NEW.MUSIC.FRIDAY with TBONES setting you up...
with the newest of the new, and a few reissues too.
THE UMBRELLAS [LP/CD](Slumberland/Redeye)
The Bay Area is beginning to appear as the incubator for a new breed of Jangle Pop. Like faves, The Reds, Pinks, Purples (reviewed here 1.14.21,) San Francisco’s Umbrellas are quickly finding that bittersweet spot between the chime of the Eighties and the charm of Nineties bands like Beat Happening. The standout single “She Buys Herself Flowers” is just that marriage of the lilt of Belle and Sebastian with the drive and heavenly highs of Salvation Army/Three O’Clock. “Near You” is a two-minute confection, while “Pictures” pushes a little further into the Nineties for an Alt.Pop sugar rush. However you slice it, “The Umbrellas” already prove they have the knack for pure Pop.
ELEVENTH DREAM DAY - Since Grazed [LP](Comedy Minus One/Redeye)
On this sprawling double album, Eleventh Dream Day surprise with a very Yo La Tengo-esque record that checks all the boxes. The feedback-drenched workouts have been turned down, but find new heights in creating mood (the awesome title cut) and atmosphere (the epic swelter of “Take Care.”) Every cut leaves you first thinking that you have never really heard 11DD sound like this and rapt with attention at what mysteries the next track will unearth. Lyrically there are several astonishing songs here. “Nothing’s Ever Lost” is a Wilco-ish wonder that unspools the emotions of what Rizzo is singing (and not singing) wonderfully. Rizzo and Janet Bean nearly duet (“Out Below”) and Janet sings on the sunburned Italian western sounding “Wish Too Far.” James Elkington’s guitar slips in some brilliant lines too (the stinging solo at the end of the fevered “A Case To Carry On.”) “Since Grazed” is a welcome return from a band who never need a return to form.
ARTHUR SATAN - So Far So Good [LP](Born Bad FR)
Fresh from J.C.Satan, “So Far So Good” may be the album where kid Arthur becomes King Arthur. Most albums that overtly try to be Beatlesque wind up a pale comparison to those classics (mostly) held in high regard. Arthur’s idea of Beatlesque sounds more rooted in the Brian Jonestown Massacre than Lennon/McCartney. “So Far So Good” opens slowly, taking its time to slow your breath down as “Summer” and the bass showcase “Free” push into Britpop parameters. However, you start heading into harmonies on the pastoral “Love Bleeds From Your Neck” and Arthur throws in a tasty, slightly overdriven solo. “She’s Long Gone” is a breezy almost 10cc-esque Pop song that floats along on clarinet. Now that you are somewhat adrift, the long fade surprises you with the Jellyfish-esque pound of “She’s Hotter Than The Sun” and you finally feel the power beneath this wealth of ideas. The remainder of “So Far So Good” is elegant strings (“The Boy In The Frame,”) Freakbeat-meets-Todd Rundgren power Pop (“It’s All The Same”) and a mystical closer in ‘Boredom in Quiet” featuring a very “Blue Jay Way” mellotron and a huge choral conclusion. “Good” is a fantastic trip.
LOOKMOM - Well Spent Youth [LP](Lookmom ESP)
This Spanish duo creates some danceable-yet-Rock-oriented Flaming Lips-esque music that rattles with electronic beats and shoegaze textures. Songs come at you like club cuts - with levels building up and breaking down (“actors and actresses live things too intensely”) and a near Tame Impala-esque strata of melodic entanglements. For example, the single “endangered species” fools you into a Sweet Trip-esque electric drums mixed with heavenly la-la-la’s before slipping into a ‘65 Beatlesque march. Rob & Aleix like a lot of instrumental sounds upfront and their vocals mixed in the haze. So guitars chime right in your face before they let them spin out of control to find just that right peak (the title cut) or they just let the song burn bright (“we play offensive.”) LOOKMOM make a grand debut with lots of promise.
