Archive for the ‘CLASSIC ALBUMS’ Category

SNAIL MAIL – ” Heat Wave “

Posted: April 27, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Snail Mail

I keep telling everyone check out Snail Mail, along a few others, She will shape the future of the best indie/alt rock to come, and every song they release becomes further proof of this. Lush will be a little gem of a record.

Last month, Snail Mail announced their debut album, Lush, with the track “Pristine,” which became one of the best songs of the week back when it came out. Today, Lindsey Jordan is sharing the LP’s second single, “Heat Wave,” and it’s sticky and humid, much like the unbearable situation that Jordan finds herself wrapped up in.

“Heat wave, nothing to do/ Woke up in my clothes having dreamt of you,” she sings in the first verse, trying to move on from a love that didn’t want to commit long-term. Part of it is genuine remorse at the loss of a relationship, but it’s also partially the boredom that comes with a day where it’s too hot to do anything, when you let your imagination run wild.

Her feelings on the relationship shimmer and shift, caught up in the exhaust of a sweaty summer day stuck inside. Jordan plays the part of bitterly defiant, and she gets her licks in with style: “I hope the love that you find/ Swallows you whole-ly/ Like you said it might,” goes one of the best lines, wishing the same wrenching fate upon whoever the former partner picks up next. For Jordan’s part, she’s ready to find something a little more reliable: “I’m feeling low/ I’m not into sometimes.”

The song comes attached to an excellent video, which was directed by Brandon Herman and finds Jordan revisiting the (not too long ago) time when she played on her high school’s men’s ice hockey team. She starts off by just playing simple air hockey though, sullen and alone, before getting sucked through the board, where she has to fend off a team of men, getting bloodied and battered throughout. It’s the Mighty Ducks continuation you didn’t know you needed.

From Snail Mail’s debut album ‘Lush’ out June 8th on Matador Records.

SHILPA RAY – ” Nihilism EP “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The ‘Nihilism’ EP comes hot on the heels of 2017’s critically acclaimed LP ‘Door Girl.’ Inspired by and written after binge watching the Grateful Dead documentary series Long Strange Trip, her original song “Shoot This Dying Horse” is a rainy day waltz about how bad things can happen to anyone, at any time in the most random and meaningless ways. More specifically, it’s about getting dumped at a bar two days before Christmas. No horses were harmed during the writing and recording of this track. Musically this was a lot of fun to write and arrange.

Shilpa comments “I had binge watched Long Strange Trip, the Grateful Dead documentary series, and immediately began to mess around with the chord changes for “Shoot This Dying Horse.” I’ve never considered myself to be a dead head but there is something in their music that makes me want to write.

Additionally, Shilpa decided to cover Alice Cooper’s “Is It My Body” after spinning a lot of Cooper in the tour van while on tour in support of ‘Door Girl.’ She explains, “When I paid closer attention to the lyrics, I realized if sung by a woman this song could be a feminist anthem. Who knew Alice Cooper wrote feminist anthems?”

releases May 16th, 2018

“Shoot This Dying Horse” written by Shilpa Ray 2018
“Is It My Body” written by Alice Cooper, Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith + Glen Buxton 1971

Music performed by

Shilpa Ray , Vocals, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, Farfisa

Alistair Paxton, Guitar

Turner Stough, Bass

Richard Hutchins, Drums, Percussion

Christian Lee Buss,Backing vocals, Farfisa, Synth

FATHER JOHN MISTY – ” Mr. Tillman “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Father John Misty has shared his disorienting new video for “Mr. Tillman,” the first single off his upcoming new album God’s Favorite Customer. Just as the song’s lyrics zero in on the singer’s unpleasant experience at a hotel, the “Mr. Tillman” video is like The Shining meets “Hotel California,” as Father John Misty is doomed to relive his stay and inability to leave countless times. The result is interactions with doppelgangers, an attempted suicide and a taxicab escape.

In February, the singer, whose real name is Josh Tillman, unveiled “Mr. Tillman” along with a low-budget green-screened video of himself messing around in a hotel.

Father John Misty has previously released two songs, “Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All” and “Just Dumb Enough to Try,” from his forthcoming album God’s Favorite Customer, the speedy follow-up to 2017’s Pure Comedy. God’s Favorite Customer arrives June 1st.

“Mr. Tillman” is off of Father John Misty’s upcoming album, God’s Favorite Customer, out June 1st on Sub Pop and Bella Union.

