Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend is here, a weekend for celebrating all loser presidents who have nothing on our current would-be king...I'm jesting of course, though I know it's hard to tell sometimes because his cult following might actually say words to the same effect. But let's forget about politics and focus on music. Good music. This week I'm sharing a few great records that truly impressed me, and mostly from artists who were new to me at the time of listening to these albums. It's the spirit of exploration that makes this journey so interesting. Enjoy.

Pink Cigs - Pink Cigs: The debut album from the UK stoner rock band is the first super solid album of 2020 for me. Now I think it's fair to say that there is little to distinguish one stoner rock band from next, and I suppose that's sort of true. It would be hard to find differences between this album and Kadavar for example. It follows the blueprint for good stoner rock, a path of heavy rhythm section and classic 70s heavy rock vocals. It doesn't sound like I'm singing the praises for this, but I am. You could slip this album onto your shelf of classics and it would fit right in, in a way that bands like Wolfmother and Greta Van Fleet try to but fail at in my opinion.

Paul Orwell - Smut: The third album from the London garage rocker came out last summer. My first thought was that it sounds a lot like the early Kills, which makes sense as they were the premier garage rock revival band of the 00s. There's a sleaze rock factor to this that I really love, and it's certainly an album that I would have loved back in the day. That said, I still really like it. "Hot Bitch," "Hot Air - Loud Noise," "Speak of the Devil," "Out of Here," and "Out of Love" are standouts on this solid album. 

The Holy Modal Rounders - The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders: The early mid-60's Village folk scene in NYC produced legends, but it also had a very vibrant "freak folk" or "psychedelic folk" scene. One of the leading bands on that seen was The Fugs. This band is an offshoot of that band. Released in '69, this is their fourth album and its deliciously weird, but the thing about them is that there is enough of a sense of melody and structure that it's a great listen. It reminds me of "Trout Mask Replica" in many ways. "Werewolf," "Dame Fortune," and "Mobile Line" are favorites.  

Supertramp - Crisis? What Crisis?: Released in '75, this is the fourth album from the London pop prog band, right in the teeth of their popularity and creative output. It opens with the fantastic double punch of "Easy Does It" and "Sister Moonshine." This has a strong late era Pink Floyd vibe to it, and feels like a more listenable The Wall. It maintains the eerie elements that would surface in Roger Waters' work, but keeps a groove that keeps it moving, making it a superior album in my opinion. "Ain't Nobody But Me," "Soapbox Opera," and "Lady" are standouts for me on this gem of a record. 

Melvins / Flipper - Hot Fish: This is a new collaboration between two bands from the old school American alt punk scene. The first side of the album consists of the two bands playing together, and the second side is the Melvins covering Flipper. Flipper is a band that's had a revolving door of members that have included Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) and currently includes David Yow (Scratch Acid, Jesus Lizard). Because it's a collaboration, we see the Melvins crew deviate a little from their classic sound, but not too much. An interesting EP, but probably only for fans.

Devil's Kitchen - Devil's Kitchen: Formed in San Fran back in '68, this short-lived band never released an album, until this archival release came out in 2011. This has that classic San Fran blues psych sound from that time and the musicians are totally competent, it's just a matter of chance I suppose that they didn't make it while others did. Certainly not a "lost classic" by any means, but quality stuff that deserved to see the light of day. Most of this album was recorded live in the legendary Family Dog Ballroom, where all the big San Fran bands of the time passed through.