CRASH CAR SISTERS 'The Crystal Garden' (2015)

Another most EXCELLENT find here. Thanks to my friend Liz who does the weekly internet radio show 'Kitchen Sink' on Primal Radio also available on Mix Cloud at:

https://www.mixcloud.com/eklisiewicz/

If I haven't mentioned it, she's the queen of shoe gaze, dream pop/noise/alternative and psychedelia.

This week I'd found out about this terrific band that I have on repeat a lot. A Mexican shoe gaze band?? YEP! And they're stellar.

You can sample and buy their album on band camp, but don't be put off by the $50 MX price. There's a US dollar translation that makes it only $2.71.
Check out 'Automatic' and 'Broken'. Dammit, just listen to the WHOLE THING. It's THAT f'n good.

https://carcrashsisters.bandcamp.com/album/the-crystal-garden

Wonderful pop songs that COULD actually be in the vein of Doughboys but with the dream pop/noise overlay. This would have been in the best of this year, but its a 2015 release.

DESTROYER 666 'Wildfire' (2016)

Ok, so THIS just may be the album that gets me excited again about metal in 2016. Aside from the silly, generic heavy metal name, this album completely shreds. Great tempo changes, chops. Has an old analog thrash sound and its wonderful. Guitar solos coming out of the walls.

Fave lyrics:

Await - the feeling of dread
Dogs lap the blood as the trees
drink the piss of the dead.

Anyhow, they're Australian and they play their asses off. Never grinding or blasting TOO fast where it gets blurry. (Though I do love me plenty blurry shit)

Right underneath Prong for best metal record of 2016.

And ya gotta love their bio which notes:

Following their debut release, Deströyer 666 had a line-up of Warslut; bassist Bullet Eater (aka Phil Gresik, ex-Bestial Warlust,Hobbs' Angel of Death, Mass Confusion); Gospel of the Horns' drummer Howitzer; and guitarist Shrapnel. They recorded the group's first studio album, Unchain the Wolves (1997). Soon after Howitzer was replaced by Deceiver and during 1999 Deströyer 666 recorded Phoenix Rising, though it was not released until more than a year later.

KURT VILE 'Wakin on a Pretty Daze' (2013)

Spotify un-redeems themselves with a really bad 'Indie' playlist but I will not focus on the negative. I did pick up on this really good artist; Kurt Vile. In places, (ok MANY places) his voice sounds like Thurston Moore, but the simple, clean song structures set him apart. Quite a few beautiful and melancholy tunes here. A few listens and 'Was All Talk' is the standout. Sounds like a drum machine setting the pace, but only on this track is it evident. Its a more organic sounding album as a whole and a good find for the day.

THE BLACK WATCH 'Jiggery Pokery' (2014)

L.A. band that I'd liked from Jack Rabid's radio show today. Quiet tuneful songs with assorted backdrop of strings. Great title obviously lifted from recently dead SCOTUS Scalia. Made it through the album once and I may visit again if I hear more them going forward 'Alice in Lotusland' is my pick hit.

DJ JACK RABID 'The Big Takeover Radio Show' #70 (2016)

http://bigtakeover.com/radio/the-big-takeover-show-number-70-may-23-2016

or

http://realpunkradio.com/podcast/thebigtakeover/djjackrabid052316.mp3

Always a fan of DJ Jack Rabid and his vast library of alternative music and knowledge. I always walk away from his shows really liking quite a few new bands that I'd never heard. This month its 'The Black Watch' from this show, as well as a band called IdleWild. He'd picked 'Caring Line' from Government Issue as a tribute to Washington DC vocal icon John Stabb, who was also a close friend of mine. Oh man, I can't start weeping again.

Anyhow, here's the setlist. And I was really impressed with the new Ruts D.C. song.

