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Now with added Spotify playlist at end of notes.
Q's Compilations
Vol #126 – June to
July 2019
Here
we are, at least a couple of heatwaves into summer already. I had a nice but
lowkey trip back home for a week and am looking forward to heading back again
in November. The concert going has been a lot slower so far this year (we’re in
August and I haven’t hit half of what I was aiming for), but that probably
shows that I’m happier in general!
01)
Top Nachos – Vegan Donuts: When trawling through show listings I felt like I
couldn’t not check out a band called Top Nachos… that they’re super fun rockers
should not be a surprise.
02)
Jawbox – Savory: You can’t hear every band but it does seem surprising that I
had never heard of Jawbox until they recently got back together to tour for the
first time in 20 years. As far as alternate-rock bands of the 90s go, I felt
like I was pretty knowledgeable, and Jawbox would have landed fairly squarely
in the middle of my venn diagram at the time. I was out of town when they
played a Brooklyn show recently so hopefully they’ll stick around.
03)
Purling Hiss – Useful Information: Compared to previous efforts, this tune is
fairly hippy-like, though there’s still room for a killer guitar solo. This is
from a new digital-only EP called Interstellar Blue which you can listen to on
their bandcamp page.
04)
The Minus Five – My Collection: I saw The Minus Five recently, who are touring
off the back of the just-released album, Stroke Manor. Both of those things are
remarkable because Scott McCaughey suffered a stroke in 2017 and was told he
may never be able to play music again. Thankfully, McCaughey has fully
recovered, looked and sounded amazing, and the album is a corker too. The live
band was rounded out by Peter Buck and Mike Mills of REM (they even performed
Texarkana which will be hard to top as a gig-moment of the year).
05)
Sacred Paws – Almost It: Two-piece Sacred Paws (guitarist Rachel Aggs and
drummer Eilidh Rodgers) have crafted one of the most upbeat and catchy records
of the summer, Run Around the Sun, which dancey beats, bright guitars and a smattering
of horns.
06)
Twen – Damsel: Nashville duo Twen are set to release their debut album, Awestruck, next month and this lead
single is a delightfully shimmering rocker.
07)
White Reaper – Might Be Right: Another catchy and anthemic rocker for you,
White Reaper have excelled at Thin Lizzy-esque twin lead guitar parts and
shredding solos with pop sensibilities, and this new single might be the most
“pop” they’ve ever been.
08)
Liz Phair – Why Can’t I?: Emily comments “an extremely horny song”, which is
accurate and to the point. Liz Phair caught some flack for her self-titled 2003
album for being too pop and polished, but what people seemed to miss is that
the songs are great! She recently played a free show in Prospect Park which was
superb.
09)
Jenny Lewis – Red Bull and Hennessy: Former Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis
has probably just released the best Fleetwood Mac album with On the Line (her
first solo album in five years, though there was a Nice As Fuck record in
2016). This was the lead single for the album.
10)
Max Pain and the Groovies – Checkin’ Out Late: This Brooklyn-via-Salt Lake City
quartet have nailed a psych-rock-n-roll mix over the course of 2 Eps and one LP
so far in their discography. This one is from their latest EP, 2018’s Sounds From the Hole.
11)
Wand – Thin Air: California’s Wand have been shifting from a Ty-Segall-esque
garage rock band to a psychedelic act for a couple of records at least now,
possibly reaching their zenith with new album Laughing Matter (released again
on Drag City Records). This song is about as close to Radiohead as you can get
without actually being Radiohead.
12)
The Appleseed Cast – Chaotic Waves: I’ve seen The Appleseed Cast live three
times (including May 2019) and have thoroughly enjoyed each one, but have never
listened to any of their records. Having said that, The Fleeting Light of Impermanence is the band’s first record in
six years and this is an excellent song.
13)
Bikini Kill – Rebel Girl: Seminal riot grrrl band Bikini Kill just got back
together this year to play some shows, which included one at Kings Theatre in
Brooklyn that I went to.
14)
Uranium Club – Man is the Loneliest Animal: If jagged, wirey post-punk is your
thing then Minneapolis act Uranium Club should be up your alley. This song has
more than a whiff of Unwound about it at times but sometimes I want all bands
to sound like Unwound.
15)
Ellis – The Drain: I went to Central Park Summerstage in May to see Alvvays,
who were excellent, but Ellis opened up the show and while it was at times hard
to hear over the natter of the disrespectful crowd, I was still won over.
Similar to what I said about wanting all bands to sound like Unwound, sometimes
I also feel that way about Kitchens of Distinction…
16)
Laura Stevenson – Living Room NY: The Big
Freeze is Laura Stevenson’s fifth album, and fourth on Don Giovanni. The
record has a bit of a cabin-in-the-woods vibe for the most part, which is
harder to do well than people give credit for.
17)
Sarah Bethe Nelson – Weird Glow: San Francisco artist Sarah Bethe Nelson just
released hir third album on Burger Records, of which this is the title track.
If you were to think about what a jangle-infused, West Coast indie-country song
would sound like, you’d probably conjure up something like this.
18)
REM – Texarkana: I mentioned this song earlier so I had to put it on the mix.
Hearing Mike Mills and Peter Buck play this live recently really hammered home
how much I miss the band since last seeing them in 2008. Anyway, what a great
song this is (as are all Mike Mills-led REM songs?).
19)
The Sidekicks – Don’t Feel Like Dancing: This song has missed out on being on a
mix at least two prior times, so it would be cruel to leave it off again. Happiness was released in May 2018 and
this is just one of those bright and catchy pop-rock songs that end up being
hard to get out of your head.
20)
The Glow – Weight of the Sun: LVL UP broke up not long ago but their members
have been releasing some excellent music since. The Glow is the new project of
Mike Caridi and he just released the record Am
I.
21)
Wreckless Eric – Father to the Man: Wreckless Eric may be best-known for his
classic Whole Wide World (which in
itself is probably more well known for being covered numerous times), he has
been churning out perhaps his best albums more recently and in particular, Transcience, which came out in May (this
song opens the record).
22)
Fog Lake – I’ll Be Around: Montreal-based musician Aaron Powell makes
absolutely gorgeous, soulful lo-fi doo-wop as Fog Lake. If the Numero Group put
out his Carousel EP and said it was from 1962 then you’d probably believe them.
Fairly
short notes again, apologies for that, but hopefully there were plenty of
things to enjoy!
As
always, Peace and Love - Q
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