NEW MUSIC FRIDAY drawing together music for you from around the world, across boundaries and beyond the scope of normality.
Oh yeah, we are going there.
MISTY COAST - When I Fall From The Sky [LP/CD](Fysisk Format NOR)
The Norwegian duo Misty Coast may be more Pop than Shoegaze. However, their third album (and first in the States) proves they know exactly when to use this dreaminess to blend the ethereal with their driving songs. “In A Million Years” is a propulsive single with a dominant hook that brings a little My Bloody Valentine into its catchiest part. On “Fun” they even crank up the drum machines and try to drown out the voice of Linn Frøkedal - but her breathy refrain of “Fun. Fun. Fun.” cannot be denied. Frøkedal gives Misty Coast its own Cardigans-esque sound, as the best songs go out of their way to develop a backdrop for the hint of emotion that slips through her cool exterior (“Jet Lag.”)
BEACH YOUTH - Postcard [LP](Music For The Masses FRA)
The Nineties shoegaze Pop is also enjoying a comeback in the jangling/reverberated chime of this French quartet. Mostly post-C86 in their point-of-view, “Postcard” is most enjoyable when Beach Youth craft a song and control its tension (the masterful sunny-to-cloudy “A Changed Man” and the driving tacet melodicism of “Two Bedrooms” which juxtaposes Johnny Marr-ish guitar Pop with French cocktail jams.) “Postcard” demonstrates that Beach Youth really have absorbed their influences well (lots of Prefab Sprout) and are fast approaching just the right song to breakthrough.
LEMONS - WLMN [LP](We Are Busy Bodies CAN)
With their strumming acoustic guitars and voices singing en masse, the Lemons are giving everyone a glimpse into their radiant Pop. “At Home” was a fantastic “campfire” record complete with clapping and conversation. It’s only fitting that their good time Rock N’Roll would find its way on the radio. Their radio. “WLMN” follows the Bubblegum aesthetic straight into some seriously catchy songs (in a lot of different production schemes) that spell out just how good and how much fun this band has.
TANGLED SHOELACES - Turn My Dial: M Squared Recordings & More 81-84 [LP](Pink & Cloudy/Chapter Music AUS)
Founded in 1980, with members between 10-14, Australian kids fresh from the blaze of New Wave through their vast homeland decide to make their own music. “The Biggest Movie Ever Made” shows so much promise with its Power Pop jangle, Synth-Pop presence, and sax. The edginess of their songs in structure is neatly matched with the sweetness and naivete of their voices (“Oceans Away.”) Most importantly, you can really hear the young group loving being carried away with their creation.
HUSHPUPPY - Singles Club [LP](Babe City/Redeye)
Zoë Brecher, drummer for SAD13 with Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz, shows her indie-rock writing skills off on these twelve songs. Brecher has a wistful, almost far-away vocal sound that gives tracks like the heavenly “I’m At Home With You” a dreamy/girl-group-ish feel. While the more electronic “I Do What I Want” works because she takes it much farther than three-chord punk. As a touring member of several bands (Oberhofer, Sasami, and King Tuff,) “Singles Club” makes you want to see Brecher front her own group.
MATT VALENTINE PRESERVES - Galactic Ooze [LP](Feeding Tube)
When Freak/Folk’s Matt Valentine takes off on an interstellar psychedelic trip he joins together several very interesting combinations of sound on his lo-fi whirligig wonder. “Galactic Ooze” is one long druggy boogie with haunting Hawkwind-ish sounds meeting strange Quiet Storm-esque keyboards (“On Top Of A Nadir.”) Most lysergic jams announce they are taking space to lie back and relax. Valentine lives in that space and is only comfortable when he is mixing a myriad of audio through his smoke-covered songs. Listen closely and you will hear tapes talking to you, the friendly buzz of Country Rockers, and snatches of “Eminence Front.”
