Weekend Music Roundup

Happy Record Store Day...the happiest day of the year. Before I head out to the local shops, thought I'd share with you my ramblings about some albums I've been listening to of late. There's a couple of new releases on here and some recent finds. Not sure what it is your hunting out there on this day, but while you're looking, don't forget to pick up something you don't know...you may be surprised at what you find. Enjoy. 

Mr. Airplane Man - Jacaranda Blue: Though this band has been around for two decades, this new release is my first encounter with them. This is a unique album of garage rock clouded in a haze of sunshine psychedelic sound. These are two of my favorite kinds of sounds, so the combination was pure bliss to my ears. "(Do You Wanna) Hang Out," "I'm In Love," "Blue as I Can Be," and "No Place to Go" are personal favorites. This is an album that I'm sure will make it on my end of the year list and I encourage you all to check it out on their Bandcamp site. 

Sol Invictus - Necropolis: The newest album from the London neofolk band is their first in four years. It's a dark fairy tale album about their home city that mixes spoken word and psychedelic folk in a way that comes off as pleasantly disturbing. This isn't the kind of album that you can listen to any old time, but listening to while driving through the cold rain is practically perfect. Definitely an album that will produce a story in your mind and for that, it's worth listening to.

The Microphones - It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water: Released in 2000, one year before their landmark The Glow Pt. 2, this album sets the stage for that one, as it features the song "The Glow". Phil Elverum is on the brink of brilliance with this album, mastering his brand of lo-fi psychedelic folk. I recently found a used copy of this on vinyl, along with The Glow Pt.2, both of which should be a crime to sell, but I'm glad it isn't. The two albums work together wonderfully, making this is a must for any fans of the later record.

The Sword - Used Future: The sixth album from the Austin band is their first new material in three years and it mixes their traditional 70's inspired stoner space rock with the softer side they displayed on the acoustic version of their last album. I like the interplay of those two styles on here and it works well to keep the album interesting throughout. "Deadly Nightshade," "Sea of Green," "Book of Thoth," and the title track are personal favorites.

The Amazing Bud Powell - Time Waits: Recorded in '58, at the height of the jazz pianist's career, this dynamite album is a brilliant piece of hard bob. It has an edge to it provided by Philly Joe Jones' drums that accompany Bud's mellow work on the keys. This is one of those perfect rainy day albums that really captures the timeless mood of such weather. I got this for a few bucks and it's a bargain at three times the price.

The Bollock Brothers - The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Released in 1985, this is the London new wave band's fourth album. Mixing post-punk with new wave synth, this album has a proto-industrial feel. This was an album I went out on a limb with, finding it in a 4 for $10 bin and it turns out to be quite good. It has a hard enough edge to keep it from being to new wavy, yet remains rhythmic. "Faith Healer," "Woke Up this Morning Found Myself Dead," "The Seventh Seal" and the title track are my personal favorites on an album that more should hear.