I usually make a good handful of mixtapes/compilations every year, but I’m falling behind. The last one I made was late July, just before we headed out on our last vacation. Considering we’ll be heading out on another one in a few weeks, perhaps it’s time to make another one.
Here’s a few favorite tracks of mine that have been getting some serious play lately that may just end up on my new mixtapes!
You’ve heard me talk about this before: the best music releases of the year are quite often released within the fourth quarter — specifically, between late August and late November. This is so prevalent that you can set your watch to it. We’ll have a few strong spring releases, usually bands that already have a long-lasting cred; summer will be full of chart-worthy pop; late summer will be kind of skint, but may also contain some unexpected gems. But from September to just after Thanksgiving? You’re gonna see a crapton of releases.
Why? Simple: Christmas shopping!
It works on multiple levels. The spring releases are usually slow-burners and tried-and-true names that guarantee a sale. The summer releases are the impulse buys to celebrate vacation time. The end of summer is usually quiet because the kids are too busy purchasing things for school or college. But by the time September rolls around, there’s money in hand once more. And secondly: as much as we hate to admit it, a lot of us really do start our Christmas shopping hella early. And the music business knows this, so they’ll keep the guaranteed high-sale titles for when the shopping is at its highest.
So what do we have on tap in the rock universe, anyway? What’s coming out that’s going to take my hard-earned money?
September 2:
–The Wedding Present, Going, Going…
September 9:
–Bastille, Wild World —The Beatles, Live at the Hollywood Bowl reissue
—The Head and the Heart, Signs of Light
–Local Natives, Sunlit Youth
–MIA, AIM
–Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree
–Wilco, Schmilco
September 16:
–Against Me!, Shape Shift with Me
—Steven Wilson, Transience
September 23:
–Warpaint, Heads Up
September 30:
–Banks, The Altar –Big Jesus, Oneiric
–Pixies, Head Carrier
—Regina Spektor, Remember Us to Life
–Yello, Toy
October 7:
–Kaiser Chiefs, Stay Together —Green Day, Revolution Radio
–Melissa Etheridge, MEmphis Rock and Soul –Phantogram, Three
—Placebo, A Place for Us to Dream
October 14:
–The Orb, Chill Out, World
October 21:
–Beck, (title TBA)
–Korn, The Serenity of Suffering
Ocboter 28:
–Empire of the Sun, Two Vines
—Madness, Can’t Catch Us Now
…and that’s just what’s been announced over the past few months that I’m interested in hearing. By late September we’ll start seeing more titles from all kinds of groups and across all the genres. We’ll start seeing more box sets and major reissues (An expansive box from Pink Floyd, and Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage, for instance). Mixes and greatest hits packages will start popping up. And somewhere in there, probably mid-October and early November, we’ll start seeing new and repackaged Christmas albums as well.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year indeed, especially if you’re a music nerd like I am.
Oof! Yeah, still working on the final revision/edit of The Persistence of Memories, and it’ll be another few weeks before I can give myself a breather. The soft release date at the moment is “sometime mid-April”, but I’ll let you all know more as soon as I have more concrete plans! At present I’m THISCLOSE (translation: about forty or so pages) to finishing the revision/edit, I’ve made a quick mock-up of the cover (which you can see at Welcome to Bridgetown). Once the edit’s done, then comes the formatting and the uploading. And then FINALLY I can get back to a normal schedule again. [That is, until I start the same process once more with The Balance of Light. Whee!]
In the meantime, I’ve been on a School of Seven Bells kick lately, partly due to their release of their last album, SVIIB (recorded just before Benjamin Curtis passed away). Jangly shoegazey goodness that kind of reminds me of Lush with a bit of Stereolab mixed in. Enjoy!
Yeah, as always, the first couple of weeks of the new year are always scant when it comes to new releases. I’ve been busy doing a lot of book editing, so instead I’ve been listening to random things here and there. Not much to report on, sadly.
However, I did notice that my birthday (next Friday) will contain releases by Chairlift, Savages, Shearwater, Steven Wilson, Suede, Tortoise and Tricky, so there may be a bit of mp3 purchasing and stream listening going on this coming week.
Hopefully I shall have more to report by then!
I should, however, share this absoutely darling three-piece that I found on NoiseTrade the other week called (appropriately) The Feels:
Until next time!
