Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend has arrived once again. This week is a pretty varied collection of rock spanning the past 40+ years and the different genres that make up that long history of rock. Some of these are new albums that I listened to on a whim, others are recent vinyl purchases, and still some others are old vinyl records that were gifted to me. Lots of great stuff to uncover in here, almost all of it from bands that fall under the radar (with the exception of The Kinks). Enjoy.

The Jackets - Queen of the Pill: The fourth album from the Swiss indie band. Their sound is garage rock revival, but holds more in common with the revival wave of the early 80s than the most recent one of the 00's, which makes this worth listening to. I love the energy on this album and really dug it. It was my first encounter with them, but probably won't be my last. "Don't Leave Me Alone," "Floating Alice," "Dreamer," and "Be Myself" are my personal favorites. 

Camel - Camel: The 1973 debut from the prog rock band out of the UK was the one missing album from their early catalog in my collection. In these early days, they were a band in the vein of Pink Floyd, but certainly more prog than spack rock. Still there is an audio storytelling to their records that I just love. "Mystic Queen," "Seperation," "Never Let Go," and "Arubaluba" are my personal favorites on this vastly under-appreciated album.

Mounties - Heavy Meta: This is the second album from Hawksley Workman's band, released this spring, five years after the debut. There's a bit of Supergrass meets Animal Collective vibe to this record that I really dug. Certainly an interesting blend of indie pop and experimental rock. "Hitchin' Man," "Python Status," "Canoe Song," "Beauty Won't Fail You," "Burning Money," and the title track are standouts on this rather lengthy album.

The Kinks - Low Budget: Released in '79, their would be only two more LPs to follow in the early '80s. As frequent readers will have noticed, I have been getting into this late era Kinks catalog of late and picked this one for a few dollars recently. The band had developed a great arena hard rock sound by this time, and it's pretty great. There's a slick 70s production value that creates this sound of urban decline that was taking place. "Catch Me Now, I'm Falling," "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman," and the title track are standouts. 

BNQT - Volume 1: Released in 2017, this is a band founded by members of Midlake, Franz Ferdinand, Travis, Grandaddy, Mercury Rev and Band of Horses. I'd been wanting to hear this since it came out, as I appreciate (if not love) all of those bands. I'm always a little nervous about super-groups, but the reason this one works is that the sound of those bands all blend well together to create something new, but similar. Alex Kapranos adds just the right amount of strangeness to keep everything interesting. There is nothing earth-shattering on here, it's kind of what you'd expect, and that is a consistently solid album that is easy to listen to over and over again. "Unlikely Force," "100 Million Miles," "Hey Banana," "Failing at Feeling," and "Fighting the World" are all fantastic songs.

Zebra - No Tellin' Lies: Released in 1984, this is the second album from the New Orleans progressive hard rock band. This is an album that shows the Atlantic label's dedication to the genre, and is also one that shows how prog had been influenced by metal by the early 80's. This is a hard driving rock album that feels a little like early Van Halen with it's up-beat feel good groove, but with a clear Zeppelin influence and prog elements, especially in synthesizer and percussion progressions. "I Don't Like It," "Lullaby," "Takin' a Stance," and the title track are standouts on this very solid record.