Weekend Music Roundup

It's the weekend, right? Right? Who knows. Like Morrissey once said, everyday is like Sunday these days. But let's pretend for a minute that the calendar matters and celebrate the weekend with a roundup of thoughts on music I've been listening to lately. Most of these are new, or newish indie releases. Most are indie rock, with the exception of some Def Leppard because, why not? Hopefully you're all out there finding new things to dig. Enjoy.

Alex Ebert - I vs I: The second solo album from Alex, aka Edward Sharpe of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. It came out in January, almost a full nine years since his first solo album. Alex Ebert is an interesting case in that he's one of the few musicians that I would call myself a big fan of, even though I often find some of his work hit or miss sometimes. This album starts with the bizarre "To The Days" which epitomizes the whole hit or miss within the same song. But overall, I feel he's one of the most talented artists of this century. This album captures the current L.A. sound that I love. Mixing genres of soul, indie pop, folk, hip-hop and draping it in a haze mellow vibe. "Jealous Guy", "Automatic Youth," "Miles Away," "I Smoke," and "Press Play" are my favorites on this strange and wonderful album. 

Liam Gallagher - Acoustic Sessions: This EP of Liam classics (both Oasis and solo) was a surprise release back in January. Readers of the Roundup are aware of my love of Liam and all he's done, so to say I was super excited about this would be obvious. He's one of those singers that I can hear something different every time he sings a song, so new acoustic versions are definite treats. This is exceptional. Liam is truly at his second peak these days and this is proof.

Def Leppard - Pyromania: The third album from the British hard rock band came out in 1983, and with hits like "Foolin'" and "Rock of Ages" it rocketed the band to stardom, a stardom that would soon go on hiatus after a tragic accident. The band would return with their even bigger Hysteria album four years later, but they would never recapture pure rock bliss of this record. I found a copy for a few dollars and had to pick it up. Very sold example of the hard rock sound that would soon take over the world.

Kills Birds - Kill Birds: The debut album from the L.A. band came out last fall. It's a noise rock, with clear riot grrl grunge influences. It's aggressive and angry and loud and very anti-pop. It's the kind of album that I would have loved in college, and now find nostalgic in a good way. "Jesus Did," "Volcano," "New Friend," and "Ok Hurricane" are my personal favorites on this decent 90's throwback album. 

Guided by Voices - Sweating the Plague: The second album released in 2019 by the Ohio lo-fi outfit, six months after Warp and Woof. It's funny, the things that I loved about the first album of the year, are exactly what I found lacking on this one. They've had a habit of releasing every possible scrap of song, and sometimes it feels like they should keep things in the vault. This feels a bit like leftovers, but I suppose their leftovers are still worth hearing. If you only listen to one of their albums from last year, I recommend Warp and Woof.