JAKOB MIND - The One That Got Away [LP](Lovely Records SWE)
Fresh from the great Rotten Mind (playlisted last July in the pre-Substack days,) Jakob Mind finds a way to write Power Pop with a Punk Rock drive. “7 Days” is almost jangly, while the twangy introduction of “Let Them Know” is well played next to Jakob’s slightly echoed vocals and a locomotive beat. While “The One That Got Away” is mostly adenoidal Pop, Jakob finds some killer hooks (“Rock N’Roll’s Got Me All Messed Up”) and finds a brilliant way to be cutting but not (too) hateful on the closer “I Don’t Wanna Be (Around) You.”
THE VAPORS - Waiting For The Weekend: The United Artists and Liberty Recordings 1979-1981 [4CD](Cherry Red)
Signed in the interregnum between Punk and New Wave, The Vapors marched in with a Jam-infused hypermelodic Kinks-ian slab of amphetamine Rock. "New Clear Days" is Punk-ish, but even switching between their midtempo chug and jangle - the songs still manage to sparkle like well-composed Pop.
Still, their immediate success may be responsible for no one taking them seriously. "Turning Japanese" remains as infectious as ever. However, remember even David Bowie had a novelty hit before finding his chameleon streak and stride. With its juxtaposition of Eastern melodies for the (possible) most occidental practice of Onanism, it should have been a Pop smash (UK #3, US #36.) However, it should not have branded this promising band. (Honestly, that same chiming-yet-familiar interval penetrates the entire record. Perhaps "Waiting For The Weekend" as the introductory single.)
Beyond the hit, there were several songs that would have also made great singles. David Fenton was drilling them out from roughly 1978-81. "Bunkers" is another great vision of suburbia as a site of inner conflict. "News At Ten" is the most Kinks-ian slice of class and generational struggle to understand each other. (While "News At Ten" was the second single, apparently it was released during a strike - so it was not seen on the influential "Top of The Pops.") Wherever Fenton is singing about "the kids" or "guns and war," these are a smart abdication of those images from Punk Rock without overtly being Punk. Parts of "New Clear Days" are so smart even today - it is a wonder it never had a chance to display its staying power. (Then again, United Artists Records is absorbed into Liberty and then EMI in America as September 1980-three months after "New Clear Days" came out in the States.)
1981's "Magnets" pushes the band further toward the early Eighties surge of Power Pop but uniquely paints it all bittersweet with dark lyrics about Jim Jones (the pop gem "Jimmie Jones,") Kennedy ("Magnets") and more weirdness than "New Clear Days." Fenton's voice match with synthesizers on "Spiders" could have been a hit - in about two years with MTV's help. "Civic Hall" is a neat reggae-tinged guitar Pop number, while the chords on "Daylight Titans" ring out like Gang of Four. "Magnets" is truly an album in search of a future format as it echoes both the music of 1981 and takes some big chances.
Was "Magnets" too "New Wave" to be embraced by the new format of "Mainstream Rock" that began its run in March 1981? Before the May 1981 release of "Jimmie Jones" as the lead single (it peaked at #39,) Mainstream had already seen the Clash and Elvis Costello barely chart, the debut single from U2 completely miss it, and countless others crowd the format upon inception. In addition, the move from United Artists to Liberty brought with it another identity crisis. Liberty was primarily the home of American Country music stars like Kenny Rogers. Their sudden use of the label as a development arm for the parent company for The Vapors, Classix Nouveaux, and The Stranglers would take time and promotional support. By the time "Magnets" was released in December 1981, there was no second single. After planning the recording of a brand-new self-produced single ("Red Flag",) the label pulled out. The Vapors were no more.
"Waiting For The Weekend" also adds a lot more to the package including their sparkling debut single "Prisoners," B-sides like the Stranglers-esque herky-jerky (almost angular) "Talk Talk," demos ("Move,") rough mixes, instrumentals, and a live show from 1979. Also, it restores "America" and "Cold War" to "New Clear Days," as those were originally excised from the US version in 1980. Like so much music from this fertile period, this 4CD box showcases a band that should have broken big first on the heels of their radio success and then from being a day one video on MTV. However, the dense forest of 1981-1982 left a lot of artists before 1983 restored the balance of power and allowed Pop Music to again shine the brightest.
