Monday 5 August 2019

Q#126 - June to July 2019


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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

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


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