[Of course, I could comment on the passing of Lemmy and David Bowie. I sort of knew about Motorhead, and that they appeared on a quite hilarious episode of The Young Ones singing “Ace of Spades”, and I have all kinds of fond memories watching David Bowie’s videos back in the day. I was actually quite a passive fan, liking many of his singles but never quite getting around to buying the albums until 1997’s Earthling. (For a while I also had a lingering dislike of Hunky Dory due to my freshman year roommate in college listening to it on endless repeat, much to my severe annoyance.) Still, I definitely appreciate all that both men have given to the music field. They will be sadly missed.]
A lot of really good titles out these past few weeks, giving me all sorts of new releases to listen to, which always makes me happy. Let’s see what’s currently in rotation, shall we?
Silversun Pickups, “Pins & Needles” from Better Nature, rel. 9/25/15
This one took me a few tries to get used to…like Interpol’s last few albums, I really like what I hear but it didn’t quite gel with me the first few times. However, SSPU continues to write excellent songs, and Nikki is still one of the best bass players out there. I actually kind of prefer this album track over the new single that’s out (“Nightlight”, though Nikki gets a prime front-stage mix here).
Caspian, “Arcs of Command” from Dust and Disquiet, rel. 9/25/15
I’m usually very choosy about my post-rock and alt-metal, but this one connected with me right from the start (especially with this track) when NPR was streaming it the other week. They’re like a heavier Mogwai (yeah, I know!) with the mindset of GY!BE (without the overly long noodling), with the drop-tuned heaviness of Deftones and Deathmøle thrown in, and they’re absolutely perfect for my writing sessions. And they’re a Boston-area band, so yay!
Chvrches, “Leave a Trace” from Every Open Eye, rel. 9/25/15
This band’s sophomore album made even more of an impression on me than their first one, and I think it’s because they’ve really tightened the songwriting. They know how to write a great and catchy alternapop tune without sacrificing substance for style.
New Order, “Restless” from Music Complete, rel. 9/25/15
The reviews have been spot-on: this is the album New Order would have made right after Technique back in ’89 if they hadn’t gone on all those hiatuses, done all those solo projects, broken up and gotten back together, etc. [That’s not to say Republic and the others were bad, just that they kind of felt like they were in neutral compared to previous records.] This one is a fine return to an earlier form, one that fits them incredibly well. On a side note, Tom Chapman does fine work as the new bassist to replace Hooky, though there are times I still expect to hear the high-on-the-neck bass riff now and again!
Garbage, “Vow” from Garbage [20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition], rel. 10/2/15
Daaang…it’s been twenty years already? A phenomenal debut album from one of the best mid-90s bands out there, and well worth getting the super deluxe version with all the tasty remixes. [And I’m snooty when it comes to remixes, so that’s saying a lot!] It was one of the first albums I’d picked up after moving back home in autumn of ’95, and got me through a lot of personal things and writing sessions.
Editors, “Marching Orders” from In Dream, rel. 10/2/15
Oh man, I’ve been waiting for this one since being blown away by that first single, “No Harm” came out back in May! After releasing the poppier, sunnier The Weight of Your Love back in 2013, they’ve returned to a much darker, more cinematic sound, which really suits them well. I’ve given this quite a few spins since I downloaded it on Friday, and it’s already made its way onto my writing soundtrack list.
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So let’s see, what do I have to look forward to the next few weeks?
Duncan Sheik, Legerdemain (10/9)
Oberhofer, Chronovision, (10/9)
Here We Go Magic, Be Small (10/16)
Dave Gahan & Soulsavers, Angels & Ghosts (10/23)
Guy Garvey, Courting the Squall (10/30)
The Neighbourhood, Wiped Out! (10/30)
Mutemath, Vitals (11/13)
The Comsat Angels, reissues of 7 early albums (!!) (11/20)
Yep, shaping up to be another excellent year for music!
…just as expected! The fourth-quarter wave of new music releases has finally made its presence known, and it sounds like it’s going to be one hell of a good season! After a few sluggish weeks in August, Friday has taken the New Release Day baton and wielded it high. The next few months look quite promising.
A few records that have caught my ears so far:
Tamaryn, “Hands All Over Me” from Cranekiss, released 28 August.
