Q#122 - October to November 2018

Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT  

Download mix from http://www.mediafire.com/file/yw4nprkvqkp2sfg/Q122.zip/file

Q's Compilations

Vol #122 – October to November 2018

Greetings, happy thanksgiving, happy winter, merry christmas, all that jazz. Things are good here and while this is another hastily prepared mix, I think it’s pretty good. Hope you do too.

01) Bob Mould – Sunshine Rock: This is the title track for Bob’s upcoming album, which will be out in February via Merge Records. It sounds like it should be another rocker just like the last few, and there’s even an 18-piece orchestra on some of the new songs.

02) Cloud Nothings – Leave Him Now: Talking about rockers, Cleveland’s Cloud Nothings just released their fifth album, Last Building Burning, and it’s their most intense and raw to date (and probably their best).

03) RVIVR – Cut the Cord: A few months ago I paid into a kickstarter for one of my favourite labels, Don Giovanni Records, to help them raise funds. Because I have so many of their albums already, they let me pick which ones I wanted, which included RVIVR’s self titled debut. I didn’t know anything about them but figured a rock band from Olympia, Washington, would be in good company since I love Unwound. Turns out my instincts were right and this record is a lot of fun. “Everybody’s talking shit you get used to it”

04) The Scientists – Last Night: Australian punks The Scientists recently played their first ever shows in America, I was lucky enough to grab a ticket for one of their shows at Union Pool. Their live set didn’t include many of the power-pop tracks for which their better known, but they played great, even if a few more BPM wouldn’t have gone amiss.

05) Bat Fangs – Wolfbite: Another request from Don Giovanni Records. Bat Fangs is Betsy Wright of Ex Hex and Laura King of Flesh Wounds, and together they have crafted a fist pumping 70s classic rock-tinged delight of an album.

06) Kurt Vile – Loading Zones: This track leads off Kurt’s eight studio album, Bottle It In, which came out in October. It’s not exactly breaking any new ground for Kurt, who sounds as relaxed and melodic as ever, makes for great records, but I have to confess he has been dreadfully dull whenever I’ve seen him live.

07) Why Bonnie – Practice: Whilst searching for shows to write about on my Free Williamsburg column I began scouring the openers as well. Why Bonnie are on tour with the (also very good) Snail Mail and have released two lovely dreampop Eps this year that you should check out.

08) Israel Nash – Rain Plains: A colleague at work sent this to me, figuring I’d dig the Neil Young vibes, and of course, he was right. This might be a little too derivative for some, but I think it’s great and his other tunes sound good too, with a fair amount of variation.

09) Duster – Heading for the Door: There has been some nerdy excitement from slowcore fans about Duster getting back together, and as a lover of the genre I was fairly embarrassed that I had never heard of them before. I have a ticket to see a headline show at Baby’s All Right but have not had the time to listen to more than a couple of tracks. This is right up my alley, however.

10) Big Ups – Fear: If I had to make a list of my favourite Brooklyn bands in the last 5 years, Big Ups would be right up there. Unfortunately, the band have decided to take a hiatus and will be playing their final show in January.  This is from their third LP, Two Parts Together, released earlier this year.

11) Ryley Walker – Spoil with the Rest: Ryley Walker’s record from May this year, Deafman Glance, is one of the low key success albums of the year, the tunes sound meticulously crafted but loose at the same time, a lovey combo.

12) The Damned – Spirits of Evil: This is the title track of the band’s eleventh album, released in April this year after a successful kickstarter and was produced by Tony Visconti of David Bowie fame. It had been nine years since I’d seen the band live and I managed to catch a fantastic show at Irving Plaza in October.

13) Sharon Van Etten – Comeback Kid: Remind Me Tomorrow will be released in January 2019, which will be her fifth full length album. If this track is anything to go by, it’s quite the left turn for her.

14) Nine Inch Nails – Shit Mirror: I picked up a last minute, half price stubhub ticket to see Nine Inch Nails and the Jesus and Mary Chain at Radio City, not a bad combo (though I’ve seen JAMC enough times now…). Having never seen NIN before I figured it was better late than never and they played an immense show, Bad Witch is the ninth record in the discography and while I haven’t listened to it that much, and at 30 minutes long, it’s just about long enough to be called a record in the first place!

15) The Holydrug Couple – Forever End: Hyper Super Mega was released earlier this year on Blow Your Mind Records (and Sacred Bones in the US), and the Chilean heavyweights have crafted another blissful record. Unfortunately, their NYC had to be cancelled so hopefully they’ll be able to reschedule.

16) Thom Yorke – Unmade: While on a tourbus in San Miguel I was also frantically trying to purchase tickets to see Thom Yorke at Kings Theatre, thankfully after an hour of trying (I was also trying to pay attention…), I managed to score a seat in the first row of the mezzanine, a spectacular seat in New York’s most beautiful venue. The show was at the end of November and was excellent (he also ended the show playing this solo). This is on the soundtrack Thom did for the new version of Suspiria (which I have yet to see).

17) Marissa Nadler – For My Crimes: This is the title track to Marissa Nadler’s eight studio album, released on Sacred Bones in September. Featuring Angel Olsen on backing vocals, the record also features Sharon Van Etten and Kristin Kontrol and is another fine record in Nadler’s discography.

18) Public Practice – Foundations: I caught a short set of Public Practice down at Coney Island in the summer and loved their New Order/LCD Soundsystem dancey pop. The band consists of members of local acts Beverly and Wall, so far they have one EP, Distance is a Mirror, which is pretty good.

19) Crash Test Dummies – I Think I’ll Disappear Now: People think of Crash Test Dummies as a bit of a joke band, or a one hit wonder at best, but that’s grossly unfair and I’ve always really liked them. Turns out that their breakthrough album, God Shuffled His Feet is 25 years old now, and the band are playing a very rare tour to celebrate. I’ve got a ticket to see them on the 8th of December and am greatly looking forward to it. Credibility be damned, like what you like!

20) Courtney Barnett – City Looks Pretty: I went home for just a few days recently, but managed to cram in quite a lot in a short space of time, including seeing Courtney Barnett at the 02 Academy in Oxford. It had been three and a half years since I saw a breath-taking performance at Bowery Ballroom, and she has since gone on to play much larger spaces, so it was great to see her in another modest-size venue (even if the 02 is not the best of spaces… if only it were upstairs in the old Zodiac space). Anyway, Tell Me How You Feel is her second record and was released back in May and is another lovely record.

21) Horrendous – The Idolater: I seem to be getting into the habit of closing out compilations with a metal track rather than my usual lullaby. Philly’s Horrendous released Idol in September and it’s probably my favourite metal album of the year. I caught their show at Saint Vitus recently and they were excellent.

Next mix will be a “best of” the year, hopefully in January. As always, Peace and Love - Q

Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT  

Download mix from http://www.mediafire.com/file/yw4nprkvqkp2sfg/Q122.zip/file