The groovin' kid photo can mean only one thing...the weekend has arrived, and with it comes my usual ramblings on music that has either inspired me, angered me, entertained me, or just made me curious over the past several days. This is a list compiled of a couple of new releases that I'd been looking forward to along with a few albums that are recent additions to my vinyl collection. All in all, there are plenty of fantastic albums on this list, many of which I would recommend to everyone. Hopefully some of you will take my recommendation and find something to listen to. Enjoy.
Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me: This band is just Phil Elverum (of The Microphones) and one that I've listened to for over a decade. This is the first album in two years and the first since the passing of his wife from cancer. The songs on here detail his heartbreak over losing his wife and raising their baby. Though consumed by overwhelming sadness, this is nothing short of a beautiful album that reads like an eternal love letter. An album that everybody should listen to at least once. Stunningly honest and remarkable.
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Damage and Joy: The iconic '80s post punk band just released their first studio album in 19 years and it's far more enjoyable than I expected. Gone is the deep fuzz and distortion that characterized their legendary albums. This is far more noise pop than shoegaze. It reminds me of Spiritualized, and had this album come out twenty years ago, it would have been a favorite of mine. As it stands now, I enjoyed it, but it didn't feel special enough to love in this day and age. "Mood Rider,""War and Peace," and "Facing Up to the Facts" are my personal favorites.
Roky Ericson - Outtakes from "All That May Do My Rhyme" & Live 1975: This is a bootleg album that I got for my birthday, but never got around to reviewing it because I needed to enter into the database first. The outtakes are from Roky's later quieter work, and is phenomenal. The live songs on the flip side are also dynamite. I'm a huge Roky fan and don't think he can really do any wrong, so my take on this might be skewed. One of the most under appreciated rockers in music.
Marc Bolan - Skycloaked Lord (...Of Precious Light): This archival US radio show was recorded shortly after T-Rex's Electric Wizard album, at the height of the glam rocker's career. But this is very different. It's just him and an acoustic guitar. I went into this not expecting any very different than what I was used to from him, but I was so wrong. This was mind-blowingly good! Released on limited blue vinyl, this is a gem.
John Cougar Mellencamp - Scarecrow: Released in 1985, at the height of the Indiana rocker's career, this is the signature album of his career, featuring the mega hits "Small Town," "Lonely Ol' Night," and "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." It also stands as one of the few political rock albums of the mid-80s which were caught up in the glamour of rock life and left the social issues on the back burner. This album cemented the Cougar as the torch bearer to Bruce Springsteen's '70s work. Though he continues to make music, he would never again reach the level of fame from this time. A great '80s rock record.
Family - Bandstand: In their five years as a band, between the years 1968 and 1973, the UK psychedelic prog band released eight albums. This one, from '72 is the next to last, but no less exciting and rewarding than previous. It takes on more of the maturity of early '70s era psych blues than early albums, but still has that Traffic vibe that I enjoy so much. This is still part of my going through the three missing pieces of my Family collection that I recently snatched up for cheap. "Glove" and "Ready to Go" are stand outs on this one.
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