The more I listen to this album, the more I hear Curve. Tamaryn’s vocals have that sultry lower-register sound that’s similar to Toni Halliday’s, and the dreampop noise is more melodic than MBV’s wall of sound. It’s not often I latch onto an album immediately like this, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
Foals, “Mountain At My Gates” from What Went Down, released 28 August.
A pretty wild interactive video, actually! My first listen to this album left me wondering what they might be angry about; there’s an uncomfortable tension throughout, even on the quieter songs, like you’re just waiting for something to spill over.
Stereophonics, “I Wanna Get Lost with You” from Keep the Village Alive, released 11 September.
I’ve been a longtime Stereophonics fan from my record store days…they’re one of those bands that may not have the big hits or the widely known singles, but they write great and solid tunes. Glad to see them back again with another excellent record.
Low, “No Comprende” from Ones and Sixes, released 11 September.
A huge favorite of mine right now, this is one of Low’s best records in awhile. They still rock the slowcore/quietcore sound, but like the new Foals album, there’s an underlying tension that won’t go away that I’m loving. They’ve even turned up the volume on this album (similar to their Great Destroyer album from ten years ago).
Ben Folds & Nashville Symphony Orchestra, “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Movement 1” from So There, released 11 September.
A and I saw BF perform this movement with the San Francisco Symphony a few months ago, and we were floored — for me, this was a scrappy dude I saw twenty years ago in a tiny club in Northampton MA (where he sold me the Ben Folds Five debut cd himself), and now here he is, writing a three-movement piece reminiscent of George Gershwin. There are some fun pop songs on the first half of the album that he performs with yMusic, but it’s worth it for this lovely piece alone.
Robert DeLong, “Don’t Wait Up” from In the Cards, released 18 September.
We caught RD’s live show at Outside Lands last month, and let me tell you — the dude has natural control of his audience. It’s just him and all those toys and instruments you see in that video, no other musicians; even his entry music was a poorly-made yet hilarious fan video of Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose”, hinting that he’s just some skinny nerd who got extremely lucky and writes some damn fine dance music.
Motion City Soundtrack, “Lose Control” from Panic Stations, released 18 September.
Sure, the new single can easily be mistaken for a Weezer track, but I can forgive them that. The new album feels more lively than some past efforts, like the band has chosen to lose some of their inner demons and just have some fun this time out. [That’s not to say there’s not some classic unlucky-in-love MCS tracks here…”Over It Now” has my favorite break-up lyric of the week: I kicked around in the big bad world / after you sold all my action figures / I never got in that one last word / So here’s a f*** you ]. Another great release from a fun band.
I’m still awaiting more release news, but I’ll be looking forward to these releases in the next few weeks:
Caspian, Dust and Disquiet (9/25)
Chvrches, Every Open Eye (9/25)
New Order, Music Complete (9/25)
Silversun Pickups, Better Nature (9/25)
Editors, In Dream (10/2)
Duncan Sheik, Legerdemain (10/9)
Oberhofer, Chronovision (10/9)
Here We Go Magic, Be Small (10/16)
Dave Gahan & Soulsavers, Angels & Ghosts (10/23)
As you have probably guessed, I’ve been spending nearly all my writing time focusing on the final edits of the three books in my Bridgetown trilogy. Which means many hours staring at the monitor while listening to appropriate writing music. It’s been a mix of new and old lately, going from specific albums I listened to during the initial writing sessions down in the Belfry (mainly releases between 1997 to 2004), and tunes from the last five years or so, starting in 2009 when I finally picked up Book 3 and and finished it early in 2010, all the way up to today.
I’ve been trying to mix it up lately so I don’t end up sticking with the same few albums on constant rotation (*cough*Sea Change*cough*), and expanding on a few themes here and there. I’ve been making a few new compilations lately that reflect a more eclectic and time-spanning mix. Here’s a few for your enjoyment
I was never a fan, but somehow The Battle of Los Angeles just hit all the right buttons for me, and I consider it their best album. And that bass riff? DUDE. This is great when I just want something angry and aggressive.
Yes, I know, Failure’s Fantastic Planet is still on heavy rotation during my writing sessions, but “The Nurse Who Loved Me” is by far one of their best ever songs. It’s a brilliant track maybe about heroin addiction? But the construction of the song is truly epic, going from quiet to deafeningly loud and back again. Great for when I need to bleed out the excess energy. [Also: go to YouTube and look up their recent visit to KEXP, they put on an excellent show.]
