Weekend Music Roundup

It's still the weekend...even if the sun is currently setting over the Cape as I sit by the window enjoying the breeze. It's Father's Day and I spent a wonderful day on the beach with my two favorite ladies, my wife and daughter. I had the kind of the father's day that the day is all about...spending with your child and having fun, teaching them, and playing. It's fitting for a Roundup on this day, because music is definitively one of things my daughter will always remember about me. This list is an odd collection of music, the only thing they have in common is that they're all pretty cool in their own way. Enjoy.  

Junk Machine - Inner Child Labour: The debut album, and only album, from the Norwegian noise rock band was released in 2016. I checked these guys out after seeing a sealed vinyl copy for cheap and the clip I heard was enough to sell me on it. This is the kind of fuzzed out vocals rock with garage glam tinges that always appeals to me. I don't know so much if it's fantastic so much as it's fantastically in my comfort zone. Reminds me of Death From Above meets later Shudder to Think, with a bit of Cooper Temple Clause thrown in for good measure. That's a solid recipe for my ears!

Blood Witch - I Am Not Okay With This: The fictitious band featured in Netflix's great teen series is a project created by Graham Coxon (Blur).  This is collection of songs that range from psychedelic garage rock to shoegaze gloom and mixes it all up to create a sound that of course the kids in the show are crazy for. Graham's talent has never been in question, and this showcases just how far it reaches, delving into almost every indie genre. "Hey Little Girl," "Bloody Witch," "Skipping Stones," and "Gotta Have Soul" are standouts on this fantastic little album.

Art Pepper Quintet - "Smack Up": Recorded in 1960 in the midst of Art's heroin issues, this is another super example of Art's ultra cool be-bop jazz stylings. I've been really into the cool jazz era of late and had been meaning to check this one out for some time. It's a magical record, one of those albums that feels like the soundtrack to my thoughts. I'm still to find a copy on vinyl, but for now, a digital copy is still dynamite. 

Luke Haines and Peter Buck - Beat Poetry for Survivalists: I've long been a fan of Luke Haines and his work with The Auteurs, Black Box Recorder, and Baader Meinhof, but his solo work of the last two decades has been hit or miss for me. But I'm loyal to a fault and am always still willing to check out work by artists who have done things I admire. I'm glad I took the chance on this one. It has the same dangerous edge of his Baader Meinhoff work. Definitely one of his better albums of recent years.

Hollow Ship - Future Remains: Released in April, this is the debut album from the Swedish psychedelic indie band. This is an interesting sound that uses pop elements in their style of psych. I like the new wave feel that it creates. It's very up-tempo. "We Came too Late" and "Chasing Shadows" were personal favorites on a decent album with varying influences. 

Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged: Recorded in 1992, at the height of the show and the height of the Seattle music scene. For whatever reason, this release didn't see the light of day until last November. This builds almost entirely on their breakthrough debut album Ten and doesn't stray far from the original versions. This band's strength has always been their passion, and that shows through on this recording.