JUNCO Y MIMBRE - Or O La Llera EP [LP](Hidden Track ESP)
Previously reviewed here (10.22.20,) this four-song EP proves that even their self-titled 2020 had more to offer. “Equilibri” is a Sundays-esque jam with a driving beat and some powerful bass. While the more swaying breathy Pop of “Apnea” floats on a bed of neat synth sounds, perfect guitar chime, and a tape loop bridge. Above it all vocalist Maria Espinoza holds her own with Liz Fraser-esque singing but a little more bite than the previous LP. Is it too early to ask for more?
SKRAECKOEDLAN - Earth [LP](Fuzzorama SWE)
The Swedish band Skraeckoedlan (relax, it translates into a beast like Godzilla - maybe they can tour with Gojira and truly be Monsters of Rock) are a cross between Stoner Metal and Prog Rock. The songs of “Earth” unfold in epic fashion but never feel obvious or over arranged. “Mammutkungens barn“ sounds like Sonic Youth on acid at the time - half relaxing, half lying in wait to spring something alien on you. Having dropped a pair of singles this year, there is word that an English translation of their first album (“Appeltradet”) is on the way. ‘Earth” is their absolute bone crusher. The riffs roll off easily “Kung Mammut,” the vocals soar on “Tentakler and Betar” and their massive sound never lets up.
SHITKID - Sort Stjerne [LP](PNKSLM SWE)
Do not think for a moment that “Sort Stjerne” is supposed to be a slapdash, hastily recorded early Royal Trux-style record. When you listen to the shocking immediacy of the songs that Asa Soderqvist has assembled, it speaks far more than the average COVID-era record. “Sort Stjerne” is a blistering hot yet warped record. The guitars go in and out of tune (on purpose, you will love those string scratches between.) Her bass is overdriven to the point of total saturation. Soderqvist double-tracks her vocals so they are visibly misaligned. Drums sound stunningly artificial and still push some air. These songs are as black and white as the cover, “Dark Feelings” is like PJ Harvey playing a Death Metal song. “Song Bout Gold” threatens you like a knife-fight in the alley - but you cannot resist Soderqvist’s charms. “Woo 2” take doo-wop for a dizzying spin, “Single (Back 2)” is just that, and “DAMPSTEP” tries out Electronics. “Long Lasting Love” could be Suzi Quatro and then “runt pa stranden” even tosses a little surf(!) into the mix. This is a noisy, unkempt, slightly funky, hard-rocking record - once you start it, you cannot do anything but give in to Soderqvist’s brave and crazy talent.
LINGUA IGNOTA - Sinner Get Ready [LP/CD](Sargent House/Redeye)
LUSTMORD + KARIN PARK - ALTER [CD](Pelagic)
CHRISTIAN DEATH - Ashes [LP](Season of Mist)
Both haunting and beautiful, Kristen Hayter pours every emotion and memory into these sparse but powerful performances. Accompanied by (mostly) piano, Hayter's deathly songs bring to mind Diamanda Galas and Death Metal. However, "Sinner Get Ready" floats on waves of quiet beauty. "Pennsylvania Furnace" is a chilling track lyrically, but Hayter's singing makes it feel like achieving redemption before the death it mentions throughout. With a few more swelling instruments, "Perpetual Flame of Centralia" could be a hymn. Its short, poetic verses let you know that it is meant to be a woman's song. Or even a song from Revelation. "Sinner Get Ready" is religion explored from a chilling viewpoint and its entire interpretation springs from the individual response to Hayter's Nico-esque bellow.
Further into the abyss, "ALTER" is another beautiful fusion of darkness and the spectral light of a powerful voice. Lustmord creates several beautiful, languid, almost oozing beds for Arabrot's Park to wail and sing above. Park's high register is similar to Kate Bush, so several cuts tap into dark ambient and the ethereal. Park (like Lingua Ignota) can sound very operatic (the incantation-like "Twin Flames.") However, when Lustmord's sonic landscapes are allowed to "breathe" and locate their place, Park quickly becomes part of them. "Entwined" rises on the Middle Eastern melodies of Park and her open-mouthed wavers. An organ piece like "Kindred" finds its comfort in silence before the hard striking of a single piano key is enough to frighten anyone. "ALTER" is a score in search of a movie. One whose ritualism and flickering candles in the dark already will keep you up at night.