Not the biggest fan of this video, but the title track to Foals’ new platter is excellent. It’s angry and driving and relentless. As you have probably guessed, I tend to be so laid back that I need music to get me pumping, especially if I need to write a big action scene. Something like this track (or the whole album, come to think of it) is great for that.
And on the other end of things…
I do loves me some epic mood music full of reverb and darkness, yes I do. [See, this is what happens when you introduce early-era Cure to a teenager from a small town in the 80s.] 2:54 creates some dark and beautiful sounds, and are always worth listening to. Extra points for somehow managing to film a video in a pea-soup fog that only adds to the atmosphere.
Tamaryn is a new purchase that won me over on first listen. Equal parts Curve, My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins — essentially shoegaze nirvana — has been getting repeat listens this past week while I work on the edit for The Persistence of Memories. Lovely to listen to and easy to get lost in.
In a somewhat similar vein is another recent favorite, Wolf Alice. I got to see them play a surprise show at Outside Lands last month and they were incredible. Great melodies that can be alternately dreamy and aggro. Another repeat listener.
Thanks for listening and being patient! I promise, I’ll get a more thought-out and enjoyable post soon! 🙂
Hi gang! Humblest apologies for leaving you in the lurch for nigh on a month. It’s been quite busy here in Spare Oom, between the Day Job, prepping A Division of Souls for publication, and going to Outside Lands, I’m afraid I’ve been a bit lax in the blogosphere. That’s hopefully going to change this week, as I now have a Best Laid Plan to post here on a weekly basis again. [That on top of said Day Job, promoting ADoS and prepping The Persistence of Memories next, among other things. Thus calling it a Best Laid Plan. And you know how those often work out for me.] [ANYWAY]
Speaking of Best Laid Plans, my plan to use my nicer camera at Outside Lands was sadly put aside during the very first band I saw (The Family Crest), in which I was told by OL Security to put it away, as it was bigger than acceptable. I called bullshit on it, but as mentioned elsewhere, I don’t want to be that photographer, and duly put it away. It put a bit of a damper on my mood, but it didn’t ruin it. Instead I just chose to enjoy the weekend, eat horrible food, and get a nice sunburn in the process. I just don’t have any decent pictures to post. Sorry about that.
In other music news, I’ve been a bit backed up in my downloads as of late. This past summer has been a bit thin in the release area, which is actually kind of expected, considering Q3 releases don’t kick into high gear until late August. I’ll go through my collection in a day or so and report on what I’ve enjoyed so far.
Until then, enjoy a great track from The Family Crest, with a video filmed about three blocks away from our apartment! That’s Geary Boulevard, and he’s walking from 22nd Avenue (he lights up in front of Sakana Bune, which is our favorite sushi boat restaurant) and ends up at the Blarney Stone the next block over. At the end you can also see the 38 Muni go by. 🙂
Hey, every other blog is posting one of these, so I may as well join in the fun, amirite?
The year in music so far has actually been quite enjoyable, as many of the bands that had come out with great albums in or around 2012 are now releasing new titles that are equally as great, if not better.
In order of release date:
The Decemberists, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (20 January)
Colin Meloy and Co have come up with another wonderful record of alternafolk the way I like it – full, strong vocals, original (and often quirky) song subjects, and wonderful performances. It’s hard not to like this band.
Dutch Uncles, O Shudder (24 February)
My wife came up with the phrase “in a totally different film” to describe a character or person (or in this case, a band) who doesn’t seem to fit anywhere within the context of everything else surrounding them, and yet somehow they fit in just nicely despite that. Dutch Uncles is like that for me–a band who seems to willingly bypass trying to fit into the indie scene by way of odd time signatures, intelligent (and sometimes purposely awkward) lyrics, and a complete lack of irony. This album is about childbirth, for instance.
Public Service Broadcasting, The Race for Space (24 February)
Another band from out of nowhere (and a band that consists of two people playing multiple instruments…that seems that’s a thing now) that popped up on my radar…um, how? I think YouTube suggested I check them out at one point. They kind of remind me of Emergency Broadcast Network from the 90s (remember them?), who melded media soundbites with danceable pop. PSB, on the other hand, mix public domain newsreels with instrumental rock and funk, and the end result is pretty damn fine. This latest release of theirs is, you guessed it, based on the Russian/US race for space in the 50s and 60s.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Chasing Yesterday (3 March)
I’d mentioned earlier that I felt Noel’s first HFB album was kind of hit or miss, and that this second album is miles stronger musically. The more I listen to it, it kind of reminds me of Oasis’ early 2000s work (Heathen Chemistry in particular), dialing back the Britpoppiness and the overt Beatle nods and really showing off his excellent songwriting skills.