SPEEDY ORTIZ – ” Twerp Verse “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Speedy Ortiz, Twerp Verse

The run up to Twerp Verse, the third record from Speedy Ortiz, has intoduced three vibrant music videos. Each one taps into the sardonic wit and playful imagination of its singer, guitarist and lyrical mastermind of Sadie Dupuis, but the video for “Villain” (directed in a crayon box array of retro colors by Elle Schneider) is especially powerful at distilling her message to something tangible. Recreating the campy feel of a monster flick, Dupuis is relentlessly provoked by a fish-headed creature, a surreal embodiment of invasive verbal abuse and physical harassment that women endure daily. “‘I wanna know what kind of games you like,'” she recounts, before recoiling at these unwanted advances: “He talks like he knows me, so I’m being polite.” Later, she sings “‘I wanna know if a no means alright.’ / He looks past my answer, did he earn the right? No way.” — a dark inverse to her consent-positive mantra in “Get A Yes,” a fizzy gem from Dupuis‘ solo project Sad13.

While the concepts at play in “Villain” are familiar territory Dupuis and Speedy Ortiz have covered in the past, she’s never been quite this direct. Surprisingly, these themes weren’t initially the album’s intended direction. As the story goes, the band was primed to record in late 2016, but soon decided that batch of songs were “strictly personal or lovey-dovey” and no longer felt relevant amid the cultural and political shifts occurring post election. “Social politics and protest have been a part of our music from day one, and I didn’t want to stop doing that on this album,” Dupuis stated in the album’s press release. The band shelved those efforts mid-stream and doubled-down to write new material that better reflected these turbulent, unprecedented times. The result, Twerp Verse, shows Speedy Ortiz at its most pointed and fearless.

With a Master’s degree in poetry and a reputation for skillful, hilarious wordplay, Dupuis is among rock’s more compelling songwriters. Across Twerp Verse’s 11 tracks, she rapidly slings pop culture and literary references and shrouds her narratives in cryptic, visceral phrases worthy of decoding. And it gives license to speak hard truths and reveal personal anxieties — be it falling back into the familiar comforts of bad relationships (“Backslidin'”) or mining contradictory feelings on love and commitment (“Moving In”). “Lucky 88” critiques the head-in-the-sand apathy and disillusionment of people watching the world crumble around them. “One more time with reeling / You siphoned out the feeling / Can’t you act responsibly? / You’re the sick pup who created me,” she sings, before repeating “I don’t care anymore…” with weary resignation. But Dupuis is best when wielding humor and sarcasm — and taking no prisoners. “You Hate The Title” is a withering rebuke of haters publicly nitpicking someone’s opinions and creative endeavors, while still “singing along.” “You hate the title but you’re digging the song / You like it in theory, but it’s rubbing you wrong,” she seethes atop fluttering keyboards that belie her fed-up side-eye. “I can’t, I can’t, with your ‘Just can’t even’s.”

Recorded at Silent Barn in Brooklyn with Carlos Hernandez and Julian Fader (Ava Luna) and produced and mixed by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) at his studio in Omaha, Twerp Verse is both musically expansive and Dupuis’ most accessible work yet, a blend of catchy pop hooks and dexterous guitar playing. “Buck Me Off” opens with that signature Speedy Ortiz formula, and the band — comprised of bassist Darl Ferm, drummer Mike Falcone, and guitarist Andy Molholt — outright shreds with overdriven chords and buzzy solos piercing through murky distortion. Similarly “Sport Death” unfurls razor-sharp riffs that mimic the vocal melodies, and builds tension through off-kilter chord progressions and half-step dissonance. Elsewhere, they fold in pitch-shifted tones, pulsing synths, and laptop beats (“Lucky 88”) and skin-crawling atmosphere (“I’m Blessed”) — something first hinted at on 2015’s Foil Deer, and honed further on Sad13’s 2016 record, Slugger — and invigorates what can be tricky subject matter with immediate uplift and noisy catharsis.

