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I had this major idea to write about shoegazing and a specific band Secret Shine and the ever wonderful Slow Dive. I still haven't gotten to it. A 2019 goal. But Dean from Secret Shine told me he listens to alot of Gaz Coombes so I gave the man from Oxford England a go. he currently lives in the artsy enclave of Brighton, home to the band Secret Shine and two members of Gomez. Gaz does not disappoint. He played in a 90s band Supergrass that I will check out. Now he goes it alone. 2 LPs down, he has been actively touring to support his latest "World's Strongest Man".  I checked out the song "Walk the Walk" and was immediately drawn in to Gaz's world.  Relying a chunky bass line meshing with his mellifluous soothing voice. On this track he sounds a bit like Thom Yorke and then a bit like Beck. It creates an intriguing dichotomy.  The song, judging from it's lyrics, is political in nature. But don't get hypnotized by the lies It's all g...

2018   The year of fantastic music and the awful use of the word "supergroup". What's wrong with collaboration? It is a far more humble word. In the is age where we supersize everything. Can't we take it down a notch. I start my end of '18 musing with my thoughts on best ofs. Can't we just talk about music/artists we like, admire? I stand on a faultline I know I can only change how I think. It is what it is, a saying I really don't like. But the more I attempt to understand the mechanisms of the "industry" I think the better I keep to what I think and keep it small over here. Still this is my blog and I can say my thoughts.  I wasn't going to write this but it is gnawing at me. First off I have never seen so many best of lists in my life seriously. Everyone has a best fucking list. Hell I had a "best of" which I don't think I will do anymore. I am just mentioning songs that move me, songs I like, songs that il ontinu...

"But you don't know I have seen the ending But still I can not look away" When I first heard this "broken" song, it pulled tears from my hazel eyes. I am not an easy crier but it spoke to how I have been thinking lately. Exhausted by all the faking that goes on around me "all of this pretending"  and life being your own little movie that you play. Complete with the lyrics and the somber rattle and hum of the guitar, I let it seep deep into me.  I watched the video because as m as I love the auditory waves I get into the visual aspect of the storytelling. ALT is quite the raconteur as well so listening to his lyrics that are woven with his own truth is easy for me. It feels like a friend is talking to you in a consoling way. ALT wears his thrift store suit complete with pieces of sequined mirrors carefully glued on to the fabric. He sports a crisp black and white Polk dotted button-down, snazzy pointed shoes and his trademark wide brimmed hat,...

The bass player is the front man.     The song "Yellow Bike"  gave me what I like to call a "soul kick".  When I watched Pedro and The Lion's NPR tiny desk concert he sang a song he wrote when he was 21 that held lyrics like "I'm kind thinking I am kinda shy or at least I want to be"  He then followed it up with the beauteous bike song. His words "The song I just sang I wrote that weird little tune when I was 21. I am 42 now. This next song (Yellow Bike) is cheeky in a different way".   He handles the bass and sings "One month shy of 6 years old. In the valley of the sun My first two-wheel bicycle stood by the tree My heart thumping in my chest Though I'd tried, I couldn’t ride one yet"   Now he says he traded in his handlebars "to be in bands in vans going back and forth".    The song had two different levels one where he is in reminiscent mode, the bass is solemn and steady. When he si...

The song "Books" may feel like a simple tune but the lyrics pack a potent message. A group of friends penning tunes that feel like a group hug.  Native Ohioans, these Childhood friends and seem like "soul brothers" Taylor(guitar and lead vocals) and Even (banjo) are crafting some laid back tunes that slide into your mind and don't leave easily.  A child of the library and a cell phone free society, the song "Books" made me pause. But we’re just books up on a shelf Try to understand this if you can Warm honeyed toned guitar mixed up  with soothing strumming of a deftly played banjo. The band Caamp is a welcome sound. I don't always favor the banjo (I think Mumford and Sons may have done a little overkill but that's just me) but on this track the banjo is just another character in the story. A sort of a love story if you might.    It is thereby is not overpowering. Taylor's raspy cigarette stained throaty bravado gives this song an a ap...

