23 Live Sex Acts – Against Me! – From their 2014 tour, this is pretty good, especially oldies like “White Crosses” which have lost none of their punch – B+
Under The Red Cloud – Amorphis – You say metal, I say prog… from Finland – C+
A Journey From Classical to Jazz – Bucky Pizzarelli and Ed Laub – First they deal with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and then they play some American standards – A-
Invite The Light – Dâm-Funk – the Status Quo of funk offering up the same ol same ol, though the Q Tip featured “I’m Just Tryna Survive (In The Big City)” is a real good groove – B-
Charnel Passages – Cruciamentum – Death Metal from Reading in England –which makes more sense if you’ve ever been to Reading in England – C+
Everybody’s A Good Dog – Diane Coffee – Foxygen drummer Shaun Fleming’s sophomore solo album is bedsit heaven for electronic hip cats – B
Too – Fidlar – Too? Ah, their second album. Geddit? – B
When Night Becomes Day – Finish Ticket – Indie pop and since I am in the prediction biz, I predict a 7.2 from Pitchfork – C+
It’s You – Gold Class – Sounds like the National? Nah, it’s just the lead singers baritone got its mojo working – B-
The Original Faces – Helen – The woman behind Grouper is also behind these semi-experimental ambient pop songs – C+
If He Dies, If If If If If If If – Jerusalem In My Heart – I’m not gonna be mean about Radwan Ghazi Moumneh because he is Lebanese and he gets home field advantage here, but the thing is, Arabic music both pop and classical is a medium for vocalists, and these post–modernists tracks are not – B
Stitch Puppy – Joey Cape – Singer songwriter with an Americana bent – C+
The Book Of Souls – Iron Maiden – The last song goes on for 18 minutes, around 12 minutes too long, though the prior 110 minutes isn’t as long winded, and when the old school mavens keep em coming it is excellent old school metal with its prog ambitions showing – B
Brace The World – Lou Barlow – Nice guy rock star keeps his lo fi skills in place still, and if this adds little to the legend, it still sounds great and while the man has a history, so what what? Jump on board here – B+
Mnenosyne – Lumisokea – Giving drone a good name – B-
This World Not Dead, Only Sleeping – Motives – Hardcore as written in the book – C+
Imagori – Mueller_Roedelius – You know you’re listening to ambient when… Brian Eno is featured on a track called “About Tape”. Hang around for “808 Fantasy” to end the set – C+
OW – Oh Wonder – London keyboards and drum machine duo with a lot of hype surrounding them, and deservedly: this is slow burn r&b tracks you’ll find completely undeniable – B+
Horizons – Painted Palms – Not unpleasant indie pop duo, melodic but a little ordinary – B-
What The World Needs Now – Public Image Ltd – In his own way, Johnny Rotten has morphed into Mark E. Smith, the same sing song singy, the same white noise guitar sounds. The difference is, Rotten still loves Jah Wobble, still likes getting a little dubby wubby in the sound. Then you notice a “Big Blue Sky” and note he still has some serious ambitions. It doesn’t add up to anything new but what it is is what at least his world needs. – B
Deeply Rooted – Scarface – Former Geto Boy and if your game is gangsta rap he still has a great voice and a vicious way with a rhyme. A slew of first tier featured artists –Nas and Rick Ross among them, are paying respects, but John Legend? – B
Greet The Dawn – The Souljazz Orchestra – At their best when they are performing samba, and not at their best elsewhere, the jazz funk isn’t all that – B-
Yours, Dreamily, – The Arcs – Dan Auerbach suffers from the Jack White serious white boys on blues syndrome with his main band, but his production of Lana Del Rey’s album was underappreciated, and this white soul songs with his secondary band absolutely has its moments, though for every “Outta My Mind” there is two “Put It In Your Pockets” – C+
Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise – The Dear Hunter – Sounds like mainstream rock and roll goes heavy – C
The Money Pit – The Money Pit – Punk poppers by the numbers, it could it be worse – B-
Temporary Monument – The Woolen Men – Quirky rockers who would be punk if they sped it up but aren’t – B-
No Closer To Heaven – The Wonder Years – Nobody expected the gigantic power of The Greatest Generation to be repeated and still we are disappointed we didn’t get it. This is mediocre by the Wonder Years very high standard, it treads water and then stops – B
Rodeo – Travi$ Scott – Yup, it’s too long and goes a little slack in the middle, and yes, the autotune vocals are too much, but show me an album with songs as great as “Piss On My Grave” and “Pray For Love” and I’ll show you the new the Weeknd –ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A-
Wild EP – Troye Silvan – The “Happy Little Pill” performer is proto-teen idol with a serious bent on this gooey yet not minor pop electronic tracks – B
Los Vaqueros: La Trilogia – Wisin presents – Wisin is half of reggaeton superstars Wisin And Yandel and if you’ve never seen them live, they are a powerhouse, maybe the third best in the business; this is a lot of current and up and coming reggaeton . The one where Wisin is joined by Daddy Yankee and Latin popstar Carlo Vives is awesome but too much plays out like a mix tape – B
