Day 3 - The Posies

The Posies, at the height of their early 90s commercial appeal, were one of those bands that I always kind of considered a fine power pop outfit (Who doesn’t like “Dream All Day” or “Solar Sister?”) and nothing more until hearing Ken Stringfellow’s 2001 album, Touched, followed by Jon Auer’s 2006 album, Songs From The Year Of Our Demise, at which point I realized the error of my previously held belief. The Posies’ latest full-length and first in five years, Blood/Candy, is easily their best album out of a twenty-one year recording career…by miles. I love it when a band that I’ve continuously taken for granted over the course of their lifespan comes out and belatedly “WOWS” me with a new recording and boy, oh boy does Blood/Candy wow.

Drawing from such 60s/70s classics like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), Love’s Forever Changes (1967) and Big Star’s #1 Record/Radio City (1972-74) as well as more contemporary works like R.E.M.’s Life’s Rich Pageant (1986) and Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend (1991), Blood/Candy is a perfect tapestry of everything Stringfellow and Auer have accomplished musically, on both their solo releases and as the Posies. The perfect crunch of pop tunes like "The Glitter Prize" and "So Caroline" are magnified in their intensity when surrounded by the majestic baroque grandeur of "For the Ashes" and "Accidental Architecture." With a sound this lush and this deep, it’s no wonder that this album sits squarely amongst my Top 5 favorite new releases for the year. Believe me; you will be missing out on something really special if you don’t hear this album.

The Posies “She’s Coming Down Again!” (mp3)

(from the Rykodisc CD, Blood/Candy, 2010)

Day 2 - Fixed Up

Many years ago, I received in the mail an awesome compilation titled The Violence Inherent in the System that contained 22 killer European garage and punk rock tracks that were compiled by the ever resourceful Steve Gardner of NKVD Records. It’s certainly one of the better compilations that I’ve ever heard and the last I checked Steve was all but giving them away (although in some cases he was doing that as well).

Anyways, out of all the bands contained on the comp., the ones I gravitated towards the most were put out by a French label called Closer Records, a label of which the internet provides precious little information although over the years I’ve been able to obtain some of their record (e.g., Scuba Drivers, Chameleons Day, City Kids). One of their releases and bands I only recently discovered earlier this year was Fixed Up and their absolutely stunner Vital Hours LP.

This power trio plays a mix of 60s RnB and 70s punk with an underlying swing of rockabilly to their songs, miming a fair bit from pub-rock bands like Eddie & The Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood. There also seems to be an allegiance to the 80s Aussie Rock scene and bands like the Sunnyboys and the Stems which is probably no great stretch as Radio Birdman’s Rob Younger produced a fair bit of Fixed Up’s material, Vital Hours included. This probably explains why the album is meant to be played LOUD which I did all throughout this past summer.

The Vital Hours LP was given the…ahem…expanded treatment a couple of years ago by the folks over at…ahem…Sons of the Dolls by tacking on all of the non-album tracks released around the same time, this song included. While guitarist Francois Lebas’ power chords gives the song its thrust, the real melody that’ll have you humming comes from Mephisto’s intricate basslines. The female backing vocals only add to the fun.

Fixed Up “Who Is Innocent” (mp3)

(from the Closer Records via Sons of the Dolls blog LP, Vital Hours (Expanded), 1987 (2008)

Day 1 - The Carson Mcullers

In an effort to jump-start the idle activity this blog has seen in recent months, I thought it might be kind of fun to count down daily to Christmas Day some of my favorite musical discoveries that were made throughout 2010 in lieu of doing any kind of “best-of” list. Let’s face it, many of these lists all look the same and since I also discovered a fair number of not-so-current acts in an effort to round out my constantly growing collection, I though it might be worthwhile to include some of those as well. That being said, I have no illusion that I’ll actually get through each and every one of the next 25 days but it’ll be fun to give it a whirl.

The Carson Mcullers, named after the early-to-mid-20th Century author and playwright, are a Chicago collective who specialize in grandiose rock akin to Catherine Wheel’s 1997 LP, Adam & Eve, as well as what The Verve and Spiritualize did throughout their careers; shoegazing without really shoegazing. That being said, these guys come off as being not-so-crisp sounding as those aforementioned groups as there’s a grungier, swamp-sounding element to their music that suggests some 60s Byrds/Pink Floyd/Neil Young inspired folk and psychedelic roots as well. Suffice to say, there’s a lot going on with there latest album, For Esme (see songs such as “10 Best Things,” “Brother” and “Cub Scout”), that I’m still trying to wrap my brain around as I’ve only had it for a couple of weeks but so far this is one of the more inspired new releases I’ve heard this year.