"Fender precision and Go Go Boots. Carol is on to create some groovy thing"         "I got tired of playing that dinky rock n roll. Then they put a bass in my lap and well....."   And off she went. One of the most prolific sessions musicians to date and a girl at that. Carol Kaye is THE queen of Bass. Carol even in her hey day has more of a librarian's look with the cat eys and the 60s cardigans. and now she comes off like she's your cool granny.   An instinctual guitar players, she learned on a 10 dollar steel that her mother bought with the extra money she made clinging houses. She went onto basically teach herself how to play bass during one session recording when the basist didn't show up and the axe got popped in her lap. She thought "I can do this it's just like playing along to  the drum beat". She has played on over  10 k sessions (on guitar and bass)  "I enjoyed being at the bot...

The sullen measured redolent  resonances  Angus laid down in "Where Do You Go" cracked my already fractured heart. But the breaking led to the putting back together. The regroup. The healing tide.  When I heard it for the first time, I had to hold my own hand. I need to let it marinate in my conscious. I had to let it envelope my my skin. His words on the You Tube video. "You have my permission to dislike if this song doesn't change your life".  For some reason, it did. If even on a molecular level. It was one of those songs that slithered into my psyche. "Uh huh Where is that you go" The lyrics may seem simplistic but there is nothing simple about it you know sometimes you need to go deep.  Where is that you go? Dope Lemon just popped in the sidebar due to some algorithmic effect. Sometimes that shit scares me. But I wind up finding some lovely songs.  Dope Lemon is the lustrous side project of Angus Stone. "You gonna be alright.  We...

The song "Direction" is yet another stand out on Bird Streets' self titled debut album. The mastermind of the super duo comprised of singer songwriter, John Brodeur and multi instrumentalist and producer, Jason Falker, has been called a "gem" with "absolutely "no duds.  I agree. The songwriting is self deprecating with a dash of sarcasm and doses of ironic humility. No word is extraneous with each fitting nicely into bridges and choruses that create evocative vignettes, worthy of short story status. "Direction" relying on power popping jangly six string guitar playing coupled with it's tight lyrics imparts a hidden message if you want to go looking for it under the covers. The video is an homage to the Godard classic film "Breathless". Brodeur taking on the Jean Bel Mondo character of a heedless, chic Parisian on a soul search. He and the lovely blonde woman, playing the iconic Jean Seberg character, switching between h...

I took the high road once It was lonely I find the low road much more fun  The truth is I'm a total disaster He rolls up his vocal sleeves and takes the bridge to new heights. "There is no such thing as perfect Why even TRYYYYY?" "Total Disaster" Begins with a peppy guitar picking that makes you think oh maybe this will be a happy tune. But hen you dig intot h lyrics. Miller says "I told you lies then you got WISE" I imagine him singing that line with a wry smile while  shaking his floppy hair accordance.  The melody is full of flip yet elegantly places guitar chords.  Kinkesque riffs abound in this slight turn of direction for solo Miller. Rhett's lustrous, rhythmic voice glides like a gentle September breeze that has the potential to whirl like the Santa Anas at any second. This song is o simple which makes it the best type of structured dong.  Rhett this tall the elements He recently wrote a piece ab...

A song like "Someone" is meant to be listened while watching the birds fly from tree to tree on a cold leafless day. With lyrics like "Take this lock from out my eye Run it on the fire of my façade" and the chorus the haunts your ear  I don't want to act my age anymore I just want to sit back and ignore He is unforgivingly  contemplating his aging soul. The video shows the famously bespectacled, leather clad Royston walking the long streets and blocks of what looks like 12th Avenue near the highentened glamour of the fading West Village. He walks with his hands jammed in his pockets. The eery sound of meticulously piano keys married with ephemeral blips of electronica rise and disappear like a brushed away teardrop. Incandescent lighting leads him as he continues to walk with a heady look on his face singing still with his unmistakable voice that aches a little more than before. While eyeing a blooming rose on the subway banner, he ends this lovely,...