That’s emblematic of “Alone With Girls” and “I’m Blessed,” in which Speedy Ortiz both alludes to emotional bullying and violence in past toxic relationships, and uses its platform to amplify the voices and stories too often silenced or marginalized. ” Lean In When I Suffer,” the album’s anthem, refutes self-branded feminist allies who only appear supportive when they don’t have to address their own privilege or problematic behavior. She’s having none of that, quipping “I’m checking my phone / He’s unworthy of talk / If he really wants to be the one, he’d forfeit shotgun for once…” It’s in these moments, Speedy Ortiz’s songs become about reclaiming agency, and finding empowerment through empathy. In that way, Twerp Verse is an album arriving right on time.

thanks to Npr

The ROLLING STONES – ” Out Of Our Heads ” Classic Albums

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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In 1965, The Rolling Stones were on the cusp of true rock ‘n’ roll greatness, and the album “Out Of Our Heads”, released on the Decca label, would further entrench their reputation. One of my absolute favourite Stones albums is their third British release ‘Out Of Our Heads’. Issued in 1965 on Decca, this album sounds so much punkier and heavier than the two blues/R&B albums preceding it. As soon as ‘She Said Yeah’ smashes through your speakers like a sledgehammer it’s a full on experience until ‘I’m Free’ closes the album.
I realise that other countries had a different track selection for this album but I’ve always found the British issue to be the best because Decca didn’t pad it out with singles.
Available as the killer Mono issue (pushing around £200 for mint copies) and the Stones first album to be issued in (very poor) Stereo in Britain (much rarer but still around £200). An essential album.

Having returned from an American tour, the band were cocked and primed with a collection of soul material, much of which remained unknown to the bulk of English teenagers at the time, meaning that The Stones could record their own versions safe in the knowledge that whatever they presented was as fresh and exciting as anything from the other side of the Atlantic.

The US edition of the album opens with Don Covay’s 1964 soul hit “Mercy, Mercy,” and while not quite as superb as the original, The Stones do a pretty good job all the same in at least capturing the song’s essence. Next is Marvin Gaye’s “Hitch Hike,” where the English quintet assert their ever-growing sophistication in emulating American black music, albeit with an English bent.

Apparently “The Last Time” owes its origins from an old gospel tune, given a complete Phil Spector makeover (i.e. his famous ‘wall of sound’), and transformed into something else entirely. Backed with the spiteful ballad “Play With Fire,” both tracks would prove to be one of their most popular and strongest singles yet of self-penned material. Another original (a rarity for this album) is “The Spider And The Fly,” a R&B/Jimmy Reed inspired number and one that would become a staple of their early shows throughout this period.

The band’s cover of Bert Russell’s soul classic “Cry To Me” and Sam Cooke’s “Good Times” are both strong cuts, despite Jagger’s vocal limitations . Otis Redding’s (although written by Roosevelt Jamison) “That’s How Strong My Love Is” is given a fine reworking, so too “I’m All Right,” a recording which first appeared on the EP Got Live If You Want It.

A special mention should be made of founding member Brian Jones, whose spirited playing shines throughout this record, and whose contribution to The Stones sound and look when starting out should never be forgotten, nor underestimated. Just listen to the way he wails his harmonica on “The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man,” and his acoustic guitar during “Good Times.” Jones may not have been much of a songwriter, yet his presence and talent as a musician was just as important as Jagger and Richards themselves.

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is arguably the standout track, with Jagger’s insouciant delivery and Richards’ tough as steel main riff. Along with “The Last Time,” “Satisfaction” was the song which helped propel the group to #1 in both the UK and US, a position from which they rarely deviated off from this point onwards.

From an historical perspective, Out Of Our Heads is just as important as anything the band would go on to record over the next few years. This was largely raw, gritty English R&B the way it should be. And even after all this time, it hasn’t dated one iota.

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NO JOY / SONIC BOOM – ” Triangle Probably “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Jasamine White-Gluz of Canadian shoegaze band No Joy had something different in mind when she began emailing Sonic Boom, a.k.a. Pete Kember from the band Spacemen 3, in the fall of 2015. The other members of her band stayed within the confines of rock, the more White-Gluz wanted change. So No Joy decided to release three EPs that departed from the band’s shoegaze and noise-pop past, starting with 2016’s Drool Sucker and 2017’s Creep. The final installment in this series, No Joy / Sonic Boom, sees White-Gluz venturing into unfamiliar electronic territory with Kember.

Throughout No Joy / Sonic Boom, you can hear White-Gluz finding the borders of her comfort zone and looking for guidance when she makes it to the other side. The trouble seems to be that Kember does little to develop her ideas once she gets there, settling instead for familiar deadpan loops. There’s not nearly enough give and take to make the collaboration work.

No Joy / Sonic Boom – “Triangle Probably” off their self-titled EP on Joyful Noise Recordings.