DJ Jack Rabid
Don Vail – Personal League (Fades) new
Pale Lights – Mother Cries (Séance For Something EP) brand new
Prophet Hens – Popular People (single, Music Must Destroy) brand new
The Black Watch – Orange Kicks (b-side, “Jealousy”) brand new
Shirley Bassey – Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Thunderball soundtrack bonus track) 1965
DJ Jack Rabid
Idlewild – A Film For the Future (Live in 2015) new live LP
Ruts D.C. – Psychic Attack (single, Music Must Destroy) brand new
Bob Mould – Lucifer and God (Patch the Sky) new
Wire – Still (Nocturnal Koreans) new
The Shangri-Las – Out in the Streets (single, Shangri-Las-65!) 1965
DJ Jack Rabid

NYC POPFEST SET:
The Chills – I Can’t Help You (Silver Bullets) new
Soft Science – Better Be Good (Highs and Lows) 2011
Trash Can Sinatras – Let Me In (Or Let Me Out) (Wild Pendulum) brand new
Secret Shine – Last Leaves (All of the Stars) 2008
The Move – Fields of People (Shazam) 1970, newly reissued; Ars Nova
DJ Jack Rabid

MEMORIAL SET:
Beastie Boys – Egg Raid on Mojo (Polly Wog Stew EP) 1982; R.I.P. guitarist John Berry(also ex-Even Worse), 1963-2016
Government Issue – Caring Line (You) 1987; R.I.P. vocalist John Stabb, 1961-2016
LiLiPUT (Kleenex) – Hitch-Hike (LiLiput compilation) recorded 1980, released 1993; R.I.P. guitarist Marlene Marder, 1955-2016
Poison Girls – Pretty Polly (Chappaquiddick Bridge) 1980; R.I.P. vocalist/guitarist Vi Subversa, 1935-2016
Guy Clark – Desperados Waiting For the Train (Old No. 1) 1975; R.I.P., 1941-2016
DJ Jack Rabid
Tanya Donelly – Worry Doll (Swan Song Series)

ALICE COOPER 'Welcome to my Nightmare' (1975)

Yeah, well I know the hits and I'd never listened to the whole album straight through. And this year I've been all about Alice Cooper so today's listening at work was well spent. I keep forgetting how complex their music is. 'Department of Youth' sticks out next to 'Only Women Bleed' and the title track. 41 years later and this sounds like a fresh album. Damn, there were some incredibly well recorded albums before everything sounded so digital. That's all I keep thinking. Now to look at some videos. I'm grateful I got to see Alice at least once so far.

DEXTER CURTIN and MARCUS JAHN (Live-at-tanzen-am-strand, Germany) (2016)

I have ZERO idea who these 2 DJs are but that's the potential joy of trawling around on Mixcloud. Love at first play for this live set of strange vibes and rhythms. Excellent and seamlessly woven electronica. I guess I'll face facts, I really don't give a shit about metal this year. Its all about electronica, Brit Pop and shoe gaze. I'll be playing this set for the next few days at work for sure. Love this bizarre sound.

https://www.mixcloud.com/DexterCurtin/dexter-curtin-marcus-jahn-live-at-tanzen-am-strand-cospudener-see-leipzig-05-05-2016-part-1/

THE LUCID DREAM 'self titled' (2015)

Since the past 2 weeks has me bouncing back and forth between house music and shoe gaze, this find has popped up and its pretty good. After reading up on them and seeing they're getting compared to trip-hop (I don't hear that at all though), this UK band has some terrific hypnotic rhythms going. A lot of echo-y/chorusy excursions. And a lot of guitar noise. The album is not quite as addictive as the Desert Mountain Tribe album I'm hooked on right now, though.

DESERT MOUNTAIN TRIBE 'Either That or The Moon' (2016)

I guess I'm starting to become more and more interested in dream pop and shoe gaze, My friend Liz who does a great radio on Mix Cloud called 'Kitchen Sink' turned me on to this release and I've been playing it for days now. Very haunting, echo-y unsettling album which sounds like it was recorded very loud. Top picks on this for me are the bonus track 'Leave it Behind' and Take a Ride' which there is a video for.  Very high 9/10 for this one.

Edit on 5/23/2016; This is in the top 10 albums of 2016 so far for sure.

THE MONOCHROME SET 'Spaces Everywhere' (2015)

Tried like 3 times to like this band. And this third time I find the most annoying because its like good song, bad song, good, bad, etc.. a lot of contemporary soft pop rock that I don't have any idea what classifies as. WTF. I might want to kill this singer. Don't even let me go there.

