Weekend Music Roundup

The lazy days of winter are fast approaching their end, much to my dismay. Spring will be here soon, and then the dreaded summer season. So for this weekend, I'm taking a look at the kind of albums I like to listen to in the bleakness of winter before the typical flood of new music descends upon us in the coming months. These are albums that I've listened to over the winter, some new and some old, some jazz and some not. Enjoy.

Alexandra Savior - The Archer: The second album from the L.A. indie pop performer is one of the early 2020 releases getting a lot of attention. Her first album, released back in 2017, barely registered, but this one is getting noticed. Perhaps its because this certainly sounds like it could be Lana Del Ray's sister, or Fiona Apple's cousin, or perhaps is simply because it's pretty darned good. Sure, it's has a sound, that washed out California sunshine sadness sound, that loungey Sunset Strip vibe, that beautiful sound that makes us love Lana and Fiona, and now this.

Johnny Hartman - All of Me: Originally released in '57 under the title The Debonair Mr. Hartman, this version was re-released in '78. This is Hartman in his Big Band era. His voice is huge in these recordings. As much as the voices of other standard singers are celebrated, it's always amazed me how little mention Johnny gets. "Tenderly," "Birth of the Blues," and "The End of a Love Affair" are personal favorites on this romantic ballads album that transcends the genre. 

Moana - In the Allure: This is the debut full length album from the Perth heavy psych band, released this past fall. I was attracted to this because of the cover which reminds me of images that I've compiled on a Pinterest Board entitled "Dark Imagination." I was rewarded by taking a chance. This is a chaotic album that is wonderfully menacing noise rock. This has a similar, if not darker, sound as Le Butcherettes, which was one of my favorite albums of last year.

Ten Years After - Ten Years After: The 1967 debut from the London psychedelic blues band is one of those albums I always meant to check out, but just never did. I found a beautiful vinyl copy (with a beat to hell sleeve) a little while back for a few dollars. Even then, I had it over two weeks before listening to it (I'm really not sure what it is about this record). Well, it's fantastic. Like Doors meeting early Floyd. It's that mix of British Blues and early London psych scene. 

That Dog. - that dog.: The debut album from the L.A. band was originally released in 1993, and then re-released in '94 on Geffen. It would be easy to classify this a rrriot grrl band, simply because it's lo-fi indie rock made by three sisters in the time where all bands of that sort were lumped together. But there's a softness to this record that makes it more characteristic of other indie bands like Drop Nineteens and Enormous that separates from the more garage punk sound of bands like Babes in Toyland or Bikini Kill. This was a very nostalgic listen for me, bringing right back to those summers in High School when this would have been an album I clung to.   

Roger Hodgson - In the Eye of the Storm: Released in 1984, this is the solo debut from the Supertramp member. It's more prog-pop than prog-rock and features a lot of synth effects that establish it very much of it's era. At moments it reminds me of The Wall and Hodgson definitely channels his inner Roger Waters on this record. Some great moments on here, and some weaker moments, all of which makes for a decent listen.