From the L.A. Punk scene, dark bands like 45 Grave grew into Goths during the Eighties. While that was going on everywhere (Specimen, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and The Banshees,) Rozz Williams' time in Christian Death greatly illustrates the amount of freedom available to the original Goths. Eerie lyrics and painful doom-laden songs were the next logical step in a scene bolstered by The Cramps, grown around The Gun Club and subjected to a decade change that saw conservatism react to the wild ending to the Seventies.
Having put together the ideal band, marched out of the lumbering gloom, Williams injected some theatrical glamour into Christian Death's third album "Ashes." Sepulchral piano, wounded guitars, and insistent bass make "Ashes" a chilling but strangely enlightening affair. Recorded in 1985, the tenets of all future Goth are here. Williams (and vocalist Gitane Demone) sound like John Doe and Exene finding their inner Bowie while reading ritual texts. Many songs are driving ("Ashes Part 1") and even danceable ("When I Was Bed" whose serpentine rhythms could have been a club favorite alongside Siouxsie's "Cities In Dust," The Lords of The New Church's "Dance With Me" and any early Sisters of Mercy.) "Ashes" contains some truly dissonant moments, but Christian Death manages the cinematic tone so well. An oompah band shows up for the frightening circus-like atmosphere of "Lament (Over The Shadow" (complete with Demone singing Teutonic.) While the strutting, chewed consonance of "Face" could fit on both a Bauhaus record and a new release from Dais today. "Ashes" is a powerful record that sounds today like it could have been recorded yesterday. If Christian Death were trying to create their lasting album - they certainly did.
BRIAN JACKSON, ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD, and ADRIAN YOUNGE - JID008 [LP/CD](Jazz Is Dead/Redeye)
THE STEOPLES [LP/CD](Stones Throw/Redeye)
Now that the Jazz Is Dead has really taken hold, these sessions are taking on a new level of importance by keeping the jazzers of yore in our focus. Brian Jackson is a keyboardist/flutist most famous for his contributions to seven Gil Scott-Heron albums from 1974-1980. On those records (“Winter In America,” for example,) his presence pushed Scott-Heron’s stentorian Soul to Jazzy expansion. With the absolutely tight JID band, Jackson sail on some solos (“Ethiopian Sunflower”) and lay into the hard grooves on his Rhodes and synth (“Mars Walk.”)
On the other side of the almighty groove, you will find Los Angeles’ promising harmonious sweet Soul of The Steoples. This duo has a true knack for building their songs and then singing all around the hard beats they put up. The effect is best illustrated on the Brazilian-meets-Rhodes Jazz bump of “Wide Through The Eyes of No One.” Trumpets blare in echo. Shakers coat the rhythm. Keyboards swell like winds blowing in fresh air for the vocalizing pair. “In The Dance” adds strings and a swishing almost Disco beat, and “The Good News” fuses Jazz bass, classical guitar, and some serious breakbeats. It is all such sweet Soul, it makes you wonder why this does not crossover to Adult R&B.
DATA ANIMAL - “Bad M.F./Death Racer” [7”](Dedstrange/Redeye)
In the Eighties, there were artists who took minimal equipment then maximized their sound on it and made records with an impenetrable thrust. Like the Wax Trax! classics of old, Data Animal is here to push out a pair of singles that drive hard and fast. “Death Racer” taps into that Suicide vein for an overdriven bass/haunted vocal mix that never lets up. “Bad M.F.” is a strangely Glam-ridden Synth rocker with a Ministry/My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult feel that you cannot shake after the first listen.
SMILE - “Kylie” [12”](Chimp Limbs SWE)
Who are you Smile? How did you find just the right balance between big beats, a heartfelt second melody, and scratchy funk guitar from the 70’s? “Smile” is a hypnotic pastiche of sequencer, Peter Hook-ian bass, and a driving beat that does not sound like dance music - but is. Yet, it could be a soundtrack cut for a chase film, or even exist as Crystal Method-style cut. Are there more Musik Kosmiche jams coming soon from one-third of Peter, Bjorn, and John and one-quarter of The Caesars? We keep listening to this fantastic burner for answers - we suggest you do as well.
Well, another week, another list of several different styles and pursuits in music for you. Enjoy. Listen again. Share as you wish.
NEW RELEASES lovingly compiled for you from this very week!
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