GEMS – ” Imagine ” John Lennon Album Covered

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Gems covered John Lennon’s album Imagine in its entirety.  The full album is available to order now from Turntable Kitchen. It is only available on vinyl but the vinyl comes with a digital download

When we envisioned our SOUNDS DELICIOUS series we had high hopes. We wanted to hear our favorite bands lovingly reinterpreting art that meant something to them. We wanted music that would be fun, inventive, and exciting. We wanted covers that respect the album format as an art form instead of just focusing on a few hit singles. Yet, while we had high expectations, we couldn’t imagine just how great the results would be.

We never imagined Yumi Zouma’s dreamy reinterpretation of Oasis. We never imagined Jonthan Rado of Foxygen’s loose and free-wheeling take on Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run. And yet, time and time again, each and every one of the artists we’ve worked with have completely blown us out of the water with their contributions.

For our latest release in the series, GEMS keep the streak alive in a big way as the duo treat us to their track-by-track reinvention of John Lennon’s solo masterwork Imagine. From an epic, rumbling makeover of the bigger-than-life title track to their evocative and shimmering interpretation of album closer “Oh Yoko!” – they approach each track with reverence and respect even as they nail their flag to the mast.

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Here is what Lindsay from GEMS had to say about their version of the album:

“’All I want is the truth! Just give me some truth!’”

I listened to John Lennon’s album Imagine all the way through for the first time last year and that line just hit something deep within me. The inescapable sadness of life.The despair of feeling totally alone and calling out into the void, just searching for some kind of solid ground to stand on. It feels like the whole world is calling out right now from this place of hurt, calling out for truth. But we’re so divided and continue putting up false walls between us.

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I feel honored that we had the chance to record our own interpretations of these courageous, albeit conflicted songs. In some ways Lennon’s vision seems impossibly naive today. But don’t we need something to strive for? We need connection, we need communication, forgiveness and healing. I know I need the type of enchanted dream where we try to lift up humanity together. Even if it’s just in our own small, personal way.

I’m restless. I’m yearning for something real. I have to believe that we can still use our short time here on earth to put some kind of goodness into the world. And maybe while we’re at it, we can share the same dream.”

We’re also excited to announce that we’re teaming up with Seattle-based illustrator Teresa Grasseschi for the next several releases in the series! That’s her work that we’re featuring on the album art for this release.

GEMS’ version of Imagine is only available by subscribing to SOUNDS DELICIOUS. In addition to a deluxe edition for our Kickstarter supporters, it’s available on amber colored vinyl for recurring subscribers and gift orders of 6-months or more (while supplies last) and on black vinyl for all other orders. As always, each copies comes packaged with a digital download of the album. Only 1000 copies were pressed in total! These are expected to begin shipping next week!

Band Members
Lindsay Pitts, Clifford John Usher

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HORSE FEATHERS – ” Appreciation “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Horse Feathers feels like a secret you don’t really want to share. Over twelve years and five albums, a passionate fan base has experienced this band as a precious commodity that they want to keep close to their hearts. One reason for this can be found in lead singer Justin Ringle’s distinctive voice, at once vulnerable and piercing, and in the quality of the music: gorgeous, lush string arrangements surrounding stark, visceral lyrics whose bite makes a piquant juxtaposition to the surrounding beauty.

Now, however, Horse Feathers has created an album that differs enough from its predecessors to suggest that the cat might get out of the bag. On Appreciation, their sixth full-length and the fifth on venerable independent label Kill Rock Stars, the signifiers of the band are there: Ringle’s warm tenor and lyrics that speak of work, love, and other struggles. But on this album less of the song dynamics are achieved with strings and more with an exciting new rhythm section steeped in Northern Soul. Longtime violinist Nathan Crockett and keyboardist Dustin Dybvig provide continuity, but much of Appreciation feels like the best of Ringle’s previous musical ideas just took a giant step into a larger arena.

Recorded primarily in Kentucky (at La-La Land Studios in Louisville and Shangri-La Studios in Lexington), the new album features instrumentalists J. Tom Hnatow, Robby Cosenza and R&B vocalist Joslyn Hampton, who helped make Appreciation a mixture of strutting ‘70s-style country-pop (“Without Applause,” “Don’t Mean To Pry”) and supple soul (“Best To Leave,” “Evictions”). But Horse Feathers hasn’t gained accessibility at the expense of quality, nor at the expense of their signature instrumentation (“The Hex” might be the only R&B/soul song where the rhythmic lead is played on banjo). For those who crave what NPR called “the densely pretty seethe of Horse Feathers’ earlier ballads”, the album delivers “Born in Love” and “On the Rise”, accentuating the string surge with Hammond organ, piano, tambourine, and finger snaps.

