Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend has arrived, and brings with it more winter weather in April. It's gonna be cold up here in the Hudson Valley, so curl up with your favorite fuzzy warble player and listen to some tunes. I have a couple of new releases on here, as well as some older albums that I picked up on the cheap over the past several weeks. Rock, jazz, stoner metal...it's all covered. Hopefully you'll find something to explore. Enjoy. 

Jack White - Boarding House Reach: For his third solo album, the White Stripes, Raconteurs, Dead Weather frontman has released his most experimental album to date. Having taken those three bands to the top of the charts, it's applause worthy that he made an album that doesn't feature any easily identifiable radio singles. It reminds me of Kurt Cobain's "Montage of Heck" recordings, though certainly more structured. This is garage soul, something that is refreshing and different, things that might turn off fans. To be sure this isn't his best or most defining work, but it's good and interesting. A bold release from an artist that really has nothing left to prove.

Ryley Walker - Deafman Glance: Over the past half decade, this Chicago singer songwriter has become one of my favorites, having released three amazing albums of psychedelic chamber folk. In May, his fourth album will be released and it's another gem. He has a sense of darkness that is beautiful to listen to, and a vibe that reminds me of Astral Weeks. "Opposite Middle," "22 Days," and the amazing "Telluride Speed" are standouts on what is bound to be a favorite of the year for me. 

Jaki Byard - Freedom Together!: Released in '66, this the jazz keyboardist's fourth album. An artist who came of age in the post-bop, hard-bop era, this is the kind of firehouse jazz that I really dig. It can be incredibly mellow and then slowly twists into a wild fits of dreamlike chaos. I've been into keyboardists of late, and Jaki is amazing. His playing is accompanied wonderfully by Richard Davis's work on bass and his own sax work. My copy is complete with atmospheric crackles and pops that only seem to add to the beauty of the record.

Roadkill Ghost Choir - False Youth Etcetera: The second album from the Florida indie band is part Bright Eyes, part Verve. The mix could seem strange, but it works. It's not as deep and obscure as Connor's work, and not as soulful as the Verve, but there are elements on this album that remind me of both. Perhaps the only criticism I have is that it felt too familiar. I just felt as though I'd heard this band before, though I hadn't. However, I don't blame them for that, and so I quite liked this record. "Dream Shiver," "Severed Hand of God," and "Sad Magic" were standouts for me. 

Bee Gees - Idea: It was the summer of 1968 when the Australian band of brothers released their second album of the year, and fourth overall. It was one year after Sgt. Pepper and much of the music world was caught up in the notion of psychedelic pop concept albums. The Stones had Their Satanic Majesties Request, the Monkees had Head, and down under, this emerging group had this album. I recently picked this up while crate digging after hearing how these early Bee Gees albums were an influence on Noel Gallagher, which gave me an excuse to check out some stuff pre-"2 Years On". It took a few listens for me to really 'get' this album, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. It's a little uneven, and far from perfect, but worth investing some time in. Side B is pretty strong from beginning to end.

Sundrifter - Visitations: The second album from Boston based stoner rock band lives up to the great cover art. It doesn't stray far from the stoner rock sound of other recent bands like The Sword and Kadavar. As with those bands, there's a lot of '70s space rock influence, and heavy psych blues influences. Decent album that fans of the genre will groove out to. "Death March," "Fire in the Sky," and "I Want to Leave" were my personal favorites.