tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54100734612602879252024-03-06T05:53:04.939+00:00Q's CompilationsBi-monthly music mixes of what I've been listening to.Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-24486545512983054102024-01-30T03:39:00.003+00:002024-01-30T03:39:46.405+00:00Q#153 - December 2023 to January 2024<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yZ2P-DLjP01AHcyy5oIuQw7oYakWhT6FsokdIPfREVAkp7ikgO1M-NspfCAq5EDFJEZPwa5Ueu-Uwg3VwOxXLMmG4ZHXMiQrkNZ2UHxE9TAdYroCh4ya95iZ_U19Ou_-bRAMooUMB4oVbL3c7XSh78IivLPYJY97Rfc9Ess5emAmloanS6Fl3sWLtVg/s690/Q153%20cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yZ2P-DLjP01AHcyy5oIuQw7oYakWhT6FsokdIPfREVAkp7ikgO1M-NspfCAq5EDFJEZPwa5Ueu-Uwg3VwOxXLMmG4ZHXMiQrkNZ2UHxE9TAdYroCh4ya95iZ_U19Ou_-bRAMooUMB4oVbL3c7XSh78IivLPYJY97Rfc9Ess5emAmloanS6Fl3sWLtVg/s16000/Q153%20cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2187bb; font-family: times new roman;"><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/9btwz631fgy6mop/Q#153.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/9btwz631fgy6mop/Q#153.zip/file</a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM </b></b></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;"></span></p><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #153 – December
2023 to January 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Happy
New Year! 2023 treated me pretty well in general I have to confess, we
travelled a good amount and even bought a condo, a big year! I saw 38 shows in
total, which was the exact same number that I saw in 2022 and seems a good
amount to shoot for these days, at least for me (long gone are the 150+ shows a
year times!).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">01)
White Reaper - Asking for a Ride: It’s easy to forget about January albums when
putting together “best of” roundups, but the band’s fourth album is a hard one
to forget! This is the title track but I would have been happy using any track
from the record. <i>Fog Machine </i>from the same album also appears on Q#148</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">02)
The Dirty Nil - Free Rein to Passions: Back to back album title tracks… and to
keep the similarities with White Reaper, this is also the bands fourth album
(and I also think they should be much more popular than they are!). I’m not
sure there’s a better power trio at the moment. <i>Nicer Guy </i>from the same
album also appears on Q#149</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">03)
Cory Hanson – Wings: One album I keep going back to and should have gotten a
lot more press is Cory Hanson’s solo record <i>Western Cum</i>, which evokes
his band (Wand) much more than his other solo records, which were typically
more acoustic/folk-tinged. If I had the real estate on the mix I’d have
probably used the 10-minute <i>Driving Through Heaven</i>, but this, and indeed
the record as a whole, is fantastic. I also used <i>Housefly </i>from the same
record on Q#151</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">04)
Fruit Bats - Rushin' River Valley: Om Q#149 I used <i>It All Comes Back</i> and
mentioned that I was still getting used to new album <i>A River Running To Your
Heart</i>, and slowly but surely the songs started inserting themselves and
while I wouldn’t call it a classic, it’s another incredibly strong and worthy
album in the Fruit Bats discography. This is probably the most immediate/best
track from the record and I love all the little guitar licks that come in and
out of the track.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">05)
Maura Weaver - Ease on the Eyes: <i>I Was Due for a Heartbreak </i>is one of
those kinda low-key records that you don’t realise how much you enjoy until you
come back to the record on further occasions and notice that the songs have
ingrained themselves into your brain. Released on Don Giovanni Records in
September, I also used <i>As If Your Love </i>on Q#151.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">06)
The Reds, Pinks & Purples - The Town that Cursed Your Name: Another
title-track for you here, Glenn Donaldson has had a fairly prolific year, with
one record (this one) and 12 other digital releases (Eps / singles) as well as
being one half of the band Helpful People<i> </i>who released a full length
this year too (<i>Brokenblossom Threats</i>). I also used <i>Life in the Void </i>from
the same record on Q#148, if you put a gun to my head it might be my favourite
album of the year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">07)
Eyelids - Everything That I See You See Better: <i>A Colossal Waste of Light </i>was
released in March and is the band’s fourth album (<i>I Can’t Be Told </i>also
appeared on Q#149) and they can do little wrong if you like your guitars to
jangle. The band are celebrating 10 years in 2024 and will be releasing a
double album of rarities and other non-album tracks; <i>No Jigsaw </i>comes out
in March.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">08)
Connections - It's a Start: I think the record I get the biggest kick out of
each time I hear it (in the sense of “wow, this record is fantastic, why don’t
I play it all the time”) is Connections’ <i>Cool Change</i>, which came out in
March via Trouble in Mind Records. I also used <i>In Space </i>on Q#148 which
is probably the stand-out tune but the whole record is killer and this was the
hardest album to pick a song from for this mix.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">09)
Screaming Females – Titan: Possibly the biggest musical shock for me this year
was Screaming Females announcing their break-up after 18 years. I’ve
consistently described them as the best live band around for over a decade at
this point and I’m not sure I’ve fully processed the fact that I won’t add to
the 14 times I was fortunate enough to catch them live, including twice this
year. Perhaps fittingly I bookended my live experience with them with shows at
ABC No Rio (first time) and Kings Theatre, quite the difference in venue.
Anyway, the band released <i>Desire Pathway </i>in February, their eighth
studio album, I also used <i>Ornament </i>on Q#148. Singer/guitarist Marissa
Paternoster has just started a patreon which I’d recommend fans sign up for </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/MarissaPaternoster"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">https://www.patreon.com/MarissaPaternoster</span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">10)
Mandy, Indiana - Pinking Shears: One of the more difficult records to explain
this year, <i>I’ve Seen a Way </i>was released in May on Fire Talk Records, and
it’s got a little bit of industrial but dance-like quality to a lot of the
tracks, but that doesn’t really tell the story. Maybe if someone threw an
experimental dance party in the middle of a (live) construction site? I don’t
know, I just know that I keep coming back to the album if I want something a
little weird and out there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">11)
Parannoul – Arrival: The third Parannoul album<i>, After the Magic</i>, was
released on January 28, 2023 (I used <i>We Shine at Night </i>on Q#148) and was
inspired by dreams he had during the making of his previous album (<i>To See
the Next Part of the Dream</i>, which was also a fantastic album). We also got
a live album this year called <i>After the Night.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">12)
Squirrel Flower - Alley Light: Ella Williams can’t really seem to do a whole
lot wrong and new album <i>Tomorrow’s Fire </i>was released in October via
Polyvinyl Records (I used <i>When a Plant is Dying </i>on Q#150 and <i>Full
Time Job </i>on Q#152).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">13)
Indigo De Souza - The Water: Indigo De Souza’s third album, <i>All of This Will
End </i>was released in April on Saddle Creek and I was also fortunate enough
to see her perform at Prospect Park in the summer. <i>Parking Lot </i>also
appeared on Q#149, and while I played previous albums <i>Any Shape You Take</i>
and <i>I Love My Mom</i> constantly, the new record hasn’t quite pulled me in
to the same degree. It’s still a good record, I should add!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">14)
Deathcrash - Distance Song: We’ve been blessed with some great slowcore acts in
the last few years, and this London act’s second record, <i>Less</i>, is up
there with the best of them. I also used <i>Dead, Crashed </i>on Q#149</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">15)
FACS – Slogan: <i>Still Life in Decay </i>is another one of those deceptively
brilliant records that I hoped to see on more end of year lists. I’d have
probably used <i>New Flag </i>but for time constraints, and I used <i>Slogan </i>on
Q#148, the whole records is the sum of its parts with Brian Case’s guitar textures
coupling with the monster rhythm section majestically.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">16)
Public Interest - Why Bother: I used <i>Undone </i>from this same record (<i>Spiritual
Pollution) </i>on Q#149, it’s probably my favourite post-punk record of 2023
and fills some of the gigantic chasm I feel that a band liked Girls Names left
in my life after they broke up in 2018.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">17)
Deeper – Glare: It still feels like a bit of a shame that Chicago act Deeper
moved from Fire Talk to Sub Pop, but I love the latter label too anyway. The
band’s third album, <i>Careful! </i>was released in September and is another
fine addition to their discography (I also used <i>Build a Bridge </i>on Q#150).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">18)
Hurry - Like I Loved You: Matty Scottoline has been rattling off jangle-indie
records as Hurry for over a decade at this point and latest album <i>Don’t Look
Back </i>keeps up his impeccable track record. I used <i>Begging For You </i>on
Q#150.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">19)
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Pipe Down!: <i>Land of Sleeper</i> dropped
in February and I was fortunate enough to see the band twice this year, the
first of those was released as a live album to make things even better! The
band can’t really do any wrong in my eyes and are my favourite stoner act at
present.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">20)
Samia – Amelia: <i>Honey </i>was released at the end of January and I listened
to it incessantly at the time, but I’m not sure the last time I played it front
to back. It’s a good record but I think some of the production loses me the
more I listen to it and I long a little bit for some of the earlier material.
Regardless, there are some great songs on it and this is a real earworm. I also
used the title track on Q#148.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">21)
Foglake – Motorcade: I really thought I’d used a track from this record (<i>Midnight
Society</i>) on a mix this year but alas, I have not! The record was released
in May and is another fine collection of lo-fi bedroom indie, you’ll either dig
it or not!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">22)
Ratboys - Bad Reaction: Ratboys’ fifth album, <i>The Window </i>was released in
August on Topshelf records (<i>It’s Alive! </i>Was featured on Q#150), this
song also closes the record and it seemed like once I’d picked this track it
couldn’t go anywhere else.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">And
there you have it, the definitive, unambiguous best of 2023.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><br /></span></p>
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/50RC5FImiXOFHltq3anxCd?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-75886419597426784212023-12-07T05:49:00.001+00:002023-12-07T05:49:16.070+00:00Q#152 - October to November 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWqDVQ-CWr97KJoYqOE1LNU_TakMYLbvLO1m8V28ZM-A0uvWFX5uxl6KheUC_X0nrGRfz1jN_jy6A3Sdm1im8JyzurpjAdAZOqcbDM2nkVwSfXvb8elv0r70-t08acxtwGQUjEd1p6iWp2PhfMay_ghxkLNfDHOcWcmUg2szzfRjOKTOaHaidpbFmZQ4/s690/Q152%20cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWqDVQ-CWr97KJoYqOE1LNU_TakMYLbvLO1m8V28ZM-A0uvWFX5uxl6KheUC_X0nrGRfz1jN_jy6A3Sdm1im8JyzurpjAdAZOqcbDM2nkVwSfXvb8elv0r70-t08acxtwGQUjEd1p6iWp2PhfMay_ghxkLNfDHOcWcmUg2szzfRjOKTOaHaidpbFmZQ4/s16000/Q152%20cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/pa0wr2z7j4zhegg/Q%2523152.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/pa0wr2z7j4zhegg/Q%2523152.zip/file</a> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM </b></b></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #152 – October to
November 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">It
completely passed me by that Q#151 was the 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the
first Qcomp! Back when they were monthly and purely on burned CD-Rs with
printed notes and artwork… a lot has changed for the better and I’m very
thankful for my current circumstances. It has been a busy couple of months with
a work trip to Toronto (first time in 21 years I had been there), a quick jaunt
back home and even a reasonable amount of shows lately. As always, I hope there’s
something for everyone here. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">01)
Weakened Friends – Awkward: I’ve been a fan of Portland, Maine trio Weakened
Friends since their 2018 debut <i>Common Blah </i>and managed to see them open
for Laura Jane Grace in the summer. They haven’t released an album since 2018’s
<i>Quitter </i>but this single was just released, which is supposed to be an
upbeat/joyful song by comparison to their other work! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">02)
Rodeo Boys - Feel the Same: <i>Home Movies </i>was released back in June but I
only just recently noticed it in my bandcamp library from Don Giovanni Records.
This song opens the record and has some fun guitar licks including a spaghetti
western riff in parts and a killer solo. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">03)
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Ultimate Hammer (live): Probably the
best stoner rock band around at the moment. I recently got to see Pigs Pigs
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs at Elsewhere, but I also saw them at Mercury Lounge
earlier in the year which just got released as a live album, which is obviously
where this is taken from. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">04)
The Holydrug Couple - Light or Night (live): One of the Chilean psych-rock
heavyweights, the band (which is for the best part, a solo project of Ives
Sepulved) followed up 2018’s <i>Hyper Super Mega </i>with a couple of
soundtracks and lo-fi records, just released a live record from Berlin,
recorded in August which is pretty great. This track originally appears on
2015’s <i>Moonlust</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">05)
Squirrel Flower - Full Time Job: Ella Williams aka Squirrel Flower released her
new album, <i>Tomorrow’s Fire</i>, on Polyvinyl Records, and her current run of
full length albums (2020’s <i>I Was Born Swimming</i>, 2021’s <i>Planet (i) </i>and
now this one) is outstanding. It’s a bit strange that she’s often advertised as
a folk/acoustic singer, but a lot of her recorded work is filled with
scorching, almost volcanic sounding guitars like this one. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">06)
Leaving Time – End: There are a few shoegaze tracks on the mix (that’s probably
true of most mixes), I recently ordered this <i>I + II </i>on bandcamp, which
as the name somewhat suggests, is a collection of two Eps (you guessed it, <i>I
</i>and <i>II</i>, released in 2020 and 2022 respectively). This track is from
the second EP. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">07)
Rocket - Pipe Dream: Another recent bandcamp purchase, which happens to be the
LA act’s debut EP, and that’s about all the info I have!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">08)
The Beths - Watching the Credits: A fairly recent pet peeve is when bands
release deluxe editions of albums a short while after the normal album is
released, and it slightly pains me when bands I love do it. I almost always
pre-order the “deluxe” or otherwise limited releases when a new record is
released, which I did for <i>Expert in a Dying Field</i>, purchasing the Rough
Trade exclusive that came with a flexi disc. Less than a year later the band
released a version with an entire record’s worth of demos and extra tracks,
which of course I had to buy… <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">09)
Ducks Ltd - The Main Thing: One of the best jangle pop bands of the last few
years, Toronto’s Ducks Ltd just announced new album, <i>Harm’s Way</i>, which
will come out in February. I don’t have anything insightful to say about this,
it just sounds like joy to me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">10)
Small Crush – 5: This track came up on Emily’s daily spotify mix one time, and
then wouldn’t stop playing. This song is featured on their second album, <i>Penelope</i>,
which was released in September. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">11)
Tennis Courts - Yellow Lays: This Brooklyn quartet put out their debut album, <i>You
Won’t Find It On Your Own</i>, in September and while I haven’t properly
digested it, this track got in my head a lot in the last couple of months. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">12)
Gigolo Aunts - Mrs Washington: File among bands I never thought I’d get to see
live, I was slightly amazed to read that power-pop greats Gigolo Aunts were
opening for Letters to Cleo. <i>Flippin’ Out </i>was a staple record for me in
the 90s and the band played an amazing set (to me, anyway!). I try not to
re-use songs on Qcomps and I’m almost certain that I used <i>Where I Find My
Heaven </i>probably on an early mix (if I do a power-pop specific mix I may
re-use it!). They did open their set with this tune. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">13)
Ron Gallo - Foreground Music: Ron Gallo is one of those artists I’ve conspired
to miss a few times, including one of the rare times I’ve been persuaded with
the “we don’t know who the opener is, let’s have another beer before the show
instead” argument, and is a great reason why you should never do that. Anyway,
I finally got to see Ron Gallo in November and Brooklyn Made in support of his
most recent record, <i>Foreground Music, </i>which was released in March this
year and where you’ll also hear this song. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">14)
Hotline TNT - I Thought You'd Change: Sometimes records end up in my bandcamp
wishlist and I honestly couldn’t tell you how they got there. That’s true of
Brooklyn’s Hotline TNT, who released their third album, <i>Cartwheel</i>, last
month. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">15)
Oceanator - The Last Summer: When bulking out an order on Polyvinyl for
Squirrel Flower’s latest record, I threw in Oceanator’s two records for good
measure (well, I wanted the free shipping, which is how they get you). This is
taken from the most recent record, 2022’s <i>Nothing’s Ever Fine</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">16)
Snarls - Big Fish: Columbus, Ohio act Snarls released one of my favourite
records in 2020 (<i>Burst</i>), and followed up with an EP (<i>What About
Flowers</i>) in late 2021, and they seem to be gearing up to a new album with
the release of this song that was released in October.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">17)
Occult X – Dead: I really don’t have much information on this Nashville artist
aside from the dozen or so individual tracks on Bandcamp that are all pretty
delightful bedroom pop ranging from March 2020 to September 2023 (which is when
this song was released). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">18)
Josh Ritter - Bright Smile: We recently caught Josh Ritter in London while
spending a few days in the UK, he’s currently on tour celebrating the 20<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of his third album, <i>Hello Starling</i>, and he played the album
in full. I’d have used <i>Snow is Gone</i> on the mix but for time constraints
so you get the album opener. Originally he didn’t have any US dates but since
announced shows in February, so we’ll see him do the record again! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">19)
The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Build Love: I feel like I use a Reds, Pinks and
Purples track on every mix, such is the rate at which Glenn Donaldson has
released albums and Eps lately, but it turns out I don’t, so I should really
rectify that! This is the title track from a four song EP that was released in
September and has more of an acoustic/slowcore/sadcore vibe than most of his
releases, and I’m absolutely here for it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">20)
Helena Deland - Saying Something: Montreal singer/songwriter Helena Deland just
released her second album, <i>Goodnight Summerland</i>, on the 13<sup>th</sup>
of October, following up her low-key but beautiful debut, <i>Someone New </i>from
2020. The record should appeal to fans of Big Thief’s early work and folk side.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">21)
Deathcrash – Unwind: March feels like an age ago when Deathcrash released <i>Less</i>,
their second album (I closed out Q#149 with <i>Dead, Crashed</i>). At the time,
their debut album, <i>Return</i>, from 2022 was out of print already but I
managed to snag a repress a couple of months ago, and so here’s a track from
it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">22)
REM – Parakeet: It’s hard to think that REM haven’t been a band for 12 years at
this point… Their eleventh studio record, and first without drummer Bill Berry,
<i>Up, </i>is celebrating a 25<sup>th</sup> anniversary. I’ve always loved it, although
it’s pretty hard for me to objectively think about REM albums, and it’s been
gratifying to revisit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">This
is the last <i>normal </i>mix of the year. The next one will be a roundup of my
favourite releases of 2023. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a great time
over the holiday season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/1wt6jPg5YEjsvSQBGOLBZJ?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-66757934788070729112023-10-12T04:41:00.002+01:002023-10-12T04:41:54.936+01:00Q#151 - August to September 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqBaMqC1LrnAp6QO-Mqf94hg3GZ88gSgtv98I1XcPK4sdKErBqHARDnC70ecaebm6M4lYr2pZCIuukTXnMb1UvVw5Bt11kjOhuAQxKxJkGFNA5iFFKZVXNJMTTOGWoTmFqPOaiVVxXsbT9ZCZ7lYQ832Zy-03OP1Boy8QhGzLG4nfFEUtuBqYNFiiAiwg/s690/Q151%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqBaMqC1LrnAp6QO-Mqf94hg3GZ88gSgtv98I1XcPK4sdKErBqHARDnC70ecaebm6M4lYr2pZCIuukTXnMb1UvVw5Bt11kjOhuAQxKxJkGFNA5iFFKZVXNJMTTOGWoTmFqPOaiVVxXsbT9ZCZ7lYQ832Zy-03OP1Boy8QhGzLG4nfFEUtuBqYNFiiAiwg/s16000/Q151%20cover.png" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: times new roman;"><u><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/yp5xr9aubug670z/Q%2523151.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/yp5xr9aubug670z/Q%2523151.zip/file</a></u></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM </b></b></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><div><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #151 – August to
September 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">I’m
late again but that was inevitable after being a month late with the last mix!
What is time anyway… we’re officially in Autumn now which is a great time to be
in New York. This mix maybe isn’t as filled with completely brand new tracks as
usual, but it’s still <i>mostly </i>brand new. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">01)
Margaret Glaspy - Act Natural: I saw Margaret Glaspy play in 2017 and enjoyed
her set, I’m sure I gave 2020’s <i>Devotion </i>a cursory listen but it didn’t
stick. However, new album <i>Echo the Diamond </i>is a bit of a triumph.
Released on the 18<sup>th</sup> of August, this album opener in particular is,
as the kids say, a banger and the album as a whole is definitely her strongest
to date (at least to these ears). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">02)
Cory Hanson – Housefly: <i>Western Cum </i>is Cory Hanson’s third solo record,
and the most like his regular band, Wand, with the first two records being more
acoustic affairs. The similarity isn’t a bad thing by any measure, it’s an
excellent album.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">03)
OMAT – Knot: OMAT are a new band to me, a quartet based in Brooklyn, this song
ended up in my bandcamp from Fire Talk Records (who just opened up a store in
Greenpoint I need to check out). I am certainly not mad at the number of
shoegaze acts around these days<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">04)
Pom Pom Squad - Head Cheerleader: I saw Pom Pom Squad open for Nada Surf in
2021 and I’d been enjoying their album <i>Death of a Cheerleader </i>already by
that point. Singer Mia Barren even joined the band to sing <i>Popular </i>in
the encore, but then went one further with the song, recording a cover and
releasing a shot-for-shot recreation of the video (including a cameo from
Matthew Caws). It took a while, but I recently bought the vinyl which brought
it back into my rotation. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">05)
Helpful People - Protection Energy: I honestly thought I’d put a song by The
Reds Pinks and Purples on every mix this year… but it turns out I haven’t used
anything by Glenn Donaldson since March (he’s released a few Eps since then).
Anyway, Helpful People is a new band featuring Donaldson and Carly Putnam and
they just released <i>Brokenblossom Threats </i>and it’s obviously very good
because I’m not sure there’s a universe that exists where he can conjure a bad
song. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">06)
The Mountain Goats - Clean Slate: Some people might have been worried that The
Mountain Goats hadn’t released a record this year… fear not, the band’s… 22<sup>nd</sup>
(?) album, <i>Jenny From Thebes </i>will be released on Merge Records on the 27<sup>th</sup>
of October. This track opens the record and is one of three singles so far. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">07)
Maura Weaver - As If Your Love: <i>I Was Due a Heartache</i> is the new album
from Maura Weaver, released on Don Giovanni Records and mostly flits between
delightful fuzzy indie-rockers like this and a few acoustic ballads with an
alt-country underpin. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">08)
Liz Phair - Never Said: Liz Phair is about to tour in celebration of the 30<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of <i>Exile In Guyville</i>, also stopping at Kings Theatre,
bringing an opener I like to the show (Blondshell). Despite all these basically
perfect things, I haven’t bought a ticket yet (the show is the day after
thanksgiving to be fair)! Anyway, obviously this song is on Guyville and you
all probably know it already. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">09)
Everyone Asked About You - It's Days Like This Make Me Wish The Summer Would
Last Forever: The Numero Group have been unearthing underappreciated 90s acts. <i>Paper
Airplanes Paper Hearts </i>compiles the band’s entire recorded works. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">10)
The Belair Lip Bombs - Say My Name: Melbourne quartet The Belair Lip Bombs just
released <i>Lush Life</i> on the 25<sup>th</sup> of August via Cousin Will
Records and I have to confess I don’t remember where I heard about this band.
Pretty sure it was an artist I follow on Instagram that recommended them but
that’s about all I’ve got! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">11)
Native Nod – Bread: Going back to the Numero Group’s 90s reissue series, the
label has compiled the band’s recorded output and released <i>This Can’t Exist</i>.
Obviously every band can’t “make it”, but I’m surprised this track isn’t on
just about every 90s post-hardcore compilation. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">12)
Film School - Tape Rewind: LA shoegaze act Film School have been around since
1998, with a hiatus between 2011-2014. I think if you could AI generate a
shoegaze song, it might sound like this, which opens their latest record, <i>Field</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">13)
Follakzoid – II: Chilean greats Follakzoid is essentially a solo venture of
Domingæ, have ventured into more trance-territory since the third record, and
the recently released <i>V </i>(you guessed it, their fifth album) is fully
entrenched at this point. That might put some people off, but stick with it, there’s
a hypnotic element to the four tracks (that all clock in over ten minutes) that
is hard to pull away from. Keep doing what you’re doing Domingæ.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">14)
Chaos Peversion - Absorbtion Ascension Under the Vampiric Connection: I’ve had
this 10” EP on my wishlist for a few years but bought it on the last bandcamp
Friday. <i>Petrified Against the Emanation </i>was originally released in 2019
but got a remaster and reissue in 2022. I should add, the band are from Chile,
which originally peaked my interest, and other than that, I basically have no
information about them… <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">15)
Apostasy - Intro / Death: When I ordered the above record from Sentient Ruin, I
trawled through other releases wondering if they had any other Chilean bands
and eventually stumbled on this band and record (<i>Death Return)</i>, so I
ordered it! This is a classic thrash record released in 2021, which is their
most recent record after <i>Sunset of the End </i>(released in 1991) and <i>The
Sign of Darkness </i>(2018). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">16)
Emma Anderson - Bend the Round: Shoegaze/Britpop fans will recognise Emma
Anderson from Lush, and her debut solo album, <i>Pearlies</i>, will be released
on the 20<sup>th</sup> of October via Sonic Cathedral. This song has a nice
floaty quality to it that makes a lot of sense knowing her background but is
clearly pretty far from Lush at the same time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">17)
Ibex Clone - There is No Light: Memphis trio Ibex Clone include former members
of Ex-Cult and Nots, and I should say Hash Reactor, but all of Ibex Clone
were/are also in Hash Reactor… regardless you probably wouldn’t think they’d be
this jangly based on their collective CVs, but Ibex Clone are all the better
for it. Their record, <i>All Channels Clear </i>was released on Goner Records
back in February. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">18)
Mini Snap - Leave it to You: A record I thought was new but actually came out,
but <i>Bounce Around </i>was released in 2007 and passed me by at the time, it
just happened to get a re-press in the US on Tall Texan, which I purchased at
the same time as the Helpful People record featured earlier. Mini Snap is the
side project of The Bats guitarist Kaye Woodward, and while it kinda sounds
like The Bats, that’s obviously not a bad thing at all! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">19)
Madder Rose - Mystery Date: NYC indie vets Madder Rose had a 20 year hiatus
between 1999 and 2019 when they released <i>To Be Beautiful</i>, and they just
followed that up with new album <i>No One Gets Hurt Ever</i> which was released
at the beginning of August. Despite the recent records, the band hadn’t played
live in 24 years before a surprise performance in September. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">20)
Queen of Jeans - Get Lost: Philly trio Queen of Jeans’ last release was 2022’s
EP <i>Hiding In Place</i>, but this opens their 2019 record <i>If You’re Not
Afraid, I’m Not Afraid</i>, which I loved at the time and there’s no reason for
its inclusion other than it’s been stuck in my head for months. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="352" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/4LFJYbd8zzbqGgyTtufJtm?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-92079002982866415502023-08-29T05:58:00.001+01:002023-08-29T05:58:15.761+01:00Q#150 - June to July 2023<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhba1nVBiIfCqYJ7KeztYNiTQCqttEGeqHr6Sjd9mMT8Ldp5m5qdwargGgQyfLEiE1NNfJZ9N7bJBM86eliX3F6ofIt9LOYwoxWMgpSPsWNp3tGIEIYKCWg6qqDnFriFpzOUxH_9BVBj2NMxbigNrcGMKcFyfQDnmFWF7uRrMGVLIb8BUs7cJHuchigbnw/s690/Q150%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhba1nVBiIfCqYJ7KeztYNiTQCqttEGeqHr6Sjd9mMT8Ldp5m5qdwargGgQyfLEiE1NNfJZ9N7bJBM86eliX3F6ofIt9LOYwoxWMgpSPsWNp3tGIEIYKCWg6qqDnFriFpzOUxH_9BVBj2NMxbigNrcGMKcFyfQDnmFWF7uRrMGVLIb8BUs7cJHuchigbnw/s16000/Q150%20cover.png" /></a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/d1a17xegg6ehv3x/Q#149.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/v2vql64k69b3i71/Q#150.zip/file</a> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM </b></b></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #150 – June to
July 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Well
another late mix, sorry about that, maybe the latest it’s ever been (if I’m
lucky I’ll upload this on the 29<sup>th</sup> of <i>August</i>). It has been a
very busy time! We bought and moved into our new apartment in July and that
coincides with a busy time at work, I’ve also re-learned to drive having never
done so in the US and just passed my test. Anyway, here are some tunes,
hopefully you find something to like! I took the cover photo is from early June
when NYC felt post apocalyptic following wildfires in Canada.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">01)
Longings - Expensive Grave: This Western Mass band are completely new to me but
since I am a Don Giovanni subscriber on bandcamp I receive every release
digitally, and my interests were pricked when I read the band includes Cole
Lanier of California X on drums. <i>Dreams in Red </i>is the bands second
record, following up on their self-titled from 2015.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">02)
M.A.G.S. – Destroyer: I used a M.A.G.S. track back on Q#146 after seeing them
open for Oso Oso at Warsaw, and the band have just released their third album, <i>Destroyer,
</i>which came out on the 4<sup>th</sup> of August, this is obviously the title
track.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">03)
Sparks - The Girl is Crying in her Latte: Everyone’s favourite new band! The
power of a good documentary can do wonders for a band’s reputation. I’ve been a
fan of Sparks for a long time but can’t confess to keeping up with their
releases and they’ve very much been a band I dip in and out of over the years.
