City Sun Eater in the River of Light, Woods

It’s What-the-Hell-is-This-Wednesday! Wherein I listen to something I know absolutely nothing about.

City Sun Eater in the River of Light, Woods, 2016, :42

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 

Odd album name, impenetrable band name, and primitivist drawing of a skull on the cover?  I'm in!  I'm not sure what to call this music.  Maybe psychedelic-folk-funk?  At times it approaches blue-eyed soul.  At times it's sort of druggy and spaced out.  At times it's even eerie, in a laid-back, hippie kind of way.  Some, like "Sun City Creeps," showcase reggae beats.  This array of styles is cohesive, though, with pop hooks and skilled instrumentation; it all sounds confident and assured, not like dabbling or dilettantism.  The falsetto singing lends the whole an unearthly quality, but I did find myself wishing there was another voice or two to give a vocal range to match the musical innovation.  A very pleasant discovery.  Favorite tracks: "Hollow Home," "Creature Comfort."

Flower of Devotion, Dehd

It’s T’Newsday! Wherein I listen to an album less than six months old. 

Flower of Devotion, Dehd, July 17 2020, :38

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I don't even know how to begin to characterize this.  A power trio.  Low-fi, DYI garage-surf-pop?  The male and female shared vocals, there are shades of Imperial Teen, catchy hooks just peeking out of the fuzz.  Both vocalists use their voices as instruments, growling, yelping, screaming, pleading, whispering.  The drumming is sparse and moody.  Lots of tricks in their bag; each song has its own discrete tone and structure. The songs are taut and emotional, the lyrics simplistic and raw, heart-on-the-sleeve.  "I am a flood for you."  "Do you want to disappear with me?"  "I feel myself falling apart."  "Here's to this hoping / Taking a wing / I want to show you / You are my dream."  "You only want me when you're sad / And I got no time for it."  Favorite tracks: "No Time," "Flood," "Apart."

Father of All Motherfuckers, Green Day

It’s Manic Monday! Wherein I listen to a rocker, a punker, or just a general banger. 

Father of All Motherfuckers, Green Day, 2020, :26

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

I’ve been a huge, huge fan of Green Day since they appeared on MTV, jumping up and down and tearing up their couch like total morons in the "Longview" video. I went out and bought that album, and everything since, and the stuff that came before, and loved practically everything. A brilliant band, absolutely brilliant, playing what they want, saying what they want, and parlaying an obsessive drive to entertain into massive success. But… I just wasn't enthralled by the singles from this album that I heard when they came out. And indeed, they're representative of the whole. It's a little glossy, a little too poppy, for my taste. Slick, pop-perfect production but not much in the way of muscle or snarl. Lots of "yeah whoa"s and "oh oh oh-oh"s and "la la"s in the choruses. "Meet Me on the Roof" sounds like if someone told Prince about pop-punk and he tried to make a song in that genre without hearing any examples. This is Green Day lite, watered down. I'm not angry, Billie Joe, just disappointed. Favorite track: the Beatles-inspired “Stab You in the Heart."

Chelsea Girl, Nico

Chelsea Girl, Nico, 1967, :45

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Warhol protégé's first album, after her famous collaboration with the Velvet Underground.  This is chamber-pop-folk set against Nico's icy Teutonic lower register deadpan.  No drums or bass, just guitar and keyboard, plus strings or flute.  I learned that the string and flute arrangements were added by the producer against the wishes of Nico.  She especially hated the flute.  I agree, the strings don’t add anything, and the flute is frankly ridiculous; they tie Nico down to a twee chamber folk sound which she doesn’t fit into. This could have been a great album, but it will have to be filed away with popular music's hypothetical, never-were albums.  What we have in this reality is a sort of curiosity.  The eight-minute "It Was a Pleasure Then" is certainly not one.  Favorite tracks: "Somewhere There's a Feather," Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine," and Jackson Browne's "These Days," the world-weary message of which is perfect for Nico's Euro-ennui voice.

Combustication, Medeski Martin & Wood

It’s Jazzurday! Wherein I listen to a jazz album, like a grown-up. 

Combustication, Medeski Martin & Wood, 1998, 1:08

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Keyboard, bass, drums, and... a DJ?  With record scratches and loops added into the power trio, this stands out from the pack and pushes the boundaries of jazz.  Indeed, most jazz people don't consider this jazz, but something akin to rock or dancehall reggae.  Whatever it is, it's generally pretty catchy.  The music is powered by the various keyboards, but the bass lines are impressively funky and groovy.  Sometimes the record scratching overpowers the melody; I could have used a little less of it.  Favorite tracks: "Hey-Hee-Hi-Ho," "Coconut Bugaloo."

