Weekend Music Roundup

Welcome to the weekly ramblings of music that I've been listening to of late. This week features a couple of new releases that I'm really excited about. There's also some recent discoveries and old favorites. The first album on the list is awesome, and I was lucky enough to see them play this week. They played most of my favorites off this album and it was a great show that was sadly sparsely attended. As much as I love recorded music, it's important to remind everyone to support live music when you can. Hopefully there's something here for you to discover. Enjoy.

Mystic Braves - The Great Unknown: The L.A. psychedelic garage rock band's fourth album is another brilliant addition to their incredible catalog. Sure, it's steeped in '60s revival sounds and fits the somewhat expected L.A. psych sound, but I love both those aspects about them. This is one of those bands that would have fit wonderfully with the left coast members of the Elephant 6 collective back in the late '90s and early 00's. So many great songs on here, but some of my favorites are "Under Control," "Are You Gonna Be There," "Point of View," and "What Went Wrong." 

Shudder to Think - Ten Spot: Released in 1990, this was the second album from the influential Dischord band, though their first official release. I've had this on CD since High School, as part of the compilation with "At the Movies," but just picked up the recently reissued vinyl. This is a band that has never sounded like any other band and this early album showcases just how original they were, breaking out of the post-hardcore scene with a psychedelic sound. I never fully appreciated it before, partially because I think the comp of those two albums is just too much to digest. Listening to it here, I truly hear the genius. "Jade Dust Eyes," "Rag," "About Three Dreams," "Speak," and "Rain" are standouts.  

Interpol - Marauder: This is the NYC post punk band's first album in four years. My history with this band goes back to the early days before they were signed when I used to know Paul a little bit from work and mutual friends. Though I love their debut, most of their other releases felt to be lacking something for me. Not this one though. This is their finest album since their first. This is a record that doesn't pretend to be more than it is, a quality collection of fuzzy, shoegazer rock music. "The Rover," "If You Really Love Nothing," "Complications," "Mountain Child," and "Surveillance" are standouts for me. 

Bonzo Dog Doo/Dah Band - Gorilla: I recently picked up a nice copy of this 1967 debut from psychedelic London band. It's not my first encounter with the band, but this is the album I'd been looking for since my college days when I was first introduced to their existence through my love of early Floyd and Hawkwind. This shares some affinities with Syd Barrett, though far more vaudevillian. Unsurprisingly, an odd ball outfit like this fell apart a few short years after this record, but did put out three more albums, and one contractual obligation album (which I also have, but it lacks the joy of this one). "The Equestrian Statue," "Jollity Farm," and "Piggy Bank Love" are standouts. 

Guns N' Roses - Mystic Studio Demo (1985): This five track demo was included as an Easter Egg in the recent Locked and Loaded edition of Appetite for Destruction, and despite numerous bootlegs in my collection, this is one that has evaded most boots and therefore was exciting to hear. One of the earliest studio recordings by the band, this offers some of the earliest versions of these songs. It surfaced online a few months ago and was quickly removed. This is definitely the kind of thing that only superfans will be geeked about. Guess what? I'm geeked about it.