After a couple excellent EPs these ex-Black Eyes members put out their full length debut. It is a strange mix of forward thinking punk, Afro beat, free jazz and dub. While that makes it seem like they are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, it actually works well blending everything together creating a very unique sounding album, strong debut.
Another strong debut from this Chicago trio. Combine the manic energy of Deerhoof with the bark and conciseness of Minutemen, throw in some news of the weird inspired lyrics and you have the recipe for success. These boys got some musical chops to boot. The packaging is worth noting, beautifully screened LP jackets.
Mississippi Records out of Portland have had a hell of a year, well couple actually. They put out a record what seems like every other week and they are all worth hearing. This one is a favorite. Abner Jay plays some great blues songs on electric banjo, accompanied by drums and harmonica. The songs can be heart breaking and funny, often in the same song.
OK so it is a reissue, but they are probably my favorite band and this album is a killer. These Scottish punks mix folk, jazz, and Eastern European influences all fronted by an amazing female vocalist who played the trumpet too. They don’t make them like this anymore. The guitarist went on to play with the Ex.
Jack White may be the musician of the decade. He’s had a great run with the White Stripes, the Racontoures, his own recording label and studio; the man doesn’t slow down. His latest project is a fierce dark blues band fronted by certified bad ass Allison Mosshart of the Kills. Check out their video for Treat me like your Mother.
They toned down a bit of the spazz from their first album, but the energy is not lost. With Worldwide they soak up a bit of influence from contemporaries like Liars and Animal Collective, making their music a bit more blissed out, but it is not completely out of step with their previous work. Their fuzzed screeching guitars and falsetto vocal harmonies are still the selling point of this band.
Another winner from modernist, chamber, punk, cerebral whatever band that continues to push the boundaries. The album is made up of two songs divided into three suites featuring saxophone skronk, hand clapping, some ambient passages, and some mad guitar playing. If you like experimental music, they are really worth checking out. Even if you weren’t sold on this description, they are one of the more interesting and challenging bands making music today.
An odd release from Broadcast, it’s made up of short songs and sound collages that blend into one another taking up each side of the album. There hasn’t been an album in a while that was able to conjure up such a strange atmosphere as this one, part nostalgia of some fantasy world, part Witch Cult (as the title suggests) the perfect fall album.
Thee Oh Sees have been a busy band. A couple of albums this year, a half dozen singles, and they have all been consistently good. This is a fine album all the way around. They are a garage band writing pop songs with a hint of psych thrown in and some great male and female vocals. They rip through a dozen songs and by the time you are done you are ready to start the album over again.
Gotta give some love to Jeremy Barnes, this band started as a solo post Neutral Milk Hotel project and has, with the addition of the other mainstay violinist Heather Trost, turned into his full time gig. After a couple of albums the two immersed themselves in Eastern European folk music by moving to Romania and have recorded several times there. With each time their western influence has slowly eroded focusing more on traditional Balkan folk music.Deli serves up blog on local music scene
Deli Chicago is the latest in delimagazine’s spotlight on music scenes around the country. With open blogs for New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco amongst others, the windy city finally gets its due. Deli focuses on independent artists ranging from indie pop to hip hop to roots music, and they do their homework, digging to represent acts that still operate on the basement show side of things. It offers links to a plethora of artist’s websites to sample music and it looks like they will eventually incorporate streaming music as well. With content as diverse as artist spotlights, gear reviews and even an advice column, this could prove to be a valuable resource for musicians and non-musicians alike. People are invited to submit their own music and write about their favorite bands around town. The only major fault that I noticed was there was no events calendar, but we do have the Reader for that.
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