Boy, U2

It's Finally-Got-Around-to-It-Friday!  Wherein I discover a classic that everyone else already knows about.

Boy, U2, 1980, :42

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 

I've never been much of a U2 fan.  I think their best album is Achtung Baby, and not much else interests me.  I was sort of too good for U2 in the late '80s because they were too recent for me.  They were that worst of things, a band that was still making music and was popular.  I listened to classic rock, man.  You trendy modern-day listeners and your pop music didn't know what was up.  So, yeah, that youthful misplaced pride might explain it.  But whatever the reason, this stuff just doesn't move me.  There's nothing here that would make me think these vehement, earnest, technically proficient, glossily-produced lads would become The World's Greatest Band any more than their contemporaries Big Country or The Alarm might.  The way Bono breathes "she cat" on "An Cat Dubh" really exemplifies how this band makes me roll my eyes more than nod along in admiration.  It's so... Intense and Important.  Not for me.  Favorite tracks: "I Will Follow," "Out of Control."

Tombstone Every Mile, Dick Curless

Tombstone Every Mile, Dick Curless, 1965, :31

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The poor man’s Johnny Cash sings tales of the road and other campy country classics and novelties in a jocular, drawling bass. His covers of “Streets of Laredo” and “King of the Road,” among others, add nothing except enthusiasm and corniness to the originals. He’s the country version of the Big Bopper.  A goofier, more maudlin Marty Robbins.  And why does he wear an eyepatch in later photos? Is it an affectation? A gag? Did he actually lose his eye? Anyway, this album is inessential but inoffensive.  Favorite tracks: "Cupid's Arrow," "Uncle Tom."

Safe At Home, International Submarine Band

It’s What-the-Hell-is-This-Wednesday! Wherein I listen to something I know absolutely nothing about. 

Safe At Home, International Submarine Band, 1968, :28

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This turns out to be Gram Parsons' first band, right before he quit to join the Byrds.  Once I found that out, I had a good idea of what I'd be hearing, but I didn't know that first, so it still counts as a WTHIT Wednesday.  This album is a lost gem of folk-tock-turned-straight country.  Smooth harmonies, toe-tapping melodies, pedal steel guitar, and originals (four out of the ten tracks) that rival the classic country weepers.  The longhairs add youthful energy and a new shine to covers of "I Still Miss Someone," "A Satisfied Man," and "Folsom Prison Blues," making them their own.  "Luxury Liner" sounds like classic Byrds, or maybe the Monkees.  Just a fun album throughout.  Favorite tracks: "Blue Eyes," "Luxury Liner," "Miller's Cave."

See Here, I Have Built You a Mansion, Josh Ritter

It’s T’Newsday! Wherein I listen to an album less than six months old.

See Here, I Have Built You a Mansion, Josh Ritter, August 28 2020, :30

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I love me some Josh Ritter!  This eight-song rare and unreleased collection shows that even the stuff he leaves on the floor is gold.  "Time Is Wasting" is a jaunty Ritter-esque romp that brings to mind "Getting Ready To Get Down," one of his best works.  Catchy tunes and literate, exuberant lyrics mark nearly all the songs on this disc.  It includes a version of "Lawrence, KS" recorded live in Lawrence, Kansas, which is a cute gimmick, and a cover of Dire Straits' "Brothers In Arms," a poetic song about war, but which is so somnolent it puts coffee to sleep.  Oh well, six out of eight ain't bad, and if my math is correct, that's exactly the same ratio as four out of five stars.  Favorite tracks: "Time Is Wasting," "Haunt," 'Waiting On You."

Soulforce Revolution, 7 Seconds

It’s Manic Monday! Wherein I listen to a rocker, a punker, or just a general banger.

Soulforce Revolution, 7 Seconds, 1989, :33

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I've been a fan of 7 Seconds for some years, but only through hearing a song here and there.  Never listened to a whole album through.  I think the strength of this band is in its short, fast, positive, defiant statements.  At just over a half hour, this album feels long by the end.  However, the music on this album, a manic jangle-pop-punk with elements of surf, is more melodic than earlier 7 Seconds stuff.  Indeed, some of this music would not be called "punk" if you were expecting a typical jangle-pop '90s band like Guadalcanal Diary or the Rembrandts.  I was torn on rating this album.  I suppose it's three stars if you're expecting a musical punch in the face, but four stars if you're not.  Favorite tracks: "Satyagraha," "Tickets To a Better Place."