Spotify Playlist 'FRESH FINDS: BASEMENT. New Directions in Electronic Music (2016)

Stumbled across another OUTSTANDING collection of electronica. Hard pressed to come across a song I don't like on this playlist. Ranging from progressive ambient house to brash synth compositions to flat out experimental music. Every year I wind up completely blown the fuck away on where technology and creativity take music. 2016 has been a great year so far.
30 tracks here and I guess it grows by 10 each week?  I don't know.

My current favorite track is by an artist you cannot pronounce: Drtdjjoxe and the track called "SEXTRONIC".

This is an absolutely MIND MELTING gorgeous experimental gone house music track. The song sounds like their accompanying art.

I probably should do a review of every single artist on this collection at some point, but for now, this 'Sextronic' track is the top of the playlist.

Spotify Playlist "BRITPOP' (compilation)

Where Spotify fails miserably with their 'New Music' compilation, they pull off a huge win with their BritPop collection. I'm already a fan of quite a few songs on here from The Verve, Oasis, Stone Roses, Kaiser Chiefs, and now I can say that singles they've featured here make me want to further investigae Ash, Elbow, Suede and more. Though Blur continues to do nothing for me.

THE TRANSITIONS 'Dark Times' (2015)

My friend Mike D recommended this album to me just a day ago. Started out where I thought some loose muddy guitar sound was going to be a mediocre effort, but instead I hear some REALLY early Social Distortion vocal sounds and some most catchy and addicting songs. Mike hears Joy Division, and that may be, but I don't think I've ever listened to a full on Joy Division album so I can't say. The singer here sings without pretense and the playing borders incompetence, but still there's something about this album that had me play it in the office on repeat 4-5 times today. The track "The Call" is a bizarre, haunting gem of a song. Good stuff here. 

M 'POP MUZIK REMIXES (2009)

How DARE no one inform me that the single greatest new wave song ever was remixed by 13 different artists in 2009 for a 30th anniversary makeover? Yes. I like pretty much all of them and I listened to 6 in a row and then 7 in a row to decide which 13 were the best.  To be revisited with the results in a week.

GROOVE ARMADA 'Little Black Book' (2015)

UK duo who have done some solid remix and productions in the past. But if this is their new direction, I'm passing on it. Really surprising and disappointing. Only like 1 track here called 'Song4Nick' and even that one is somewhat below par for this band. A lot of minimalist electronica and the louder stuff is devoid of engaging emotion. Sorry.

JAZZ STANDARDS (Masters) (2016)

I'm lacking some jazz in my life and so to rectify that, this new collection has some artists that are familiar and this collection makes for very relaxed music in the office these days while I work on creating technical documents. A few rounds of listening and I immediately like the tracks from Coleman Hawkins 'Body and Soul', and the tracks from Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington. I get annoyed easily from scat singing, so the Shirley Horn gets a skip. My mind still doesn't understand how these songs are actually written, but I'd gather a tremendous amount of skill and discipline since there was no Protools or sampling back then. Was there?
 So there are 30 songs on here and it will take another week of listening to digest the really important, stand out tracks.

SACCHARINE TRUST 'Worldbroken' (1985)

This album never made it to my tape deck in the 80's. This band always had a monster rhythm section, but was way too jazzy/experimental for me to understand back then. They have their moments on other albums, especially their great 1st EP. But Joe Baiza (guitar) I think plays too many random notes ala Greg Ginn which has done it better. I don't understand Brewer's poetry either.

FLAMING GROOVIES 'Groovies Greatest Grooves' (1989)

Another band I've seen mentioned a billion times but never listened to. Better late than never. This is some REALLY killer 60's rock and roll. Probably recorded on an 8 track tape machine. I've been playing this to and from work for the past 2 days and it really swings. I think I've heard Little Stevie play them on his Garage radio show a few times. This is their Greatest Hits album and all of it of pretty damn cool.

PORTASTATIC 'Some Small History' (2008)

I like Superchunk, but I'm not a huge fan. I figured out that Mac's vocal may be unique, but it gets on my nerves after a while. So his solo project Portastatic doesn't do much for me either. I know lo-fi was all the rage in the 90's but it was always hit or miss. There's only like 2 or 3 songs on this double (collection) that I like, Their cover of Prefab Sprout's 'When Love Breaks Down' is flat out terrible.No thanks on this band. And some of the stuff on this album is flat out torturous.