I’ve been meaning to just drink an entire pot of coffee and stay up all night (or at least past the wee hours) listening to and reviewing new music. That hasn’t happened exactly the way I’ve wanted it to, or at all. Instead (like always) I’ve been wasting my time on Twitter and sleeping more than usual. I blame daylight savings time and seasonal affective disorder. Anyhow, below are some brief reviews of some albums that have been playing a little bit as of late but that I just couldn’t pull enough words together for a proper post of any sort. It kinda takes a little of the pressure off, you know?
I totally thought Nerf Herder broke up years ago but then I got their latest album IV in my mailbox. I still can’t take ‘em seriously but I don’t think they take themselves seriously either. So what you get is pop-punkish-power-pop complete with goofy lyrics and silly synths. Do I even have to say that this is inane and yet somehow totally fun?
MP3 | Nerf Herder – Oh Me, Oh My IV
Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell’s latest album History, Mystery is an amazing 90 minute double-disc collection spanning 30 tracks in which he leads a strings, horns and drums octet. A varied collection indeed that covers everything from bop to Malian desert blues and comes highly recommended as one of the year’s best jazz releases.
MP3 | Bill Frisell – Baba Drame History, Mystery
You know all about Witch, right? They are a bitchin’ heavy metal/hard rock band from the Northeast that features J. Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr) on drums and Kyle Thomas (of King Tuff) on vocals and guitar. Their latest album Paralyzed is full of the kind of retro stoner metal that makes Black Sabbath fans happy.
MP3 | Witch – Eye Paralyzed
On She’s The Dutchess, He’s The Duke The Dutchess & The Duke sound a lot like the folksier moments that The Rolling Stones committed to tape or something like that. A lot. Not that it’s a bad thing necessarily, it’s just right there for me to point out. So if you like that sort of thing this is actually pretty good.
MP3 | The Dutchess & The Duke – Strangers She’s The Dutchess, He’s The Duke
DC’s Detox Retox have an EP called Hard To Swallow that throws sharp riffs and some urgently danceable bass-heavy disco post-punk around that reminds me a little of Arctic Monkeys. It’s the sort of stuff that will have suburban kids wearing their jeans tight and their sunglasses at night.
MP3 | Detox Retox – Groovebox Hard To Swallow EP