TOTI SOLER [LP](Munster ESP)
The early Seventies lean toward simple acoustic-based Folk freed Flamenco guitarist Toti Soler to experiment with his sound on this 1973 album. Like the also-underrated Sebastiao Tapajos/Pedro Dos Santos records from the same period (reissued on Munster’s Vampisoul imprint,) Soler and mainly percussionist Nacho Quixano go to their limits to showcase how unique Flamenco guitars streams can be. “Taj Mahal” is a bluesy/folk shifter, while “Guiselda” drives the brightness of Folk through the prodigious changes of Flamenco. Without the band, Soler beautifully uses the space around him (the majesty of “Estudi”) and his gentle touch to emphasize the verses on the melodic “El Gat Blanc.” A wonderful find.
Various Artists - WIZZZ: French Psychorama 1966-1974 Volume 4 [LP/CD](Born Bad FR)
The folks at Born Bad certainly know how to assemble a compilation. Much like the “Tchic Tchic: French Bossa Nova 1973-1974” comp (reviewed here: 1.21.21,) the best sequence ticks like a clock. Very loungey in places, this “WIZZZ” swings like a good film soundtrack. The brassy Francois Berheim would have made a great song for Scott Walker. The string parts on Michael Handson are dynamite. The sexy song from Alain Ricar may overheat your turntable, but Francois Furay is so cool - his Kim Fowley-esque jam will bring it back down to a slow rolling boil.
GODTET - III [La Sape AUS]
It takes a lot of cojones to take on Godtet as your name, but Godriguez seems just the man to do it. Audacious and unafraid, the guitarist leads his band through a set of modern Jazz-y/Funk jams with an emphasis on spacey guitar effects and driving beats. “Cactus Dance” is the best example of how this group just needs a groove to ride on. The waves of piano, hints of bass, and slow-rolling songs like “Moon” are just the explorations possible for this organically grown music.
KJETIL MULELID - Piano [LP/CD](Rune Grammofon NOR/The Orchard)
Away from his trio, pianist Mulelid takes several real flights of fantasy (or fantasia perhaps) on his truly solo album. His rolling bass lines are often neatly accented by a delicate sense of right-hand melody. Even when he soars through what sounds like every one of the 88 keys on the middle part of “Kanskje Y Morgan,” like Keith Jarrett - he returns to a soft kernel of melody. On the more song-like structures (“For You I’ll Do Anything,”) Mulelid even uses the high-high keys without sounding like it is a stretch. “Piano” demonstrates Mulelid’s range of emotions very well.
and a very LOUD one to bring it all home.
BODY VOID - Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth [CD](Prosthetic)
This very noisy Doom band from New Hampshire brings us back to the alarming sludge of the Eighties and adds those shredded vocals and soul-crushing mammoth riffs that make it Doom. “Bury Me” rifles through its noises and it never sounds added on. In fact, as a duo whose tidal wave of sound must almost disintegrate the tape/media they recorded upon - they actually ADDED the input of their touring bassist Entresol. The guitars regularly buzz around like prehistoric insistent mosquitos while the leaden drums pound nails into your skull. The way they bend their sound around the twelve-minute thrashing “Fawn” is worth your time even if you are frightened of Doom.
With synapses fried, pistons slowing down, we hope you enjoyed this assembly of all the things one can do with just 12 notes. Thank you kindly. Pass it along. Share it. Let us know what you think. After all, this is all done in the hopes you will like (some of) it.
On a final note, T-BONES would like you to know that Record Store Day is coming in two drops - June 12th and July 17th. This list of exclusives, reissues, and just awesome products will be invading our time shared here for the next few weeks. However, it is just another guest at the party. There’s no slowing us down. Tell your friends about us.
Enjoy. Share. And check out the entire RSD list and even WISHLIST us if you like. RSD 21 with TBONES
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T-BONES Records and Cafe is a full-service fast-casual restaurant and record store in Hattiesburg, MS. We are a member of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores and are the longest-running record store in the state of Mississippi. If you have questions - we have answers … and probably a lot more information just waiting for you at:
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