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“It just felt like a fresh take on how my songs can come across,” Ringle says. “With this incarnation, it’s okay if what I’m doing right now is in fact kind of a pop song. I can have a chorus and repeat something. I’m more aware of that and enjoy it.”

This artistic adjustment comes in the wake of a lot of changes in Ringle’s life. Not too long ago, he left his former hometown of Portland for the coastal city Astoria, Oregon. He’s also been dipping his toes into the world of record production, helping North Carolina band River Whyless with the recording of their last album We All The Light. After a while of bouncing between three states, as well as stops in Camas, Washington to finish Appreciation with longtime compatriot Skyler Norwood at Miracle Lake Studios, Ringle is finally settling down just in time to get ready to hit the road with Horse Feathers in support of this new album. “I wanna get out there and do my job,” he says.

Diehard fans are going to find plenty to cherish on Appreciation. But they’re going to have to make room in the club house for a lot more people – with this album, the Horse Feathers secret is officially out.

Horse Feathers:
Justin Ringle: songs, vocals, guitar, banjo
Nathan Crockett: violin, viola
J. Tom Hnatow: bass, pedal steel, guitar, rhodes
Robby Cosenza: drums, percussion
Halli Anderson: vocals, violin
Dustin Dybvig: piano, synths, percussion
Lee Carroll: piano, wurlitzer, hammond
Jenn Crockett: clarinet, bass clarinet
Joslyn Hampton: vocals
Chriss Dennison: vocals
Appreciation is out May 4th, 2018 on Kill Rock Stars.

The BREEDERS – ” 4AD Records Reissue The Albums On Vinyl “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Earlier this year, record label 4AD announced the long awaited release of The Breeders‘ fifth album ‘All Nerve’, out on 2nd March. It’s an album five years in the making, with work beginning after a string of shows to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their second album ‘Last Splash’. Since this is their first album release in 10 years, and marks the reunion of the ‘Last Splash’ lineup of Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim MacPherson,

The Breeders‘ first four albums will be reissued on vinyl by 4AD next month. All of the Breeders’ previous albums  Pod, Last Splash, Title TK, and Mountain Battles – will be re-issued on vinyl on 18th May.

With their new album All Nerve released last month, The Breeders have now confirmed plans to reissue their first four albums on vinyl . The reissues will arrive via 4AD, with their debut Pod from 1990, 1993’s Last Splash, Title TK from 2002 and their last album before their extended hiatus, 2008’s Mountain Battles all the subject of the reissue plans.

The band will play a handful of shows in the UK and Ireland in late May folllowing the release of the reissues taking in dates in Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Leeds and London, before returning for a further few shows in July.

The Breeders continue to tour their latest album All Nerve with further European dates announced for November.  The group will also play two shows before FYF Festival in July.  Currently on the road in North America,

Pod

Pod,

The 1990 debut featuring the line-up of Pixie’s Kim Deal, Throwing Muses’ Tanya Donelly, the Perfect Disaster’s Josephine Wiggs and Slint’s Britt Walford, was recorded by Steve Albini.  Kurt Cobain listed the record as one of his top three favourite albums saying, “the way they structure [the songs] is totally unique.”  Critically acclaimed when it came out, Pod’s legacy lives on It was “blissful mindfuck of a record,” and ranked it in their Best Albums of the 90s.

Back in 1989, and with tension mounting in the Pixies between Kim Deal and Black Francis, The Breeders‘ first demo’s were recorded between Kim and Throwing Muse‘s Tanya Donnelly after they met while touring together in their respective bands. This would lead to the release of debut album ‘Pod’ in 1990, an album which would receive critical acclaim from the music press. It’s rough, visceral, owing largely down to the simplistic production which allows the attitude with which the band play their instruments to carry through the record. No where is this more apparent than on the incredibly original interpretation of The Beatles‘ ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’, a track injected with attitude here. The true strength of this album is in listening to it as a collective whole, as each song lends something to the experience. Their best was yet to come however…

Last Splash,

Recorded in 1993 by what is now regarded as the ‘classic’ Breeders line-up of Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson.  Including the twisted pop singles ‘Cannonball’ and ‘Divine Hammer’, it has become one of the defining albums of the 90s.

