Weekend Music Roundup

It's the weekend and it's been flat out HOT out here in the valley ever since the calendar marked the beginning of summer. I don't adjust well to summertime, but I'm managing. Music always helps me manage that a little bit better. This week I'm taking a look at one of my favorite new albums of the year and some classic records that I recently heard for the first time. I love digging into albums from the past and filling in gaps in my musical knowledge. It feels a little bit like taking a graduate course. Lots of great stuff on here, so escape the heat and check out something new. Enjoy.

Black Mountain - Destroyer: This is the fifth studio album from the Vancouver heavy rock band, bordering between heavy psych and stoner rock. I've been a fan ever since their debut fourteen years ago. This one is heavier than all previous efforts, fuzzier, and totally rocks. This is one of those albums drenched in psychedelia and knows how to swim through it rather than drown. "Horns Arising," "High Rise," Pretty Little Lazies," and "Licensed to Drive" are standouts on this fantastic record.

Yes - The Yes Album: The third album from the iconic prog rock outfit out of London was released in 1971. This is one of those bands that I wrote off back in my youth (along with others that have since become bands I really enjoy). It's strange that I never went back to listen to these guys in my late 20s and early 30s when I started getting into prog rock. I will mention that when I was in 7th grade, I had an Atlantic Records comp tape that had "I've Seen All Good People" and I loved it. So, here I am, trying to catch up and this is certainly an album that was sorely missing from my collection. It reminds me of Traffic from this era, groovy and experimental at the same time. The musicians are flawless and pretty much every song is epic.

Abjects - Never Give Up: The debut full length album from female trio psychedelic garage punk band out of London was released this past winter. This straight-up lo-fi indie rock that feels very much born out of the garage revival of 20 years ago, which isn't a bad thing at all in my opinion. These ladies sound like a more digestible Bikini Kill, a band I also enjoy but admit that a lot of people have a hard time getting into them. This is easier to get into and enjoy. "Never Give Up," "Dream Song," "The Secret," and "Sad Song" are my personal favorites. 

It's A Beautiful Day - It's a Beautiful Day...Today: The fourth and final album from the San Fran psychedelic rock band was released in 1973. This is steeped in the sound of the area at the time, a mixture of blues rock, soul, folk and psychedelia. Their debut is a landmark album, and this is a proper bookend to their brief career. This was a $2 pick-up on Record Store Day and is the kind of 70s sound that I could listen to almost all the time. Great stuff. 

Count Basie - One O'Clock Jump: This compilation of the NJ native includes recordings from '42 - '51 and released in '56. This was his Big Band, swing jazz era and it's jumping from start to finish. I found a copy of this recently and gladly added it to my Count collection. He's not the cool jazz figure the likes of Monk, Davis, or Coltrane, but he's definitely a cool cat who knows how to get things rolling. He obviously has fun playing and that makes for music that is fun to listen to.  

Kansas - Kansas: The 1974 debut from the prog rock band from, where else, Kansas. Not surprisingly, this is more blues based than their later work and it really grooves. That's not to say there aren't heavier moments on here, because there are. It's clear how this is a proto-metal album and how prog influenced the development of metal as much as heavy blues. Lots of shredding guitar, pounding drums, and screeching falsetto on this solid album.  "Bringing It Back," "Belexes," and "Death of Mother Nature Suite" are standouts.