The weekend is here and the Roundup is back. I took last weekend off for the holiday...had to get prepared for the Easter Bunny's visit. I've been listening to a ton of new releases recently now that the year is a quarter of the way through. Some really cool albums have come out and I'll be sharing them over the coming weeks. There have also been some quality re-issues and lost classics that I've been into. Hopefully there's something here to interest you. Enjoy.
Philippe Cohen Solal and Mike Lindsay - Outsider: Taking the words of Henry Darger's cult masterpiece "In the Realms of the Unreal" and setting them to music sounds like an impossible task to do successfully. At least that was my thought when I first heard about this project the French musician was embarking on. Then I heard a song and knew exactly how wrong I was. Musically it would fall under chamber pop and indie folk, but so brilliantly crafted to fit words. An extraordinary beautiful album.
Death From Above - Is 4 Lovers: The first album in three years and half years from Toronto noise rock band is their fourth, and third since re-forming in 2014 after a 10 year hiatus. This is a band that has never made a bad album in my opinion, and this continues that trend. It should also be said that this doesn't tread any new ground, just drums and guitar and melodic aggression. It follows their formula, which is alright by me, and I'm guessing it will be alright by their fans.
Red Krayola - The Parable of Arable Land: The 1967 debut from the Houston experimental psych rock band was re-released in Mono on vinyl about a decade ago. On a recent trip to the local shop with my kiddo, she picked it out for me because of the cover and asked "Do you want this one?" I most definitely did as this one of the early albums from the band I was missing, and having now heard it, I can say it's the best of them. The free form freak out serves them well, feels a bit like 13th Floor Elevators meets The Residents with the attitude of the first Stooges album. There's just enough attention to melody to make it a very listenable album for its genre. "War Sucks" and "Former Reflections Enduring Doubt" are total standouts.
Nikki Sudden - The Bible Belt: Released in 1983, this was one of the first solo albums from the Swell Maps underground icon. While Nikki would go on to have quite a prolific career, he is rarely talked about in the mainstream. His work usually veers toward punk blues infused with jangle pop. This album leans much farther to the jangle sound, a few years before that sound would sweep the UK. At times it sounds like Happy Mondays before there was a Happy Mondays. A reissue features other version of album tracks and some non-album tracks.
Lucero - When You Found Me: Formed in the late-90s in Memphis, these guys have been one of the top alt-country bands of last two decades. Released in January, this is their first album in three years. This has a real radio friendly feel with arena sized bar tunes. This was an okay album for me, one that leaned too heavily into country rock. The title track was by far my favorite.
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