Weekend Music Roundup!

The weekend is here, and it's supposed to be summer-ish in my parts. So I've decided to kick off the season with releases that feel appropriate for the sunshine and warmth. It's a collection of new releases and new discoveries from the past. It's all upbeat stuff, the kind of music you want to hear when it's nice outside and the breeze is blowing through the windows. It's my least favorite time of year, but when it first arrives, I can enjoy it...at least until around July, and then I'm looking forward to Fall.

The Sonic Dawn - Eclipse: Released in January, this is the third album from the Danish psychedelic rock band, and my first introduction to them. This three piece band plays a kind of garage style psych sound that reminds me of Mystic Braves and some of the other Cali based bands. It kind of blew me away, not in the sense that I hadn't heard it before, but in the sense that it is exactly the sound that I love. "Forever 1969," "The Stranger," "Psychedelic Ranger," "Christinania," "Love Bird" and The Doors-esqe "On the Edge of Our Time" are standouts for me on one of my favorites of the year so far. 

Slade - Slayed?: Released in '72, this is the second album from the Midlands glam rock band. I'm sort of embarrassed to say that I'd never listened to a Slade record before, despite the fact that they've influenced many of my favorite bands. And after listening to it, I'm really embarrassed because it's fucking fantastic! This is definitely the band that ACDC was imitating when they burst out with High Voltage three years later. This album was a working class revelation, a big middle finger to hippy rock, and guess what? The kids loved it, they did! Brilliant record from start to finish.

Chapter and Verse - Glow: This is the second EP from the London band and was released in January. They have an alt rock sound that reminds me of other early EPs from UK bands from the last decade, bands like Cooper Temple Clause and The Nova Saints. It's alt rock derived from BritPop and infused with heavier elements to give it a harder sound. This is a short album that holds a ton of potential. Really worth checking out, and a band definitely worth following.

Bon Jovi - 7800º Fahrenheit: Released in 1985, one year before their breakout album Slippery When Wet, this is the New Jersey rock band's second album and possibly their most glam rock record. This is a band that got lumped in with all the L.A. bands at the time, but their sound is decidedly more east coast. I picked this up for a few dollars on vinyl on RSD and have been enjoying it's 80s carefree abandon. This is considered by many to be the worst of their early albums, probably due to the fact that it is the one that doesn't feature any instantly recognizable hits (which probably also why I never owned it). For my money, it's just as solid at their debut and definitely shows songwriting growth. Sure, it's not the best record ever made, but it's a good time when you're listening to it. 

Curren$y (Spitta Andretti) - Bourbon Street Secrets: This 2016 mix tape from the prolific New Orleans rapper is available on DatPiff. I've been following him for some time and every now and then like to listen to a new mix-tape. He's one of the most skilled MCs around and when he's on, he's right on. This is one of the strongest tapes of his that I've heard. It's an anthem of living out of control and being aware of it, enjoying the thrill of knowing you're heading for a crash.