I’d never seen them live, however, and managed to rectify that at the end of
June when they played the Beacon Theatre.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">04)
Worriers - Trust Your Gut: Worriers’ are set to release their fifth album (this
is the title track), but second of 2023 following <i>Warm Blanket </i>that was
released in April. The record features Atom Willard on drums.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">05)
Hurry - Begging For You: Philly have been producing great bands for a number of
years now but nobody captures the pure joy of jangle quite like Hurry. New
album <i>Don’t Look Back </i>comes out on the 11<sup>th</sup> of August.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">06)
Ratboys - It's Alive!: Chicago quartet Ratboys have are just about to release
their fifth record, <i>The Window</i>, on the 25<sup>th</sup> of August, which
is the first album they’ve recorded outside of Chicago. The album was recorded
by Chris Walla, whose productio credits (as well as being a member of Death Cab
for Cutie until 2014) include Nada Surf and The Decemberists.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">07)
The Hazmats - Skewed View: I don’t really know anything about this band other
than liking the couple of songs that are available on bandcamp. Excellent power
pop, maybe destined to appear on some kind of great-great-grandchildren-of-nuggets
type compilation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">08)
The Beaches - Blame Brett: Another band I don’t know too much about other than
this track was recommended by Beach Bunny, maybe there’s something about the
name… anyway, this is a fun track and will be on their second album, called <i>Blame
My Ex</i>, which comes out in September.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">09)
Obits - You Gotta Lose: I was shocked and saddened to hear about the death of
Rick Froberg, aged just 55, at the beginning of July. Rick possessed a great
rock and roll voice and I was fortunate enough to see most of his bands over
the years – Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, and Obits. This is from Obit’s second
record, <i>Moody, Standard and Poor</i>, they were the band that got the least
attention but they were also amazing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">10)
Mandy, Indiana - Injury Detail: <i>I’ve Seen a Way</i>, the debut record from
Manchester (England) quartet Mandy, Indiana, is a difficult record to put your
finger one. While the band are from England, singer Valentine Caulfield is from
Paris and sings in French. They’re dancey and clubby in places like this song,
for the most part there’s an industrial/noise quality to the record that is
truly compelling and I keep going back for more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">11)
Fat Tony - Gambling Man: Fat Tony has cropped up on a handful of Q-Comps over
the years, this is on his 2020 record <i>Exotica</i>, which was his most recent
until <i>I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy</i> was released at the end of
August.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">12)
Sprain - Man, Propose, God Disposes: LA quartet Sprain have released two
excellent slowcore records, but are just about to unleash their third album, <i>The
Lamb as Effigy</i> on the 1<sup>st</sup> of September. Having just received the
record this week ahead of its release, it may well be an album of the year
contender. Their previous two records (2020’s <i>As Lost Through Collision </i>and
2018’s self-titled) have also been spectacular, the debut with a wistful
slowcore and the the follow-up adding some post-hardcore influences and even
nothing the BPM significantly on a couple of songs, but it still revelled in
its codeine-esque glacial moments. The new album has unleashed all the shackles
and the band have so much confidence in their art, it’s hard to remember a band
growing so much between records.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">13)
Vanishing Twin - Afternoon X: While it’s not being released until October,
Vanishing Twin’s third album, <i>Afternoon X</i>, is hotly anticipated, and
while this title track does feel like it could have slotted onto the previous
album seamlessly, that’s not a bad thing to me. There’s something hypnotic
about drummer Valentina Magaletti’s style that I could listen to all day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">14)
Deeper - Build a Bridge: It always feels a bit of a shame when a band moves on
from a label you follow closely (Fire Talk), although in the case of Deeper,
they’ve signed to Sub Pop, and are about to release new album <i>Careful! </i>on
the 8<sup>th</sup> of September. This track opens the record.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">15)
Squid - Green Light: Having released my favourite album of 2021 with <i>Bright
Green Field </i>(and also played two incredible NYC shows), expectations were
always going to be astronomical for the follow-up. <i>O Monolith </i>was
released in June once again on Warp Records and even after a couple of months I
feel like I’m still digesting it, but this track is one of those immediate and
high-octane tracks that they do so well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">16)
Dusk - Pissing in a Wishing Well: Five years after their self-titled debut,
Dusk are about to release <i>Glass Pastures </i>on the 20<sup>th</sup> of
October via Don Giovanni Records. Amos Pitsch is one of those guys who can
seemingly do just about anything and do it well. Whether it’s the country/honky
tonk of Dusk or the pure anthemic fist-bumping rock and roll of Tenement, to
film and TV scores, I consider him one of the most underrated musicians in the
country.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">17)
Julia Jacklin - You Were Right: I’d conspired to miss Julia Jacklin play a few
times since I became a fan in 2019, but thankfully got to see her play a free
show in Central Park this summer and I just felt like putting the song on this
mix as a result. This track is from her second record, <i>Crushing</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">18)
Del Amitri - Gone in a Second: I was fortunate enough to catch a headline show
out in Red Bank, NJ during Del Amitri’s tour opening for Barenaked Ladies. When
I’ve seen a band a number of times I tend to judge shows based on the number of
songs I haven’t heard live before, or for a long time. This song is on the
“b-sides” release of the last, so it was a thrill to hear live for the first
time album (there aren’t b-sides anymore but Del Amitri are the best b-side
band of all time). I can say, having seen my four favourite bands (Del Amitri,
Rush, Nada Surf, REM) almost 60 times between them and never before as an
opening act, it was a strange feeling experiencing that a few days after seeing
the headline show…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">19)
Current Joys - My Shadow Life: I became a big Current Joys fan when <i>A Different
Age </i>was released in 2018, it was one of those records that was a lo-fi
masterpiece, so sad and downbeat that it was truly beautiful while follow-up <i>Voyager
</i>in 2021 was highly produced by comparison but also an excellent record. New
album LOVE + POP was just released at the beginning of August and while it
harkens back to the first few lo-fi records, it almost feels like a collection
of throwaway tracks that aren’t quite fully realised. I like this tune, for
example, but it’s also 90 seconds long, which isn’t much shorter than the
average track length.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">20)
Pot Valiant - Nugget Killer: I probably can’t make a mix without adding
something that Numero have just re-issued and this time around it’s Berkeley’s
Pot Valiant who released a couple of Eps and an album in 1993/94. Number
compile their discography on a re-issue called <i>Never Return</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">21)
Squirrel Flower - When a Plant is Dying: One of my favourite acts of the last
few years is Ella Williams AKA Squirrel Flower, who is about to release her
third album, <i>Tomorrow’s Fire</i>, in October. This track features some of
the same smouldering guitar that was so brilliantly used on previous record <i>Planet
(i)</i>, and the album is being billed as a rock record to listen to loudly.
Suffice to say I have high hopes that I’m sure will be surpassed! <i>“There
must be more to life than being on time”</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">22)
Clearbody – Cordelia: Heavy shoegaze trio Clearbody released their second EP <i>Bend
Into a Blur </i>back in June (though that depends if you consider debut release
<i>One More Day </i>as an album or an EP…). This track closes out the release
but I could have easily used any of the five tracks. I usually end on a
downbeat track but we’re rocking out this time.</span><i style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /></span></span><p></p><div><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="352" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/4apu187yIHDDFqo28b8t4K?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-60025403370527303472023-06-20T04:56:00.001+01:002023-06-20T04:56:49.810+01:00Q#149 - April to May 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VknPhm76W-8zHWQLZk5fYn9UIN9OHudw6REDECwJI93veiM7477M_9yQQf3n7KP5hM9m-e0xJ04zb_bEmWNVOvumOubWoH-KgoQT4qog5QF2bxWcPNgf4EHiQ5-9XbVEyos9WtpE1MrhoEkuIWKCZJ_4X8H2LTMA21uLuDMlKM4Mmicf-88I33IA6Ug/s690/Q149%20cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VknPhm76W-8zHWQLZk5fYn9UIN9OHudw6REDECwJI93veiM7477M_9yQQf3n7KP5hM9m-e0xJ04zb_bEmWNVOvumOubWoH-KgoQT4qog5QF2bxWcPNgf4EHiQ5-9XbVEyos9WtpE1MrhoEkuIWKCZJ_4X8H2LTMA21uLuDMlKM4Mmicf-88I33IA6Ug/s16000/Q149%20cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/d1a17xegg6ehv3x/Q#149.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/d1a17xegg6ehv3x/Q#149.zip/file</a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM </b></b></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #149 – April to
May 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Another
mix, and possibly the latest one in terms of missing a deadline! There are some
mitigating circumstances… we went to Africa for a couple of weeks (South
Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana) and for the most part had a great time! We
also just bought an apartment and closed on that a few days after we got back
from holiday, so it’s been go-go-go. Anyway, ultimately this got thrown
together pretty quickly but I think it’s a decent mix, I hope there’s something
for you to like.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">01)
The Dirty Nil - Nicer Guy: Canadian power-trio The Dirty Nil just released
their fourth studio album, <i>Free Rein to Passions </i>on the 26<sup>th</sup>
of May. It’s choc-full of riffs and anthemic choruses that they specialise in
and they’re definitely one of my favourite bands that I have somehow continued
to miss live, thankfully I’ll rectify that at Bowery Ballroom on the 8<sup>th</sup>
of July. This is the lead single from the record. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">02)
Cloud Nothings - Internal World: I went through a Cloud Nothings kick recently,
mostly because I thought Carpark Records were having an amazing sale on
bandcamp and all their albums on vinyl were listed at $5 each, so I bought
every one, only to find out they had made an error. Still, they’re in my
bandcamp collection now… this is from 2017’s <i>Life Without Sound </i>record. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">03)
Bully - Days Move Slow: <i>Lucky For You, </i>the fourth Bully Album, essentially
the solo work of Alicia Bognanno, just came out on the 2<sup>nd</sup> of June (Bognanno
also produced The Mountain Goats’ last album, <i>Bleed Out</i>). This is the
lead single and probably stand-out track from the record, which I need to spend
a little more time with, but does transport you nicely back to the heady
alt-rock days of the early-to-mid 90s. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">04)
Easy Star All Stars - Moonage Daydream: I loved Easy Star All Stars’ <i>Dub
Side of the Moon </i>(2003)<i> </i>and <i>Radiodread </i>(2006), but completely
missed <i>Lonely Hearts Dub Band </i>(2009)<i> </i>and <i>Thrillah </i>(2012),
which was their last record until they put out a reggae version of David
Bowie’s <i>The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, </i>calling it <i>Ziggy Stardub</i>.
This track even features Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson so I had to choose it for
the mix. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">05)
Joseph – Fireworks: Released on the 28<sup>th</sup> of April, <i>The Sun </i>is
Joseph’s third studio album. Having seen the three sisters perform as an
acoustic trio, it’s still a little jarring to hear their recorded output
produced with all the bells and whistles, some of the charm is lost. However,
this is a good pop banger. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">06)
Puppy Angst – TKO: This single fell into my lap because I subscribe to the
label Fire Talk on Bandcamp, there are some big Cure vibes on this song and
obviously that’s a good thing. Their bandcamp is usually what I’m looking for
in a nutshell “<i>it's like puppy love but a lil more sad </i></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">🐕</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"> shoegazy/dreamy fuzz pop; kind of fun kind of a bummer</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">”. I’m looking forward to
digging into the discography. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">07)
Glow in the Dark Flowers - On the Marble: Chicago duo Jessee Rose Crane and
Philip Lesicko have been making jangly reverb-heavy, sometimes noisey indie
rock music together for some time now under the name The Funs. However, they
decided that the new material was different enough to warrant a new name and
Glow in the Dark Flowers were born, the music is a little darker, but the
essence is still there for me. Released via Born Yesterday Records on the 14<sup>th</sup>
of April, this track immediately drew me in. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">08)
Human Barbie – Empty: Thanks to my buddy Felix for sending this track to me
back in January, which is from a 2022 EP called <i>No Worries</i>. Felix is one
of my most trusted musical comrades, and this track is probably a good
summation of his laid back California vibe. If I used too many of the tracks he
sends me, you might as well listen to his mixes! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">09)
Stuck - The Punisher: Another Born Yesterday band, I used <i>Do Not Reply </i>back
on Q#146 hoping that it was a preview of an upcoming album, and that has
thankfully come true with the release of <i>Freak Frequency </i>that was
released on the 26<sup>th</sup> of May. Do Not Reply closes the record, and
this track opens the album, so if you’re paying attention you have the album
bookmarked! Stuck are just another example of the great bands coming out of
Chicago in the last few years. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">10)
Sweeping Promises – Eraser: I had to pinch myself that it’s been three years
since Sweeping Promises’ debut album <i>Hunger for a Way Out</i> was released.
On Q#133 I noted they were a Boston band but their bandcamp bio notes they’re
now based in Lawrence, Kansas. New record <i>Good Living Is Coming For You </i>comes
out on the 30<sup>th</sup> of June and at the time of writing this is the lead
and only track from the record, which hints at a continuation of the lo-fi
production values. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">11)
Asian Glow - Sneezing Seasonal Creators: I’ve used a couple of Parannoul tracks
and mentioned the burgeoning bedroom-shoegaze from South Korea, as prominent is
Asian Glow. This is from Asian Glow’s most recent record, <i>Stalled Glues,
means</i>, which came out on the 13<sup>th</sup> of June 2022 (a good
day!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">12)
Fruit Bats - It All Comes Back: The latest Fruit Bats record, <i>A River
Running To Your Heart, </i>is largely a low-key affair that I’m still getting
to grips with. After a string of near-perfect records, it’s always jarring when
something isn’t an immediate banger, but the record is a grower and I was lucky
to see them on 4/20 for the second year in a row (if nothing else, perhaps
every 4/20 should feature a Fruit Bats show in NYC). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">13)
American Grandma - Stone Cross: Band names don’t really raise an eyebrow
anymore, which is probably a good thing for Denver, Colorado duo American
Grandma. When it comes to immaculately produced slowcore, <i>Rare Knives of
Light </i>(released the 7<sup>th</sup> of April this year) is too good to worry
about questionable monikers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">14)
Public Interest – Undone: I really miss Girls Names from Belfast (2009-2018)
and it’s a little unfair to perhaps look for direct replacements but Oakland’s
Public Interest do seem to perfectly scratch that itch with <i>Spiritual
Pollution</i> which was released on the 7<sup>th</sup> of April. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">15)
Eyelids - I Can't Be Told: Portland, Oregan’s Eyelids are one of those bands
that are the sum of their parts, and often one of those parts includes REM’s
Peter Buck, be it producing, playing guitar, or performing live from time to
time. Even a sprinkle of REM-magic can transcend most bands and it’s perhaps a
little unfair of Eyelids to mention Buck’s involvement because the songs and
quality of the records speak for themselves, what I’m getting at is that if you
enjoy REM’s IRS years you should love Eyelids. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">16)
Doe St - Blue & White: Australian band Doe St were featured on the previous
compilation (<i>Chasing the Scream </i>on Q#148 from their self-titled record
of February 2022), they’ve since released new album <i>Stepping Stones </i>that
just came out on the 11<sup>th</sup> of May, which continues the good work
they’ve put up so far. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">17)
Grumpy - Davy Jones: I can’t quite remember how I heard about this Queens, NY
act but this record (<i>Loser</i>) was released in March 2020 and this track
opens the album and while you can’t hear everything all the time, I’m surprised
it took three years for it to come onto my radar! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">18)
Girl Puppy - I Wish: <i>When I’m Alone</i> is the debut album of Atlanta,
Georgia’s Becca Harvey, aka Girlpuppy, and was released on the 28<sup>th</sup> of
October 2022 via Royal Mountain Records. This track was the lead single from
the album and if you’re whimsical indie-pop then you’re in the right place. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">19)
Indigo De Souza - Parking Lot: One of my favourite discoveries from 2022,
Indigo De Souza just released her third record, <i>All of This Will End</i>, on
Saddle Creek on the 28<sup>th</sup> of May. I’ve conspired to miss her shows to
date but she is playing a free show in Prospect Park in August. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">20)
Local Weatherman – Guns: I think this was another “well you liked this on
bandcamp, try this band” algorithm, the Pavement tones here are pretty apparent
but I’m a sucker for some good slacker. Their self-titled debut album came out
in January.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">21)
Horse Jumper of Love - Heartbreak Rules: Essentially a solo record from
vocalist/guitarist Dimitri Giannopoulos, <i>Heartbreak Rules</i> still
justifies being a HJoL record by name given the quality of the songs. We’re
still very much in slowcore territory, but the songs are more sparse and
acoustic driven. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">22)
Deathcrash – Dead, Crashed: Slowcore / post-rock, maybe even a little emo at
times, the London band’s second record, <i>Less</i>, was released in March and
has US distribution via Fire Talk, which is how I heard of the band in the
first place. This track closes out the record and felt like a good mix closer
too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">I’ll
try not to be so late next time! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></span></p>
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/7sQio700Qlr6M6XXm8suCg?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-49233602751942523672023-04-04T06:23:00.006+01:002023-04-04T06:33:41.192+01:00Q#148 - February to March 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWklOABr744SHpNn-iuiaWB70vrq0Bz8fsmHXB1LUnmJ7ygS2GrdfexqolkGFVMFKugx5xAQeAEpqr5-aLhcgqHxYLsOs4nvLao9OSVgrOZtgJlpOkJhiIhshOsEEn_n8lGmNnZNrKH5Ls9DPav8dI5BlWPS9U_Oc4KV6CD90Sp_32of--4X0wLnJm/s690/Q148%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWklOABr744SHpNn-iuiaWB70vrq0Bz8fsmHXB1LUnmJ7ygS2GrdfexqolkGFVMFKugx5xAQeAEpqr5-aLhcgqHxYLsOs4nvLao9OSVgrOZtgJlpOkJhiIhshOsEEn_n8lGmNnZNrKH5Ls9DPav8dI5BlWPS9U_Oc4KV6CD90Sp_32of--4X0wLnJm/s16000/Q148%20cover.png" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="text-align: center;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM </b></b></p><p></p><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from <a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/z3nw8l1cwj62l2f/Q#148.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/z3nw8l1cwj62l2f/Q#148.zip/file</a></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #148 – February
to March 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Happy
Spring! The year has started quite nicely, with a trip to Puerto Rico and some
great concerts in the book already (Unwound (three shows!), Codeine, The Beths
and White Reaper). The first “normal” mix of the year usually has quite a few
stragglers from the previous year that didn’t quite make the “best of” cut, but
this mix is almost entirely songs released this year. I hope there’s plenty to
enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">01)
White Reaper - Fog Machine: <i>Asking For a Ride </i>was released on the 27<sup>th</sup>
of January, although as is fairly typical these days, the vinyl release is
lagging behind (my pre-order should come in April). The band’s first album
since 2019’s <i>You Deserve Love</i>, the riffs come thick and fast with guitar
solos aplenty as you’d expect. I caught their recent show at Irving Plaza which
was pure entertainment. “<i>When my phone rings, Can't wait to hear what you
say”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">02)
Screaming Females – Ornament: New Brunswick’s finest just released their eighth
studio album, <i>Desire Pathway</i>, once again on Don Giovanni Records. The
trio have also just completed a short tour of Alaska which means they’ve played
in every state in the US, quite the achievement! The new record is filled with
all the signature Screaming Females power trio elements and I can’t wait to see
them at Elsewhere in April, which will be my 13<sup>th</sup> time seeing them, but
it feels like an age since I last saw them in 2019.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">03)
Purling Hiss - Yer All In My Dreams: Another great power trio, Philly’s Purling
Hiss put out their new record, <i>Drag on Girard </i>on the 24<sup>th</sup> of
March (just in time to make it on the mix). This track opens the record and
really sets the tone for singer/guitarist Mike Polizze to do what he does best,
shred. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">04)
Hannah Jadagu - What You Did: First featured two years ago on Q#137 with bedroom
pop anthem “<i>Think Too Much” </i>when she was unsigned at the time, now she’s
about to release debut album <i>Aperture </i>via Sub Pop Records in May. There’s
definitely some higher production values as you’d expect, but the three songs
released so far still have all the charm of the early songs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">05)
Gum – Stallion: I can’t quite remember how I heard of this Brooklyn quartet but
they just put out their debut album, <i>You’ll Never Know Yourself</i>, in
January, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a long lost 90s gem. The
record mostly splits between Pavement-ish slacker rock and punchy numbers like
this one. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">06)
Blondshell – Joiner: Half of Blondshell’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(aka</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Sabrina Teitelbaum) self-titled
debut album has been spoonfed as singles since June last year, so there won’t
be too many new songs to digest by the time the record is released on the 7<sup>th</sup>
of April, but it might end up low-key being one of the albums of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">07)
Samia – Honey: This is probably the song I most struggle to get out of my head
lately. Samia’s second record, <i>Honey,</i> was released at the end of January
and is definitely more on the pop side than the indie charm of <i>The Baby</i>,
but it seems like a natural progression. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">08)
Parannoul - We Shine at Night: There’s a pretty cool bedroom/DIY shoegaze scene
from South Korea at the moment which I’ve barely touched, but I’m a big fan of
everything Parannoul has put out since his 2020 debut <i>Let's Walk on the Path
of a Blue Cat. </i>New album <i>After the Magic </i>just came out at the end of
January, his first available on vinyl I believe (though I’m not expecting that
until July…). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">09)
bdrmmm - It's Just a Bit of Blood: You don’t hear about many bands from Hull! I
was a big fan of debut album <i>Bedroom </i>from 2020 so I’ve high hopes for <i>I
Don’t Know</i> which comes out on the 3<sup>rd</sup> of May. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">10)
The Reds, Pinks & Purples - Life in the Void: I feel like The Reds, Pinks
& Purples have been on more mixes than not in the last couple of years,
which speaks to both the quality of the music and how prolific Glenn Donaldson
has been. New album <i>The Town That Cursed Your Name, </i>which features a few
songs with a fuzzier sound than their signature tone. I feel like The Reds,
Pinks & Purples are one of those bands that you run out of things to say
about but that doesn’t mean I don’t love the music dearly. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">11)
Doe St. - Chasing the Scream: A few seconds into this tune and you could
probably guess they’re an Australian band (from Melbourne, to be precise), this
is from their <a href="https://doest.bandcamp.com/album/doe-st">self-titled
debut</a> and was released in February 2022. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">12)
Connections - In Space: Columbus Ohio indie vets Connections released new album
<i><a href="https://connectionsband.bandcamp.com/album/cool-change">Cool Change</a>
</i>on the 24<sup>th</sup> of March on Trouble In Mind Records and you shouldn’t
really look too much further if you want some pure Guided By Voices / REM college
radio rock. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">13)
R. Ring – Hug: A tale of two Dayton’s, R. Ring sees Kelley Deal (of The
Breeders) from Dayton Ohio, and Mike Montgomery (of Ampline), who lives in Dayton
KY. Their new album <i>War Poems, We Rested</i> was released on Don Giovanni Records
at the end of January and you could probably fool someone that this was a
Breeders song (that is to say, it’s fantastic). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">14)
Noble Rot - Casting No Light: Two of the best Canadians bands of this millennium
are Holy Fuck and METZ, so I was pretty excited to hear about Noble Rot, which puts
Alex Edkins (METZ) and Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck) together. It’s definitely more
on the Holy Fuck side of the two, which is fine by me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">15)
FACS - When You Say: Chicago trio FACS’ latest album <i>Still Life in Decay</i>
comes out on the 7<sup>th</sup> of April, and if this lead single is anything
to go by then it’ll be another triumph. FACS are at their best when drummer
Noah Leger and bassist Alianna Kalaba are creating a racket (since playing on
the record, Alianna has since amicably left the band to be replaced by founding
member Jonathan Van Herik), while Brian Chase adds textures as much as melody. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">16)
Kraus – Want: I think this was a bandcamp led “if you like this band, you might
like this band” discography, this album, <i><a href="https://willkraus.bandcamp.com/album/eye-escapes">Eye Escapes</a> </i>is
a pay-what-you-want download and turns out to be a collection of songs that didn’t
make it on a couple of their records. The record is a little disjointed which
is what you’d expect, but there are some highlights like this heavy shoegaze
tune. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">17)
Codeine – D: The only tune that isn’t recent, but I was overjoyed to be able to
see slowcore legends Codeine recently at Union Pool before they took part of Numero’s
20<sup>th</sup> anniversary show in LA. They’ve since announced shows across
the rest of the US, UK and Europe. The show I went to was their first gig in
ten years and they’re truly a band I didn’t think I’d get to see. This might be
the obvious Codeine song to put on a mix, but it also essentially defines an
entire genre, and not many bands can say that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">18)
Hydrodate - Early Reflections: <a href="https://hydrodate.bandcamp.com/track/early-reflections">This song</a>
ended up in my bandcamp collection because I subscribe to Fire Talk Records and
while I still don’t really know much about the band other than they’re from
Chicago and aside from this tune have an EP under their belt from 2022. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">19)
Deary – Fairground: For having only released <a href="https://deary.bandcamp.com/album/fairground">this one song</a> to date,
there’s a little hyperbole around this London duo. This is almost too perfectly
put together for Cocteau Twins fans, but it’s hard not to fall for how
beautiful these almost four minutes are. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">20)
Cindy - A Trumpet on the Hillside: San Francisco quarter Cindy’s new album <i>Why
Not Now? </i>Is out on the 14<sup>th</sup> of April via Mount Saint Mountain. I
used them on Q#140 with a song called <i>My Friend </i>from previous record <i>1:2</i>
and while it’s hard to describe their music as enthralling, there is some kind
of comforting warmth that pulls you in for a hug, even if everything sounds so
down. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">21)
Waveform – Lonely: If you thought things were going to pick up as the mix came
to a close, you’d be wrong. Connecticut’s<i> </i>Waveform will release new
album <i>Antarctica </i>on the 12<sup>th</sup> of May, with this song opening
the record. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Despite
being a little late, I’m really pleased with this mix and hope you found something
to like too!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/27qnjKcKa7MrrRugIdsaGk?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-82008184294481896222023-01-26T05:00:00.001+00:002023-01-26T05:00:18.845+00:00Q#147 - December 2022 to January 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUkzkrXBpsHFMR1C9ijTHOgpSs83fmsda7FFUQ3e6c434S-cLRQ3AbqnEL5nAaETnkQVOOUs8gVmb17igKpSgMVkkBLEChrQR_lmdCPgQXahNJhLW1cXOSrdP_Ojxf6I-UHwj9EY_u8w3ZiKTpy4ZCYinEWvEVjN42SOQw0ZXQmoCnIWCh-kB3jQ-/s690/Q147%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUkzkrXBpsHFMR1C9ijTHOgpSs83fmsda7FFUQ3e6c434S-cLRQ3AbqnEL5nAaETnkQVOOUs8gVmb17igKpSgMVkkBLEChrQR_lmdCPgQXahNJhLW1cXOSrdP_Ojxf6I-UHwj9EY_u8w3ZiKTpy4ZCYinEWvEVjN42SOQw0ZXQmoCnIWCh-kB3jQ-/s16000/Q147%20cover.png" /></a></div><span style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></p> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b><p></p><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from <a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/22mapsai3drcmvo/Q%2523147.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/22mapsai3drcmvo/Q%2523147.zip/file</a></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #147 – December
2022 to January 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Happy
new year! I hope everyone had a nice time over the holiday season. I feel a
little guilty saying this but 2022 was an excellent and milestone year for me –
I got married, turned 40, got a promotion and travelled well. Music-wise it was
pretty good too, I even got to see Del Amitri three times on their first US
tour in over 20 years. It felt like a bit of a legacy/nostalgic year for live
shows, seeing the likes of Supergrass, Rage Against the Machine, Porcupine
Tree, Jimmy Eat World, Pavement, Sigur Ros and Manic Street Preachers all for
the first time in years, decades for some, as well as seeing the likes of Elton
John, Tori Amos and the Lemonheads for the first time. I promise I also saw a
bunch of new acts! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">01)
Thus Love – Repetitioner: I used <i>Inamoto </i>on the previous mix so if you
have been paying attention this Vermont trio should sound familiar! This track
opens their debut album <i>Memorial</i> that came out in October via Captured
Tracks and really nails that 80s goth/post-punk mix.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">02)
Gladie - Born Yesterday: Another band that featured on the previous mix, the
band’s latest record, <i><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Don't
Know What You're In Until You're Out, </span></i><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">was released on the 18<sup>th</sup> of November and features
some of Augusta Koch’s best songwriting. “<i>Now the floodgates are open. The way
I feel I could fill the ocean. The way I feel I could fill the ocean, on my own”</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">03)
Weird Nightmare – Lusitania: METZ frontman Alex Edkins released his debut solo
record under the moniker Weird Nightmare in May via Sub Pop. I used <i>Searching
For You</i> back on Q#142 (Feb/March), it merits being a solo album by sounding
different enough from METZ, but that’s probably more from a production point of
view, the bones of METZ songs still seem like they’re there – but I love METZ
so there’s nothing to complain about!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">04)
Beach Bunny – Oxygen: Beach Bunny can do no wrong, releasing second full-length
album <i>Emotional Creature </i>in July on Mom+Pop Records (<i>Gone </i>featured
on Q#144) and I was fortunate enough to see them at Brooklyn Steel in the
summer. <i>Oxygen </i>was the lead single from the album but I could have
picked any track. “<i>Suddenly, everything is easy. I've never felt something
so deeply. 'Cause with you, with you, I breathe again. Baby, you're my oxygen”</i></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">05)
Horsegirl - Anti-Glory: Maybe the indie-success story of 2022 was Horsegirl’s
album </span><i><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt;">Versions of Modern Performance </span></i><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt;">that came out in June, this track opens the record. I’ll take
a smug hipster tap of my hat by featuring them in 2021 when they only had three
tracks on their bandcamp page.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">06)
Kids on a Crime Spree - Karl Kardel Building: Nine years after releasing a
handful of singles, Kids on a Crime Spree released their debut record <i>Fall
In Love Not In Line, </i>10 tracks zip by in under half an hour and it’s filled
with all that lovely Slumberland Records jangle and fuzz.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">07)
Black Country, New Road - Chaos Space Marine: Black Country, New Road released
my favourite album of 2021 (<i>For the First Time)</i> and followed it up with <i>Ants
From Up There</i> in February 2022. Unfortunately, vocalist/guitarist Isaac
Wood quit the band days before the album was released and while the band are
continuing, it’s proven a little difficult to have much emotional connection
with this release. It’s an excellent album, so that’s a shame, and I’m excited about
what they’ll do in the future - they’ve so far said they won’t play any songs
live from this or the previous album, however, so this just feels like a weird
time capsule in some ways.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">08)
Matt Kivel – Blush: <i><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">bend
reality ~ like a wave </span></i><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">was
released in October (I used <i>Find Love</i> on the previous mix) and I’d
describe it as a Sunday afternoon record, incredibly soothing.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">09)
The Mountain Goats - Make You Suffer: The 21<sup>st</sup> Mountain Goats
Record! <i>Bleed Out </i>was released in August via Merge Records and was
produced by Bully’s Alicia Bognanno. I think it’s their best album since 2015’s
Beat the Champ (I also used <i><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Wage
Wars Get Rich Die Handsome</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> in Q#144)</span>. “<i>Let your yes be yes, and your no come from deep
in your belly. I'm going to make you suffer”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">10)
The Beths - Head in the Clouds: New Zealand’s current finest, The Beths
released their third album, <i>Expert in a Dying Field </i>in September (<i>Silence
