Be Here Now: New Album Reviews, June 23rd, 2015
Anus – Alaska Thunderfuck – A glam drag queen gives you the rules of engagement, tipping is compulsory – B
The Wolves Are Whispering – Bang Gang – From Iceland, but remember Iceland is not Sweden, appearances notwithstanding. A singer songwriter with lovely electronic instruments and 808s beats – B-
Feels Like – Bully – Two years into their career, Bully provide indie pop with flair and loud guitars and screaming… an eternal forever rock and roll that never loosens its grip on you. Alicia Bognanno is the sort of woman who calls Steve Albini the smartest person she knows and then goes her own way while dovetailing nicely when necessary with his aesthetic – A-
Dark Before Dawn – Breaking Benjies – After grunges initial lunge, it peeled off and went in different directions, and post-rock mainstream rock was one. I actively dislike this form of music so when I give this grade to the Wilkes Barre band, now in its fifteenth year, assume the songs are so strong they beat out the genre – B-
Dancing AT The Blue Lagoon – Cayucas – 1960s flavored pop rock with the mood of electronica, give “Moony Eyed Walrus” a shot, it is just before the concept begins to hit and therefore feels very fresh. Great great chorus – B-
Cemetery Highrise – Creepoid – Goth meets grunge though it reminds me more of Bush than Nirvana, if we must have a 90s revival we could do a whole lot worse – B-
Payola – Desaparecidos – I can tell you the exact moment Conor stopped being a god, it was when he messed up the arrangement and then the recording of “I’ve Got The Reason”. As for this, he has the voice and some of the song on this agitpropper click, but the magic is gone. “The Left Is Right”? Really? Which left? – B-
Beauty Pageant – Kacey Musgraves – Kacey is the sort of woman who will sing about her hometown while kicking the shit off her shoes as fast as she possibly can, and has as much to do with trailer trash and family drama as I do. Still, some of this singer story poetic license country songs could give Miranda Lambert a run for her money… maybe half the time – B
Coming Home – Leon Bridges – Old school soul, good songs, voice could be a little better – B
The Truth EP – Mike Posner – This terrific EP is the singer songwriter as self-flagellating superstar, from a never quite was but might be with these downbeat tuneful songs. Over an album it might be too much, but over an EP it is flawless – EP OF THE WEEK – A
Still – Richard Thompson – A year after his last two albums, this man needs to watch his quality control though his guitar playing is gorgeous. “Guitar Heroes” is terrible – B
Bones – Son Lux – Pretty without being fragile, strangely constructed electronic pop songs but it needs time to sing in – B-
Hardy & The Hardknocks: Drownin On A Mountaintop – T. Hardy Morris – Southern singer songwriter with a taste for steel guitar and a fine line in songs. A pleasant surprise – B+
The Beyond/Where The Giants Roam EP – Thundercat – Flying Lotus’s go to bassist drops his second solo release, a first rate EP with much of the weirdness you can hear in Kevin Jenkins work. Must be some new deal going down between bass players- B+
My Love Is Cool – Wolf Alice – Debut album takes indie pop and mix and matches with grunge to great effect, the band have a subtle mix of power and subtlety that pays off big time on “Silk” and “The Wonderwhy”, meanwhile old favorites “Bros” and “Moaning Lisa Smile” hold up well out of their usual context and those aren’t even the best – A-
