Latest new to me downloads/streams from the last few weeks:
Mazes -
Wooden Aquarium (2014)
More good British indie rock, the longer running back of Jack Cooper from
Ultimate Painting, my favorite discovery as of late. The other member of Ultimate Painting is in
The Proper Ornaments - another great recent find - and
Veronica Falls.
Joy Division -
Closer (1980)
I didn't care much for this, it just seemed to lack any kind of melody. Unknown Pleasures is growing on me, partially as a result of this one. I'm not a huge fan of New Order either, though I like some of their hits and "Blue Monday" is one of my favorite tracks of all time. As it turns out, New Order's debut is the release I like most from the Joy Division/New Order camp.
Sunken Foal -
Friday Syndrome Vol. 3 (2015)
4 stars out the gate and likely to grow. This guy is genius, I don't listen to that much new electronic stuff these days but this guy holds my attention.
Joey Bada$$ -
B4.DA.$$ (2015)
I don't listen to too much new hip-hop but somehow this one got on my radar, maybe because I heard it had a 90s conscious hip-hop vibe. Well it does, and I liked what I heard. I played it last weekend on the way to or from the ski slopes, I'll need to have a headphone listen one of these days as the road is noisy sometimes and I just have a stock sound system in the car.
The Go-Betweens -
Send Me a Lullaby (1982)
First time I've listened to this band. I've played it a few times now, and I like it, but the vocalist is a tad weak on this one. Music is tight.
Sonny and the Sunsets -
Talent Night at the Ashram (2015)
New Sonny & The Sunsets album out last week. I was just exposed to the group with their last one, Antenna to the Afterworld, which had a handful of great tracks with neo-psych-meets-country-rock production. I then moved on to the album before that, Longtime Companion, which I liked even more with its more stripped-down country rock/old country production. So when anticipating the new one, it could have gone one of two ways - more neo-psych or more country rock. I'm happy to report it leans more toward the country-rock style, or at least the production is more stripped down and not so neo-psych. Good tunes here and the album should be in rotation for a while.
Golden Drugs -
In the Midnight Sun or Stubbornly Persistent Illusion (2015)
Indie rock with some neo-psych and folk elements, that frequently reminds me of the great Dutch indie band
Alamo Race Track. These guys are a bit more experimental with their sound perhaps.
The Growlers -
Chinese Fountain (2014)
When this first came out I heard a few songs and noticed a change in their sound, a bit more produced, less raw. The title track sounded a bit dancey and synthy, like Arcade Fire or something and it really threw me off. But I thought the album sounded good once I heard the whole thing, it just has a few songs that are a little out of character.
José González -
Vestiges & Claws (2015)
I've never listened to this guy, though I've heard of him, but the girlfriend expressed interest in getting this album so I bought it for her when I visited a few record shops last weekend. Clear vinyl edition, ooh la la. Sounded ok, not really my thing.