Leeds is Royston Langdon's gorgeous solo project. He released  Everything is Dandy  this year. The sophisticated well arranged tracks prove to be a road trip into the resolution of his aging soul.  He still retains his multi ranged octave voice that slides easily against the keys which he plays as smoothly as the bass. An experienced multi instrumentalist, the lead singer of Spacehog ready to show his ever reaching depth on his solo endeavor. This is a stand out track. Royston's minimalist video of a couple of a aging couple who are reaching back in time for the memories of their wedding. "I never could say that it was true. I lost my way with you" A chic well dressed pair both wearing expensive sunglasses. They waft in estranged silence wit only the loveless bride mouthing the words.  The two move between an empty parking garage and an empty church. Their wedding from the 60s based on her simple A lined dress and his sliced bac...

Tash does it all. She sings, she plays all the instruments, she drips insouciance. She is the contemporary version of Karl Wallinger (World Party). When I first heard Salvation, I thought oh wow Erykah Badu has something new out. Then when it hit the second verse, I noticed the fluid vocals of the lovely Tash Sultana. I found myself grooving to this tune instantly. Her songs fill the void with cacophonous melodies and lyrics that stick with you.  A woman on the look out for something to pull her out of something she just doesn't "fucking need" anymore. "I don't need your loving for my salvation I found myself between the dirt and desperation I don't need you for my own validation." Sing it lady one more time. This track relies on heavy use of keys and the kick drum. They meld perfectly as she carries the tune in her torch song voice. In the video one scene shows her cringing in emotional pain then flowing into the next where she is standing, porta...

Amanda is a  punk rocker If Didi Ramone and Blondie had a love child it would be Bad Mary. This four piece band packs a power punch.  They put on a kicky live shows with candy tossed into the audience. Punk rockers from the Island that is Long.  They have been playing since 2009. They are out to revive the punk scene "the more we have been playing the more we find people who are looking for it"  The name Bad Mary, after a fair amount of debate, emanated from a desire to keep the band name crisp  with and clear. Bad Mary rolls easily off the tongue plus it shows they have a female fronting the band.  Clarity. They wanted a band name that someone band can scream across a parking. It's clear and punchy. It caught my eye.   Amanda belts the lyrics with joie de vivre. She clearly enjoys fronting this band of  creative  musicians. They keep it all in the family as Mike (guita...

The visceral power pumping from Aarow De Wilde's vocals immediately dragged me into her inner world. What's the matter here. Amid the sizzle and grind of the hard rushing guitar, she bemoans the los of false friends, deceitful lovers, fake beginning and ultimate endings. She sings the following with force not hiding her disappointment. "The end/ When will it begin?" She reminds me of Shirley Manson of Garbage. The brash driving guitars sitting one level behind her menacing vocals allow tis line to slither into your psyche "How was I to know I was all alone?" I related to the crash of reality that was in front of me all along. Listening to this song reminds me of he angry yet insightful ladies of he te late 80s and adding a more power popping punking to te mix that harkens back to garage rock. Ladies like Veruca Salt and Slaeater Kinney didn't wallow in the end of something. They dissected it in an attempt to put something, anything back together....

"We Are Inextricable" begins with  a moody haunt of  synth shivering in your ear buds. It continues and gives way to the scratched out fuzz of the guitar. His voice holds remnants of Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. You feel the honest poet streaming though the bloodstream in his veins. The heartbreak of the slow beat coupled with the dreamy pop swirling under his voice. You feel his angst in "Oh baby... Keep coming now".  The song continues in a languid manner as it crawls under your skin. The sounds merge; they rise like smoke  as he says. Perhaps this is a call to his estranged wife or could he jonesing for the start of something new.

This song made my top 10 of the year. It was actually in my top 5. The bluesy R and B vibe of this song captured my ear at first listen. The brothers and their crew created old school music ala Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Their new old Motown sound is enticing and heart warming really. They sing with soul and punch. "I Get Up" showcases raspy vocals, deft percussion work married with pretty picking on the guitar. The lyrics embody what it's like to "just be getting by" But they "Get up".  Their ability to conjure out the sounds of a Stax Recording in a small studio in Memphis, TN is preternaturally unmatched. Close your eyes and your are sitting on the dock of a Bay watching the tide roll away. Apparrently Chris Hemsworth tweeted about the four piece from Australia. The power of celebrity brought them new attention. Their debut album Half Mile Harvest is out now. A slew of tour dates is on the horizon as they make their way across their nativ...