is Golden </i>featured on Q#144). They also played a great show in February and
I have tickets to see them at Brooklyn Steel in March. The show in February
completed an excellent trio of shows that is always amazing to experience in
New York, seeing them growing venue sizes from Mercury Lounge, to Music Hall of
Williamsburg, to Webster Hall. It was hard to pick a track for this mix but it
was probably the ripping guitar solo that sealed the deal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">11)
Oso Oso - Computer Exploder: <i>Sore Thumb</i> took me a number of plays for it
to really start clicking as well as 2019’s <i>Basking in the Glow</i>, but it
was a record I just started coming back to over and over again. I also used <i>Describe
You </i>on Q#143.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">12)
Young Guv - It's Only Dancing: Released three months apart, <i>Guv III </i>and <i>Guv
IV </i>are a little hard to tell apart as records and I had to check which
track this was on (for the record, it’s <i>III</i>). Ben Cook writes powerpop
hooks as good as anyone. “<i>Baby I just gotta move, but I’m forbidden to go
outside, I got a brand-new pair of boots and a shirt so loud I wanna show the
world how I can slide. It’s only dancing.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">13)
DEHD - Empty In My Mind: This is the Chicago trio’s fifth Q-comp appearance
since first appearing on Q#127. Latest record <i>Blue Skies </i>was released on
Fat Possum Records (previous albums had all been on Fire Talk) and continues
their upward trajectory.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">14)
The Reds, Pinks & Purples - Pour the Light In: Glenn Donaldson had a
prolific year that was a little hard to keep up with, though strictly speaking
I think this record, <i>Summer at Land’s End </i>was the only full-length album
(I also bought the version that came with a bonus instrumental album), but
there have also been a string of Eps and expanded reissues. “<i>all this time
spent, learning how to swim, through open clouds, pour the light in”</i></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">15)
Pet Fox - It Won't Last: Boston trio Pet Fox and feature members of Ovlov and
Palehound/Grass is Green, but I think they might be better than all those
bands. After a few Eps, they released debut record <i>A Face in Your Life</i>
on Exploding In Sound records in June.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">16)
The Smile - We Don't Know What Tomorrow Brings: I felt very fortunate to get to
see The Smile at King’s Theatre towards the end of the year, which was one of
the best shows I saw. Radiohead’s existence is murky at the moment, but if Thom
and Johnny continue to release records as good as <i>A Light for Attracting
Attention </i>then, I won’t saw I wouldn’t miss them, but I could get used to
it, it’s better than a few Radiohead albums, I think!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">17)
Plates of Cake – Nickel: And the award for best song that sounds exactly like
Television goes to Plates of Cake! That isn’t mean as a slight, I love this
song and finding eight and a half minutes for it on the mix should say it all. The
band released <i>Got a Feeling that I Live Here </i>in September and this feels
like the centre-piece.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">18)
The Ganjas - Space Trees: Chilean psych greats The Ganjas returned with their
first studio album in eight years with <i>Generation</i>, released of course on
the finest label, BYM Records. The album sounds like they’ve never been away.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">19)
Fliege - Sight for the Snowblind: It can be a little hard to sound objective
when two of your best friends release records, but Fliege’s new album <i>One
Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here</i>, retelling of John Carpenter’s <i>The
Thing </i>(which celebrated a 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary last year) demanded
to be on this mix. This song perhaps encapsulates everything about the duo,
with more guitar licks than most bands fit onto a single album, the whole
record is an ambitious triumph.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">20)
Erasers - Constant Connection: I used <i>You See </i>on Q#143 and this is the
title track from the Aussie duo’s third album. They often sound like they could
do a great soundtrack to an Italian horror movie.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">21)
Julia Jacklin - Be Careful With Yourself: A record that really grew on me
towards the end of the year was Julia Jacklin’s <i>Pre Pleasure</i>. The album
is very laid back and low key but slowly pulls you in. <i>“I've seen enough now
to know that this is special. So I'm just asking politely if you'd just try and
be careful with yourself”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">And
there you go, some of my favourites from 2022, I hope 2023 treats you as well
as last year treated me. If you ever discover anything from these mixes, I do
love to hear from you, let me know!</span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="352" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/35J1oWXidUVeJhMUJpJa92?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-1216988434764702262022-12-01T03:10:00.003+00:002022-12-01T03:10:38.043+00:00Q#146 - October to November 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4iLCXNuwK1Uiq9CdKXYQ5kHwte9g3Chs71DpMYCGbLH-zrEWmy-6BE6z20ouPP4M6mZ6DSnmzz3T7pyMmplhQGA0ZCSLSq6Xwd2zIDV2e65GSiy4-tp9RYPh9Yy4aiYKxNTu-ppQX2v_V83JLikJ-joJVBaxQlwenKd3TgSsahgjavR9uALOeZ8oH/s690/Q146%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4iLCXNuwK1Uiq9CdKXYQ5kHwte9g3Chs71DpMYCGbLH-zrEWmy-6BE6z20ouPP4M6mZ6DSnmzz3T7pyMmplhQGA0ZCSLSq6Xwd2zIDV2e65GSiy4-tp9RYPh9Yy4aiYKxNTu-ppQX2v_V83JLikJ-joJVBaxQlwenKd3TgSsahgjavR9uALOeZ8oH/s16000/Q146%20cover.png" /></a></div> <p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span> </span> <b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from <a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/zjgovp7e0ap69bw/Q#146.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/zjgovp7e0ap69bw/Q#146.zip/file</a></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><div><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #146 – October to
November 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Hurtling
towards the end of the year, I’m writing these notes the week of Thanksgiving
(now finishing them the week after…) and there’s a world cup playing which is
weird on multiple levels…. November has been a fruitful month for shows and
there have been some excellent new releases, so let’s just dive in. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">01)
The Men - Hard Livin': I’ve felt a bit of a kinship with The Men since I moved
to New York in January 2012; <i>Open Your Heart </i>came out that year and
they’ve been releasing consistently good records since (and for a few years
before that, even). Aptly titled new record <i>New York City </i>(their ninth) will
come out in February and this song opens the album. This tune has a Stooges
vibe to it and I’ve no doubt the album will be another success.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">02)
Current – Representation: Reissue kings Numero struck again by releasing <i>Yesterday’s
Tomorrow Is Not Today</i>, compiling their entire discography. The band burnt
brightly over the course of a couple of years, issuing an album and a couple of
Eps, I’m very grateful for their work to find a new audience as it’s as good as
any of the early 90s Dischord act that they were so clearly influenced by.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">03)
Thus Love – Inamorato: It shouldn’t shock anyone hearing this song for the
first time to hear that this Brattleboro, Vermont trio just released their
debut album on Captured Tracks, who have long been a perfect label for this
brand of 80s goth. The record, <i>Memorial, </i>just came out at the start of
October and this is one of those tracks I almost held back for the “best of
2022” mix that will come next but I couldn’t help myself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">04)
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Mr Medicine: Another record coming out in
February, Newcastle sludge greats will unlease <i>Land of Sleeper </i>on the 17<sup>th</sup>.
Unfortunately their NYC show at Saint Vitus in March clashes with one of the
Unwound shows I have tickets for so hopefully they’ll be back later in the
year. This lead single isn’t necessarily breaking new ground for the band but
in their case that’s not a bad thing at all.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">05)
Milly – Illuminate: Bandcamp struck gold again with one of their “if you like
X, you might like Y” suggestions with this heavy shoegaze act from LA. This
song opens <i>Eternal Ring</i>, that came out at the end of September and gives
off those Ride/Swervedriver vibes that are irresistible.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">06)
Gladie – Nothing: Augusta Koch’s post-Cayetana band Gladie was the last band I
saw before (at the beginning of?) the pandemic in March 2020 and their new
album, <i>Don't Know What You're In Until You're Out</i>, just came out a few
days ago (the 18<sup>th</sup> of November to be exact) and I had the pleasure
of seeing them in Garwood, NJ opening for Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!. The
record is excellent and has a nice mix of bangers like this and a few slower
numbers. “<i>Fruit gets ripe before it gets rotten, and I keep seeking advice
that I’ve already gotten”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">07)
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Pierced Arrows: I’ve been fortunate to see a number
of shows at the beautiful King’s Theatre in Brooklyn a few minutes walk from my
apartment recently, one of which was Bright Eyes where Hurray for the Riff Raff
opened. Alynda Segarr’s latest record, <i>Life on Earth</i>, came out in
February and I think this is the stand-out tune.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">08)
Vanishing Twin - The Lift: London quintet Vanishing Twin are led by Cathy
Lucas, who I didn’t realise until just checking their wiki page to write these
notes, is in Fanfarlo, who admittedly I haven’t really thought much about since
their debut 2009 record, but I’m digressing here… Vanishing Twin’s Ookii Gekkou
album came out in October 2021 but I only recently heard about them after they
played a show here recently. The album is an excellent psych/kraut record that
hits perfectly if you’re in the right mood for it, there’s something about the
rhythm section that is magnetic.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">09)
Breanna Barbara - Diamond Light: This is the first single from (and also opens)
Breanna’s second album, <i>Nothin’ But Time, </i>which came out on the 28<sup>th</sup>
of October. It’s definitely a throwback to 60s psych-pop and the whole record
is awash with that 60s west coast vibe.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">10)
Matt Kivel - Find Love: Singer/songwriter Matt Kivel’s latest record, <i>bend
reality ~ like a wave, </i>came out in October and features Bonnie “Prince”
Billy on three tracks, one of which is obviously this song. I tend to write
these notes as I listen along and have had to play the track three times in a
row having not typed anything, maybe some things can be <i>too </i>pleasant?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">11)
Broken Bells – Saturdays: I must admit I’ve never really listened to Broken
Bells until their new album, <i>Into the Blue</i> was released on the 22<sup>nd</sup>
of October. I had 3 minutes available after I’d mixed everything and then
realised this song fit here perfectly.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">12)
White Reaper – Pages: It has been three years since White Reaper’s last record,
<i>You Deserve Love</i>, which was one of my favourite 2019 records, but the
band just announced new album <i>Asking for a Ride</i> that will come out at
the end of January. This lead single is a pretty simple banger and gets better
the more you listen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">13)
M.A.G.S – Smile: I saw M.A.G.S (Marijuana and Good Sex) open for Oso Oso at
Warsaw recently and they were the best kind of opening band – knowing nothing
about them before they started playing to being an instant convert, the band
confidently ripped through their set of early-00s influenced indie-pop, with
some songs leaning into pure pop.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">14)
Joyer – Blistered: I’m not sure how I missed this 2020 slowcore record at the
time, but I was enjoying Knifeplay’s new record (more on that later) and
noticed this band were opening a show with them so found their bandcamp page
and liked what I heard – this is actually how I end up hearing a lot of bands!
Anyway, I ordered this album, <i>Sun Into Flies </i>on a bandcamp Friday. To
give a slowcore caveat, this is the up-tempo song on the album.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">15)
Ken Mode - A Love Letter: Hankering for a metal show, I noticed Ken Mode were
playing a show at Saint Vitus with Frail Body (who featured on Q#144), I hadn’t
seen Ken Mode since 2013 so it seemed like a good idea to bridge that gap. The
band’s new album, <i>Null</i> is a bit of a tour de force of sludge with this
tune kicking off the record.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">16)
Fleshwater - The Razors Apple: This band have been described as grunge-gaze and
that’s a pretty apt description for their debut album <i>We’re Not Here to be
Loved</i>, this song is probably the most “grunge-gaze” with the record
probably leaving a bit more on the grunge side overall.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">17)
Stuck - Do Not Reply: It has been a couple of years since Chicago act Stuck
released their last album, <i>Change Is Bad, </i>though<i> </i>they did release
EP in 2021. This tune came out on the 18<sup>th</sup> of October on Born
Yesterday records and is hopefully a preview for an upcoming record?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">18)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Different Today: Those first three YYYs albums are still
pretty dear to my heart, but I can’t remember the last time I listened to
2013’s <i>Mosquito</i>, so eight years later I’m still not entirely sure how
excited I am by a new album, and while <i>Cool It Down</i> doesn’t seem likely
to make a “best of” 2022 list for me, I am glad their back and I’ve enjoyed the
album.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">19)
Elder - Endless Return: I love stoner rock and progressive rock, so Elder’s
slow and masterful transformation from the former to the latter is all good
with me. Their most recent album, <i>Innate Passage</i>, just came out on the
25<sup>th</sup> of November.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">20)
Knifeplay – Hearts: I mentioned Knifeplay earlier and they recently released <i>Animal
Drowning</i> on the 19<sup>th</sup> of October. I ordered the vinyl which isn’t
due to ship until August 2023… vinyl supply side issues are crazy! Anyway, it’s
a nice slowcore/shoegaze, sometimes a little goth, record that I’m still
digesting, but this song gave me the kind of early Red House Painters vibes
that I miss.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Anyway,
I’m thankful for anyone who takes the time to listen to these mixes or reads
the notes. See you in 2023 for the best of the year round-up! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></i></p><p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3mXHW8gNTrjqGeshTMxVb1?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-20245037078492378662022-09-28T12:31:00.002+01:002022-09-28T12:31:46.001+01:00Q#145 - August to September 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQvnhyIkYCp5j4hMzy1WC04_owQK--9BRZgELEus_DaEwxcRGaM8CgmOvqS-BZ1n3yKTsmTf2MvPOFdf3qP-RFu9GMb3clv5bOyZzmpLPzy2lshKMJkmNIUNWGdsApRGtK6L1D4J7xF4U2QatsFr0lRK9qy2K1DOO_ww52emEaPdugQ40F6z2QmzU/s690/Q145%20cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQvnhyIkYCp5j4hMzy1WC04_owQK--9BRZgELEus_DaEwxcRGaM8CgmOvqS-BZ1n3yKTsmTf2MvPOFdf3qP-RFu9GMb3clv5bOyZzmpLPzy2lshKMJkmNIUNWGdsApRGtK6L1D4J7xF4U2QatsFr0lRK9qy2K1DOO_ww52emEaPdugQ40F6z2QmzU/s16000/Q145%20cover.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <span> </span> <b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: times new roman;"><b><u><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/6t9xonw8bm9o823/Q#145.zip/fil">https://www.mediafire.com/file/6t9xonw8bm9o823/Q#145.zip/fil</a>e</u></b></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #145 – August to
September 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">We’re
officially into Autumn / fall! August and early September brought more
travelling (Oregon and Pittsburgh) which was lovely but I have very much
enjoyed being back in New York for a few weeks, with little intention of
leaving the five boroughs any time soon. Doing my best to catch up on gigs and
new records. Oh yeah, the queen died… I despise the idea of a monarchy but I
found myself utterly unmoved by her death because ultimately nothing has
changed, the institution is still in place. I’ll celebrate if my country of
birth ever becomes a republic (and more importantly, gives up the state
religion). I got the latest covid booster and flu shot, go get yours! Almost
everything on the mix is entirely new bar a few songs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">01)
Fritz – Sweetie: I bought Fritz’s debut album, <i>Pastel</i>, on a bit of a
whim during the last bandcamp Friday (it was released February 2021 but it just
came onto my radar recently). The record’s fuzzy dream pop vibe hit
instantaneously and I think I’d purchased the album before I’d finished
listening all the way through.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">02)
Alvvays - Easy On Your Own: It doesn’t feel like Alvvays’ previous record was
five years ago, it seems like they never really went away, but maybe that’s
because this track from upcoming record, <i>Blue Rev</i> (release date 7<sup>th</sup>
October), sounds like it could have been on either of their previous records.
That’s not a bad thing at all, and I have tickets to see them at Kings Theatre
in November.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">03)
Jobber - Entrance Theme: Brooklyn quartet Jobber are about to release their
debut EP, <i>Hell in a Cell</i>, via Exploding in Sound Records. If the rest of
the EP is packed with the kind of riffs this lead single has then I will
happily gobble up anything they release.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">04)
The Lounge Society - Bloody Money: Regional accents can sometimes be the make
or break of a band, but Yorkshire act The Lounge Society don’t push it too far
and seem to straddle the line perfectly on debut album <i>Tired of Liberty</i>.
The record is busy and ambitious but all the songs are neatly wrapped up in 2-4
minute songs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">05)
Plates of Cake - Everyone Got Over that Summer: Brooklyn trio Plates of Cake
are releasing a farewell album on the 30<sup>th</sup> of September called </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://platesofcake.bandcamp.com/"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Got a Feeling that I Live Here</span></i></a></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">and I will certainly be sad
to see them go. As far as underrated bands of the Brooklyn DIY seen over the
last decade go, Plates of Cake should have had a much wider audience if you ask
me. I always appreciated that they were never afraid to rattle off guitar solos
to go with their catchy melodies.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">06)
Savak – Empathy: Speaking of underrated Brooklyn indie bands… Savak have put
out consistently excellent records since 2015, including 2022’s <i>Human Error
/ Human Delight</i> that was released in April this year. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">07)
Cheap Star - Flower Girl: Cheap Star is pure unadulterated power pop, almost to
the point of plagiarism, but makes no bones about it, most of the songs on this
record, <i>Wish I Could See</i>, which came out this February, features some
heavyweights of the genre, including this one that has Matthew Caws of Nada
Surf on backing vocals and harmonies, as well as Jon Auer on bass and guitar.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">08)
Goat - Under No Nation: It has been six years since Sweden’s psych heavyweights
released a full blown studio record of new material and they’re coming out
swinging with lead single <i>Under No Nation</i>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">09)
Thee Sacred Souls - Easier Said than Done: Few genres suffer from the ghosts of
the past as soul music, where rock acts can be celebrated for sounding like
classic artists, the same is rarely offered for soul and R&B. When I first
heard Thee Sacred Souls, I thought it was another archival release from the 60s
or 70s, but this San Diego trio just released their self-titled debut album via
Daptone in August. Sometimes derivative sounds don’t work out, but the record
seems to excel because of it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">10)
Drugdealer – Madison: Michael Collins aka Drugdealer’s third record, <i>Hiding
in Plain Sight</i>, comes out on the 28<sup>th</sup> of October via Mexican
Summer and this is the lead single (that also opens the record). The middle of
the road is a difficult vibe to really nail but this might be one of the best
mid-tempo radio friendly songs I’ve heard in years. Shout out to my buddy Felix
for sending me this song, I can picture him driving down route 101 blasting
this. Cool.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">11)
Joseph - Green Eyes: Emily and I just had a trip out to Pittsburgh to see The
Shins (we were out of town when they played NYC), and Joseph opened the show.
Now, if you just see the name Joseph without knowing anything else, three
sisters singing perfect harmonies is probably the last thing you’d imagine, but
that’s what we were treated to. This track appears on their second record, <i>Good
Luck, Kid</i> that came out in 2019, but their most recent release is <i>Trio
Sessions Vol 2</i>, which consists of stripped down versions of their songs,
and is how we experienced them live (basically just one guitar and three
voices) and seems to be their sweet spot.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">12)
Paisley Fields - Jesus Loving American Guy: I’ll listen to anything that Don
Giovanni records put out, even a country record like this! It would be a bit of
a disservice to simply describe <i>Limp Wrist </i>as just a country record,
though that’s the central sound, there’s a little lite electro/disco, plenty of
piano ballads, and the lyrics paint a picture of growing up as a closeted queer
in rural Iowa in a family of devout catholics.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">13)
Lee Bains III - (In Remembereance of the) 40 Hour Week: Speaking of Don
Giovanni Records, they just put out Lee Bains III’s latest album, <i>Old Time
Folks</i> (I used <i>God’s a Workin’, Man </i>on Q#142). The Birmingham,
Alabama have produced their most “southern rock” record to date, the deep south
is jammed into just about every song on the almost hour-long record.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">14)
The Reds, Pinks & Purples - Saw You at the Record Store Today: Glenn
Donaldson only really has one vibe - forlorn, and I don’t mean that as an
insult, the saddest songs are usually the most beautiful. A 7” EP on an obscure
Swedish label was released in 2020 called <i>I Should Have Helped You</i> that
is impossible (and/or expensive) to find, but that’s now been reissued and
expanded to an album that includes this gem. <i>Saw you at the record shop
today. Saw your picks from far away. Love Bites and Candy Apple Grey, a tore up
Only Theater of Pain. What have you done to yourself?</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">15)
Del Amitri - Lips of London: Del Amitri are unrivalled when it comes to the art
of the b-side, but we don’t really have singles anymore so there aren’t
b-sides… regardless, the band just released an “Outtakes and B-Sides” companion
to Fatal Mistakes which would have been a strong album in its own right. This
is a fun little rocker with some infectious backing harmonies. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">16)
Julia Jacklin - I Was Neon: Julia Jacklin just released her third studio album,
<i>Pre Pleasure</i>, which I’m still digesting, something I’ve appreciated
about all her records to date is that they’re growers and get under your skin
the more you listen. The record is mostly filled with ballads so this song is
not really representative of the whole thing, but this song slotted most
naturally into the mix.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">17)
The Shins - Caring is Creepy: As mentioned for the Joseph song, we trekked out
to Pittsburgh to see The Shins since we missed their NYC show. It was a pretty
good show, though it was also a smart move to bring Joseph as openers who could
also come out to sing backing harmonies when they needed them to!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">18)
Blessed – Anything: I was a big fan of Blessed’s 2019 album <i>Salt</i>, that
criminally didn’t get mentioned as much as it should have… hopefully they’ll
find some more critical love with upcoming album Circuitous. This song features
the same signature musical interplay and some Radiohead-y guitar parts, I’m
eagerly awaiting the 28<sup>th</sup> of October when the record comes out.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">19)
Preoccupations - Death of Melody: I haven’t listened to the new Preoccupations
album (<i>Arrangements)</i> all the way through yet, which was released on the
9<sup>th</sup> of September, but this lead single has all their signature
intricacies. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">20)
The Dream Syndicate – Damian: I just saw The Dream Syndicate live at Bowery
Ballroom the other week where they played debut album <i>The Days of Wine and
Roses </i>in celebration of its 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary. The band had no
opener and the first set of newer material was just as thrilling as hearing
their classic material. They played this tune from their most recent record, <i>Ultraviolet
Battle Hymns and True Confessions, </i>which was released this June.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">21)
Helena Deland - Someone New: I almost used the standalone track, <i>Swimmer</i>,
that Helena put out this February, a beautiful and haunting solo acoustic tune,
but something drew me back to her 2020 album, <i>Someone New</i>, and
particularly the title track.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">22)
Blase - Unknown Gateway: Another tune that Felix sent me, thanks again! I think
he has been paying attention to all the times I’ve told him Chicago is maybe
producing the best bands these days… Vertigo Valley was released in July and I
bought the record on bandcamp on the strength of hearing this song. It opens
the record but it felt like a great closer for the mix as I tend to like to end
up with something chill.</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/024cghOXvr2Em6ZKw2WpAk?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-42464056265011797182022-08-05T04:50:00.005+01:002022-08-05T18:39:42.375+01:00Q#144 - June to July 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfnRtf9XcQCA5AyxiVShhj1Lu97uJO-vjeagV0PyjG7S1ixL_l3puMEmfaTZRQ9TW4TkGhTs-hjWE3tygttNbl9dUUzNjG5ZfCg77TdZ8v-ks_j1voF3bNOJIKVGBiTyBRa6jKWFI6k8fR9xEGqe_q9GF47FHQFUShovfRjYFhsx0QumH4p9odhMo/s690/Q144%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfnRtf9XcQCA5AyxiVShhj1Lu97uJO-vjeagV0PyjG7S1ixL_l3puMEmfaTZRQ9TW4TkGhTs-hjWE3tygttNbl9dUUzNjG5ZfCg77TdZ8v-ks_j1voF3bNOJIKVGBiTyBRa6jKWFI6k8fR9xEGqe_q9GF47FHQFUShovfRjYFhsx0QumH4p9odhMo/s16000/Q144%20cover.png" /></a></div><br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span> <b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: times new roman;"><b><u><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/t6po2s8v92hjuei/Q#144.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/t6po2s8v92hjuei/Q#144.zip/file</a></u></b></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #144 – June to
July 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">It
has been a busy couple of months… and this mix is obviously late, and could
have been even later given that I didn’t even start compiling and mixing this
until the 2<sup>nd</sup> of August. Why so late? Well, I turned 40 in June, and
then just had a lovely jaunt around Europe, going to Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin,
and then back to the fine town of Bicester to see friends and family. These
notes will naturally be brief as I don’t want this to be depressingly late (even if I'm the only one that reads them!).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">01)
The Beths - Silence is Golden: New Zealand’s finest, The Beths, will release
their third album, <i>Expert In a Dying Field</i>, on the 16<sup>th</sup> of
September via Car Park Records. It was inevitable I’d miss some great shows in
New York while traveling, but missing The Beths play a free show in Prospect
Park was not part of the deal! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">02)
The Mountain Goats - Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome: It has felt like John
Darnielle and co were due a more rocking album and new album <i>Bleed Out </i>is
going to deliver based on the songs that have been shuffled out so far<i> </i>(released
on the 19<sup>th</sup> of August via Merge Records). This will be the 20<sup>th</sup>
Mountain Goats album, I think! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">03)
Cusp - I Know: Fire Talk’s stellar record with Chicago artists continues with
Cusp, this is a stand-alone single released in June. Hopefully there’s a full
record in the works – the quartet have an EP and a couple of singles in their
discography to date. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">04)
Lifeguard - I Know I Know: I know, I know, I know, I didn’t have to follow up a
song called <i>I Know </i>with a song called <i>I Know I Know</i>, but here we
are. Lifeguard are another band from Chicago, though this time on the equally
great Born Yesterday record label. This song is from their EP <i>Crowd Can Talk</i>,
released on the 5<sup>th</sup> of August. I’m looking forward to seeing them
open for Horsegirl soon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">05)
Soccer Mommy – Shotgun: <i>Sometimes, Forever </i>is Alison Regina Allison’s
third record as Soccer Mommy and I was excited to see that Daniel Lopatin
produced the record, since I love his work as OPN, without realising he’s a
hugely in demand record producer thanks to his work with The Weekend. The record isn’t as weird as I was imaging as
a result, but that’s fine! This is the highlight of the record for me. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">06)
Beach Bunny – Gone: The best band of the last couple of years, Beach Bunny just
released their/her second full length record, <i>Emotional Creature</i>, on the
22<sup>nd</sup> of July via Mom+Pop records. It’s inevitably a triumph and
there isn’t a better indie rock band around right now. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">07)
Momma - Speeding 72: Now signed to Polyvinyl records, Momma just released their
third album, <i>Household Name</i>, on the 1<sup>st</sup> of July and the
record leans into the title, with strong 90s choruses that suggest if this was
released 30 years ago they would be household names! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">08)
Dirt Devil - Garbage Night: I wish I could remember how I came across this
band. I’m pretty sure one or two of the members are in another act I like that
mentioned this single on bandcamp but I cannot remember! The quartet are from
Western Mass and released a self-titled debut in 2017, this song was released
on my birthday this year. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">09)
Jimmy Eat World - Something Loud: Finding themselves without a record label at
the moment, Jimmy Eat World self-released this anthemic single in June. We have
tickets to see them in September and I’m really looking forward to it, the only
time I’ve seen them live was opening for Green Day in 2005! This song has
everything you want from them. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">10)
Unwound - What Was Wound: It’s hard to put into words my surprise an excitement
upon hearing that Unwound were reuniting to play some shows for the first time
in 20 years. I have tickets to see them three nights in a row in March as I
really never thought this would happen (especially so after bassist Vern Rumsey
sadly died in 2020). This song is from their second record, <i>New Plastic
Ideas </i>from 1994. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">11)
Frail Body - Your Death Makes Me Wish Heaven Was Real: This Screamo trio from
Illinois just came onto my radar from looking over some show listings, though
this album (<i>A Brief Memoriam</i>) came out in 2019. The whole record is
great and jumps around all over the place. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">12)
Porcupine Tree - Rates Return: <i><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Closure
/ Continuation</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">, the
band’s first record since 2009, just came out and I’m really glad the band is
back. The band had gotten into a bit of a rut with their last few albums if you
ask me (though they’re still very good) and they sound fresh on this release,
it’s definitely a 2022 version of the band. I’m looking forward to seeing what
kind of setlist they put together when I see them in September. I’m still digesting the record, it’s a strange
experience when a band you were obsessed with but kinda moved on from come back
after so long. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">13)
Yoo Doo Right - Say Less, Do More: Krautrock-y, progg-y, shoegaze-y Montreal
trio Yoo Doo Right put out <i>A Murmur, Boundless to the East, </i>in June and
it’s a real triumph. Mostly instrumental with a few vocals cropping up here and
there, it’s a record you can easily get swept away with the groove before the
come crashing with some intense passages. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">14)
Greta Morgan - Bitter Better: You’ll hopefully recognise the name Greta Morgan
from past mixes over the years, especially as Springtime Carnivore. Greta has
been through the ringer in recent years, being diagnosed with spasmodic
dysphonia, she has had to relearn how to use her voice and her first two songs
that have just been released are beautiful (the other track on her 2-track
release is the title track </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://gretamorgan.bandcamp.com/album/vanishing-path-ep"><i><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif">Vanishing Path</span></i></a></span><i><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">)</span></i><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">15)
Tchotchke - Wish You Were a Girl: NYC trio just released their self-titled
debut album, and it’s one of those infectiously sunny sounding records that is
hard not to love. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">16)
Young Guv - Too Far Gone: Young Guv is in a particular purple patch right now,
releasing his <i>III </i>album in March, new record, remarkably called <i>IV</i>,
came out in June. <i>IV </i>is a little more subtle than previous records,
although this track would fit on any of the releases. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">17)
Mamalarky - Mythical Bonds: Another Fire Talk act, Mamalarky’s second album, <i>Pocket
Fantasy, </i>comes out on the 30<sup>th</sup> of September. This lead single
locks into a great groove and I love the guitars in particular. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">18)
The Zells – Mankey: Pittsburgh quintet The Zells let their GBV-influences shine
brightly on second album, <i>Ant Farm</i>, that came out in June. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">19)
Mike Johnson – Circle: Mark Lanegan’s death in February struck me harder than I
though and I’ve since read his brutal memoir, <i>Sing Backwards and Weep</i>,
which is an extraordinary read… but it got me digging a little deeper into his
career and collaborations which led me to Mike Johnson, who produced and played
on some of his early solo records, but has a body of work in his own right that
Lanegan crops up on from time to time. This song is from Johnson’s second solo
album, <i>Year of Mondays</i>, from 1996 (and features J Macsis on drums). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">20)
Friendship - Ugly Little Victory: Now signed to Merge Records, Friendship just
released <i>Love the Stranger</i> on the 29<sup>th</sup> of July, and this was
the lead single before the record came out. The record hits some lovely country
notes with the odd up-tempo folk number like this one for good measure. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">21)
Will Sheff - Estrangement Zone: Okkervil River has always struck me as a Will
Sheff and friends endeavour so it was a little surprising to see him announce a
solo record called <i>Nothing Special</i> via ATO records under his own name.
