Best of the Week
The Pineapple Thief - It Leads to This
2024 8 tracks (40:50)
Another terrific album by The Pineapple Thief with Bruce Soord and Gavin Harrison driving the writing bus and sound production. Ever since TPT became a collaborative effort between Soord and Harrison, the band has a distinct focused sound that is no longer just a Bruce Soord album with a bunch of guys. It’s helped them deliver a quality progressive rock album while Soord gets to stretch his solo work into a separate vehicle. This roars a little more as demonstrated by the songs “Rubicon” and “All That’s Left”. “Now It’s Yours” sounds like something out of the Steve Wilson school of alternative rock. I can already see that this album is going to be on my top ten list for 2024. A+
Jane Weaver - The Silver Globe
2014 10 tracks (47:02)
Though she has been recording since the mid-90’s, Jane Weaver is a new name to me. She has been described as psychedelic folk, electronica, alternative rock, acoustic artist, and probably others, there is a reason for this - she is all of those categories. A great soaring voice with the backdrop of an unfathomable array of music sources, she uses simple melodies with complicated arrangements that is breathtaking. No, you don’t know what she will throw at you next which is both exhilarating and refreshing. A
Ghost - 13 Commandments
2023 13 tracks (1:02:13)
Normally, a heavy metal gothic rock band from Sweden would sound like any other Swedish band of similar ilk, but Ghost is different. Some of their songs have the same captivating catchiness of a band like Toto. The song “Spillways” should be an all time hit. Not far from the mark are the songs “Square Hammer”, “Mary on a Cross”, and “Rats”. There is heaviness with power guitar chords and pounding rhythms, but there is also quality songwriting effort. A big and welcome surprise. A-
Squirrel Flower - Tomorrow’s Fire
2023 10 tracks (34:18)
Squirrel Flower is the artist name of Ella Williams who plays a dense fuzz guitar laden form of folk music. A capable writer and singer, she has created a number of solid tunes that are compelling and impactful. It is a total wonderment that her soft delicate vocals pairs so well with the near hard-core garage rock instruments. It is hard to pick a standout cut because they are all solid in their own right. What a problem to have. A
Interesting Finds
New Model Army - Unbroken
2024 11 tracks (45:15)
A strong album by the Irish rockers. They stick to the formula that has worked well over the years; strong drumming, passionate singing, straight forward rock. The songs still cover topics that are important to them, from “I Did Nothing Wrong” (rallying against UK oppression), “Legend” (family), and “Do You Really Want to Go There?” (corporate monitoring). Justin Sullivan never had the prettiest singing voice, but nobody listens to NMA for their robust singing anyway. B
Palehound - Eye on the Bat
2023 10 tracks (29:11)
Palehound is fronted by singer songwriter and guitarist El Kempner who knows how to write smart insightful songs and bang them out with gritty effect. It is a form of indie alternative rock she calls journal rock that takes simple subjects without any tricks, just straight forward guitar based rock. Her voice may not be the most beautiful, but it has character. A decent release that may not have the killer hit, just a set of nice tunes. B-
Bachelor - Doomin’ Sun
2021 10 tracks (33:30)
Bachelor is made up of El Kempner (Palehound) and Melina Duterte (Jay Som). The album has the same feel as Palehound’s Eye on the Bat mentioned earlier making comparisons easier. This album is more expansive in using studio tricks to bring out more of the song. The duets are terrific. The songs are a little spottier, lower lows and higher highs. “Stay in the Car” is a great tune, probably the most Pixie sounding song since the early Pixies. “Sand Angel” just kind of made me scratch my head. B
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
2021 10 tracks (37:03)
I picked this album because of the fascination in Michelle Zauner’s story and growing reputation in the art rock landscape. It turns out the synthesizer and brass horn emphasis plus the soft pop timbre of the music is not appealing to me at all. I can recognize the musical skill and intricate pop melody nature of the work, but it just isn’t for me. I think I will pass on all future releases. D
Mercury Rev - Strange Attractor
2008 11 tracks (40:23)
Mercury Rev stands in a unique place in the ambient space rock arena. Oh sure, there are copious amounts of synthesizer sourced soundscapes. But throw in some bass and electric guitar and outworldly percussion and you have a totally different musical experience. Most of it is very good, even with its mixture of melody heavy songs such as “In My Heart, A Strange Attractor” and not so melodic songs like “Love Is Pure”. B
Lau - The Bell That Never Rang
2015 6 tracks (44:00)
This has some lovely moments to savor, starting with “First Homecoming” and the last track, “Ghosts”. Described as a Celtic Folk band, it is more than that. The bass drum beats, soaring fiddle notes, and Irish vocals all scream folk, but some of the driving moments allows for wandering into other realms. However, the title track is mystifying, a seventeen minute meandering instrumental without a focused point could have well been left off. Everything else is good to great, so just skip it. B
Various Artists - Tell Everybody!
2023 12 tracks (44:22)
A collection of modern blues songs by a number of blues and rock artists from the small record label Easy Eye Sound. Co-ordinated by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, he has assembled some artists that are well known (Black Keys, Gabe Carter, Glenn Schwartz) and a number of lesser known but should be known (R.L. Boyce, Robert Finley, Leo Welch). These are well recorded (though a couple in mono for some reason) and worth a listen. Not exactly playlist material, just good drinkin’ music. B-
Forgettable
Night Beats - Rajan (Cold remote recording of psychedelic pop featuring squeaky vocals)
Crooked Still - Some Strange Country (Allison Krauss lite)
Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth (Unfortunate scream fest)
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