by: Matt Buga
Red Mass- Red Mass EP [Semprini]
Out of the ashes of CPC Gangbangs comes this great punk-rockin' album thats got a sweet 77'/space rock influence on it. Very melodic all the way through, always decently energetic but for those of you who are built to blast, you will find some sweet tracks to punch to. So yeah the album varies track to track, but as a whole you'll hear a little Hawkwind, Radio Birdman, Black Flag and Pere Ubu around the corner. "Success for Crime" is my favorite track so far, but if you want a more psychedelic rock one, check out "Skank," and then "Party 'Til I Die" or "I'm On Fire" if you wanna rock out.
Drink Up Buttercup-Even Think [Yep Roc]
Energetic jangly rock! Lots of thumpin and energy. I hope you'll sing along, or yelp along at least! The only problem is that is a teaser for the whole album. So initiate your hunger to be satisfied later.
Rollerball-Two Feathers [Wallace/Top Of The World]
Female-lead darker music in the lounge/chamber pop vein, with a little bit of eccentricity. A little bit like the recent Evangelista or Blonde Redhead's Misery Is A Butterfly. Haunting and beautiful, with some more experimental noise/psych tracks here and there. I feel like the tracks lead by piano and vocals are the strongest, but it has really great saxophone work going on. Check out tracks 4 and 6! This also their 14th album!
Various Artists- Golden Hour Boxset [1928]
This has three bands with three songs each. Each band has a sort of lo-fi sound in the way that makes it sound nice and warm and not the noise-y fuzz lo-fi thing. The bands actually all sound sort of similar so you could get a lot of play off this. Tijuana Panthers are the most rockin' and sound a little bit like The Thermals. Airwaves are calmer and have a pretty good female vocalist with a pretty deep voice that sounds pretty. Finally, there is Gray Goods which if I had to guess, KUCI djs would dig the most out of the album. Their first song sounds a little Joy Division-y, but they let go of the minimalism on the next two tracks. Probably the most personal and sincere sounding of the three acts? Anyway, each one has something else to offer than the others and I hope you dig it.
Savoir Adore-In The Wooded Forest [Cantora]
Sleekly produced and pretty female lead group that used to be a duo but have expanded righteously. Ultra melodic and steady, its energetic and catchy and does some boy-girl exchange vocals, but its mostly female lead. Pretty sweet synths and bass lines. Throws a few curveballs here and there, like a folk track or electro-pop dance gem. I could see this getting pretty popular around some parts.
Pants Yell!- Received Pronunciation [Slumberland]
The sort of indie pop trio that you can tell is a trio. Intimate and warm pop pieces with sentimental lyrics. Not lo-fi, but stripped down in the right way sort of like the recent Marmoset release added to the station. Oh! It has some surprises too, like a guitar solo outta nowhere :o They got dis down. There's a decent amount of "you're boyfriend's an asshole" style stuff on here which caught me off guard since its a pretty mellow album. Need to make that homewreckin' mixtape? START RIGHT HERE.
Various Artists- A Million Square Miles: A Sample of Western Australian Music [Hidden Shoal]
A really pretty album of post-rock post-punk shoegaze influenced kind of stuff. Lots of twinkly guitars and reverb'd vocals. The press sheet on this writes "a true blessing for those who bow at the the Altars of Echo and the Bunnymen, Explosions In The Sky, and Atlas Sound." Pretty head on. Plus its Australian if you're into that.
Chuck Prophet-!Let Freedom Ring! [Yep Roc]
A cool style of singer-songwriter fusion with punk rock sensibilities. Inspired by Mexico City, its a bit of a political album. Its pretty soulful and cool, sort of sounds like something I wish Iggy Pop would do nowadays! Rock without facade, just a dude making sincere music.
Lymbyc Systym- Shutter Release [Mush]
Pretty cool instrumental stuff. Really melodic and relaxing, but not post-rock really.
VINYL
Pregnant- Ike Wimin [KDVS]
More schizoid pop released by our fellow UC station!
Cold Jungle-Baby Don't Cry
Poppy goth-y inspired stuff! Some really catchy hits on this one, give it a spiiiiiin!
RPM
CFCF- Continent [Paper Bag Records]
An electronica-based album outta Montreal that's a bit all over the place. Sometimes its a bit more disco-y and other times more atmospheric and ambient, but consistently 80s synth and keys inspired. Really awesome. If you were down with the Etienne Jaumet release two weeks ago, I'd call this a different approach (a little more broader and accessible) on a similar concept.
FUNK/SOUL
Various Artists-In The Christmas Groove [Strut]
Don't be put off by the title, none of the tracks really sound too Christmas-y besides the lyrics. Anyway, we got a a bunch of old school funk and soul stuff and it sounds pretty cool and energetic!
JAZZ
Zevious-After The Air Raid [Cuneiform]
Dark jazz fusion with punk-y sort of stuff. Still has a ton of virtuosity, it just gets heavy and math-y but still leans more towards jazz then other stuff.
EXPERIMENTAL
Vlor- Six-Winged [Silber]
A pretty and darker down-tempo album with female vocals, stretching from post-rock to slowcore to more ambient pieces. Some of the more "song" types on this are pretty touching, like "She Goes Out With Boys." Actually, some of the instrumental pieces are just as emotional, particularly "Damage the Land and the Sea." Sigh.
Aarktica- In Sea [Silber]
Guitar based ambient works of melancholy and beauty. Pretty nice, even has a space-y cover of Danzig's "Am I Demon?"!
AND I FORGOT TO BLURB THIS ONE LAST WEEK
Golden Ghost - The unimaginative body [self released] Female singer songwriter who's a bit of a virtuoso and unique in her compositions. She does it with subtlety and tact so its still very touching and nice, and with careful listening do you truly get the neat tricks and what not she pulls off.
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