The album comes out on the 7<sup>th</sup> of October and while there’s a slight
style shift from Okkervil River, I’ll be interested to hear what the whole
record sounds like. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Ok
that’s really all the notes I have time for if I’m going to get this released
in a not-too-late fashion.</span><i><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">As always, Peace and Love - Q</p><p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/0aYi5W8eyq6IaveHtmQ9bS?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-8624757762331561702022-05-31T05:05:00.002+01:002022-05-31T05:05:27.522+01:00Q#143 - April to May 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnD_XdybrQx1KjQMLpVvWlhHywq0USUpwkc6dPfUOZHjYW3KAMfeRxhBWM1JB9Xun1PSVxUeb-Edzn8tF5xLg1XUHsZ76M154jVH9UBdDoReOrnfM_xgeREXzJNWS9U4gIKSxXxzDtAhVWgjOqGd2cjBRyFbggsrP0PVD9qQOprf6rKi-P7oWan_Tg/s690/Q143%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnD_XdybrQx1KjQMLpVvWlhHywq0USUpwkc6dPfUOZHjYW3KAMfeRxhBWM1JB9Xun1PSVxUeb-Edzn8tF5xLg1XUHsZ76M154jVH9UBdDoReOrnfM_xgeREXzJNWS9U4gIKSxXxzDtAhVWgjOqGd2cjBRyFbggsrP0PVD9qQOprf6rKi-P7oWan_Tg/s16000/Q143%20cover.png" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: times new roman;"><b><u>https://www.mediafire.com/file/maofdyhqmkjzxq2/Q%2523143.zip/file</u></b></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #143 – April to
May 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Happy
summer everyone. This mix had to come about fairly quickly since I didn’t even
get mixing the tracks together until the last weekend of May, but sometimes these
are the most fulfilling ones to compile. As usual, these are mostly new songs
with a few 2021 stragglers still coming to my attention, and a couple of older
tunes thrown in for specific reasons. It has been a busy couple of months, with
a trip to California to see Del Amitri, who I also saw in Philadelphia and a
show here in New York, a holiday in New Orleans that we’d talked about taking
for years, a couple of weddings in the Boston area, and I even managed to catch
covid as well eventually (aside from a fever one day and a residual cough for a
while, it was fine, and I’m grateful to have been vaccinated and boosted). I’ll
turn 40 in a couple of weeks which for some reason is almost comforting at this
point.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">01)
Pet Fox - Checked Out: The trio of Theo Hartlett (Ovlov), Morgan Luzzi (Ovlov),
and Jesse Weiss (ex-Palehound, Grass Is Green) have already released a couple
of albums and EPs, and are set to release their first album on Exploding in
Sound Records in June called </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><a href="https://petfox.bandcamp.com/album/a-face-in-your-life">A Face In Your
Life</a></i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">02)
Oso Oso - Describe You: I was a big fan of Oso Oso’s 2019 record, <i>Basking in
the Glow</i>, so was delighted when this record, <i>Sore Thumb</i>, seemed to
come out of nowhere back in March. It didn’t grab me quite as much on first
listen and I didn’t think about it for a month or so, but I’ve kept coming back
to it for most of May. Recorded in early 2021, tragedy struck when guitarist
Tavish Maloney died a month after the sessions, leaving the album in limbo for
some time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">03)
The Stroppies - Up to My Elbows: Aussie quartet The Stroppies put out their latest
album, <i>Levity</i>, at the start of May. Australia excels at jangle-pop and
maybe The Stroppies are the best they have right now. Whilst this is a fairly
straightforward indie-rocker, the record jumps around a little bit and rewards
multiple listens.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">04)
Lawn – Down: New Orleans’ Lawn are releasing a new EP in July called <i><a href="https://frontlawn.bandcamp.com/album/bigger-sprout">Bigger Sprout</a></i>
via Born Yesterday Records. I’m a subscriber to the label’s bandcamp page which
is a great way to hear new bands I otherwise probably wouldn’t, now I not only
have this EP to look forward to but a couple of albums in the back catalogue to
discover.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">05)
Lou Barlow - Only Fading: The latest release from Lou Barlow sees him fronting
a 4-piece band for the first time, with Western Mass trio Eat Fire Spring<i> </i>as
the backing band. So far they have just released two songs via bandcamp but hopefully
there’s an album to come.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">06)
Don McGlashan - Go Back In: New Zealand’s finest songwriter, Don McGlashan (The
Mutton Birds, Blam Blam Blam), is not the most prolific writer in the world, <i>Bright
November Morning </i>is his fourth solo record since 2006 and was released in
February. McGlashan’s style is effortless as usual and rarely gets out of
second gear, but when the middle lane is this comforting sometimes you never
want to leave.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">07)
Nina Nastasia - Just Stay in Bed: <i>Riderless Horse </i>will be Nina Nastasia’s
seventh album but first since 2010’s <i>Outlaster</i>, and she has been dearly
missed. The record deals with her disfunctional and abusive relationship with
long term partner and manager Kennan Gudjonsson, who committed suicide in 2020,
the day after they broke up.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">08)
Mark Lanegan - The River Rise: Mark Lanegan sadly died in February of this year
at the age of 57, perhaps a big surprise that he lived as long as he did. I
never really got into Screaming Trees all that much at the time but always
liked his solo work, and then <i>Bubblegum</i> came out in 2004 and I was
hooked ever since. His death hit me pretty hard and led me read his memoir, <i>Sing
Backwards and Weep </i>that came out in 2020. It’s a gripping book, and he does
a great job of just hitting home how intense his drug addiction was, like a
real-life Naked Lunch at times. This is from his second solo album, <i>Whiskey for
the Holy Ghost</i>, which took three years to complete and was released in 1994,
but almost never was, as he mentions in the memoir, Lanegan was seconds away
from tossing all the master tapes into a nearby river in frustration, only to
be stopped by producer Mike Johnson at the last second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">09)
Rex - Ride Home: 90s Brooklyn act Rex were not quite your typical slowcore band
of the time, though large chunks of <i>C </i>are as classic slowcore as you can
get, there are smatterings of folk, chamber music, a little grunge, and on this
tune, what could have been a 90s alternative hit</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">10)
Sidney Gish - Sin Triangle: I had tickets to see Beach Bunny in May but singer
Lili Trifilio came down with covid so the show got pushed to August, I mention
this because one of the openers (Wednesday, see Q#131 for <i>Handsome Man</i>)
got replaced with Sidney Gish, whose 2017 album <i>No Dogs Allowed </i>is a
delightful bedroom pop record.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">11)
Horse Jumper of Love - I Poured Sugar In Your Shoes: Boston trio Horse Jumper
of Love are releasing their third record, <i>Natural Part</i> via Run for Cover
Records on the 17<sup>th</sup> of June. The band have been flying the slowcore
flag since their self-titled debut in 2016, and this is probably their most
high-tempo song to date and I can’t wait to hear what the rest of the album is
like.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">12)
Spacemoth - Pipe and Pistol: Spacemoth is the moniker for bay area musician/producer
Maryam Qudus, who is releasing her debut album, <i><a href="https://ssspacemoth.bandcamp.com/releases">No Past No Future</a> </i>on the
22<sup>nd</sup> of July. There have been two singles released so far and if the
record is as full of classic synths and pop beats like this track then it
should be a triumph.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">13)
Pop Zeus - If You Were Mine Tonight: Mikey Hodges was the first musician I had
the courage to say hi to at a gig to say I was a fan of his music and saw Pop
Zeus a number of times between. The self-titled Pop Zeus album from 2012 was
tragically his only full length album before getting hit by a car in late 2014.
Somehow, I only just found out that twosyllable records compiled his unreleased
demos and pressed them to vinyl called <i><a href="https://popzeus.bandcamp.com/album/this-doesn-t-feel-like-home-unreleased-demos-2011-2014">This
Doesn’t Feel Like Home<span style="font-style: normal;">,</span></a></i> so I immediately
bought a copy.</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">100% of the proceeds
from this record go to the Michael T Hodges Instrument Endowment Fund which
supplies instruments to students in Lebanon, IN, so please do pick up a copy if
you like what you hear.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">14)
The Holydrug Couple - Time Bazaar: Chilean heavyweights The Holydrug Couple
have released a couple of soundtracks, singles and demos in the last couple of
years but not a full record since 2018’s <i>Hyper Super Mega</i>. This tune
just came out as a digital single at the beginning of April and sounds like it could
have been on the last record, which continues the bands path from Pink Floyd
style psych-rock to almost John Carpenter-esque synth heavy pieces.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">15)
The Smile - Thin Thing: The Smile consist of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead
plus Tom Skinner from Sons of Kermet. Their debut album, <i><a href="https://thesmile.bandcamp.com/album/a-light-for-attracting-attention">A
Light for Attracting Attention</a></i> is very good and while one could
criticise that it basically sounds like Radiohead, for me that’s not a bad
thing at all, I almost wish this was a Radiohead album. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">16)
Just Mustard - I Am You: Ireland’s Just Mustard released their second album on
the 27</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> of May, </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Heart Under</i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">, this track was first released
back in November. The record is pretty dark and abrasive for the most part,
reminds me a lot of FACS (see Q#141 and Q#139).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">17)
50 Foot Wave - Staring Into the Sun: Kristen Hersh’s power-trio side project 50
Foot Wave have released a number of Eps since 2005 debut <i>Golden Ocean</i>,
but <i>Black Pearl </i>was released in April and is finally the band’s second
full-length. The record is missing a few BPM compared to the debut but it hits
just as hard.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">18)
Cloakroom - Lost Meaning: I saw Cloakroom in San Francisco in 2016 and they’ve
released two records since then, with the most recent being <i><a href="https://cloakroom.bandcamp.com/album/dissolution-wave">Dissolution Wave</a>
</i>which came out in January and is a bit of a space-rock concept record which
this track opens. The record has a lot more delicate moments than this song
would suggest, but I felt like I wanted something heavy at this part of the mix</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">19)
Somerset Thrower - Harbor (Virteous Humor): I was going through the
showlistings in New York and noticed that his band was opening for a powerpop
act I really like (Supercrush) and that usually is enough for me to check
someone out. This single came out in February and you can see why they are
sharing the stage with Supercrush. The band are from New York and have two full
length record I still need to listen to, 2020’s <i>Paint My Memory </i>and 2018’s
<i>Godspeed</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">20)
Kiwi Jr - Night Vision: Torontonians Kiwi Jr sound like they got bored of the
constant Pavement comparisons with this lead single for their third album, <i>Chopper</i>,
which is coming out in August via SubPop. For the record, I enjoyed their first
two albums very much!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">21)
Erasers - You See: This duo from Perth, Australia, just released their third
album, <i>Constant Connection, </i>on Fire Talk Records. You almost get
surprised when there are vocals given how much the record has a classic, wavey
ambient quality to it, like it should be a movie soundtrack, but when the
vocals do come in and out they elevate the material.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/76ZBNOt27iWRDMLs92kjCo?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-42372020939084245032022-03-25T04:43:00.002+00:002022-03-25T04:43:29.910+00:00Q#142 - February to March 2022<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_BNTBJhUWqThBT4fDj9eOI9xLkjiHM_bmtQaqs0gSqb4cKpQ6xtOCcNZDY_m0KBun6jKyFbWaqTqTNZom198M5INBDimz641woaLVWQKSQ5sBBkr75B1dqf6x2rwfznPpUYJDLkNOSy_A7-0bTP1eSNHErbe5WSjNCjH7Pfbyg_K5otUpNXnb5ci/s690/Q142%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_BNTBJhUWqThBT4fDj9eOI9xLkjiHM_bmtQaqs0gSqb4cKpQ6xtOCcNZDY_m0KBun6jKyFbWaqTqTNZom198M5INBDimz641woaLVWQKSQ5sBBkr75B1dqf6x2rwfznPpUYJDLkNOSy_A7-0bTP1eSNHErbe5WSjNCjH7Pfbyg_K5otUpNXnb5ci/s16000/Q142%20cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: times new roman;"><b><u>https://www.mediafire.com/file/c94uh8jxh4uw38y/Q%2523142.zip/file</u></b></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #142 – February
to March 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Happy
Spring! A lot has happened since the last compilation was released, I got
married, spent some time in New Orleans, have managed to catch a few shows, and
will also have a trip to California to catch Del Amitri (plus also seeing them
in Philly and NYC). Full steam ahead. As is typical for the first “normal” mix
of the year, it mostly consists of brand new songs plus a bunch of stuff that
didn’t make it onto the “best of 2021” mix. I took the cover image walking back
to work over the Brooklyn Bridge after a jury summons (which amounted to
sitting in a room for most of the day without anything happening), it’s very
easy to love this city.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">01)
Current Joys - American Honey: On Q#124 I used <i>Fear </i>from Current Joys’ 2018
album, <i>Fear</i>, which I really enjoyed, but for one reason or another, he
fell off my radar until I saw the current release, <i>Voyager</i>, in a sale.
Released May 2021, it’s a double record that would certainly have been on my
best-of mix if I’d heard it in time. The production has gone up a few notches
between releases but there’s also a new found confidence in the delivery as
well as the recording.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">02)
Anna Fox Rochinski - Party Lines: Another 2021 record that didn’t quite make it
onto the last mix, <i>Cherry</i> is the kind of alt-pop album that should have
been a hit with the critics. There’s enough of a psych-tinge from her former
band (she fronted an act called Quilt who I saw a bunch before their break-up),
but has the focus of a solo alt-pop album.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">03)
Indigo De Souza - Pretty Pictures: I was looking over the concert listings last
month and noticed a name I didn’t recognise because the openers were Horse
Jumper of Love, who I really like, so gave a few tracks a spin and I think <i>Any
Shape You Take </i>is probably the album I’ve listened to the most since. Released
last August on Saddle Creek, the album is a low-key masterpiece for those who
like pop as much as scuzzy guitars, a great follow-up to debut album <i>I Love
My Mom </i>from 2018.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">04)
HOORSEES - Weekend at Bernie's: This time last year I used <i>Overdry </i>from
this Paris quartet’s debut album, and they just put out a couple of songs for
their next album, <i>A Superior Athlete</i>, that comes out in April. There’s
just something endearing about this somewhat nonsensical indie-pop anthem, I
love it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">05)
Kids on a Crime Spree - When Can I See You Again: Kids on a Crime Spree
certainly take their time, following a few singles since 2013, the band have
just released their debut album, which races through ten tracks in about
twenty-five minutes (old-school me queries if 25-minutes qualifies as an album).
You could probably guess this is released on Slumberland Records within 10
seconds. The band is fronted by Mario Hernandez, who will crop up again a bit
later. “</span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">When can I see you before our world ends, when can I see you again?”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">06)
Ex-Void – Churchyard: Ex-Void features a couple of former Joanna Gruesome
members (guitarist Owen Williams also released a pretty good EP with his band,
The Tubs, last year). It’s more jangle than fuzz, but it feels like the same
band in many respects. The album comes out on the 25</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> of March (</span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Bigger
than Before</i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">) via Don Giovanni records.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">07)
Bliss Fields – Away: Another returning band, I used </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">What Kills You</i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> a
couple of mixes back from their self-titled EP, and the Toronto shoe-gazers
haven’t wasted much time in getting out their debut album, </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Slowly Forever </i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">was
released in January. It’s hard to ignore the Ride influence here but since I
love Ride and this sound in general, I will happily devour it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">08)
Horsegirl – Billy: Chicago trio Horsegirl were also featured fairly recently
(Q#139) and have since announced a debut album,</span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> Versions of Modern
Performance</i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> which will come out in June. This track closes the record (but
is only one of two songs released so far) and I love the scuzzy but soaring
guitars.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">09)
DEHD - Bad Love: Another Chicago band, DEHD have been one of my favourite acts
of the last few years (featuring on Q#127, #132 and #135), they just announced
a new album and a change of record label, </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Blue Skies </i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">will be released in
May on Fat Possum Records, who are an excellent label, but it feels odd for
them not to be on Fire Talk. This is the only song released so far and is
obviously excellent, without straying from the vibe of the last couple of
records. They’re playing a couple of shows at Bowery Ballroom in May and I’m
hoping to go since I’ve yet to see them. “</span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">I was a bad love, now I can get
some, I got a heart full of, I got a heart full of R-r-r-redemption”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">10)
Fawning – Wait: 2021 saw my end up buying a lot of Appleseed Cast vinyl, which
brought me to Graveface Records and Curiousities in Savannah, Georgia, for a
few releases, at which point I randomly browsed most of the other acts and
stumbled on a few I really liked, one of which was this record, </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Illusions of
Control</i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">, released February 2021.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">11)
Howless – Levels: I can’t remember how I came about this act from Mexico City
but it turned out to be an album I pre-ordered well ahead of its release after
hearing this song and was then pleasantly reminded when it popped into my
Bandcamp collection when it finally came out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">12)
Young Prisms - Self Love: I subscribe to a bunch of labels on bandcamp which
means I end up with more releases than I can keep up with, but I like the idea
of giving some labels money each month regardless and Fire Talk always put out
excellent music even if I can’t stay on track with them. <i>Drifter </i>will be
the band’s first album in a decade when it comes out at the end of this month. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">13)
Weird Nightmare - Searching for You: If you thought there was a bit of a METZ
vibe to this song then that’s because it’s the solo project of singer Alex
Edkins, it’s a little more sugary than METZ, but the intensity is still there
(in this song at least). The self-titled debut is getting released on the 20</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">
of May via Sub Pop.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">14)
The Sad Tomorrows - Long Vibration: Jeffrey Schroeck fronts the criminally
underrated New Jersey punk band Black Wine, who sadly haven’t released a record
since 2014’s </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Yell Boss</i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">, so I was delighted to hear his new band, The Sad
Tomorrows</span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">, </i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">who released a self-titled EP in January. More please!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">15)
Artsick – Despise: Another Bay-area Slumberland artist, featuring Kids on a
Crime Spree’s Mario Hernandez on drums. This is the lead single from the
record, </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Fingers Crossed</i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">, which came out in January.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">16)
Young Guv - Only Wanna See U Tonight: Ben Cook has been on a bit of a roll with
his Young Guv project since debut album </span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Ripe 4 Luv </i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">came out in 2015. In
2020, as with I suspect a lot of touring musicians, his band became somewhat
stranded while on tour (in their case, New Mexico), and ended up creating two
albums worth of songs, the first set of which came out on the 11</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">
of March (</span><i style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Guv III</i><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">).</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">17)
Springtime Carnivore - Keep Confessing: I’ve been a big fan of Greta Morgan
since first seeing Springtime Carnivore in 2014, and love her two records (self
titled in 2014 and <i>Midnight Room </i>from 2016). She was diagnosed with spasmodic
dysphonia last Autumn so I don’t know what her future holds as a singer but I
hope that she continues to release material. This song is from her debut album
and I just wanted to have one of her songs on this mix, I love them all. “<i>I
want the dizzy freedom, Float above the ground, All my life. I want to ride the
landslide, Don't want to wait around, Or be left behind. I saw paradise in your
lonely eyes, And if I only get to see it once, Better be enough, better be fine”</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">18)
Superchunk - On the Floor: Superchunk’s twelfth album, <i>Wild Loneliness, </i>just
came out at the end of February (via their own Merge Records, of course). It’s
a lower-key record than most of their second wave releases, with acoustic
guitars featuring heavily, as well as a slew of high profile (in indie circles
at least) guests. This song features the one and only Mike Mills of REM.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">19)
Lee Bains + The Glory Fires - God's a Workin, Man: <i>Old Time Folks</i>, the
new album from Lee Bains, won’t be released until August, but this is a nice
leading single. The kind of 7 minute jam that doesn’t feel that long at all. Of
course, god’s not a workin’ at all since god doesn’t exist, but it’s hard to
resist a southern folk drawl.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">20)
The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick - An Olive Coat: One of those bandcamp
“if you bought X you might like Y” recommendations that cropped up was this
six-piece from Philly, and it was a hard band name to resist. This song opens <i>Ways
of Hearing</i> that was released October 2020 (that seems SO long ago!), and is
a lovely slowcore album, a genre that is low-key having an excellent revival. “<i>Found
the socks you lost, Wool and flecked with gold, But I traded them, For an olive
coat, At least this way one of us is warm”</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">21)
Squirrel Flower - Live Wire: I’ve waxed lyrical about Squirrel Flower on Q#137,
139 and 141 and Ella Williams just released <i>Planet EP</i>, a companion piece
to one of 2021’s best albums, <i>Planet i</i>. I had the pleasure of catching a
live show at Mercury Lounge in February which was also magical.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">22)
Karate - There are Ghosts: Numero have been working their reissue magic with
the Karate discography lately, just putting out their third album, 1998’s <i>The
Bed is in the Ocean</i>. A reissue campaign for a great band is not super
surprising, but the band reforming to play some shows this summer certainly was
and I can’t wait to see them at Music Hall Williamsburg in July (their first
tour in 17 years).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">23)
Black Country, New Road - The Place Where He Inserted the Blade: I was so happy
that Black Country New Road followed up my favourite album of 2021, <i>For the
First Time</i>, with a new album so quickly with <i>Ants from Up Here</i>, that
just came out in February. Sadly, vocalist/guitarist Isaac Wood announced he
was leaving the band just before the album was released – the band will continue,
though the show I had tickets for got cancelled, I’m intrigued by where they
will go from here. The record is very good and I still feel like I’m digesting
it (I also bought the 4LP version that came with a bonus live version, a lot to
take in!).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q</span></p><p></p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5JujCBeJT6MbH1ECzCM4mk?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-14352125256611385682022-01-12T04:29:00.002+00:002022-01-12T04:29:58.961+00:00Q#141 - December 2021 to January 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu96EnQTx4lmzHG3I7zv2698NZs_IKKBhLY7VC7tyeCc4iU_C3JdnFjMn68UZRMoVEkEypSTT_Tb6Q0Cd0fql_wpgkzBF2OaWIndeBnpFs3N4BzaXUnsBYf2k1axZpGUANNy70uZI_5ryJlSv61aUABTqS6k23EHx8kxPcA7ZBF-bScRZpyWu8Fpte=s690" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu96EnQTx4lmzHG3I7zv2698NZs_IKKBhLY7VC7tyeCc4iU_C3JdnFjMn68UZRMoVEkEypSTT_Tb6Q0Cd0fql_wpgkzBF2OaWIndeBnpFs3N4BzaXUnsBYf2k1axZpGUANNy70uZI_5ryJlSv61aUABTqS6k23EHx8kxPcA7ZBF-bScRZpyWu8Fpte=s16000" /></a></div><br /> <div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: times new roman;"><b><u>https://www.mediafire.com/file/4cnamx32qoirylb/Q#141.zip/file</u></b></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p></div><p><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #141 – December
2021 to January 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Happy
new year! It’s fair to say that 2021 was not one for the ages and 2022 has made
an ominous start. Still, I’m trying to remain positive and I hope these mixes
have proved useful to anyone who listens to them (putting them together always
help me get through a year). In good news, Emily and I are getting married at
the end of the month! The 4<sup>th</sup> of January also marked 10 years in NYC
for me, a lot has changed… Anyway, these are some of my favourite things from the
last 12 months.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">01)
Del Amitri - You Can't Go Back: For all 2021 took away, it did bring Del
Amitri’s first album in 19 years, <i>Fatal Mistakes</i>. Recording finished the
day before the first UK lockdown and it was finally released in May 2021,
reaching number 5 in the UK album charts. It’s hard to be truly objective about
Del Amitri but for me the album is a triumph, this track opens the album and
while there might be songs I prefer, this one gets into my head all the time. Also
see Q#136 (<i>It’s Feelings</i>) and Q#138 (<i>I’m So Scared of Dying</i>). I
was fortunate enough to get back to the UK for the first time in two years in
October to coincide with a show at the London Palladium, which was certainly an
improbable highlight of the year. Lyrically this song is typically masterful
from Justin Currie and there are so many beautiful guitar flurries in this song
I keep coming back for more. “<i>They can't destroy us, we put the seal on it,
so be joyous 'cause once the fuse is lit, you can't go back”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">02)
Beach Bunny - Good Girls Don't Get Used: Beach Bunny’s <i>Blame Game </i>EP was
released on the 15<sup>th</sup> of January 2021 and the title track also
appears on Q#136. I was lucky enough to see the band twice in 2021 and have
tickets to see them again in May when they will hopefully have a new album (new
song <i>Oxygen </i>was released as a single in October). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">03)
The Dirty Nil - Blunt Force Concussion: Canadian power-trio The Dirty Nil
released their third album, <i>Fuck Art, </i>on the 8<sup>th</sup> of January
and it’s another triumph of anthemic and crunching pop-punk, the album is
consistently good to the point it’s hard to pick individual tracks. I also used
<i>Doom Boy </i>on Q#136.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">04)
Parannoul - </span><span face=""Malgun Gothic",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic";">아름다운</span><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span face=""Malgun Gothic",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic";">세상</span><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> (Beautiful
World): Thanks to Pete for telling me about this record, <i>To See the Next
Part of the Dream</i>, earlier in the year (it was released in February).
