Weekend Music Roundup

It's hard to believe that the first month of this strange year has already passed up by, but at least it hasn't gone by without some good tunes being sent out into the world. This week is pretty heavy on rock, which I also see as the case for next week. This time of year, I begin feeling the need to rage a little and tend to chose heavier than I would in any other season. There's a nice mix of new releases and a few classics to keep everything going nicely. Hopefully you'll find something on here that you'll want to check out. Enjoy.

White Light Cemetery - Careful What You Wish For: Released a few weeks back, this is the second album from Louisiana rock band. This is basically a heavy blues album with vocals that sound like Chris Cornell. A bit uneven, but when it all comes together, the songs are damned good. Personal favorites for me are, "Better Days," "On a Dime," "Bullet to Erase," and "Misery Loves Company." Worth checking out for anyone looking for a decent hard rock record.

 

Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White - Gentlewoman, Ruby Man: This collaboration album came out in the middle of January and was one of the more interesting listens of the past few weeks. It's hard to categorize because of the various genres that are at play on this record, from indie pop to psychedelic soul. I suppose that's what made it so interesting, however, it is also the reason why it never really felt like it found it's groove. There are some lovely moments on here that remind me of The Magic Numbers. "Looking for You," "The Colour in Anything," and "Look at What the Light Did Now" are my favorites.

Snowy Dunes - Snowy Dunes: The 2015 debut from the Swedish hard rock band is one that I came across recently. Perhaps unsurprisingly, based on the cover, there is a kinship shared with The Doors on here. The singer sounds like Jim Morrison would sound singing hard rock. It's an interesting combination that works on some levels, but never fully grabbed me. The epic opener, "Tranquil Mountain Lake" is the real standout here.

Metallica - Kill 'Em All: The 1983 debut from the monsters of thrash metal is one of those indispensable albums for any fan of metal. I recently picked up the remastered vinyl of this record and have been rocking out to it ever since. The furious tone of this record was eye-opening upon its release and is still equally as powerful as it was back then. While the band would continue to progress and continue to invent thrash metal for the rest of the decade, the sheer raw energy of this record makes it stand out.

Zior - Zior: The 1971 debut from the UK heavy psych band is one of those little known albums that were the foundation of genre that has been revived lately. I've been listening to a lot of these records lately from bands like Horse and Gun and I've found that while these records manage to create a sound that is way ahead of its time, they rarely are able to carry it through the entire album and there are always a least one or more songs that fall back on a heavy blues hard rock. It just points to how difficult is to create a new sound. This is a solid record, maybe not as good as those other two bands, but definitely one to check out if you like heavy psych.