American Sole – V/A – From English indie label Plastic Fish Records, eight pop bands with sole and soul to spare, Beach Youth do themselves nothing but favors with “Days” -a so-cal burnished ambient faded sun sound, Joey Fourr has a weird experimental vibe going for him and King TV sound like a revolution away from mainstream rock UK style – B+
The Places You’ll Go EP- Anna Renee -Mainstream MOR balladeering and not bad for a lost genre – B-
Burn Your Fire For No Witness Deluxe – Angel Olsen – Five new tracks and all would have been welcome on the original album – A
Sinner, Songwriter EP – Emay – From Ontario, this guy is not just a good EDM producer, he is a good rapper and these are soundscapes about landscapes which fails to falter over five tracks but the top of the set “Landscaping” is sensational – B
Silent Type EP – Hannah Lou Clark – UK singer songwriter who plays it straight on this flawless three song EP, just voice and guitar at first with every addition, back up wooohs here, acoustic bass there , like putting sugar on a fire cracker. There’s a feeling of barely concealed dread, of a worried out emotional discord being put to rest – RELEASE OF THE WEEK – A-
Post Tropical Deluxe – James Vincent McMorrow – What a rip off, one new track, two acoustic versions, three remixes and the only thing we really wanna hear, the 1975 remix, isn’t on Spotify – C-
Freak EP – Olivver The Kid – what sort of fool has no info about himself on his website or his Facebook wall? Way to go. This is OK dance songs, but why should I try harder than that if he won’t? – B
Before The Fall EP – Oyinda – English, New York based singer songwriter with EDM inclinations and a soulful tinge to her songs, which are really good on this EP – B
The Summer Of Our Lives – The Ships – A Spanish band who owe a debt of gratitude to the Byrds for their sound and don’t need hipsters at their shows. This is a fine collection of guitar based rock and folk and indie – B+
1989 Karaoke – Taylor Swift – Kinda interesting to hear it with the vocals dropped out so much. It isn’t quite as advertised just the backing tracks and vocals or maybe it is -shows how much her vocals are double tracked. But perhaps a little too often it is hard to see the difference. For a Tay obsessive, it is a lesson in song construction quite as thorough as the demo versions on the deluxe version, to hear the tracks stripped bare is a treat – B+
Blame It On The Streets – YG – nine tracks, six new, two remixes, one live, and with his debut album on many a rap best of list, and with a movie to promote it, and with a slot of the A$AP Ferg tour, a smart move – B
All In A Day – Young Thug – when the trumpet interrupts “I Need A War” you might feel as though you’ve OD’d on cough syrup but this Atlanta guy is more than weed and Nyquil, remember I mentioned the trumpet, right – B+