Parannoul is a solo artist from South Korea and has to date produced two albums
in a DIY fashion, the production values have that perfect and impressive charm
that leaves you wondering how it would sound with a huge budget but also not
wanting to change a thing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">05)
FACS - General Public: Chicago trio FACS have a pretty impressive trajectory,
although that shouldn’t be surprising given the calibre of the band, fronted by
Brian Case (formerly of The Ponys). <i>Present Tense </i>is the band’s fourth
album since their formation in 2017 and they keep getting better. I used album
highlight <i>Strawberry Coughs </i>on Q#139 but the whole album is excellent,
drummer Noah Leger and bassist Alianna Kalaba form one of those powerhouses of
a rhythm section that perhaps aren’t flashy on first impression but the more you
listen the more they pull you in.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">06)
Curtis Harding - I Won't Let You Down: It’s fair to say that Curtis Harding
doesn’t rush things, <i>If Words Were Flowers </i>is his third studio album in
seven years and was released on the 5<sup>th</sup> of November. The record is
effortlessly cool with a perfect blend of breezy soul awash with call and
response vocals and accompanying brass. It’s a mystery that he isn’t selling
millions of records. I had tickets to see him at Bowery Ballroom this month
which was understandably been postponed</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">07)
Squirrel Flower - Flames and Flat Tires: My discovery of 2021 is probably
Squirrel Flower, certainly between 2020’s <i>I Was Born Swimming </i>and this
year’s <i>Planet (i)</i>. Another record that was very difficult to pick a song
for the mix (I used <i>Hurt a Fly </i>on Q#137 plus the cover of <i>So Hot
You’re Hurting My Feelings </i>on Q#139). This song has a smouldering bassline
and slowcore guitar parts that just melt my heart. “<i>But I'm getting back on
track soon enough, and you better watch out for me, flying down the road in
flames and flat tires, baby, flames and flat tires”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">08)
Dark Tea – Deanna: One of the great things about doing “best-of-the-year”
compilations is it makes you think of the low-key records that you maybe didn’t
immediately think “this is a great record” but you just kept coming back to and
Dark Tea’s April 2021 self-titled record is possibly the best example of that.
The kind of Sunday morning, relaxed listen that rarely gets out of second gear
but you discover nuances each time you play it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">09)
Squid – Narrator: It has been really gratifying to hear two debut albums from
British bands that are so good and, for want of a better term, arty, with Squid
and Black Country, New Road (who follow this track). Both albums are probably
tied for my favourite release of the year. I used <i>Pamphlets </i>on Q#137 but
the whole record (<i>Bright Green Field</i>) works so well as a complete album
it’s a bit of a shame having to pry out a single track. As I type the notes
listening to this song I’m nodding in agreement that this is indeed the best
album of the year, I suspect I’ll be doing the same on the next track.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">10)
Black Country, New Road – Opus: As stated above, it’s hard for me to separate
Squid and Black Country, New Road for best album/band of 2021, and I’ve just
spent this entire song nodding along thinking that this (<i>For the First </i>Time)
is the best album of the year (<i>Sunglasses </i>appeared on Q#136). Where they
have stolen a march is recording a new album, <i>Ants from Up There</i>, which
is set to be released in February. I have tickets to see them next month which
at the time of writing is still going ahead…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">11)
The Reds, Pinks & Purples - I Hope I Never Fall in Love: Felt like it was
time for a little respite after that one-two punch… <i>Uncommon Weather </i>was
released back in April and is one of those gloriously downbeat jamgle-pop
records, really there’s not a whole lot of respite on the entire album but
despite that it’s so utterly, utterly beautiful (<i>The Record Player and the
Damage Done</i> appeared on Q#136).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">12)
Hurry - Where You Go, I Go: Continuing that forlorn jangle, Philly act Hurry
released their sixth album, <i>Fake Ideas</i>, in June. Hurry don’t stray from
their lane and sometimes that’s all you want, especially when that lane is like
an affectionate hug. I also used <i>It’s Dangerous </i>on Q#137.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">13)
Moontype - About You: Chicago trio Moontype released their debut album, <i>Bodies
of Water </i>in April via Born Yesterday Records, I fell in love with the song <i>Ferry
</i>(that is featured on Q#137), and I suspect if I had the stats, I’d be
surprised by how much I ended up listening to the record. “<i>When you said
"I love you" it caught me off-guard, You taught me to love so fierce
and so hard, Fighting for the feeling like a healing charge, Burning like the
gas of the only star”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">14)
Bat Fangs - Talk Tough: If you want unabashed, anthemic 80s hair metal then Bat
Fangs’ second record, <i>Queen of My World </i>is the record of 2021 for you
(the title track also appears on Q#139). “<i>I act like I don't care but I
don't wanna dance alone”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">15)
Mondaze – Concrete: Anyone wanting a Hum-esque heavy shoegaze album could do a
lot worse than Italian act Mondaze, who snuck in their debut album, <i>Late
Bloom </i>in December. I used <i>Words Undone </i>on Q#139 and the record as a
whole has a nice mix of slow and brooding rockers like this with some higher
BPM tracks.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">16)
Chime School - Wait Your Turn: San Francisco act Chime School probably got the
wildcard slot on this mix, competing with a dozen or so other records that I
loved but had to cut for time constraints. Their debut self-titled debut came
out on the 5<sup>th</sup> of November and is flush with unabashed English-inspired
jangle. “<i>Staring up into the sky, Waiting for the sun to shine, Winter's
cold all of the time”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">17)
Bnny – August: Chicago had another excellent year and Bnny’s debut album, <i>Everything</i>,
was released on Fire Talk Records in August. The album is yet another example
of the kind of low-key album that keeps pulling you in for more.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">18)
Fruit Bats - Gullwing Doors: Certainly one of my favourite songs of the year is
<i>Balcony</i> (which appeared on Q#136), <i>Pet Parade </i>was released in
March and is a great addition to the FB discography. I miss the days when I
knew albums by heart front to back and this is one of those songs I was almost
surprised by each time I listened to, but couldn’t remember which track it was
(this happens a lot to albums I don’t own a physical copy of, which I’ve since
rectified for Pet Parade…). A country drive out in the Poconos during the fall sealed
the deal for the song to be on the mix.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">19)
Samia - Show Up: Speaking of connecting with artists more when you finally get
around to buying physical media, I’ve dipped into Samia’s music in and out for
at least two years, love it, then forget about it, rinse and repeat every three
or four months… when <i>Scout </i>came out in July the same thing almost
happened again but on a recent shopping spree I picked this up along with <i>The
Baby </i>and <i>Before the Baby</i>, so I think Samia and I are here to stay at
this point.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">20)
Arushi Jain - My People Have Deep Roots: I love ambient music but dropped the
ball a little on the genre this year, I tried to rectify this a bit late in the
game trying to find some records that landed and was stumbled upon <i>Under the
Lilac Sky</i> by Arushi Jain. The record is astounding, and I’d have preferred
to have used a few other tracks but for time constraints. Any vinyl lover knows
keenly about the supply side issues right now, and my vinyl copy is not
expected until around July this year, it’ll be worth the wait!</span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>
<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3lLyLiRsPs4pxs1wBZ1GKZ?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-40135520795946033762021-12-01T03:49:00.003+00:002021-12-01T03:49:20.136+00:00Q#140 - October to November 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8eb7GKOnu1cVdKKpfL20DWkFbt9pk2qH43YFjJp7OzMl2Mzbcb_z9rFoARi9ATItBfJt5Sx6oSXBpm6ujMzycK9gkBmbaQ3Zrcyj6EwaAmSaeUskpzYcL74FlhgS3eKI-o7JWpE4_hvc/s690/Q140+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8eb7GKOnu1cVdKKpfL20DWkFbt9pk2qH43YFjJp7OzMl2Mzbcb_z9rFoARi9ATItBfJt5Sx6oSXBpm6ujMzycK9gkBmbaQ3Zrcyj6EwaAmSaeUskpzYcL74FlhgS3eKI-o7JWpE4_hvc/s16000/Q140+cover.png" /></a></div><br /> <div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><b>https://www.mediafire.com/file/795p5rmtjplk5dd/Q#140.zip/file</b></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p></div><div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #140 – October to
November 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Happy
thanksgiving for those it effects, I’m finishing these notes up on the 30<sup>th</sup>
so they’ll be brief because I hate missing arbitrary deadlines for these mixes.
All but two of these songs have been released in 2021 and I’m quite pleased
with how it turned out. The next mix will be the usual “best of” the year’s
music.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">01)
Bliss Fields - What Kills You: This Toronto quintet were formerly known as Iris
(albeit with a slightly different line-up, which led to the name change for a
clean slate), put out a </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://blissfields.bandcamp.com/album/bliss-fields"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">wonderful shoegaze EP</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> back in
August (this is the title track), this was another discovery during a bandcamp
Friday spending spree (“oh you bought so-and-so, check out this band”, Bandcamp
is pretty good at this…). They’ve since signed to Acrobat Unstable and are set
to release a full LP called Slowly Forever. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">02)
Taraka – Pyschocastle: Former Princa Rama frontwoman Taraka Larson just put out
her debut solo record, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Paradise Lost </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">in October and it’s a bit of a
low-key triumph, I can’t quite place which of the now sadly departed NYC DIY
venues I can most imagine seeing this live but there’s something about the
record that transports me back to 2012-2014 in particular. This song in
particular has some strong Deerhunter Microcastle-era vibes now I’m typing this.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">03)
Ducks Ltd - How Lonely Are You: Another band from Toronto to open the mix up,
although the vibe is so rooted in that New Zealand / Flying Nun sound, which is
only ever a good thing. The band’s debut album, </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://ducksltdband.bandcamp.com/album/modern-fiction"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Modern Fiction</span></i></a></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">came out on
the 1<sup>st</sup> of October and if you dig this song then there’s plenty more
like on the record.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">04)
Chime School - Taking Time to Tell You: You won’t be shocked to hear that this
band is from San Francisco and signed to Slumberland Records, though there’s
something very British about the album! Their </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://chimeschool.bandcamp.com/releases"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">self-titled debut album</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> came out
on the 5<sup>th</sup> of November. “<i>What are you gonna be now? Maybe you
thought you would know, Maybe you thought the world would tell you so, But
you're miles away”</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">05)
Belaver - In the RL: I honestly can’t remember where this record, </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://belaver.bandcamp.com/album/lain-prone"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Lain Prone</span></i></a></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">, </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">which came
out on the 22<sup>nd</sup> of October, came my way, but there was something
about the groove and laid-back mix that intrigued me straight away.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">06)
Fruit Bats - Rips Me Up: Part “best-of” and part “rarities/odds-and-sods”
collection, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud: Slow Growers, Sleeper Hits
and Lost Songs </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">is a double-LP collection that Merge records are releasing
in January. This is a tune that didn’t make the cut for the last Fruit Bats
album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Pet Parade </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">that came out in March.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">07)
Vundabar - Devil for the Fire: Boston act Vundabar’s 2020 record </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Either
Light </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">was under-loved and surprisingly poppy on occasion, they just
announced a new album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Devil for the Fire</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">, of which this is obviously
the title track and comes out on the 11</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> of February.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">08)
Porcupine Tree – Harridan: Now here’s a track to unpack… Porcupine Tree have
announced their first album since 2009’s </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">The Incident</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">, the new album is
called </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Closure / Continuation </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">and comes out in June. Porcupine Tree were
incredibly dear to me from 2000 to when they disbanded. Indeed, I saw what is
currently their last ever show at the Royal Albert Hall in 2010, though a new
tour has been announced for 2022. I don’t know if I’m excited or not at the
news, I think I am, although selfishly I wish this song didn’t sound like it
could have been on any of their 2005-2009 releases, but I think that’s
ultimately to be expected. Gavin Harrison’s drumming is robotically exemplary,
and it’s nice to hear Richard Barbieri again, a lot of fans are making a stink
that Colin Edwin isn’t involved but give me Colin Edwin on fretless bass or a
stand-in will probably be fine. I suspect I will fall back in love with the
band when the album drops and hopefully a New York show gets announced.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">09)
Cola - Blank Curtain: I was saddened to hear that one of my favourite bands in
the last decade, Ought, broke up, but within the same announcement they gave
news of a new band, Cola, comprised of Tim Darcy & Ben Stidworthy plus Evan
Cartwright from US Girls. Signed to Fire Talk, this is their only recorded
release so far but I can’t wait to hear more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">10)
Pavement - Elevate Me Later: I was lucky enough to catch Pavement’s 2010
reunion tour at Brixton Academy (with The Clean opening), just looking over the
</span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pavement/2010/o2-academy-brixton-london-england-7bd4e29c.html"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">setlist</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> for that
show is bringing back a lot of great memories and I was lucky enough to grab a
ticket to their recently announced tour which also lucky for me, includes a
stop at nearby King’s Theatre. This track is of course from <i>Crooked Rain,
Crooked Rain</i>, which is probably the best Pavement album.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">11)
Guided By Voices - Black and White Eyes in a Prism: Just the two GBV albums for
2021, you could be forgiven for thinking Bob Pollard was slowing down but I’m
pretty sure side-project Cub Scout Bowling Pins came out this year and who
knows what else. Anyway, this song is from GBV’s 34</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> (I think)
record </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">It’s Not Them. It Couldn’t Be Them. It Is Them!</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> and they just
keep on churning out excellent albums. I can’t really say anything about this
one that I couldn’t say about most of the discography.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">12)
Pip Blom - You Don't Want This: Amsterdam quartet Pip Blom released their
second album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Welcome Break</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">, on the 12</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> of November via
Heavenly Records, and there’s something I’m drawn to with the vocals in
particular; the verses remind of Robyn Hitchcock’s vocal delivery, and the
choruses are punchy and anthemic. This song opens the record but one of the
most difficult choices for this mix was picking just one song from the album. “</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">You
try and lie to become somebody, Inside, you still feel like you are nobody, You
don't want to forget, You don't want to do”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">13)
The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Don't Come Home Too Soon: A new album from Glenn
Donaldson, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Summer at Land's End</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">, will come out in February via
Slumberland Records (the second album for the label). This is the only song
released from it so far and is, well, definitely a Reds, Pinks and Purples
song! As a Del Amitri fan, I did wonder for two seconds when I saw the title if
he was covering their 1998 world cup song for the Scotland football team,
though ultimately glad it wasn’t.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">14)
Marissa Paternoster - White Dove: Screaming Females virtuoso Marissa
Paternoster has released albums under the project </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Noun</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">, but </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Peace
Meter, </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">out on the 3</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">rd</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> of December via Don Giovanni Records, is
her first release under her name. This track opens the record and there’s
something magnetic about the low-key guitars coupled with the slow and steady
beat.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">15)
Dinner - Midnight In My Head: I was a fan of Dinner when he first hit the scene
in 2012 and loved the first three Eps but have to confess that I stopped paying
attention after that, for reasons I can’t think of. Anyway, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Dream Work </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">came
out on Captured Tracks in October and it’s a satisfying listen, this track
opens the record and features Charlie Hilton of Blouse.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">16)
Cindy - My Friend: I had not heard of this San Francisco band before the
release of their latest album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">1:2</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">, which came out in September. The
album is full of, well, for want of a better term, sad songs, but there’s an
inherent beauty to the record that makes it somehow uplifting most of the time.
“</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Oh, I’m strange sometimes, you make me nervous as though you could read my
mind, and oh, I wish you could my friend, then you could tell me what state my
life is in.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">17)
Eyelids - Slow it Goes (live): I frequently think “I shouldn’t buy so many
physical records”, but the pandemic has really pulled on my heart-strings and
when bands put out some limited release (300 pressings in this case) I feel
slightly obliged to buy what I can! This song is originally on 2020’s </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">The Accidental
Falls</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">18)
The Great American Novel - Grabbin' a Slice: My friend Brian sent me this song
in September and I’ll just re-use his words as I’m lazy! “WFUV does a
daily-at-noon thing they call "New York Slice" where they play a
random NYC artist right at noon. Today's was -- hilariously -- named
"Grabbin' A Slice"...and it's just perky silly '90s pop/rock fun”. A
perfect description, the album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Extremely Loud and Incredibly Online</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">, is
chock full of “perky silly 90s pop/rock fun”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">19)
Seam – Grain: I used </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Halo Redux </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">on Q#134 and since then The Numero Group
have continued doing their great re-releasing of underground acts, releasing </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Headsparks
</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">in September (just the other three records to re-release now, please).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">20)
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Hot Stuff: Yes, this is a cover of the
Donna Summer tune by doom experts Pigsx7. Hard to think that </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Viscerals </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">was
a 2020 release. Anyway, this cover was released in October and it seamlessly
just sounds like one of their own songs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">21)
Parquet Courts - Walking at a Downtown Pace: A band that seems a constant since
I moved to New York is Parquet Courts, and they just released their seventh
studio album </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Sympathy for Life </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">on the 22</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">nd</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> of October via
Rough Trade. While there’s an undeniable dance quality to a few of the tunes on
the record, it does very much sound like a Parquet Courts album, it’s always a
good quality of a band to do something different but still sounding like
yourself. </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">“I'm making plans for the day all of this is through, Seeing my
path there, hearing the song I'll sing, And food that I'll taste and all the
drinks that I'll consume, Return the smile of an unmasked friend”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q</span></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5MV1YVc2MY9j3AIo5jtCxY?utm_source=generator" width="100%"></iframe></div>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-9720150643686918652021-09-30T18:44:00.001+01:002021-09-30T18:44:32.408+01:00Q#139 - August to September 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOscQt_mycZcxrnuUzSnjkP4C51x3xM9iOq7TdMIQ10QAXPTRa3lbE_B28pfBSyg0H1k-sKd2WVJdKkooREJIbzXdOiN7CwZC_iKf2mSD80eLKU8Nsb-KP8sSWnL0TnZBbSWuIrhkOJo/s690/Q139+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOscQt_mycZcxrnuUzSnjkP4C51x3xM9iOq7TdMIQ10QAXPTRa3lbE_B28pfBSyg0H1k-sKd2WVJdKkooREJIbzXdOiN7CwZC_iKf2mSD80eLKU8Nsb-KP8sSWnL0TnZBbSWuIrhkOJo/s16000/Q139+cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><b>https://www.mediafire.com/file/ou1fp9hl77nzdge/Q#139.zip/file</b></span></span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Spotify link at end of notes, </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> </span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #139 – August to
September 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">We’re
officially into Autumn! I’m struggling for time on these notes so basically no intro
here, lots of new stuff, enjoy! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">01)
Squirrel Flower - So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings: One of my favourite
records of the year is Planet (i), although I had to wait what seemed like an
age to get the special edition version of the record that I’d pre-ordered… it
came with a bonus disc of songs that included this cover of Caroline Polachek’s
excellent pop-tune. Having said that, this is an example of a cover being
better than the original (Waxahatchee has also done a nice acoustic cover). Anyway,
go listen to <i>Planet (i)</i> and check out their 2022 tour dates (he says
with a hint of optimism). <i>“And I'm out at a party, they're playin' our song,
I cry on the dance floor, it's so embarrassing, Don't send me photos, you're
makin' it worse, 'Cause you're so hot, it's hurtin' my feelings”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">02)
Curtis Harding - Can't Hide It: Curtis’ third album, <i>If Words Were Flowers</i>,
comes out on the 5<sup>th</sup> of November and it has been a long four years
waiting for a new record… I say the same thing about him every time but he’s
really the only artist I can think of who has the essence of classic soul
without sounding derivative. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">03)
Spearmint - Bundunyabba Blue: Spearmint’s ninth (I think?) record, <i>Holland
Park </i>just came out at the end of September and as with all of their
records, it has been released via their own label, hitBACK. The record has a
smooth swagger to it for the most part, and is a loose concept album; telling
the story of Shirley’s father’s prog band in the early 70s: “They never made
it, and there’s nothing online about them, so it’s down to us to tell the
story.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">04)
Dean Wareham - Cashing In: Galaxie 500 / Luna frontman Dean Wareham is about to
release just his second solo record, <i>I Have Nothing to Say to the Mayor of
LA</i>, which is coming out on the 15<sup>th</sup> of October. As with most of
Wareham’s work, there’s a breezy quality to the track. <i>“I’m not selling out
I’m cashing in”.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">05)
Snarls - Fixed Gear: <i>Burst </i>was one of my favourite albums of 2020 and
the Columbus, Ohio quartet are putting out a 5 song EP called <i>What About
Flowers </i>in November, this is the lead single and seemingly continues their
good form. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">06)
Wednesday - Handsome Man: I’ve so far been to two concerts this year, the
second being Beach Bunny at Music Hall Williamsburg, it felt a bit weird being
at an indoor show in all honesty, I double-masked but most the audience hadn’t
bothered. At least shows here require proof of vaccination now… anyway,
Wednesday were one of the openers and I liked them a lot and have enjoyed their
record <i>Twin Plagues </i>that came out in August. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">07)
Horsegirl - Sea Life Sandwich Boy: Chicago trio Horsegirl only have a handful
of songs out in the world (three on bandcamp right now) but I’m excited by what
they’ve put together so far. There’s a lo-fi shoegaze quality to everything
thus far. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">08)
Night Shop - Forever Night: Night Shop is the solo project of Justin Sullivan
and this is the title track to his second full-length album which is coming out
in December. I like the chugging but jangle vibe to this tune, simple but
effective. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">09)
The Tubs – Illusion: Joanna Gruesome made a brief splash in the indie scene a
few years ago before burning out, so I was pleased to read two of the band had
formed The Tubs and just released their debut EP called <i>Names</i>. The
vocals are perhaps a bit marmite for some people but I am into it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">10)
Blunt Bangs – Decide: I can’t say I was familiar with Reggie Youngblood’s
previous band, Black Kids, but his new project, Blunt Bangs just released their
delightfully hook-laden debut album, <i>Proper Smoker</i>. Next time you just
want a fun record without having to think too much, give this one a go. <i>“I’m
only asking because you’re weird, and I’m weird too, when I talk to myself you
know I’m thinking of you” <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">11)
The Umbrellas - She Buys Herself Flowers: You won’t be surprised to hear that
this band is from the west coast (San Francisco, to be exact), and while jangle
has always felt timeless to me, there is something inherently 80s-college-radio
about their self-titled debut album. Captured Tracks recent put out a great
1983-1987 compilation called Strum and Thrum and this sounds like it could have
been lifted directly from that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">12)
The Beths - Whatever (live): Sticking with the jangle/power-pop twofer here,
Kiwi act The Beths have released two immaculate records to date and just put
out this live album <i>Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 </i>this month, a live
album, with an actual audience released in 2020, who would have thought… The
Beths can do little wrong to my ears and I’m excited for what they’ll release
next. This song is from their debut record <i>Future Me Hates Me </i>from 2019
(though also opens their debut EP<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Warm
Blood </i>from 2016). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">13)
Mondaze - Words Undone: This band are from Faenza, Italy, which I had to look
up, it’s 50km south-east of Bologna and apparently known for their ceramics and
almost every picture on google is of the piazza, I’m sure it’s lovely. The
quartet are releasing their debut album, <i>Late Bloom </i>in December and
based on this lead single fit squarely into the Hum-style of slow and heavy
shoegaze. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">14)
Bat Fangs - Queen of My World: Led by Betsy Wright of Ex-Hex, Bat Fangs are
following up their 2018 self-titled debut with <i>Queen of My World </i>on the
29<sup>th</sup> of October and the title-track would suggest that they aren’t
straying from their excellent formula of kick-arse anthemic classic rock. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">15)
Facs - Strawberry Coughs: Chicago trio Facs released <i>Present Tense </i>back
in May and almost made it onto the last mix but for time constraints but I’m
glad they found a home this time around. I should be seeing the band open for
METZ and Preoccupations in December. Facs are a little hard to pigeonhole,
focused on atmosphere and a forceful rhythm section with the guitar focused
more on texture than your traditional sounds, indie fans may remember Brian
Case from The Ponys. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">16)
F.S Blumm & Nils Frahm - Desert Mule: While not exactly prolific as the
likes of Bob Bollard or Ty Segall, I still find it hard to keep up with Nils
Frahms output and I even felt late to the game when the magnificent <i>Spaces </i>came
out in 2013…, this is his fourth collaborative record with F.S. Blumm and
they’ve really nailed dub on 2X1=4. Definitely one of the more enjoyably chill
records for 2021, and maybe that’s just what we need this year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">17)
Hello Mary - Take Something: I have to confess that I can’t remember how I
stumbled on this Brooklyn trio’s bandcamp page but the opening guitar riff and
the cymbal work really drew me in to this track. As I’m typing these notes it
just hit me that the obvious comparison here is Warpaint, but I’m going to keep
this sentence anyway (and really, who is reading this anyway?). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">18)
Laura Stevenson - Don't Think About Me: I wonder how many solo artists get to
their sixth album before releasing a self-titled album, but that’s what Laura
Stevenson just did this August. The record seems like a combination of all her albums
to date, maybe that’s a case of not straying too far from what she does, but
she does it very well. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">19)
Freezing Cold - Stuck on Hold: I’m heading home next month, which is great, but
it does mean I’ll miss a Screaming Females show at Saint Vitus, so while
lamenting that (with the full realisation that I’m lucky to be able to lament
missing a show of a band I’ve seen many, many times) I was checking out the
openers, which happened to be this band. I don’t know a whole lot about them
but they just put out two-songs on bandcamp, of which this is one… what do you
even call that these days, it should just be a single? (there’s a full album
from 2019 too). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">20)
Suzie True – Bailey: Unfortunately I have to also file this one among “I don’t
know how I heard of this band…”, but since I’m rambling, I can’t be the only
person who gets annoyed when people write about music who clearly don’t really
know about the band they’re pretending to know about… so I’d rather just not
pretend and say I dig this song and it ended up on the mix, so here we are.