The Carson Mcullers “Tom Jones” (mp3)

(from the Rainy Day Collective CD, For Esme, 2010)

This Is Pop!

I think as far as the majority of those who are actually aware of them, XTC is a “love ‘em” or “hate ‘em” type of band with very few people in-between. Arguments range anywhere from production that comes off as being too slick to just what the hell Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding are going on and singing about, a trait that I’ve always found endearing as it lead to a certain amount of mystery and cache over the song’s subject matter. The fact that the band drew heavily from the mid-to-late 60s British psychedelic and freak-beat scene as well as the pastoral sounds of mid-period Beatles while forging ahead towards something akin to original endear them to a whole army of dedicated followers.

It’s almost as if the band took every nuance and idea from the Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever double A-side and built an entire career from, all the while never repeating themselves from album to album. They come from an England that is almost extinct as it is here in the States of small town living where contemporaries such as Ray Davies, Richard Thompson and Martin Newell reside.

That being said, it’s an obvious sad fact that a majority of XTC’s fans, myself included, have never seen the band perform live which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because over the course of the 20 plus years when the band was releasing albums, XTC managed to keep an aura of mystery over both themselves and their songs intact but a curse because said aura has a tendency to lead to a rabid fan base who not only collect everything the band ever released but who desperately want to see renditions of these songs performed in a live setting.

The Transistor Blast box set, which compiles the band’s BBC Sessions as well as two full concerts from 1978 and 1980, probably rectifies this problem as adequately as possible. I recently ripped the contents to my iPod after having not listened to it in years and was reminded of what a wonderful collection it is, well worth dropping the cash on. The set contains songs that not only match but exceed the performances of those found on the original albums. My only complaint is that the BBC studio sessions found on Discs 1 and 2 aren’t chronologically listed making the band’s evolution difficult to follow but the beauty of iTunes and the iPod in general easily rectifies this.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

XTC - "Jason & The Argonauts" (Live @ BBC) (mp3)

http://www.ezarchive.com/original/wmlkoch/XTCJasonandtheArgonauts.mp3

XTC - "You're The Wish You Are I Had" (Live @ BBC) (mp3)

http://www.ezarchive.com/original/wmlkoch/XTCYouretheWishYouAreIHad.mp3

(from the TVT 4CD Boxset, Transistor Blast: Best of the BBC Sessions, 1998)

Welcome To Hell

I’ve been going back and blasting the hell out of these guys through the trellises’ speakers for the past several weeks now. Every once in a while you just want some good ole’ fashioned “balls-to-the-wall” rock ‘n’ roll that you can get your fingernails dirty to and these guys have it in spades. The Hellacopters’ earlier albums straddled that fine line between arena-styled metal that veered precariously close to being posture driven and Detroit-fury styled punk which was probably just as equally posture driven. If anything, they remind one of the Dictators: equal parts metal, punk and pop and thus probably bugging the crap out of anyone who happened to be a fan of any of those genres by putting them in the position of forming their own opinion on the group’s validity.

The music itself is derivative as all hell but it rocks the house while simultaneously being a whole lot of fun. Their first three records, Supershitty To The Max (1996), Payin’ The Dues (1997) and Grande Rock (1999), are where it’s at before the band moved on in a more overtly metal direction where they remained before calling it a day in 2007.

RECOMMENDED!

The Hellacopters – “Hey!” (mp3)

(from the Sub Pop CD, Payin’ The Dues, 1997)

Hey, Cana-duh?!?!

While I’m not one to jump up and down and clap my hands ecstatically when presented with the idea of bands re-recording their earlier work, at the same time I can’t claim that it’s a prospect that completely turns me off either dependent on the situation. In the case of Vancouver’s The Subhumans, taking their debut album, Incorrect Thoughts, plus an EPs worth of extra songs written at the same time for another spin in the studio and releasing it as Same Thoughts Different Day is completely and without a doubt warranted.

