Saturday, August 26, 2017

Weekend Music Roundup


The next to last weekend of the summer has arrived and with it comes my thoughts on some of the summer albums that I'd been looking forward to by some favorite bands. There is also an unexpected return of a favorite artist, a few curious pickups and a vinyl find that I finally got around to spinning. Mostly indie rock here, but a few twists on the wide-ranging category to keep you interested. Hopefully you'll find something on here worth checking out. Enjoy.

Jason Furlow - Last Man Standing: The former frontman of New Kingdom and formerly known as Nosaj, or Nature Boy Jim Kelly, this is Jason's triumphant return. Released as a Double A-Side cassette single, these two songs re-invent his earlier style into a full-on trip-hop with abstract elements. As brilliant as ever, this was a nice surprise to see Jason's work streaming. I still wish I were able to get some of his mixtapes he released during the last decade because I'm loving these songs. Definitely check this out on Bandcamp. 

Arcade Fire - Everything Now: I entered into the new album from the indie band with mixed expectations. During their career, I've loved every other album they've done. I was enamored with their 2004 debut Funeral, left flat by the Neon Bible follow-up, loved The Suburbs and really did not like Reflektor. So I hoped this would follow the pattern, and for the most part it does. Definitely better than the two albums I don't like, though there are some songs on here that veer far too deep into indie pop electronic noise (I'm talking to you horrible "Creature Comfort"). "Good God Damn," "Infinite Content," and "We Don't Deserve Love" are my personal favorites. A solid okay.

Sonic Death - Space Goth: The Russian lo-fi band's fifth album is a pleasant dose of insanity that reminds me of the hypnotic flavors of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. True to the album title, there are space rock influences in this post-punk psych journey that gives it moments that feel like classic Syd Barrett, while remaining extremely current. "Space Ark," "Enter the Trip" and "LSD" are standouts. Definitely worth checking out.

Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface: The sixth album from Georgia indie band is yet another sublime mixture of folk and rock that bleeds with honesty and vulnerability. Having followed this band since their debut, I can that they are always pretty consistent. Sometimes that shows a lack of growth, but in their case, I wouldn't say that because there is growth there, mostly in the arrangements and the depth of the music. That said, this doesn't vary much from 2014's Cope. "The Sunshine," "The Gold," "The Mistake," and "The Silence" are my personal favorites.

Blue Oyster Cult - Mirrors: The sixth album from the NY hard rock band was released in '79, two years after Spectres. This sees them take a more commercial turn, while staying true to their hard rock past, but with a defined effort for more radio friendly rock, which can be heard on tracks like "The Great Sun Jester." But the majority of the album's second side shies away from this and delivers the same great rock sound of their earlier albums. "You're Not the One (I Was Looking For)," "Lonely Teardrops," and "I Am The Storm" are all killer tracks on fine rock record.
Neun Welten - The Sea I'm Diving In: Released in July, this is the third album from the German dark folk band. I've been into the darkwave recently and was hoping this would scratch that itch, and while it is moody enough, it's not as dark as I would've hoped. I was looking for Goblin Hovel or Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows. This is more conventional than that, but still decent.

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