This LA trio released a record called <i>Saddest Girl at the Party </i>in
November 2020, and it’s pretty good. <i>“Leave the TV on just like a nightlight,
Sleeping soundly listening to true crime, Brush your hair back on the beach in
December, You said “Let’s freeze to death forever”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">21)
Mono – Riptide: Japanese post-rock band Mono just put out their 11<sup>th</sup>
studio album in what is now their 22<sup>nd</sup> year as a band. Post-rock is
a weird genre because while I adore it and have listened to hundreds of
records/shows, etc, there’s a pattern that makes it hard for bands to sound
distinct from each other, and I just must have some bias because while I
struggle with some genres for that reason (blues…), it’s hard for me not to
enjoy a post-rock band… Anyway, I enjoyed the fact that this is the kind of
song I’d often open a mix with and the opening track is usually the kind I’d
close with, and we’ve flipped that here. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><br>
<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/2EUEoaMbeTxCH2MCRBgqAN" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-91818027796142467782021-07-28T05:25:00.005+01:002021-09-30T18:36:26.291+01:00Q#138 - June to July 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPJWmjntz2gxwBi6RMTSVK84mEfNUm13kecUI2WJC2dCTJ50x23YoXwtw8rZkQLma786IWTaoytM8RQSYtSy31mO6OCCgqa8wWfhjo9ZWp6dHEacDJuBqX5hQR-Fg9KibZccE53I7Vi4/s690/Q138+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPJWmjntz2gxwBi6RMTSVK84mEfNUm13kecUI2WJC2dCTJ50x23YoXwtw8rZkQLma786IWTaoytM8RQSYtSy31mO6OCCgqa8wWfhjo9ZWp6dHEacDJuBqX5hQR-Fg9KibZccE53I7Vi4/s16000/Q138+cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"> <b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><b>https://www.mediafire.com/file/umt89os4r0kix46/Q%2523138.zip/file</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Spotify link at end of notes, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a>: </div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b>Please note that Bennio Qwerty are not available on spotify, <a href="https://bennioqwerty.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">check their bandcamp page</a>.</b></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #138 – June to
July 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Greetings
and happy, hope everyone is staying healthy and doing well… Anyway, most of
this mix as usual is all brand-new, and I’ve gotten over the line thanks to a
couple of friends and having to completely rebuild my itunes library from
scratch, a clean start has ultimately been quite liberating. While I still had
all my files intact, and my ipod classic still going strong after 12 years, it
was nice to throw together what I considered essential and then adding anything
recent, or things that I didn’t give enough time of day originally. After
running an “if I need to add something I have to delete something first”
operation for a number of years to the ipod being full, it’s exciting to have a
bit of space for a while (and yes I still use my ipod classic a lot!).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">01)
All Dogs - That Kind of Girl: A beneficiary of my fresh-itunes-start, I thought
this was a new record I just didn’t get round to listening, but <i>Kicking
Every Day </i>is the band’s only album which came out in 2015. I was trying to
figure out how I had this but going through my gig-history it all made sense,
they opened for Superchunk when I saw them in 2015. The band is fronted by
Maryn Jones who I also like a lot as her pseudonym, Yowler.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">02)
Guided By Voices - Trust Them Now: <i>Earthman Blues</i>, the zillionth GBV
album released since you started reading this sentence (ok it was released at
the end of April). There’s nothing new I can write about Bob Pollard and
whoever is in his band, the man is a machine.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">03)
Snarls - Walk in the Woods: I closed Q#136 with <i>Burst</i>, the title track
of their record released in March 2020 and I had a hard time picking between
that song and this one, so much that I couldn’t get it out of my head recently
so here it is. This is the kind of song I love to listen to while walking
around the city on a nice day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">04)
Bad Bad Hats - Detroit Basketball: Back in normal times, I saw Bad Bad Hats
open for The Beths and enjoyed them a lot, but their between-song demeanour
really kept them in my thoughts, and now they’ve just signed to one of my
favourite labels, Don Giovanni Records. This is the first single from <i>Walkman</i>,
that will come out in September.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">05)
Smile Machine - Pretty Today: Jordyn Blakely has been a mainstay in Brooklyn
for some time now as the drummer in many a band you’ll have seen at a DIY venue
(Stove, Night Manager, Butter the Children, etc), this is at least to my
knowledge the first time she’s fronted a band. <i>Bye for Now </i>is Smile
Machine’s debut EP that came out on the 16<sup>th</sup> of July and this song
and every song is like being in a warm, fuzzy 90s-alt-rock-inspired hug.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">06)
Bennio Qwerty - The Spell: I could say that this song is on the mix as a result
of my itunes reshuffle, but Bennio Qwerty are one of the bands I think about
the most who released the least amount of music and seemingly disappeared
without a trace. In a list of bands I would put back together, Bennio Qwerty
would be up there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">07)
Fuzz - The Returning: On a recent trip to Portland (Oregon), it transpired that
there was something out on Record Store Day that I felt strongly enough to
endure waiting in line over an hour for on holiday (Nada Surf’s <i>Cycle
Through </i>EP). Having made everyone else wait for this nonsense, I felt like
I should buy a few more things to make it seem more worthwhile, one purchase
was the latest Fuzz record, which came out last year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">08)
Hovvdy - True Love: A welcome return to Hovvdy, who last appeared on Q#119 back
in April/May 2018. This song is the title-track to their new album which comes
out in October. There’s something unashamedly radio-friendly about this song,
maybe it’s the backing vocals, feels like it should be a low-key summer hit.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">09)
Bleachers - Stop Making This Hurt: I was struggling to put this mix together
for a while, landing a good 20 minutes short when I ran out of steam/influence,
but thanks to Adrianna for sending this song, it really tied the mix together
(tracks 8-13 almost immediately all fell in place shortly after). Despite Jack
Antonoff being one of the most in-demand pop producers over the last decade,
and Bleachers themselves being popular, I’d never heard of him or them until
now. Their third album, <i>Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night</i>, comes
out on the 30<sup>th</sup> of July (hopefully I’ve finished these notes by
then…), but you probably already know that. Anyway, intensely catchy and the
type of unabashed pop that I very rarely have or make time for in my life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">10)
Vundabar - Out of It: One of the records that passed me by in 2020 was
Vundabar’s <i>Either Light</i>, which had the misfortune of coming out in the
middle of March when something else was dominating everyone’s thoughts. Anyway,
they released two new songs in May which I like but I’m mostly grateful that it
made me go back and listen the <i>Either Light</i> (which this song opens).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">11)
Lucy Dacus - Hot & Heavy: I bought tickets to see Bright Eyes for a show in
June 2020, which fairly swiftly got rescheduled to July 31<sup>st</sup> 2021,
even as the numbers were going down in May and even early June, I was still
wondering if the show would happen since there was no news aside from the
original rescheduled date… but towards the end of June they announced yes, the
show will go ahead, it’ll be my first concert since March 2020… I’m sure it’ll
be great. Oh yeah, why am I mentioning this now, Lucy Dacus is opening the
show! One of the indie-darlings of 2021, she just released new album <i>Home
Video </i>in June on Matador Records.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">12)
Riddy Arman - Half a Heart Keychain: Montana-based singer-songwriter Riddy
Arman’s debut album (self-titled) comes out in September and this is the lead-single
and if you like this you’ll probably like the 9-track/29-minute offering.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">13)
Dark Tea - Highway Mile: Dark Tea’s second-self-titled album (for clarity, the
band’s second album, both albums are self-titled) was released in April and
it’s a low-key delightful album, the kind of record you listen to and maybe
move on to other things for a few weeks but before you know it you keep coming
back for more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">14)
Courtney Barnett - Rae Street: like every man and his dog, I loved (and still
play) 2015’s <i>Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit</i>, and
enjoyed 2018’s <i>Tell Me How You Really Feel</i> without ever going back to
it. I’m looking forward to new album, <i>Things Take Time, Take Time</i>, which
comes out in November. This song opens the album and I got tickets to see her
at Radio City in February, which has the, dare I say, even greater benefit of
featuring Julia Jacklin as opener.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">15)
Del Amitri - I'm So Scared of Dying: It’s a failure of mine to be able to put
into adequate words the feeling of your favourite band releasing their first
album in almost 20 years, is it an excellent album or am I just unable to be
objective about such things? I think I’m a pretty rational person, and I love <i>Fatal
Mistakes</i>, with this song perhaps being my favourite, there’s an unabashed
Neil Young <i>Everybody Knows This is Knowhere </i>vide to this song. I do have
tickets to see them on tour in the UK in October but I fear the UK government’s
decision to fully re-open the country will result in that not happening, guess
I can’t do anything but wait.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">16)
The Connells - Really Great: Speaking of bands who haven’t released anything in
a while, I’ve always had a soft spot for their album <i>Ring </i>which came out
in 1993 (casual music fans of the era may remember the minor-hit song <i>74-75</i>
reached the heady heights of 36 in the UK singles chart). Anyway, this track
opens <i>Steadman’s Wake</i>, which is due out in September, their first album
since 2001’s <i>Old School Dropouts</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">17)
The New Pornographers - Sing Me Spanish Techno: I try never to re-use songs and
I know I used Twin Cinema at some point in 2005… it’s my favourite album from
the band and they just announced an anniversary tour that rolls into Webster
Hall in December, hence another track from the record. They’re also doing
another night where they’re playing <i>Mass Romantic </i>but while that’s a good
record, it’s just not as satisfying overall.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">18)
The Ganjas – Revelate: I try to be reasonable with my vinyl-purchasing, it
takes up far too much room for an NYC apartment, but I have my
(all-too-frequent) weak moments, and if I find an album on Blow Your Mind
Records then it’s hard to resist and I managed to come across both <i>Loose </i>(where
this track appears)<i> </i>and <i>Daybreak </i>recently. Chilean psyche rock
has gotten a lot of praise over the last decade (and it deserves even more!),
but we wouldn’t have some of the great bands of today were it now for The
Ganjas who have been doing it for over 20 years at this point.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">19)
Caution - Supplemental Supplement: I’m a digital subscriber to Born Yesterday
Records on bandcamp and it’s an excellent way to make you listen to a bunch of
new releases as they get delivered to you instantly on release. Caution are a
duo from Baltimore and this self-titled EP was released in February of this
year, I was randomly flicking through my bandcamp library and this song just
jumped out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">20)
FCKR JR - Next Best Friends: Another Born Yesterday Records random-listen, FCKR
JR are a quartet from Chicago and this album (<i>I’m Sorry Mom and Dad</i>)
came out in August 2019. The band is fronted by former Geronimo! bassist and keyboard
player Ben Grigg (Geronimo! featured way back on Q#96 seven years ago).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">21)
Karate – Gasoline: This track opens Karate’s self-titled debut album from 1996,
sometimes you come across an old band that really begs belief that you weren’t
already a huge fan for decades. Sadly Karate had to disband in 2005 after six
albums due to frontman Geoff Farina developing hearing problems after playing
almost 700 shows.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">22)
Bnny – Sure: Another Chicago act, Bnny is signed to Fire Talk Records and debut
album <i>Everything </i>is getting released on the 20<sup>th</sup> of August.
This is the third pre-release single from the album and has a lullaby-like
quality that I love putting towards the end of a mix.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">23)
Yvette - B61: Eight long years after the release of debut album <i>PROCESS</i>,
Yvette finally return in September with <i>How the Garden Grows</i>, B61 opens
the album and maintains the industrial sound that made <i>Process </i>so great,
but there’s a bit more control and refinement, at least on this one song, I can’t
wait to hear the whole thing later in the year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">I
hope there were things to enjoy on the mix, this one took a while to come
together but once the songs started flowing it snowballed pretty quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As
always, Peace and Love - Q</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p></p>
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/49ki1s2YCysNcu0XH8k1cR" width="100%"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-17872562759858035262021-05-22T15:24:00.000+01:002021-05-22T15:24:22.581+01:00Q#137 - April to May 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5dg0xz8RzZ0daVxZq7KW4CCqq9U2YXQoSo-FbGs3dszDWA4Xgl7Fl0IRlXONR-3g2hN_gtN9poALLRZD4gV9KZb1tLZHbgRl0jLdSRkql6p1MQCBaQeN2mbL4mI_-jV0fcQWJBk8PWU/s690/Q137+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5dg0xz8RzZ0daVxZq7KW4CCqq9U2YXQoSo-FbGs3dszDWA4Xgl7Fl0IRlXONR-3g2hN_gtN9poALLRZD4gV9KZb1tLZHbgRl0jLdSRkql6p1MQCBaQeN2mbL4mI_-jV0fcQWJBk8PWU/s16000/Q137+cover.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><b>https://www.mediafire.com/file/vocrqp8yyhg05tw/Q%2523137.zip/file</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Spotify link at end of notes, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a>: </div><p><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #137 – April to
May 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">I’m
finishing these notes up at my usual time of around 1am, feeling grateful to be
three-weeks past my second vaccination, but still a little apprehensive/anxious
about vaccine hesitancy permeating society; just today I was walking Jackson
and heard someone proudly proclaim “I will NEVER take that vaccine”, and with
people like that around, I worry we’ll never quite get to the numbers we need
to make this go away, and that’s without even thinking about the horrific
situation in other parts of the world where covid is still raging out of
control. I see achieving “herd immunity” a bit like climate change, getting a
good chunk of the way there is in principle pretty easy, but getting to net zero
carbon emissions / minimal covid cases in the world, is quite difficult. For
climate change, we could decarbonise our grids by ramping up our only source of
massive carbon-free energy, nuclear energy, for covid, we have great vaccines,
the big problem in the way… people who don’t trust what the science is telling
us. The cover for this month’s mix is of Indian Point, the nuclear power plant
recently closed thanks to Governor Cuomo’s idiocy and corruption towards the
fossil fuel industry (in this case, natural gas). Indian Point was providing a
massive amount of carbon free energy for decades and it is impossible to see
how the state will reach its climate change goals without it (please read more
about this here: </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.nuclearny.org/indian-point/"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif">http://www.nuclearny.org/indian-point/</span></a></span><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">). Anyway, everything on
this latest mix is either brand new, from last year that I had missed out on at
the time, and one ancient track all the way back from 2018. I hope you can
enjoy it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">01)
Remember Sports - Pinky Ring: Formerly known as just <i>Sports</i>, the Philly
quartet released their fourth album, <i>Like a Stone</i>, in April. This track
opens the record and seemed like a typical Q-comp opener! They last appeared on
Q#128.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">02)
Momma – Biohazard: My buddy Felix probably sends me more music recommendations
than anyone I know, sometimes so many at once I can’t keep up! He hit a
home-run with this LA trio’s second album, <i>Two of Me</i>, which came out in
June 2020 and would certainly have been one of my favourite albums if I’d heard
it.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">03)
Hannah Jadagu - Think Too Much: Recently signed to Sub Pop, who just released
her EP <i>What Is Going On</i>, this NYC resident is originally from Mesquite,
Texas, and produces some lovely bedroom pop. This is the kind of song that’s
perfect to walk around in a daydream on a sunny day in Prospect Park.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">04)
Hurry - It's Dangerous: Hurry’s latest album (their sixth, I think) is called <i>Fake
Ideas </i>and will come out in June, this is the lead single from the album
(I’ve pre-ordered it). I saw the band opening for Nada Surf a few years ago and
have loved their jangle-indie since, somewhat fittingly, every time I play
their records, without fail Emily asks “Is this Nada Surf?”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">05)
JayWood - Some Days: Winnipeg, Manitoba, the city of greats such as Crash Test
Dummies (I do actually love CTD unashamedly) and Captured Tracks’ latest signing, JayWood, who
just put out his EP, <i>Some Days</i>, when I first heard the noodley guitar
intro and that drum shuffle I knew it would be a winner.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">06)
Molly Burch – Control: I remember falling in love with Molly Burch’s debut
album <i>Please be Mine </i>in 2017 but seeing her perform that year, she had
the voice but an awkward lack of confidence, when I saw her a year and another
album later, she was transformed. Now about to release her third album (I won’t
apologise for ignoring a christmas album), <i>Romantic Images</i> is being
released by Captured Tracks in July and based on the two singles so far, it
should be excellent.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">07)
Squirrel Flower - Hurt a Fly: Of all the albums released last year that I
didn’t hear until now, Squirrel Flower’s <i>I Was Born Swimming </i>might be
the one I feel like I missed out on the most (I realise I’ve said similar about
Momma above), thankfully Ella Williams has been prolific enough to have another
record coming out this year, <i>Planet (i)</i>, coming out on the 25<sup>th</sup>
of June and this is the lead single from it which cropped up in my press
releases. I’ve since bought <i>I Was Born Swimming </i>and pre-ordered <i>Planet
(i)</i></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">08)
Dusted - Little More Time: You wouldn’t know it from the Dusted tracks I’ve
used from time to time, but Brian Borcherdt is a founding member of one of my
favourite acts of the last fifteen years, Holy Fuck. Whilst his main band is an
electronic but fairly organic dance act, his solo output is a brand of much
more sombre, traditional songwriting. This is the lead single from his upcoming
record, <i>III</i>, (which you might guess, is his third album), the one
striking thing about this song is the vocals are much more confident, I’m not
saying he’s channelling Jeff Buckley or anything here, but there’s definitely a
step up in the delivery.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">09)
Fog Lake – Jitterbug: It can be a little hard to keep on top of Fog Lake’s
discography, especially since I bought all thirteen of his releases on bandcamp
earlier in the year, but his latest album, <i>Tragedy Reel, </i>came out in
April this year and is another fine addition of his bedroom-slowcore.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">10)
Silver Synthetic - In the Beginning: There’s something about this self-titled
debut record that seems perfect for ushering summer into our lives. The whole
album is like a cool summer breeze, occasions I tend to reach for a Luna album.
The record came out in April, following an EP the previous October.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">11)
The Natvral - Why Don't You Come Out Anymore: Kip Bermen had a great run as The
Pains of Being Pure at Heart from 2007 to 2019, and it was a shame when they
disbanded, but his new project<i> </i>The Natvral is certainly different enough
to justify a rebranding. This song opens new album <i>Tethers </i>and has
strong Dylan/Petty vibes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">12)
Julianna Hatfield - Moutful of Blood: <i>Blood </i>is set to be Julianna
Hatfield’s nineteenth studio album on the 14<sup>th</sup> of May, which was
recorded mostly at home due to the pandemic, this is the lead single from the
album.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">13)
Pet Fox - Imagine Why: Pet Fox have been kicking around for a few years now,
releasing a couple of full length albums but having signed to Exploding In
Sound Records, they’ll hopefully get on more people’s radars. Their new
three-song EP, <i>More than Anything </i>is excellent and hopefully a new album
won’t be too far away. The band consists of Theo Hartlett (Ovlov), Morgan Luzzi
(Ovlov), and Jesse Weiss (ex-Palehound, Grass Is Green), if you know those
bands already then you won’t be surprised at how Pet Fox sound.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">14)
Blessed - Structure: One of my favourite albums of 2019 was <i>Salt </i>by this
Vancouver quartet, and their four-track follow-up, <i>iii</i>, was released in
February.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">15)
Squid – Pamphlets: It’s always heartening to hear a British band seemingly
step-up and do something really great, I thought we’d already gotten the
outstanding British record for the year in the bag already with <i>Black
Country New Road</i>, but <i>Bright Green Field</i> by Squid might have taken
the lead. Records that are hard to sum up are always going to pique my
interest, it’s really all over the place and if anything, this might be the
most normal song on the album.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">16)
La Cienca Simple – Distancia: I can never go too long without using a band from
Chile on a Q Comp (this act first appeared on Q#119 in April/May 2018), this
Santiago-based post-rock squintet have released three records, and this track
opens the most recent (2018’s <i>III V VII</i>).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">17)
Mia Joy - Ye Old Man: I’ll pretty much buy anything that Fire Talk Records put
out (indeed, I’m not a monthly subscriber), <i>Spirit Tamer </i>was released on
the 7<sup>th</sup> May and is a very chill record.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">18)
Moontype – Ferry: I remember bookmarking this song back in December and falling
in love with it pretty instantly, but it’s easy to lose track of bandcamp pages
that are single tracks when an album is coming out (with the same song on)
months later, so when I listened to <i>Bodies of Water</i> in April it almost
took me by surprise when this song appeared late on the record. One of the
reasons for that perhaps is that this song is a bit of an oddity on a mostly
indie-pop record with a few more BPM than this tune would suggest, but there’s
something really whimsical about this song that I can’t escape</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">19)
Cory Hanson - Another Story from the Center of the Earth: Cory Hanson is the
main-man of LA psyche rock band Wand (who have appeared many times over the
years on this series), but for his solo records he tames things down a few
notches to a mostly acoustic and at times country vibe. There’s some great
pedal steel throughout the record that really elevates it, and this song has
some serious Neil Young <i>Everybody Knows This is Nowhere </i>nods, including
the raging guitar solos.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">I’m
pretty happy with this mix overall and I hope you’ve found something new and
enjoyable as well, we’ll be back in June/July. In the meantime, I hope you’re
able to get vaccinated if you aren’t already and who knows, maybe we’ll be able
to see each other at a show or three before the year is out. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p>
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/2lPM8y8ni8yExdHMzDyvCo" width="300"></iframe>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-4844459521476593122021-03-23T04:08:00.000+00:002021-03-23T04:08:03.936+00:00Q#136 - February to March 2021<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37Y5XUCepgLIXw-bxjrsfYZSjfMKrR2GXqHWO7XT6jbePo-mao70CVnN4pyFTGtSXH0Ks-SASdAcYCsNh5rX5g85SjuOboS7tX1Z82xWw6-C0GeGAsFgns-YtVUWJ6mnrUFAAy9eCh0c/s690/Q136+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37Y5XUCepgLIXw-bxjrsfYZSjfMKrR2GXqHWO7XT6jbePo-mao70CVnN4pyFTGtSXH0Ks-SASdAcYCsNh5rX5g85SjuOboS7tX1Z82xWw6-C0GeGAsFgns-YtVUWJ6mnrUFAAy9eCh0c/s16000/Q136+cover.png" /></a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><b>https://www.mediafire.com/file/lr4o7ux9jiu8fnb/Q%2523136.zip/file</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Spotify link at end of notes, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a>: </div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #136 – February
to March 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Happy
Spring (or nearly-Spring)! There have already been a lot of good new releases
in 2021 so between that and hopeful news of vaccine roll-outs, we just need to
hunker down and be responsible a little longer. As is usual for the Feb/March
mix in a year, there are some songs that didn’t make the cut for the best-of,
or songs that would have if only I’d heard them before now, and all the best
new things I’ve heard. I hope there’s something for you to enjoy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">01)
The Dirty Nil – Doom Boy: Canadian trio The Dirty Nil released </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fuck Art, </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">their
third studio album, on the 8</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> of January via Dine Alone Records.
The record has felt like a long time coming, not uncommon given many bands have
delayed releases during the pandemic, though </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Done With Drugs, </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">the lead
single for the album, came out in June (and was on Q#133). The album is another
excellent collection of catchy power pop, this song opens the record which
rarely relents. </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Do you delight in rule breaking? Dancing to thrash and
hailing satan?”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">02)
Ratboys – Alien With a Sleep Mask On: Chicago quartet Ratboys released </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Printer’s
Devil </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">in February 2020, pre-pandemic! I only just recently heard of them,
however, and this was a recent bandcamp purchase. They just put out
country-twinged single so hopefully there’ll be a follow-up in due course.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">03)
Jetstream Pony – It’s Fine: I do find that going down a Bandcamp rabbit-hole
can often yield pretty good results – at this point I can’t remember how I
ended up on this Brighton-based band, but it was a “you just purchased </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">xxxxx
</i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">perhaps you’d like Jetsream Pony”, and they weren’t wrong. Their self-titled
album was released in May 2020 and this opens the record.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">04)
Rat Columns – It’s Your Time (to Suffer): Perth’s Rat Columns just released
their fourth album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pacific Kiss </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">in February (mostly recorded in East
Williamsburg). I just love the sound and arrangements of the whole album, which
lands fairly close to the middle of my venn diagram.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">05)
Kiwi Jr – Undecided Voters: Another jangle-heavy release already in the bag for
2021, Toronto’s Kiwi Jr just put out their second album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cooler Returns</i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">,
which is being released by Sub Pop. The comparisons to Pavement may be a little
boringly obvious, but the record does certainly sound a lot like them at times.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">06)
The Reds, Pinks and Purples – The Record Player and the Damage Done: Those that
know their record labels will not be surprised to hear that </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Uncommon Weather</i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">
is being released by Slumberland Records, it comes out in April but this is one
of the singles. I guess 2021 really is the year of jangle so far (at least in
my universe). The Reds, Pinks and Purples is a DIY project from Glenn Donaldson
in San Francisco. </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I don’t wanna join your revolution, so leave me alone. No
spiritual journeys for me, I’ll stay home. Use your breakthroughs for something
worthwhile for once. And save the human race, haven’t we suffered enough?”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">07)
Horsees – Overdry: Paris quartet Horsees released their self-titled debut album
last month and it’s a delightful collection of songs that would all sound at
home on the </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Children of Nuggets </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">compilation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">08)
Ron Gallo – Hide (Myself Behind You): </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peacemeal </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">is Ron Gallo’s third
full length album and was released by New West Records on the 5</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> of
March. The album is a departure from his first two records, which were a little
more traditional garage/indie, there’s certainly a more poppy vibe on songs
like this one, but the album is a bit of a kaleidoscope for the most part that
I’m still digesting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">09)
Fruit Bats – Balcony: Celebrating Fruit Bats’ 20</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> anniversary, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
Pet Parade </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">is Eric D Johnson’s ninth release under the Fruit Bats moniker. The
album came out on the 5</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> of March and it’s another find addition to
the discography, for this song in particular there’s something about the way
that bass comes in at around the 40-second mark that gets me every time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">10)
Bright Eyes – Flirted With You All My Life: One of my favourite songs of all
time is Vic Chesnutt’s </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flirting With You All My Life </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">(which was used on
a very, very old Q-Comp back in 2009 when </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the Cut </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">was released), it
has been covered many times often badly and should probably be left well alone.
However, I did hear Bright Eyes version recently and think it’s probably the
best of the covers I’ve heard. Technically I have rescheduled tickets to see
Bright Eyes this summer, which I assume will get rescheduled again at this
point!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">11)
Del Amitri – It’s Feelings: I typically describe Del Amitri as my first love, and
the band are set to release their first album since 2002’s </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can You Do Me
Good </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">in May (unless the release gets pushed back again), recording of </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fatal
Mistakes </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">was finished the day before the first lockdown in the UK, which
was good timing… this is the second single from the album. It’s hard to
describe the feeling of your favourite band releasing an album for the first
time in almost 20 years. “</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All the sickness, all the bruises, All the shit
that no one chooses, Bring it on in its disguises, I'll take the knockouts with
the prizes”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">12)
Semisonic – You’re Not Alone: Speaking of bands who haven’t released anything
in 19 years… </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Semisonic’s </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">last album was 2001’s </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All About Chemistry </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">but
they released an EP last year. Dan Wilson has had a pretty successful career
writing for/with other artists in the ensuing years, indeed the idea to finally
record some new Semisonic tunes came after he tried to write some material for
Liam Gallagher, I’m certainly glad he decided to take the inspiration for
himself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">13)
Black Country New Road – Sunglasses: London septet Black Country New Road
released their debut album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the First Time </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">in February and it’s
certainly the front-runner for most critically acclaimed album of the year to
date. The record runs the gamut of art-and-post-rock, having saxophone and
violin throughout is always going to bring something else to the table and the
musicianship is first rate. Clocking in at almost 10 minutes, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sunglasses </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">is
probably as good a summation of the record as possible, but you should really
listen to the whole thing. I’d love to see what they’re like live.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">14)
Mogwai – Pet Stains: In probably the most surprising charting achievement I can
perhaps think of, Mogwai’s tenth album, released on the 19</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> of
February to mark the 25</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> anniversary of their first single,
actually got to number 1 on the UK album charts. As someone who has been a fan
since their 1997 debut album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Young Team</i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">, it’s gratifying to see them do
so well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">15)
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe – New York Miracle: I saw Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe open
for Fuck Buttons in 2013 and he had me in the palm of his hand. Using a modular
synth and sipping tea, he looked like some kind of magician controlling the
room. </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Notes Above Land </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">was released in February though a lot of it was
recorded in 2015.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">16)
Ronnie Vega – Lieutenant Dan: Another somewhat random recent bandcamp purchase
was </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two Eps </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">by Ronnie Vega who was from Philly and sadly died last year.
</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two Eps </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">collates his entire discography and it’s a huge shame there
isn’t more of it as it really is outstanding.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">17)
Lilys – Accepting Applications at University: Lily’s re-issued their 1999
album, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 3-Way</i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> recently and while I prefer them in a more shoegazy
mood, there are some pretty enchanting songs on this record, which wears its
60s Kinks/The Zombies influences proudly.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">18)
Beach Bunny – Blame Game: At this point I shouldn’t need to say that Beach
Bunny released my favourite album of last year (</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Honeymoon</i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">), but I do
need to tell you that they just put out a new EP, of which this is the title
track, that came out in January. My in-general-hot-take in music is that I
think EPs are a little silly and that bands should just wait a bit longer to
have enough material for an LP, but I’m of the CD-single generation where bands
like Del Amitri would put out 2-CDs with 6 excellent b-sides that were
basically Eps. Anyway, I digress, the EP is of course excellent and I hope they
have a new record in the works.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">19)
Snarls – Burst: Every once in a while I’ll hear Emily playing her Spotify
recommended/daily playlist and something will prick my ears, the best recent
example is this Columbus, Ohio quartet who released </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Burst </i><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">in March 2020
and would certainly have made the previous best-of-that-year mix if I’d have
heard it at the time. “</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I die, May I burst, With a crack of thunder, And
a lot of glitter”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">I
know as the weather starts getting better there’s a temptation to put our
guards down but hopefully we can start seeing some light at the end of the
tunnel, even if we’re still a long way off normality. Keep being safe!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">As
always, Peace and Love - Q</span></p><br /><p></p>
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/1CYrDK7haklep5QfMoEFKU" width="300"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-87709114560369953092021-01-18T15:55:00.002+00:002021-01-18T15:55:47.159+00:00Q#135 - December 2020 to January 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2c0ohV3Ub7NFiAjstKEhlk4tStQUEZRy0HBDIA8QQeRSjdpEEVUOtStbirsmnwUHbT8m0ZBYZNkQMxPFyl6B-HlIseD9rjB41-pNEWcmhp4-n9H09s1GqI0P8ANbBW9X6LxiWXMPnuTs/s690/Q135+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2c0ohV3Ub7NFiAjstKEhlk4tStQUEZRy0HBDIA8QQeRSjdpEEVUOtStbirsmnwUHbT8m0ZBYZNkQMxPFyl6B-HlIseD9rjB41-pNEWcmhp4-n9H09s1GqI0P8ANbBW9X6LxiWXMPnuTs/s16000/Q135+cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><b>https://www.mediafire.com/file/chi7s158l7rmthz/Q#135.zip/file</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Spotify link at end of notes, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a>: </div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #135 – December
2020 to January 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Where
to start? As usual, the first mix of the year is a round-up of my favourite
releases from the last 12 months. It obviously wasn’t a normal year on any
metric, but there was still a lot of excellent music to absorb, though aside
from a select few records, I found that while I enjoyed a lot, I didn’t listen
to many albums repeatedly and I think the main reason for that is there were no
concerts to go to for almost 80% of the year. Gigs not only give me a lot of
exposure to new music but ultimately an extra connection to the band/artist
themselves, if I’ve enjoyed a live set, I’m much more likely to keep going back.
