Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend is here, actually it's more than half over but for some unexplained reason, I forgot to post this yesterday. I'm continuing to work my way through some recent releases, and will continue doing that for the next few weeks. There's most rock on here, from space rock to lo-fi to garage rock. All in all an interesting week of music with promises of great things to come. Enjoy.

Ruby the Hatchet - Planetary Space Child: The third album from the Philly heavy psych sees them venturing into space rock, as the title would suggest. As a result, it's much more wandering than their previous records, and less heavy...but not any less entertaining. They show growth as musicians on this record. It has some 70's groove metal influences that really make it standout. "Killer," "The Fool," "Symphony of the Night," and "Lightning Strikes Again" are my personal favorites on this solid record.

Guided by Voices - How Do You Spell Heaven: Released back in August, this is the second album this year from the legendary indie lo-fi band. They continue to be in top form on this record and cease to run out flashes of brilliance to release on records. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish one record from another, but this one stood out as one of the best in a long time. "King 007," "Steppenwolf Mausoleum," and "Tenth Century" were my personal favorites.

Thee Oh Sees - Orc: The San Fran lo-fi pysch band has been one of the most prolific bands in recent years and they return with another quick flash of an album. While their earlier stuff was always a little hit or miss, they've really come into their own over the past few years. They keep up a frantic pace here, with tunes that slightly heavier than they usually do, but just as strange and enjoyable. "Jettisoned" and "Drowned Beast" are my personal favorites.

Lords of Altamont - The Wild Sounds of Lords of Altamont: Based in L.A., the four piece hard rock band have a raucous sound that is very L.A. glam rock influenced, which was always based in punk. It's no wonder they remind me of early L.A. Guns mixed with Dead Moon.  It's raw and fast, and good. These are short songs that pack a punch and was a nice surprise, given that I'd never listened to them though they've been around for nearly two decades. "Like A Bird," "Going Downtown," "Death on the Highway," and "Where Did You Sleep," are standouts.

Josh Ritter - Gathering: This is the indie folk rocker's ninth album, and while I'm familiar with his work to some degree, I admit to not having listening to much of his work. This album is steeped in Midwestern Americana roots that gives it a country folk feel, which I found refreshing in the current world of indie singer songwriter output. There is nothing here that is groundbreaking, just good folk music. "Showboat," "Train Go By," "Dreams," "Myrna Loy," and the great "When Will I Be Changed" with Bob Wier are standouts for me.