Steven Wilson, Hand. Cannot. Erase. (3 March)
Wilson returns for a third solo album, this time a song cycle based on a harrowing story about a missing person who was found dead in her own apartment, having passed away there three years earlier. A haunting subject, but a beautiful album.
Swervedriver, I Wasn’t Born to Lose You (3 March)
Really, why had I not owned any Swervedriver before this? I loved “Rave Down” even when it came out back in the early 90s, but I never got around to buying any of their albums. That changed with their excellent comeback album, in which they haven’t missed a beat. Swirly and crunchy guitars and fantastic writing. Think a more melodic, rocking and understandable MBV.
Big Data, 2.0(24 March)
I’m sure most of you have heard “Dangerous” at some point (that song that kinda sorta steals the slappy bass line from Nine Inch Nails’ “Only”). The rest of this album is a lot of fun, combining both analog guitar melody and bloopy synth work in such a unique way it works perfectly. Bonus points for using overmodulation as a legit sound level on “The Business of Emotion”. More bonus points for getting away with using a broken image icon for an album cover!
Joywave, How Do You Feel Now? (21 April)
I’m convinced Big Data and Joywave are the same band, as they seem to be all over each other’s records. I heard these guys on Radio BDC near the end of last year via the track “Tongues”. It’s one of those songs that’s kinda doofy and not that good, but it gets under your skin to the point that you start to believe that it’s actually better than you thought. Their other single “Somebody New” shows their other side, a stronger rock track that hints at what they actually do sound like.
Wire, Wire (21 April)
WOO YAY NEW WIRE! Always happy to see a release from one of my favorite bands! While their Mark III era (from the Read & Burn EPs forward) has been louder and crunchier, they’ve begun infusing their music with less experimentation and more melody as they go on…in essence, combining the post-punk of the 70s Wire and the melody of 80s Wire to come up with something both hard and soft at the same time. With new a new guitarist in the mix (Bruce Gilbert having left a few years ago), they’ve got a fuller sound and seem much more confident this time out.
Blur, The Magic Whip (28 April)
I’ve admitted to being a shameless Blur fan, and that’s because I’ve always been a big Britpop fan for years. It’s great to see a new platter from this foursome (now a foursome again!), especially after that excellent single “Under the Westway” from a few years ago. They haven’t lost a bit of their quirkiness or their knack for being able to write an extremely fun song. Definitely a welcome return.
Best Coast, California Nights (4 May)
Okay, hands down, the title track from Best Coast’s new platter is totally my summer jam. I never thought I’d say that, but there we are. And the rest of the album is absolutely gorgeous. Possibly my top favorite of the year so far. Here, have a listen:
Dog Party, Vol 4 (16 June)
I was introduced to this band via Santa Clara University’s college station. These two sisters from Sacramento (one of which just graduated high school, I should add) are my favorite local band at the moment. Cute and punky in a style that reminds me of We’ve Got a Fuzzbox and We’re Gonna Use It!! (specifically their Bostin Steve Austin album), the album is perfect punk: chunky riffs, fun melodies, goofy lyrics, and totally jamming econo.
Failure, The Heart Is a Monster (30 June)
WOO YAY NEW FAILURE! Another one of my big favorite bands (Fantastic Planet still gets a shit ton of play here in Spare Oom and at the gym) put this one out via PledgeMusic, so how could I say no? A great band that makes excellent use of unexpected directions in melody, drop tuning and tasty, chunky riffs. Ken, Greg and Kellii came back with one hell of a great album.
So…what does the next half of 2015 have in store for us? A very brief look at my shopping list says new albums by Civil Twilight, Chemical Brothers, MS MR, Oberhofer, P.O.D., Duran Duran, Low, New Order, Veruca Salt, Frank Turner, Beach House, Foals, Ben Folds, Stereophonics, Metric, Robert DeLong…and maybe a new Editors (which I am pumped about, if their new single “No Harm” is any indication of what it’ll sound like).
All in all, an excellent year for music, I’m happy to report!
Walk In Silence 