Since these are most of my favourites from the year, I may have used my #1
songs from these artists on mixes throughout the year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">01)
Beach Bunny – Ms California: I’m kicking things off with the one 2020 record I
could not stop playing, <i>Honeymoon </i>was released in February and I’m aghast
that it didn’t register on more end-of-year lists. It’s a fairly short and
sweet album with 9 songs in 25 minutes, but if you want pop hooks and huge
choruses, then this Chicago band is for you. I want to be clear here, I have
barely stopped playing this record since I first heard it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">02)
Supercrush – On the Telephone: I used <i>Get It Right </i>on Q#134 which also
appears on their debut album, SODO Pop that came out in October; it’s about as
classic a power-pop record as you could find in 2020. The whole record is a joy
so if you like this tune you’ll dig all the ten tracks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">03)
Bloody Your Hands – Weird Winter: I opened Q#133 with <i>Checked Out</i> and
this is another anthemic pop-punk tune from their album <i>Sunday Scaries </i>that
came out in August. What a great fist-pumping chorus this has.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">04)
Latitude – Thursday is the New Sunday: I honestly don’t remember how I cam
across this quintet from San Francisco, but <i>Mystic Hotline </i>was released
in October and this song in particular immediately took my fancy and made me
buy the record. Effortlessly breezy. <i>“Thursday’s the new Sunday, Cuz all I
wanna do, Is lay around with you, Call me up honey, This dirty old city, It’ll
grind us to the bone, And all I seem to wanna do, Is lay around”</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">05)
Pure X – Middle America: If Beach Bunny released my favourite album of the
year, the Pure X probably take the runner up spot with their self-titled
release back in May, their first record in six years. I even ended up buying it
more than once (first I got a promo copy, liked it enough to buy it digitally,
then I realised I <i>really </i>wanted it on vinyl). I used <i>Fantasy </i>back
on Q#131, and I just love that desert guitar, I’m not sure fuzz has ever
sounded so easy going.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">06)
METZ – The Mirror: Contenders for best live act over the last decade, METZ
aren’t the most prolific studio artists, <i>Atlas Vending </i>came out in
October and is their fourth studio album. Their last couple of records have
tweaked their tried and tested formula just enough to make for albums that are
distinct but undeniably them, it’s hard not to love everything they touch. I
started running this year and always had a hard time slowing down while
listening to this record (managed a 23-minute lap around Prospect Park once
which is about 5.5k, which I was happy with but my knees were not).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">07)
Moor Jewelry – Eugenics: It’s hard to categorise <i>True Opera </i>by Moor
Jewelery, which is a collaboration between Moor Mother and Mental Jewelry, but
the reference point I tend to give people is if the Beastie Boys did a record
where every song was like <i>Sabotage</i>. Obviously that does a disservice to
this frankly outstanding record which you should all listen to if you’re in
something of a post-hardcore mood. I also used <i>Look Alive </i>on Q#132.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">08)
Shell of a Shell – Knock: Records that get released at the start of the year
tend to get a raw deal on end-of-year lists and that certainly seemed to be the
case for Shell of a Shell’s album <i>Away Team </i>(I closed Q#130 with <i>Don’t
Expect</i>), listening to this song as I write the notes is maybe the most profound
pang of sadness I’ve had of not being able to see concerts in a while.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">09)
Flower – Annihilation Time: No big deal but cult NYC band Flower released their
first album in thirty years, <i>None Is (But Once Was)</i> came out in July and
is a bit of a departure from their original sound, most songs have a lovely
jangle to them, though this is one of the more aggressive tunes on the album.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">10)
Nation of Language – Tournament: There’s usually a rush of records I find at
the very end of the year through recommendations, and I have to thank Robert
for turning me onto this band recently. Indie-darlings Future Islands released
a new record this year, and I have to admit despite loving their other work, it
didn’t grab me, so this synth-pop record from a Brooklyn band was just what I
needed to hear. The record is called <i>Introduction, Presence</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">11)
Sweeping Promises – Falling Forward: I used the title track of this Boston
act’s record, <i>Hunger For a Way Out </i>on Q#133, and you’d be forgiven for
thinking the album was released in Northern England in 1979 with that
wirey-punk-twang and punchy bass.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">12)
Deeper – This Heat: Chicago-act Deeper released their second album (<i>Auto
Pain</i>) in March and were one of the last bands I got to see live this year
(on the 3<sup>rd</sup> of March, I went to my final concert of 2020 the day
after). I used <i>Lake Song </i>on Q#130 and I have to say, this record is
another sleeper hit that did not get enough love from critics.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">13)
DEHD – Nobody: Speaking of Chicago bands, I used <i>Loner </i>on Q#132 and <i>Flower
of Devotion </i>is another one of those records I did keep coming back to this
year. I think words like sexy and erotic are often overused in music journalism
but there is something undeniably raunchy about their last couple of albums,
they truly stand out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">14)
Nada Surf – Come Get Me: Another band I actually got to see this year (for the
20<sup>th</sup> and 21<sup>st</sup> time)! Any year with a Nada Surf album
can’t be bad. <i>Never Not Together </i>was released in February and was
dedicated to Ric Ocasek (who produced their first album) and there is more than
a hint of The Cars throughout the record. I’ve loved this band for 25 years
now. “<i>I don't feel grown up, Maybe nobody did, I was always on my guard,
Since I was a kid, But I'm so, so ready, Come get me, come get me"</i></span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">15)
The Beths – Jump Rope Gazers: The one album I got obsessed with in 2018 (and
still am) was <i>Future Me Hates Me, </i>so it was always going to be a tough
act to follow, but <i>Jump Rope Gazers </i>is another triumph, I used <i>I’m
Not Getting Excited </i>on Q#132. I deliberated over a few tracks to use but
kept coming back to this one.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">16)
Eyelids – The Minutes: Another early release, <i>The Accidental Falls</i> was
released back in February (and I used the title track on Q#130). I ended up
using this track mostly for time constraints but it’s still a cracker. The
record was produced by Peter Buck.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">17)
Mint Field – Nadie Te Esta Persiguiendo: Mexico’s Mint Field released their
second album, <i>Sentimiento Mundial </i>in September, it’s a little less lush
than debut <i>Pasar de las Luces</i> (which was maybe the prettiest sounding
album of 2018) but there’s no second album slump here at all.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">18)
bdrmm – Happy: I hadn’t heard of this band until they ranked pretty highly on
Rough Trade’s best of 2020 list (one of the first to come out, I think), but I
was instantly drawn to it. This song sounds a lot like The Cure (or more
recently, Diiv), and the record as a whole runs the gamut of post-punk, it
knows when to be minimal and when to turn the volume up. Regular listeners
should remember <i>Is That What You Wanted to Hear? </i>from Q#134.</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">19)
Clearbody – Scratch the Color: A late release of the year, <i>One More Day </i>came
out in December and nails that heavy shoegaze sound, I had a hard time picking
which track to use for this.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">20)
Sprain – Slant: I’ve got to thank Pete for turning me on to <i>As Lost Through
Collision, </i>he knows I’m a sucker for some good slowcore and it’s a wonder
this LA quartet weren’t on my radar sooner. This is probably the most “normal”
track on the record and there wasn’t time to fit any of the longer tunes on,
I’d love to hear this live. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">21)
Fake Eyes – Illuminate: I used <i>Demonstrations </i>on Q#132 so I’ll have used
half of the band’s EP <i>A Drip Is All We Know</i>, I tend to ignore EPs and
singles when it comes to year-end-lists but I liked this one too much. It’s
perhaps a little rich of me to use this instead of a track on the Hum record
from this year (which I also did like a lot) since it’s clearly a huge
influence, but here we are.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">22)
Jonathan Fitoussi – Total Eclipse: I opened Q#134 with <i>Oceans </i>from this
album, <i>Plein Soleil </i>so it seems fitting to end this mix with a song from
it. By far my favourite ambient album I heard in 2020, it’s about as
classic-sounding as you can get in the genre.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">Keep
being safe!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;"><b>https://www.mediafire.com/file/chi7s158l7rmthz/Q#135.zip/file</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Spotify link at end of notes, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a>: </div><p></p>
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/38931dJXv1JoVFUSMNHHJq" width="300"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-36032006935956459322020-11-27T16:21:00.004+00:002020-11-27T16:22:01.832+00:00Q#134 - October to November 2020<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6HJZl9DO2Qn5xwDwD6R9S3v4R94-NlKV1QWMH-QfDmnptaxB-4zR2pYTR4AS_lpDNjnXN0hyphenhyphenGXe1_8VotDwRlq1F_Z4bBXD2oL9xQwAbCnPlvUkWCkY02mV71ylOPV7Mwoom1A66yCI/s690/Q134+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6HJZl9DO2Qn5xwDwD6R9S3v4R94-NlKV1QWMH-QfDmnptaxB-4zR2pYTR4AS_lpDNjnXN0hyphenhyphenGXe1_8VotDwRlq1F_Z4bBXD2oL9xQwAbCnPlvUkWCkY02mV71ylOPV7Mwoom1A66yCI/s16000/Q134+cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;">http://www.mediafire.com/file/szzgizr425oflj3/Q#134.zip/file</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;">(not that the Fruit Bats song is not on Spotify)</span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Spotify link at end of notes, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a>: </div><p><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #134 – October to
November 2020<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Happy…
lame duck season? Whilst a delusional child is still residing in the white
house, there is comfort that Joe Biden ultimately won the election by a
handsome margin by any metric, and this is actually the first time in 19 years
that something I voted on actually went the way I wanted it to! Anyway, we’re
probably in for a rough end to the year with the pandemic so please stay safe.
This mix consists of mostly new music but also a few golden oldies and things
that were inspired by my concert-going-otd-archives. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">01)
Jonathan Fitoussi – Oceans: Whilst browsing Bandcamp a few weeks ago an article
about “best new ambient music” was on the homepage, and while I’d have loved to
be able to buy the vinyl, it doesn’t seem like it’s available here so I paid
for the download. I’m a sucker for analog and modular synths and his record Plein
Soleil is about as classic as can get. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">02)
Lael Neale – Every Star Shivers in the Dark: Recently signed to Sub Pop who
will release her upcoming album presumably next year, so far there have been
two promotional singles, this tune and <i>For No-One Now.</i> Both songs are a
bit of a departure from her sultry country-tinged debut <i>I’ll Be Your Man </i>from
2015 and while this song might come across as bleak to some, I find it
comforting and beautiful. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">03)
Porcupine Tree – Sleep of No Dreaming: Going through my concert spreadsheet, I
noticed that I’d seen Porcupine Tree in October/November five times, so they
wormed their way into the mix. Of the dozen times I saw them, I never got to
hear this song live, though it was on the setlist and not played one time… I
just felt like this tune flowed well between tracks. From one of their best
efforts, 1996’s <i>Signify</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">04)
Besnard Lakes – Raindrops: Another OTD mention, one of the great by-products of
going through my concert spreadsheet by day is thinking about bands I otherwise
hadn’t thought of for a while, and even more gratifying when it just so happens
that the act in question has just put out some new music. The band will put out
their first album in five years in 2021, called <i>The Besnard Lakes Are the
Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings</i>, and this is the lead single, which
has all their classic elements. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">05)
Supercrush – Get It Right: I can’t resist power-pop, there’s just something
irresistible about sugar-filled guitars and harmonies. Supercrush have been
releasing 7” singles for a number of years now and they finally put together a
full-length called <i>SODO Pop </i>that came out in October via Don Giovanni
Records and the whole thing is hit after hit like this. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">06)
Beach Bunny – Dream Boy: If there’s a band I’ve been obsessed with in the last
few months it’s Beach Bunny. Debut album <i>Honeymoon </i>came out back in
February and I have basically played nothing else since I heard this track at
the start of October. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">07)
The Posies – Sideways: The band’s first song since 2016 with a new album to
come in 2021, every new Posies tune is a gift and there’s little to say other
than this has their signature sound. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">08)
Teenage Fanclub – Home: Speaking of bands with new music, who also last put out
a record in 2016, hitting their signature sound… yep it’s Teenage Fanclub. <i>Endless
Arcade </i>will come out in March and this is the lead single. As someone who
has reconciled to not getting home to see friends and family this year, this
song has more than a tinge of sadness to it. “<i>I sometimes wonder if I’ll
ever be home again, I just don’t know when I’ll open that door again”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">09)
Riff Doctors – Say Goodbye: Captured Tracks just put out a compilation titled S<i>trum
& Thrum: the American Jangle Underground 1983-1987, </i>and all you should
need to know is in the title! Considering this is fully in my wheelhouse, I
didn’t know most of the acts across the double-record, which I guess speaks
volumes to the experts at Captured Tracks. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">10)
Seam – Halo Redux: Speaking of hidden gems of yesteryear, Seam were active
between 1991-2000, fronted by Bitch Magnet’s Sooyoung Park, and I have to
confess I only came across them recently while I was thinking about being lucky
enough to see Bitch Magnet a few years ago. This track is on the band’s third
album, <i>Are You Driving Me Crazy? </i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">11)
Fruit Bats – Disarm: There seems to be a lot of covers that have cropped up
during the pandemic, or maybe it just feels that way. Anyway, Fruit Bats
covered the entire Smashing Pumpkins album <i>Siamese Dream</i>, but you could
only get the whole thing on vinyl, and hence a late night drunken purchase was
made. It’s a pretty good low-key rendition of the album! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">12)
Fleet Foxes – A Long Way Past the Past: I loved Fleet Foxes’ debut album back
in 2008 and could barely stop listening to it, felt like 2011’s <i>Helplessness
Blues </i>was pleasant and enjoyed it at the time, but only listened a handful
of times, then aside from the odd listen again to the debut, I didn’t think of
them much (and possibly didn’t know 2017’s <i>Crack Up </i>ever existed), but I
instantly enjoyed new album <i>Shore</i>, that just came out at the end of
September. It’s possible it ends up being another <i>Helplessness Blues </i>in
that I may not listen to it again but it was exactly what I wanted to hear when
it came out. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">13)
The Flaming Lips – Flowers of Neptune 6: The Flaming Lips could do little wrong
for me in their discography between 1990 – 2009, which is quite an achievement
in its own right, they had been releasing decent records since then but nothing
that quite captured the magic, this year they released <i>American Head</i>,
I’m not even sure what number record this is in the discography, wiki claims 16
but that doesn’t seem right… anyway, it’s a little more <i>together</i>, for
want of a better word, than recent records.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">14)
Julia Jacklin – To Perth, Before the Border Closes: <i>Crushing </i>was
one of my favourite records of 2019, and she’s released a couple of delightful
singles in 2020, with this tune being the latest. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">15)
Cool Ghouls – Sundial: Another “oh I should see what they’re up to now” moment
when going over my concert spreadsheet, I saw this California psych-pop band a
couple of times in 2015 and loved them but had missed a couple of releases in
the ensuing years. This song is from their 2016 album <i>Animal Races</i>, West
Coast jangle doesn’t get much better. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">16)
The Appleseed Cast – Cathedral Rings: During the first Bandcamp Friday I
purchased a few records by The Appleseed Cast as I’ve always loved seeing them
live but didn’t really know their recorded output much, it’s been gratifying to
rectify that even though I’m still missing a lot. This song instantly jumped
out as one I’d heard live a handful of times. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">17)
Hypnotic Kingdom – Would You Be There For Me?: A concert-spreadsheet-adjacent
act, I’ve seen British heavy-shoegaze act Cheatahs a couple of times, they last
released a record in 2015 but while trying to find what they’re up to
currently, it turned out that one of the band vocalist/guitarist Nathan Hewitt
released a solo album under the moniker of Hypnotic Kingdom in 2018, this is
the title track. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">18)
bdrmm – Is That What You Wanted to Hear?: A few “best of 2020” lists have
started coming out, I think Rough Trade might have been the first and <i>Bedroom
</i>was a record that I had no knowledge of before reading their list. Just
listen to those guitars that kick in around the 2-minute mark, that’s some pure
Kitchens of Distinction / Ride heavenly shit going on right there. The whole
record is really great too. The band are from Hull <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">19)
Fuck Buttons – Colours Move: When I opened the mix with Jonathan Fitoussi I was
immediately drawn to closing out the mix with a Fuck Buttons tune, I think I
just wanted to bookend the mix with two extremes of the same genre. I’ve
mentioned being lucky enough to see an act elsewhere on this mix, but seeing
Fuck Buttons in 2013 was definitely an all-time high. I may have even used this
tune on a mix over the years, this song closes out their 2008 debut S<i>treet
Horrsing. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Keep
being safe! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q</span> </p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;">Download mix from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: times new roman;">http://www.mediafire.com/file/szzgizr425oflj3/Q#134.zip/file</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;">(not that the Fruit Bats song is not on Spotify)</span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">Spotify link at end of notes, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a>: </div>
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/2JuqZBEoFufjJ3EqflehQ0" width="300"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-55214491086917826412020-09-30T14:46:00.000+01:002020-09-30T14:46:07.173+01:00Q#133 - August to September 2020<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjoOQsbChGjHJUQn-Vm0kDwrgwI4SyDasp0NMkGKfKCopFZ_Je3v2ZOi5ioB-iJNE41zpzvMt7esLRaP9OiNGavw7gmZmKwwbWntw7Q7T6XDe1lQF-7KPYeMMCiyTGLniBB05P1powjQ/s690/Q133+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjoOQsbChGjHJUQn-Vm0kDwrgwI4SyDasp0NMkGKfKCopFZ_Je3v2ZOi5ioB-iJNE41zpzvMt7esLRaP9OiNGavw7gmZmKwwbWntw7Q7T6XDe1lQF-7KPYeMMCiyTGLniBB05P1powjQ/s16000/Q133+cover.png" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;">Download mix from http://www.mediafire.com/file/hu3gk09jd0hxrry/Q#133.zip/file</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;">(not that Special Cases are not on Spotify)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Spotify link at end of notes, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vmkqube?si=A7X6P4PDQ6OIZAsKob-X4Q " target="_blank">follow/subscribe to playlists here</a>: </div><p><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20pt;">Vol #133 – August to
September 2020<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Happy
Autumn everyone… I hope everyone is keeping well despite continued difficult
times. The music for this mix has been finished for a couple of weeks but here
I am with a couple of days left in the month to finish off the notes, so this
will probably be brief.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">01)
Bloody Your Hands – Checked Out: <i>Sunday Scaries </i>was released on the 28<sup>th</sup>
of August and it’s a perfect dose of 90s-alt/punk along the lines of Superchunk
and hey, I hear a little Blink-182 in here too… <i>“When will I figure this
shit out?”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">02)
The Dirty Nil – Done With Drugs: I loved this Canadian trio’s album </span><i style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Master
Volume </i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">from 2018 and they’ve been releasing a bunch of singles since,
including this tune that came out in June. Two back-to-back pop-punk to open
this mix, huh…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">03)
Garcia People’s – Feel So Great: This tune opens the band’s </span><i style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Natural Facts </i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">record
that was released in March 2019, and they released another record last year (</span><i style="font-size: 10.5pt;">One
Step Behind</i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">) and have a new one </span><i style="font-size: 10.5pt;">(Nightcap at Wits’ End) </i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">coming out
in October, so they’re on quite a run! Anyway, I’d been meaning to buy this
album for 18 months and was going to get the vinyl on one of the bandcamp
Fridays until I found it for $9 and couldn’t pass it up.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">04)
Vuelveteloca – Calor: There weren’t any Chilean psyche bands on the last mix so
we’re fixing that this time around with a hat-trick of acts, starting with
Vuelveteloca, who just released their sixth record, <i>Contra</i> (which at six
tracks and under 30 minutes could be a little more EP-esque truth be told),
it’s as strong as anything the band have released, with their signature grooves
to the fore.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">05)
The Cruel Visions – Nadie: Pablo Giadach of The Ganjas made a collection of
demos between 2015-17 and decided to release them as The Cruel Visions, it
should appeal to fans of treble-heavy 80s indie bands like The Sound or Modern
English, it’s a really nice collection of tunes and I’d love BYM Records to press
this to vinyl at some point…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">06)
Flower – Lost Horizon: Some bands have taken the current shit-show to make some
new music for the first time in decades, thirty years in the case of New York
cult-underground act Flower, who put out <i>None Is (But Once Was) </i>in July.
It’s a surprising album in the sense that they’ve kind of reinvented themselves
as a jangle-indie band, almost sounding like Teenage Fanclub at times. This
song opens the record, with the latter-half of the song sounding more like
their old selves.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">07)
Christelle Bofale – Origami Dreams: I went a little trigger happy on the first
bandcamp Friday and bought things that I’d forgotten about until I sorted my
purchases by date and went through them all again. I was pleasantly surprised
to come back to this EP, <i>Swim Team</i>, by this Austin-based artist, the
five tracks have a dreamy quality to them. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">08)
Thurston Moore – Siren: Thurston’s latest album, <i>By the Fire</i>, just came
out and though I haven’t listened to it yet, which I need to rectify. It’s fair
to say that this 12-minute tune has more than a hint of his old band.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">09)
Valium Aggelein – The Clouds Will Drop Ladders: At the start of the year I was
trying to make an effort to buy less physical stuff, including vinyl, and I
haven’t done a very good job of it. And I’m just going to copy Numero’s
re-issue blurb to explain why I couldn’t help myself on this one: <i>Just as Duster’s
landmark debut album Stratosphere was making its first orbit, Clay Parton, Dove
Amber, and Jason Albertini tracked a largely improvised companion capsule under
their Valium Aggelein alter ego. An ode to ’70s Kosmische, Hier Kommt Der
Schwartze Mond is a skeletal space nap for the prozac generation.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">10)
Special Cases – Ex Oasis: After Vuelveteloca and The Cruel Visions, we complete
our Chilean hat-trick with Special Cases, who released their third album, <i>Album
Name</i>, on the 21<sup>st</sup> of August. The band features former Follakzoid
bassist Juan Pablo Rodriguez and should appeal to anyone who leans more to the
repetitive space/krautrock of the earlier Follakzoid material.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">11)
Sweeping Promises – Hunger for a Way Out: This is the title-track to Sweeping
Promises debut album. The Boston band have seemingly nailed danceable post-punk
from the off. The ten-track album is finished in under thirty minutes but
sometimes you have to leave them wanting more.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">12)
Three – Swann Street: I know my Dischord bands pretty well, but Three had
skipped my attention for the most part (I did have a song of theirs on the 20
Years of Dischord boxset but it’s hard to be distinct on a 60-plus-boxset), but
Numero did an “early emo 1985-1995” playlist recently which had some amazing
stuff on, and this tune jumped out. I’ll have to get <i>Dark Days Coming </i>at
some point.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">13)
Futurebirds – Rodeo: A friend sent me this song a few weeks ago, first of all,
please send me songs to listen to for any reason! The funny thing about getting
this song was that I’d just watched an episode of House Hunters a couple of
days before, and singer/songwriter Thomas Johnson was the guy house hunting in
Athens, Georgia, so the timing was great. Turns out I haven’t been able to get
this song out of my head either. The band released a record this year called <i>Teamwork</i>,
though this tune appears on 2015’s <i>Hotel Parties</i>. <i>“and goddamn how I
miss my friends”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">1</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">4)
Girl Friday – Public Bodies: LA-quartet Girl Friday released their debut, </span><i style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Androgynous
Mary</i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">, in August on Sub Pop. The record is a bit over the place but that’s
meant in a good way, songs</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">15)
L.A. Witch – Fire Starter: <i>Play With Fire</i>, the trio’s second album, came
out in August and while it still has that great desert-soaked-reverb that made
the debut so great, there’s less reliance on it and a greater confidence in the
songwriting.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">16)
Mark Lanegan – Ketamine: Mark Lanegan has been on a hot-streak lately,
releasing albums in 2017, 18, 19 and this year’s <i>Straight Songs of Sorrow</i>.
