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Q's Compilations
Vol #114 – June to
July 2017
Greetings!
I completed another orbit around the sun on the 13th of June and so
far 35 is treating me pretty well, let’s hope that continues. This time around
you’re getting mostly new releases with a few leftovers from a different mix I
made recently.
01)
Feral Ohms - Love Damage: Oakland power trio Feral Ohms recently played a
couple of shows in New York and it was one of the best no-frills sets I have
seen in a long time. I should have just bought the vinyl there and then but
ended up buying the bandcamp download. “There’s
a love damage in my skull”
02)
The Creation - How Does It Feel to Feel: The Numero group did their usual
excellent work by putting together a comprehensive 2LP set called Action Painting. If you know any other
song by them aside from Making Time
then it’s probably this but I just wanted to put it on.
03)
Robert Pollard - My Daughter Yes She Knows: The ever prolific Robert Pollard
released the 100th album of his career earlier in the year with
Guided By Voices’ August By Cake,
this track, however, comes from his last “solo” album, Of Course You Are, from 2016.
04)
Ride – Cali: Oxford legends Ride got back for some shows a couple of years ago,
but just released their first album in 21 years with Weather Diaries, and while most bands fail to recapture the magic
after that long apart, the record is much better than their final couple from
their original run.
05)
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Anymore: Brooklyn’s Paints of Being Pure at
Heart released their first album in three years in July with The Echo of Pleasure. I saw them for the
first time in five years recently and forgot how much I enjoyed them. “I couldn’t take anymore, anymore, anymore.”
06)
Waxahatchee - Sparks Fly: Katie Crutchfield just released Out in the Storm, via Merge Records, Waxahatchee’s fourth record.
It’s probably the most guitar-driven to date and I caught a full-band show at
Warsaw recently, which I was a bit sceptical if it would work given that her
best material is stripped down with just an acoustic guitar (like this track,
for the most part!), but it was perfect. “Death
grip on some feigned humility, Effort executed beautifully, My pride clenched
tight in my shaky hand, Til I let go and buried my head in the sand”
07)
Big Thief - Mythological Beauty: The band’s second album, Capacity, via Saddle Creek, and it’s one of the most beautifully
delicate records I’ve heard in some time. Given Mark Kozelek’s reluctance to
actually write songs at the moment, it’s definitely filling some of my Red
House Painters desires. I saw them recently at Prospect Park and while it’s
quite hard to play this kind of music in a large outdoor setting, it was still
a wonderful set. “You’re all caught up
inside, but you know the way”
08)
Jeffrey Lewis - Roll Bus Roll: I used a different Jeffrey Lewis track on a mix
for a friend recently but this was very close to making the cut instead, and so
I felt like I had to throw it on. This is from perhaps his best album, Em Are I, and I just love the vivid
imagery. “Old bodegas and old
streetlights, Harlem looks so warm tonight”
09)
The Mountain Goats - This Year: Being let loose on a friend’s vinyl collection,
I made the mistake of playing this great album (The Sunset Tree), forgetting this track was on it. Perhaps not the
best vibe for a dinner party. Anyway, The Mountain Goats just released their
sixteenth record, Goths, which is
their first record without any guitars. It’s pretty good. I’ll be seeing them
in November. “I am gonna make it through
this year if it kills me”
10)
John Andrews & the Yawns – Drivers: Going through my press releases
recently I was curious to hear this release from Quilt drummer John Andrews, Bad Posture is quite a delightful
record, and certainly fitting with the Woodsist label from where it comes. “I don’t know you no more, don’t owe you no
more”
11)
Jesu & Sun Kil Moon – Bombs: I’ve already made reference to Mark Kozelek’s
somewhat failure to write a conventional song these days and this is a good
example. From the second collaborative record with Jesu, 30 Seconds to the
Decline of Planet Earth, clocking in at 13 minutes, the spoken-word
day-in-the-life-of-Mark-Kozelek is getting kinda tiresome but I still can’t
help but like it somewhat. One does hope that he is reaching saturation point
with this kind of thing, however.
12)
Justin Currie - Failing to See: It’s possible you may not remember that Del
Amitri are the greatest band of all time, and that’s ok, no-one is perfect.
Frontman Justin Currie released his fourth solo record, This is My Kingdom Now, and it’s another obviously great collection
of songs. “Do you hurt me just cos you
know that I'll live?”
13)
Big Star – Thirteen: I was out with a friend trying to keep a few thoughts to
myself and this song played in the bar, and not that I needed reminding, but it
really is just a fabulous song. I did not deliberately put this as track
thirteen. This particular version is a live version from Big Star Story, which was my introduction to the band. “Won't you tell me what you're thinking of?
Would you be an outlaw for my love?”
14)
Julian Velard - Glad I Wasted All My Time With You: Having successfully
completed a kickstarter campaign (of which I contributed), Fancy Words for Failure was just released and it’s a nice mix of
ballads and sarcastic pop tunes. This is clearly the former!
15)
Molly Burch - Please Be Mine: This is the title track from Molly Burch’s debut
album (via Captured Tracks), and it’s an effortlessly smooth record with
immaculate vocals (I just remembered I used Please
Forgive Me on Q#112 if you’d care to revisit that too).
16)
Thundercat - Captain Stupido: I sometimes think that flicking through vinyl and
CD racks is the only way I can clear my head, or at least forget what’s
bothering me temporarily, and while stress-buying far too many records back in
April at Rough Trade, I heard this song playing over the PA. I can’t remember
the last time my ears truly pricked up and made me buy something but Drunk feels like the first time that has
happened in a while. There are some fairly silly songs on the record, of which
this is one, but the bass work in particular over is pretty captivating. “I feel weird, Comb your beard, brush your
teeth, Still feel weird, Beat your meat, go to sleep”
17)
The Lemonheads - Down About It: This was another leftover from a different mix,
The Lemonheads are one of my go-to bands when I’m not sure what I want to
listen to, they can always make me feel something.
“And out like a light when it's not
plugged in, Fading around if it starts again, You just don't get it when, I get
so down about it”
18)
Superchunk - 100,000 Fireflies: I got the re-issued Distant Plastic Trees by the Magnetic Fields recently from Merge
which obviously has this wonderful track on it. Then I remembered that
Superchunk covered it and I wanted to use a track by them on a different mix,
this didn’t make it, but it’s a great cover. “I went out to the forest and caught, 100,000 fireflies, As they
ricochet round the room, They remind me of your starry eyes, Someone else's might
not have made me so sad, But this is the worst night I ever had. Cause I'm
afraid of the dark without you close to me, I'm afraid of the dark without you
close to me, Always was”
19)
Slowdive - Sugar for the Pill: Similar to Ride, Slowdive just released their
first album in 22 years with a self-titled release, and once again it’s a
pretty damn good record. I saw them on my last trip back home in June and it’s
probably the best show I’ve seen this year. “Our
love has never known the way, Sugar for the pill, You know it's just the way
things are, Cannot buy the sun, This jealousy will break the whole”
As
always, Peace and Love
Q