What else? The Breeders‘ quintessential 1993 album ‘Last Splash’ followed on from the warped and jagged ‘Pod’ by throwing caution to the wind, producing an erratic, distorted, and yet intensely textured masterpiece of 90’s alt-rock. The results of their almost sarcastic jab at the crossover between chart success and the alt-rock/grunge movement landed Kim and the band with unexpected commercial success; ‘Last Splash’ would eventually go platinum in the United States, and lead single ‘Cannonball’ filled dance floor’s up and down the country. While ‘Cannonball’ is still their most recognisable song, ‘Last Splash’ delivers throughout, taking a number of detours along the way; ‘Invisible Man’, with it’s grinding, hazy guitar hooks and string arrangement; ‘Do You Love Me Now?’, with it’s brooding, chugging guitar in ode to feeling lovesick; and ‘Flipside’, a sub 2 minute instrumental blast of sheer joy, with a playful guitar line and copious amounts of cymbal smashing. ‘Last Splash’ presents The Breeders at their best; inventive, eccentric, effortlessly cool, and full of a vigour lost among the grunge crossover bands of the early 90’s.

Title Tk [Explicit]

Title TK

2002’s Title TK saw the band work with Steve Albini once more, with the Guardian saying it was “a welcome return to punky pop that knows how to flex some melodic muscle.”  The album has been out of print on vinyl since its release. Ending a 9 year hiatus, The Breeders came back in 2002 with ‘Title TK’, a tuneful yet melancholy and skeletal album at odds with their previous work. It drifts between different tones seemingly on a track by track basis, a little unsettled and unsure of itself, yet there are moments here of brooding which are reminiscent of early work by PJ Harvey; in the dark punk sounds of ‘Little Fury’ and ‘Son Of Three’, and in the soft ballad ‘Off You’.

On release, critics weren’t as enthralled with ‘Title TK’ as they had been with previous album ‘Last Splash’, lamenting the albums lack of creative flare and citing an unoriginal re-recording of ‘Full On Idle’ (originally recorded by Kim Deal’s other side project The Amps) as evidence of this. Retrospective listeners, however, have noted that ‘Title TK’ works more under the pretext of a concept album; a record about the absence of things, or about losing things and making do in order to move forward.

Mountain Battles

Fourth album Mountain Battles, a perfectly formed album of 13 miniatures in 36 minutes engineered by Steve Albini, was originally released in 2008.  Like Title TK before it, Mountain Battles has been out of print since its release.

Another gap followed the release of ‘Title TK’ before The Breeders were ready to release their most recent album ‘Mountain Battles’. With a more stable lineup this time around, ‘Mountain Battles’ sees progression from ‘Title TK’ in terms of attitude; it’s more optimistic, defiantly so, and finds the band willing to return to throwing in tracks from left field. ‘Istanbul’ is an understated eastern-style chant, while ‘Regalame Este Noche’ provides a hint of Spanish slow-dance to the proceedings. Although it takes a little time to warm up, ‘Mountain Battles’ is a largely successful return to the spiky, inventive sound The Breeder‘s had used so effectively during their earlier years.

All Nerve

All Nerve

The Breeders’ fifth studio album, saw the iconic line-up of Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson reunite for the first time since the release of the platinum-selling album Last Splash. Released earlier this year, critics and fans welcomed them back with open arms and they scored their highest chart positions – including top 10 in the UK – in 25 years.

The Breeders - New European Tour Dates, Back Catalogue Vinyl Reissues

BEECHWOOD – ” This Time Around “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Built around a cold wave of shimmering guitars and wails, “This Time Around” pulls from the sinister aesthetic of first wave goth and the mid-70s nihilism of Bowie and Lou Reed in equal measures. Fittingly, images of war and chaos are layered on top of these nasty vibes, suggesting that the terror of the past may very well be right around the corner.

Beechwood’s Larence said, “There is a certain driving force or intensity in “This Time Around” that (in my mind) is met with images of conquering armies, cities burning, a sort of Wagnerian Götterdämmerung. We even recorded ourselves in combat boots marching in place on a tiled floor to enhance the effect in the song. It’s claustrophobic, paranoid, destructive, but also– in a way it’s therapeutic. There is a certain freedom in the knowledge that any day it can all be over. The use of historical/pop-culture references illustrates this sense of impending doom. I have no doubt that humanity will one day do itself in for good, and what more damning evidence does one need than our own recent history?”

Live footage shot by Nika De Carlo, Lola Young, and Jen Dessinger. Edited by Gordon Lawrence. Taken from the album “Songs From The Land Of Nod” : http://www.alive-records.com

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