I could probably listen to him sing the Yellow Pages and find it deeply
satisfying. </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">17)
Mikal Cronin – Guardian Well (Switched On Version): I got pretty excited when
Mikal Cronin announced he was releasing a synth-reworking of his last record, <i>Seeker</i>,
as a record-store-day release on vinyl called <i>Switched On Seeker</i>. I wish
more artists would do stuff like this, not that it can just be bashed out… <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Keep
being safe!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">As Always, Peace and Love - Q</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Spotify playlist:</span></p><p>
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3pARoauB0iv7ig9C5pMsFJ" width="300"></iframe>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-3734832329626502612020-07-31T14:03:00.000+01:002020-07-31T14:03:28.553+01:00Q#132 - June to July 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4zOoj4mthkNpIWr8vPCC3QbNbDoPXiHuhOlkj7ALjyRMX8HlMwu4JwKRO0PKQP8BjsBIFVWeik9Cb8Ck1b2-J_1T-VEpXIwdQ5J4uSlrwnUW7aXtoXKRgAVV-6iVWUrkA2irUGrjdc4/s690/Q132+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4zOoj4mthkNpIWr8vPCC3QbNbDoPXiHuhOlkj7ALjyRMX8HlMwu4JwKRO0PKQP8BjsBIFVWeik9Cb8Ck1b2-J_1T-VEpXIwdQ5J4uSlrwnUW7aXtoXKRgAVV-6iVWUrkA2irUGrjdc4/w625-h323/Q132+cover.png" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Please note that the zip file has a password: </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;">Download mix fro</span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;">m:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-small; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">https://www.mediafire.com/file/fb2q8b91nrcp7qr/Q#132.zip/file</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="color: red;">Now with added Spotify playlist at end of notes - NOTE that Ultra Major, Still Form, Julius Wright and Nada Surf songs are NOT on Spotify.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #132 – June to
July 2020<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Well
it’s almost August, football came back and went, and my beloved Oxford United
managed to lose a playoff final, 2020 is the year that just keeps on giving. I
completed another orbit around the sun, despite most things still being bad it’s
incredibly depressing that the rest of the US didn’t seem to learn anything
from what we’ve gone through in New York, I’ve got a mix of almost entirely new
music. Hopefully you’ll find a smidge of joy from this. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">01)
Bob Mould – American Crisis: <i>Blue Hearts </i>is the name of Bob Mould’s
latest studio album, out on Merge Records on the 25<sup>th</sup> of September,
this is the lead single and it’s pretty evident that he has a lot to be angry
about! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">02)
The Beths – I’m Not Getting Excited: <i>Future Me Hates Me </i>was my favourite
album of 2018, I probably hadn’t played an album as much as that in years. Two
years on from that stunning debut, the New Zealanders have just released <i>Jump
Rope Gazers </i>which on first couple of plays has just as much charm and
melody as the debut. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">03)
Silver Sun – Earth Girls are Easy: Brit power-pop act Silver Sun released two truly
excellent albums in 1997 (self-titled) and 1998 (<i>Neo Wave</i>), and have
since offered some sporadic output and are generally off the radar. I was
delighted to see that they’d released a new album this April (their first in
seven years) called <i>Switzerland</i>, and <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">04)
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Falling Thunder: This Aussie band released
their second album, <i>Sideways to New Italy</i>, in June, via Sub Pop, and
it’s another pleasant jangle-fest much like their debut. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">05)
Gladie – Is That Why You’re Here: Remember concerts? The last one I went to was
on the 5<sup>th</sup> of March and happened to be Gladie, who had just released
their debut album, <i>Safe Sins</i>. Last month they released a three-song EP
called <i>Orange Peels</i> and this track is the opener. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">06)
Shamir – On My Own: I bought Shamir’s entire discography on bandcamp during one
of their promotional Fridays, I’ve liked his music over the years without
dipping in too deeply and felt like I should rectify that, specifically so
after hearing this song that was released in the middle of June. I’ve still got
plenty to go back and hear! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">07)
Bethany Thomas – I’m Not Sorry and I’m Not Scared: Chicago-based artist Bethany
Thomas is releasing her debut album <i>BT</i></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">/</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">She</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">/</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Her </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">on the 28<sup>th</sup>
of August, this is the first single and I liked it enough to put on! She has a
great voice, though I could do without some of the extracurricular vocals as
they’re a little off-putting, but I’m looking forward to hearing what the rest
of the record has in store. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">08)
Moor Jewelry – Look Alive: Moor Jewelry is a collaboration between Moor Mother
and Mental Jewelry and they just put out <i>True Opera</i> which you can get on
bandcamp (or on cassette, I guess that’s still a thing), it’s one of my
favourite records of the year and a little hard to pigeonhole but there’s
plenty of hardcore elements which are just great. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">09)
Nnamdi – Rage: Another Chicago artist, I was tipped onto him by the Numero
Group and picked up his “Black Plight” EP that he put out in June, he also
plays everything to an impressive degree. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10)
Shrapknel – Gun Metal Paint: New York hip-hop duo Shrapknel put out an
excellent self-titled record on Backwoodz Studio in March, the lyrics here
don’t pull any punches. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">11)
Bully – Where to Start: Grunge revivalists Bully are set to release a new
record called <i>Sugaregg </i>in August on Sub Pop and this is the lead single.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12)
Ultra Major – Picture Perfect: This track jumped out at me from a compilation I
bought on bandcamp, which happens to be about 7 hours long, which is far, far
too long to pay attention to and took me about a month to listen to everything
once. This New York band have a record from 2018 and a couple of singles. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">13)
Still Form – Gums: I have been a fan of Portland band Marriage and Cancer for a
few years but I think they’ve broken up now (terrible-band name, admittedly),
members of that band plus a few other local acts have created Still Form, who
put out a 5-track EP in April this year. Stylistically it’s in the same arty
noise/punk form that Marriage and Cancer excelled at so I’ll be hoping there is
more material in the future. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">14)
Look Sacre - Mal nécessaire pour un mal nécess: Four years ago I spent a long
weekend in Montreal and had a lovely time. As I always try to do, I looked over
concert listings and remembered that a friend recommended anyone should go to
the venue Casa Del Popolo, so without knowing who was playing we went along. I
remember liking Look Sacre and bookmarked their bandcamp page as soon as I got
home, but didn’t spent a huge amount of time thinking about them, I should dive
in a bit more after listening to this! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15)
Julius Wright – I Pray The Things Will Change: Another tune from that 7-hour
compilation I mentioned earlier, and given that all the tracks were not tagged
properly, I have very little information about this artist. I can only find
information about this song and another tune called <i>Lonely Girl</i>. Anyway,
great song, if you know anything about it then let me know! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">16)
DEHD – Loner: Here’s another band from Chicago, the trio just released <i>Flower
of Devotion </i>in the middle of July on Fire Talk. It’s an instantly
accessible record filled with reverb-heavy pop hooks, very much a continuation
of what they were doing with previous record, <i>Water </i>(from 2019). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">17)
Nada Surf – Sick Day: Fountains of Wayne were always one of those bands I
always knew I would like, if I ever got round to listening to them, unfortunately
Adam Schlesinger died due to Covid in April, so I’ve only gotten into his music
after this death, sadly. A tribute album called <i>Saving for a Custom Van </i>has
been raising money for MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund. There are some
excellent artists on the record so head over to bandcamp and buy it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">18)
Matt Berry – Something In My Eye: I’ve been watching <i>What We Do in the
Shadows </i>on Hulu and just finished season one, turns out Matt Berry (Laszlo
in the show) is also a pretty good musician and is about to release a new album
called <i>Phantom Birds </i>in September. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">19)
King Tuff – I’m Free: This tune was originally written for and appeared on Ty
Segall’s <i>Freedom Goblin </i>album, in February King Tuff decided to release
his own version, and as you can imagine, it’s good! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">20)
Fake Eyes – Demonstrations: This four-piece from Charlotte, NC, had put out a
couple of excellent demos in 2018 and 2019, and have just released their first
official EP called <i>A Drip Is All We Know</i> on New Morality Zine, it’s only
4 tracks but packs a punch and if you dig the new (or old…) Hum albums (more on
them imminently) or any heavy-shoegaze then you will love this. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">21)
Hum – The Summoning: Speaking of Hum and heavy shoegaze, and another Chicago
band (what is it with this mix…), the band just released their first album in
22 years, though it was recorded over a period of 2017-2020. It barely gets out
of second gear over the course of an hour but it doesn’t need to, the
production is so great and really pulls you in. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Keep
being safe! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span> </span></span></p><span style="text-align: left;"></span></div>
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3vgk4eafWoHTBh5uXapU5N" width="300"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-30753508737681623482020-06-04T14:00:00.001+01:002020-06-04T14:00:12.339+01:00Q#131 - April to May 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-small;">Download mix fro</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-small;">m </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "sf regular" , "segoe ui regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">https://www.mediafire.com/file/htw1gr33t1nhsai/Q%23131.zip/file</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Now with added Spotify playlist at end of notes - NOTE that METZ, Bailter Space and Del Amitri are not on spotify.</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #131 – April to
May 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I’m
not going to be able to say anything profound about the pandemic that is still
a worldwide problem, I think I’m writing these at the start of week 11 of our
“quarantine” in New York City, although I have been getting out for exercise, I
think many of us here (and in the UK) forget that a lot of countries put down
much tough restrictions. So many have suffered and are continuing to do so<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">01)
METZ – Slow Decay: To help musicians out during the Covid-19 crisis, Bandcamp
are doing a very nice thing by waving their revenue share on three days (1<sup>st</sup>
of May, 5<sup>th</sup> of June and 3<sup>rd</sup> of July), while scouring for
some things I wanted to buy, it dawned on me that METZ had a record that I did
not own a physical copy of (albeit Automat is a compilation of non-album
tracks), and while I was at it I purchased their new 2-song release digitally,
and it’s hard not to open with it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">02)
The Reflectors – Act a Fool: LA powerpop act The Reflectors might sound like
they’re from the 70s but debut album <i>First Impression </i>is a hoot. Bright
and shiny melodies with breezy vocals, it’s hard not to love. You can get this
on Burger Records in the US. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">03)
Savak – Vis-à-vis: During the lockdown I’ve been doing some “On this Day” posts
on Facebook since I’m a bit of a saddo and have kept a spreadsheet of all the
shows I’ve been to (which will have an impact on other songs on this mix), I
was actually at Savak’s first ever show on the 20<sup>th</sup> of May 2015 at
Cake Shop (I do miss that place). The band have just released their fourth
album <i>Rotting Teeth in the Horse’s Mouth</i> and it’s another fine record,
and they’ve probably got one of the low-key best local discography’s in the
last four years or so, although they’ve all played in some excellent bands over
the years, so you’d expect it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">04)
Virginia Trance – High: I had forgotten that I used a Virginia Trance track
last time around (Hello Lou Reed), but this one has a bit more BPM to it, the
record <i>Vincent’s Playlist</i> is well worth your time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">05)
Mike Polizze – Revelation: Purling Hiss mainman Mike Polizze is due to release
his debut solo record, <i>Long Lost Solace Find</i>, on the 31<sup>st</sup> of
July, and it’s the kind of solo shift you want to see, being fairly far removed
from the shredding and feedback heavy solos of Purling Hiss. If this tune is
indicative of the rest of the album then I’m excited to hear it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">06)
Harkin – Mist on Glass: Harkin’s self-titled debut came out at the end of April
via Hand Mirror Records. She has played an excellent supporting role over the
years, playing as a touring member of Sleater-Kinney, Kurt Vile and Courtney
Barnett to name a few. The album doesn’t invoke any of those artists, having
more of an 80s goth-pop tinge to it with enough modernity for it to be it’s own
thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">07)
Field Music – Money is a Memory: Another recent bandcamp purchase was Field
Music’s latest record, <i>Making a New World</i>, which is their seventh album
and was released in January. It’s their first concept record and is about the
after-effects of world war one. It’s a pretty coherent piece and rattles
through pretty quickly with 19 tracks only taking 42-mintues in total. This
tune is classic Field Music, with that XTC snap in full effect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">08)
Madness – Embarrassment: I had tickets to see Madness in May which was
obviously postponed (until 2021), so I thought I’d just throw this classic on
the mix. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">09)
Gum Country – Somewhere: Kean ears may notice the sound of The Courtneys in
this tune, that’s because ½ of Gum Country is Courtney Garvin of The Courtneys,
the other half being multi-instrumentalist Connor Mayer. Their new album, <i>Somewhere</i>,
is coming out on the 19<sup>th</sup> of June. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10)
Pure X – Fantasy: Austin, Texas band Pure X return with their first album in
six years, and their self-titled comeback is the sort of easy-going, desert
breeze that we could all probably use, filled with tunes that feel like a weed
halo is above you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">11)
Bailterspace – Concrete Square 3: Speaking of comebacks, New Zealand greats
low-key threw up some new tracks (their first in seven years?) on bandcamp,
hopefully there’ll be a new record! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12)
Mint Field – Ella Se Queda: Another recent bandcamp purchase, I loved their
2018 full-length <i>Pasar de las Luces</i> and wanted to support them further
so purchased their latest EP, 2019’s <i>Mientras Esperas</i>, which has a bit
more drive to it. They put out a single in April so hopefully a new album
beckons. Having previously been based in Tijuana, they now reside in Mexico
City. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">13)
Adelaida – Mundo: You should all know I love Chilean bands, this act appeared
back on Q#103 (August/September 2015), hailing from Valparaíso, which is a
coastal city about 75 miles north-west of Santiago. Their latest album, Animita,
was released in April. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">14)
Flores Silvestres – Born From Dawn: Another Chilean band, this time from
Santiago, “Silver Flowers” just released their first album in April and it hits
that classic (I think the scene has been going long enough to call it classic)
Chilean psych rock sound. The record is called <i>How the Story Goes</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15)
The Men – Children All Over the World: One of New York’s finest, The Men
released their eighth album, <i>Mercy</i>, this year, and it generally mixes
between rockers and delicate folk tunes, basically doing whatever they want,
like they always have. This tune has a big 80s feel to it for sure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">16)
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Talk About the Weather: During my “on this day”
flashbacks I was reminded that I hadn’t really thought of Red Lorry Yellow
Lorry much since I saw them back in April 2008, their music still holds up and
I just had an urge to throw this song on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">17)
Counting Crows – Children in Bloom: Another OTD-inspired song, I saw Counting
Crows on the 15<sup>th</sup> of May 1997 and it was a really spectacular show
that still seems very vivid. For those first two records they couldn’t really
do much wrong, I remember this song in particular from the show and it always
stuck with me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sleater Kinney – The Swimmer: <i>All Hands on the Bad One </i>turned 20 on the
2<sup>nd</sup> of May. What a great record, again, just something I felt like
throwing on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">19)
Aimee Mann – Deathly: Another record that just turned 20 (also on the 2<sup>nd</sup>
of May) is <i>Bachelor No. 2</i>, so naturally I just felt compelled to use a
track. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">20)
Del Amitri – Just Getting’ By: Probably the best news in a very trying year so
far is that Del Amitri have just recorded a new album that will be released in
January 2021, it will be their first album since 2002’s <i>Can You Do Me Good</i>,
which this song closes, so I just felt like using it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><b>NOTE NOT ALL THE SONGS ARE ON SPOTIFY!!!!</b></span></div>
<br />
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/1Pq10HjGM7TFNq5vEiDOTK" width="300"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-46031704603283682042020-03-24T13:15:00.000+00:002020-03-24T13:15:34.450+00:00Q#130 - February to March 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHy4Dbw1w2eahjcA0e2JNhvWc_7w6R5YWkw-lZrSpJgxg3gaHlOZ2RFsA_IaRjIedkGGgcnwJEyiLNiun9OnxINSekQR_UvN6cthHaJYIH2jhtpDJmgbejdbfG5DkJRJmDsw5nkzXl7E/s1600/Q130+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHy4Dbw1w2eahjcA0e2JNhvWc_7w6R5YWkw-lZrSpJgxg3gaHlOZ2RFsA_IaRjIedkGGgcnwJEyiLNiun9OnxINSekQR_UvN6cthHaJYIH2jhtpDJmgbejdbfG5DkJRJmDsw5nkzXl7E/s1600/Q130+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Please note that the zip file has a password: <b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-small;">Download mix fro</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-small;">m </span><span style="font-family: "sf regular" , "segoe ui regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/6t72i3g1a3wtjq4/Q%23130.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/6t72i3g1a3wtjq4/Q%23130.zip/file</a> </span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 20pt;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Now with added Spotify playlist at end of notes.</span></b></div>
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #130 – February
to March 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Blimey.
It has been quite the eventful start to the year, and almost entirely bad! I
don’t have any particular words of wisdom during the corona pandemic other than
listen to the science, stay inside and be rational. I finished this mix up
before things started going particularly crazy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">01)
Rush - The Spirit of Radio: Just one of the other terrible events that started
the year off, Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart died in January after suffering
from brain cancer for three years. A deeply private person, the news came as a
shock and remains hard to process. This live version of Spirit of Radio was
released on the 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary of <i>Permanent Waves</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">02)
Eyelids - The Accidental Falls: Members of Eyelids have worked with
Decemberists, Elliott Smith, Stephen Malkmus and were also Robert Pollard‘s
backing band as Boston Spaceships. This is the title-track to their most recent
album, and like their previous EP, was produced by Peter Buck of REM-fame, the
record itself is excellent and I made sure to buy it during Bandcamp’s recent
waving of their fee so that musicians got more money. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">03)
Nada Surf - So Much Love: I recently saw Nada Surf for the 21<sup>st</sup>
time, promoting their new album <i>Never Not Together</i>. There is a
dedication to Ric Ocasek of The Cars, who produced their debut album (1996’s <i>Let
</i>Go) and died in 2019, and as well as the written dedication there’s
certainly a big influence in many tracks on the album itself (they also covered
<i>Just What I Needed </i>at recent shows). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">04)
Seratones – Power: I had the pleasure of catching Seratones play a show at
Rough Trade in January, the groups second album, <i>Power </i>is more of a
classic soul record with, as the title suggests, plenty of punch to it. In
classic soul style, a tight and highly skilled band drives the songs but are
ultimately a platform for front-woman AJ Haynes to steal the show, she should
be a star. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">05)
Caroline Rose - Feel the Way I Want: <i>Superstar</i> is Caroline Rose’s fourth
album, and her slickest to date. This tune is the lead single from the record
and has the kind of effortless swagger and pop-sensibility that everyone could
use right now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">06)
The Wants – Container: Guitarist/producer Madison Velding-VanDam has been busy
the last few years, playing guitar in Bodega and now fronting The Wants. This
is the title track from their debut album and the post-punk-white-boy rhythm on
this tune stood out for me. The record is pretty strong in general and jumps
through a few styles, recommended if you like any of those classic post-punk
sounds of the early 80s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">07)
Fat Tony - Get Out of My Way: Two years after the excellent <i>10,000 Hours</i>,
Houston rapper Fat Tony has just released <i>Wake Up</i>. The record is full of
collaboration but it’s the tracks he takes the lead on that stand out the most
for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">08)
Destroyer - It Just Doesn't Happen: We’re probably at the point where we
shouldn’t call Destroyer “Dan Bejar of The New Pornographers’ band”, the
discography at this point. Dan’s been on a bit of a roll for a while now and <i>Have
We Met </i>is the twelfth Destroyer album and has an overt 80s influence that
works wonderfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">09)
Gladie - A Place for Different: Philly punks Cayetana called it a day last year
and Gladie is the latest band from frontwoman Augusta Koch. Following up an EP
from 2018, the band just released debut full-length <i>Safe Sins</i>. There’s a
greater emphasis on melody and a little electronic percussion but Koch’s lyrics
are as personable as ever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10)
Deeper - Lake Song: Chicago quartet Deeper first featured on Q#121 back in
2018, and the band are set to release their second album <i>Auto-Pain </i>on
the 27<sup>th</sup> of March (I’ve pre-ordered it). Based on the strength of
the songs they’ve released so far, and that I heard them play live, it could
end up being one of my favourite releases of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">11)
Drab Majesty – Elipsis: I was looking through some old bookmarks trying to find
some final inspiration to round off this mix and stumbled upon Drab Majesty (I
have no idea when I bookmarked the bandcamp page) and the 80s pop sound seemed
to fit well. This track is taken from <i>Modern Mirror</i> which was released
last July. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12)
Video Nasties - Drone Eagle: My good friend Andrew Field has been putting out
records with foundation-shaking riffs for a couple of years now (</span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">) and the
latest release on APF Records is Video Nasties’ new record <i>Dominion</i>.
It’s a cracker, with the odd horror-synth influence to go with the in-your-face
guitars and drums. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">13)
Soul Asylum - Spinnin': I probably hadn’t listened to Soul Asylum in over a
decade but saw they were playing a show at Bowery Ballroom in February and
thought… why not, I’d never seen them before. I always had a soft-spot for them
growing up and while it was a bit of a nostalgia check-box, I’m glad I went and
reconnected with a band that I hadn’t given much thought of for a while. This
song opens the band’s fifth album, 1990’s <i>And the Horse They Rode In On.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">14)
Virginia Trace - Hello Lou Reed: This tune is the lead single from <i>Vincent's
Playlist</i>, which isn’t due out until May and the obvious influence for the lyrics
and the music is in the title. Anyone or anything related to Chile’s Blow Your
Mind Records will always prick my ears. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15)
Aaron Lee Tasjan - Heart Slows Down: I hadn’t heard of Aaron Lee Tasjan until I
saw him opening solo for Nada Surf at the start of the year, his demeanour and
songs were an instant hit and diving into his back catalogue was a treat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">16)
Anna Calvi (ft Courtney Barnett) - Don't Beat the Girl Out of My Boy: Anyone
that lets me talk long enough at any point since July 2009 will have heard me
rave about Anna Calvi. She’s not the most prolific artist but everything she
releases is solid gold. Following 2018’s <i>Hunter</i>, Calvi went back and
revisited some rough versions of those songs and opened them up for some
collaboration with the likes of Courtney Barnett on this song. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">17)
Fog Lake - New York: Aaron Powell just has a knack of concocting lo-fi
melancholia that always leaves you wanting more. You may remember <i>I’ll Be
Around </i>from Q#126 and this is just as gorgeous. Sadly the corona virus has
led to the cancelation of his show at Rough Trade in April (and I’m shocked
that’s the first time I’ve written that sentence in these notes as it also
applies to at least four other acts on this mix I had plans to see). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">18)
A Winged Victory for the Sullen – The Slow Descent Has Begun: The Undivided
Five is A Winged Victory for the Sullen’s third full studio album and was
released last November. It’s hard to say anything new about the
ambient/neo-classical duo, they simply excel in the genre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">19)
Shell of a Shell - Don't Expect: Nashville act Shell of a Shell just put out
their debut album <i>Away Team</i> on Exploding in Sound Records (which happens
to the be label’s 100<sup>th</sup> release) and it is a complete triumph. Led
by Chappy Hull, who has been playing guitar in the band Pile since 2018, it’s
certainly in the same ballpark as Pile and highly recommended for fans of the
band. This track has a little bit of everything that you get on the album
rolled into one epic song. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/0t9SOhL3r9QIsy827JWYjT" width="300"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410073461260287925.post-82911849521943379172020-01-28T23:28:00.002+00:002020-01-28T23:28:54.690+00:00Q#129 - December 2019 to January 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vgQaCDpz3VO3CWX01R3vQ14lCXdB4m6mOeRjGfNk8Rven6UZRIIvVnv6Ps30rbYPfOpgiApSx1yFXm3goKRTTY_mVT7q-AQ9fqNaY2x7ECCNhHx-fnYj7Nu-SIc65yiWXmDGHEUaqU0/s1600/Q129+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vgQaCDpz3VO3CWX01R3vQ14lCXdB4m6mOeRjGfNk8Rven6UZRIIvVnv6Ps30rbYPfOpgiApSx1yFXm3goKRTTY_mVT7q-AQ9fqNaY2x7ECCNhHx-fnYj7Nu-SIc65yiWXmDGHEUaqU0/s1600/Q129+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Please note that the zip file has a password: <b>QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT </b></span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-small;">Download mix fro</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-small;">m </span><span style="font-family: "sf regular" , "segoe ui regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="https://www.mediafire.com/file/7i6taigze1xwzrc/Q129.zip/file">https://www.mediafire.com/file/7i6taigze1xwzrc/Q129.zip/file</a> </span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 20pt;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Now with added Spotify playlist at end of notes.</span></b></div>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Q's Compilations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Vol #129 – December
2019 to January 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Hello
2020. A new decade… unfortunately it hasn’t started very well! Regardless, the
first comp of the year is, as always, a recap of my favourite things from the
previous year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">01)
White Reaper - Real Long Time: If there’s one thing I look for every year it’s
an unadulterated, no holds barred fun pop-rock record and the best of those
this year is White Reaper’s You Deserve Love. Two years on from The World’s
Best American Band, the band are now on a major label (Elektra) but there’s no
sign of any pitfalls that sometimes come with a major-debut, the band have
always been pop. You Deserve Love is a triumph of harmonised guitars and
anthemic choruses, if there’s any change then it’s a little more Thin Lizzy as
opposed to Cheap Trick, so turn the volume up and have a good time. If you’re
equally at home in the mosh-pit or a two-step sway, this is the record for you.
<i>Might Be Right </i>featured on Q#126.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">02)
Sheer Mag - Hardly to Blame: I used <i>The Killer </i>on the previous mix and
this is another excellent track from <i>A Distant Call, </i>their strongest
record to date and an excellent live band to boot. <i>The Killer </i>featured
in Q#128.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">03)
Young Guv - Luv Always: Young Guv released 2 albums in 2019 (<i>Guv I & </i>Guv
II<i>), </i>this is taken from <i>Guv 2</i> and flies the Teenage Fanclub
influences pretty high, and that can never be a bad thing. <i>Patterns Prevail </i>from
the same album featured in Q#127. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">04)
Corridor – Domino: I saw Montreal band Corridor in 2018 and was pretty mesmerised
by their sound, they’ve since signed to Sub Pop and released this album, <i>Junior</i>,
with this track being the lead single from the album (their third full length
release). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">05)
Halfsour - All Gone: Boston trio Halfsour released their charming debut,
Tuesday Night Live in 2016, it was a rocking but thin-sounding affair. Three
years later and with a new drummer, Sticky is a few steps up on every level,
from songwriting chops to some much needed lower-end on the production. If
“college rock radio” still exists as a sub-genre that worships REM then
Halfsour should be filling those airwaves. <i>Blurred Camera </i>featured in
Q#125.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">06)
Jeffrey Lewis and the Voltage - Depression Despair: Prolific cult-NY-hero Jeffrey
Lewis put out <i>Bad Wiring </i>this year, produced by Roger Moutenot, whose
credits include Yo La Tengo, Lou Reed and Sleater Kinney. It’s possibly his
strongest record since 2009’s ‘<i>Em Are I.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">07)
Vivian Girls - Something to Do: NYC DIY icons Vivian Girls broke up in 2014 but
thankfully got back together in 2019 to release what might be their best album,
<i>Memory</i>. I also used <i>Sick </i>in Q127<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">08)
Mikal Cronin – Fire: Mikal Cronin released three near-perfect garage-rock
albums every two years between 2011 and 2015, so 2017 seemed like a cruel joke
when the run didn’t continue. That’s not to say the four years since III were
unproductive, Cronin is one of the busiest artists around and must have played
on a dozen albums in the last four years. Thankfully, 2019 has given the world
a little more balance with another of his solo albums, and this time he’s
leaned into his inner-Neil Young (if you had to pick a record this is closest
to, it would be Neil’s best – On the Beach). Trying to get over a bout of
writer’s block, he turned to the tried-and-true approach of retreating to a
cabin in the woods to write, unfortunately that only lasted a month due to
forest fires, and the record does come ablaze more than most, but there’s
certainly an earthy quality to it. Indeed the only song that screams
cabin-in-the-woods is the solo-acoustic closer On the Shelf. <i>Show Me </i>featured
on Q#128.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">09)
Julia Jacklin - Head Alone: I used <i>Don't Know How to Keep Loving You </i>on
Q#128 and <i>Crushing </i>might be my favourite album of the year that I
listened to the least (if that makes sense). I can’t wait to hear what she’ll
come up with next as she seems on a real roll. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">10)
Jenny Lewis - Heads Gonna Roll: <i>On the Line </i>is Jenny Lewis’ fourth solo
album, and probably her best. I used <i>Red Bull and Hennessy </i>on Q#126 and
this track features Ringo Starr on drums (maybe you’ve heard of another band he
was in). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">11)
Josh Ritter - I Still Love You (Now and Then): <i>Fever Breaks </i>came out in
April, it’s his tenth studio album and it might just be my favourite. I used <i>Old
Black Magic </i>on Q#127, this is a bit more of a standard-Ritter tune but he
does have a knack of nailing a singer-songwriter chorus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">12)
Laura Stevenson – Perfect: 2019 was a productive one for Laura Stevenson, she
released <i>The Big Freeze </i>(her first album in 4 years), a Neil Young
covers EP with Jeff Rosenstock and a split single with Adult Mom. This is from
The Big Freeze which has a big cabin-in-the-woods vibe to it (also see <i>Living
Room NY </i>from Q#126). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">13)
Wand – Wonder: California rockers Wand have been shifting towards full on
psychedelia for a while now and the cycle seems complete on <i>Laughing Matter</i>.
I used <i>Thin Air </i>on Q#126. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">14)
Oso Oso – Dig: <i>Basking in the Glow </i>was probably the best 90s-wannabe
record I heard this year (the title track is on Q#127). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">15)
Have a Nice Life - Sea of Worry: I used <i>Defenestration Song </i>on Q#127
from their 2014 record, <i>Unnatural World </i>without having any idea they
were set to release new music in 2019. This is the title track from their latest
record and it’s a little more… normal, for want of a better word, and this one
has some pretty strong post-punk vibes as opposed to the noise of previous
efforts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">16)
Blessed - Purpose and Conviction: While this year’s Canadian indie-darlings are
Montreal’s Corridor (who we heard earlier, <i>Junior</i> is certainly a fine
album) it’s British Columbia’s Blessed, that should walk away with the crown.
The quintet quietly self-released debut album Salt in April, and it’s a record
that demands to be listened to with a keen ear. The production is immaculate,
whether the band’s focus is on sparse atmosphere or technically layering each
player pummeling their respective instrument, something pops out each time.
It’s an icey record that seemingly changes with air temperature, a masterclass
in mixing pace and style from short and punchy numbers like Thought and Pill,
to the proggy polyrhythms in album closer Caribou. Landing somewhere that’s in
the middle of a venn diagram featuring all the best rock bands that have come
out of the great white North over the decade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">17)
Clipping - Nothing is Safe: Another Sub Pop to appear on this mix, <i>There
Existed an Addiction to Blood</i> is Clipping’s third album and this song in
particular sounds like a John Carpenter sound track, which is to say it is
excellent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">18)
Girl Band – Shoulderblades: Irish quartet Girl Band have always sounded
abrasive, but The Talkies is like being on a construction site. Whether you
consider this noise-rock, industrial, or whatever, it’s a monumental
achievement to make a cacophony of noise so coherent. Four years after Holding
Hands With Jamie, the group took a hiatus due to mental health problems, and
The Talkies could well be the soundtrack to a psychological breakdown, it
throbs and crashes all over the place with sawing guitar effects ringing in
your ears. This description will no doubt put many off, but rest assured, this
is one of the most accomplished and cathartic records you could listen to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">19)
Horse Jumper of Love - Ur Real Life: Slowcore as a genre has been fairly
stagnant for a while, seemingly unable to move on from the greats such as
Codeine, Red House Painters, Bedhead who are long gone, and while the odd band
has gotten back together (Duster), there have been precious few acts worth
whispering about. Boston quartet, Horse Jumper of Love, are bastions of hope
for those of us who particularly lament that Mark Kozelek has forgotten how to
sing and write a melody. So Divine knows when to sparkle and when to collapse
and it might be the prettiest sounding album of 2019; if you’re the kind of
music fan who hears beauty in the saddest music, then the album will live up to
its title. This was probably my favourite album of 2019.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">As
always, Peace and Love - Q<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/2fnwhGoKSJCzl2A6MlFGEP" width="300"></iframe>Chris Quartlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03988904189070677774noreply@blogger.com0