Record Reviews Reviews of Record Reviews Genre Studies Band Studies Cult Classics Mushroom Festival In Hell All Time Strangest Records Clickbait Headline Of The Week From The Vaults Interviews Who Did It Better? Record Reviews Reviews of Record Reviews Genre Studies Band Studies Cult Classics Mushroom Festival In Hell All Time Strangest Records Clickbait Headline Of The Week From The Vaults Interviews Who Did It Better? Grace Vonderkuhn: A Brash Outlier In A Shrugging Indie World These days I’ve been bumping a lot of Grace Vonderkuhn. Grace comes swinging right out of the gate with a very real sense of self-confidence and a refreshingly brash attitude. I like a chick with attitude as long as she isn’t over-the-top “Hey I’ve got attitude here!” with it, and Grace is definitely on the effortlessly cool side of the attitude fen...

  The Vox Eagle Interview: On Recording In Colorado, Getting Bewitched By Breakbeats, And Being Fired From McDonalds Vox Eagle falls from the sky with fresh sounds and optimism. Andy Crosby is an Aussie hailing from Sydney. He was tutored by him mom on classical flute and piano. Clearly showing his musical abilities from an early age, he began playing his music around the city playing the bar scene at 13 by utilizing 16 year old’s ID.  This solidified his love of the music scene, and he wanted to pursue this as his life long career option. Ascertained from our lively chat, Andy clearly finds making music fun. He speaks easily and without self-consciousness. He explained he chose the name for his project because he “wanted something that was a mix between human and animal, so essentially a spirit animal. I also loved the eagle and wanted something that was a...

The opening drum beat sets the funky tone of "Citadel Blues".He starts out with the witty, observant lyrical style  "Let's not get to caught up in the truth. My heart is in the basement/ My head is on the roof" His masterful arranging skills are highlighted on "Citadel Blues". His use of horn beeps coupled with his sharp, artistic guitar playing while he sings "Beep beep goes every mouth out on the street." When you hear the beeps it feels like you are driving down a main thoroughfare in his hometown of Philly. .  he keeps singing in his solid confessional style "I feel I've been in prison and they don't have the proof.   He continues beeping and tripping along with the jangling power picking of the guitar rides below the surface. Once he lets loose on an extended guitar solo. The buzzing guitar solo creates a jamming effect.  You are at once hooked and wistfully wish the song would go on past the 4.12 marker.  "Be ...

"He was just an American Dream Hey Hey" American Dream by Nairobi born, Minneapolis based singer songwriter, JS Ondara, ripples with soulful sounds and poignant lyrics. "Lover don't make a sound Bring your rifle around" Ondara uses a rich arrangement of guitar picking paired with highlighted strings. The effect is both haunting and inviting. This is a song to listen to as the sun is falling as the end of the day is just around the bend. Clearly influenced by Bob Dylan's style of protest songs, Ondara even offers a bit of Dylan "speak" half into the song. That is what I heard strongly. Upon research I found that he moved to Minneapolis because of his deep respect for Dylan. He does Dylan well.  He feels like he fell from another era. I don't hear anything like this out there especially from a relatively unknown. He is touring with Lindsey Buckingham who obviously was aware of his talent and humility. One of the best dressed musicians...

. Anything but silent, The Silence Kit puts out music that fuses a variety of genres together yet pulls them apart so each song stands out on its own. Merging post punk, dark indie and shoegazing dream pop makes this band a stand out in a sea of mediocrity. I discovered the band on the ubiquitous Twitter.   Intrigue led to action when I read they were a post punk band based in NJ/PA. Shoegazing dream pop also slides into their music. As a lover of post punk work of Echo and the Bunnynmen, Joy Division, New Order, a bit of Nick Cave,My Bloody Valentine and the dazzling sounds of Slow Dive, I immediately looked then up and found they just dropped their 5 th LP. When I Googled The Silence Kit Fall Protection the LP pops up but so does a harness comes up in the side bar. Literally “Fall Protection” for if you are going to jump out of a plane.  Interesting analogy for these crisp, cutting but ripe songs that rely on the intrigue of the mundane aspects of relationships...