Weekend Music Roundup

 

It's the weekend once again and I've had some time this past week to catch up on some releases that I'd been waiting to here. Some are included here, and others will be coming in the near future. It's that time of year when a slew of new albums come out, and typically my kind of albums rather than the big hype releases of the summer. This list features a bunch of artists that have long been favorites of mine and a couple of new artists for me. Enjoy.

Elvis Perkins - Creation Myths: It's been five years since Elvis' last album, so I've been really excited for this one. He's been one of my favorite performers for nearly 15 years. His last album was a bit of a departure, but this one sees him return to the sound that endeared him to many, psychedelic folk at its finest. It opens with the enchanting "Sing, Sing" and never lets up. "Promo," and "See Through" are also favorites of mine. Definitely one of my favorites of the year. 

Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Demos: I've had these early sessions on three disc bootleg CD for almost 20 years, and recently came across a vinyl copy of one of the albums and snatched it up. It includes many of the "Live Like a Suicide" tracks, as well as their version of "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Jailhouse Rock." It also includes the earliest versions of some songs that wouldn't emerge until the Illusion albums. They are so raw and brilliant and hungry on these sessions that it make them a must for any fan. 

Cactus - Cactus: The 1970 debut from the short-lived NYC hard rock band is one of those albums I'd been meaning to check out for years. The band features the rhythm section from the then defunct Vanilla Fudge and plays hard blues based rock with just enough touch of psychedelic to make it exciting. This was an interesting time in rock, the advent of heavy was just beginning to take shape and there were lots of bands experimenting with that, feeling the vibe, and this band was one of them. They fall in with a lot of those bands that never made it super big, but paved the way, bands like Argent, Mountain, and Budgie. 

 

The Dears - Lovers Rock: The eighth album from the Montreal indie band is their first in three years. This is one of those bands who I will continue to listen to everything new they do simply because they recorded an album that I absolutely love. "Gang of Losers" in 2006 was, and is still, an album I can always put on and enjoy. Over the years, they've always been good, if a little inconsistent. This is another solid effort, with some great tracks, and others which are fairly forgettable. "Stille Lost," "Heart of an Animal," "The Worst in Us," and "We'll Go Into Hiding" are standouts on here.

 

Crown Lands - Crown Lands: The debut full length album from the Ontario rock duo follows two successful EPs that garnered them enough attention to open for the likes of Jack White and Coheed & Cambria. I was a bit stunned to find out there were only two people in this band, they have such a full Zeppelin kind of blues rock sound, but also mixed with the psychedelic folk stylings of early Marc Bolan and the glam rock of Pop Levi. "End of the Road," "River," "Forest Song," and "Spit It Out" are personal favorites on a very promising album.

 

Ed Harcourt - Monochrome to Colour: Back in '01, Harcourt was one of the new folk singer songwriters I was excited about. Almost 20 years later, his sound has evolved into a modern classical sound of beautiful minimal instrumental songs. This is a wonderful sounscape kind of record that evokes the landscape depicted on the cover. I listened to this on a grey day drive through autumn foliage and it was damn near perfect for that. In other settings, it might feel a bit slow, but when in the mood, it's great stuff.