Weekend Music Roundup

The summer weekend's are quickly drawing to a close and they can't go fast enough in my opinion. But since the summer is still here, I'll make the best of it by listing to rock music. This week's roundup features a slew of new releases and a couple of classics that I recently picked up. All in all, there's lots that I loved on here and hope you will as well. Enjoy.

Royal Blood -  How Did We Get So Dark?: The second album from the UK indie band come three years after their decent debut and expands on that in great ways. This is blues based garage rock mixed with noise rock, but with a dance element that reminds me of Death From Above 1979. It also reminds me a bit of The Kills and the latest Arctic Monkeys. While this certainly isn't anything groundbreaking, it's top notch for what it is...just good to listen to indie rock. "I Only Lie When I Love You," "Sleep," "She's Creeping," and "Light's Out" are among my persson favorites.

The Kills - Echo Home Non-Electric EP: This new release from the garage band features acoustic versions of songs from the last album, and a few older ones as well. It's always great to hear acoustic recordings from bands not known for it and this is no exception. The title track is exceptional, when it wasn't on the official LP release. The version of "Wait" is also great. Definitely worth a listen for fans.

Grand Funk Railroad - Grand Funk: The Michigan band was HUGE in the early '70s and this album, released days before the '60s ended, is a big reason for that. This is one of those landmark heavy rock albums that totally rocks from start to finish. I picked up a copy of this on vinyl for free a few weeks back and have been listening to it quite a bit. More chaotic than Led Zeppelin and more psych than Deep Purple. The epic last track, "Inside Looking Out," is pure brilliance.

The Strypes - Spitting Image: Four years ago, these young Irish lads released one of the most promising debuts, ushering hope that the mod revival that began over a decade before had found some new life. Three years later, they've released their third album. No longer the newcomers, this album shows definite maturity and advancement of their style. They are no longer completely derivative and have developed their own sound. The problem that they have is their own eagerness. This record is more than a few songs too long. A good pairing down would make this a dynamite record. "Grin and Bear It," "(I Need a Break) From Holidays," "Great Expectations," and "Garden of Eden" are standouts for me.

Steve Young - Seven Bridges Road: One of the members of the L.A. country band, Stone Country, and went on to become of of the figures of the '70s outlaw country movement. This is his second album, released in '72 and recently re-released in a deluxe edition. This is old school honky tonk country and it's pretty phenomenal in the way that Waylon Jennings' records are. Listening to this in the car reminded me of my childhood, spending hours int he car listening to folk music, or listening to the country music that my grandmother loved. It also sound like songs that I could envision Jack White covering in the near future. Classic and timeless, so glad I got turned on to this album.

Uriyah and the Psychedelics - Outa' My Control: The debut album from the Denver based band is an interesting mix of '60s garage and modern day psyche jam band. The opening track, "Rush," is a great example. At the beginning, it sounds like Count Five and then evolves into a more jam band style track. This structure is repeated on many songs, and though it might sound odd, it works. It was really the second listen that really made this album click for me. Definitely worth checking out on their Bandcamp page (linked above).