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Q’s Compilations
Volume #95 April – May 2014
Greetings!
I hope everyone is well, especially now that we’re starting to get the odd nice
day of weather. This compilation features quite a few different nationalities
and I hope there is something for everyone to like.
01)
The Rollers - Knockin' at the Wrong Door: I just picked up a stash of releases
from the Numero label after they put up a pop-up shop a few weekends ago. This
song opens the Eccentric Soul: The
Outskirts Of Deep City compilation, which as usual has some incredible
material.
02)
Curtis Harding - Keep on Shining: Finally a contemporary artist who gets old
school soul without necessarily sounding derivative. Curtis has just released
his debut album, Soul Power, on the
ubiquitous Burger Records. He’s playing a couple of shows in NYC in June and I
am looking forward to catching at least one of them.
03)
King Khan & the Shrines - Bite My Tongue: I had earmarked this song for the
last couple of compilations but couldn’t quite squeeze it on, which isn’t a bad
thing because it slots perfectly into this mix. I saw King Khan & the
Shrines back at the end of October and it was one of those gigs where I didn’t
know much of the material but was blown away. If you get the chance to see them
live then do so. A great combination of soul, big band, R&B and rock.
04)
Screaming Females - Rotten Apples: Screaming Females are another excellent band
from the DIY scene in New Brunswick, New Jersey and are signed to Don Giovanni
records. Marissa Paternoster is a brilliant guitarist, not to mention
refreshing in a time where guitar solos seem to be unfashionable. There are
many bands that are fantastic live, and then there are a small handful of bands
at the very top of the game, Screaming Females are one of those.
05)
Beverly - Honey Do (demo): A record-store-day purchase was the Non-Violent Femmes compilation on
Kanine Records. I saw Beverly play recently opening for Fear of Men and enjoyed
their sludgey sound, the band includes Frankie Rose although she was not
present in the live lineup.
06)
Withered Hand - Black Tambournine: Dan Wilson’s New Gods is sure to end up on many a best-of 2014 list, the record
flirts between catchy pop songs like this one and more sombre folk moments.
07)
Nueva Costa – Amanece: Yet another wonderful artist from Chile, El Gran Espíritu is the first
full-length from Nueva Costa and is on the utterly incredible Blow Your Mind record
label. This song has a hypnotic bassline.
08)
Boogarins – Erre: Another South American band, this time we look to Brazil and
Boogarins’ 60s inspired psyche rock. Signed to Other Music in the US, I saw an
instore performance at the record shop of the same name and duly bought the
album, As Plantas Que Curam.
09)
Goat - Let it Bleed (live): I was really disappointed to miss Goat when they
played in New York last year, but can thankfully make up for it as they are
playing again next month. I’ve taken from their live album (recorded at
London’s Electric Ballroom) which sees the Swedish band in utterly inspired
form.
10)
Miss Garrison - Whisky Boy: Let’s head back to Chile again now, and not
surprisingly, Santiago, Miss Garrison formed in 2008 and have two records to
their name. This track is taken from their latest, deAaB. I saw them at the Paperbox this month and they are superb,
and there’s something even more impressive with drummers who can sing, as Francisca
Straube does in Miss Garrison. This song, and the album, certainly has a
Radiohead influence to it.
11)
Nothing – Dig: There’s a lot to talk that doesn’t involve the music when it
comes to Nothing, frontman Domenic Palermo spent time in prison for a stabbing
incident while in previous band Horror Show among other things. But it’s really
the music that matters and Nothing’s album Guilty
of Everything is an impressive and intense dose of dark shoegazing rock. Dig
is probably the standout track but definitely check out the record if you like
what you hear.
12)
His Electro Blue Voice - Sea Bug: It’s time to head to Italy now (Como, to be
precise) for His Electro Blue Voice, whose debut album, Ruthless Sperm was released on Sub Pop last year and is a wind
tunnel of a time. Singer/guitarist Francisca Straube makes Bob Mould sound like
a teddy bear.
13)
Solids - Off White: I wrote about Solids here (http://mysocialist.com/blog/2014/03/12/sxsw-artist-to-watch-solids/) and caught their set at
Mercury Lounge in March. For a two-piece they make an impressive racket.
Hailing from Montreal (who have quietly been churning out some great bands in
the last few years), Solids should appeal to those who like their guitars
scuzzy and grungy.
14)
Unwound - Stuck in the Middle of Nowhere Again: Sometimes you hear a band from
years gone by and wonder how you never heard them first time around, Unwound
are one of those bands. Part of a major re-issue project courtesy of Numero,
the Olympia (Washington) 90s band have barely been off my record player this
month. This track appears on the first Unwound boxset, Kid is Gone.
15)
Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody - I Used to Live for Music: Time to go home
to Oxford. Adam Franklin is of course best known for Swervedriver, but he seems
to be one of those people who will release good music no matter what the
project. Black Horses was released
last year and I managed to pick the vinyl up for a bargain $5 recently.
Musically this project is much more melodic than Swervedriver.
16)
HOUNDSds - Conduct1: HOUNDSds is essentially a solo venture of Patrick McIntyre,
who writes and records all the music himself. This track really reminds me of
The Church (no bad thing at all). You can download the music at a “name your
price” on bandcamp: http://houndsds.bandcamp.com/
17)
Fear of Men - Green Sea: Loom will be
another album sure to threaten the end of year lists, I’ve used the band
previously, of course, but Loom is
their debut full length and really fulfils the promise they’ve had up to now. I
saw the band three times last month and they always put on a great show as well,
they come from Brighton, England.
18)
Matt Kivel – Tetro: I saw LA-based singer/songwriter Matt Kivel at Glasslands
last month and he really impressed, this track opens his last album Double Exposure which I bought at the
show. He already has a new album out soon on Woodsist called Days of Being Wild.
19)
The Besnard Lakes - People of the Sticks: The second band from Montreal on this
mix, I loved 2010’s The Roaring Lakes
but then the band went off my radar a little bit until I noticed latest album
(released in 2013) Until In Excess, Imperceptible
UFO in a $5 bargain bin, it maybe doesn’t have the depth of the previous album
but it is a nice addition and definitely rewards multiple listens.
20)
Josefus - Crazy Man: Yet another Numero purchase, and another departure from
their usual soul re-issues, I bought this on a whim based on the sticker which
promised a lost masterpiece of 70s hard rock, it isn’t quite that good but it
certainly deserves more than obscurity.
21)
Beach Day - Am I the Only One: I saw Beach Day last month and instantly fell
for their sunny 60s girl group pop, this is my favourite track on Trip Trap Attack and probably would have
been a huge hit if they’d have arrived before Best Coast. Listen really
carefully to those harsh My Bloody Valentine-ish sounds that live just below
the surface of the song.
22)
Lou Ragland - What Should I Do: Lou Ragland has lived quite the life, far too
much to detail here, I’ll just copy and paste the first sentence from Numero’s website: O’Jays road manager, Don King prison
chauffeur, window washer, house painter, Ink Spot, Domino, engineer, label
owner, guitorgan technician, and one-time steward of a coveted Jet Magazine
delivery route, Lou Ragland is Cleveland’s Eastside success story. Ragland
possesses a classic deep soul voice and this song is pretty poignant.
I’m
hoping to fit in a visit back home towards the end of June, and it’s also the
World Cup and the start of the summer concerts, busy times!
Until
next time
Peace
and love - Q
