Jason Morehead laments the way content is disappearing from the internet. He brings up the way technology news site CNet deleted a whole swath of older pieces. In the grand scheme of things, deleting old tech articles may not seem like a big deal. But what frustrates me is that there’s no real good reason for it, just as there’s no good reason for Disney deleting titles to save money. Not when they’re shelling out stupid amounts of money to executives, anyway.
Thanks primarily to Turntable Kitchen and their Sounds Delicious series, I own my fair share of cover albums. Brothertiger playing the Tears for Fears classic Songs From The Big Chair has to be my favorite. It’s no suprise that Roland Orzabal from Tears For Fears admits that the cover of "Mother’s Talk" found on this album is better than the original. Brothertiger original compositions have so much in common with the songs from the record being covered.
For those of us who celebrate today as Slowdive day, Here We Lie by Slow Salvation, which came out ahead of the veteran shoegaze outfit’s latest, should also hold great appeal. Slow Salvation shares the same dreamy textures, the same languid pace as Slowdive, and they wear their influences well. There’s a consistency on this record that, while it affords few surprises, nonetheless brings the delight of bringing the listener into an calming, ethereal world for the length of the album.
Recently, a musician with the adopted name of Oliver Anthony became famous overnight for a song he performed entitled "Rich Men North of Richmond." The song, which reveals the frustrations that many feel at those with money and political influence, resonated with a lot of people, catapulting Anthony into the spotlight. It probably doesn't hurt that Anthony has the kind of Appalachian folk hero looks that match the subject matter of the song.
Bailey Crone, the main force behind Bathe Alone, seems to be fairly obsessed with her grandmothers. She’s now dedicated an EP to each of them, complete with shots of the aging matriarchs for covers. In a video for a song off the first EP, “Decades and Dreams,” she dressed as her grandmother and reenacted a boating trip her subject had taken long ago. Fall With The Lights Down isn’t so much an album as a compilation of the two granny-inspired EPs.
The new Wild Nothing track "Headlights On" is another progression for the band — this time from the early-to-mid 80s to the sounds from later in the decade. The video for the song even features a dancing Jack Tatum that doesn’t look too different from Rick Astley in style or in substance. The sound is massive, which is no accident, as Tatum professes his love for Kate Bush and Genesis. Hatchie provides backing vocals and there are vocal samples that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Pet Shop Boys record.
A new split live album featuring two of your favorite bands is a rarity and always a reason to celebrate. While I’m not always a huge fan of live recordings, this one hits the spot with some of my most loved Men I Trust tracks featuring extended guitar work. I guess if you are opening for Khruangbin, that sort of thing finds its way into your show. Emma Proulx from Men I Trust always sounds good and her breezy delivery with a hint of melancholy fuses perfectly with the pseudo-funk that the band brings.
4AD Records has a pretty deep catalog, and I say this with that awareness: Air Miami is one of my favorites on the label. It has been decades since the band released anything, but this reissue is a reminder of their brief but beautiful run in the mid-90s. The truth is, I never stopped listening to this recording on the regs. "World Cup Fever" and "Special Angel" are some of my most loved tracks, the former providing slick jangly pop with a bubbling electro undercurrent and the latter an increasingly dense meditation on adoration.
Although tensions that included marital infidelity forced them apart, no-wave hipsters Sonic Youth lasted longer than most bands. By the end of their 30-year run, members were musing that they would be making more money touring if they had broken up and gotten back together again, like many of the alternative bands of their generation (see Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.). Alas, the rifts came late in the game for the band, but they came nonetheless.
I’m giving this classic a few rotations to prep for finally seeing this band live in the fall, Deo volente. Still hard to completely describe the sound on Millions Now Living Will Never Die, which sits firmly in post-rock territory without carrying many of the genre’s hallmarks.