Weekend Music Roundup

 

 

It's the weekend again, time for a music roundup. Lately I've been listening to a lot of quieter psych rock, which is definitely reflected on this list. I've also been listening to a lot of jazz, which isn't on this list as I just recently dedicated an entire roundup to jazz. But I've been in a mellow mood of late, absorbing the sounds as they come rather than be an active participant in the chaos of noise. It'll change soon enough I'm sure, but for now I'm digging it. Enjoy.

The Flaming Lips - American Head: This is the 29th studio album from the neo-psych legends and it's right up there with their best albums from this past decade ("Embryonic" and "The Terror"). They really perfected the Pink Floyd turn and are making albums the capture the same magic for me as "Meddle" and "Atom Heart Mother," and "More." It opens with the delicate and beautiful "Will You Return/Will You Come Down" which sets the mood for this fantastic record. "Flowers of Neptune 6," "At the Movies on Quaaludes," "Brother Eye," and "Assassins of Youth" are my personal favorites on one of the best albums of the year so far.  

The Telescopes - Altered Perception: This is a British shoegazer band from the early 90s that I somehow missed even though it was a genre I was really into. They also became active again in '10s, but still didn't know of them until I recently came across this 2004 compilation. This is definitely the offspring of Spacemen 3 and early Spiritualizaed. It has that fuzzed out shoegaze sound and is one of the best examples of it beyond those two previously mentioned bands. 

Bill Ryder-Jones - Yawny Yawn: Released last summer, almost a year after his fantasic "Yawn" album, this is a re-imagining of that album, recorded with just piano and vocals. I've always liked Bill's solo work, and enjoyed his work with The Coral, but "Yawn" was exceptional, intimate, and beautiful. So I wasn't sure what the point of this record was, which is why I didn't listen to it until now. I'm glad I waited, because having not listened to "Yawn" in a while, this sounded fresh, whereas I think it might have felt weaker if I heard it on the heels of its predecessor. Really the type of thing that is only for fans, or at least, owning both is something only for fans. 

The Yardbirds - Shapes of Things (A Collection of Classic Yardbirds Recordings 1964-66: Back in my college days, back when I first got into British Blues and '60s Brit Invasion stuff, the Yardbirds were held in the highest regard. Not only do their singles during their early days rival the Beatles and Stones, but like those bands, they had their own unique style. It was a time and place where bands were like gangs out of Clockwork Orange. The Yardbirds whole style was cool. Though I have a ton of CDs, I had nothing of theirs on vinyl. I found this Canadian edition of the '77 two LP compilation which has all of those songs that I obsessed over in my youth. So happy to have this in my collection. 

Soiled Doves - Soiled Life: The only album released from the Seattle noise rock band came out in 2003. The band is one of many Johnny Whitney has formed (Neon Blonde, The Vogue, Jaguar Love). This is the kind of distorted indie album that has always appealed to me. It is steeped in that chaos sound, the sound that was moving through the underground back then, and reminds me of The Rapture's 2001 EP, "Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks". In that sense, it feels more like the New York bands of the time and perhaps that's why I really connect to it. The tracks "Soiled Doves" and "Soiled Life" are exceptional. A nice, rare gem.