Weekend Music Roundup

As promised, I've returned from journey north of the border, with an armful of records in tow. However, those will have to wait until next week. In the meantime, I forgot that I had a long weekend before I left and had plenty of time to groove out to new music. That new music took the form of some vinyl records I'd recently picked up, and a lot of Bandcamp exploration. In the past, I'd dabbled on the site, but found it a bit overwhelming. With the help of a blog called Bandcamp Hunter, one that finds the best of the site, I been discovering lots of great stuff and hope to continue sharing some of these underground bands in the future. Enjoy.

The Legendary Pink Dots - Crash Velvet Apocalypse: The newest archival live release from the U.K. experimental psych band is a collection of recordings from 1991.  There are few bands that can completely blow me away, especially at this stage in my life, in the last two years, this band has been one of them. Nobody sounds like them, nobody takes music this far. Listening to them is like hearing a William Burroughs novel come to life in sound. Perhaps this is what a Syd Barrett led Floyd would have eventually sounded like. Whatever the case may be, I'm thoroughly enjoying the continued discovery of their seemingly endless catalog of albums best enjoyed in their entirety.

David Gilmour - David Gilmour: After being extremely impressed by the Great Floyd's newest solo album, I decided to check out his first. Released in 1978, between Animals and The Wall, when Floyd was falling further and further under the creative dictatorship of Roger Waters, this album allowed the guitarist to explore his vision unhindered. It opens with a Wish You Were Here like instrumental, and leads into a classic late '70s era Gilmour piece "There's No Way Out of Here." The rest of the album takes on the same pace, alternating these two types of tracks. The result is an album that is better than any of the Floyd albums that followed. 

Rule of Thirds - Rule of Thirds: The debut album from the Australian gothic post-punk band, released on vinyl and available to listen to on their Bandcamp site, is wonderful addition to a genre that has all but disappeared. This reminds me of some underground early '90s bands that were around before the explosion of "alternative" music. There's a "To Mother" era Babes in Toyland vibe here, combined with a darker undertone. Totally brought me back to being 15 and listening to music in my room, letting my imagination wander to forbidden places. Definitely worth checking out, especially for '90s weird kids. 

Jordaan Mason - The Decline of Stupid Fucking Western Civilization: I've been a fan of Mason's since the fantasice 2009 album "Divorce Lawyers I Shaved My Head." His minimal folk borders on slowcore, stretching out notes to create a distorted and disturbing scenery. This album consists of eight lengthy tracks, including the phenomenal 12 minute long title track. It's his first album of new material in nearly 8 years and is most likely his best album to date. It's nice to have his unique vision back.

The Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties Request: Released at the tail end of '67, this was the Stones answer to psychedelic pop of Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour, and to a lesser extent Pet Sounds and Smilely Smile. Typical of the bad boys of rock, their attempt at trippy was, well, trippier. Always more hard-edged than their contemporaries, this album would signal their journey into a more dangerous sound. Though I've had this on CD for decades, I recently picked up a copy on vinyl with the amazing 3D cover art. "2000 Light Years From Home" alone is enough to make this a must have. 

Waylon Jennings - Heartaches by the Number: This compilation captures the country music legend covering some of the most popular country tunes of the '60s. This isn't that new country, this is that old time Nashville lonely bar music that holds true to the roots of American music. Waylon sounds great on here, and this is one of those perfect lazy afternoon records. A nice pick up if you can find one laying around.

Mexican Knives - Mexican Knives: The debut full length from Detroit's newest garage rock band is reminiscent of The Detroit Cobras. They have a similar old school psychedelic soul vibe blended with Rockabilly edge. It has great energy throughout, and really nails the sound. "Down to Hell" is a fantastically eerie song. Most of these songs would fit well into the "Death Proof" soundtrack. Worth checking out on their bandcamp site.