While most pundits of the late 70s/early 80s punk movement rate Incorrect Thoughts as one of the greatest punk LPs ever, for years its been widely unavailable and going for what many consider a small mint as far as records go. After the band reformed and started releasing new material in 2005, the prospect of re-releasing their earlier records was planned and, in the case of Incorrect Thoughts, scrapped due to legal issues over the original masters. The only reasonable course of action at this point for the band and their fans was to go back into the studio and re-record the entire album using modern day recording techniques.

Having never heard the original recording of these songs until last night, I’m in the unique (although not uncommon based on the original’s availability) situation of hearing Same Thoughts Different Day with completely fresh and unbiased ears and the idea that Incorrect Thoughts could be any more ferocious, sizzling and downright extraordinary is an opinion I find incomprehensible. I would have no problem placing Same Thoughts Different Day alongside other personal punk favorites like The Clash’s Give ‘Em Enough Rope and The Saints’ (I’m) Stranded as well as more contemporary records such as Leatherface’s Mush and Jawbox’s For Your Own Special Sweetheart. Catchy yet raw at the same time, this album absolutely smokes.

HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

The Subhumans – “The Scheme” (mp3)

(from the Alternative Tentacles LP, Same Thoughts Different Day, 2010)

Better Than This...

No new musical territory being discovered on this one but if you like Sell Out-era The Who…if you like The Kink Kontroversy-styled Kinks…if you like The Jam’s best album, The Modern World as well as lesser known groups who play in a similar vein like The Attack, The Move, The Jolt and The Chords then there’s no way you don’t end up liking something about the Len Price 3’s third album, Pictures. While I enjoyed this Medway, U.K. trio’s previous albums, it all seemed to come together this time around with Pictures’ driving energy and catchy hooks. This album rips and slashes in all of the right places and after listening to it for the better part of two months, I find it hard to believe that something else will come out during the remainder of this year and knock it off of my Top 5 Best Of list for 2010.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The Len Price 3 – “I Don’t Believe You” (mp3)

(from the Wicked Cool Records CD, Pictures, 2010)

So Let's Just Stay Here...

The spectacular weather us Chicagoans currently have going for ourselves until at least next Tuesday, as well as the fact that I’ve been on my annual late-Spring, early-Summer Flying Nun Records kick, seemed like nice motivation to break out this one from Andrew Brough’s post-Straitjacket Fits outfit, Bike. Their debut full-length, Take In The Sun, was all this unassuming band left behind which is a huge shame as nowhere could it be suggested that Brough was finished making quality, swirling guitar-styled pop music not unlike what the Velvet Crush did.

One of the only complaints regarding the record is that, unlike the gorgeous compositions that he penned for Straitjacket Fits (e.g., “Down In Splendour,” “Sparkle That Shines”) which only seemed to benefit from Shayne Carter’s more bitingly aggressive material, is that the overall feel of what’s found on Take In The Sun comes off as a little "same-y" from one song to the next. That being said, if this type of late 60s sunshine-flavored rock that stops just short of becoming overbearing glossy pop is your thing, then one would be well-advised to immediately head straight towards this album.

RECOMMENDED!!!

Bike – “Take In The Sun” (mp3)

(from the March Records/IODA CD, Take In The Sun, 1999)

I'm On A Blood Buzz...Yes I am...

At the expense of running with the majority, you can chalk me up as yet another who really, really enjoys the National’s new album, High Violet. It’s like this epic, solid record that comes off like what records used to be; the kind where you sit in-front of the stereo pouring over the sleeve and its linear notes while the vinyl itself spins on the turn-table. The National’s music as a whole has a very classic rock feel to it; music that reminds one of Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, the Stones’ Let It Bleed and Van Morrisson’s Astral Weeks. Music that’s void of any trends or clichés and thus not dooming it as a byproduct of its time for future generations.

That being said, many critics (and there are many) are bemoaning the fact that High Violet doesn’t display any type of great artistic leap forward and that the band are almost in fear of treading water. And while I can agree with the opinions that the distance from Alligator to Boxer to High Violet isn’t necessarily far and strenuous, in the case of the National and their music, I’m not really too terribly bothered with such concerns as there are just some bands whom you prefer to remain consistent at the expense of any album-to-album diversity. I’m ok with the path the National are choosing to tread.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

This is a review only as there are already plenty of mp3s floating around that place we know as the world-wide-web.