s psych fetish that’s as much Nuggets as it is Forever Changes. The American Midwest’s answer to the Bevis Frond? Picks to click: “All These Strange Ghosts,” “Underneath the Dreamer’s Moon.”
The Rave – Live at the Red Lion (Parasol)
Recorded in Champaign in 1979, this disk captures an exuberant set from “one of the finest and most original bands to come out of the Midwest.” Hyperbole, definitely, but the power pop/new wave songs are definitely catchy and the Rave sounds like it’s having a blast. It doesn’t hurt that frontguy Lyle Diamond sounds like Glenn Tilbrook. Picks to click: “Dream Girls,” “Carolyn, Caroline.”
Rotor – Festsaal Kreuzberg (Elektrohasch)
Recorded live at the titular festival in Berlin, this record puts German instrumental acid rock power trio Rotor through its paces to the delight of the crowd. Far more about groove, riffs and intensity than virtuosity, Rotor packs more into 45 minutes than a lot of heavy rockers do in a career. Picks to click: “Karacho/Hizer,” “Die Weisse Angst.”
Stone Axe – Stone Axe II (Ripple)
The classic rock revivalists in Stone Axe (including Mos Generator leader T. Dallas Reed) keep a step ahead of their brethren by drawing as much inspiration from the Faces, Alice Cooper and Thin Lizzy as Black Sabbath, Bad Company and Led Zeppelin. This edition of the band’s 2010 LP includes a second disk of (formerly) vinyl-only and compilation cuts. Picks to click: “Those Were the Golden Years,” “Transmissions Pt. II.”
